Frequently Asked Questions
(If you have others…don’t hesitate to contact us!)
1. We know that your “Learning to Live Out Loud” journey led you to the head of the Appalachian Trail. Tell us a little bit about what that journey meant to you both.
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
LTLOL for me is and always has been a state of mind. And it has been evolving as I have over the years. When we were on the Appalachian trail, it was about doing something bold to help change a thought paradigm that is dysfunctional: bullying. When we ventured out on the trail, we certainly didn’t know what we were doing. We just knew we needed to do something. So we went to Springer Mountain Georgia and started walking with everything we needed in our 40-pound backpacks. We didn’t even know how to hike. I had been camping numerous times and after the weekend, I had a warm bed and indoor plumbing to go home to. This time was way different. I was miles from civilization for days at a time. What I did know how to do, however, was talk to people. Every time we had the opportunity, we told our story. And every time we told our story, we heard stories back. Everyone had a story. Sometimes we found that we were the catalyst for others to tell their stories. We haven’t completed the trail yet and we still made a difference. I am clear that even though all I did was stand out as a voice against bullying, my actions were part of the flap of the butterfly’s wings that brought bullying out of the shadows and into the limelight.
Today, living out loud is about daring to do things differently. It is about finding joy in every moment. I am one of those intellectual nerds that finds passion in teaching others how to find the freedom health and happiness that they deserve. My entry point for this adventure is in the realm of healthcare. Our body, our state of health is an extension of what we believe.
I know more about the workings of the human brain than most. Some might be frightened by what their brain is truly capable of!!!!
My message to the people, my gift, my talent in this human incarnation is to connect people with their own magnificence by teaching them to be in relationship with their body. Our body is a self-healing, self-regulating organism. We have to give it a chance before we allow a complete take over of all its processes with drugs and surgery.
The most common feedback from our new patients is that they have never had their body explained to them like I do. The body is very complex and it isnt at the same time. If you treat it well, it will treat you well. I teach you how to treat it well. (If you knew, you wouldn’t be having the challenges that you currently are.)
If you truly understood how things really work, you would choose differently! I promise!
Shenna Shotwell:
Amazing trip. I Had no idea how strong I was. I turned 53 the week before we left. Certainly not in shape and hadn’t really even hiked a minute before we set out on this adventure. Truth be known, I thought Cheryl had lost her mind but she’s my wife so hike we did! I will say it’s the best diet ever!!! We both lost a lot of size very quickly!! I had to call in my ancestors and angels to gather strength and energy. Angels and Ancestors. They helped me every time I asked.
I had improper footwear so for me it was brutal at times. Couldn’t wait for it to end and now can’t wait to do some more of it. With proper fitting boots that is!
We did it to help call attention to the devastating effects of bullying! A lot of us are victims of bullying in some sort of fashion. Unfortunately, there a lot of innocent kids and adults who have taken their own lives because of being bullied. We met a lot of people on the trail and when we shared our reason for hiking, they either were victims themselves or knew someone who had been affected by bullying!
2. How has the concept of living out loud evolved as you continue with the unfolding of your new project?
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
As I said before, LTLOL has evolved as I have evolved. For me now it is more about realizing that everything is a vibration. Freedom, health and happiness all exist in the same vibrational realm. I have been a chiropractic physician for the past 12 years. I have had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of thousands of patients. Some patients have been very easy to treat and others have been more challenging. What I have discovered is that if an individual has the desire to improve their state of health and they are willing to do things differently, change is always possible!!
Shenna Shotwell:
It’s more important now than ever! Never been a better time to re-create one’s self. The only thing that matters is happiness. When we are happy we attract more happy!
When we were hiking the Appalachian Trail, we lived in a tent the size of a queen size mattress for two months. And that’s when we really realized we didn’t miss any of our stuff! We had all we needed in that tent the size of a queen-sized mattress. We are two women! Who needs a huge house full of stuff!!?!?! So, we sold our amazing 1880 (year built) 2200 square foot old farm house full of stuff and moved into a 350 sf 5th wheel travel trailer. It was stunning the difference we felt after we did this. We were not help captive by our stuff. I mean I am not one who likes to do house work and dusting and all that crap! All that stuff collects dirt and hair!!! Someone has to clean it, and it ain’t me!
We certainly feel more free after moving into our 5th wheel travel trailer! We have more time to do some of the things that give us joy rather than housework, yard work, home repairs and what not.
We are who we are! We have been together for 17 years now! That’s longer than my parents were together!!! Most people can look at us and tell we are a couple. We don’t try to hide that. We certainly don’t make a spectacle of ourselves but we do not try to hide we are a very successful, happily committed lesbian couple with a son, a daughter in law and 5 amazing grandkids! We are who we are and we are very happy with us.
We take our health very seriously! Without it, we really are not free! We eat good organic food, we take very high quality supplements and we drink clean healthy water. We teach our patients to do this very thing so we do practice what we preach. If you think the cost of eating healthy is too much….have you seen the cost of being sick these days!?!?!?!
3. What have you learned from your experience in the Chiropractic field that has inspired you to pursue an expanded vision for the services you’re providing?
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
Last year I began a specialty in functional neurology. I am a brain nerd. I now understand how a thought turns into action in our brain and what happens when that process doesn’t happen correctly. I have a firm grasp on personality disorders and tics. I’m not a shrink, I just know where the communication malfunctions that allows personality changes to happen. I also now understand how lucky we are that our brains work as well as they do and how easy it is for them to get messed up!!! My experience of over 2000 patients is that doctors don’t always explain the importance of certain health challenges.
I was told by doctors as a teenager that I had a tendency toward anemia, a deficiency of iron in my blood. I was never told that the condition was one of the top 3 predictors of dementia. That to me would have been very valuable information.
As a physician, I desire to meet people where they are with their health concerns so they can create a more vital existence.
Shenna Shotwell:
We, the people, have been duped for decades into believing that a medical doctor and all the legal and properly prescribed medications they tell us to take are what we are supposed to do when there is an issue with the human body. This is so not true and we try to spread the word that people have a choice when it comes to taking care of the issue. Drugs and surgery are often NOT the only answer for ones dis-ease. So many people just don’t know they have a choice!
4. Your work surrounds the topic of being on the path to happy… If there were 3 things that you would tell people who were wanting to be happy, what would they be.
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
What would I tell someone that wants to excel on the path to happy:
first step: a decision/commitment to being happy
second: surround yourself with people that share your objective
third: do something every day that makes your heart sing
4: align with someone that can help you identify your roadblocks.
Shenna Shotwell:
Be exactly who you are meant to be. Creator has a reason for making you YOU! Do not question. Do the things that make your heart sing. Often. And think of those times when you have crappy stuff to do.
Read really good brain food!! Everyday. Read inspiring stuff right before bead and your sub conscientious will digest it during the night.
5. Some people see happiness as reactive. e.g. “I’ll be happy When X happens.”. How would you explain the true essence of happiness to those folks?
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
Happiness is a vibration. It is a way of being. It is a way of thinking. Happiness is not an event.
It is living in a way that resonates with nature. It is getting back to the true essence of our make up. In terms of our health, it is about realizing how interconnected everything is. For instance, a sore throat can be an infection, a weak immune system. A sore throat can also be indicative of a thyroid condition which is an endocrine problem which affects all the hormones in your body. Our hormones are the chemical messengers responsible for everything that happens in our body…Or is it an issue with your throat chakra. Is there a toxic relationship in your life? Are you having the difficult conversations that need to be had. Are you being honest with yourself? Are you being honest with others?
Shenna Shotwell:
Well they say you have to be happy first and then X will happen. This is the truth. X will never happen if we are not happy because when we are just sitting around waiting for X to get here, we have all this monkey mind chatter that keeps X from happening in the first place! We don’t go to a diner and order a meal and then worry the crap outta the waitress about it! Why worry the crap outta the Universe til X arrives!!! Stop it! Go be happy first and X will get here when X is supposed to get here. Up to Creator, not us.
6. Many people don’t believe they have the power to change their feelings, beliefs & health… What would you say to those people to empower them?
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
I think it was Henry Ford that said, “If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
As we’ve been talking about, vibrant health is the result of living in a vibration that is consistent with health. Part of the journey of becoming healthy is learning the power of thought. What we think about we bring about‚ ¬John DeMartini Thoughts become things ¬ Mike Dooley!
We must allow a different paradigm change if we want things to be different.
Shenna Shotwell:
Again, you must feed your brain really good brain food! Our grey matter cannot have conflicting thoughts at the same time. In other words, thinking a good thought and thinking a bad thought at the same time. So, use your time wisely with a really good book and a pen and piece of paper to shift your thinking. This is a process. It’s usually not done overnight but it can be! Up to the individual! Write affirmations every single day! Read them every single day too!
Side bar: It takes the individual multiple times to write something or read something or watch something before the information becomes imbedded into your sub-conscience. Repetition is the key to a good habit being made. My number is 17 repetitions. Doing this will absolutely help you to shift your thinking from where you don’t really want to be!
7. As you’ve said, lessons have a way of recirculating again and again and again in people’s lives. What do you mean by that, and what has been your biggest lesson so far regarding the mind-body-spirit connection?
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
Biggest Lesson!!! Ha! I’m hard-headed. I’ve had several! Shenna and I have talked many times about all the lessons we have learned while being business owners in a small town. The biggest re-occurring lesson has been about trust. I allowed the fact that I have a pure heart to disillusion me about the heart of others. I thought since I always had good intentions it meant that the people I came in contact with had equally good intentions. hmmm
I learned the power of clarity. We often laugh about one of our many lessons in which Shenna was saying affirmations that she saw checks arriving in her mailbox. The next day we received a box of blank checks.
I learned the importance of making my voice heard. I learned that I needed to scream at the top of my lungs when things were not right. 100% responsibility 100% of the time does not mean I need to lay down to injustice.
I learned the ability to trust in my intuition. If you are led to do something and it feels good and it is not unjust or immoral, do it!!
Everything in life is a mirror of something else that is going on physically, spiritually and/or emotionally.
I learned to let someone help show me the way until I can see it, believe it and achieve it on my own.
Shenna Shotwell:
Like the woman who marries the same kind of abusive man time after time after time. Or the teacher who gets the same type of disruptive students’ year after year. When we search out and find the particular lesson in these relationships, the one thing in common, and make peace with that lesson, truly get the meaning and purpose of the lesson, the lesson will be satisfied and not repeat itself in your experience. This could be as easy as finally being able to just say no. This equates to finding your own self-respect and loving yourself enough to just say no to the abuse. Or no, I will not run that errand for you. Or no, I will not do such and such for you. This could be a lover, a boss, a child, a sibling or a parent!!!For me, the mind-body-spirit connection is all about what we think about and knowing Creator and the Universe have our backs 100% of the time. No exceptions. 100% of the time.
8. For people who may be feeling a sense of overwhelm, with so much going on in the world today and so many priorities, what would you suggest they do to regain a sense of balance and get back on the path to happy?
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
Dealing with overwhelm can be overwhelming!!! hahaha! My greatest sense of peace came when I realized that I was not in control of the how. As long as I know where I am going, the path to get there is the adventure! The path to get there is the true embodiment of learning to live out loud! I have been on this path of self-improvement over half my life. It is certainly a journey, not a destination. Sometimes I succumb to the overwhelm. And as a very special mentor of mine always says, It is OK to go there. Just not OK to stay!!!!
Suffering is a construct of the egoic mind. Words are things! Thoughts become things! Everything starts as a thought! What we think about, we bring about.
Focus on what you want not what you don’t want! Focus on the things that make you happy. Focus on things that make your heart sing. Look for your lesson in whatever is not going well and move on!
Shenna Shotwell:
Being out side in the sunshine always helps bring me to my happy self. Being in nature. On the water, in the forest, on the beach, in the mountains anywhere I can be in the handi work of Creator. And when the weather does not permit me to go outdoors, I get my hands busy with my two favorite forms of expression which are wood burning and wire wrapping.
I am amazed at the level of meditation I can be in while crafting with my hands. These two art forms help me to gather my thoughts and especially while learning different aspects of the art forms, I MUST be present in the now!!!! I cannot have thoughts of fear, doubt and disbelief while I am instructing my brain to focus on something. This will immediately take me away from day to day ick.
Creator made us to be creative! Whether it’s cooking, writing, tinkering with old cars, drawing, painting, gardening, clay, tending to critters, or humans or just whatever it is…….be creative at it and do your best!
Again, feed your brain really good brain food! Turn on some YouTube videos of Esther Hicks and Abraham and just listen to her while you cook or clean the house. Or better yet, sit down and really dive in with a pad of paper and a pen. Write what comes to your mind while listening. There are answers in those thoughts. Answers you have been looking for a very long time. Really! It works!
9. When people contact you about their health & wellness … what kinds of things can they expect? (services, information & products)
Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
If someone contacts me regarding one of our lifestyle renewal programs, they can expect to have a very unique experience. I pride myself on the fact that I do a very thorough job of asking questions until I arrive at the source of the concern. I then collect a complete history including everything that has worked or not worked in terms of their health concerns in the past. I look at blood work, I evaluate the consequences of any current medications and/or nutrition and then I come up with a plan that the patient can be successful with. I teach the patient to listen to their body. I empower the patient with knowledge so they can chose wisely when presented with all the things that can interfere with their health and happiness. I restore hope for people that have lost it!
Shenna Shotwell:
Well from me, they can expect a lot a laughing! And with Cheryl, they can expect someone who is really listening to them. And they can also expect to be heard. Dr. Cheryl takes the time to peel back the layers of symptoms and get to the cause of what’s going on for them. Dis-ease will not heal by simply getting rid of symptoms. You must deal with the cause of the effect! You can also expect to heal. Patients who listen to Dr. Cheryl and do exactly what she says to do heal. End of story. And those who choose to bring their Google searches of symptoms and swear their computer knows better than Dr. Cheryl, don’t heal. It really is simple as that!
Final thoughts from Dr. Cheryl Hanly:
Parting words would be to take on life! Allow learning to live out loud to have meaning for you. Define what learning to live out loud would mean in your life. Believe in yourself enough to give yourself the possibility for things to be different. Napoleon Hill said it best, “What the mind can conceive and believe, it will achieve.” You are perfect. Your thoughts are the problem.
Final thoughts from Shenna Shotwell:
Happiness is just a choice. Freedom is also a choice. I say this in regard to choosing to be without that fancy house or fancy car if you have to go into debt for them. There is way more to life than just working to pay your bills. Don’t feed into the advertising game. They spend millions of dollars in figuring out how we think and react and what motivates us to buy their stuff. What trips your trigger, so to speak. Your best line of defense is staying out of Walmart and all the other places that suck your finances dry. You don’t even know they are doing it! But it’s happening to each one of us who goes into a large retail environment! Go to a farmer’s market or flea market instead and buy from your heart not from your brain! Your brain is being tricked into buying! From the lights they use to the music they play! It’s all marketing.