We recently had the chance to connect with Claudia Barfoot and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Claudia, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
Both/And. I’m walking the path of the wanderer! There’s a steady path, or a trajectory I follow that is informed by my interests, curiosities, passion and love. This path, like any other path in any other person’s life, even when it’s stable in appearance, always transforms, gets interrupted, sculpted into a new form. It slightly moves into another version of what the original path was. Life circumstances, internal changes or the emergence of new needs, desires or longings create shifts.
All paths teach you that once you commit, the path cannot be fully planned, strictly followed, or controlled. Paths can give you direction and meaning, but there’s a fundamental importance in wandering. They are not opposites, they are the forces that inform every person’s life’s decisions and meaning.
Wandering invites us to explore, experiment, expand and discover new frontiers. It requires curiosity for the unknown, and for what could potentially be possible for us. It is what ultimately nurtures and feeds our soul, however, when wandering takes no roots, it can aimlessly destabilize us. Human life needs both, the path that feels secure, and the wandering that builds our character.
I currently aim to walk the path that presents in front of me, the path that is co-created in between my plans, and what I believe I want or need, and what life offers to me. I participate, and I listen, I receive and explore.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
In essence, I’m an endlessly curious spirit, a lover of life, with a deep appreciation and respect for the nature of being human. As a profession I’m a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, practitioner of ancestral healing, and a licensed natural medicine clinical facilitator in the state of Colorado. As a creator, I’m the founder of the Land of Possible, an online space for the exploration of consciousness, and the territories of mind and soul.
Through the Land of Possible I combine key elements from depth psychology, dreamwork, neuroscience, metaphysics and indigenous cosmologies, and wisdom. My offerings include mentoring folks who want to explore themselves through an experiential psycho spiritual lens. I have a signature transformational program called 9 Gates of Consciousness, I host retreats in Colorado and Mexico, and offer sound journey experiences. What I offer through the Land of Possible has become the most integrative and expansive work I’ve done. It is the heart and soul of the wandering path I have committed to in this life. It is the result of my profound love for human life and its role in the web of life.
If you’re curious and feel called to embrace the beauty of what an expansive and embodied life has to offer, explore with me, I’ve developed what I call “yes that can see in the dark”, and I can help you map out a way for you to navigate life with discernment, wisdom, wonder, and joy.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
In essence I’m the same person. I feel very lucky that neither my family, my life experiences or the world crushed to extinction the parts of me that I appreciate the most.
My upbringing wasn’t perfect or devoid from difficulty, but my early life had enough security, consistency and love to give me the support I needed to express the parts of myself that are most essential. I was given enough freedom to experience, experiment and make choices, and more importantly I was never shamed for being who I am.
Unfortunately, in the work that I do with clients, I’ve seen more often than not how families out of survival or ignorance, try to reshape who their kids are, silence their voices or invade their minds with their opinions and judgments, throwing them into the quest of finding their way back to themselves, back into who they originally were. That is not an easy task, and it can be hard to do, but it’s possible. Reconnecting to that original self is fundamental for our access to joy and belonging.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me the preciousness of my time, energy, and attention. It brought me back to how much I love being alive, to the strength I carry, and to my willingness to let go of anything that pulls me away from my center, my joy, my presence, and my openness to life.
In my experience, suffering cannot be fully understood on our own, at least not until life has offered us enough experience or wisdom to meet it with a mature perspective. Suffering has a way of narrowing our vision: it takes up space, distorts the narrative we live by, and interferes with our capacity to perceive a wider meaning. When I was moving through my own suffering, I was in a psychoanalytic process. I was held and deeply heard by my analyst—through her listening, her interventions, and her external point of view. The lessons I learned emerged within that relational space. Over time, I internalized that function, and since then I’ve been able to meet other painful experiences with greater clarity and self-support. I cannot emphasize enough how meaningful and important therapy can be. When it is good, its effects can last for decades, even a lifetime. It is an investment in your time, your life force, your clarity of vision, and your capacity to perceive with depth, kindness and radical honesty.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes! The real me is always expressed, in varied degrees, through everything I do, not only my public version but in my private life too. I try to live a very embodied life, where I try to be as present, available and transparent as possible, however, I’d say that the public version of me is just a sliver of what goes on with me in the very private life of being a therapist, mentor, mother, friend, partner, daughter and sister. The majority of that work is not public, it lives in the shared space of connection, sharing of truth, laughter, silence, vulnerability, and to me that is the realest real I can be.
I truly think that the realest version of all of us, happens in the privacy of our homes, in our daily tasks, and in our closest relationships.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
I love this question. I went through a version of leaving my name, role and possessions behind when I moved permanently to the U.S. back in 2009. The process was very challenging in terms of my identity, but it gave me one of the most important lessons of my life. It forced me to find what remains when you lose or leave everything and everyone behind.
The process of adaptation took years, realities I didn’t considered settled in, and suddenly I realized I lost all I thought made the person I was. I grieved, I doubted my choices, but there was no other way for me but to commit and persevere, and I did. I explored the possibilities of doing something totally new, or just keep at it and restart my career all over again. That moment in my life stripped everything away, and gave me a gift, finding that at my core what drives me is beauty, love, generosity, and service. It allowed me to detach from my professional identity and remember that I can express who I am, and what I can give, in many ways. It gave me the understanding that at all times those drives are part of me, either when I work with clients, when I cook, with what I write, with how I relate, etc. In sum, there’s a freedom in knowing that who I am, comes through with every single thing I do, and it’s not a result of what I chose as a profession or how I choose to share with the world. And more importantly, I know now that if I ever lose it all again, those same drives will find a way of expressing, connecting and creating something generative with my life. It has given me an unexpected and solid trust in life and myself. Those drives or forces go beyond me, so despite of what happens with me and around me, they infuse my heart and soul with an incessant will to live, love and rebuild again, and again. It has made me resilient. It has also informed how I work with clients, now I try to help them find their own forces and drives, to know them well, to care for them, for it will give their path guidance into thriving. We all need to find the spark of light that lives within and drives our lives. It is key, that is our power.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelandofpossible.com
- Instagram: @thelandofpossible
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-barfoot-ma-lpc-lmhc-6b596b69/
Image Credits
@femforceshoots_ @femforcedenver @thewanderingmaven
