a b o u t .
my name is forest chaffee. i create safe space for integrating wholeness.
i received my bachelors and masters degrees in architecture and taught architecture studio at penn state university. my master's thesis focused on the loss of social spaces in american culture and creating space *for* people: social spaces to support full authentic expression and systems of interdependent thriving.
during this time i assisted in designing and building a literacy center for the northern cheyenne reservation in montana. while on the reservation i spent much of my time sweating with the elders in their sacred place - the sweat lodge. they welcomed me into connection with them, their land, their ancestors, and their space that held such meaning. immersed in the heat, the burning cedar stinging my throat, and the resonance of their chanting voices, i was deeply honored. there was a sense of all of me being present... peace, belonging, meaning.
then i received a fellowship at the rural studio in newbern, alabama. i worked with the community to create the first integrated community space in the county. one of the most beautiful experiences for me was being welcomed into sacred space, a tiny church in the field. i'd sit inside surrounded by community who shared their warmth. i sat immersed in the resonance of their voices... this was deeply moving. i interviewed 50 community members about the need for community space. i listened... and created a book of people's words. we co-created an integrated community group and met regularly to connect and share resources. friends and i renovated a main street building to be the community space. once complete we had free events throughout the week for kids and adults. i had accomplished what i’d hoped, yet it was during this time that i experienced a series of traumatic events that left me feeling terrified for my safety and survival.
the next seven years were spent in new york city working for two architecture firms whose aesthetic embodied the pared down minimalism and beauty i love. inside, however, i carried a paralysis from this terror and no one knew. i had no idea how to deal with what was going on within me, and this made it challenging to connect with the world around me. i went to therapy and studied buddhist meditation but it was not until i found non-violent communication that i started to connect with the life-energy in me again: the needs that were underlying the pain, terror, and freeze. i spent years studying non-violent communication and became a graduate of the baynvc leadership program.
in 2011 i found sarah peyton and her work combining interpersonal neurobiology and non-violent communication. i committed myself to intensive immersion in how our brains impact each other, how our bodies respond to resonant empathy, and how trauma can be healed - giving people their lives back memory by memory. through this work i have experienced the integration of my own life energy from adult, childhood, and intergenerational family trauma. this journey has deepened my capacity to offer safe warm attunement to those who are ready to heal. in 2016 i created the illustrations for sarah peyton's book on healing the default network entitled "your resonant self," which was released in september 2017.
my work includes resonant language empathy, unconscious contract/sacred vow work, time travel empathy (inner part rescues), lightening the implicit load, and one-on-one constellation work. i am committed to supporting people in reclaiming their full selves. i create space for others’ healing and for my own creative expression. i am grateful to have my life back and am here to serve in the reclaiming of all of who you are.
in love -
forest
i received my bachelors and masters degrees in architecture and taught architecture studio at penn state university. my master's thesis focused on the loss of social spaces in american culture and creating space *for* people: social spaces to support full authentic expression and systems of interdependent thriving.
during this time i assisted in designing and building a literacy center for the northern cheyenne reservation in montana. while on the reservation i spent much of my time sweating with the elders in their sacred place - the sweat lodge. they welcomed me into connection with them, their land, their ancestors, and their space that held such meaning. immersed in the heat, the burning cedar stinging my throat, and the resonance of their chanting voices, i was deeply honored. there was a sense of all of me being present... peace, belonging, meaning.
then i received a fellowship at the rural studio in newbern, alabama. i worked with the community to create the first integrated community space in the county. one of the most beautiful experiences for me was being welcomed into sacred space, a tiny church in the field. i'd sit inside surrounded by community who shared their warmth. i sat immersed in the resonance of their voices... this was deeply moving. i interviewed 50 community members about the need for community space. i listened... and created a book of people's words. we co-created an integrated community group and met regularly to connect and share resources. friends and i renovated a main street building to be the community space. once complete we had free events throughout the week for kids and adults. i had accomplished what i’d hoped, yet it was during this time that i experienced a series of traumatic events that left me feeling terrified for my safety and survival.
the next seven years were spent in new york city working for two architecture firms whose aesthetic embodied the pared down minimalism and beauty i love. inside, however, i carried a paralysis from this terror and no one knew. i had no idea how to deal with what was going on within me, and this made it challenging to connect with the world around me. i went to therapy and studied buddhist meditation but it was not until i found non-violent communication that i started to connect with the life-energy in me again: the needs that were underlying the pain, terror, and freeze. i spent years studying non-violent communication and became a graduate of the baynvc leadership program.
in 2011 i found sarah peyton and her work combining interpersonal neurobiology and non-violent communication. i committed myself to intensive immersion in how our brains impact each other, how our bodies respond to resonant empathy, and how trauma can be healed - giving people their lives back memory by memory. through this work i have experienced the integration of my own life energy from adult, childhood, and intergenerational family trauma. this journey has deepened my capacity to offer safe warm attunement to those who are ready to heal. in 2016 i created the illustrations for sarah peyton's book on healing the default network entitled "your resonant self," which was released in september 2017.
my work includes resonant language empathy, unconscious contract/sacred vow work, time travel empathy (inner part rescues), lightening the implicit load, and one-on-one constellation work. i am committed to supporting people in reclaiming their full selves. i create space for others’ healing and for my own creative expression. i am grateful to have my life back and am here to serve in the reclaiming of all of who you are.
in love -
forest