Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Going and Eleanor Bramwell
Hi Lauren and Eleanor, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today?
Eleanor: I remember being 6 years old in Montana with my wild backpacking aunt. She’d had a foot injury that required alternating ice baths and hot water. I made sure the ice bucket was full to the brim with ice and gained so much pleasure watching her wince as she stuck her foot in cold water.
She told me she was reading a book by Dr. John Sarno about how back pain can be a result of unprocessed emotional material or psychosomatic. This single sentence changed my life. I realized that the experiences we have can be stored in our bodies.
This spark fueled a life long journey of learning and inquiry to understand the nature of life. By the time I was in middle school I devoured all the books I could on psychology. I was fascinated by how our experiences shape us, and influence how we understand ourselves and the world. By12 I realized that romantic relationships were a common place adults worked out the incomplete material of childhood.
When I was 19 I moved to India to and stumbled across Buddhism. I spent 60 days in retreat with monks that year. The retreats were about ¾ silent and ¼ Buddhist philosophy
My journey into entrepreneurship began in high school where I started my first company! I graduated and at 17 moved to Costa Rica where I started my second company. My third company was a nonprofit serving trauma survivors. And Inner Path is my fifth!
It was a bold step into the world of business ownership- but for me it was almost inevitable. When I have visions and ideas birthing them into reality is the only plausible next step.
Lauren: I think all my interests and past pursuit originate from wanting to alleviate suffering. I studied abroad on a Buddhist studies program in India during my junior year of college. After that, I changed my path from a lifelong love and pursuit of acting to studying psychology. As I started to work with people as a licensed therapist, I starting seeing that the tools I learned in social work graduate school were not enough. I was working with many deeply traumatized people first in the foster care system and then in a grant funded in a family violence program. I started studying trauma and what was effective in treating it. I learned that to truly help people that have complex trauma and PTSD, you have to do more than talk therapy alone. This led me to incorporating many somatic interventions such as EMDR and IFS and led me to Psychedelic Assisted Therapies. I was and continued to be blown away by how effective psychedelic assisted therapies can be when other interventions are not. I felt so passionate about their healing potential that I co-founded Inner Path Wellness to make these treatments safe and accessible in Baltimore (my beloved hometown).
As far as my story as an entreprenuer, I began setting up ‘shops’ on my front steps as a child selling seashells I would find at the beach and friendship bracelets I would make. My first business as an adult was called Pink Tara Imports; I imported and sold jewelry and textiles from Nepal and India in my early 20s as I lived between Asia and the United States. My second business was mhy first solo therapy practice- Going to Thrive and my third is Inner Path Wellness. Like Eleanor said, turning my visions and ideas into reality feels second nature (though always a little scary!)
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Eleanor: Owning and managing a business has proven to be one of the most rewarding- AND challenging endeavors I’ve undertaken. Each day presents WILD new lessons and unexpected curveballs. I am for sure more resilient. In fact I think my brain re wires it’s self every day due to constant new stimulae. 🙂
In all seriousness, I have grown, learned about myself, and evolved personally in ways that I could not even have dreamt of.
Lauren: This question almost makes me laugh out loud because absolutely not! Eleanor and I had a previous entrepreneurial venture- a holistic trauma center- with another partner that was set to open in March 2020. We obviously were not able to open and had to scrap a couple years of work that led to that point. I didn’t think I would look to open another business after going through that, but Inner Path has had a momentum that is greater than me, greater than us.
Though there have not been a shortage of challenges! In the first month we opened, I suffered an unexpected heartbreak that sent me into a state of burn out that made it hard to function while the new business demanded I work around the clock. Then a month later, I was hit head on by a drunk driver and my car was totaled, luckily I was fine physically but these experiences weighed heavy on me and made it very challenging to keep going. I am very fortunate to have an amazing support system and have learned so many coping and self care practices that got me back on my feet. I would say that period of opening the business was definitely one of the most challenging of my life.
In addition, any new business venture is going to be much more work than you expect. The space we took over was filled with a ton of junk and had not been updated in over 20 years. Since we were strapped on cash, we basically DIY’d everything- painting, hauling tons of trash, etc. I am still so incredibly thankful for all our friends and family that came out in those early days to help us with odd jobs and endless painting!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Inner Path Wellness?
Lauren: We are the first Psychedelic Assisted Therapy center in Baltimore! We are so excited to be able to bring this service to Baltimore/DC area residents. Our mission is to integrate science with spirit in a way that meets the whole person. Due to the current legality, we primarily offer Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy and Psychedelic Microdose coaching. We offer individual & group sessions, retreats, experientials, and trainings. We also offer holistic psychotherapy, nutritional coaching, cannabis coaching, massage, and acupuncture. Our approach is collaborative and honors the whole person.
How do you define success?
Eleanor: Feeling that I have contributed in a meaningful way is huge part of success to me. A few weeks ago I received an invitation to a past clients wedding. Her note broke my heart open “thank you for believing in me when I was hanging on by my finger nails. I didn’t know I could be so happy. “The work that we do at Inner Path is so rewarding. People are suffering and we get to give them tools that they can use change their lives.
And success is, to me, also about a life well lived. One with close relationships, intense physical movement and play, and plenty of white spaces. When I wake up in the morning feeling well-rested I know that I am doing many somethings right.
My personal biggest life dream is currently to have a veggie garden outside of my front door and more moments of stillness and deep inner quiet.
Lauren: My definition of success has definitely changed over the years. When I was younger I was much more driven to make a name for myself. It felt like getting the next degree, completing the next training, getting recognition or an award would make me successful. I think you sometimes need to get those things to understand, they are not where success lies.
These days, if I can bring a little love and lightness to someone’s day and contribute to this suffering world in a meaningful way then I feel I am doing something right.
I feel most successful when my nervous system is calm and I am relating to others and leading life from the state.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://innerpathbaltimore.com
- Instagram: @innerpathpsychedelics
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innerpathbaltimore
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InnerPathWellness
