Today we’d like to introduce you to Jolene McLaughlin.
Hi Jolene, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was a little kid, I loved looking up at the stars, planting trees, and caring for the whole natural world, except bears, I was terrified of them even though there weren’t any in our area. I am over this now 😉
We were on a family vacation when Yellowstone National Park was on fire and I thought, hum, I think this is what I want to be when I grow up or at least I knew then that I wanted to work in the woods.
My love of and connection with nature lead to me to work in landscaping while pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Forestry. After graduation I worked outside in various roles and eventually became a forester and wildland fire fighter. Fast forward to a few years in and getting a great promotion! Then having bottom of the housing market fall out before I was able to move. Well, I commuted a long commute for a while, but my health and well being were starting to suffer. So I found a job working for a local non-profit which worked hard to provide healthy quality homes especially for low and moderate income individuals and families. As purposeful as this work was, my heart wasn’t fully in it so I started looking inside to find where my heart could feel at home.
Throughout this time I had been on my own natural healing journey. My first encounter with acupuncture was in the late 1990s early 2000s when I injured my arm. That was the first time I thought wow, there is medicine that is magic in the world. Little did I know that a few decades later this would be something I offered! Late in 2013 while working in construction, I decided to just try and start something and see what would come of it. Thus, Nona Jolene LLC was born. I loved helping people whether by finding new perspectives, connecting with presence, sharing reiki, providing a unique form of coaching, or doing simple breath work and meditations. This felt right. Nona Jolene started to take form. One day someone asked me if I might be able to connect with their pet to help them with separation anxiety. To my knowledge I had never communicated with an animal before, but I thought, heck I’ll give it a try. The connection was clear but my trust in my experience was shaky. As the information came through, I shared it with their person. The next day their person texted saying that they did all the things that came through and their dog was much much calmer than she had ever been. This is where my journey into animal communication started.
A year or two later, when I was still wrapping my head around my gift and my path, my cat was injured. The soft tissue in one of his front legs had been badly injured, he couldn’t make his paw work or really walk on that leg. I was considering amputation. We hadn’t yet had an animal communication session together, I was scared. When I was finally able to bring myself to connect with him, he shared that he needed acupuncture to heal. His front leg paw had been limp for a few weeks, but I found someone who said they could treat him. The day after his first treatment he was walking on his paw. It was during the healing work with him and a subsequent meditation that I knew I needed to go into acupuncture – though for people, not animals.
I started school by dipping my toe in the water. Chinese medicine is nature based and I was hooked right away. Partway through the first trimester I knew I needed to move to be closer to school. I wanted to get through my education and into where I was meant to be as soon as I could. I gave a 3 month notice to my work so I could to support them as they restructured. Then I packed up my house, put it on the market and moved. The four year, year round Masters Degree program was not easy. Once I graduated, took my boards and became licensed, I decided to move to my hometown area and open my practice, Ripple Acupuncture and Wellness LLC.
Ripple has been open and treating patients with acupuncture and East Asian medicine for 4 years. And all throughout, Nona Jolene has still been supporting people and their pets. And now we go back to the stars. Astrology has always been a fascination and since 2023 I have been studying astrology intensely. This spring and summer I will be including astrological readings as a service I provide for people through Nona Jolene. And this brings me to where I am today. A licensed acupuncturist and east asian medical practitioner at Ripple Acupuncture and Wellness and intuitive, astrologer, and animal communicator at Nona Jolene.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The only part of my road that has stayed consistent is that it has been full of change. The road has been bumpy to say the least! Throughout my journey I have spent a lot of time in my courage or challenge zone, very little in my comfort zone. Sometimes I felt extended even beyond my challenge zone. Finding myself in a place where I felt like I was the mushy bits of melted caterpillar inside my chrysalis wondering if I had enough imaginal cells to make it into the butterfly I was meant to be. So far it has turned out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
If I had to pick a specialty it would be listening and caring while following my heart. Heart is at the center of everything I am and do. Learning, improving, intention, and doing my best are infused into my way of moving through the world. So maybe what sets me apart from others is how much I care, how willing I am to bring new experiences into my life and yours, and how eager I am to learn more. It is so cool to me how on paper my life experiences seem worlds apart, yet they network together in a journey to supporting you and the world around us. This journey, this understanding has its roots in nature and my connection as a part of it. With all the twists and turns of my own path, I am driven to do my best to meet people and the world where they are. It is in this meeting that I offer my work in a supportive way.
If we are talking the specifics of specialties, at Ripple Acupuncture and Wellness, I specialize in women’s health. Supporting women on their journey through menstruation, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause has become a large part of my practice. Through animal communication work at Nona Jolene, getting in touch with the emotions and other blocks to health which often speak up as illness or behavior issues is a realm where I often work. The astrological tools and readings that I offer to people at Nona Jolene are infused with the intention of supporting people on their journey of self acceptance while bringing clarity and light to the message of life challenges.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
This one is easy, to me success is being aware of inspiration when it knocks on my door and then checking in with my heart to confirm alignment. Letting this guide my thoughts and actions. This form of success is often not easy, but when it feels right, I know I am where I need to be. The feeling is expansive and flowing. This is great success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rippleacupuncture.com and www.nonajolene.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonajolenellc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069929924424
Image Credits
Mandy Hunecke
Jolene McLaughlin
