EMERGE
with Mareesa Stertz
Wednesdays Beginning June 11th, 5:30PM PST
An 8-week group coaching program for soulful change makers and emergent leaders who are ready to distill the truth of their lived experience into one clear, unforgettable story—so they can move rooms and ripple out transformation—without second-guessing their voice or waiting to feel ‘ready.’
This isn’t just about telling better stories. It’s about becoming someone who knows, without question, that your voice matters—and learning how to wield it with power, purpose, and presence.
Emerge isn’t about branding or content creation—it’s about excavating and claiming your core truth, crafting a story that reflects your inner evolution, and learning how to share it in a way that feels aligned and alive. It’s deeply personal, process-oriented, and built for transformation—not performance.
EMERGE: A Journey of Self-Authorship
Find your voice. Share your wisdom.
Change the world.
You’ve lived through so much...
But when it’s time to tell your story, you find yourself second-guessing what matters.
Too many threads. Too many identities. Too much wondering if you’re “ready.”
Maybe you’ve tried to share your truth before, but it came out messy—or worse, invisible.
Maybe you feel like you’ve outgrown your old story… but the new one hasn’t fully arrived.
And underneath it all, maybe you’re still asking:
Does my voice really matter? Will anyone understand?
Emerge is here to change that.
This 8-week journey is about more than just telling a better story. It’s about
owning the full arc of your experience—the grief, the growth, the grit—and weaving it into a clear, powerful narrative that feels like you.
It’s a space to unearth the story you didn’t even know you were carrying.
To alchemize your past. To release the inherited scripts. To speak from the marrow of your truth—and finally be heard.
You’ll walk away with:
A clarified, unforgettable story that aligns with your purpose
The tools to share it with confidence, clarity, and heart
A deeper trust in your voice as a catalyst for connection, healing, and change
Whether you’re a creative, a healer, a guide, or a leader in the making—your story is your most powerful offering.
Let’s shape it together.
Does this sound familiar?
⚡️ You’ve lived through some sh*t—transformative, powerful, life-altering stuff—but every time you try to explain it, it comes out scattered, too long, or watered down. You’re left thinking, “That’s not what I meant.”
⚡️ You’ve got journals full of insights, voice notes spilling with breakthroughs, and maybe even a keynote idea or a book outline—but you’re still stuck staring at a blank page (or saying “one day”).
⚡️ You’re someone people turn to for guidance or healing… but when it’s your turn to speak about your own path, you freeze, ramble, or go into performer mode. Afterwards, you replay it in your head, cringing.
⚡️ You’ve taken storytelling courses, watched TED Talks, saved a hundred Instagram posts on “finding your voice”… and yet, when it comes time to share your real story, you still feel foggy, unsure, or unready.
⚡️ Deep down, you know your story could change lives. But the longer you wait to tell it, the more disconnected you feel from your own wisdom—and the more opportunities pass you by.
What you stand to gain: clarity, confidence, resonance, leadership, healing, recognition
What you risk losing if you don’t step into this work: your voice stays stuck inside. And with it, your message, your mission, your magic.
Are you...
Ready to finally say what you’ve been trying to say for years—and have it actually land, move people, and open doors?
Ready to turn your lived experiences—yes, even the messy ones—into a powerful story that inspires trust, connection, and change?
Craving the clarity and confidence to share your story publicly, without spiraling into overthinking or watering it down?
Ready to step into rooms, calls, or stages knowing exactly how to introduce yourself, speak your truth, and be remembered for it?
Done hiding behind drafts and almosts—and ready to feel proud, grounded, and seen in the story you’re here to tell?
TESTIMONIALS
What others are saying
"A new way of thinking about personal growth and the challenge of sharing with vulnerability and expressing meaningfully"
"Through the emerge program I opened up a space to occupy confidence and bold future vision." - Kari
"Emerge has been a form of mental health therapy that I can continue to integrate into my life. It provided a level of enlightenment that I could not have expected."
" Through group discussion and empowerment within the course materials, I could confidently craft my story in a way it was meant to be told." - Miranda
"There were so many things I never would have realized from my childhood traumas and experiences — how those developed me into who I am and who I became."
"So grateful for this course and I highly recommend it to anybody." - Kent
"Emerge stands apart because it doesn’t just help you process your story—it helps you own it."
" In a sea of self-growth and integration spaces that often stay conceptual or overly polished, this course brought me into direct, embodied relationship with my lived experience.
Mareesa doesn’t teach you how to perform your story—she guides you to understand it, shape it, and share it with integrity.
The value of Emerge isn’t just in what you walk away with on paper—it’s in how you feel about yourself when you do.
Compared to other programs that skim the surface or focus on external outcomes, this course goes inward first.
It honors the sacred mess and turns it into meaning, without bypassing the hard stuff. That kind of depth is rare—and absolutely essential for real integration." - Aimee
🌕 The EMERGE Journey:
6 Storycrafting Modules
1. Harvest the Gold of Your Lived Experience
Reflect on the pivotal moments, initiations, and soul lessons that shaped your becoming.
✨ Start seeing your life as a story worth telling—and yourself as the one who lived it for a reason.
2. Unearth the Wisdom Only You Can Offer
Transform your lived truth into embodied insight that others can feel, trust, and be moved by.
✨Claim your voice not just as a storyteller—but as a guide, leader, and lightbearer.
3. Clarify the Purpose Behind Your Story
Define who your story is for, why it matters now, and what ripple you want to create with it.
✨Anchor your message in purpose so every word becomes a transmission.
4. Choose the Chapters That Actually Matter
Distill your story to what truly serves—without getting lost in the details or diluting your power.
✨Learn what to keep, what to let go, and how to speak from the heart with clarity.
5. Craft a Story That Captivates & Connects
Shape your truth into a narrative that opens hearts, builds trust, and leaves a lasting imprint.
✨Make your audience feel seen, stirred, and inspired to take action.
6. Shape a Signature Story You’re Ready to Share
By the end of our time together, you’ll have a powerful 5–10 minute story that’s ready for the world—ideal for podcasts, panels, keynotes, interviews, or sales conversations that actually convert.
✨ Step into the world with a story that opens doors, calls in aligned opportunities, and positions you as the voice you were born to be.
Plus these exclusive bonuses:
👁 BONUS 1: 90 minute Psychedelic Story Integration Session
Turn your psychedelic insights into embodied wisdom you can actually speak from.
👁 BONUS 2: Archetypal Framing Guide
Use archetypal framing to bring depth, structure, and mythic resonance to your story—so your audience feels it in their bones.
Mareesa Stertz
Hi, I'm Mareesa — a filmmaker, storyteller, and soul guide who's helped hundreds of creatives unlock their core message. Now I'm here to help you tell your story in a way that feels like coming home.
Meet Mareesa:
As a co-steward of the Global Psychedelic Society (GPS) and co-founder of Lucid News, Mareesa has been building platforms that destigmatize, educate, and build community around psychedelics.
Her film work includes producing and hosting the documentary series The Healing Powers (of Psychedelics and Other Mindful Practices) and Damanhur, both streaming on Gaia TV and Amazon.
Imagine this...
You’re standing in front of a group—maybe at a retreat, on a panel, or in a casual conversation—and instead of fumbling to explain “what you do” or “why you do it,” you share your story with grounded clarity. People lean in. Eyes soften. Someone says, “Wow… I feel that.”
You’re no longer questioning which story to tell or how to make it land. You know the shape of your story—what it means, what it offers, and how it connects to your mission. And you know how to tell it without losing yourself in the weeds.
You’ve stopped replaying moments where you overshared or held back. Instead, you feel proud of how your voice carries your truth—no fluff, no performance, just resonance.
You start getting asked to speak. To lead. To collaborate. Not because you’re loud, but because you’re clear. Because you’ve found your story—and it’s found its people.
And maybe most importantly… you feel different inside. Like you’ve taken your power back from the past and turned it into something alive, meaningful, and fully your own.
What is Storycrafting
and Why Does it Matter?
Storycrafting is more than just telling your story. It’s about uncovering the deeper meaning behind your experiences, and shaping that meaning into something powerful, clear, and connective.In this program, we use a few key tools that make this possible:
🌿 The Human Journey Framework
This tool maps your lived experience onto a universal arc—so you can see not just what happened, but why it matters and how it changed you. It’s a storytelling structure, yes—but also a map for transformation. It helps you see yourself with clarity, compassion, and coherence, even if you’re still in the middle of it.
🔥 Your Struggles Are the Fuel
We work with the belief that the moments you’ve struggled most contain the seeds of your greatest medicine. This isn’t about glorifying pain—it’s about reclaiming power. When you learn to identify and articulate the wisdom born from hardship, your story stops being something that happened to you—and becomes something that can serve others.
💬 The Declarative Statement
Most people get stuck trying to “sum up” their story. In this course, you’ll develop a clear, resonant statement that captures the core message of your journey. It becomes your anchor—not just for storytelling, but for your leadership, your creative work, your brand, and your next chapter.
🧠 Structure Meets Soul
Yes, you’ll learn the structure that makes stories land. But this isn’t about rigid formulas. It’s about creating a spacious container for your truth to emerge—so you can speak from a place that feels natural, embodied, and alive.
This if for you if...
You’ve got a Google Doc (or five), scattered notes, voice memos, and half-finished story drafts—but no clear sense of what you’re actually trying to say
You’ve had those “maybe this is the story” moments… followed by “wait, who even cares?”
You think about your story all the time—while driving, in the shower, mid-conversation—but when you sit down to share it, you freeze or spiral
You’ve taken storytelling workshops, followed brilliant speakers, maybe even journaled for years—but still feel foggy, scattered, or unready
You crave to be seen as a wise, grounded leader… but your messaging doesn’t quite reflect who you really are
You long to inspire others, lead through your lived experience, and offer something meaningful—but right now, your story feels buried beneath doubt, confusion, or too many threads
This is not for you if...
You’re looking for a plug-and-play story formula that skips over the emotional and existential layers of your journey
More often than not, you struggle with a disregulated nervous system, and feel yourself in “flight or fight” mode, unable to bring presence to hard experiences of the past. (if you’re there, may we suggest Somatic Practices to support you - so you can bring a regulated nervous system to this course)
You’re not ready to explore how your greatest struggles shaped your deepest wisdom
You’re more interested in performing a polished persona than revealing your authentic real, embodied voice
You’d rather wait until your story feels “resolved” than work with the one that’s alive in you now
You aren’t open to being reflected and witnessed by a community walking a similar path
Here's What You'll Walk Away With...
🔥 A powerful, core story that weaves your lived experience into a clear, emotionally resonant narrative you can use in talks, bios, client work, or anywhere your voice needs to lead
🧭 Clarity on what you stand for—so you can speak, write, or share without over explaining, spiraling, or second-guessing
🎤 Confidence to share your story publicly—whether that’s a podcast, a keynote, a pitch, or a personal post that actually connects
💬 An embodied “declarative statement”—your message in one resonant line that threads through everything you do
🌀 A framework for meaning-making—so you can return to this process any time you have a new story to share, or any time life hands you another “plot twist” to decipher
🤝 Reflections from others who see you—and who help you trust the wisdom you carry
💡 A deeper understanding of how your struggles have shaped your superpowers—and how to share that with the world without shame or performance
And perhaps most importantly—you’ll walk away with a story that doesn’t just explain what you’ve lived…it becomes the backbone of your leadership, your mission, and the legacy you’re here to leave.
You've Waited Long Enough...
For clarity. For permission. For “the right moment.”
Forget perfect. Speak now... Share the story that refuses to stay silent.