Our History

Emery and Tracey Forest met doing shamanic work in a powerful place in nature in 1997.  From their love for each other and for shamanism grew a shared passion for the forest, the mountains and for all the beings who dwell there. 

Through a series of magical events in 1999, Tracey and Emery were led to the land that is now Spirit Hollow.  After cleaning up 40 tons of garbage, they put up their first Pacific Yurt and lived in it while building their home, a geodesic dome.

In August 2000, Emery and Tracey moved into their home and began seeing healing clients and having children; they started their first Seeing With the Heart group in the 24-foot Brook Yurt in the autumn of that year.  Since that small group of maybe 12 people, Seeing With the Heart grew over the years. Participants in this on-going training in core shamanism come from all over New England.

In 2002, with the help of many, we built the Medicine Wheel Garden, a perennial garden where small ceremonies and meditation take place. 

In June 2003, Spirit Hollow erected a second, bigger (30-ft) yurt, called the Sky Yurt, on the hill overlooking the Hollow.

At this same time, we also began Spirit Quest, our popular rite-of-passage cam for kids and teens.  The impetus was to help children find their way through a confusing, sometimes violent world with the assistance of elders.  These camps have grown to up to six weeks each summer with the addition of Goddess Camp and Warrior Camp .

Also in 2003, Spirit Hollow became a Vermont domestic non-profit; in December 2004, it received its federal, IRS Code 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, public charitable organization status, qualifying it to receive grants, for reduced mailing rates, to do fund-raising and to receive tax-deductible contributions.

When you declare your mission as “transforming consciousness,” that’s exactly what happens.   As Spirit Hollow and the Forests’ children grew, so did their individual souls.  To honor the flowering of their individual callings, Emery and Tracey decided that their work together as a couple was complete in 2011.  Emery removed the Sky Yurt and moved it to Brattleboro, VT where he now lives and continues his journey as Ananda Forest.

Tracey continues the work at Spirit Hollow, where she has almost finished raising their children (who are now college students), seeing clients for soul sessions, offering a variety of immersions in the wilds of Spirit Hollow. As Director, and with the help of a wonderful board of directors, she continues to help SH move forward in a new, but powerful, direction that honors its roots in shamanism but includes powerful models and maps inspired the Animas Valley Institute, by The Work That Reconnects, and by the wild ones who dwell here. Spirit Hollow strives to be a model of eco-based, soul centric human development and regenerative culture.

Tracey’s partner, Robbie Leppzer, an independent documentary filmmaker, now lives and works at Spirit Hollow as well.

Spirit Hollow is revisioning how to best utilize all the resources of its talented staff and board to focus on how to best serve in these days of the Great Turning. We are passionate about leaving a legacy of food and maps of eco-centric community for the future ones. To that end, in 2023, we are fundraising for a 30’ yurt, to have more space, and we are creating a permaculture food forest here on the land. Also, we are building out a gap semester program for young adults (ages 18-26) that will launch in the fall of 2024. Stay in touch to find out how you can participate, donate for scholarships, or support our initiatives in other ways!