Perfection is a myth. The best we can do is be fully present with ourselves and others, giving what we have, even imperfectly, with love.
Shannon Tyson · In Her Own Words
Her Story
About Shannon
Shannon Tyson (She/Her) is a Chaplain, Speaker, and Soul Care Provider. As the founder of Inner Ground Soul Care, she helps individuals move from pressure and performance into presence and peace through providing a safe spiritual and emotional space. Through her work as a Hospital Chaplain, Shannon is equipped to offer compassionate, non-judgmental support to individuals during some of life’s most vulnerable moments, creating space for healing, reflection, and meaning-making. Shannon’s career has been a journey of discovering where she truly belongs. She began her career in social work, mostly in nonprofit settings serving at-risk youth and survivors of domestic violence and sex trafficking. She later held a range of Christian ministry roles, including providing pastoral care, leading worship, and directing women's ministries. Throughout much of this time, she also held her most consistent role at home, raising her two sons while her husband worked demanding shift schedules. Entering into her chaplain residency, she stepped into a full-time career for the first time since becoming a parent. Chaplaincy has brought together the many layers of her personal, professional, and spiritual journey into one integrated and affirming space. Her path has also been shaped by complex experiences within faith-based environments, including religious trauma and navigating traditions that did not fully embrace women in ministry leadership. These experiences propelled her search for belonging and authenticity, ultimately finding deep alignment in chaplaincy, where she could bring her full self into her work. Today, through Inner Ground Soul Care, Shannon combines chaplaincy, coaching, and spiritual formation to support people in addressing practical life patterns while reconnecting with their inner life. She believes that all people are spiritual in nature and seeks to help others cultivate lives rooted in what brings them meaning, wholeness, and peace.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shannon
01What do you attribute your success to?
As a Christian, I think most people would expect me to attribute my success to God, and that's definitely true. But also I think I owe my success to the people in my life, including my husband and my kids. They have supported and encouraged me throughout all of the different paths I have taken in order to find myself and where I sit in this world career-wise. I also attribute my success to the hard seasons I've been through - times of failure, conflict, disappointment, crisis, etc. Spiritually, growing up in a very conservative, fundamentalist church and working within churches throughout my life that did not affirm my value as a woman in ministry has been particularly shaping. Being a part of a system that, instead of embracing you wholly, demands you to shrink and abandon parts of who you are causes religious trauma. These experiences can be crippling and it is difficult to find support from someone who is both knowledgable about spiritual abuse and has their own lived experience of it which is why I have a am passionate about helping others heal from it. All in all, my success can be attributed to many people and experiences, both helpful and harmful, and I am truly grateful for the whole journey and how it has shaped me into who I am today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is: you are not behind.
You're not behind, trying to get towards some imaginary goal in the future. You are right where you need to be doing the work that you need to be doing under your feet, right now. That's really all we have anyway - this moment & this time. Presence in this current moment will allow the future towork itself out.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You were not created to make yourself small. You are created as a uniquel, gifted, talented woman. Do not to let people make you feel like you don't belong in any space you aspire to be in. Be who you are; your full self. Take up as much space as you need to, unapologetically . You do not need someone else's permission to be who you are. So much of my career journey has been trying to fit myself into only the places where I was "allowed," because I was in ministry spaces where women were incredibly confined and limited. And all of that required me to compromise or hide parts of who I was. Doing that is exhausting and completely opposite of how we were meant to live. Showing up wholly, as our full selves, in spaces that welcome, embrace, and encourage us is what will energize and give us life and allow us to contribute most positively to the people and the world around us.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are curiosity and peace. We as people, tend to make a lot of assumptions about other people and circumstances and jump to conclusions without fully seeking understanding. Approaching life with curiosity - desiring to learn about who people are, how they got to be the person that they are, how they came to hold their values, their beliefs, and the things that give their lives meaning is so important. Peace is also a paramount value for me. It means not simply the absence of conflict, but unity and a wholeness. True peace is completeness; it's living our lives wholly who we are and embracing the world and the people around us as actual souls - a unified combination of mind, body, and spirit.
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