We recently connected with Cass Naumann and have shared our conversation below.

Cass, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

I have a few mentors that impacted me the most 1. George Reiff- he was my music producer, mentor, best friend, qigong master- he taught me the most important lessons about sound and light, music, vibration, what moves you… (he would choose tracks that ended up on quite well know records- by which one gave me goosebumps)- lessons on love, loss, non-attachment, life and death, and it was the greatest lesson and blessing of my life (short of motherhood) to walk him home 6 years ago.
I was studying in Japan early on in his treatment and we wrote emails every day- this was one of those and wisdom I hold dear:
“And a last thing. Non attachment. Yes, it’s a very tricky thing. If the mind can release attachment, the personal vibration will rise of course. But we all cling to what we know and what we feel makes us safe. In doing so often we can keep needed change from occurring. So much pain in the world comes from our inability to accept change. To embrace it is to feel almost as if you’re jumping from a high cliff, out into the unknown.” I still picture him in suspended verse in the stars…

2, Dr. Will Morris- he was the dean and president of AOMA when I was a student there- he was my pulse guru, Shang Hun Lun herbal mentor, and gave me transmission as Reiki master/teacher- also he literally saved my life recovering from George’s death. A bizarre story that was my intitiation into the Tibetan bardo realms.
I think what sums it up is the chapters of my Doctoral treatise on Qigong and the effects of vibrational healing of which he and Roger Jahnke, another beautiful man and teacher I had the honor to learn from, oversaw.
The most signifiant to me-the concept of “ling”- grace, soul, spirit, virtuous activity. Which is the name of my upcoming project- Ling botanicals.

3, Josh Paynter/Jack Shaefer- of Parting Clouds Daoist Education- post graduation deep in spiritual seeking for union with the Divine- my destiny pointed me to this temple, which is now my home. Daoism is my life path. These are my perpetual teachers. This community my family. Last year I formally entered the Daoist gate as an ordained priest.
As a personal example of the impact they have on me- I am going through another deeper season of letting go of constructs around me in order to deepen further in life as practice.
These were Josh’s words to me:
“…these moments are the very threshold of coming to the dawning awareness of what and how we will practice. I mean, that thing we all wonder “when will I feel like these practices will be integral to me?” We learn, accumulate, pile it all up…all in the midst of our lives, which have extraordinary demands. Eventually it becomes too much. The structure collapses. We dig through the rubble and find a few gleaming objects that have survived. These, these survivors, the ones firm enough to withstand the collapse, those are the kernels of our own developing practices. These are the ones that intimately speak to our individual views and needs. Let it fall down Cass. You will be left in a pile of rubble. But that is where the treasures will present themselves!”

Cass, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

“I am committed to the depths of my spiritual cultivation and by the grace of the cosmos in concert with my medicine practice, here to reflect your light back to you.”

MMMMMMM….
Mama of 2 boys,
Mystic- ordained 23rd generation Daoist Priest in the Quanzhen Longmen tradition- name “Jin Zong Xing” 金宗興
Medicine Woman- Doctor of Integral Chinese Medicine, Acupuncturist, Herbalist, Medical Qigong and Reiki master/teacher, trauma informed integration specialist, medicine pipe carrier in Arapaho lineage, death doula, ceremonialist and ritual guide
Movement- Qigong, yoga, breath, meditation teacher
Music and Mantra- medicine song singer, recording artist- piano and voice, holographic vibrational sound healer
Maker of botanicals- working with trees, flowers, plants, and elemental spirits as medicine and communion with the divine
DoctorCass.com/shop 

Bringing ritual and ceremony back into everyday life: to remind us of our place in the cosmic cycle of life.
We have these rituals to remember who we are and our connection to each other, nature, and the cosmos.

I am currently most interested in the exploration of consciousness, in dissolving the illusion of separation, in finding solutions by bringing more connection to each breath and daily practice with purpose, with value, with elegance.
To grace your space.
Whether that space is your body, your heart, your mind, your spirit, your soul, your home, your relationship with yourself, other, or the divine/Dao.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Authenticity. My life IS my practice. My reputation has been built on word of mouth referrals. How I show up, consistently for individuals and community. Whether that is walking someone home, the death portal, the birth portal, a hospital visit, a meal, a ceremony, a phone call, a handwritten note, a care package…follow up care, integration.
Also- cultivating presence with elegance and grace. True listening and careful reflection only when invited, welcome, and helpful.
My home is a temple hidden in plain site. The way I live my life is a path of devotion. There is no separation and I think over time that becomes evident. It is trusted. It is true. It is a part of the medicine.

I live in my hometown (Spicewood- Austin, Texas.) I went to the University of Texas and majored in music. I also attended AOMA- for my masters and doctorate degrees and now teach there. I have invested all of my resources into life and the communities here over time.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience is a huge part of wellness isn’t it? A decade ago I was literally on an Army poster for resilience- pinning a medal on my then husband while holding our infant son. The irony of that poster was that when it came out and was plastered all over the bases- we were in the middle of a divorce. He deployed to Iraq for a year for the first time in 2009 when our son was 2 weeks old and I was still recovering from a C section… I taught couples yoga to the soldiers and their wives on redeployment, visited Walter Reed hospital learning about PTSD, did a few home visits for soldiers and wives torn apart by domestic violence and the difficulties of reintegration, I worked for the Red Cross sending messages downrange to Delta Force, and years later was part of a pilot program during doctoral rotations at the VA getting acupuncture into the program, but nothing really prepared me for the ravages of war and the aftermath that happened to my family.
That period of my life changed me and matured me in ways I don’t wish for anyone. There were times I thought it would break me. The devastation, the isolation, the loss of so much…I was severely anemia, needing transfusions, which is what led me first to Qigong and then acupuncture and herbal medicine. This medicine saved my life. It restored my soul.

Contact Info:

• Website: DoctorCass.com
• Instagram: doctor.cass
• Facebook: Doctor Cass Naumann
• Linkedin: Cass Naumann, DAOM, LAc.
• Youtube: OriginalSpiritHealingArts
• Yelp: Original Spirit Healing Arts