My Story

My story began as a heartfelt attempt to understand myself in environments that often didn’t mirror my thoughts, feelings, or experiences. As time went on, this journey took on a more deliberate form. I became attuned to the patterns around me, to the ways in which people derive meaning from their lives, and to the significant role that identity, culture, and environment play in our movements through the world. What I share with you here is the essence of that understanding and how it has shaped my work today.

If you find yourself reading this, it’s likely you are also on a journey of questioning, refining, or reimagining how you wish to navigate your life and work. Intentional Simplicity is a safe space to explore these thoughts more deeply.

My story as the founder of Intentional Simplicity LLC. Photo of Sarafina centered within a soft, rounded frame, looking directly at the viewer with a calm and grounded presence that reflects her work in creative psychology and intentional healing.
Sarafina, Founder of Intentional Simplicity LLC, a creative psychology and wellness practice

Story as Meaning-Making Over Time

There was a point on my journey where I began to notice a disconnect between how I was moving through the world and the spaces I was in.The feeling was subtle. More of a quiet awareness that my way of thinking, feeling, and understanding did not always have a place to land. At first, I tried to adjust. I translated myself into what already existed. Over time, that began to feel limiting. The questions I was asking extended beyond the frameworks I had access to.

How Meaning Evolves Over Time


That realization shifted how I paid attention.I became more intentional about noticing patterns. How people make meaning of their experiences. How identity forms over time. How culture and environment shape the way we think, feel, and move.

My studies in Fine Arts and Psychology gave me language for part of that process. Training in Art Therapy, Counseling, Clinical Psychology, and Transformative Social Change expanded the scope.

Alongside academic study, I was drawn to spiritual frameworks such as tarot and astrology. Symbolic and intuitive systems offered another way of engaging meaning that felt equally significant. Meaning felt dynamic. Always forming. Always evolving.

Who I Am in Relation to the World

As a Ghanaian American, neurodiverse, queer woman, my experience within these spaces carried additional layers. There were moments where my way of thinking did not align with expectation. Moments where the limits of existing systems became more visible.

I responded by paying closer attention. Identity, culture, and environment began to take on a more central role in how I understood human experience. Each one shaping how people relate to themselves and to others.

line art by Sarafina created with black ink and pen.
Heart Work – Line Art by Sarafina

Story Is Identity in Motion

My path has never followed a single direction. Art, spatial and graphic design, psychological inquiry, research, and spirituality have always existed together in my work. Each one informing the other.

That way of thinking allows me to see relationships across areas often treated as separate. Structure and creativity, analysis and intuition, individual and collective experience.Over time, I stopped narrowing that range.I began to trust it.

Digital line art by Sarafina created with procreate

How I Interpret What I’ve Lived, and How It Shapes Who I Am Becoming

A shift emerged in how I approached my work. The focus moved away from fixing people and toward understanding them. Understanding how they think, how they make meaning, how their environments shape them, and how those elements interact.

My academic training equipped me with essential tools, while my lived experience guided their application. Ongoing study in mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and psychedelic integration has profoundly enriched my understanding of healing across cognitive, somatic, creative, and spiritual dimensions. I recognize that a single method is never sufficient to encompass the complexity of healing.A way of working emerged instead. One that allows complexity to be held without reduction.

How My Story Is Experienced

When people sit with me, there’s a comforting presence that begins to envelop us. Thoughts that once felt scattered slowly start to find their rhythm. Patterns emerge with greater clarity. Often, there comes a gentle moment where everything clicks into place, and what once felt unclear transforms into understanding, offering a sense of completeness and peace.

The work centers on understanding. Understanding how someone thinks, how they make meaning, how their environment shapes them, and where misalignment may be present. From there, clarity develops. Decisions begin to feel more aligned. Movement becomes more intentional.

Rather than offering immediate answers, I support people in seeing themselves more clearly. As that understanding deepens, direction begins to emerge in a way that feels grounded and sustainable.

Where I Am Now In the Story Now

Intentional Simplicity blossomed from this unique perspective. The work is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations find clarity, empowering them to make decisions that resonate with their true values and desires for how they wish to live and lead.

The individuals who arrive here often find themselves on a journey of deeper inquiry, navigating transitions and striving to create something truly meaningful. They are in a thoughtful space, questioning the frameworks they have inherited. I want you to know that I, too, am in this process with you. The work is a shared evolution, constantly adapting and growing alongside each of us.