When we rely on mindset work to heal our core wounds, it can actually perpetuate them. The sense of “I’m not good enough”, and “I don’t trust myself” or “I’m doing this wrong” starts to take over because our subconscious mind doesn’t feel what we’re saying to be true. We therefore end up bypassing the root cause of how we feel. So, if you have core wounds, mindset work doesn’t really have any lasting effect; it just ends up being another form of seeking relief from feelings of insecurity and dissatisfaction.

When your inner and outer environment includes safety, patience, acceptance, curiosity, nurturing, resourcing, compassion, support, and presence, the innate intelligence that resides within you becomes empowered, and your life starts to flow naturally and effortlessly. And then each time you tap into this empowered place inside you, your intuition gets stronger and clearer. Action becomes inspired, and arrives in a very precise and perfect order.

Change can’t take place without these cycles: the pain, adversity, joy, growth and seeming falling apart. The chaos, confusion, despair – the intensity of it all.  Something eventually gives – like a breaking open of something you fear is going to be hard, but is in fact soft.  And, no matter how many times you forget; no matter how many times you unconsciously build another wall, block out the light, the softness never changes – she waits.  She shows you a new way of relating to life, a new way of relating to challenges, and most importantly, a new way of relating to yourself. 

When you meet your emotions somatically – inside your body – and place a hand where the energy of those emotions is most felt; when you welcome them, reassure them that they are safe here, accept them for how they feel now, (without any dualistic right or wrong, good or bad judgement)—this is healing at the innermost level. And it is only at this deeper place that you will directly experience your true nature of love.

I also learned very quickly to treat my recovery holistically – if you are not nourishing your nervous system and replenishing your neurotransmitters in a natural way, you will be less likely to succeed. And a healthy and balanced nervous system enables you stop returning to old patterns, and start growing in ways you truly deserve.

If there is any part of you that is discordant with life—that is pushing against life, avoiding, or denying life—then you will never be able to truly experience the feeling of wholeness. You will always feel as though something needs to be found, or fixed, or searched for.

We all have within our reach an opportunity to really show up in our lives; to embrace the moment without feeling afraid and wishing instead for the moment to pass. We all have the power to radically transform our lives by sitting with fear instead of running from it.

Nearly eight years ago, I attended weekly coaching sessions at an addiction recovery centre, and my therapist and I prepared an action plan for my recovery together. We spoke about my goals, not just for recovery from substance abuse, but for recovering my overall health and well-being.

…giving yourself permission to just be Days when my soul yearns to be closerto the heart of the things I

Once you anchor yourself into the centre, all it takes is a tiny shift in the direction of the light for your life to start becoming easier, softer, and more aligned. My dark season came, and I clung to it and identified with it for a little longer than I would have chosen to. But I can now see that I needed it to break something open and take me to a higher place.

My life took me on a profound and, at times, traumatic journey, but the study of spirituality taught me a very valuable lesson: if you only think you’re going to feel better in the future, you are sending a strong signal to the Universe that you’re not feeling good now. This alerts the survival instinct to take you away from the present moment, which starts another loop of seeking something else.

I believe lessons return for a reason, and those reasons become clear once you take the first step towards changing something. I have witnessed many, many incredible shifts in my life when I have intentionally taken just one small step towards a new ray of light. But I have also come to see that in grasping the new light, we must also forgive ourselves for not seeing the old pattern we have fallen into. In grasping the new light, we must reach with one hand in the air and the other hand on our hearts – we must stop punishing ourselves for taking a wrong turn.

When you see the blessings that show up when you are living in the present moment – stop, pause, and honor these moments. The mind will start softening back into its true nature. The things that once felt heavy will start to lose their power over you as the mind starts serving you, and not the thought system.