The Power of Inner Transformation
A journey from survival to self-connection
We all experience breakthrough moments in life.
We can’t plan for them — they arrive when we’re truly ready. All we can do is surrender to the moment and prepare ourselves as best we can. When we actively take steps toward growth, that breakthrough may come as a gentle shift. But if we resist, it can arrive like a thunderbolt — sudden, unexpected, and disruptive.
When I Knew I Needed Help
One of my biggest turning points came when I finally admitted to myself that I needed real change.
I was tired of doing the inner work alone, trying to figure everything out on my own. I finally acknowledged that I needed help. And with that admission, something inside me shifted — my system was finally ready for deep transformation. The old ways, the familiar patterns, no longer worked. It became increasingly clear: surface-level tools weren’t enough. I needed something deeper. Something radical.
And as it always does, once I made that inner commitment, the Universe responded.
The right people began showing up. One of them was someone who soon became my mentor. I discovered her on Facebook, and something about her resonated instantly. Part of me still doubted whether this was “the thing” I truly needed, but my inner voice — my intuition — quietly encouraged me. So I followed it. I acted on that spark of enthusiasm. It felt right.
What followed was a 9-month journey of intense inner work and inner transformation, and countless “aha” moments.
The Journey Wasn’t Easy — But It Was Worth It
It was worth every second, every tear, every frustration.
It was a winding path of ecstasy and agony.
There were moments when I thought I was a lost cause — too far gone to ever feel the light again. The process felt endless, and at times I doubted I’d ever reach the other side.
But now, I understand this is simply part of the path.
Healing isn’t linear. Growth takes time. And once you step onto this path, you can’t unknow what you’ve discovered. As someone once said: Once you raise your consciousness, you cannot go back.
The Hardest Part: Sitting With My Feelings
What was the hardest part?
Sitting with my feelings of unworthiness, shame, and disconnection.
Instead of running from them or covering them up with distractions, I had to face them — raw, unfiltered, and without judgment. These were parts of myself I’d spent years rejecting. I shaped my life around avoiding anything that might trigger them. When they did appear, I’d dissociate, ignore, or numb out. I thought that was normal. I believed everyone lived with this kind of inner heaviness. I didn’t know life could feel different.
My mentor taught me something I’ll never forget:
The key is to give love to everything.
The IFS approach helped me discover my Self — the calm center beneath all my pain.
At our core, we are the Self: clarity, creativity, connectedness, courage, and compassion. But these qualities are often buried beneath parts of us that were wounded long ago. These protective parts — shame, fear, anger, anxiety, people-pleasing, numbing, overthinking — are not bad. They arose for a reason. They served a purpose.
When we start to see ourselves as separate from these parts, something powerful happens. That Self energy begins to emerge.
We begin to feel grounded. Present. Capable of love — not just toward others, but toward ourselves.
These parts don’t need to be “fixed.” They need to be witnessed. Loved. Understood.
Once they are seen and acknowledged, they soften. They release the roles they’ve been stuck in, and they transform. Underneath every protector part is a gift — a piece of your original wholeness waiting to be reclaimed.
This journey awakened my ability to love — not just others, but myself.
At one point, I believed self-compassion was something I had to practice, because I didn’t think it existed naturally in me. But I’ve come to realize: it’s always been there. We all have it. We just need to access it. How?
By cultivating curiosity. Even if you don’t feel ready or “spiritual” or intuitive — just start by being open. That’s all it takes. The rest will follow.
The Journey Continues — And So Can Yours
Is this journey over? Not at all.
It’s a new way of living — of relating to yourself and the world around you.
When you start from love, it becomes easier to see love in others. You begin to understand that most people are acting from their own hurt — just like you were. And in that understanding, there’s compassion.
So my invitation to you is this:
If there’s even the slightest spark of curiosity, follow it. Open your heart. Begin the journey inward.
That’s where true freedom begins.
If this story speaks to you, I invite you to share it — or reach out. You are not alone in this.
If you resonated with this, you may also enjoy Embracing Vulnerability & Releasing Shame.