The Only Way Through is In: My Journey of Healing and Transformation
The only way through is in…a familiar route I’ve found myself needing to take from time to time as I journey down my own path of healing, transforming, growing.
For me, healing is synonymous with constant transformation. Often, I embrace growth eagerly, investing energy and attention into the modalities that propel me further, deeper, and calmer. Yet, there are times when healing catches me by surprise, arriving uninvited and initially unclear in purpose. These unexpected moments often prove to be the most crucial, as if my soul is urging me to address the issues I’ve been avoiding. When I finally open my eyes to the reflection and love needed, and when I open my heart to vulnerability and acceptance, that’s when the most profound shifts, breakthroughs, and illumination occur. I am forever changed.
The journey to this point is far from easy. It often involves shedding light on the darkness and unveiling parts of ourselves that we’ve hidden away, hoping that “out of sight means out of mind.” But the body doesn’t work that way. While the mind can distract and suppress, the body remembers and stores everything. When trauma and pain remain unprocessed, the body continues to send energy to those places in an attempt to heal and nurture them.
Every second of every day, without our conscious awareness, our body is directing energy into the places deep within that still need the healing. This process can deplete our energy bank by the end of the day without us even realizing the cause. Repressed emotions not only drain our Qi but also ripple into our daily lives, influencing our everyday decisions that ultimately shape our future-state selves.
So how does one start to reflect light inward, embrace the shadows and begin the internal transformation to a life of acceptance, alignment and love?
For me, it begins with presence in the body, usually through movement—yoga, walking, running, dance, etc. By moving the body and focusing on the breath, we start to build the mind-body-soul connection, seeing ourselves as one entity, not a soul within a body. We begin to love and appreciate our bodies, becoming more conscious of what we put into them, be it poison or nutrients. We become aware of how we speak to our bodies, listening actively, slowing down when rest is needed, and moving when flow is required.
From there, I move into achieving peace of mind—finding comfort in stillness, reflecting inward, accepting and loving both light and dark aspects. This can be done through meditation or meditative activities, which quiet the mind and detach ourselves from the ego. Instead of identifying as our thoughts, we become aware of the distinction and therefore no longer let ourselves be controlled by thoughts aka the ego. We begin to build a healthy relationship with the mind, allowing it to step down from the helm and letting the heart take over as the fearless captain.
Embracing the connection between the body and mind makes us more open to the healing process. Fear is replaced with love. Instead of running from our inner shadows, we approach them with love, forgiveness, and empathy. We begin to accept our human elements, which organically allows us to see the same in others. Many healing modalities exist—somatic breathwork, sound healing, EFT, plant medicine, kundalini activation, etc. Finding one or several that resonate with us is part of the process, but we must be open to feeling. There is a saying, “you have to feel to heal,” and it couldn’t be truer. The only way forward is in. The only way to ascend is to first descend into the depths of ourselves that we’ve kept in the dark.
This has been my journey—not always in the same order, but always incorporating three elements: movement of the body, peace of the mind, and internal healing.
Growth is not easy, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that out of darkness comes the greatest light. It’s by shedding light and love onto the darkness that we experience our most significant transformations.
Here’s to the journey.