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About three years ago, I was a member of a coaching group with Jay Shetty, and we were covering a forgiveness month. One of the things he did with us was a mindfulness exercise on self-forgiveness.  I remember closing my eyes and saying, “I forgive myself.” The moment I spoke these words out loud, I started crying and couldn’t participate anymore. Therefore, I had to finish the session on replay.  This experience was a profound moment of realizing how much guilt and self-judgment we hold and how little forgiveness we allow ourselves to receive.  Have you ever thought about your inner voice and what it says when you make a mistake?  Do you beat yourself down for every mistake you make but barely recognize the thing you do well?  In my last article, I talked about forgiveness and how crucial it is to practice it regularly. I gave you a few ideas on how you can implement forgiveness into your daily routine and begin letting go of guilt and judgment.  You know I am big on creating your self-care toolkit. Your toolkit is a collection of tools and techniques you use to regulate your emotional state, improve your mind management and support your healing process. Therefore, I decided to create a simple tool for you to practice self-forgiveness and bring more acceptance, understanding, and compassion into your life.  I recorded short, 10-minute guided forgiveness meditation you can add to your self-care toolkit to soothe yourself when in a judgment attack or to heal deep-rooted guilt that you have not yet addressed.  I hope this simple meditation will empower your healing and serve you well. 

During my yoga studies in India, I learned techniques for better mind management to regulate my emotional state with more calm and consideration. Today, I want to share a mindfulness exercise to help you do the same.  Although I don’t want to go too philosophical on you here, I believe our mind often runs on old “software” - a program full of limiting beliefs or habits we acquired. Therefore if we identify with what we think, it becomes quite difficult to heal ourselves, especially when thoughts we think are negative or disempowering.  I recorded a 10-minute simple mindfulness exercise focused on two parts of your mind. First is understanding that you aren’t your thoughts. The second is developing a better relationship with your mind.  I designed this simple mindfulness exercise to add to your self-care toolbox and use as a technique for better mind management. Remember that everything in your life derives from the way you think. Therefore, a healthy mind is a foundation for deep inner healing and transformative growth.

If you want to change your life, whether to heal your past or transform your current situation, do it by training yourself to manage your thoughts effectively.   Since your thoughts create your feelings and your feelings drive your actions, your life is a result of what you think all day long. Therefore, to make sustainable changes and live life on your terms,  you must go back and address the source - your MIND.  To take the overwhelm out of the picture by trying everything while seeing minimal results, you can commit to one daily practice: manage your thoughts through mind awareness while consciously and deliberately choosing what you want to think. Although this may sound overly simplistic, I found that going back to the basics and addressing the root of what creates our reality is a powerful practice where you learn how to manage your thoughts and stop letting your mind run wild.  [04:04] How to use a simple method of mind awareness while choosing what we want to think.  [09:06] Going back to the basics about mind management and how a simple adjustment in your awareness creates significant changes in your outer and inner world.  [11:58] The importance of staying away from judgment while accepting and befriending your mind.  [13:25] How to approach your thoughts with curiosity while paying attention to your emotional state.  [14:10] Why there isn’t a “secret” to happiness and how the only “secret" lies in the power of your mind and how well you manage your thoughts.  [15:52] The importance of disidentifying with your mind while understanding that you aren’t your thoughts.  [17:40] How to live your life by choice, not by default, and overcome the fear of taking risks and living fully. 

We don’t heal through judgment while inflicting more guilt on ourselves for the choices we make. We do it by understanding what happened to us and taking responsibility for our healing by consciously changing our self-sabotaging habits. For most of us, the results of our survival mechanism won’t make lots of sense to our adult logical selves. Self-betrayal or self-sabotage is, in fact, the protective mechanism our brain developed to ensure our survival. Pondering the question, “what happened to me” instead of “what’s wrong with me” leads to more understanding and self-compassion. This is especially useful when you end up triggered, act in unhealthy ways, or do something your logical self doesn’t approve of. You can use your conscious awareness to change your life and make different choices while caring for yourself better. The crucial part of your healing process lies in learning how to heal with love. In today’s episode, we’ll cover: [02:08] How to overcome and deal with the emotional charge and triggers we feel when reflecting and acknowledging our past. [04:07] How to understand our past and what happened to us through the eyes of understanding and self-compassion. [07:10] How to use our conscious awareness to question how we act today while maintaining the level of understanding and empathy, and how this leads to faster growth. [11:50] The importance of seeking appropriate help by defining what you want to address and heal. How getting a therapist to address my sexual trauma supported my recovery and gave me tools and techniques to lean on. [16:02] A simple tool I use to support my growth and develop a more loving relationship with myself.

Is there such a thing as knowing too much? Can we miss out on profound moments of healing and growth because we try to crack the complex code of our mental and emotional recovery while overlooking the simplicity of this process? In today’s episode, I will take you back to the basics of what it means to transform your life and heal your past one thought at a time. Although disciplining your mind may not be easy at first, cultivating this practice can lead to less anxiety, a healthier and more trusting perception of the world, and evoke more love and kindness while finding lessons even in the most difficult experiences. Since our thoughts create our emotional state, learning to become aware of what we think, and let unproductive and negative thoughts pass without judgment is the single most important practice of your healing and growth. >>[01:43] Why knowing “too much” can stop us from growth and create barriers in our healing process >>[06:44] Disciplining your mind while becoming aware of what predominating thoughts you think regularly. >>[09:20] How our thoughts either inspire more healing or keep us stuck in a loop and how to overcome this >>[11:30] A simple exercise to observe your thinking and perception and its impact on your growth >>[16:10] Committing to a conscious practice of choosing empowering thoughts

How do you make yourself feel good when facing challenging times, and do you even allow yourself to feel good in the first place? Today’s podcast episode was inspired by my past 2 weeks when I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster while struggling to find any inner balance or peace. I realized how my spiritual practice allowed me to get through these weeks with more calm and ease and reminded me how important it is to have habits, tools, and techniques in place when facing those difficult days. In fact, I realized how many of us don’t even allow ourselves to feel better because we either think we don’t have time, we don’t deserve it, or we were in our survival mode for so long, we don’t even know what feeling good looks like, let alone feels like. Most of your life depends on how you feel. Since your actions are driven by your emotions, how can you cultivate a mindset of self-care and self-nurturing when challenges arise? In today’s episode, I will share the importance of allowing ourselves to feel good ( I know, crazy, but “not allowing yourself to feel good is a thing many of us live with). I will also go over the details of my spiritual practice and what I regularly practice to maintain more inner peace and calmness in my life. >>[00:45] how my emotional state inspired me to record this podcast episode when I realized (again) that cultivating good feelings makes a huge difference when it comes to my decisions, actions, and overall results. >>[01:50] The role of our mindset when it comes to maintaining a positive emotional state, why many of us struggle to allow ourselves to feel good and how to change that. >>[07:47] Defining your self-love language, using love in action, and how to define and apply your self-love language into your life. >>[12:30] The power of spiritual practice - how I am using my spiritual practice to heal and care for myself. Examples of what you can incorporate into your spiritual practice to learn habits, tools, and techniques to feel good.

A couple of weeks ago, I published my first self-love meditation to heal your inner child. Since many of you enjoyed it, I decided to create a little bit longer meditation for self-soothing and bringing more joy and inner peace into your life. This is a great meditation if you need a little more care and a little more nurturing.  “It’s not through healing that you will love yourself. It’s through loving yourself that you will heal.” Finding comfort in meditation  Although there are many different meditation styles and mindfulness exercises, I picked one that feels comforting and soothing. Some days, we may see the light shining a little brighter, while other days, it’s challenging to get out of bed.  The beauty of meditation is that you can “come as you are” without judgment or expectations and express where you are, whether mentally and emotionally, most purely and authentically.  Soothing meditation for more Joy and Inner Peace The goal of today’s meditation is to soothe yourself with love and compassion and give yourself a little extra care. Whether it'll be through breathing or a simple visualization, keep feelings of love and care in your awareness throughout the entire meditation session.  This meditation is intended to get you centered, grounded, and peaceful, so you can spend this time nurturing your spirit and soul.  At the beginning of meditation, I will ask you to set an intention. I invite you to recognize that by sitting down and caring for your mind and soul, you practice and live in a state of self-love. Especially for those of you who are here to heal and learn how to love yourself, this is an excellent way to practice it. By keeping this intention in your mind, you will make this meditation even more powerful.  The beauty of meditation is its repetition of simple steps or techniques that eventually change your mindset, help you self-regulate, and bring calm into your life. By repeatedly focusing on loving and caring for yourself, you will strengthen these mental muscles and, eventually, transform them into a new way of life. 

You come into this world as a super cute, adorable, perfect, playful, lovable, and carefree baby. Your soul is pure and your heart wide open. But then… Life happens. Suddenly you find yourself in your adulthood, considering whether you should get a therapist, move to California, go to one of the anonymous meetings or lie to yourself and pretend that everything is fine. Since you are here, I assume you want to change your life and how you feel. If that is the case, I encourage you, with all my heart, to start working and nurturing a relationship with your inner child. Inner child’s work often brings up the feelings that heal us the most; feelings of love, compassion, and empathy. It also allows us to reconnect with disowned parts of ourselves, process stored emotions from the past, exercise self-compassion, and forgive ourselves for any self-betrayal or self-harm we caused to ourselves. Nurturing a relationship with your inner child is a powerful practice of healing and loving yourself. Therefore, if you are on your healing journey or ready to start, I encourage you to include the inner child’s work in your practice. Last week, I shared a 10-minute guided self-love meditation for healing your inner child. I invite you to try it out and give it a listen. In today’s episode, I will talk about three ways how I have been nurturing and healing a relationship with my inner child. >>[01:27] Why and how meditation changed my life and the way I heal. >>[01:58] Why is the inner child’s work an important part of the healing process, and how do you learn it and implement it into your life? 3 ways how to nurture a relationship with your inner child. >>[06:16] Compassion as the first way to nurture a relationship with your inner child. Challenges I faced when I started with the inner child’s work and how I handled them. A simple visualization tool for more compassion. >>[11:09] Asking for forgiveness from your inner child and recognizing any self-betrayal or self-sabotage. >>[15:01] Hugging your inner child as the third way to nurture a relationship with her, and the loving words I tell my inner child when I visualize hugging her.

I am thrilled to share the 10-minute meditation on self-love and connecting with your inner child.  Healing Through Meditation  During the years of my healing, I tried many tools and techniques to learn how to heal my past while developing a more loving relationship with myself. I am honored to be able to share these tools with you and help you on your healing journey.  I’ve tried many ways to heal my soul through yoga, meditation, traditional talk therapy, plant medicine, spiritual retreats, and personal development programs. My healing practice allowed me to face my trauma, become aware of my triggers and self-sabotaging behaviors, and learn the art of self-love in my everyday life.  However, one of the most effective tools I have practiced so far is meditation. Today, I want to lead you through simple meditation practice to deepen the relationship with your inner child while embracing self-compassion and self-love.  Self-Love meditation to Heal Your Inner Child  The goal of the meditation is to bring you back in touch with your inner child and use self-love and self-compassion to approach this sacred relationship.  If you don’t meditate or aren’t familiar with inner child work, don’t worry. Find a comfortable place without distractions, grab your phone and your head set, and simply tune in. Meditation isn’t about perfection but the benefits you reap by embracing this practice.  Before you start the meditation, I encourage you to set intentions by focusing on your heart and the love you carry within. You will use it once interacting with your inner child during the meditation.  By setting this intention, you are priming your soul, mind, and body for loving and compassionate feelings - something your inner child needs the most.  You can do this meditation by sitting or lying down, totally your choice.  I believe you will find this meditation loving and, at the same time, empowering. Namaste, my beautiful soul.  Get my FREE Self-Coaching Worksheet. Click HERE. 

I am sure you tried many ways, read tons of books, and listened to podcasts and videos on how to love yourself, how to see your worth, and how, at the same time, to heal yourself. Or, perhaps, you stumbled here by accident (or by choice) and want to learn how to overcome the never-ending spiral of self-sabotage, people-pleasing, and self-punishment.  No matter where you are on your journey, one of the most loving and caring things you can do for yourself is to have the courage to look within.   I know, I know. You are thinking, “Well, Silvia, it all sounds great, but this is easier said than done.” And you are right.  However, we both can agree that it is possible. Therefore, with the right tools (which I provide you with), you can significantly transform your life and adopt a mindset that the “sky's the limit” (the sky doesn’t have a limit BTW).  When I talk about the power of healing, I want you to focus on the future the healed version of you will be able to build and create. Most of our life and the results we are getting are tied to how we think, who we believe we are, and what we know, in our heart, we can accomplish.  Unhealed versions of ourselves are often fearful, feel unworthy, or not good enough. It’s hard to build the life of your dreams with this mindset, don’t you think?  Not to worry, my beautiful soul. In today’s podcast episode, I will teach you a powerful tool to calm your anxiety and get into a state of love and compassion while becoming peaceful and centered.  >> [00:50] Why I took a 1-year break from podcasting, what I have been up to and how it transformed my healing and overall state of mind.  >> [04:30] 10-minute meditation to calm your anxiety, and embrace love and compassion while working with your inner child.  >> [14:50] How to start laying the foundation for your healing through self-awareness. The role of self-forgiveness in the process and why it is an important component of self-awareness.  >> [20:04] Building your self-care toolkit by learning tools and techniques to help you self-regulate, be mindful of your triggers, and calm down when you most need it.  >> [22:12] The concept of self-love, how to practice loving yourself, and why self-love is the deepest form of self-expression. 

Previously, I mentioned to you that I created a free self-coaching worksheet as a way to teach you how to develop this life-altering skill, and I am also providing you with nine questions to coach yourself. Click HERE to get the worksheet. In today's episode, I want to talk more on this topic since coaching has exponentially transformed my life, and I have seen many people who created significant changes by utilizing this skill. Learning how to coach yourself leads to inner exploration, self-awareness, and transformation. In today's episode, I will teach you how I coach myself. First, I will start with some prep steps. I will talk about how to incorporate self-coaching into your routine and make it a habit. I will share with you one simple trick that allows me to go deeper and become more intuned with things I am working on and why having an open mind is the key to successful self-coaching. Last but not least, I will share the most powerful part of self-coaching, and that's asking yourself mind-triggering questions. Self-coaching is a skill based on your resourcefulness and inner wisdom. It allows you to figure things out, grow more, heal better and trust yourself that no matter what is happening in your life, you are capable to handle it, achieve it or resolve it.

One of the most common patterns I observed during my growth and the growth of my friends and my clients is that once we start healing and growing, we are overly harsh on ourselves. We believe we shouldn't be feeling the way we feel, we shouldn't be acting in old ways, and we should be better than we are. As I always say, growth is an imperfect process, and occasional emotional relapse or stagnation is part of it. We work on ourselves because we want to be better and because we want to upgrade the quality of our lives to feel happier and more content with who we are. Therefore we have to learn to forgive ourselves for our mistakes, shortcomings, or toxic traits we are working on. The most important thing to understand is that you are working hard on yourself while uncovering traits and patterns that demand your courage to face them. Self-judgment may be one of those traits. For your growth and healing to be truly effective, you must include self-forgiveness as a part of your healing process. In today's episode, I will talk about the importance of forgiveness during your healing process. I will share with you three habits I regularly exercise when I find myself feeling guilty and shameful.

One of the most common struggles people share with me is the fear of healing or growing. At first, it may sound counterintuitive since we all want to be happy, positive, and peaceful since that's what growing and healing provide. However, if we bottled up too much for too long, looking at the truth of who we are or the truth of our situation terrifies us. Although the fear of healing and growth is natural, we can't let it stop us from the transformation we need to go through. In the end, it's the only way to significantly change your life. In today's episode, I will talk about the fear of growth and why not every pain we feel is the same. The pain of being stuck in life turns into suffering since we keep replaying it. But the discomfort of growth and healing turns into change, transformation, and more peace. I will provide you with three simple tools to manage your emotional state and your fears when it comes to growth. These simple practices will teach you how to exercise your emotional intelligence, stop reacting to things and people around you and find the courage to heal yourself.

Perfectionism is a desire not to be seen for who we are but to hide and pretend that we are someone we are not. Perfectionism is based on fear. Often, we strive for it since we don't want to fail or be seen who we are - with our failures, shortcomings, weaknesses AKA imperfections. The most common fear is the fear of failure. But there is also fear of rejection, unworthiness or not being good enough for others because of our flaws. Perfectionism doesn't let us take a risk because we fear failure, it numbs us because we push away negative (imperfect) emotions or make us control anything and everything to be, feel and look perfect. Perfectionism is a deep issue for me since I've seen how it significantly impacted my life and the lives of others. In today's episode, I will share with you six tips on how to recognize, address, and heal the illusionary, "perfect" part of you. 1. Self-talk (challenge your inner critic 2. Define your self-worth 3. Embrace the messiness 4. Consider the fact that you may be codependent 5. Adopt a growth mindset 6. Forgive yourself

For many of us, it's uncomfortable to admit that we are "playing around," not doing the work we know we have to do while being stuck at the same place in life. Once we admit that we are the ones standing in our way, what's left? There isn't anyone to blame or point fingers at, and we are challenged to take responsibility. So if you feel that you are struggling right now, that the same situations keep repeating, the same people keep showing up, the same drama keeps happening, and the same chaos is taking place in your life, it's time to ask yourself, "Am I walking my talk or am I talking my talk?" In today's episode, I will share with you a 4-step process I personally use when I notice that I am not getting the results I want in my life to determine my part in it. Step #1 is to pick one thing that's not going well in your life and give it your undivided attention. Step #2 is, to be honest with yourself about where you are and what you have done so far to change this situation. Step #3 is to become aware of your thoughts, emotions, and actions while facing the problem you are dealing with and observe them on a regular, daily basis. Step #4 is to come up with a new course of action you will take the next time you are dealing with it. Remember that the only person who can change your life is you, and that's your superpower. 

When we choose to lie to ourselves and stay in denial, it's because we don't want to see the truth about ourselves or others. These lies give us instant gratification, take away responsibility, allow blame while at the same time, we are betraying ourselves. We do that because the truth seems to be too much to handle. But without being 100% honest with yourself, you can't grow. Growth is confronting, uncomfortable, self-responsibility-driven, and at times intimidating. But growth is also liberating, empowering, and exciting. We all get stuck in denial sometimes and choose to ignore the truth. The question is, "what are we so afraid to face?" If you are investing your time into listening to this episode or educating yourself in terms of personal development and emotional healing, I want you to consider something, "Are you walking your talk or talking your talk because you fear the truth?" In today's episode, I will share with you three reasons why we lie to ourselves. I will also talk about two simple things you can start doing today to practice self-honesty and live your life in the present moment instead of denying the reality.  

There is so much wisdom, teaching, and opportunities in pain or hardships we are going through. But since we are such emotional beings often driven by what we feel, we overlook the lesson and look for the nearest exit or instant gratification instead. Then we wonder why some of the lessons keep repeating themselves over and over. In todays' episode, I will share with you a 4-step process on how to find the opportunity in hardships, recognize them and use them to support your growth and emotional healing. Step #1 is to "pause" before you react to your old ways and patterns. Step #2 is to observe your triggers, feelings, and actions and evaluate them before acting on them. Step #3 is to recognize the opportunity for growth, and what is this situation trying to tell you? Step #4 is to commit to working on yourself from the inside out and quit fixing your life on the surfaced level.

Hello, my beautiful soul. When we blame, we give our power to someone or something else, and our emotional and mental state depends on external circumstances. But when we choose to take responsibility for our life, it's like saying, "I am in charge, and I am taking my power back." There are two types of self-responsibility. One is what I call "artificial responsibility and then there is what I call "true responsibility." I will explain the difference between both.  Last but not least, I will share the 4-step process on how to put this powerful skill into practice. Step #1 is to become aware of your emotions and be honest about how you truly feel. Step #2 is to take ownership of your thoughts, emotions, and actions. Step #3 is to set intentions and consciously decide that you will look for the lesson and growth in any given situation, no matter how hard or challenging it is. Step #4 is to ask, "What do I tolerate?" and then directing your focus on your boundaries, standards, level of your worth, as well as self-love instead of blaming others for how they treat you.

People who experience traumas, fight the feeling of abandonment, struggle to see their worth or their value will often settle for less without recognizing it. You may find yourself in toxic relationships, constantly wrapped up in the drama, tolerating things you don't feel comfortable with, or taking abuse while never questioning it since it feels like home. But when someone who has healed or have grown up in a loving home point it out for you, you begin to realize that not everything you are allowing is actually okay. In today's podcast episode, I'll share with you how to start recognizing the things you tolerate, stop making excuses for people's behavior, and set healthy boundaries with yourself and others. There are three steps you can start taking today to learn how to stand up for yourself "AKA" honor your boundaries. Step #1 The word "I" isn't selfish. Although I believe that we all are on this Earth to serve someone or something, we can do it the best while exercising our boundaries without fear. Saying "I don't feel comfortable with it' or "I don't feel okay with it" is a good enough reason not to do or tolerate what's uncomfortable. Step #2 You want to use some of your most powerful internal resources, and that's taking responsibility for your life. Being responsible gives you the power and heals you at the same time. Step #3 Set your boundaries by asking yourself two important questions: "How comfortable am I with it?" and "Is this what I want?" Once you know the answer to these questions, it's your responsibility to communicate it to others and hold them responsible if they cross them. Standing up for yourself means creating boundaries with people and hold them accountable to them.

In the previous episode, I talked about what emotional armor is and the reasons many of us carry this guard to protect ourselves from hurt, pain, or disappointment. But as we already learned, emotional armor is a product of our fear - fear to get hurt or fear to feel pain. We develop this coping mechanism since we haven't healed certain parts of ourselves, haven't overcome our traumas, or haven't felt through emotions we need to heal. Since the last week, we talked about the definition and reasons for our emotional guard. In today's episode, I will teach you five steps on how to let this emotional armor go, put it down, and protect yourself by developing emotional and mental resilience rather than guarding yourself. Step #1 is to acknowledge you are guarded. I know this sounds simplistic to many of us but sometimes admitting that we have this guard that doesn't allow us to receive and enjoy everything we want is the most confronting part of the transformation. Step #2 is to reflect on how was this armor protecting you. Realizing that your guard is nothing but the illusion of safety creates profound insights and understanding that armoring up won't protect you in the first place. Step #3 is to develop a new coping mechanism by allowing yourself to feel your emotions. Step #4 is to confront your fear of pain or hurt. Get into a habit of asking yourself, "What is the worst that can happen if I open up?" Step #5 is to confront your pain and understand that unless you decide to heal and feel the pain that has been stored inside of you for months or even years, you won't allow yourself to feel good emotions either. Think of the armor as a door. Once you close it, once you put it up, nothing can go out in terms of healing, but nothing can go in in terms of love, joy, and happiness.