You were raised to be responsible, self-reliant and calm in a crisis. You learned early that love was conditional, that the less you needed, the better. Self-denial became a competitive sport. Success was measured in pain thresholds, overcome. Endurance, not joy, was paramount. You lived in quiet desperation.

Something showed you this wasn’t sustainable. A health crisis. A betrayal. A layoff. Your self-concept became shaky. You felt untethered, unreal. Alone. The old coping skills of over-functioning, hyper vigilance and self-sacrifice no longer worked. You crashed. People noticed.

An ancient part of you awakened. The essential self. The one who knew all along that there was more to life than what you’d been conditioned to believe as a girl. You became curious about this new version of you. She was hungry and restless and angry. She was ready to break free, to risk it all on herself.

You’ve taken workshops and webinars in search of yourself. You’ve found remnants of her in every one, but still yearn to feel whole and fully alive. You’re groping around for depth and meaning but still feel as if you’re just paddling on the surface of a vast ocean. You know the old way of being won’t work. But you don’t have a roadmap for the new way.