Lately, I've been feeling a nudge—a quiet but persistent pull toward something deeper as I immerse myself in The Untethered Soul and integrate its teachings with A Course in Miracles. Maybe you’ve felt something similar before: a moment when a book, a conversation, or a life experience shakes you awake in a way you can’t quite put into words yet. It’s not just about understanding something intellectually—it’s about something stirring in your soul, something calling you to live differently.

I don't know exactly what this nudge means yet, but I do know I feel it. And sometimes, that's enough.

You Are Not Your Thoughts, You Are the Observer

One of the biggest takeaways for me—something I often tell my clients but am now really sitting with myself—is this:

You are not your thoughts. You are not your emotions. You are the observer behind them.

It’s easy to get caught up in the storm of emotions and thoughts that pass through our minds every day. I can feel guilt, for example, when I set a boundary with my partner. That emotion is real. It’s visceral. But it doesn’t define me. I can observe the guilt, breathe through it, and recognize that just because I feel it doesn’t mean I have done something wrong.

This is where so many of us get trapped—in what psychology calls "emotional reasoning," the mistaken belief that because we feel something, it must be true. But emotions, like thoughts, are transient. Just because I feel guilty doesn’t mean I am a bad person. Just because I feel rejected doesn’t mean I am unworthy. Feelings pass. Truth remains.

Reclaiming Freedom Without Running Away

Another powerful realization I’ve had while reading The Untethered Soul is about freedom. I used to believe that in order to be free, I had to leave—leave a situation, a relationship, a job, a home. But what if freedom isn’t about changing our external reality?

What if true freedom comes from within—when we release the mental preoccupations and emotional burdens that keep us stuck?

I don’t have to move out of my home to feel liberated from dynamics that no longer serve me. I don’t have to run away to protect my energy. I have the power to reclaim my space, my peace, and my sense of self right where I am. The real chains aren’t external—they are the ones I’ve placed on myself in my mind. And if I created them, I can uncreate them.

Pain as a Catalyst for Growth

We are so conditioned to believe that pain is something to be avoided. That if we feel discomfort, we must be doing something wrong. But what if pain isn’t the enemy? I used to think that if I set a boundary, spoke my truth, or went against the grain, and it caused me pain, it must mean I made a mistake. Now, I realize something different:

Pain can be the very thing that sets us free.

Pain shows up in our lives when we are out of alignment with truth. That doesn’t mean we have to love it, but we must pay attention to it. Sometimes, pain is grief. Sometimes, it’s relief. Often, it’s both. What I’ve come to understand is that the kind of pain that comes from standing in our truth is not the same as the pain of betraying ourselves. One is temporary; the other lingers. The kind of pain that nudges us toward growth is not the kind that keeps us trapped.

Who Are You Living For?

This book made me question so many of the stories I’ve told myself about what a successful life should look like. The traditional path—get married by a certain age, have kids, buy a house, work a steady job—it's sold to us as the formula for happiness. But... for whom?

Who is this dream really serving?

So much of what we strive for is based on inherited expectations, societal conditioning, and external validation. But the soul has its own path—one that doesn’t always fit into a neat, structured plan.

If you feel misaligned, you will feel pain. If you take action in the direction of your truth, even if it’s uncertain, you will feel relief. Maybe not instantly, but deep down, there will be a sense of rightness.

Taking Action Without Having It All Figured Out

One of the most liberating lessons I’ve learned is that you don’t need to have everything figured out to take action. In fact, sometimes, action is what clarifies your truth. We wait for certainty before we move, but the reality is that clarity often comes through movement.

If you feel stuck, just take the next step. Any step. And trust that the more you walk in the direction of what feels aligned, the more the path will reveal itself.

Letting Go of Control & Trusting the Flow

Surrender has always been hard for me. I like to know. I like to plan. I like to feel like I’m in control. But life keeps showing me that real peace doesn’t come from controlling everything—it comes from trusting in something greater.

Not everything you lose is a loss.

Not everything that falls apart is a failure.

What if life isn’t happening to us, but for us?

What if every challenge, every heartbreak, every detour is actually guiding us back home to ourselves?

I’m learning—slowly—that surrender isn’t about passivity. It’s about choosing to trust the process, even when I don’t fully understand it. It’s about releasing the fear-driven need to grasp, control, or force things to be a certain way. It’s about allowing life to unfold, knowing that what is truly meant for me will not pass me by.

The Journey from Awareness to Liberation

If I had to sum up this journey, it would look something like this:

• Awareness → Noticing the false constructs, the stories, the mental chatter that keep us stuck.
• Energy & Release → Learning to work with emotions rather than being consumed by them.
• Liberation & Living → Applying these lessons to live with an open heart, free from the weight of expectations.

This is the work of a lifetime. And I don’t have it all figured out. But what I do know is this:

True freedom isn’t about changing your external circumstances (in some cases where physical/emotional safety is compromised, it is), It’s about changing how you experience them. True peace isn’t found in certainty. It’s found in trust. True alignment doesn’t require perfection. It just requires action.

So if you, like me, are feeling that nudge—whatever it may be—listen to it. You don’t need to know exactly where it’s leading. You just need to trust that it’s taking you somewhere important.

And that’s enough 💫

-Dr. T