by Stephanie Bucklin
There’s something unmistakable about a soul who’s done the inner work.
They move through life differently—steady, grounded, awake. They can pause before reacting, because they’ve already met their triggers before. They can feel anger without turning it into a weapon. They can say “I was wrong” without collapsing in shame, and set boundaries without closing their hearts.
Those who’ve done the inner work don’t just talk healing—they embody it. You recognize them not by their perfection, but by their presence.
And when you’re around them, your nervous system exhales and whispers: “We’re safe here.”
My Journey into the Inner Work
I call myself a Self-Healing Specialist because I’ve been diving into my own healing for decades. My journey began with shadow work—long before I had language for it.
In my early twenties, I began healing my relationship with my mother. As her eldest child, I carried many unspoken burdens, and I finally found the courage to write a long letter about my experience. Reading it to her was excruciating and liberating. It was my first conscious act of truth-telling, and it cracked open something deep within me—a knowing that healing requires both vulnerability and courage.
As Brené Brown reminds us,
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.”
That moment taught me that healing doesn’t happen by avoiding pain—it happens by facing it with compassion.
Discovering Energy Work and Self-Healing
In my early thirties, I began intuitively offering energy healing to others. I didn’t yet call it Reiki or Lightwork—I simply called it love energy from the universe. Every time I shared this energy, I would also receive healing. Giving and receiving were one and the same.
Around thirty-six, I received my first Reiki attunement, and my teacher assigned a 21-day Chakra Cleanse. At the time, I couldn’t find a guide that felt complete, so I created my own—documenting each day’s focus and reflection. That structure became the foundation for my 21-Day Chakra Cleanse card set and workbook (Coming soon!)
The result was profound. It was the first time I truly met my inner demons—my wounded inner child—and realized that healing was not about fixing anyone else, but about taking personal responsibility for my own emotional landscape.
It felt like a light turned on—perhaps the light of my spirit. During that time, I met my Higher Self and began awakening to my own divinity.
Eckhart Tolle once said,
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.”
Through energy work and meditation, I began to witness those thoughts instead of becoming them. I learned that awareness itself is the beginning of transformation.
Therapy, Trauma, and Taking Personal Responsibility
I’ve always believed that mental and spiritual wellness are deeply connected. I’ve been in therapy since my early twenties, and I still work with a therapist today. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Brainspotting, and values-based counseling have all supported my healing journey.
After experiencing domestic violence and assault last year, I began working with a trauma-informed crisis counselor. She helped me understand Internal Family Systems (IFS) and taught me how to make values-based decisions. This work gave me the tools to pause before responding—to choose alignment over reaction.
Healing is not linear; it’s layered, nuanced, and deeply human. And sometimes, the most spiritual thing we can do is ask for help.
Aaron Abke says,
“The ego is not your enemy—it’s the part of you that forgot it was loved.”
That reminder changed everything for me. Compassion for the self is the foundation of all true healing.
The Mirrors of Healing
I’ve been blessed to work with many healing practitioners—each one a mirror, reflecting back aspects of myself ready to be seen, loved, and integrated. Through these experiences, I’ve released deep layers of fear, shame, guilt, anger, and sadness. Each layer peeled away revealed more truth, more freedom, more of me.
Healing, I’ve learned, isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about remembering who you’ve always been.
Stepping into Wholeness
In the last year, I’ve been stepping into my Divine Feminine—embracing sovereignty, honoring my autonomy, and learning to flow with grace. I’ve also attracted a life partner who respects my boundaries, communicates with love, and sees me as an equal.
Together, we practice what it means to be soft without being passive, wise without needing to be right. We can admit when we’re wrong, hold space for each other’s truths, and grow side by side.
This is what healing looks like—it’s not perfection.
It’s presence.
It’s choosing love over fear, again and again.
And today, I can say with confidence and gratitude:
I am more whole, grounded, and healed than ever before.
Final Reflection
Inner work is not a destination—it’s a lifelong practice of awareness, honesty, and compassion. The more we do the work, the more peace we radiate into the collective.
As you continue on your own healing journey, remember:
You don’t need to be perfect to be whole.
You don’t need to be untriggered to be wise.
You just need to be willing—to meet yourself in truth, over and over again.
“Awakening is not changing who you are, but discarding who you are not.”
— Deepak Chopra
And when you embody that truth, you become the safe space you’ve been seeking.
Namaste,
~S
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Learn more at stephaniebucklin.com/about/about-your-soul-journey/ 💫
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