Photo by Cristian Escobar on Unsplash
“Deep within each of us is a space of perfection, beauty, innocence and light
that cannot be seen with the eyes but can only be FELT.”
~~ Dr. Seema Khaneja, “I am Pure Soul”
Greetings to all my precious people!
This Sunday celebrates Mother’s Day. And whether your relationship with your mother is beautiful, complicated, painful, or all of the above—there’s one thing undeniably true: Her voice was the first voice you ever heard.
Before you were born, you heard her speaking through the womb—singing, laughing, crying. Her voice taught you that voices MATTER. That sound carries meaning. That being heard is connection. And then over the years, you learned some voices get listened to while others get dismissed. You learned which voice to use to be safe, and which voice to silence.
But deep inside, you still remember the FIRST voice. The one that spoke before conditioning. That voice? That’s your Inner Mentor.
This Mother’s Day, we’re reclaiming her.
Two voices still live inside you.
One keeps you exiled from home. One guides you back.
The question is: Which one are you listening to?
The Voice That Keeps You Exiled
Tara Mohr (author of Playing Big) calls it the Inner Critic.
You know this voice. It’s the one that says:
“You’re not ready.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“You’ll fail. You’ll embarrass yourself.”
“You’re not enough.”
“Play small. Stay safe. Don’t be seen.”
This voice sounds like it’s protecting you.
It tells you it’s keeping you safe from failure, rejection, judgment.
But here’s the truth Tara Mohr discovered:
The Inner Critic isn’t keeping you safe. It’s keeping you EXILED.
Exiled from:
- Your gifts
- Your voice
- Your calling
- Your power
- Your TRUE SELF
The Inner Critic is the voice of homesickness disguised as protection.
The Voice That Guides You Home
But there’s another voice.
Tara Mohr calls it the Inner Mentor.
This is the wise, older version of you: 10- 20 years in the future – who has already walked the path. Who knows you survived. Who sees your gifts clearly.
The Inner Mentor says:
“You are ready enough.”
“Your voice matters.”
“The fear is normal. Do it anyway.”
“You are exactly who you need to be.”
“Play big. Step forward. Let yourself be seen.”
This voice doesn’t eliminate fear. It contextualizes it.
The Inner Mentor knows: The fear (what Tara calls “pachad” – shrinking fear) is just your ego resisting growth.
But beneath it is “yirah” – the awe, the reverence, the recognition that you’re in the presence of something GREATER than yourself.
Your calling. Your gifts. SOURCE moving through you.
The Inner Mentor guides you toward yirah and HOME.
Dr. Seema’s Deep Listening
Dr. Seema Khaneja describes her training as a physician:
Even in the chaos of the emergency room, she learned to “listen deeply” – not just to symptoms, but to the intuitive sense that great clinicians have.
She writes:
“Doing that deeper listening required more time. It was necessary to slow down and ask those extra questions.”
She was learning to listen beneath the surface.
Beneath the presenting complaint.
Beneath the lab values.
Beneath the diagnosis.
To the SOUL speaking through the body.
This is what she now teaches through Coaching for Inner Peace:
“The number one question that many of my clients struggle with is how to be quiet and connect to that small, still voice within.”
That voice? That’s the Inner Mentor. That’s Pure Soul. That’s HOME calling.
Which Voice Are You Listening To?
Here’s how to tell:
Inner Critic:
- Makes you feel small, anxious, not-enough
- Focuses on what’s wrong, what’s missing, what could go wrong
- Keeps you playing small “for your own good”
- Sounds urgent, frantic, mean
- Keeps you EXILED
Inner Mentor (Pure Soul, Home):
- Makes you feel expansive, grounded, capable
- Focuses on what’s possible, what’s true, what wants to emerge
- Invites you to play bigger, step forward, trust
- Sounds calm, wise, loving
- Guides you HOME
The problem? Most of us listen to Inner Critic 90% of the time.
Because it’s LOUD. Because it’s familiar. Because we think it’s keeping us safe.
But it’s actually keeping us homesick.
The Practice: Accessing Your Inner Mentor
Here’s what Tara Mohr teaches (and what I use in my 1:1 work):
INNER MENTOR MEDITATION (10-15 min):
Find quiet space. Close your eyes. Breathe.
Visualize yourself 20 years in the future. See your older, wiser self. Notice how they look, move, carry themselves.
Ask your Inner Mentor:
“What do I need to know right now?”
“What am I not seeing clearly?”
“What guidance do you have for me?”
Listen. Not with thinking mind. With FEELING sense. Let the wisdom come.
Write down what you received. Even if it doesn’t make logical sense. Trust it.
This is deep listening.
Not to Inner Critic’s fear-based chatter.
But to the voice of your future self who’s already made it home.
What Dr. Seema Teaches
Dr. Khaneja’s approach (from A Course in Miracles and Attitudinal Healing):
“Ultimately, it is neither circumstances nor people in the past that are causing us to be upset in the moment. Rather, it is our own thoughts, attitudes, and judgments about those things that cause us the distress.”
Translation:
Inner Critic creates distress by judging, fearing, resisting.
Inner Mentor creates peace by accepting, trusting, surrendering.
The voice you listen to determines whether you stay exiled or return home.
Dr. Seema’s mantra (that she chants with 3,000 others):
“I am Pure Soul. I am Pure Soul. I am Pure Soul.”
This is Inner Mentor speaking. This is HOME remembering itself.
The Invitation: Learning to Listen
The work I do (1:1 COACH Intensive) is about exactly this:
Learning to distinguish Inner Critic from Inner Mentor.
Learning to listen to the voice that guides you home instead of the voice that keeps you exiled.
We practice:
- Noticing when Inner Critic is driving
- Accessing Inner Mentor (future self, Pure Soul, HOME)
- Trusting the deep listening (beneath thoughts, beneath fear)
- Following the guidance even when it doesn’t make logical sense
Because logic won’t get you home. Deep listening will.
Are you ready to stop listening to the voice that exiles you and start listening to the voice that guides you HOME?
Give your Self the gift of deep listening. Practice returning to the Source. Call the office today and book an appointment to begin your journey Home.
