What I've Learned from My Mentors

April 24, 2025 ( this post has been a long time in the works)

The wisdom I've gained from my mentors has been invaluable. It has felt daunting to try to encapsulate all that I've learned from so many learned people.

I am someone who loves to learn from others- from their stories, their lessons, and their approaches. 

I deeply appreciate every lesson have helped me learn, and now, I incorporate these teachings into my practice with my clients, guiding them toward healing and growth.

I invite you to learn from the profound insights my mentors have imparted, and perhaps, find something that resonates with your own journey. 

(I’ve given each mentor a title to honor their unique impact on my journey and to maintain their privacy)

🔮 The Gentle Mirror “You are nature. Your sensitivity is magic.” I learned that feeling isn’t a flaw—it’s my essence. She helped me heal from those who told me I felt too much. She taught me that integrity means walking away rather than acting from misalignment. She taught me that I’m lovable, that healing is now—not later. You have choice in every circumstance. She taught me to start to feel safe in my body, and to approach myself with self compassion. Theme: Sensitivity as strength, boundaries, healing through presence, embodied kindness

💫🧩 The Inner Translator “There are no bad parts.” I learned to listen to every part of me: the justice-seeker, the mystic, the mischief-maker. She gave me language and clarity, and taught me to mother & father myself through listening. She taught me radical responsibility, and to do things scared instead of waiting for ease. She told me to lean into heart-opening yoga, discernment, and action. Theme: Internal family systems, brave action, self-integration

🌞🌱 The Alchemist of Hope “Hope is not contingent on evidence.” I learned to bring joy and magic even when things feel dark.

They taught me to let my heart soften- stop bracing. With them, I stopped waiting for hope to be “earned.” I created it. Rituals, nature, mindfulness, & tending to little me. Letting go of what doesn’t serve and letting possibility in. They helped me nurture my love voice and hold myself with tenderness. 

“What does kindness towards Tara look like?” They asked me. Theme: Hope as posture, re-enchantment, future-forward living, ritual

🌌The Divine Embrace “Let the divine hold you, while you hold your younger self.” She helped my inner children feel heard, helped me sit with pain rather than fix it. She brought in sacred permission, mystical love, and helped me see Rumi’s work through this framework (the guesthouse posits that each part of you is a guest, welcome them all and see them with love and not judgement). I learned to let God hold my anger. God can be spiritual, and non rigid. Spirituality can be any force greater than you. She, too, helped me nurture my love voice and hold myself with tenderness. Theme: Spiritual reparenting, emotional permission, sacred witnessing

🔥 The Responsibility Catalyst “You planted bullshit seeds, now you have bullshit trees.” I learned that anger is a signal, not a reason to burn everything down. She taught me to tend to myself instead of sabotaging my values.Radical responsibility changed my life—I stopped waiting for rescue. Hopelessness turned into power. Theme: Fierce love, somatic release, radical ownership, adulting with grace

🧠 The Liberator of Thought “In the age of information, to be ignorant is a choice.” I learned to think for myself. He unlatched the cage—I went from clinging to rigid truths to understanding nuance. Through the Socratic method and Plato’s cave, I saw there was no single “right”—only many perspectives, worthy of reverence. My journey as a thinker began here. I wouldn’t be me without it. Existential crisis gets you closer to yourself, and therefore the world. Theme: Critical thought, intellectual freedom, self-authorship

🧘‍♀️ The Somatic Whisperer“Your body can feel safe again.” I learned that my body isn’t just a vessel—it’s a teacher. She showed me that pain can leave. That touch can soothe and rewire.I learned to trust through partnership and technique. Theme: Somatic healing, embodied trust, relational safety

🌸 The Herbal Mystic “Nature is medicinal.” I learned that my love for apothecaries, flowers and herbs is real—it’s a calling. Her tinctures didn’t just help—they awakened something ancient in me. She taught me that the earth gives medicine for organs, hormones, and the body’s own repair systems.Theme: Ancestral memory, plant spirit medicine, grounded magic

🌼 The Loving Channel“You are a powerful being, and your love impacts every person you come nurture.”I learned that love is a force, not a feeling. 

She taught me that you don’t always have to 'fix' to help people, just being in a nurturing presence is enough. 

It rewired my brain chemistry to know that safe people existed, she was that to me. Theme: Energetic impact, relational sacredness, soft power

🌿 The Cultural Medicine Keeper

"To understand how your people have survived will help you survive too. Your culture’s wisdom is a key to your survival—cherish it, honor it."I learned that my culture holds medicine—wisdom and survival—meant for me. It’s not just about food and herbs. It’s about remembering who I am. Who my lineage has been, what could it be? Theme: Ancestral survival, cultural healing, sacred remembering

To my mentors- thank you for making me who I am, and I will always cherish you

With Love, Tara