The Sacred Fire Within: Transformation Principles for Accomplished Women

An alter containing a lit candle in a small chalice surrounded by a crystal , two lotus candle holders and burning incense

Pay Attention

Much has already been written about the state of our world—the rise of extremism, the impact of unrestrained capitalism and patriarchy on families and communities, the environmental devastation, the systematic destruction of entire peoples. No matter where you sit on any spectrum, you're feeling it. We'd have to check your pulse if you don't.

These are hard, dark times. Even the world's wealthiest discover that billions cannot protect them from reaping what they've sown—from publicly destroying powerful relationships to watching their empires crumble.

It feels overwhelming. What can any one of us do that makes an actual difference?

Pay attention.

You can pay attention to the wisdom in your body. Your inner knowing. Align with that, then act only from that place. Not from your brain. Not from the stories you've been taught about who you should be, what you should do, what the "right" way is to live.

This is living from the place of feminine energy—the sacred, divine feminine. Regardless of your gender or place in the world, you always have access to this wisdom.

It defies logic. This energy isn't driven from your head, your thoughts, your training. It's deep, this wisdom. It comes from the earth, from all the memories of all the people and animals who came before. It comes from your ancestors and all they knew and loved. It comes from your heart—that place of connection between your body and the world. It's a knowing.

An Aligned Life

This is the place where I live and operate now. It's taken me decades of learning and unlearning to arrive here.

I've chronicled much of my early journey in my book The Bad Girls Club: Promises of a Spirituality-Based Recovery—revealing key moments from girlhood as I tried to fit myself into ways of being that didn't make sense for me, but seemed expected or "normal."

You know the collective program: Complete your education. Find a mate. Have a family. Succeed in your career. Pay taxes, host dinner parties, volunteer at your child's school, save for retirement.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this program—unless you don't fit into it.

If you're like me, try as you might, you can't squeeze yourself into those boxes, certainly not in the proper order. And if you're like me, you might come close to dying trying to make it all work.

Fear enters slowly at first. Maybe it starts with fairy tales read as a child. It slithers under your bed during teenage horror movie nights. It pounds your chest at 2 AM while cramming for forgotten exams. Eventually, it becomes the architect of your adult life, building fortresses to keep scary things out and you "safe" within its walls.

Fear whispers: "You're not good enough for that job." "If they knew about your breakdown, you'd lose everything." "If they discovered your secrets, your family would disown you." "If they saw how much you loathe your life, it would all fall apart."

What happens when we lead from fear? We want more. We demand more—first and foremost from ourselves. We become unrelenting. We cannot rest until we've proven we have what it takes to succeed. We need the metrics, the rankings, the rewards. We need bigger portfolios, better everything. We need more.

By all outward measures, we'll finally be OK. Safe.

I've had multiple experiences showing me this wasn't my path. But instead of paying attention to inner wisdom whispering to hop off that treadmill, I grabbed the only logical explanation my brain offered: "You failed. Something's wrong with you. Find it. Fix it. Try harder."

Each moment culminated in me harming myself or coming close to death. Each offered choices about how to continue—opportunities to think about and select which lessons to focus on. The act of choosing with intention became the foundational principle for Mindful Transformations: the act of ownership, of agency, for choosing deep journeys of change.

For years I picked the collective program back up, continuing with deeper perspective and hard-won wisdom. On many levels, that strategy worked—for a while.

I found the spouse and married (it didn't last). I raised a non-traditional family. I earned just enough to provide (but fell short of the Instagram lifestyle). I flourished as a mid-level leader and met those coveted metrics.

I had the things, the family, the vacations, the salary. With each choice, I was learning and healing. None were "bad" choices—they all served my growth. But ultimately, I was slowly dying inside.

Enter the universe again, in the form of a bad boss.

She was a woman completely in her masculine energy. By all appearances she had it all—kind demeanor, warm smile, the marriage, family, tenure, executive ear. But her insides rang hollow, filled with fear that drove her, drove us, drove me to a burnout I had signed up for. She was the messenger sent directly from the universe with a clear message: I did not fit the program. At all.

Everything I offered was lovely, but the organization wasn't interested. Everything I represented was lovely, but unwelcome.

This time, given the choice again, I chose differently.

Equipped with life learnings and emboldened with the ability to pay attention and sink into inner wisdom, I knew the right choice for me.

I let go of everything I had known. I carved a path into the wild wilderness of the unknown.

What I Believe

We are all called to create something here. I don't know what that is for you—you do, deep down. The world desperately needs your leadership and everything you have to give.

Say it. Say the thing. Say the thing that's killing you. Say it as you tremble, scared to death of losing everything. Bravery comes out of fear.

Fear can invoke terror or inspire courage. Fear can either create more destruction of the Other (binary thinking) or inspire the courage that saves all.

First, learn to pay attention and align with reality. Experience what's here—in your environment, in your body—without judgment. Ask and discern what you need to know. Then lead yourself accordingly while staying tuned to your alignment.

When we step into our full power, we release all fear. When we release fear, our families heal. When families heal, communities heal. When communities heal, nations heal. When nations heal, our earth heals.

What I'm Building: Celtic Wisdom Meets Modern Leadership

I'm your partner on this deep journey you're choosing—a transformation into a new level of understanding who you are and what uniquely critical creation you're here to bring.

I'm a wide-open, vulnerable, honest human having a human experience. Spoiler alert: So are you. Well, maybe not the vulnerable part yet. That's scary, right? It is if you try walking alone. But what if you had a partner holding light ahead of you on your path—someone who has traveled the road of deep inner exploration?

Honest vulnerability demolishes shame. If I've thought it, done it, failed and failed and failed only to rise stronger, wiser, filled with peace and unbridled joy—you can too.

What I believe is that we are all called to create something here. Can't find it? Still feeling blocked, a little dead inside? That's why I created Brighid's Flame. I'm the flame keeper.

What's in you that you're not attending to? Tapping into? Shutting down? Let's create a safe, supportive container where you can freely—and this is key—without shame—explore your shadows and your light. Let's dig in and create so much freedom and joy that you explode with alignment in your truth, bursting with focused energy, self-acceptance, self-permission, and confidence to do what you truly long to do.

This doesn't mean changing your outside circumstances. Many women I've worked with continue in current roles, same homes, same loved ones. What profoundly shifts is their insides.

What I envision is a growing movement of women at their wits' end from exhaustive efforts at unsustainable living. Women reaching for more. They know it's time.

Time to enter your heart. Let's explore our ancestries and learn from riches we've left behind. Let's embrace that wisdom and bring it into the 21st century to create all we're here to create.

Are You Ready?

Are you ready to lose your fears? Create what's longing to be seen and shared that you're secretly holding deep within? Are you ready to embrace joyful alignment as a new paradigm? To leave broken systems behind? To live fully authentically? To finally be truly you?

Let's talk. Let's build community. Let's partner and hold light for each other. Because when we do, others will find courage to find their way.

I invite you to join me in sacred partnership—built with safety, confidentiality, deep trust, ritual, and customized tools for your journey. Welcome to Brighid's Flame, a premium coaching experience for women entering life's third act who want to discover their new path—one that fills them with the fire that comes from knowing who you are and how to use your unique gifts.

The Brighid's Flame represents the sacred fire that burns within women who have lived fully—not dimming with age but growing more powerful, ready to illuminate wisdom that can only come from a life deeply lived.