Coming Out of Hiding

Have you ever been through something so painful that it makes you withdraw from life? You show up in the ways you need to, but inside you’re hiding.

I’m coming out of hiding. And I wanted to explore this with you.

I feel a shift deep within my spirit that both scares me and excites me.

Part of me feels incredibly unqualified and part of me feels more ready than ever.

I love how one of our advising neuroscientists, Stefanie Faye, said that it’s a sign of maturity when the brain is holding two opposing thoughts or feelings at once.

What? That’s not a sign I’m going crazy?! Lol

But isn’t this what we experience when we step into a new chapter, a new level of confidence?

We feel capable and incapable at the same time.

Brave and afraid at once.

And if you’re like me, you don’t want to make a mess along the way.

Well folks, I’m giving myself permission to let things be messy for a while!

I’ve determined there is no other way to own this next chapter of my life without it being a little messy.

And guess what? You’re going to have a front row seat to it alllllllllllllll! Lol

The Biggest Investment We’ve Made in 25 Years

Brian and I made the biggest investment in our business that we’ve ever made in twenty-five years.

We’ve partnered with a marketing group to help us articulate the powerful work we’re doing, and we’re specifically going to focus on social media. We believe so deeply in what we’re doing. And we know we haven’t even started to reach the people who need this kind of healing and breakthrough that the Rising Phoenix Experience gives.

So get this…

The team said we’re going to be posting reels EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Deep breath.

I feel like I deserve to go out for dinner if we get ONE reel a week posted!

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY????

Yes, friends. We’re going all in!

Reels of me sharing wisdom I’ve gained, inspiration for the one who feels stuck and is struggling to find a way forward, knowledge and insight for those who feel their brain is broken. It’s all coming.

What’s Been Holding Me Back

But isn’t it crazy how we hold ourselves back?

So what is holding me back?

For starters, I feel disqualified.

Yes, big time.

I’m not a neuroscientist, and I’m not a therapist either.

I’ve spent decades thinking my brain was broken after being a patient in a locked psychiatric ward. But isn’t it amazing how God lights the fire in the very place we thought we were least qualified?

Twenty-five years later, we’re doing groundbreaking work in the field of visual neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity, in the simplest terms, is your brain’s built-in ability to change and rewire itself through repeated experience.

But who are we to be heading up this kind of work? And yet, I know from all our Rising Phoenix stories that Brian and I have developed a unique expertise that needs to be shared.

How else do I hold myself back?

The list goes on…(if it didn’t, I would have done all this sooner…maybe…)

This next one may sound silly to you, but it’s crazy how real it is for me. I want my Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn feeds to look pretty! Yep. There. I said it. I’m visual, I’m a photographer, and I want the feeds to look visually appealing.

Can we all have a little more permission to get messy?

But I’m feeling this need to get in the mud.

To let things look messy for the sake of digging deep.

To let go and just show up more.

Sometimes the time it takes to make something “look pretty” makes me feel like I don’t have time to show up. Right?

But most of all, the biggest thing that has been holding me back…

Pain. Unexpected pain.

Behind the scenes, in the privacy of our home, our family has walked through the most heartbreaking trauma over the last five years. I didn’t lead with that because I know the people who feel a heart connection to us and this work would still be reading. (If that’s you, thank you. I feel your support.)

The trauma we’ve walked through is not my story to share. But it hit me and Brian so hard, I took my broken heart and ran into hiding. Life suddenly felt incredibly unsafe.

Somehow, during all that, we created and launched the Rising Phoenix Experience. I wrote and published 4 Minutes to Hear God’s Voice. And a year ago, we launched our nonprofit FIORIA Institute and started our first longitudinal case study with a brilliant team of neuroscientists and therapists advising us, so that we can begin sharing what we’re finding with the medical and research community.

In many ways, it can look on the outside like I haven’t been hiding. But I know I have been.

I’ve needed space to grieve.

To heal.

Life knocked the wind out of me, and it’s taken a while to see up from down.

Do you know what gave me my bearings again and again?

Every Rising Phoenix who has walked through our doors.

Every single resilient story we heard and captured.

And every breakthrough we watched unfold.

You have all been a literal reminder to me and Brian that no matter how much burns down, those ashes don’t get the last word. Something powerful rises.

If you are one of our Rising Phoenixes, Brian and I will never be able to fully express how much you have strengthened us in the background of life where pain and grief leave you feeling undone.

What’s Next: A New Rising within Me

Maybe this is my own rising that I’m feeling.

Recently, Brian called me and did a full Rising Phoenix Clarity Call with me, over the phone. I thought I knew exactly what was coming. I’ve heard these questions a hundred times. I help other women answer them every week. So of course, I felt sure it would land flat.

I was so wrong.

Boy, was I wrong!

Somewhere in the middle of that call, I found myself in tears.

Revelation kept unfolding, one layer at a time, even though I thought I already knew the answers.

The woman who first walked through the Rising Phoenix Experience over five years ago isn’t who I am anymore.

She’s evolved. She’s grown through things I couldn’t have imagined back then. I know that woman is me now, the resilient one, the warrior, the one still standing, still building, still choosing to rise.

But knowing this evolved version of me and seeing it are two different things, and apparently, even I forget that.

My work is already there. My dedication and passion are already there.

But my brain hasn’t caught up yet. It’s still holding onto an older reference, an earlier version of me, and it needs a new one to see.

What you see is what you get. And it’s time my own brain finally sees her.

I feel a shift within me.

A deep, powerful shift telling me it’s time to come out of hiding.

But I’m not really sure what all the steps are to do that. So that’s why we hired an amazing team. They’re already teaching me so much this first week as we prepare, but they’re also going to help increase my capacity to show up.

It’s time for me to step into a new place of owning what I know and not being held back by what I don’t know.

I want to FILL my space again.

And I want you to fill yours too!

Yes, the struggle is real.

I want all the answers, guarantees, and proof that this wild investment is going to pay off. That it will work. Can I just have that before I put myself out there? Anyone else feel that?

Yet, I know from twenty-five years of building dreams, you never get all the answers, if any, before you start. That’s the faith walk. Stepping into the unknown and believing you will have what you need. The evidence, the data, the testimonials of how much the Rising Phoenix Experience has changed people’s lives inspire me to champion it like never before.

Keeping It Real

So listen, if you see my content show up in your feeds, I wanted you to know a little of the backstory.

If I seem confident and grounded, I want you to know that I also feel uncertain and uncomfortable.

And if we try to do things and they bomb, I’m going to try again.

I don’t want to waste another minute feeling afraid.

Let’s just do it anyway.

And let me know in the comments when you see our content. Did the reel land with you? Is there something that I said that didn’t make sense? Did it connect with your heart? This is going to be real, live testing while being live. Your feedback in real time is invaluable. Here we go!

If any of this stirred something in you, start here: 3 Signs You’re Still Living From Survival Mode, a free five-minute video guide.

If you already know you’re ready for more, you can book a free Clarity Call with me or Brian anytime.

with so much love, still we rise,

Me Ra (& Brian)