Postcards from the Path

A free 3-part mini series of postcards from my month abroad that include reflections from a 5-day spiritual immersion, integration, and energetic alignment.

Oi de Portugal!

It’s been one week since our 5-day immersion with the Priestess program I’ve been in with my mentor, Amber Valdez and 8 other women (a write up on this program + immersion to come in this mini-series!).

Before this closing ceremony, I felt the pull to stay in Portugal longer, to wander, work remotely, and listen deeply for the next breadcrumb of my path. No over-planning, no rigid timelines. Just me, my breath, and the wisdom that reveals itself in stillness.

I’m learning that the in-between spaces are sacred.

In this slower stretch of solo time, I’ve been practicing something I guide others through in Self Trust: what I call A Day Within, a few hours of quiet, no technology, no external noise. Just presence. Just inner listening.

It’s in these moments I can actually hear what’s next.

And this time within? It’s how we connect to our truest desires or, our deepest yeses.
It might reveal something major like a life transition or career shift.
Or something tender and quiet: a craving for a specific food, a song, a stretch that your body has been silently asking for. But we don’t know until we pause. Until we stop chasing and start listening.

And while we can find spaces for this almost anywhere, I always recommend nature.

Nature is healing, grounding, and always loving. She doesn’t ask us to perform. She just welcomes us back.

In Japan, doctors actually prescribe forest bathing—known as Shinrin-yoku—as a treatment for stress, anxiety, and overall wellbeing. It’s been scientifically shown to lower cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure while boosting immune function and mental clarity.

Nature is one of our greatest teachers.
So instead of always pushing or providing… let nature provide.
Let the forest remind you that rest is holy.
That you don’t have to be doing to be worthy.
Hug a tree. Put your feet in the soil. Let the magic stimulate your soul.

Ever since my spiritual awakening in 2020, I’ve been meeting the many versions of myself that live beneath the surface; some bold, some tender, some still afraid, some ready to be seen. I used to think healing was about fixing them. Now I know it’s about loving all of them home.

And while this unfolding is a gift, I also know it’s a privilege.

My ancestors didn’t have the time, safety, or resources to slow down and tend to their wounds. They worked. They survived. They didn’t get to ask, What is my soul calling me toward?

I carry their memory as I walk this path. These are some of the images I shared in our immersion as we worked with our grandmothers and honored them over our time together in Portugal.

I also carry the knowing that right now, across the world—in Gaza and so many places—families are simply trying to survive another day. I’ve wrestled with this often—how to hold my joy alongside the world’s grief. How to allow myself to expand without shame.

But I’ve come to realize: hiding my light doesn’t help anyone.
Suppressing my gifts doesn’t create more safety—it just keeps me stuck.

So, here I am, letting myself be seen.

Not because I have it all figured out. But because I’m living it. I’m devoted to making the invisible pieces of this journey tangible. To help others come home to themselves too.

This chapter is about integration.
About being in the body.
About turning toward every edge within me and whispering, you’re allowed to be here too.

The path of self-discovery isn’t linear. It’s layered, long, and full of holy pauses.
But I truly believe it is the privilege of a lifetime to remember who you really are, and to live from that place.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Carl Jung

Here are two resources that have been a constant in my spiritual education:

• Abraham Hicks (daily YouTube videos + live seminars)

• Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth)

And this truth:

You don’t need to keep chasing more healing to be worthy of what’s already meant for you.

Sometimes, the moment of realization is the healing.
You’re allowed to feel it and let it land.

That’s enough.
You’re enough.
And you didn’t miss it, it arrived right on time.

With love from Portugal,
Andrea

If this spoke to you, you might love my 7-week Self Trust course, designed to help you come home to yourself, build intuitive confidence, and create clarity from the inside out. Doors open again soon. Make sure you're on the waitlist linked HERE.