Hello, wonderful soul, 

I am writing to you today in a moment of quiet, inner spaciousness—one of those moments when everything is a little bit clearer, not because I have understood something in the classic sense, but because I have felt something, deeply and honestly, and because this feeling is still vibrating through every cell of my body.

I am returning from a journey that led not only physically through the mountains of Italy, but above all through the inner landscapes of my heart—through ancient valleys, through new heights, through spaces I have long known and through those I have only now truly entered for the first time. I was at the Mandali Retreat Center, nestled between sky, lake, and silence, a place whose beauty is almost like a mirror for what is possible within all of us when we stop escaping—and instead begin to truly feel.

There, I participated in the Path of Love – a deeply transformative, radically honest process that doesn't focus on optimizing or improving you, but lovingly yet uncompromisingly invites you to shed everything you aren't – and thus finally return to what you have always truly been: Essence. Heart. Presence.

What touched me most deeply during these days was the realisation – or rather, the deep, visceral feeling – that vulnerability is not what we should protect ourselves from, but perhaps the most precious thing of all.

In a world that so often suggests to us that strength is synonymous with control, that development means becoming ever more confident, clearer, and more stable – in precisely this world, it is an act of incredible power to remain soft.

Not to become hard in the hope that nothing will hurt us anymore. Not to perfect masks in the hope that we will finally be loved. But to show ourselves with everything we've often hidden for so long: the insecurity, the sadness, the fear of not being enough – but also the longing to be truly touched.

It's easy to open up when things are going well. But it takes a deep spiritual maturity to open up, right at that moment when it hurts. Especially when old wounds throb, when we'd rather close up, when we'd rather escape back into a functioning concept. But right there – in that trembling moment, when your heart may be burning with fear – lies the entrance to true connection.

I experienced there how healing it can be to be seen, precisely at the moment when you believe you're unlovable.

And I experienced how powerful it is to bear witness to the humanity of others – in all their fragility, in all their courage to no longer hide behind concepts.

And as I return to my everyday life, I feel once again how important the integration phase is – this silent transition in which not so much is happening externally, but so much is still having an impact internally.

Many of you who have done the RUSU are familiar with this state: Something has shifted. Something old has gone. Something new has become visible.

And now? Now it's about not falling back into old patterns, but rather, with patience and love, making space for what is currently being formed.

What I have once again deeply understood in recent days is that personal development is not a project about continually refining, shaping, and perfecting one's own personality – as if our self were a kind of resume that we must constantly expand and polish.

Rather, the true path lies in increasingly freeing oneself from the layers of one's personality – the roles, the protective strategies, the patterns that may have once been necessary but no longer serve us.

Because you are not your strategy. You are not your to-dos, not your successes, not your fear.
 
You are the space in which all of this takes place – you are consciousness.
 
And the more you begin to recognize yourself as this inner space, the freer you become.

Not because everything will then become easier. But because you deeply understand that you can be with everything – with joy, with sadness, with anger, with insecurity, with love.

And that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Not about "arriving" at some point and finally being "done," but about accompanying yourself – through the waves of life, with tools that regulate you, with a consciousness that recognises you, with a love that never leaves you.

And above all, with the courage to remain vulnerable. Because that's exactly where the true connection begins. To you. To life. To the greater whole.

With everything I am right now and everything you have always been,

Laura
~
Laura Seiler is a spiritual coach, podcaster, speaker and best selling author. You can find out more on her website.