The Soul Heals

01/17/2026

What comes to mind when you hear "Reclaiming Divine Feminine Energy"?

Do you picture today's "trad wives"—perfectly coiffed with form-fitting dresses, heavy makeup, and an agenda centered on pleasing men in power?

If so, you're not alone. And that's exactly the problem.

The modern "trad wife" movement couldn't be more disconnected from the Divine Feminine—or more entangled in toxic femininity. It's performance, not authenticity. Conformity, not connection.

What if the Divine Feminine is actually radical?

I recently posed this question to a group of Ta**ra teachers, and the conversation that followed was electric. What if reclaiming the Divine Feminine isn't about softening ourselves to fit an external ideal, but about rising up? What if it's about women yearning for deep connection, true nourishment, and the fierce courage to chart their own path in life and spirituality?

This isn't a new idea—it's ancient wisdom reclaimed.

One of the Ta**ra lineages I've studied is called neo-Ta**ra, or feminist-informed Ta**ra. Its visionary leader is Margot Anand, an 81-year-old feminist icon recognized as a leading authority on Ta**ra after guiding students in the practice for over 50 years. She has spent her entire life embodying her Divine Self—unapologetically, unabashedly, and on her own terms.

We won't call her a "kick-ass woman" (though she is). That popular phrase, while well-intentioned, doesn't honor the depth and nuance of what it means to live fully aligned with your Divine Feminine. You deserve language that respects the sacred nature of this journey.

You deserve to connect to YOUR Divine Feminine—on your terms, in your own language.

That's exactly what we'll explore together in our Reclaiming Divine Feminine Energy workshop on January 31.

We'll move our bodies through yoga. We'll dance. We'll breathe. We'll connect—to ourselves, to each other, to the sacred feminine that lives within each of us.

This isn't about becoming something you're not. It's about remembering who you've always been.

Earlybird pricing ends Sunday. Will you join us? https://ecstaticconnection.com/events/

EVENTS **Join us! We have events for the community, workshops for learning and practicing mindful interaction, special events for connecting to a partner and “date night” sessions for couples.   Reclaiming Divine Feminine Energy An Experiential Workshop for Women Saturday, January 31, 2026, 1.....

01/14/2026

What Exactly is a Guru? (And Who Definitely Isn't)

In the world of social media, self-proclaimed gurus and spiritual "leaders" are everywhere. It's not that there are actually more enlightened beings out there—just a lot more egos sprouting up!

Here are the red flags to watch for:

1. The Money Funnel - Spirituality becomes a road to riches through carefully designed marketing funnels:

• Free class (the hook)
• $37-$47 digital course (that 99% never finish—basically a long, boring blog)
• $300-$699 series (run by the guru's "top trainer")
• $700-$2500 "exclusive access" with the guru
• $3500-$10,000 retreats

Notice the pattern? It's designed to extract maximum dollars, not facilitate genuine transformation.

2. Isolating You from Support - You're encouraged to separate from family, friends, and advisers who are supposedly "holding you back." Real teachers support your healthy connections—they don't require you to abandon them.

3. Grandiose Titles - "Enlightened master." "Self-realized yogi." "Saint." "Disciple of Christ." These aren't signs of spiritual attainment—they're red flags of narcissism.

4. Not Walking the Talk - Do they embody their own teachings? Practice what they preach? Or are they spiritually bypassing—focusing on the "end game" while minimizing the actual hard work of building a conscious, intentional life?

5. Instant Transformation - Promises like "Instant change!" "Miracles!" "Quick transformation!"

Here's the truth: Self-actualization is discussed in every spiritual tradition on earth, and none of them promise it happens overnight. Real growth takes months, years, sometimes lifetimes. It's ongoing and unfolding. There's never a "Ta-Da!" moment where you're done. As long as we're alive, we're unfolding into our True Selves.

The Real Truth About Growth - We're not transforming into someone else. We're rediscovering our True Selves—our Soul, which has been there all along.

The word "Guru" actually means "from darkness to light." And here's the secret: the Guru is inside you and always has been.

Trust your inner wisdom. Enjoy your path. 🙏

https://thesoulheals.com

Photo: JPSears,

01/03/2026

Why Addiction is So Hard to Beat: Understanding the Three Layers of Self

There's a simple reason addiction is so common in our culture: it's devastatingly complicated. If it were easy, we wouldn't struggle. It wouldn't be a dragon to slay—just a puppy to soothe.

Most of us who've battled addiction start at the same place: Layer 1 - The Physical Body. We use willpower. Clear the house of food, alcohol, or substances. Avoid triggers and environments that spark our patterns. We white-knuckle our way through, believing sheer determination will be enough.

When that inevitably fails, we go deeper to Layer 2 – The Psychological or Personality Level. We use reasoning. We learn about triggers and tendencies in therapy. We work programs, develop resources, understand our shame and self-blame. We dig and claw our way toward sobriety or breaking the negative habit shaping our lives.

And for many, it works - for a while. Every approach that gets results has value. But too often, people find themselves in a maddening back-and-forth: in and out of debt, up and down the scale, cycling through substance use, trading one addiction for another.

Here's what almost no one tells you: there's a third layer, and this is where the origin of addiction can be found.

Layer 3 - The Energy Level. This is where the roots exist. This is the source that keeps producing the patterns, no matter how hard your personality fights or how much therapy you do.

You can't rip out energetic roots with willpower alone, no matter how tenacious you are. Traditional therapy works beautifully with Layers 1 and 2 - the body and personality - but it can't reach the energetic source which keeps regenerating the addiction from below.

This is why people quit overeating but become chronic debtors. Stop drinking but start compulsively overeating. Quit drugs but endlessly self-sabotage in relationships or career.

The addiction rotates because the root is still alive.

In the Art of Healing Addiction (starting January 8), we go directly to those deep roots using Eastern traditions of energy healing and meditation. We follow the habits and behaviors right down to their origination point in your Energy Field—and we pull them out at the source.

When you heal at the energetic level, your True Self or Soul can finally emerge into the light, unshadowed by dark nights and self-doubt. Free. Whole. Yours again.

Ready to go deeper than you've ever gone before? https://thesoulheals.com/events

Welcome to The Soul Heals Home of Kundalini Yoga Madison and the Yoga Nidra Madison Soul Awareness Healing with Pat Barone, Gifted Healer, Coach and Spiritual Adviser Energy Medicine for the Body, Mind, Heart & Soul You can heal… and lead a life of awareness… full of pleasure, ease, meaning, con...

01/01/2026

A moment of realization:

After intentionally overcoming a food addiction and losing 100 lbs, I thought I had mastered my relationship with food. I was managing my health, and a small portion of dark chocolate each day didn’t seem to affect me—until one day.

At the office, I opened my drawer, only to find… no chocolate. I was shocked. I quickly searched my coat pockets, purse, and anywhere else I could think of. Then, I calculated the time for my next appointment and rushed out the door—on a mission to find… MY CHOCOLATE.

But during this frantic search, something was quietly running through my mind: Why do I feel this need? Why do I do this every single day?

The truth hit me: It wasn’t the chocolate. It wasn’t even about my weight. This was about a habit—a behavior that had its grip on me. Even though I had freed myself from food addiction and maintained a healthy weight for 25 years, this one small ritual was still controlling me.

After everything I had worked through—physical, emotional, and spiritual healing—it bothered me. This one habit had power over me.

We all have something. Some use drama to control others, some play the victim, blaming life’s challenges on external forces. But what about the beliefs that keep us trapped? The ones that tell us “I’ll never win” or “I’m not good enough”? These are forms of addictive thinking that can hold us back from true freedom.

It’s not just about the chocolate. It’s about breaking free from anything that holds power over us, no matter how small it seems.

Breaking that habit meant a new rage of freedom for me, and a new sense of empowerment. I broke that habit with the meditations I’ll be teaching in my class, The Art of Healing Addiction, starting January 8!

Learn more: https://thesoulheals.com/events

01/01/2026

Are you crawling out of the wreck of 2025? Let’s tackle addiction together and live free!

https://thesoulheals.com/events

01/01/2026

We are doing it! We are moving towards health and happiness! Happy New Year!

https://thesoulheals.com/events

12/31/2025

Welcome to a New Year! The Fire Horse promises passion, daring, innovation and sustained progress. May you use the year well!

https://thesoulheals.com/events

12/31/2025

Why do automatic, jarring reactions feel so deep and happen so fast?

When an environment, person, or situation triggers us, the sympathetic nervous system—the body’s survival system—takes over. Blood flow shifts away from the thinking brain to the extremities so we can move out of perceived danger. This creates intense discomfort before we have time to think.

The pathways to survival mode already live in the body. They are shaped by trauma—emotions that were never processed at the time they occurred. Many of us were not given the space, tools, or models in childhood to process emotions in a healthy, affirming way.

Unprocessed trauma, often hidden or minimized in a culture that values suppression and toughness, creates a constant pull on our awareness. Over time, this chronic stress can disrupt the body at a cellular level and contribute to illness or debilitating conditions.

That ongoing discomfort can become so difficult to live with that we turn to addictive or numbing behaviors—not as a failure, but as an attempt to self-medicate in order to cope and survive.

https://thesoulheals.com/events

12/27/2025

Before the champagne bubbles settle and the resolutions begin, pause for a moment.

What are you actually carrying into this new year?

This week, practice radical noticing:
• What feels comfortable vs. what triggers discomfort?
• Who energizes you vs. who drains or unsettles you?
• Which environments feel nourishing vs. depleting?

Your body already knows the answers. Feelings are simply information—messengers from your Energy Field guiding you forward.

That persistent churn in your chest? It's pointing to an unhealed heartbreak. That repetitive thought loop? A limiting belief demanding to be acknowledged. That nagging discomfort? Something embedded deep, ready for release.

The truth is simple: Every limiting belief we carry stems from one of four core wounds:

Inadequacy • Fear • Scarcity • Lack of Trust

And here's what most don't realize—these wounds show up as mental patterns (negativity, catastrophic thinking), substance dependencies (alcohol, sugar, cannabis), or misplaced energy (the belief that "life works out for everyone but me").

We don't have to roll into 2026 with the same mentality that shaped 2025.

The Art of Healing class takes a purely spiritual approach to releasing habits and addictions of all kinds. Because no one deserves to live controlled by fear, lack, inadequacy—or any substance that determines how their days unfold.

What will you leave behind?
https://thesoulheals.com/events/

12/24/2025

SSSSHHHHHHHHH! Early bird pricing is still available on the Art of Healing Addictions 11-week series starting January 8! Don't miss this opportunity to save. Via Zoom or in person in Middleton, WI.

The series can be combined with your current therapy or recovery program as an add-on to deepen your awareness. It can also be used as a mindfulness program or a tip-your-toe-into the waters of healing an addiction. Safe! Gentle! Effective!

https://thesoulheals.com/events/

12/18/2025

This is a line diagram of your crown chakra. Yeah! Just a "little bit" going on! Be gentle with yourself, especially as you come into the holidays. Blessings!