I’m a big believer in doing the work alongside the people I support, not just talking about it. I use the modality of Emotional Clearing in my life every day, and I last went through The Spiral myself in 2022. It’s one thing to support others through a process, and something else entirely to journey through it personally - to notice what’s there, what’s shifted, and where there’s more to uncover.

Earlier this week, I took myself through Level 1. This level is centred around Deserving, and more specifically, the things that quietly get in the way of it. Not in an obvious, “I don’t deserve anything” way, but in the subtle patterns that show up as second-guessing yourself, holding back, people-pleasing, overthinking decisions, or feeling like you have to prove your worth before you’re allowed to move forward, speak up, or be fully yourself.

At this level, we clear our relationship to Shame, Guilt, and Dogma - dense internal emotional patterns that shape how we can show up in our lives.

• Shame is about not feeling worthy in a toxic and debilitating way - of feeling unworthy of taking up space or of even existing.
• Guilt is a feeling of having failed to meet your own or someone else’s expectations, rules or morals, usually characterised by a sense of wishing you’d done something differently or not done something at all.
• Dogma is all the internal and external programming we have around how things should be - what’s right and wrong, good or bad.  

As these patterns begin to soften and shift during the Level 1 session, what often becomes possible is a change in how people relate to themselves, and what they believe they’re allowed to have or experience.

There can be a movement from feeling unworthy of what you want in your life, and stuck in the belief that it’s always just out of reach, to a calm inner confidence that you are already worthy, without needing to earn it first.

There can be a shift from hesitation, guilt, and self-doubt around prioritising your own needs, into a deeper sense of permission - to speak more honestly, hold clearer boundaries, and do more of what genuinely lights you up.

For many people, this also includes a softening of people-pleasing patterns and the pressure to meet everyone else’s expectations, and an emergence of something more grounded and authentic - a steadier sense of self-trust and internal clarity.

I remember having similarly significant shifts when I first went through Level 1, and what stood out for me this time was just as important. It was noticing how easy it is, even with awareness as a coach and practitioner, to slip into subtle ways of keeping myself small, and how powerful it is to gently interrupt that.

Taking myself through Level 1 again has ignited a deeper sense of freedom in how I show up, particularly as I continue to focus on developing my skills and transmission as a transformational mindset coach, and expanding my coaching business. There’s more lightness, more space, and more possibility, which feels really wonderful.

Level 2 is centred around Creativity, through clearing Fear, Grief and Paralysed Will.

This level really opens up creativity and proactivity by bringing subconscious unhealthy patterning into your conscious awareness, so those patterns around fear, grief and paralysed will can begin to clear and shift.

• Fear is described as a future-based projection of not being good enough. It's that feeling that stops you from taking action because you're worried about what might happen.
• Grief, on the other hand, is the inability to let go of the past. It's when you're so stuck in what has happened that you can't move forward.
• Paralysed Will is an inability to act in the face of fear. It's when fear holds you back from setting new intentions and moving forward with your desires. It’s the inability to take action.

As these emotional restraints begin to soften, it becomes possible to loosen the grip that fear and grief can have over your decisions, your confidence, and your ability to move forward in life, or any aspect of your life e.g. relationships or business.

This level is where people often begin to realise that they can feel fear and still take action anyway. That letting go of what they’ve been tightly holding onto can actually create more space, energy and possibility, not less.

It’s also about reconnecting with your own creative energy - not just artistic creativity, but the ability to think differently, trust yourself more deeply, and take meaningful action on the things that matter to you.

Level 2 brings a lot of clarity, momentum and movement. It’s about becoming more willing to back yourself, move forward with intention, and stop waiting until everything feels perfectly safe before taking action.

For me, this level has already brought up some really interesting awareness around where I was previously hesitating, overthinking, or holding myself back creatively, especially with regards to visibility, expansion and leadership within my coaching.

This combination of emotions doesn’t always shout - sometimes it looks like procrastination, staying overly busy, delaying decisions, doubting yourself, or convincing yourself you need “just a bit more time” before fully stepping forward.

Going through this level again has felt both activating and grounding. Now I can see any feelings of fear that come up as a signpost that something is new, and it's full of possibilities.

Fully letting go of the past gives me freedom, possibility, acceptance of myself and others, insights, self-compassion and understanding.

Trusting that I always have the energy within me when I want, means I have the choice to take action or not, and rather than it coming from a place of fear, it can come from confidence and clarity.

Level 3 is centred around Power, through clearing Pride, Anger and blocks around Desire.

• Pride is described as attachment to the reinforcement of one's own worth. It's when our sense of worth becomes tied to external validation.
• Anger is the impulse to react against the perceived violation of our boundaries. It's when we feel our space or sense of self has been intruded upon.

• Desire, on the other hand, is a sense of being pulled towards something, of wanting. When we are blocked from following our desires or connecting with what we truly want, we are not in our power.

As these emotional patterns begin to clear, people often experience a much deeper sense of personal power - one that is no longer dependent on external approval, outcomes, or needing others to validate their worth.

There’s something really transformational that happens when people begin to reconnect with what they genuinely want, rather than constantly filtering themselves through what feels acceptable, expected, safe, or “allowed”.

This level often creates shifts around boundaries, self-trust, confidence, self-expression and decision-making. People can begin to feel more comfortable saying no to what drains them, and more willing to pursue what feels deeply aligned and meaningful to them.

It’s also where many people start recognising that desire itself isn’t selfish or dangerous - it can actually be a compass pointing towards growth, expansion, fulfilment and authenticity.

For me personally, this level has highlighted the subtle ways external validation can still shape decisions, identity and visibility, especially within leadership and coaching.

It’s also brought a deeper awareness around the importance of honouring what I genuinely want, rather than automatically prioritising what feels expected or comfortable for others.

What I deeply appreciate about this level is that it’s not about becoming louder, harder or more forceful. It’s about becoming more grounded, more self-honouring, and more willing to take up space as your authentic self without apology. There's a real freedom in that...

As people move through this level, they often begin to realise:

• When you allow yourself to fully step into your power, other people benefit too.
• When you honour your boundaries and say no to what isn’t aligned, life becomes clearer and more intentional.
• When you trust your desires instead of suppressing them, you often feel more alive, energised and connected to yourself.

Level 3 also supports people to clear some of the discomfort around fully receiving what they want. There can be a shift from believing desires need to be justified or earned, into recognising that wanting something can be enough reason to move towards it.

This level deepens self-identity, discipline, boundaries, willpower and authentic expression in a really profound way.

At level 4 we're working with Openness, through clearing blocks around Reason, Acceptance & Love... these emotions felt really expansive as I worked with them, and there's a softness and freedom that really landed for me with them.

• Reason is the ability to think clearly whilst remaining emotionally open.
• Acceptance is the ability to be okay with self, other and the present situation.
• Love is a sense of interconnected oneness and non-separate unity.

An hour or so after I had done my process, Alex and I arrived at our hotel on the drive home from our 'Finding Freedom' workshop in Wagga Wagga. We quickly discovered we'd booked a room above a pub, next to a train line, in a tiny room with the bathroom down the hall.

After the initial surprise, I was completely fine with it.

It wasn't the fanciest place we'd ever stayed, although it certainly wasn't the worst either (we've stayed in some very, very basic places.) It was clean, warm, comfortable enough, and we were only there for one night. Plus, in the grand scheme of things, these are very much first-world problems.

What struck me afterwards was how much that reflected the work I'd just done.

Instead of focusing on what was "wrong" with the situation, I found myself simply accepting what was. There was no frustration, no mental argument about how things should have been different, and no need to make it mean anything.

There was just a sense of peace.

As I continued to reflect on this level, some deeper insights started to emerge.

The biggest one was around relationships.

What became available was a vision of better, deeper, more authentic and more honest relationships - relationships that are free from judgement, comparison, and the need to be anything other than who we are.

I also realised how much freedom exists when there's nothing to prove.

Nothing I need to be. Nothing I need to perform. Nothing I need to achieve in order to be worthy. Just the freedom to play, explore, be myself, and continue discovering who that truly is.

For me, that feels like the foundation for everything else.

When I'm connected to myself in that way, I don't need to give from obligation, approval-seeking, or self-sacrifice. I can choose what I give outwardly without losing any part of myself in the process.

What's there instead is a fullness of heart... and perhaps that's what I loved most about this level.

It didn't feel like striving. It didn't feel like pushing. It felt like softening into something that was already there.

Level 5 is all about Expression - showing our leadership of ourselves and others, deepening into our creativity and communication, and expressing ourselves unapologetically.

• Anxiety is the uncertainty of whether we can handle a future situation.
• Confidence is the a sense of being ‘good enough’ that allows us to act.
• Low Self-Esteem is made up by the feelings caused by holding on to a negative self-image.

As I took myself through it, I found myself reflecting on how these three emotional states can quietly shape the way we show up in the world.

Anxiety often has us looking ahead and questioning whether we'll be able to cope with what's coming. Yet when I explored this emotion more deeply, I felt a more powerful knowing around my ability to handle whatever is on the horizon. Life has given me plenty of evidence of that. What emerged instead was a greater sense of ease and calm. A reminder that we don't need to brace for the future. We can move more freely, limit ourselves less, and trust our ability to navigate whatever comes next.

There was also something really powerful in exploring confidence. What became available wasn't a loud or inflated version of confidence. It felt much quieter than that. It felt like an obvious knowing... A sense that I can simply take the next step, then the next one after that. That I can trust myself to get the job done without second-guessing every decision along the way. Less overthinking, more action, and more enjoyment of the process.

The work around low self-esteem was equally interesting. This is something that I started working on over a decade ago, and I'm in a very different place now in relation to my beliefs around my worth. So what emerged for me wasn't a picture of becoming someone different - it was actually a deeper connection to who I already am.

I saw myself grounded, present and fully expressed - clear about the mindset and life coaching work I do, clear about who I want to work with, and able to communicate my modalities, my value and my boundaries with confidence and ease. There was a sense of spaciousness in that vision. Less proving and convincing, and more trust.

What I loved about this level is that expression isn't really about speaking louder or taking up more space (although that's completely allowed - we're absolutely allowed to take up space, be ourselves and speak!). It's about removing the things that stop us from expressing who we truly are.

For me, this level felt like a deepening trust in my own voice, a willingness to communicate more clearly, lead more authentically, and continue building the coaching practice I'm creating from a place of certainty rather than self-doubt.

Level 6 is all about Vision - clearing and softening around the emotions that get in the way of our intuition, insight, and wisdom with these three emotions:

• Truth is being okay to see and accept the whole picture.
• Trust is the ability to lean into life and let the universe take care of you.
• Receptivity is a sense of worthy, but vulnerable openness.

These three were all emotions that I held some tension around, where intellectually I could lean into them, but it was more of a conscious decision rather than something that naturally and unconsciously shaped how I moved through life.

This level is also where we start to move into the more spiritual aspects of The Spiral, opening up our ability to flex more easily between logic and intuition, mind and body, emotion and cognition.

As I moved through this level, I found myself reflecting on how much of life is spent trying to force clarity. Trying to work things out. Trying to find answers. Trying to make sense of things before we're willing to trust ourselves enough to take the next step.

What emerged from this process felt quite different. It felt like an invitation to become still, and to become open.

Open to insight - those moments when something suddenly makes sense in a way it never has before.

Open to possibility - the ability to see opportunities, options and pathways that may previously have been hidden from view.

Open to seeing something I hadn't seen before - a new understanding of myself, another person, or a situation in my life.

Open to a perspective that may have been waiting just beyond my awareness, becoming visible when I step back from old assumptions and familiar ways of thinking.

One of the biggest shifts for me was recognising that I don't always need to search for answers... sometimes I simply need to become available to them.

Available to intuition -that quiet inner sense that gently nudges us towards what feels true, aligned or important.

Available to inner guidance - the wisdom that emerges when we become still enough to hear our own deeper knowing.

Available to imagination - the part of us that can see beyond what is and begin to glimpse what could be.

Available to knowing - not the kind that comes from analysing, striving or figuring everything out, but the kind that arrives as a feeling, an awareness, a recognition, or a simple sense of certainty.

For the trainee practitioners I was observing, this level was also conducted in near silence, so it was a dreamy, gentle process, and a wonderful demonstration of how less can be more.

One of the things I love about Emotional Clearing and The Spiral is that it doesn't require lots of talking in order to create powerful shifts. Clients can share as much or as little as they choose, and that doesn't change the outcome. There was something beautifully aligned about experiencing a level focused on intuition, trust and receptivity in such a quiet way.

Level 7 is all about Purpose - the culmination of The Spiral journey, where we clear and soften around Peace, Joy, Enlightenment and Purpose.

• Peace is the appreciation of restful stillness and harmony.
• Joy is a vibrant aliveness permeating our being.
• Enlightenment is the direct sense of our own infinite nature.
• Purpose is a divinely inspired sense of drive and meaning.

As I moved through this final level, I noticed that each of these emotions seemed to point me back towards myself. Not towards becoming someone different, but towards letting go of the things that get in the way of who I already am.

The work around Peace was particularly powerful. One of the biggest realisations that landed for me was that I can be authentically peaceful, rather than it being an exercise in becoming peaceful. There was something incredibly freeing about that distinction. So much of my life has involved wanting to understand things, make sense of things, analyse things, and whilst those qualities serve me in many ways, there was also a sense of relief in letting go of the need to understand.

Consciously I know and accept that there is so much that I don't know, and this clearing gave me the spaciousness to fully relax into it. Not because understanding is bad, but because sometimes peace exists before understanding arrives.

The work around Joy was equally interesting. Prior to the process, I could see how easy it is for joy to feel fleeting for me. How easy it can be to wish things were different, or to become distracted by what isn't working rather than appreciating what is. What emerged instead was a feeling of becoming lighter and freer. A remembering that I don't need to consciously decide to show up as the highest version of myself. I am her already, even as I work on myself. I'm in charge of my own joy. There was something empowering about recognising that joy doesn't need to be dependent on circumstances. It's something I can access, create and cultivate for myself.

The exploration of Enlightenment surprised me the most. One of the insights that landed was the question of whether I'd actually been guarding myself against enlightenment. Whether I'd been holding onto an old belief about my ability to handle it. I realised that somewhere along the way I'd come to see enlightenment as something that was eluding me, something distant that I was still trying to reach. What emerged instead was the possibility that it wasn't something I was chasing at all... it was something I was avoiding.

What arrived with that insight was a letting go of self-created walls, a willingness to live more courageously, unapologetically, lovingly, authentically and openly, and without so much self-judgement.

Permission to take up more space. Permission to continue evolving. Permission to trust what I already know.

Then there was Purpose. This felt especially relevant as I reflected on the work I do and what lights me up, the people I support, and what I want to create moving forward.

One of the biggest insights was recognising that I've sometimes treated Purpose as though it needs to be bigger than it is - as though it should arrive fully formed, complete and unquestionable. What landed instead was a much gentler truth. My purpose can grow as I grow - it doesn't need to change, or become something different. It can simply become more fully expressed.

For me, purpose feels deeply connected to sharing my gifts in service of others, helping people create meaningful change in their lives, and trusting that the people who most need what I have to offer will find their way to me.

What changes when I truly know what I'm here to do? I can just get on with it! With more ease, more enjoyment, more peace, and more trust in how it all unfolds.

As this final level came to a close, one thought kept returning - my clients are out there waiting for me, the work I'm here to do is waiting for me, and I can continue to lean in with courage and curiosity, stepping into the version of me that already knows what's possible.

This brings me to the end of my journey through all seven levels of The Spiral, at least for this round. It's been fascinating to revisit this work four years after first experiencing it, and to notice what has shifted, what has deepened, and what was waiting to be seen from a new perspective.

From now on an annual Spiral is going to be a non-negotiable for myself - it's too valuable to delay!