What is Soul-Led Courage?

I used to think that courage was an inner determination that helped us act in the face of adversity and/or uncertainty. While these can be a part of courage, those attributes are really more mental mindsets of “mind-led” stick-to-it-ness. 

Mind-led courage can take us down a road of spurring ourselves on from a place rooted in fear, scarcity, and really unhealthy comparison. Think of statements like - mind over matter, I’ll show them, no one can tell me no… these are all mindset stances that pull on the idea of courage to act yet there is often a hidden cost that comes with creating from these inner stances. 

In my own life, I discovered that these types of attitudes helped me appear courageous and a creator of many different accomplishments in my life. Yet, underneath them I was really lost in frantic worries, shame, and feeling that if I didn’t “create” whatever it was I wa up to I wasn’t worthy. 

So what is Soul-Led Courage?

Soul-led courage doesn't come from the Metal Being, it comes from the Heart and Soul. It is: 

• Held in the whisper that asks us to pause and not jump into action right away.
• The inner flame that grows from a tiny spark of believing that somehow we will be okay and to trust in ourselves. 
• The feeling of inner strength that buddles up from within a collapsed part of us that reminds us we are amazing, beautiful and worthy whether we "succeed" or not, so take the leap and see what happens!

Soul-Led courage is often found in the quiet reflective moments where we are asked to meet different aspects of ourselves or our lives that we would normally marginalize, dislike, judge, or not even see.

I share more about my own journey of unbridling the true Soul Medicine of Courage in episode 48 of Soulful Practices Podcast. 

Episode 48 is the final episode in Season 4 of the podcast which is dedicated to cultivating our ability to courageously connect. What I love about all of season 4 is that any one of the episodes can help us shift from mind-courage to soul-courage. 

Maya Angelou said,

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.”

And I agree! It is the entry point of connection to ALL the Soul Medicines: love, acceptance, connection, forgiveness, compassion, joy, laughter, healing…

Each one of these medicines will ask us to pause, turn toward the aspect of us that is lost in a fear or past trauma-story, and invite us to be with our life from a different perspective and way of being. 

All the Soul Medicines will take us into the unknown and ask us to release our attachments to the illusion of “safety” that the mind tries to hold us in. And that my friends, to do that requires true courage that is rooted in love, not fear. 

If you are yearning to connect more with yourself, your life, and others rooted in Soul-Led courage I invite you to check out Season 4 of Soulful Practices and especially episode 48. You can watch/listen on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

You might also find my on-demand course - Healing through the Houses - extremely helpful. In this course,  we explore the 12 main areas of our lives and how we can courageously reclaim them, freeing ourselves from our conditioned-self and unbridling our true self. 

Offering you light and JOY on your journey! 
Michelle