Why You Don’t Have to Relive the Past to Move Forward and Grow – Interview with Melinda Thomas

Melinda Thomas is an Empowerment Coach for Women, Sacred Activations Practitioner, and founder of Rise Within, Glow Without, a movement for women in mind, body, and soul. She is passionate about helping women get unstuck, reclaim their inner power, and rise beyond survival mode while creating space for growth and new possibilities in their lives.

In this interview, Melinda explores the practical, energetic, and intuitive layers of her work, why feeling stuck may have more beneath it than we realise, and the role identity can play in creating lasting change. She also shares what empowerment can look like as layers begin to shift, creating space to grow and thrive.

Melinda Thomas, Empowerment Coach for Women

What inspired you to return to coaching with a specific focus on helping women to reclaim their inner power?

My inspiration came from my own lived experiences and my desire to keep other women from feeling as broken or alone as I once did. At one of my lowest points, I reached out for professional support, only to find providers were full. I remember thinking, “If no one else can have my back right now, I need to have my own back.”

Personal growth has been a big part of my life. I explored various modalities and undertook practitioner training. When I returned to Sacred Activations, which I first crossed paths with in 2011, something felt different. It felt like coming home. I began experiencing lasting shifts and a sense of inner contentment, even on challenging days.

Working with women feels like a calling, a strong intuitive pull. Through women's stories and conversations, I recognised parts of my own experiences: losing confidence and a sense of identity within motherhood, carrying more than they reveal, feeling alone or living in survival mode. I knew I needed to share what I had learned.

At the heart of my work is something I want women to understand: you are not broken, even if you feel like you are in the moment. What you have experienced does not have to define who you are or the life you desire to live.

“There is nothing wrong with you. You are not broken. You are holding experiences that were never fully processed or cleared.” – Melinda Thomas

How do Sacred Activations and intuitive guidance complement the empowerment coaching you offer women?

Sacred Activations, intuitive guidance, and empowerment coaching work together across three different layers: practical, energetic, and intuitive.

Empowerment coaching is the practical layer. It gives women skills, tools, techniques and processes they can learn and implement in their everyday lives.

But we can have all the practical tools and still find ourselves unable to shift what may be happening beneath the surface or holding us back.

Sacred Activations complements my coaching by working with the energetic layers, the unseen energetic imprints of past experiences we may not consciously be aware of. As a practitioner, I act as a channel for the energy while running the activations.

Intuitive guidance adds another layer. Information and messages come through that can offer insight into what may be contributing to why the client is feeling stuck. It also overlaps with Sacred Activations, as I receive intuitive guidance on which activations to run, or sometimes when not to run an activation at all. Together, the practical, energetic and intuitive layers allow me to support women on multiple levels.

What does helping women move forward without repeatedly retelling or reliving past pain look like in practice?

The Sacred Activations process is the same whether I’m working one-to-one or with a group, and sessions can be done online from the comfort of their own homes. Clients can sit comfortably, close their eyes and take some slow, deep breaths while I ground them and begin running the activations.

They don't need to retell their story, relive painful experiences, or dig into their past. There are also no processes or techniques for them to learn.

They don't need to get anything right or worry about doing anything wrong. They can sit quietly and have their own experience. They can even fall asleep if they want to.

There are periods of silence, or if an intuitive question comes through, I may ask it. At the end of the session, I share any intuitive guidance or messages that have come through, with the client's permission. Clients are then invited to share their experiences with me if they choose.

People may notice different sensations, emotions or responses during a session, while others may notice very little at the time. Each person’s experience is individual, and there is no right or wrong way to experience a session or to feel afterward.

With Sacred Activations, the energy is understood to continue running for up to 30 days after a session, allowing the process to continue while clients go about their everyday lives.

How can a woman recognise when she is genuinely thriving rather than simply becoming very good at surviving?

In my experience, when you're surviving, most of your energy goes into getting through day to day, and it can feel like life is happening to you. You're getting everything done, and you appear to be coping. Underneath, you're running on empty. Your own needs can fall to the bottom of the list. Boundaries can become harder to hold, and there can be little energy left for the things that bring you joy.

When you're thriving, you have the energy to live your life, be more intentional about how you spend your time, and choose what brings you joy. You're more inclined to take care of your own health and personal wellbeing. You begin to hold your boundaries more confidently.

Your dreams come back into focus, and life begins to feel like it's happening for you, not to you. That shift doesn’t only affect you. It can create a ripple effect. The way you show up in life shifts. The energy you bring changes, and in doing so, you can inspire others to rise and create change in their lives too.

What do you think is most often overlooked when women feel stuck despite understanding what they want to change?

I think what is often overlooked is that feeling stuck may have a purpose. We can know exactly what we want to change or where we want to go, but something may still need our attention before we can move forward.

It could be a limiting belief we're not consciously aware of, past conditioning, a repeated pattern that needs to be addressed, an energetic imprint from a past experience, a lesson we haven't yet recognised, or even an opportunity for growth.

Sometimes the question isn't, “Why can't I move forward?” but rather, “What is this stuckness trying to show me or communicate to me?”

When we become curious about what may be underneath the stuckness, rather than becoming frustrated with ourselves for not being able to move forward, we can begin to see things from a different perspective and perhaps even see opportunities for growth.

When you talk about subtle shifts creating profound change, what might a woman begin noticing first in her everyday life?

The women I have worked with often say, “I can't explain it, but I just feel that something has shifted.” She may notice it in how she responds to everyday situations. Something that would normally leave her irritated, upset, or frustrated suddenly doesn't affect her in the same way.

Overwhelm can begin to lift, bringing greater clarity around what is happening in her life. She can start to feel more optimistic about her life, more open to exploring what she wants and more willing to try new things.

She may also notice unexpected shifts in other areas of her life, including within her relationships. That's often how profound change shows up, through shifts in how we feel, respond, and experience everyday life.

What role does identity play in creating lasting change, and how do you help women reclaim who they are beyond what they have been through?

Identity plays an important role in creating lasting change because how we see ourselves can influence what we believe is possible for us. But the beautiful thing is that our identity isn't fixed. It can evolve, expand, and change as we do the inner work.

Through Sacred Activations, I can run activations around things such as confidence and self-belief, while working with limiting beliefs, past conditioning, patterns and energetic imprints that may be holding them back. This can create space for women to expand beyond an identity shaped by what they have been through and reclaim more of who they came here to be.

“The beautiful thing is that our identity isn’t fixed. It can evolve, expand, and change as we do the inner work." – Melinda Thomas

How have your own experiences with adversity shaped what empowerment means to you today?

My experiences have shaped what empowerment means to me in so many ways. I see an empowered woman as someone who holds her own boundaries and makes decisions she knows are right for her, even when they may not be the most popular decisions with those around her.

She uses her voice, no longer shrinks herself to fit in, and becomes less concerned about what others may think of her. She stands tall, stands out, and stays true to herself.

Empowerment also means having her own back during challenging times and trusting that she will find her way through a difficult season, while also recognising that she doesn’t have to carry everything alone. It’s knowing she has skills, tools and modalities she can draw on to help her move through those times, as well as the courage to reach out for support when she needs it.

For me, empowerment is also about recognising and acknowledging the power we already hold within ourselves, while being conscious of how we choose to use that power.

What do you hope women ultimately understand about themselves through the Rise Within, Glow Without, Movement for Women?

Ultimately, I want women to understand that even when they feel broken, they are not broken. The power they are looking for already exists within them. Their past does not define them, and neither do the experiences, beliefs, or conditioning they may be carrying.

As long as we are here on this planet, there is always an opportunity for change and to create the life we truly desire to live.

I want women to recognise that they don't have to dim their light, shrink to fit in or spend their lives surviving. Sacred Activations can support them in shifting limiting beliefs, past conditioning, and energetic imprints, creating space to reclaim their inner power and rise.

My vision for Rise Within, Glow Without is for it to continue to grow globally, a movement and community where women rise and uplift one another, feel supported and empowered, and know they don't have to carry their struggles alone.

Rise Within, Glow Without is about awakening, uncovering and honouring that power within, in mind, body and soul, so women can stand tall, stand out and stay true to themselves, and create a life they truly desire to live.

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