In this third Healing is Living live, I had the honour of being joined by Alicia Joyful - a writer, storyteller, and the deeply honest voice behind Courageous Compassion. While we touched upon her book and her journey into writing, this conversation opened into something much deeper: the courage to live intuitively, to begin each day in communion with oneself, and to return — over and over again to compassion as a way of being.
Highlights From The Live
❗️Disclaimer: My audio decided to sound like a gentle robot this time, blame the tech gremlins. Still, the conversation shines through.
What does compassion really look like in daily life?
For Alicia, compassion is not just softness or empathy, it’s radical self-responsibility. It’s choosing to reparent the parts of ourselves that get triggered, instead of expecting someone else to fix or soothe them. It’s being both the child and the caretaker, the voice of truth and tenderness in our own lives.
“No one else can reparent me. That’s my responsibility.”
Real compassion starts when we stop outsourcing it.
Why does how you begin your day matter so much?
We spoke about mornings as sacred portals not for productivity, but for presence. Alicia shared how she keeps her phone on airplane mode every night and doesn’t touch it until she’s spent time checking in with herself — mind, body, and emotions.
Her ritual? A meditation (however that looks), gentle movement, and a moment with her reflection.
“The first five minutes of your day can make or break your day.”
“My morning is where I remember that I matter.”
Mornings, when held intentionally, become a mirror. Not to fix ourselves, but to meet ourselves.
What does it mean to live intuitively rather than rigidly?
A huge part of intuitive living is letting go of routines that no longer serve us even if they once did. We spoke about the quiet grief that can come when a beloved practice no longer resonates, and the courage it takes to evolve.
“If it feels ick, don’t do it.”
“Let your practices evolve with you just like seasons.”
Alicia’s reminder was this: if it starts to feel like a performance, it’s time to pause. Intuitive living isn’t about discipline. It’s about honest dialogue with the self.
Why is it so hard to say ‘I love you’ to yourself?
One of the most beautiful practices Alicia shared was her mirror work. Every morning, she looks at herself and says, “I love you.” And not in a rushed, surface-level way but with presence. Sometimes, she hugs herself. Sometimes she cries. But she never skips it.
“If I’m not going to love me, how can I expect anyone else to?”
“Do it for the sake of all humanity.”
We spoke about how uncomfortable it can feel at first — how painful, even. But this daily act builds something stronger than affirmation: it builds trust.
How do we create a flexible structure that supports, not restricts?
Rather than prescribing rigid tools, Alicia offered a framework that can adapt to anyone:
Mental check-in (reflection, breath, presence)
Physical awareness (movement, hydration, nourishment)
Emotional honesty (naming what you feel)
Spiritual self-connection (through words, stillness, or intention)
It’s not about perfection, it’s about showing up. You don’t need a 5-step routine to be grounded. You just need to ask yourself, What do I need today?
“If there’s a ‘should’ in front of it, it’s probably not for you.”
What helps us move through fear and shame into integrity?
Toward the end of our conversation, Alicia shared what it took to write her book honestly from reaching out to people mentioned in her story, to apologizing face-to-face with her ex-husband and children. She spoke about owning her past, not to seek redemption, but to reclaim her narrative.
“I had to be willing to sit with the discomfort, the shame, the truth and still say: I love me.”
This isn’t just about healing. It was about living in alignment with who you are now.
How do you begin showing up for yourself, today?
If you take one thing away from this live, let it be this:
“You are worthy of your time.”
Not someday. Not when things slow down. Not when you’re better. Today.
That worthiness is the starting point. And every morning, we get to choose it again.
Important Links
Alicia’s post on ‘Morning Routine That Says I’m Worthy’ — we discussed about
Book — Courageous Compassion: From Survival to Sovereignty
The Journey Goes On
We continue to explore how healing can be woven into our everyday lives — not as another task to check off, but as a way of being.
💛 With — Grace Grossmann
🗓️ Tuesday, May 27th, 2025
🕰️ 5pm BST, 6pm CET, 12pm EST, 9.30pm IST, 6am HST
🗣️ Finding inner peace in a restless world: Why tiny moments matter more than we think.
Let’s keep growing gently, together.
Let’s walk each other home.
Light and life,
Janki 🌻
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