Your intuition. Your inner mentor. A trusted adviser. A guide. A counselor. A consultant. The voice of wisdom and calm within who creates space for uncertainty and trusts that you will be okay. A voice not always backed by measurable facts and logic, but guided by instinct and groundedness in the present moment.

What if instead of consulting your ego, or your inner critic, or the surface level chaos of your life, you consulted this beautiful voice within?

How different would your life be?

When was the last time you sat down and created a quiet space to talk to this guide within you?

I was fairly certain that I had never consulted her. In fact, I didn’t even know she existed.

But since I’ve found her and ask her for guidance on a regular basis now, I am able to release the tension created by the inner critic with a few simple steps and some deep breathing.

I don’t feel like I need to have total control over everything in my life anymore. Sometimes I can just loosen my grip and watch things float away on the breeze and feel grateful for that release.

I’ve let go of my need for perfection. Now, I relish my messiness. It’s a sign of a full life, a life well-lived, an authentic personhood.

I don’t need the approval of others to take certain steps or make certain choices. By this, I don’t mean I have abandoned the need for feedback; sometimes you must be conscious of what others in your life need or want to be successful at work or maintain a healthy personal life. But I do mean I don’t let fear of ridicule or judgment dictate my choices anymore.

I let go of regret and bitterness. Fear doesn’t control me. Pride doesn’t control me. I can be wrong. I can disappoint. And I don’t need everyone to like me.

I did a guided visualization by Tara Mohr, and I met my inner mentor. I’m not going to lie–this meditation was so powerful, I cried. Several times. At first, it was because as I was visualizing this woman inside me, the woman I could become, she felt so far away, so distant in the future. But then I realized I was crying because she truly does exist right inside me, and she always has.

I cannot recommend this visualization enough if you want to find your inner strength, guidance, support, love, peace–whatever you want to call it. She can be a powerful source for you in helping you make big changes and become more of who you want to be.

Here’s what I found when I visualized myself twenty years in the future:

She lives in a modest house somewhere elevated and airy; it seems like it’s on a hilltop or a mountain, and it’s near water. It was open and filled with natural light. When she greeted me at the door, her presence was overwhelmingly calm and warm. She made steady eye contact, and her face was radiant with inner joy.

She took me to her breakfast nook with big, bay windows that overlooked a vista above the water, and she offered me lemonade and cookies. The cookies were homemade, but when I asked about the lemonade, she laughed heartily and genuinely, and said of course it was from the store. Some might laugh at this, but it was so meaningful to me that she wasn’t trying to be a perfect homemaker. She created time and space for the things that were meaningful to her, and let go of everything else.

When I asked her what mattered to her in the last twenty years, her response was a sort of shoulder raise, a big smile, and a kind of self-hug. In the visualization, it was so clear that she had been good to herself, kind to herself, had taken care of herself. She exuded a palpable positive frequency.

When I asked what I needed to know to get from where I am to where she was, she told me to trust myself, that I had everything I needed within me. I think the profundity of this made me cry for the first time.

When I asked what would help me sing my true song, she said just let go. Let go of worry and let go of control, and ride the tide the universe is flowing to you. If that sounds woo-woo to you, I can tell you it once would have to me, too. But it made perfect sense, and it has made all the difference. Loosen your grip.

There was a presence in the house of a spouse and of children. They weren’t there, but I could feel their energy. This was interesting, because I’ve never really made a plan to get married or have kids. But there they were.

The second thing that made me cry was when I asked her true name, not her given name. And she replied, Ease and Light. Gift and Mentor were other words that popped up here, but for some reason, Ease and Light really sent me over the edge. The words and everything they convey settled in my chest, and they’re still there.

The parting gift she gave me was a journal. I knew implicitly that she would have written in it every morning for the past twenty years, and that, too, would have made all the difference. It was her way of moving courageously and mindfully through the dark times, through struggles, sadness, and anger.

When I imagined her in her free time, she was reading in an armchair under a softly lit lamp, or talking with her kids on the sofa or in the breakfast nook, or walking with her husband in the woods around the house. Taking time to enjoy books, or conversation without distraction, or nature–all things I wasn’t doing in my present life very often, but things I knew would ground me and cultivate peace.

When I asked how she handles difficult relationship, all she said was, “I listen.” This flattened me. Just completely smashed me on the floor. Because how have I tried to handle difficult relationships in the past? Lots and lots of talking.

There are many, many more questions I asked her, but I hope this gives you a taste of how rich and powerful this visualization was for me, and how it can be those things for you, too.

My overall impression was that my inner mentor, my future self, the self I can be now, is calm, trusting, and full of love.

Tara suggests tapping into this person whenever you need guidance, when you’re deciding how to spend your time, what to eat, what to wear, what and how to communicate, how to decorate, how to manage your relationships, when you’re faced with a difficult decision or dilemma, before any situation at all.

I can’t tell you what a difference it will make to let this person be your guide and your consultant. Over time, you will find that you are slowly, day by day, actually becoming her. And I can’t tell you how much I wish that for you.