Root Cause Wellness

01/31/2026

01/20/2026

Absolutely agree with this loop description.. There is a difference between being wounded and remaining stuck. The victim role can feel safe because it explains everything, but it also quietly excuses stagnation. Growth begins when we ask not only “What happened to me?” but “What am I choosing now?”

Most people don’t realize that life doesn’t repeat because of fate — it repeats because of loops.

This image shows two very different cycles we can fall into, often without noticing.

At the center of both is INTENTION.
Not the intention we say we have — but the intention we act from when things get uncomfortable.

🔁 The Victim Loop

This is the loop of unconscious living.

Something happens. A situation triggers discomfort.

Instead of facing it, we:

Ignore what hurts

Deny our role

Blame circumstances or people

Rationalize our behavior

Resist change

Hide from truth

And then… the same situation shows up again.
Different face. Same lesson.

The Victim Loop feels safe because it protects the ego.
But safety comes at a cost: stagnation.

Nothing grows here. Nothing heals here.
Only stories do.

🔁 The Accountability Loop

This is the loop of conscious growth.

The same situation arises — but this time, we choose differently.

We:

Recognize what’s really happening

Own our response, not the story

Forgive ourselves and others

Self-examine without self-attack

Learn the lesson

Take action, even when it’s uncomfortable

This loop doesn’t feel easy.
But it feels free.

Because every pass through it makes you wiser, lighter, and stronger.

⚖️ The Truth Few Talk About

Both loops begin with the same situation.
The difference is choice.

You don’t escape the Victim Loop by blaming less people.
You escape it by telling yourself the truth.

And you don’t enter the Accountability Loop by being perfect.
You enter it by being honest.

🌱 A Gentle Reminder

Accountability is not punishment.
It’s self-respect.

Forgiveness is not weakness.
It’s clarity.

Growth doesn’t happen when life gets easier —
It happens when you get braver.

Ask yourself today:
Which loop am I feeding — and which one is feeding me?

Because the moment you change your loop,
your entire life trajectory shifts.

01/14/2026

Attraction makes your heart race. Alignment lets your nervous system rest.

Attraction decides the beginning. Alignment decides the ending.

The older you get, the more you realize how rare true alignment is, and how peaceful it feels when you finally experience it. It feels like someone choosing you with the same certainty you choose them.

If you’re tired of loving people you can’t build with, this is the shift: Stop looking for the strongest spark. Start looking for the deepest fit.

Attraction gets your attention. Alignment gives you a future. Don't ever forget that. 🖤

01/14/2026

01/10/2026

Part 2 ❤️💡

The Energy of Awakening; How Love, Grace, and Discipline Restore Me (Part 2)

Excerpt from My Father’s Daughter, my memoir.
(This version has been reformatted and edited for sharing outside the book.)

One of the most surprising and humbling aspects of spiritual awakening I did not expect was how draining it could feel. Awakening is not just a mental or emotional shift; it is a profound energetic transformation that often challenges the very way we inhabit our bodies and lives. Each stage, each wave of revelation, brings its own exhaustion, as if the soul is shedding layers of old identity but the vessel; the body, the mind and the spirit has not yet learned to carry the new light effortlessly.

I have come to recognize awakening as an intense energy exchange. It is a process of release and replenishment, of surrendering what no longer serves and claiming what truly sustains. The paradox is that sometimes the very act of growth feels like depletion.

There are days, sometimes long seasons, when every insight and every deepening awareness comes at the cost of my vitality. My energy feels siphoned away by the tension between who I was and who I am becoming. It is as though the ego, sensing its diminishing control, tightens its grip and drains the life force in a final bid for survival.

At first, I resisted this depletion. I thought exhaustion was a sign I was doing something wrong, that I was not resting enough or that I was pushing too hard. However, I have since learned that this draining phase is a necessary crucible in the awakening process; a recalibration, a refining fire that burns off resistance and purifies what remains.

⸻

The Loop of Reactive Discipline

With time, intention, and reflection, I discovered a rhythm beneath the fatigue: a dynamic loop of discipline that is neither harsh punishment nor forced striving but a reactive self-correction grounded in love, grace, and compassion.

This loop is less a linear climb and more a spiral dance, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, between depletion and renewal.

Here is what it looks like:
• I make a decision, small or large, that aligns with love, grace, and compassion, whether toward myself or toward others.
• This decision, rooted in conscious choice rather than reaction, restores a portion of my energy and strengthens my capacity.
• Restored and strengthened, I am better able to resist ego’s pull toward old patterns of fear, control, and reactivity.
• Resisting these patterns requires discipline, an exertion of will that is not about control or perfection but about choosing alignment repeatedly.
• Because I am more aligned, the next loving decision comes with greater ease.
• And the cycle continues, gently building resilience and depth.

This loop is reactive because it emerges from awareness of depletion itself. When I feel drained, I am invited to respond not with exhaustion or collapse but with a choice; a return to love’s path, an offering of grace to myself, and a renewed commitment to compassion.

⸻

Discipline as an Act of Compassion

This discipline is not cold, rigid, or legalistic. It is tender and fierce all at once. It is the compassionate voice inside that says, I see you, ego, and I honor your presence, but I will not give you the steering wheel today. It is the grace that allows me to stumble, to fall short, to fail without condemning myself. It is the love that holds space for my humanness while inviting me into my higher self.

Discipline here means choosing what sustains rather than what depletes; not as a punishment for weakness, but as a loving correction that restores integrity. Every choice made in this spirit, whether to rest instead of react, to speak truth instead of silence, or to set boundaries instead of people-pleasing, feeds my energy reserves instead of draining them.

This is not about achieving perfection or a state of unshakable discipline. It is about returning again and again to a place of love and alignment, even when the ego protests loudly. The discipline of awakening is, paradoxically, an act of profound self-compassion.

⸻

Energy Restoration as Spiritual Practice

I have come to see that managing this energetic loop is one of the most profound spiritual practices of awakening. It is an ongoing practice of listening; to my body, my heart, and my soul; and responding with intention.

It is less about achieving perfect discipline and more about the willingness to come back to love’s way when I stray. It is about learning to notice when my energy is low and discerning which choice would genuinely replenish me rather than momentarily soothe or distract.

This practice is also a deep surrender. Sometimes the ego pushes back, demanding exhaustion through resistance, resisting rest, boundaries, and love that does not feed its survival needs. Choosing discipline in those moments is choosing surrender to growth, a surrender that feels both terrifying and liberating.

I have learned that this kind of energetic stewardship is sacred. It honors the body as a temple of transformation and treats vitality as a precious resource, not a commodity to be spent recklessly.

⸻

What This Means for You

If you are walking your awakening and feeling drained, overwhelmed, or uncertain, please know this: exhaustion is part of the process, but it is not your permanent state.

Your energy will return when you choose love, grace, and compassion over reaction, resistance, and ego-driven impulse. This return is not accidental; it is a discipline, a practice that requires kindness toward yourself and firmness with old patterns.

You do not have to push harder in ways that break you. You are not called to self-sacrifice or martyrdom. You are called to self-alignment.

The loop of love, grace, and discipline is your pathway back to vitality and spiritual freedom.

When you cultivate this loop, you are learning not only how to survive awakening but how to thrive within it, carrying more light without losing your center.

⸻

Reflection Questions

You may choose to explore these yourself or share them with those walking their own awakening:
1. When during my awakening have I noticed feeling energetically drained? What preceded or triggered that depletion?
2. How do I currently respond to exhaustion? Do I resist, ignore, or lean into it?
3. Can I identify moments when a conscious choice rooted in love, grace, or compassion restored my energy? What did that choice look like?
4. What does discipline mean to me? How might discipline be an act of compassion rather than punishment?
5. Where in my life am I caught in reactive patterns that drain my vitality?
6. What small step can I take today that honors my energy as sacred and nurtures restoration?
7. How can I practice surrender in moments when ego resists rest or boundaries?
8. What does thriving in awakening look like for me beyond mere survival?

The reflection questions above invite you to explore your unique journey with honesty and grace. Remember that awakening is not a race or a linear path but a spiral dance of unfolding.

I hope you’ll move gently through your process, honoring the sacred rhythms of energy, discipline, and love that guide you back to wholeness.

Written by Tina Mahoney| Original work © Tina Mahoney. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, distributed, or adapted without written permission.

01/10/2026

Part 1 ❤️💡

The Awakening After the Awakening (Part 1)

Excerpt from My Father’s Daughter, my memoir.
(This version has been reformatted and edited for sharing outside the book.)

This chapter is not meant to convince you of anything. It is an offering.

If you are reading these words and feel seen, unsettled, relieved, or quietly affirmed, trust that response.

Awakening is not a singular event; it is a series of thresholds. Some feel expansive. Others feel disorienting. Many feel lonely, especially when your inner world begins to change faster than your outer relationships.

You do not need to label your experience.
You do not need to compare your pace to anyone else’s.
You do not need to arrive anywhere by the end of these pages.

This chapter was written from the middle of the process, not the conclusion. It is a companion for those who are learning to live with clarity without hardening, to see without separating, and to hold truth without needing to force it onto others.

Read slowly.
Pause when something resonates.
Leave what does not.

This is not a map.
It is a light placed gently along the path.

⸻

The Awakening After the Awakening

There is a phase of spiritual awakening that no one really prepares you for. It comes after the initial revelation, after the excitement of finally seeing what you could not see before, after the relief of realizing you are not crazy for sensing that something in the world, in systems, in relationships, and in yourself, has been deeply misaligned.

This is the awakening after the awakening.

It is quieter, heavier, and far more confronting. It is the phase where awareness no longer feels empowering all the time. Instead, it becomes refining.

For me, this phase began when I noticed a growing frustration inside myself. Not rage. Not judgment. Frustration rooted in clarity. As I elevated in my own understanding, I became increasingly aware of how many people around me were waking up to certain truths while remaining completely unaware of the ways they were still participating in the very dynamics they claimed to see.

I could hear it in their words. I could feel it in their energy. I could see it in the contradictions between what they professed and how they lived.

And if I am honest, the frustration scared me at first. I wondered if I was becoming hardened or intolerant. I wondered if awareness was turning me cold. What I eventually realized is that I was not becoming less compassionate; I was becoming more discerning.

⸻

Seeing Without Integrating

One of the most deceptive traps in the awakening process is partial sight.

Many people wake up to the corruption of systems; politics, religion, government, media, economics, power structures. That realization alone can feel like liberation. It can feel like stepping out of a fog and finally breathing clean air.

But awareness of systems without awareness of self creates imbalance.

I began to notice that some people could deconstruct the world brilliantly while refusing to deconstruct their own ego. They could identify manipulation but not their own defense mechanisms. They could speak about truth while quietly lying to themselves. Not always intentionally. Often subconsciously. Often as a form of self-protection.

I recognized this because I had done it myself.

Awakening does not erase ego; it exposes it. And exposure is uncomfortable.

⸻

The Ego’s Spiritual Disguise

Ego is clever. When it can no longer dominate through materialism or control, it adapts. It learns spiritual language. It dresses itself in awareness. It uses phrases like “I’m awake,” “I see the truth,” or “I’m on a higher level,” while subtly reinforcing separation.

I watched people reject material systems while remaining obsessed with appearance, validation, image, and comparison. I watched people speak about freedom while being enslaved to their own unexamined patterns. I watched people call out deception everywhere except in their own lives.

What made this difficult was not simply seeing it; it was realizing that pointing it out directly often did more harm than good. Ego does not respond to confrontation; it responds to safety or collapse.

So instead of correcting, I began to observe. Instead of arguing, I began to embody. Instead of forcing truth outward, I turned it inward.

⸻

When Your Light Becomes Uncomfortable

As my own awareness deepened, something unexpected happened. My presence began to feel confronting to certain people. Not because I was attacking them. Not because I was speaking harsh truths. Often, I said very little.

Light does not need to announce itself.

When clarity settles into your body, it destabilizes illusion without effort. People who are not ready to see what they are avoiding will often project discomfort outward. They may accuse you of judgment, coldness, arrogance, or distance. What they are really experiencing is exposure without accusation.

This was a hard lesson for me. I had to learn that not everyone who feels uncomfortable around you is being harmed by you. Sometimes they are simply being revealed to themselves.

That does not mean I am called to withdraw love. It means I am called to withdraw performance.

⸻

Degrees of Awakening

One of the most grounding realizations in this phase was understanding that awakening happens in layers.

Some people wake up intellectually.
Some wake up emotionally.
Some wake up spiritually.
Some wake up somatically.
Some wake up relationally.

Very few wake up to all of it at once.

Once I understood this, my frustration softened into compassion. Not condescension. Compassion rooted in remembering where I once stood.

Grace does not mean ignoring misalignment. Grace means recognizing that timing matters. You cannot rush someone through an awakening they are not ready to survive.

⸻

The Wilderness I Did Not Know I Needed

At a certain point, I realized I could not continue absorbing everyone else’s noise and remain clear. So I withdrew. Not dramatically. Not permanently. Intentionally.

I stepped away from social media. I reduced external input. I stopped explaining myself. I went inward.

This season reminded me deeply of Jesus in the wilderness. Not as a metaphor, but as a pattern. Solitude is where clarity is refined. Silence is where the ego starves. Stillness is where truth becomes audible.

Without the constant reinforcement of other people’s projections, I could finally hear what was mine and what was not. I saw my own remaining attachments. I saw where my frustration was inviting deeper surrender rather than reaction.

This was not isolation. It was consecration.

⸻

Accountability as the Doorway

What I learned in the wilderness is that awakening without accountability leads to stagnation. Awareness must be matched by responsibility.

Every new level of sight asks a new question:
What am I being invited to release now?

Sometimes that release is behavior.
Sometimes it is identity.
Sometimes it is the need to be understood.

Accountability is not punishment; it is alignment.

When I stopped focusing on what others were missing and turned fully toward what I was being asked to integrate, my frustration transformed into steadiness.

⸻

What This Means for You

If you are in this phase, if you are feeling irritated by contradictions, fatigued by ego dynamics, disillusioned by half-truths, and drawn toward solitude, you are not failing your awakening. You are deepening it.

Do not shame yourself for noticing.
Do not harden yourself against others.
Do not abandon your discernment to preserve comfort.

Instead, ask what this phase is refining in you.

Sometimes the greatest spiritual maturity is learning to hold truth without forcing it, to carry light without weaponizing it, and to love without losing clarity.

⸻

The Awakening That Changes Everything

The awakening after the awakening is not glamorous. It does not come with applause. It does not feel powerful in the way the first revelations did.

It feels grounded. Quiet. Unshakeable.

It is the phase where ego no longer needs to be fought because it is no longer in control. Where truth is not something you speak but something you live. Where compassion and discernment coexist without contradiction.

This is where awakening becomes embodied.

And once it does, nothing can take it from you.

⸻

Reflection Guide

For Those Walking Through Their Own Awakening

This guide is not meant to be completed quickly or linearly. It is designed to be returned to, sat with, and revisited as layers unfold. Answer what resonates. Leave what does not.

Recognizing the Phase You Are In
• What truths about the world have I become newly aware of?
• What truths about myself am I being invited to face?
• Where is frustration signaling a deeper refinement?

Partial Awareness
• Where do my beliefs and behaviors misalign?
• What am I willing to critique externally but avoid internally?

Ego in Spiritual Clothing
• Am I attached to being seen as awake or evolved?
• Do I resist feedback that threatens my self-image?

When Presence Feels Disruptive
• Have relationships shifted without clear conflict?
• Am I tempted to dim myself to preserve comfort?

Grace and Timing
• Can I honor where others are without needing them to change?
• Can I offer myself patience without complacency?

The Call Into the Wilderness
• What noise am I being asked to reduce?
• What clarity might be waiting in stillness?

Accountability and Integration
• What pattern keeps repeating?
• What am I being asked to release now?

Embodiment
• How is awareness changing how I live?
• What does integrity look like in this season?

⸻

Transition Into What Comes Next

Every awakening reaches a point where awareness can no longer remain theoretical.

The chapters before this one explored what shaped me; family, legacy, grief, and survival. What follows explores what must now be confronted, dismantled, and reassembled.

This chapter sits at the threshold.

It marks the shift from noticing patterns to dismantling them. From insight to embodiment. From awakening as realization to awakening as responsibility.

This is not the loud awakening.
It is the consequential one.

What comes next is not resolution.
It is crossing.

———

A Closing Word for the One Who Feels Unsteady

If awakening has left you feeling ungrounded, you are not doing it wrong.

Many people expect clarity to feel clean and empowering from the beginning. What often comes first is disorientation. Old frameworks fall away faster than new ones can form. The world you once navigated instinctively no longer makes sense, yet the new one has not fully revealed itself.

This in-between can feel lonely.

You may find that conversations no longer land the same way. That familiar comforts no longer satisfy. That certainty has been replaced with awareness, and awareness has not yet learned how to rest in your body.

This is not regression.
This is recalibration.

When the veil lifts, the nervous system needs time to catch up to the soul. Give yourself that time. Ground yourself in the ordinary. Eat. Sleep. Walk. Breathe. Let your body remember that you are safe even as your perception expands.

You may feel grief for who you were. You may feel frustration toward those who cannot meet you where you are. You may feel tempted to explain yourself, to justify the changes, to make your awakening legible to others.

You do not owe anyone your becoming.

It is enough to be honest with yourself. It is enough to remain present without forcing resolution. The integration of awakening happens quietly, through lived moments, not grand declarations.

If your clarity feels heavy right now, it is because it is learning how to carry itself. Weight becomes balance with time.

Do not rush to rebuild identity.
Do not cling to labels.
Do not mistake stillness for stagnation.

You are learning how to live with your eyes open and your heart soft at the same time. That is not a small thing.

This phase will pass, not by disappearing, but by settling. One day you will realize that the destabilization has given way to steadiness. That the questions have softened into wisdom. That what once felt like unraveling has quietly become alignment.

Until then, trust what is unfolding even when it does not yet make sense.

You are not lost.
You are between skins.
And what emerges from this season will be more rooted, more whole, and more yours than anything that came before.

Rest here for as long as you need.

Nothing is asking you to hurry.

Written by Tina Mahoney| Original work © Tina Mahoney. All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, distributed, or adapted without written permission.

01/02/2026