Healing Happens in Layers

Lately, my trigger has been finances.

Not because I don’t trust God or because I don’t believe things work out.

And not because I haven’t seen miracles happen in my life. I’ve seen too much to deny that. I’ve watched doors open when they shouldn’t have. I’ve watched money show up when I didn’t know how I was going to make it. I’ve watched life work itself out over and over again.

Yet every now and then, that old feeling comes back.

The calendar looks a little lighter than I’d like. The clients aren’t booked yet. The bills still arrive.

I can feel my mind trying to pull me into the future.

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“What if nobody signs up?”

“What if I fail?”

Years ago, those thoughts would have consumed me.

I would have spiraled. I would have lost sleep. I would have questioned everything.

Today, the trigger still shows up. The difference is that it doesn’t own me. Healing happens in layers.

As I sat with this realization, I thought about the metaphor of the onion. Stay with me.

Most people hate onions because they make us cry.

But maybe that’s exactly why they’re the perfect symbol for healing.

When you first look at an onion, all you see is the outer layer.

The layer that protects everything underneath.

And isn’t that what most of us do?

We create layers to protect ourselves.

We become strong.

Independent.

Busy.

Successful.

Funny.

Helpful.

Spiritual.

We create identities that help us survive.

Not because we’re broken because we’re trying to stay safe.

Layer One: Protection

Every layer of the onion serves a purpose.

So did yours.

The walls you built.

The masks you wore.

The habits you created.

The people-pleasing.

The perfectionism.

The need to control everything.

They weren’t flaws.

They were protection.

The problem is that what once protected us can eventually prevent us from growing.

Layer Two: The Story

Underneath protection lives the story.

The story we created about what happened.

“I’m not enough.”

“People always leave.”

“I have to do everything myself.”

“Money is hard to make.”

“No one will choose me.”

The event is painful.

But often it’s the story that keeps the wound alive.

Layer Three: The Wound

Underneath the story is the actual wound.

The rejection.

The betrayal.

The grief.

The abandonment.

The disappointment.

The fear.

This is the layer most of us spend our lives trying to avoid.

We stay busy.

We scroll.

We distract.

We numb.

Anything to avoid feeling what lives beneath the surface.

Layer Four: The Emotion

Then comes the emotion.

The tears.

The anger.

The sadness.

The fear.

The loneliness.

The shame.

And this is where many people think they’re failing.

They think if they’re crying, they’re not healed.

If they’re triggered, they’re not healed.

If they’re emotional, they’re not healed.

But what if that’s not true?

What if healing isn’t the absence of emotion?

What if healing is your ability to sit with the emotion without allowing it to control you?

Healing is not the absence of a trigger.

Healing is your ability to sit with the trigger without allowing it to run your life.

The trigger may still show up.

But it no longer drives the car.

You do.

Layer Five: The Truth

When you stop running, something beautiful happens.

You discover the truth beneath the wound.

The wisdom.

The lesson.

The growth.

The strength you never knew you had.

You begin to see that every experience carried a message.

Every challenge shaped you.

Every layer served a purpose.

Layer Six: Your Essence

At the center of the onion isn’t another wound.

It’s you.

The real you.

The version of you that existed before fear.

Before conditioning.

Before heartbreak.

Before life convinced you that you were anything less than worthy.

Beneath every layer is your essence.

Whole.

Worthy.

Loved.

Enough.

Why We Cry

The onion doesn’t make us cry because it’s weak.

It makes us cry because we’re cutting deeper.

Healing is no different.

The tears aren’t a sign that you’re broken.

The tears aren’t proof that healing isn’t working.

The tears are often a sign that you’ve finally reached the layer that needs your attention.

Maybe those tears aren’t a sign that you’re falling apart.

Maybe they’re a sign that you’re finally healing.

Reflection Questions

Take a few moments and sit with these questions:

• What trigger keeps showing up in my life?

• What story do I tell myself when that trigger appears?

• What emotion am I avoiding?

• How is this trigger trying to protect me?

• What lesson might this layer be trying to teach me?

• How am I responding differently today than I would have five years ago?

• What would compassion for myself look like right now?

The RECODE Practice

The next time you feel triggered:

Pause.

Take three deep breaths.

Place your hand over your heart.

Ask yourself:

What am I feeling?

What am I needing?

What is this reminding me of?

Then sit with it.

Don’t fix it.

Don’t judge it.

Don’t run from it.

Witness it.

And remind yourself:

“I can feel this without becoming this.”

Final Thoughts

Every layer protected you.

Every layer served a purpose.

Even the fear.

Even the anxiety.

Even the financial trigger I’m working through right now.

The goal isn’t to hate the layer.

The goal is to honor it.

To thank it for protecting you.

And then decide whether you still need it.

Healing isn’t becoming someone new.

Healing is returning to who you were before the wound convinced you that you were anything less than whole.

Layer by layer.

Breath by breath.

Day by day.

This is the RECODE.

Laura El

Intuitive CEO 💋