Courage to Become | Inez Natalia
“I believe there’s no other love and connection can be more powerful than the one between parent and child. That’s the foundation for all relationships. The emotional blueprint for how we see the world. Raising a kind, strong, resilient, and loving child is rooted in the parent-child connection. And it starts from the inner connection within the parents.”
A quick note about The Courage to Become Series and today’s, featured woman.
Hi! Catia here. I am delighted to bring you Season 4 of The Courage to Become! I ask women I admire to share a behind the scenes view of their becoming. We often see the result but aren’t privy to the through, to the transformation. And the through is where all the magic happens. The story you are about to read will buoy you with hope. Being a woman is not easy, but damn, if it can be magical. There are inspirational women everywhere and Inez is one of them.
Inez and I met through Dr. Shefali’s Conscious Coaching Institute, and it was friendship at first sight! Inez is wise and loving and so smart! She’s beautiful and kind and willing to sit and listen with her whole heart. She truly is an angel and transformative. I’m lucky to call her a friend! Please welcome, Inez.
Inez Natalia of Inner Mother Power
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I'm the Founder of Inner Mother Power and a certified Conscious (Re)Parenting Coach.
Inner Mother Power is a movement. She’s me, she’s you, she’s all the women who are brave to say “Nope, no more!” to the deep-seeded cultural conditioning of a mother, and instead, start reconnecting to their deep inner knowing.
The conditioned role of a mother is colored with fear, over worry, anxiety, and control…While the true Inner Mother Power is wise, knowing, trusting, listening, connecting, nurturing authenticity, guiding, empowering, and liberating..
In Inner Mother Power, We believe when a mother liberates herself, she also liberates her children’s children. We envision a world where more mothers can show up daily following their innate knowing, peace, wisdom, and power, so they can be wise guides to their children for the rest of their lives. And that’s what drives us, showing up, every single day.
I help mothers reconnect with their inner power, break the reactivity-shame-guilt cycle, so they can access inner peace & joy in parenting.
I'm also an accidental author and an Entrepreneur.
What was one thing you always dreamt of doing, were afraid to do, but did anyway?
Tough question!
My life has been always about "feeling scared, but I did it anyway" - writing and publishing a book, starting a podcast, becoming a conscious parenting coach, moving my whole life to a foreign country to lead an international NGO, and now THIS: being an Entrepreneur
But NONE of them was a life-long dream.
It's funny how these "dreams" just keep unfolding in a mysterious way. Every step of the way. Not a grand vision, but a tiny cue from the benevolent universe: just take this one courageous step. A leap of faith.
How did it feel getting started?
I still remember the first time I heard about Conscious Parenting.
And how it finally all makes sense to me. It gave me all the answers I need...
Growing up, I understand how all parents always want the best for their children. But despite their best intentions, inevitable wounds are created and the connection is obstructed. The confusion is real. As if parents and children speak different languages.
And now, I understand why and how this happens. Even to those parents who swore they'd raise their children differently.
I believe there’s no other love and connection can be more powerful than the one between parent and child. That’s the foundation for all relationships. The emotional blueprint for how we see the world. Raising a kind, strong, resilient, and loving child is rooted in the parent-child connection. And it starts from the inner connection within the parents.
Being a Conscious (re)Parenting Coach, as a non-parent, was very doubting at first.
The continuous inner chatter:
"Who am I?" "I'm not yet a mother, they won't trust me" "I shouldn't share on my own childhood experience, it would hurt my parents."
But then, the calling was so strong, loud, and clear, I couldn't resist.
Everything points to the same direction: to turn my pain into a gift. Embarking on this journey of healing and evolution, while supporting others to do the same. To give the opportunity for parents and children, to have the sacred connection that they deserve.
For parents to heal and break free, for children to grow up authentically, to be their own person.
To heal the world, one parent, one child at a time.
Tell us about some of the obstacles you faced when you got started?
The mental chatter, being so hard on myself, past traumas, continuous self-doubt, having too much fun with work and deprioritized self-care.
Which living person do you most admire?
Michelle Obama
What is your most marked characteristic?
Gentle compassion, courage, deep, empathy, self-awareness, Resilience
What is your motto? A message that motivates you or helps you along?
"Everything happens, perfectly, the way it's supposed to be" - Srikumar Rao
You are enough, as you are. As enough as you've been, and as enough as you will be.
Everything you're looking for is already within you.
What are some things you are proud to have accomplished?:
* Being a country director of an international NGO abroad at the age of 23
* Learning how to ride a bicycle at the age of 25! and nailed it
* Packed my bag and moved my whole life to Bali which led me to
* Wrote & published a book at the age of 26 and met my life, love, and growth partner
* Co-created the highest-rated online parenting course with Dr. Shefali, helped thousands of parents healing their relationship with their children.
* Started a podcast,
* Became a conscious (re)parenting coach,
* Being an Entrepreneur
* Started Inner Mother Power
What keeps you going when you feel like you are knee-deep in mud?
Going back to my breath. To honor all feelings, to allow, hold safe space for me, like how I can hold safe space for others.
To remember every single thing is impermanent. Both joy and pain. Enter the present moment fully.
Go to nature, to reconnect to the inner source, the boundless, limitless power within.
And to take just ONE baby step.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to women who are about to embark on the journey you are on?
Follow where joy and faith lead you to.
Take that one clumsy baby step. Every single day.
And just play with it. There's magic in it all.
What is one piece of advice you would give your 20 year old self?
Take that adventure. Follow where courage is.
Try something new, fail more, fail early. Embrace mistakes.
Play. Remember to always Play.
Hi! I'm Inez
I've always wanted to be a mom. The kind of mom who isn’t only a parent, but a best friend to the kid. Gilmore Girls was one of my all-time favorite series. My ultimate fantasy of an ideal parent-child relationship.
Oh, I wish it could be that simple.
Growing up, I understood that all parents always want the best for their children. But despite their best intentions, inevitable wounds are created and the connection is obstructed. The confusion is real. As if parents and children speak different languages.
I believe there’s no other love and connection can be more powerful than the one between parent and child. That’s the foundation for all relationships. The emotional blueprint for how we see the world. Raising a kind, strong, resilient, and loving child is rooted in the parent-child connection. And it starts from the inner connection within the parents.
This is what brought me into conscious parenting, where I found the answer I was looking for.
I'm here to support your growth journey
I know how hard parenting is, and for this reason, I am in awe of your courage to embark on a process of change and transformation.
I was trained and certified by Dr. Shefali in her Conscious Coaching Institute. Oprah has endorsed her approach as revolutionary and life-changing. Integrating Eastern philosophy and Western psychology, conscious parenting changes people's lives - now and for generations to come.
Trained in her methodology, I help individuals, couples, and parents to renew their connection with both themselves and their children. I guide parents to see their generational patterns, to heal their inner children, and to re-parent themselves. With compassion and joy, I bring back the power to the parents.
I truly believe everyone has all the answers within and there’s nothing to fix. You just need a safe space to be awakened.
You can reach out and connect with Inez on her website, her podcast - Start Here to Connect
Inez offers a Free Community, Safe Space for Evolving Moms, and a [Free Practical Guidebook] Get 5 Free Tools to Turn Parenting Chaos into Inner Peace, download now:
She’s also teaching and coaching on Facebook and Instagram!
Hi friend!
Welcome to Bright Light.
I'm Catia, a woman, wife, mama, sister, friend, daughter -- you know -- I wear a million hats just like you.
Here at Bright Light, I help parents worldwide enjoy their lives and enjoy their kids.
Family life can be beautiful, but it's not easy. A day in a family can be filled with heartache, guilt, hugs, crying, laughing, and rushing from one place to another.
I help parents create the home life they've always wanted and an environment that feels good for everyone. I teach parents how to strengthen their marriages and relationships with their children.
I believe in the power of parents and families to support and encourage each family member and then take that energy and make the world a better place.
You have the strength to break behavioral patterns, heal intergenerational trauma, and nurture your family in the way you have always wanted to.
To each session, I bring my training as a Certified Conscious Coach, my graduate studies in Marriage and Family Therapy, and my decade-long career as an author and keynote speaker. My approach is multi-cultural, grounded in research and my own experience as the mama of two young girls.
If I could choose ten words that best describe me, I would say: honest, welcoming, giving, curious, loving, earnest, empathetic, spiritual, playful, and sassy. Let's add: adventurous. That's 11.
Nice to meet you!
Want to start feeling really good but not sure where to start? Jump on into our virtual classroom (complimentary of course!) and get a guide on how to walk with confidence and joy! You are divine. You are magic. I look forward to serving you!
Monthly Wisdom Guide
Curious about what a session with me is like? Want to just kind of get a little sampler? I would too! Coaching is a big investment. Also think, how long have you been burdened with THIS and how great would it feel to be liberated from that weigh on your heart, that dark cloud following you around.
Click here to read in depth testimonials from clients.
Shine your brightest,
How are you after last week?
Ten days ago I sent out a Weekly Wisdom email - and the topic was how to sustain change.. And then, a tsunami of events, emotions, and information came barreling at America.
If you are Black and reading this, I hold you in my heart and my actions. I am learning and unlearning and acting on your behalf. I am sorry and embarrassed that I didn't know just how much you have gone through and go through. I am committed to not only doing better - but to DOING WELL on your behalf. I will be there for you in my words and thoughts and actions. I know this week was a tsunami, an onslaught, and I'm sorry that you are in the middle of all of it.
--
If you are not Black, I see you, and I feel you. As a leader of people who want to grow and do their best ( I am so proud of you ), I wanted to be there for you, and so I didn't want to be silent. I wanted to be vocal and push the envelope (of my social media - but most of all of my heart and comfort.)
When you learn that you have been blind and worse, complicit in the hurting of others - it is a gross, all-encompassing feeling. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have affected me like nothing ever has before. It has taken over my head and heart. And I suppose that's a good thing.
Here's something significant that I want you to know.
You have the skills to be a group of people who bring about change. I know that you are who we have been waiting for.
I'm not sure how long you have been with me ( reading my work and showing up for me) for some of you it's recent, and for others, it's been ten years. I know that if you are here - you are GOOD and you are STRONG, and you WANT GOOD FOR THE WORLD.
I know it.
Deconstructing beliefs takes time and intentionality. Change takes time. Looking at ourselves and where we have unconscious biases will not be easy. Seeing the hurt that our brothers and sisters have endured for centuries will break your heart open - but I urge you to look at it - don't look away.
Let it break your heart open. It's in the breaking of your heart that you will transform.
How do I know this?
Because I have been there before, and so have you.
As my teacher, Dr. Shefali, says, “pain is a portal.”
Each of us has that time when our hearts shattered, and we thought, "this is the end, we cannot endure anymore." After prayer, intention, and love, we started to feel lighter, stronger, and freer. We transformed.
Maybe it was a bad break up; maybe it was the loss of a loved one, maybe it was a job loss, maybe it was a suicidal attempt, and maybe it was drug addiction. Something brought us to our knees, and we begged for relief. Do you remember that time?
And yet, here you are. Standing tall, taking deep breaths, evolving, being a blessing to yourself and others.
--
And so I know, you and me, we were made for a time such a this.
I believe in you.
Here's what I am doing to take action.
Also, last night I watched, Just Mercy on Netflix, and I am a changed woman. I will literally never be the same. I highly recommend it. It will break your heart WIDE OPEN. You will move into action after watching it. God Bless Bryan Stevenson.
Jamie Foxx, Bryan Stevenson (American Civil Rights Lawyer and angel ), Michael B. Jordan
Let me know how I can help you on this journey of unlearning.
so much love and hope for you and for us, catia
Hi friend!
I'm Catia, a woman, wife, mama, sister, sister friend, you know -- I wear a million hats just like you.
One of my biggest whys is that I want people to feel good about ALL of who they are. Including you.
The threads running through all my work (I’m an author - The Courage to Become, I’m a motivational speaker - TEDx, Choose Joy or Die , I am a private coach ) are hope, joy and empowerment.
If I could choose ten words that best describe me I would say: honest, welcoming, giving, curious, loving, earnest, empathetic, spiritual, playful, and sassy. Let's add: adventurous. That's 11.
Nice to meet you!
Want to start feeling really good but not sure where to start? Jump on into our virtual classroom (complimentary of course!) and get a weekly guide on how to walk with confidence and joy! You are divine. You are magic. I look forward to serving you!
Weekly Wisdom Guide
Shine your brightest,
The Courage to Become | Eva Sheie Kiser
Thanksgiving 2016. Just as my dad was about to say grace before Thanksgiving dinner, my sister’s baby girl Amelia threw her head back and smashed my sister’s lip with her head. My sister left the table with a fat, bloody lip. Later she told me she was really sad because she felt so alone in that moment knowing that neither I or our younger brother Rob would ever understand what it was like to have children.
My sister Maia, Amelia (the head-butter), me, and our mom Mary after Thanksgiving in 2016. Look closely and you can see Maia’s fat lip.
I was 40 then, flying every other week from Austin to work in Seattle. Having finally landed the best job of my life, my husband and I were traveling whenever and doing pretty much whatever we wanted to do. It probably looked like we had finally “made it.” But it felt really empty.
If it’s ok to have a favorite member of the Trinity, I’d like to admit I am a big fan of the Holy Spirit. In my life I have heard both the still, small voice and the yelling, sign-waving, dancing-banana-on-the-street-corner sign of the Spirit. All I can tell you is that in order to hear that voice, you first have to listen.
Sometimes my life choices were pretty kooky. I like to joke that the Spirit even tricked me a few times, starting in the middle of my senior year of college by calling me to apply to grad school in Texas by reconnecting me with a long-lost teenage music camp crush in Houston. My (I still think this was genius) plan was to get my parents to buy me a plane ticket to Houston to visit Rice University and see if it was an option for graduate school, then I’d meet up with the old flame from camp.
As I plotted and schemed, my heart changed and I found myself really caring about getting into Rice and not so much about the boy. And then somehow I got into Rice, and that was a miracle too because I showed up to audition for the viola program on the wrong date and they weren’t expecting me. The elusive professor Martha Katz just happened to be in her studio with nothing to do at the time I arrived. I played for her that afternoon, and she recommended me to the legendary Karen Ritscher, who accepted me sight unseen on Martha’s word.
I arrived in Houston on the 4th of July in 1998, with $800 in the bank and whatever I could fit in the car. My nine years in Houston were spent first in school, then scraping a living together with gigs, teaching viola lessons, and eventually a part-time job in medical marketing. The rest of my time was devoted to drinking and related activities where drinking was involved. During this time, I strayed a long way from who I was called to be, struggling through many dark experiences and destructive relationships.
I’d feel guilty and drag myself to Lutheran church a few times each year, but didn’t emerge from the drunken fog until I got hired for a gig with the praise band at River Pointe Church in Sugar Land. I would drive away after the gig laughing to myself and judging the people waving their arms during worship. It became a regular gig that I kept for years, and for the first time I was in a place where the Bible was the singular focus, not the traditions, the liturgy, the hymns, the choir, or my family legacy. It was here that my heart was changed and I finally understood that Jesus was calling me back home. He just had to trick me into getting there by paying me to do a regular gig.
I could feel a sea change coming. I felt antsy or nervous like I was waiting for lightning to strike. But I kept saying, I’m listening. Show me where you want me to go, even if it’s crazy.
In the summer of 2006, a very close friend got married in Wisconsin, so I flew up for the wedding. I met the bride’s cousin there, which developed into a long distance relationship. He was a professional musician in Seattle, he promised could get me hooked up with the good gigs if I moved up there, he had the whole family background thing going and pursued me relentlessly.
Eventually I dismantled my life in Houston, got rid of almost everything I owned and packed what was left into my car. He flew down to help me drive, and I sobbed as we left Houston on a stunning and bright Texas morning in February 2007. When we reached El Paso it was snowing sideways and I had come down with a fever and a nasty cold. He and I had never lived in the same place, so I had no idea until that day how he’d treat me when I was sick, and it was not good.
Looking out of a port-a-potty at the Grand Canyon during the move from Houston to Seattle. I look happy in this moment, but I was overwhelmed with grief for the life I left behind me. See how puffy my eyes are? I didn’t even take any photos of the Grand Canyon.
By the time we reached Salt Lake City on the third day, I was wearing headphones inside the car so I wouldn’t have interact with him. Once I got to Seattle, I had to stay at his home for a while and it was just miserable. I needed to find a place to live immediately, and again, a miracle happened. I found a 2-bedroom apartment on Alki Beach with a direct view of the water and picked up the job as the building manager, so my rent was only $650/month. When I tell Seattleites that story today, their jaws always hit the floor. You can’t rent a closet for $650 today.
The view from my Seattle apartment included a miniature Statue of Liberty. I lived about 50 yards from this spot. Here I learned that having a beautiful view or living in a cool neighborhood doesn’t make you happy. My feet were always cold and there were only 36 days of sunshine the first year I lived here.
That relationship fell apart within weeks. I was so flat broke from moving, I didn’t even have anything to sit on in my apartment. I was quite unhappy to find out that the beach was sleepy and quiet unless the weather was nice, and people weren’t generally outgoing or friendly. The “Seattle Chill” is real and doesn’t do any favors for introverts who are prone to seasonal depression. I just wanted to move home to Houston. I was so ashamed and embarrassed by my mistake that I lost my sense of self-worth.
That pull to go to Seattle had been so strong over the previous year that I never questioned it. I ignored every red flag in that bad relationship along the way. I had been so excited to start this new adventure, but instead my entire plan fell apart. I was angry. I was embarrassed. I asked, why did you bring me here, God? It didn’t feel like courage, it felt a lot more like foolishness.
I started practicing viola again and won some orchestra gigs. I worked hard to make friends and connect with people, but it wasn’t easy. I changed day jobs and took a big leap forward in my marketing career.
My favorite place on earth, looking out over Lake Travis near Spicewood.
In July, I went back to Houston to see friends and took a road trip up to Lake Travis with one of my longtime BFF’s Andrea. We rested, read books, hung out in the pool, and it felt good to be home. She made me pick myself up off the floor and forced me to reactivate my match.com account. I determined that my profile was much too interesting and deleted about 80% of it, leaving a description that essentially said “I like to go fishing and have fun.”
It was crickets for months, I got no messages. Eventually one guy wrote me a message about fishing. I didn’t see anything too exciting about his profile, but I also had no friends and nothing else going on, so I went with it. We talked on the phone a lot, and had some great conversations. He was a teacher, and I was raised by teachers so it felt normal. I made a lot of interesting excuses not to meet up, but it got to the point where it was weird not to so I generously offered to show up at 9pm on a Tuesday night after beach volleyball. I arrived at Applebee’s covered in sand and sweat with no makeup on, because that’s how much I cared about this first date. It was awkward and uncomfortable, so we went our separate ways and I thought, “I’ll never see that guy again.”
The location of our first date, a really classy joint with American cuisine that wasn’t too inconvenient on the way home from indoor beach volleyball.
By the end of that week I could not shake the feeling that I had really screwed that up, so I called him. We kept talking, and saw each other again. I asked him, “why do you keep calling me?” He told me to call him when I felt like talking.
It grew slowly from there. It wasn’t “perfect on paper” the way I had sized up and assessed every date I had ever been on before. He wasn’t Lutheran or tall or Norwegian. I swore I wouldn’t date divorced guys or guys with kids. I still smoked cigarettes back then and he swore he’d never date a smoker, and somehow he looked past it. I had no friends in Seattle and no money and not much else to offer. But it was in that deep darkness that the light started to shine.
Woodroe knew the bible. We could talk for hours and he never bored me. He loved his daughter mightily and his family was his primary social circle. He was thoughtful and kind to me. He had gone to college in Texas and wasn’t opposed to moving back someday. I was able to take him everywhere in my world, he’d go to orchestra concerts and to art exhibits, to dive bars and to upscale restaurants. He just fit and it was so easy.
Our first Seahawks game, where I realized I would have to become a Seahawks fan and move the Texans and Vikings to secondary positions in my heart.
We got married a year later and lived in North Bend, Washington until we moved back to Texas in 2013. Life in Washington was hard, we were house poor and depressed and I always knew in my heart that I wanted to be back in Texas. North Bend is a dark place 30 miles east of Seattle where the rain clouds get stuck against the mountains, where Twin Peaks was filmed and bizarre things happen in the woods. Our seven years living in the “Bermuda Triangle of Washington” were filled with many more challenges, blessings and victories, and is another blog post for another time.
It took courage to leave that life behind too. But Texas had my heart, and when my husband’s school permanently closed, the door swung wide open for us to make the move.
I had already moved across the country twice before, so I knew that all we had to do was get in the car and go.
In September 2017, we were blessed by the greatest joy of my life, our baby girl Kari. Her name (you know, like the babysitter’s name in The Incredibles) means “pure in spirit.” Seven months later, my brother and his girlfriend welcomed their baby boy, proving my sister’s Thanksgiving prediction wrong again.
My two great loves, Woodroe and Kari.
Only now in hindsight can I see how much courage it took to make these moves and what God’s marvelous plan was.
Courage starts with hope. You cannot hear if you don’t listen, and it’s in that place between hope and action that courage lives and propels us forward. It wasn’t about the courage I needed to become a wife or a mother. It was about finding the courage to listen to the Holy Spirit and having the faith to move forward even when the moves looked risky or crazy.
It is as simple as saying, “I’m listening.”
Essay by: Eva Sheie Kiser
To read more about Eva and stay in touch, click here.
Hi friend!
I'm Catia, a woman, wife, mama, sister, sister friend, you know -- I wear a million hats just like you.
One of my biggest whys is that I want people to feel good about ALL of who they are. Including you.
The threads running through all my work (I’m an author - The Courage to Become, I’m a motivational speaker - TEDx, Choose Joy or Die , I am a private coach ) are hope, joy and empowerment.
If I could choose ten words that best describe me I would say: honest, welcoming, giving, curious, loving, earnest, empathetic, spiritual, playful, and sassy. Let's add: adventurous. That's 11.
Nice to meet you!
Want to start feeling really good but not sure where to start? Jump on into our virtual classroom (complimentary of course!) and get a weekly guide on how to walk with confidence and joy! You are divine. You are magic. I look forward to serving you!
Confidence + Joy Weekly Guide