The Secrets That Weaken Your True Power

A secret is something that's kept (or meant to be kept) unknown or unseen by others. Secrets can shape behavior, relationships, self-worth, and even manifest physically or spiritually.
As a child, I learned to carry many secrets - secrets that held the pain of mental, verbal, and physical abuse, that eventually led to sexual abuse by the age of 12. I had no idea then that burying those truths was also burying my sense of power; shaping what I believed I could do, become, or receive in life.
As I grew older, I believed that speaking about my past was how I reclaimed my power. Later, I immersed myself in martial arts (as a student, competitor, and eventually a teacher) thinking that would bring my power back. I became a devoted seeker, chasing happiness despite the weight of the secrets I had learned to carry. Sure, I could step into the ring with the best of them, share my story from the stage, and inspire others to speak their truth - but all of it was about what I had learned to do, not how to truly be.
Then one day, a teacher offered me a powerful truth: as long as I was sharing my story from pain rather than from the power within me, those secrets were still feeding the belief that I wasn’t capable of realizing my true power. 
He helped me realize that I had been locking those memories away - tucking them into a box I only dared to open when I felt strong enough to face them. Over time, as I continued to explore the power within me, I began to see that box not just as a collection of secrets, but as something stored in the attic of my inner world. I began to see my inner world like an attic - an unfinished room at the top of a house; often hidden, dusty, and forgotten, used to store things we no longer want to deal with but aren’t ready to throw away.
Our minds work the same way. We tuck painful memories, past traumas, and old beliefs into mental storage; out of sight, but never truly gone. Some of those memories are terrifying, others are simply too heavy to carry in plain view. But whether joyful or painful, everything stored in the attic takes up space. Eventually, it weighs us down. We may not realize it, but we’re still navigating life based on what we haven’t unpacked.
What I’ve learned is this: healing doesn’t come from hiding the box or peeking inside occasionally. It comes from gently bringing those stories into the light - not to relive the pain, but to reclaim the power they’ve been holding hostage.
Your Turn: What’s in Your Attic?
Take a quiet moment today to reflect.

• ✨What have you tucked away in your inner attic - out of sight, but still shaping your life?
• ✨Are there memories or beliefs you only allow yourself to revisit when you feel “strong enough”?

 You don’t have to unpack it all at once. Just acknowledging that the box is there is a powerful first step.
As you contemplate on your own inner attic, ask yourself, “If I opened the attic door in my mind today, what might I find waiting for me?”
When you're ready, remember - you have the power to stop allowing your secrets to mask your happiness.  
💜You’re not broken
💜Nothing needs fixing.
💜You already are the wholeness you seek.
Being willing to clear your own inner attic simply points you home; beyond stories, trauma, and old emotional loops.
Nancy Mueller ~ Life Sensei