We were never supposed to hate our bodies, feel uncomfortable being seen, or be so disconnected from our physical vessels. Our bodies are a direct line to the divine. They are our bridge between the realm of light (spiritual) and matter (physical).

If you are reading this, you likely have an aesthetic-oriented soul. That means you are drawn to the process of beautification not simply because of vanity, but because something about beauty feels meaningful to you... whether you're aware of it or not.

Various traditions, philosophies and wellbeing practices have written about the utility of beauty from all sorts of perspectives. Functional, spiritual, societal, just to name a few. They describe beauty as being valuable for different reasons, but there is a recurring recognition that beauty is more than something superficial.

The same ancient Indian philosopher who popularised the idea of Maya - the illusory nature of reality - wrote a poem revering the female expression of consciousness, Shakti, through her beauty within as well as her beauty without.

The truth being hinted at everywhere, in different forms, is that waking up to our true nature as consciousness seems to be deeply connected to how we experience and express ourselves physically.

And I can attest to this personally.

When I slowly became aware of this and began releasing the distortions that had accumulated in my being, my physical form shifted. My face became more symmetrical and developed. My body shape became more attractive. My hair became denser and fuller. I think my favourite change was how the intensity of my eyes increased. I realise now why they call them the window to the soul...

But it wasn't all physical. In fact, that was actually the most life-changing part.

The most revelatory part was the way my body began to feel like my safe space. My home. When for my whole life before, it had felt like the opposite.

I became more comfortable being seen. More comfortable expressing myself. More able to actually enjoy being in my body rather than constantly observing it, analysing it or trying to change it. I started smiling at my reflection in the mirror.

And this is what I mean when I talk about coming home to yourself.

Because the version of you that you're trying so hard to become isn't somewhere in the future waiting for you.

She's already here.

What we call a glow-up is simply the process of the things obscuring her finally starting to fall away.