Today is Part 2 of the 3 part What In the Woo? Series—offering a fresh perspective on how to work with the term “Inner Child.”

The Inner Child is not your younger self—it’s the wounded, emotional, shadowy part within, asking for healing.

Your Inner Child isn’t you when you were 8 years old. Inner Child is a really effectual term for the part of us that hasn’t healed yet—the wounded self, the fragmented self. Interchangeable with the ego or shadow self.

The part of you that gets triggered, goes into fight, flight, freeze, or fawn? That’s your Inner Child asking for attention and love.

The gift of the Inner Child is that they’re always pointing to what’s unresolved within us. Anxiety attacks before big events, losing your phone while hustling, getting sick when you’re pushing too hard? Those aren’t accidents—they’re calls for compassion, not "tough love."

True spiritual growth happens when we hold space for our Inner Child reactions—gently, lovingly, without judgment. Reparenting our unmet needs into creative power... and that’s Inner Child work.

In this episode:

• How the Inner Child represents your unconscious self
• Why Inner Child healing transforms emotional triggers
• How self-sabotage moments are really spiritual SOS signals
• The power of gentleness vs. tough love
• How to spiritually grow up through reparenting

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• What in the Woo? 3-part podcast series → Subscribe to WITH LOVE, DANIELLE.
• What The Sphinx Told Me: LISTEN | READ
• The Archives: Read on Substack
• Join the Inner Child class inside the Heart Centered Collective
• Catch up on Part 1 of the What In The Woo? Series: Are you ego’ing? What IS the ego? Do you DO it, or does it do you?
• Next week: A look at “following the money” for Mother’s Day. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.
• Take the free Stressed to Blessed Quiz

The ego… your shadow… is a POWER PORTAL.

For years, I thought I had to punish all my ego-centric’isms—manipulating to get my needs met, constant striving to burn my karma, pretending to behave. But actually? I’ve needed to assimilate… embrace… and talk sweetly to my shadows.

The ego is the unhealed part of us. More precisely, “it’s the way our unhealed self acts.” It’s not a villain—it’s a pattern. And that “pattern” is always trying to protect you from heartbreak or rejection.

What if, instead of saying That’s my ego I need to get in check… we just said:

“Whoops, I was ego-ing. I can get back to Loving.”

Because ultimately: Light, shadow, light.

In this episode:

• A liberating definition of the ego (that’s not outdated personal growth dogma)
• Why bravado and deep insecurity are both ego disguises
• “Ego’ing” vs. Loving—how to tell the difference
• Why ego is not your enemy—and what it’s really asking for

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• What in the Woo? 3-part podcast series → Subscribe to WITH LOVE, DANIELLE.
• What The Sphinx Told Me: LISTEN | READ
• The Archives: Read on Substack
• Join The Heart Centered Collective for just $7/month
• Take the free Stressed to Blessed Quiz

There’s curiosity. There’s concern. There’s some serious side-eye.

Danielle’s essay, “AI IS NOT YOUR BEST LIFE COACH,” stirred up a flood of responses—some celebratory, some cautionary. In this episode, she goes deeper into our growing relationship with AI—from life coaching to spiritual support—and asks: What happens when we start outsourcing our inner wisdom to technology?

There’s more than one side to this conversation.

Danielle shares community responses—insightful, and deeply felt—and reflects on why spiritual maturity requires discernment, and why human-to-human healing will always remain irreplaceable.

In this episode:

• Why dependency on AI for spiritual direction is dangerous
• How AI can fawn instead of truly support—and why that matters
• Community perspectives: cautious, hopeful, clear-eyed
• The real cost of convenience when it comes to creativity + soul
• Why authentic connection still matters more than ever
• And Danielle’s off-the-cuff response to the baiter debaters

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• AI Is Not Your Best Life Coach: LISTEN | READ
• The (Significant) Downside to Fawning: LISTEN | READ
• Eoin Finn’s YOGA OPTIMIZED—look into it here.
• Join The Heart Centered Collective for just $7/month
• Nourish System—reduce stress and restore your nervous system.
• The Archives: Read on Substack
• Never miss an episode → Subscribe to WITH LOVE, DANIELLE.
• Take the free Stressed to Blessed Quiz