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BY KARI HILBORN
A STORY OF RESILIENCE
FINDING STRENGTH WITHIN THE STRUGGLE
How one woman's pursuit through adversity led her to find unbreakable inner strength and lasting empowerment.
My Dark Night of the Soul
2015 was the year that tested every part of me — my health, career, family, finances, and dreams. It was as if life had pressed a complete reset button, stripping away everything familiar and forcing me to start anew.
Looking back now, I’m still amazed at how I made it through that time. What felt like endless waves of challenges came crashing one after another, yet somehow, I kept finding the strength to stand back up.
Losing my career was one of the hardest moments. I had spent six years dedicating myself to education — earning a degree, then a Master’s, and finally qualifying as a teacher. When it all disappeared, it felt like my identity had vanished too. But in hindsight, that loss became the spark for something far greater — a deeper understanding of who I truly am beyond titles and achievements.
As I faced loss after loss — loved ones, health, stability — it would have been easy to give up. But even when I felt like I was drowning in pain and uncertainty, a quiet voice inside me kept whispering to hold on.
Losing my mum to cancer was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. Watching her face it with grace and courage challenged everything I believed about fairness and faith. For a while, I lost both. Yet even in that darkness, I began to see her strength reflected in me. Her resilience became my compass.
Over time, I realized that fear had quietly shaped my thoughts and choices — but awareness changed everything. Once I saw the patterns, I could begin to rewrite them.
Through it all, my wife and I leaned on each other. We were each other’s anchors in a storm that seemed unending. And though our paths later diverged, I’m forever grateful for the strength and love we shared during those years.
Our decision to move to Spain was an act of courage — a leap of faith to rebuild our lives. Even though it didn’t unfold as we hoped, it was another step in my evolution. Every ending brought with it a new beginning, and I began to understand that transformation often hides within heartbreak.
Looking back now, I don’t see a story of loss — I see a story of endurance. I faced some of life’s hardest lessons and emerged with a deeper compassion, a stronger spirit, and an unshakable belief in my ability to rise.
The Birth of My Inner Warrior
Living through another loss was painful beyond words, yet somewhere deep inside, I sensed it was guiding me toward something greater — a deeper truth waiting to unfold.
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I moved in with my daughter for a time, unaware that I was about to face one final, profound test — a spiritual initiation that would stretch my soul to its limits and bring every hidden wound to the surface for healing.
That’s when I met my twin flame.
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She was both a mirror and a catalyst — the person who would awaken me to dimensions of love and consciousness I had never known. Our connection was transcendent, magnetic, and at times, agonizing. In our short time together, it pushed me through more emotional and spiritual growth than years of study ever could. Through the pain, I discovered the raw power of awakening — the kind that burns away everything false to reveal what’s real.
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But as my spirit expanded, my physical body struggled to keep up. My health declined, and I felt lost — like a compass with no north. Then, as if the universe wanted to strip away every distraction, the world went into lockdown.
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No noise. No escape. Just me — and the truth.
It was in that stillness that something within me shifted. My inner warrior stirred. I knew I had a choice: stay buried in pain or transform it into power. So I began to fight — not with resistance, but with curiosity and courage.
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I immersed myself in learning — devouring books, podcasts, and teachings about healing and consciousness. This time, I wasn’t studying for others. I was doing the work for me.
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The process was raw and confronting. It demanded that I sit with my pain, not run from it. To feel every emotion, allow it space, and surrender to what was. And in that surrender, I found grace.
Guided by divine intuition, I was led to voices that echoed the same timeless truth — Eckhart Tolle, Michael Singer, Tosha Silver — each whispering the same sacred message: Surrender.
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Then came the words that anchored it all for me:
“The more extreme stress you have lived through, the more your brain is trapped in the past and the worse it is at noticing the truth of today.”
— Rebekkah Ladyne, 2020
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Reading that, something inside me released. My higher self whispered, It’s time.
So I surrendered.
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I surrendered to uncertainty, to loss, to the idea that life hadn’t unfolded as I imagined it would. I released my attachment to my career, to relationships, to the version of myself I once thought I needed to be.
And as I let go, my ego softened — and gratitude began to flow in its place.
I started affirming, over and over:
“In this present moment, all is perfect, whole, and complete.”
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That simple truth began rewiring my mind from fear to love, from resistance to peace.
Yes, I had walked through darkness. Yes, I had faced unimaginable loss. But through it all, I had gained wisdom, strength, and an unshakable knowing that I could endure anything.
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I had gone to the depths of despair — and returned reborn.
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From that moment, my higher self stepped forward fully. My inner warrior was no longer sleeping; it was alive, grounded, and radiant.
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For the first time, I felt truly free — aligned with my truth, anchored in peace, and completely at home within myself.
I wasn’t just surviving anymore.
I was becoming.
Becoming the version of myself i had always wanted to be.
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