
by Maria McGonigal, Soul Coaching Advanced® Trainer, Advanced Yoga & Meditation Teacher & Acoustic Sound Healing Trainer.
When the allure of working on the luxury cruise ship Crystal Harmony started dwindling, I knew I was looking for much more than exploring exotic places around the globe.
I was on a quest for the Grail, the chalice of my inner truth.
What was my purpose? What was I meant to do? Life answered.
I met the love of my life and moved from Portugal to the USA.
Rian introduced me to an exciting new world with myriad expressions of spirituality. Through it all, one principle stood out; you need to speak your truth. But, to tell you the truth, I had no idea what that meant.
Growing up, I learned the importance of telling the truth. My intuition whispered that speaking my truth would require deep diving. I listened to what truth was asking.
I wanted more peace in my life! Where would I find it?
Peace seemed to be one of the many benefits of Hatha Yoga, but after years of dedicated practice, I was thirsty for more. I kept searching for answers. I learned from many teachers with different approaches and philosophies and became an advanced Yoga and Meditation teacher.
I delved into the ‘Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’ and was shocked that only one Yoga pose was mentioned: the seated, cross-legged meditation pose.
But Yoga is much more than poses.
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali offers practices to help create a foundation for right living: the Yamas and Niyamas. The Yamas consist of five moral codes of conduct. The second code is Satya or Truthfulness. But Satya is not just about ‘not telling lies’. The word Sat means ‘true essence’ or ‘true nature’. Sat also means ‘unchangeable’. So truth becomes unchanged and pure.
I was decoding truth in very new terms. I found that Satya (Truthfulness) was intimately connected with the first Yama, Ahimsa, meaning non-violence or non-harming.
The Yogi or Yogini speak their truth gracefully, without harming others, or themselves. If it does, they withhold it. It is an invitation to peace. The choice to speak, or not to speak our truth, becomes an act of self-love.
These two principles, Truth (Satya) and Non-Violence (Ahimsa) were the foundational principles of Gandhi’s thought.
Then, I discovered tools to help me, and my students, transition from Yoga poses to actualizing Yogic principles. I found Soul Coaching®.
“The Soul Loves the Truth” is the Soul Coaching® motto. I now had the opportunity to integrate truth into my life, achieving a new level of freedom.
Soul Coaching® offers many remarkable tools to access our truth. Asking ‘Noble Questions’ is just one of them.
Diving deeply into the nature of who we are, we release conditioned beliefs.
We listen to our soul to find new answers within.
Exploring various ways to access my truth illuminated the way to profound transformation. But I learned that it is not enough to find our truth.
Transformation is only possible when we are completely honest with ourselves about who we are, and where we are.
Transformation is a result of finding our truth.
The path of truth is demanding and challenging. It can also be dangerous if our truth challenges other’s beliefs. We find the courage to reflect the truth within, without harming others. This is the path of the brave.
Learning to share our truth with compassionate discernment becomes paramount. The ‘Talking Stick’ is an ally incorporated in Soul Coaching®.
The ‘Talking Stick’ is an agent of aboriginal democracy. It is passed around the circle. When one is speaking, no interruptions are allowed. Everyone must listen to what is being said respectfully. If someone chooses not to speak, it goes to the next person.
Holding a ‘Talking Stick’ allows us to shine our truth into the world without being afraid to be seen. As someone said: “Love is a place we go when we no longer wish to hide.”

Maria McGonigal, Soul Coaching® Advanced Trainer
Maria McGonigal is praised for her keen intuition and profound wisdom.She focuses on bringing together different yet integrated systems together creating harmony, balance, and profound transformation. Maria assists you in finding missing pieces, energetic or physical, connecting you with your Soul so you can find your own answers.
She is one of only four Soul Coaching® Advanced Trainers worldwide, an Acoustic Sound Healing Practitioner & Trainer, and an Advanced Yoga & Meditation Teacher. In addition, she is an international speaker and author of three international best selling collaborative books.
Maria lives in mystical Prescott, AZ with her husband and Sound mentor, Rian, and their joyful dog Ziggy.
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