The Jacket That Changed Everything: A Story About Visibility, Intuition, and Becoming Who You Are

My Mom’s jackets have been collecting dust until now.

Something has shifted. 

And I was just sent this quote before I was about to publish this blog, and so take a read of this:

"Over time, women can become outwardly accomplished and inwardly unsure. Capable, but hesitant to trust themselves. Successful, yet still waiting for permission to feel deserving."

This is truly why I am wearing the two jackets from my Mom and allowing myself to be seen fully as the whole essence of who I am.....

Here is the story...as I am supporting other leaders to show up more boldly, yet be in grounded knowing of their truest essence, I must do the same. But it’s not a ‘must’ like I am forcing it. It’s just happening, without me overthinking about anything. 

All of a sudden, I have grabbed my Mom’s leather coat from the closet. It's from the 70s and I am wearing it everywhere. I would even say in the last week, people are recognizing me because I have posted myself in the coat so many times.

It’s truly a representation of my visibility. My intentional actions I am taking to embody the energy of the woman leader I feel deep down inside.

We all have this ‘coming home’ story, or hero’s journey adventure.

We were all born whole. We were born worthy. We were born without conditioning, because we were just born. There are no extras created in this world. We thought we could be and do and have it all. Because that’s the truth. That’s how it’s supposed to be. We had no fears. We didn’t doubt it. We didn’t care who else was in the room, when we were hungry, everyone knew about it and our needs were met.

Then fast forward…many of us, if not all of us, stopped asking for what we wanted. We stopped taking up space. We stopped believing in ourselves. We stopped looking after all of our needs first. We somehow forgot we were worthy of it all. We fell into comparison instead of seeing we are all unique here. We fell into (false)  believing if we give to others first and foremost, that we are good and we will be liked and loved.

That’s really it. In all my self development and spiritual development work, this is it.

We have just forgotten. 

So now….let’s remember. Here lies our work.

My Mom’s jackets….there is a story. I do believe I have these two pieces in my possession as it’s her helping me from the other side of the veil to remember who I am, to lean in to who I am at my core and to show up in the world to live out my purpose.

I also believe I am here to teach people about signs and synchronicities. That our loved ones on the other side, the Universe, whatever you say, are guiding us 24/7, but it’s up to us to slow down and pay attention. I believe we live a guided life and life is truly synchronicity.

Okay back to the jacket.

So here is the story of why I haven’t worn the jackets.

So for those who don’t know, my Mom passed on when I was 20. I am now 55. She was 47. I have outlived her. That alone stops me in my tracks every time it comes to mind.

I have this long leather coat and a short fur coat of hers. I remember her wearing the fur coat and only have pictures of her wearing the leather coat.

They have hung in my closet the last many years. I have worn them once or twice. A nice dinner out, or a winter holiday party. And my daughter has asked to wear them here and there for a special occasion. It always makes me question myself of why I am not using them more often.

But a few weeks ago, as the weather turned to ‘almost’ spring, I had a nudge to pull out the leather coat. I wore it out with some friends and the conversation around it was so fun. But it made me stand out. I had all the attention on me and the story about my coat. Now here me out, if you know me, I don’t have a problem standing out…but in the same breath, some days I don’t want to stand out because one conditioning of mine is not wanting other people to feel bad. That came from my high school years.

With friends, it’s fine. We share vulnerable stories, we cheer each other on, so it’s fine. But wearing it out in public is a whole different story. Around people I don’t know, well, that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I worry….more on that later.

But all this inner work I do and help my clients do so they can show up and fully express themselves, and share their talents with the world - well, part of the strategy is to stand out in a crowd. But not stand out as someone you are not, it’s to stand out as the truth of who you are.

But the conditioning is strong. I know you know it is. And your conditioning is different from my conditioning.

My fear of judgement is different from your fear of judgement, because we have all had different upbringings, but more importantly we are all on our own soul’s journey. So our experience is different.

In one week, I wore the leather coat in a photo shoot for my brand, and to an event with 160 women. When I posted the pics of the photoshoot, I got a lot of attention. Loving attention. I could feel myself expanding. I felt like a Queen, not the queen who is royal, but the Queen who stands in her peaceful power and follows her truth, her intuition, and exercises self-leadership with incredible boundaries, so she can do what she’s been put on this Earth to do. 

I am talking about living out daydreams, living out your greatest vision, that calling that keeps calling. Yes, that.

Then the next opportunity came. My friend's event. I tossed and turned on what I would wear. 

These entrepreneurial events call us to dress in our most comfortable and most authentic versions. Sometimes we are called to dress as our next level self. 

For me, I call women forward all the time, to step into who they want to become. It’s in the becoming where we grow, where we evolve as the woman behind the brand, that the success, the clients, the opportunities become inevitable. 

And so that’s what I did. But oh did my saboteur brain have a hay day. 

She was like 

“But then everyone will be looking at you.”

“What if people think you are showing off.”

“You just wore it last week and people saw it, you should wear something different.”

But the other voice, the unconditionally loving, the limitless potential voice, my soul's voice, my inner spirit voice was saying:

“Binu, you will feel like the leader you know you are”

“But Binu, this is how you grow, do the uncomfortable, be seen in a way you haven’t before, just like you teach your clients to do”

“But Binu, this is YOU. Wearing your Mom’s coat allows you to be so connected spiritually as you walk around that event. You will feel elevated like the leader you know you are.”

“Oh Binu, there are women out there praying for your support, let them find you”

Yes, all that is happening in my head often;)

Maybe you have the same…two voices always talking.

The key is, I have trained my soul’s voice. I have trained her to speak loudly and more clearly. I have trained her to nudge me over and over. 

And I have trained the sabotaging voice to quiet down. To not take the stage. To get in the back seat. I know she is trying to keep me safe. I am good with her now, I love her and love on her, and put her in the background.

But there is more….

I joined a mastermind with a woman leader that is stretching me outside of my comfort zone. I didn’t realize this decision would come with such a stretch, but I am choosing to say YES because I know it’s right. I know what alignment feels like, I know what ‘next level’ growth feels like, and it’s what I am feeling again so I am stepping in.

This coach held a dinner called the Iconic Table. We were invited to dress as our iconic selves. Like what did that mean? I am laughing as that was what I thought.

Then I saw my Moms fur coat in the closet and I thought….ICONIC!

As I was leaving the event, I put the coat on and let my coach know it was my Mom’s and how meaningful it was for me to wear it to her dinner. She right away had the photographer take a picture and capture the moment. That picture is here. Even looking at it now lights my soul on fire and puts me in an instant state of spiritual connection to something bigger than me. I feel this warm light hug me. I feel this energy ignite a depth of calm within me. Sometimes I am overjoyed at how a piece of clothing with deep deep meaning can do this. 

I feel like I am embodying the essence of the Queen energy my Mom was and that same energy is in me, deep within my core and each and every day I am expressing myself fully at her.

That’s it friends, that’s our job. To fully express ourselves, all parts of ourselves so that the people we are supposed to help and serve find us. If we are being someone that is no our truest form, those people cannot find us.

I know now why I didn’t use these items over the last many many years.

I was worried people would judge me for hurting animals.

I was worried people would think I was showing off, flashing money.

I was worried people would feel bad for me about my Mom.

I was also worried people would feel bad about themselves.

Gosh the subconscious sure does a job on our heads some days!!!

I’ve been invited to step in more(I get signs and synchronicities and strong intuitive guidance all the time and it’s clear more than ever), to show up more boldly yet humbly. 

To show up knowing what I know I do and how I can help the world. 

So wearing the jacket, represents this too. I feel like who I am becoming in an instant. I feel elevated. I feel eloquent. I feel more alive. It’s kind of wild a jacket can do all of this.

It’s also a protection. I feel the Universe, my guides and angels protecting me when I walk around a room with that long coat, with eyes on me, and I feel safe inside my mind and body and heart. I know it’s okay. I feel so calm in my nervous system. 

It’s wild that I can feel a bit uncomfortable and calm at the same time.

But that is how we grow friends. We must step in little by little and notice the discomfort as we grow. Follow what feels good. Follow what feels exciting. When you get that intuitive idea (like I did with wearing the jackets), follow it. 

You will be safe. You are always protected. You are always supported. 

The Universe is your partner.

We must build up ourselves behind our businesses, behind the caregiving, behind the home. The outer things only grow to the extent that you do. I get it now. To grow my business to the next level, it’s about my thoughts, actions, reactions, behaviours shifting to match that next level. To be the woman speaking on stages around the world, she has some uplevelling to do in her mind, words, energy, behaviours, rhythms and routines, etc.

I now know that many powerful women leaders are not all connected to their intuition and are still not fully trusting. There is work here for many of us to get to the next level of our growth.

I know now that many leaders haven’t experienced self-talk mastery and some of them don’t have great communication in their relationships. I say this with love as I hear it in my coaching practice all the time. There is nothing wrong with anyone…there is just some inner work to do within ourselves and our homes.

I know now that many of those women, well their health is on the backburner. They haven’t exercised how they want to. They are rushing to feed themselves. They are not savouring moments with their children. So they may be making a big impact and big money, their health and relationships could use some attention. It’s all one energy.

And I know I am here to help them. I know my value and my worth. I know this one energy concept is real. I know we can have it all. I know we can have big happy money and have extraordinary relationships and be in better health each and everyday.

But it takes ‘wearing the jacket’ so to speak to FEEL into your next level self…who is matched to your next level dreams.

I know we get to rest and peace is our superpower. And we get to take action. I know creating rhythms in our days and weeks and months and the cadence of those rhythms is our choice. And we can have it all with the cadence we choose that works for our own lives, that has ease, flow and grace as the foundation.

So for me to get in front of those leaders, the ones I am meant to serve, I need to show up more boldly and be seen as the most powerful, loving, super caring woman I can be. Each day I get to evolve a little more. I get to grow a bit more. 

I get to let the Universe be my partner. But the Universe needs a clear signal from me.

So for me to wear the leather and fur coats, is a clear signal.

The energy I feel inside when I wear those coats is electric. It’s alive within me. My soul is literally on fire and at peace and connected to something bigger all at once. It’s moments I pause in, because the vibrational frequency is so wild.

So what is your ‘jacket’ that is calling you?

In reality or figuratively.

How can you show up more boldly, more authentically you?

What is the next level that is calling you?

I am sure you have a voice inside of you that is trying to guide you.

Are you listening?

Friends, ‘wear the jacket’ this week, and let me know what you feel.

I can’t wait to hear.

Love

Binu