About – Bella Aurora Starr – Holistic Counsellor based on the Sunshine Coast

My life’s journey lead me on a deep quest to understand who I truly am, and move beyond pain and suffering.

I share this with you, because I want people like you to know transformation is possible…

My childhood was strange and difficult, with a lot of suffering due to (mainly) ongoing emotional and psychological abuse.

Due to early conditioning and abuse, for many years I thought was the problem, that something was wrong with me. But the truth is, I was programmed to think that way. I was the child, and they were the adults abusing their power and operating from their wounded selves. I had to adapt to survive, which meant blaming myself. It’s much safer for a child to think they are the problem, than to realise the adults around them have issues!

The shame I felt prevented me from seeking help for a long time, because I was in denial and I tried to cover up my feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness by trying to be perfect.

In my early adult life I was high functioning and resilient and refused to give up, however deep down I was struggling and unsure of myself. I felt weighed down, lost, and I was stuck in unhealthy patterns. My relationships were surface level and unsatisfying and I wasn’t showing up authentically. I had anxiety and my nervous system was chronically dysregulated (and later I realised I had complex PTSD). I didn’t really know what it felt like to be calm, attuned to others, connected to something greater than myself and loved for who I am (like I do now).

My quest lead me to many healing modalities, embodiment meditation, holistic counselling, shamanic healing, breathwork and sacred plant medicine ceremonies. I dived deep, met my shadows, connected with all parts of me, and discovered the light of my soul and the divine in everything. With the help of a spiritual teacher/healer and holistic counsellors, and other mentors, I transformed my relationship to myself and life. My outer circumstances began to change to reflect my inner changes…

I attracted friendships that were deep, attuned and fufilling. I healed my anxiety. Gradually, bit by bit, I released trauma. My nervous system capacity expanded, and I was able to regulate while experiencing old deep pain (undigested experiences from the past – our bodies hold these until we can face them). I had a heart awakening – this is where the spiritual heart / heart chakra opens, and you experience love and compassion for all beings.

It was such a relief when I finally sort help and realised I could be loved without having to be perfect. And feeling that I was love itself, through the connection with my soul, was a game changer. There’s nothing more powerful than feeling that truth.

It makes sense that I developed anxiety, an eating disorder, complex PTSD, behaviours of perfectionism and people pleasing, as well as health conditions (digestive issues, skin condition and chronic fatigue) as a result of long-term stress. And I am so grateful that I found real answers and somatic based solutions to transform myself, heal my nervous system and connect with who I really am.

I have come to an understanding that what happens to us shapes our personalities, and even changes our brain and biochemistry. However, the diagnosis you receive doesn’t need to be a life long sentence. Many conditions and your nervous system can be transformed.

One perspective that really helped me transform my life was that I decided to take full responsibility for every aspect of my life. When I was a child I may have felt helpless, and what happened to me then was not my fault, however I am completely responsible for my life and my healing now.

Over several years I have learned a lot about trauma, anxiety, neuroscience, and psychology. Alongside this learning, my spiritual awakening and shamanic path kept unfolding. My work marries science and spirituality. We need an understanding of what’s going on, however an understanding is not enough to heal. It is through connection with your true self that transformation can take place – and you can feel that in the moment somatically and energetically. I work holistically because I have found that we need to work with the mind (beliefs), emotions, body / nervous system and soul to create change because all of these are connected.

I am dedicated to helping people become empowered and to transform their lives.

Life involves pain and this is part of being human, but we are also here to experience beauty, connection, love, bliss and the joy of our own creations. So if you are feeling stuck, dysregulated, cycling through old patterns or experiencing unhealthy relationships, this is your invitation to try something different, take back your power and forge your destiny.