Inner Light Companion podcast

In this episode, Tamara explores one of the most painful but least acknowledged wounds in high‑control religion: the loss of belonging when the Church decides you aren’t “worthy” to enter the temple.

From standing outside a loved one’s wedding while family gathers inside, to decades of everyday “just come to church” pressure, Tamara breaks down how exclusion becomes a spiritual injury that lives in the nervous system long after you ...

In today’s episode, we’re unpacking one of the most painful and unspoken legacies of high‑control religion: financial fear that lives in the body.

For many of us, money was never neutral. It became fused with spiritual worthiness, obedience, punishment, and survival. And long after leaving, our nervous systems still respond to money as if danger is hiding inside our bank accounts.

In this episode, I share:

• how childhood scarcity for...

For 59 years, I thought I was making my own choices — what to wear, what to eat, when to rest, how to give, how to spend my time. But a few weeks ago, my body revealed the truth: I wasn’t choosing.
My dysregulated nervous system was.

In this episode, I share the most vulnerable story I’ve ever told — a four-day nervous system reset that completely transformed:

• my glucose stability
• my hunger and satiety signals
• my ab...

What does it cost when you're forbidden from seeing, reading, or knowing anything outside of the authorized script?

In this episode, I share three devastating moments of information control that shattered my trust in church leadership:

The God Makers 2 moment - Sitting in my laundry room, sobbing, watching video evidence of Gordon B. Hinckley doing things members would be excommunicated for—while he was protected and later becam...

I was standing in my living room, about to leave Mormonism, weighing the cost: Social support? Gone. Community? Gone. Lifelong friendships? Gone.

The answer that came wasn't "yes, I can do this." It was: "I can't not."

But I didn't understand then that I was about to experience the exact same isolation I'd escaped in my first abusive marriage—only this time, it would be an entire religious syst...

Before you listen: Tamara shares more vulnerability in this episode than ever before. Naming what was done to our bodies, as children, as women, as spiritual seekers, is both sacred work—and tough work. If you feel big feelings or body memories, you’re not alone. Tamara felt them, too, recording this. This is for anyone reclaiming a sense of home in their own skin.

How do you even begin to reclaim a body that was never truly yours? ...

🎙️ This episode is part of the Bonus Series: Reclaiming Your Sacred Freedoms (Episodes 9, 11–17)

What if silencing your voice started long before church, marriage, or adulthood?

In this brutally honest episode, Tamara Ridge unpacks how childhood conditioning, family dynamics, Mormon doctrine, church music, and marriage all conspire to steal your voice—and how to finally reclaim it. From repressive primary songs to emotionally unsafe...

🎙️ This episode is part of the Bonus Series: Reclaiming Your Sacred Freedoms (Episodes 9, 11–17)

In this raw and soul-stirring episode, Tamara Ridge opens up about her journey through an emotionally abusive marriage and a high-control religious environment that taught her to doubt her own perception, intuition, and spiritual experiences.

With unflinching honesty, Tamara shares how Mormon culture shaped her early choices, how abuse m...

You know God loves you… but do you feel it?

In this powerful capstone to our Spiritual Intimacy series, Tamara Ridge unpacks the journey from intellectually understanding divine love to truly embodying it. If you’ve ever struggled to feel loved by God—especially after religious trauma or deconstruction—this episode is for you.

You’ll learn:

• Why many seekers feel disconnected from God's love—even with strong beliefs
• How religio...

🎙️ This episode is part of the Bonus Series: Reclaiming Your Sacred Freedoms Episodes 9, 11-17)

After leaving organized religion, many of us water down our spiritual language to avoid triggering ourselves or others. But what if reclaiming words like 'God' is part of our healing?

In this episode, I share why I choose authentic language over palatable language—and give you permission to use whatever words connect you to the ...

How did a former Mormon therapist end up teaching ancient yogic wisdom? In this deeply personal episode, I share my spiritual heritage story—how I inherited original teachings from Paramahansa Yogananda through a direct disciple who lived with him in the 1950s, and why I believe you don't need anyone's permission to access divine truth.

After 10 years of spiritual darkness following my exit from Mormonism at age 43, I met ...

Episode 7: Recognizing Divine Messages - How to Hear God Speak Directly to You

Your windshield wipers start cycling on their own. A feather falls in your path when no birds are around. The exact thing you've been praying for shows up synchronistically. Coincidence?

In this episode, I teach you how to recognize when the Divine, the Universe, or your Higher Self is speaking directly to you—and how absolutely everyone can develop t...

In this deeply personal and transformative episode, Tamara explores what it means to pursue an unmediated, direct connection with the Divine—especially after leaving the confines of organized religion. Drawing from her own experiences of trauma, deconstruction, and spiritual silence, she offers insight into how shame, perfectionism, and external authority can block intimacy with God—and how to gently rebuild that connection from wi...

What if your relationship with the Divine could feel more real and fulfilling than any human connection you’ve ever known?

In this episode, Tamara Ridge explores spiritual intimacy—a lived relationship with the Divine that grows stronger through simple, embodied practices. She shares the single insight that changed everything for her: learning to notice and follow the small sparks of divine connection that appear in everyday life.

Th...

Why do we feel distant from God—and how do we come home again? In this cozy Friday night reflection, Tamara explores how spiritual intimacy can be rekindled through rest, creativity, and beauty—even in the middle of life’s storms.

🌿 Want to go deeper? Start with the free Sacred Intimacy Snapshot.
 👉 Full show notes + links: Click here.

In this cozy, thunder-filled Friday night reflection, Tamara invites you into a gentle, heart...

What if your spiritual plateau isn't a lack of devotion—but an imbalance in how you're connecting?

In this inaugural episode of The Inner Light Companion Podcast, longtime therapist and spiritual counselor Tamara introduces the 12 Sacred Intimacies—a groundbreaking model that maps multidimensional spiritual connection across self, others, and the divine.

Drawing from decades of clinical experience and cutting-edge research,...

 Do you ever feel like you're not enough for God? 

In this deeply honest episode, Tamara Ridge explores how our upbringing, relationships, and religious past can distort our ability to feel truly connected with the Divine. Through personal stories and spiritual reflection, Tamara unpacks the lie of spiritual unworthiness — and invites you into a new way of seeing yourself. 

Whether you’re deconstructing religion, healing from sp...

 What happens when the foundation of your faith no longer holds? 

In this first episode of The Inner Light Companion, I invite you into the sacred moment my spiritual journey truly began—not with certainty, but with the aching honesty of letting go. I was a devoted Mormon. A therapist. A mother. A woman quietly yearning for something more. 

Then one day, everything changed. 

This episode shares the story of my departure from organized...