The Power of Healing: Whispers of The Soul’s Ripple Effect

Valerie Holden was 19, working a routine shift at her college job, when an ordinary day became anything but. What started as another evening of responsibilities quickly turned terrifying when she found herself trapped in a restroom with a man who posed an immediate threat. In that moment—suspended between fear and the unknown—something unexpected happened.

A profound calm settled over her, and she felt guided by an inner voice that seemed to come from somewhere deeper than conscious thought.

‘That experience didn’t end my story—it redirected it,’ Holden reflects. What could have been a defining trauma instead became a turning point after trauma, not because the fear wasn’t real, but because she chose to listen to the quiet voice that rose up when everything else fell silent.

When Everything Changed

The restroom incident wasn’t just about surviving a dangerous encounter. It was about recognising something Holden hadn’t fully understood before: the power of intuition when we’re stripped down to our most essential selves. ‘Something that seems bad at the time can change my life for the better,’ she writes in her contribution to the international bestseller Whispers of the Soul: Stories of Resilience, Awakening, and the Power of Healing from Within.

That moment of clarity didn’t just get her through a frightening situation—it completely altered her life’s trajectory. Before the incident, Holden was studying education, following a path her mother had envisioned for her. After it, she made an unexpected pivot to the airline industry. Her mother, who had long seen teaching as her daughter’s future, surprised everyone by supporting the change. Sometimes the people who love us most can sense when we need to follow a different compass, even when the direction doesn’t make logical sense.

Listening to the Quiet Voice

Holden learned to distinguish between the noise of fear and the whisper of guidance. ‘Realising it was my intuition, my connection with the Divine, that guided me through this incident, I now teach others how to tap into their intuition,’ she explains. Our deepest knowing often surfaces in our most vulnerable moments.

The concept resonates with research on post-traumatic growth, which shows how some people develop increased personal strength and new meaning after difficult experiences. Learning to trust your inner voice rather than being controlled by external circumstances makes all the difference.

A Career of Service and Support

Holden’s career path reads like someone following breadcrumbs only she could see. From education to airlines to law enforcement, each transition might have looked random to outsiders. Yet there’s a thread connecting them all: service to others and the development of skills that would eventually converge in her current work.

Her two decades as a police officer weren’t just about law enforcement—they were about learning to read people, understand crisis situations and develop the practical skills that now inform her holistic practice. Through her St. George Hypnosis Center and signature Bossy Woo® method, Holden combines this real-world experience with holistic modalities to help other women navigate their own turning points.

The Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique she uses connects clients with higher consciousness to facilitate healing and insight. It’s about integrating mind, body and spirit to access the same kind of inner guidance that helped her in that restroom years ago.

Empowering Other Women

Holden’s approach to helping other women comes from lived experience rather than textbook theory. She teaches women to distinguish self-doubt from intuition—a crucial skill when the world often tells us to ignore our inner voice in favour of external validation. Her police background gives her credibility in practical matters, while her holistic training addresses the spiritual and emotional aspects of decision-making.

Through her Bossy Woo™ Life Direction Sessions, she helps clients overcome blocks and discover life purpose by blending intuitive insight with practical techniques. The method focuses on releasing limiting beliefs and aligning with authentic purpose—skills that become essential when life presents unexpected pivots.

The Ripple Effect

Holden’s contribution to Whispers of the Soul is part of a larger mission to bring real-life stories to the surface. The anthology, curated by Vickie Gould—founder of Life Changing Energy and an eleven-time bestselling author—became an international number one bestseller in June, reaching top rankings in the United States, Canada, Germany and Australia.

People are hungry for authentic stories about navigating life’s unexpected turns. All proceeds support the Brighter Healing Foundation, a nonprofit that provides access to holistic wellness tools and retreats for those facing chronic illness, grief or financial hardship. This isn’t Holden’s first anthology contribution—she previously appeared in the 2024 bestseller The Call Within: Finding Purpose and Sparking Transformation.

By making holistic wellness accessible to those who might not otherwise afford it, the anthology creates a cycle where sharing our stories not only heals the teller but provides resources for others on similar journeys. Women who’ve learned to live unapologetically as themselves often find ways to help others do the same.

Trust the Quietest Voice at the Scariest Time

Holden’s story raises a question many women recognise: what happens when we stop asking ‘What if things had gone differently?’ and start trusting the voice that emerges in our most uncertain moments? Her experience suggests that our deepest guidance often comes not from analysing our way through decisions, but from cultivating the stillness to hear what we already know.

The woman who stood in that restroom at 19, listening to an inner calm that defied the circumstances, became someone who now helps others access their own internal compass. Her journey from education student to airline worker to police officer to holistic healer might look circuitous, but each step built the foundation for work that integrates practical wisdom with spiritual insight.

‘I now teach others how to tap into their intuition, to get clear on how they receive messages from the Universe, and to follow those messages,’ Holden writes. It’s not about dramatic revelations or life-altering crises—though those can be catalysts. It’s about recognising that the voice that guides us through our scariest moments is the same one that can redirect us toward our deepest purpose, if we’re brave enough to listen.