My Journey: From Acné Break-Out to Mirror Breakthrough

The Call To Transformation

Over the past four years, my life has been a series of initiations: transformative, painful, healing, and magical all at once. From awakening into burnout and depression, I radically changed my life: quitting my full-time government job, quitting alcohol and drugs, ending a long relationship, moving countries, and starting as a holistic health coach and freelancer.

The Descent: Integrating the Shadow

At the end of 2023, another initiation arrived... a severe cystic acne outbreak that left my face unrecognizable. Standing in front of the mirror, I heard my own harsh voice: “Who do you think you are? You can’t even help yourself.” I realized my thoughts rooted in shame, fear, and self-criticism were actually feeding this inflammation... it was part of the toxicity that had built up inside me.

The Turning Point: Mirroring Love Over Shame 

This was a major turning point. What if, instead of perpetuating the cycle of self-criticism, I started to speak words of love, care, and healing over myself? The mirror—the place I resisted the most, the most confronting for my cystic acne—became my altar for healing.

The Teacher Appears

I remembered I had bought a mirrorwork course from @Sister_Shanti years ago and started to return to it. I began implementing my own practices in front of the mirror, like heart coherence, meditation, somatic practices, and archetypal embodiment. I started experimenting with integrating these tools.

The Rise: Stepping Into Power Through Embodied Mirror Work

As I started coming back to the mirror my relationship with myself softened and deepened... I allowed my emotions to flow out, opened my heart to myself and created this field of acceptance, compassion and coherence with myself.

All was welcome in front of the mirror, all was welcome to be seen and held. There was and is nothing I want to hide from myself anymore. When looking into my own gaze, I realised this is another access point for our subconcious. 

Our eyes hold language we don't need words for, but can be felt, acknowledged and witness. Through this...my confidence became unshakable.
I started to feel deeper love and intimacy with my body.
My heart and passion came alive.
My energy returned in ways I hadn’t experienced in years.
My resilience grew stronger than ever.
My intuition became more attuned
I started to trust more in Life and God.

For the first time, I truly felt at home in my own skin, from the inside and out.

As this inner transformation took hold, my outer world began to shift in beautiful, unexpected ways.

Social anxiety melted away.
The need to prove myself at work became less.
My friendships deepened and became more authentic.
Strangers complimented me on my radiant energy as I walked down the street.
I found the courage to speak confidently at a wedding.
I recorded videos and podcasts, free from the familiar blocks in my throat.
And the men I met responded to me with a presence and depth I had not known before.

And I knew...there was something truly magical happening. There was no other option, I needed to research this.  Bit by bit, the vision for the Mirror Embodiment Technique (M.E.T.™) began to emerge.
Impact and Inspiration

The Gold - Turning my Lived Experience into Wisdom and Alchemy

I’ve learned that every obstacle we encounter holds the potential for gold, and we can turn it into lived wisdom... these moments spark the fuel for our Soul's path. Our Soul is here for the great evolution. The burnout, depression, severe acne, the moments where I lost everything material, where I lost my job.... we can rise from our ashes stronger and more determined than ever. But only, when we are willing to look deeply into the mirror, to alchemize, and transmute it into Love.


Love, xx Mariska Lisanne (Founder Mirror Embodiment School)