School of Shamanism

S1 EP20: The fear of being seen

• School of Shamanism • Season 1 • Episode 20

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0:00 | 9:06

In this episode of School of Shamanism, Giada explores one of the deepest fears many people face on the spiritual path: visibility.

After discussing identity, belonging, intuition, and the experience of walking between worlds, this conversation turns toward the moment where inner work meets the outer world. The point where you stop hiding and allow yourself to be seen.

Giada reflects on why visibility can feel so frightening, but this episode is also a reminder that gifts are not meant to remain locked away, exploring how hiding our abilities not only limits us, but also prevents the people who need our work from finding us... Because being seen is not about ego. It is about allowing your medicine to reach the people it was meant for.

Connect with Giada Gaslini:

About the Host

Originally hailing from the vibrant city of Milan, I’ve spent the past two decades traversing the globe in a quest for spiritual and personal growth and combined with 25 years of international corporate work experience. From navigating the vast landscapes of Australia in a campervan to finding tranquility living in a Buddhist monastery in Nepal, my journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Along the way, I’ve delved deep into Buddhist teachings, yoga, and shamanism, becoming Shamanic Teacher,  Forest Therapy Guide, Esoteric Numerologist, Shamanic and Integral Yoga Teacher and Ikigai Coach. In 2013 I settled in Edinburgh, where  I founded the Art and Spirituality Centre, a social enterprise and the School of Shamanism, where I passionately help others on their own transformative journeys.

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Giada

You find your voice while speaking. And you will find the people that need you while you are visible. Not everyone will need you, and you will not be able to help everyone, of course. But if you wait for the permission, if you wait for the certainty, it will never come. You just need to start. So we have talked about holding two lives at once, about energy boundaries, relationships, about fear, guilt, identity, the invisible world, intuition, and the healing power of nature. And today I want to talk about something that scares a lot of people on this path, which is being seen. Stepping out with your gifts, putting yourself out there, letting the world know who you really are and what you are here to offer. Because you can do all the inner work in the world. You can develop your skills, deepen your connection, heal your wounds. But at some point, if you are called to serve most people on this path, you have to become visible. And that takes courage. So sometimes there is a part of us that just wants to stay hidden because it feels safer, quieter, less exposed. And if no one sees you, no one can judge you. If you don't put yourself out there, you can fail. You just keep your gifts, qualities quiet, and you will never have a face-to-face rejection. And so for people that walk between worlds, there are extra reasons, of course, to hide. Maybe you spent years keeping your spiritual life secret. You learn early on that it wasn't safe to talk about that. You got the strange looks, the dismissive comments, the subtle or not so subtle messages that this stuff isn't real, it's not valid. And so you just went underground. You kept it for yourself. And now the idea of being visible, it's actually scaring you. Or maybe before you shared something sacred and it was mocked, you trusted the wrong person with your truth, you stepped out and just got hurt. And so you just decided I'll not do that again. So the desire to stay hidden has its own reasons. But if you have gifts, if you have qualities, if you have knowledge, keeping them hidden doesn't help anyone. And of course, when you keep your uh things for yourself inside, you start to shrink. You might not notice that at first, but over time there is a sort of dimming, a happiness, a sense that something is not expressed, something is just backed up. It's something that wants to flow again, but it's there inside yourself. And also because these gifts are not for you. They are gifts for others and they need to be shared. And when you don't share them, they just like stagnate. People that have incredible abilities, healers, teachers, artists, visionaries, they just stay hidden because they are afraid and they wonder why they feel stuck, unfulfilled like something is missing. But what is missing is giving, it's your offer, the completion of the cycle. And there's another cost, too. The people who need, they can't find you. So there is someone over there struggling, searching for exactly what you have to offer. They are Googling, scrolling, asking the universe for help. And if you are invisible, they can't find you. They just go to someone else. Or worse, they don't go to anyone. So your hiding isn't just about you, but it affects the whole world. It affects others. So being visible doesn't have to mean being famous. It doesn't mean that you need a hundred thousand followers on Instagram or write a book or being featured in a TED Talk. It doesn't mean being loud, pushy, or constantly selling and promoting yourself. Visibility just means letting yourself be seen. For some people, it might be social presence. For others, it might be offering a workshop in your local community, or just simply telling people at dinner with friends what you actually do instead of just being vague. Visibility has levels, and you just have to choose the level that's right for you. But some level of visibility is necessary if you want to serve others. And people need to know that you exist, they need a way to find you. So why does it feel so terrifying? A part of it is the vulnerability. So when you are visible with your soul work, you are not just marketing the product, you are showing who you really are: your beliefs, your experiences, your way of seeing the world. And that's of course is an exposure. What if people don't like it? What if they criticize us? What if they attack? What if they just ignore you? And they will, because the moment you are online, they will. And it hurts. Or you can just ignore it. Uh you can just see that as the bigger picture. And when you've spent your life feeling, of course, like an outsider putting yourself out there, it can feel that, of course, there can also be a part of pain that needs to be included. Uh, part also of an imposter syndrome, which we spoke about before. Who am I to teach this? Who am I to call myself a healer, a guide, a practitioner, a teacher? There are people so much more qualified than me. Of course, there are people that know more than us or know different things. And part is just that you don't know what will happen when you become visible. You can't control how people will respond. And that uncertainty, of course, is uncomfortable. But the fear doesn't go away by waiting, it doesn't dissolve when you finally feel ready. You move through the fear by moving, by doing it anyway, by being visible before you feel comfortable. So this is the just basically you will never feel ready to be visible. Never. There will always be more training you could do, more healing, more preparation, more waiting time, until the timing is perfect, which never comes. And readiness doesn't come from waiting. As I always say, comes from doing. I started teaching before I felt ready. I started offering sessions before I felt qualified, which doesn't mean the piece of paper. I started this podcast before I even had it figured out what I would have spoken about. You just launch and throw things out and then you sort it out while going. You make mistakes, mistakes while going. You find your voice while speaking, and you will find the people that need you while you are visible. Not everyone will need you, and you will not be able to help everyone, of course. But if you wait for the permission, if you wait for the certainty, it will never come. You just need to start mess around, start uh trying, start experimenting instead of just stay hidden, stay safe, stay small, because of course you need to deal with the responsibility of being seen. And it's just like it's called life, living reality. And you might actually discover that you grow with that, you become more powerful, more impactful, more needed if you allow yourself to be delivered, which is also terrifying. The fear of failure, but also the fear of success. It means stepping into a bigger version of yourself, it means leaving behind the identity of the hidden one, the quiet one, the one who stays in the background, and just allow the real version of yourself to be, which is a version in progress, which has its own medicine, which is the beauty of when you become visible because you are healing as well. And every time you show yourself and the world doesn't end, you build trust in yourself. Every time you share your truth and someone resonates, you feel less alone. Every time you offer your gifts and someone receives them, you complete a circle that was waiting to be completed. So being seen is medicine, and we need to be witness, not by everyone, but by someone.