Radiance Without Approval
Day 6 of Coming Home: A 7-Day Devotional Journey to Beauty & Pleasure
When you turn your radiance all the way up, people will be triggered.
Including yourself.
There’s a reason so many of us dim. There’s a reason we learn to be palatable, pleasing, and small.
Because true radiance, the kind that erupts from your soul, unfiltered and unedited, is powerful. And power unclaimed or misunderstood can feel threatening…not just to others, but to the parts of you that have spent years trying to stay safe.
Embodying your radiance, taking up space, and allowing yourself to be fully seen isn’t a one-time decision. This is a devotional practice. A moment-to-moment remembrance.
It’s saying yes to your bigness even when your nervous system wants to retreat.
It’s holding steady when others project, misunderstand, or withdraw.
It’s letting yourself shimmer with truth, even if your voice shakes or your inner critic screams.
Like so many parts of life, it’s a paradox.
Radiance isn’t all softness and sparkle. It’s forged in the underworld.
It’s what emerges after you’ve met the shadows that told you you’re too much, too loud, too wild, too tender.
It’s born from integrating every part of you. Your heartbreak and hunger, your rage and reverence, your shame and sacredness.
Authentic radiance isn’t performance or proving. It’s presence in your body and experience.
It’s not perfection. It’s messy and shaky permission.
It’s you, fully inhabited, unapologetically alive.
Click here for the full Coming Home series.
With love + devotion,
Montoya Miller
The Muse’s Altar
Journal Prompts:
Where am I still dimming or performing in order to belong?
In what ways do I long to be seen and how can I see myself first and foremost?
Am I willing to let my light disrupt what was never meant to contain me? What’s the first step?
Ritual: Mirror Devotion for Unapologetic Radiance
You will need:
A mirror
A candle (optional, but powerful for invoking the element of fire)
A playlist that makes you feel sensual, bold, and electric (think Sabrina Claudio or Alina Baraz)
Journal + pen
Ritual Steps:
Set the Space.
Light your candle. Let it symbolize the sacred fire within you: your essence, your soul’s radiance. If you’re using music, play it softly in the background or let it build as you move through the ritual.
Ground + Breathe.
Stand or sit in front of your mirror. Close your eyes and place one hand on your heart, one on your womb or lower belly. Take 5 deep breaths, inhaling permission and exhaling shame.
Gaze + Witness.
Open your eyes and look at yourself. We’re returning to our mirror gazing practice from Day 2. Let your gaze be soft but unwavering. Notice any judgments, resistance, or emotion that arises without rushing to fix it. Just be with yourself.
Speak Your Radiance.
Begin speaking out loud to yourself, even if your voice trembles. Say things like:
“I am allowed to take up space.”
“My light does not dim yours.”
“I am powerful, radiant, and divine.”
“I honor every part of me that has hidden, and I welcome her home.”
Speak until your body starts to believe it. Even if only a little. Remember, this is a practice.
Move + Embody.
If it feels safe, put on your song and let yourself move. Sensual, subtle, fierce, wild. Whatever your radiance feels like today. Let it move through you. This isn’t for performance. This is for releasing and integrating.
Seal + Reflect.
Blow out the candle. Sit down with your journal and write:
What came up for me when I looked at myself today?
Where do I still dim my light? Why?
What version of me is emerging, and what does she need to feel safe to shine?