Meet Bernie
Hi, I'm Bernie.
(Bernadette) Bernie Giggins is an inner child coach who is passionate about helping people from all walks of life. Fully committed to her clients, Bernie uses her wealth of experience and knowledge to help those who seek her help.
About Bernie
I help clients with emotional wounds from past abuse and traumatic events.
To trace back to and clear any past core memory beliefs that have been controlling their life with negative habits, behaviors, addictions, patterns which are automatically and sub consciously repeated from these past memories.
Which is important because it allows the person to reconnect to, and speak the truth of their heart and soul. It allows them to express their true feelings and become into total inner and outer alignment.
And this speaks to their underlying desire to attract the highest love, inner peace, freedom, companionship and abundance that is divinely their
Through years of practice and personal experiences of her own, Bernie guides her clients towards freedom from their own emotional trauma and to experience a new, healthier and happier way of living.s.
Where Did Bernie’s Journey Begin?
Bernie Giggins was raised on a farm in a large Catholic family with 11 siblings. Growing up, Bernie always felt like the black sheep of the family. Like someone who never quite fit in with the rest. She found that the farm isolation restricted her ability to make a change, felt trapped in an environment that she did not choose. Bernie sometimes even felt almost like she was adopted. Interests were limited by gender expectations, limiting her relationship with her father, despite her persistence.
Bernie quickly learned that to survive, she needed to conform. She had to hide her true feelings. This meant to be submissive and not question what she knew was wrong from the bullying she was experiencing, both at home and at school. During her childhood Bernie internalised much of this abuse and bullying. There simply was nowhere and no one to turn to for love and acceptance. And so, this caused conflict for her inner child spirit that went unresolved for years, taking on the shame and guilt of being her fault.
Very Little Peaceful Retreat
Bernie found most of her peace as a child in riding horses, valuing the feeling of freedom that it gave her. This freedom was the only positivity in an otherwise restrictive environment. These select positive moments drew Bernie to explore her feelings further, making changes that were seen radical to her family.
Committed to Exploration
Committing to her exploration, Bernie left her little country town of Werris Creek, New South Wales and joined the Naval Defence Force. Bernie’s courage to leave, make a change and ‘rebel’ from staying there, resulted in her meeting her husband while in the defence force. Bernie and her husband are still married, 36 years later.
At 20 years of age, to the horror of her parents, Bernie again had the courage to have radical surgical rhinoplasty. The hope was that this would stop some of the bullying she was experiencing.
The other form of bullying that Bernie experienced throughout her career was from management. Being a person not liking any form of aggression or confrontation made this extremely hard to tolerate. Again, she numbed her feelings so as to not be a target.
Looking back now, I could see my childhood was still playing out. I could not change the way I was treated back as a youngster in my family. Also my inner child became the protector of others who were being bullied, and I was standing up for them against managers.
An Ongoing Journey
Bernie’s soul healing was not finished after she left her childhood behind. She still felt that she had a lot of unhealed issues involving her family to deal with. During this self-healing, Bernie discovered many years of sexual abuse as a very young child, carried out by persons known to the family. This was known only to Bernie, and to that day it had been a secret that Bernie kept buried. Bernie knew that, unconsciously, this had played out in her behaviour in teenage years. Bernie held the core belief that it was her fault and hid it under shame, secrecy and guilt, allowing the belief to slowly eat away her self-worth.
The Damage of Conditional Love
Another of Bernie’s unhealed issues centered particularly on her mother. During her childhood, Bernie never experienced unconditional love. Love was only ever with strings attached:
- If you do this,
- change this,
- be this,
- then you will receive my love.
Broken promises and letdowns resulted in low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness.
All of the love Bernie was offered by her mother was held behind a requirement. Bernie was held back from being loved unconditionally, regardless of the rest of her siblings seemingly experiencing this. As a result, a large part of Bernie’s life was spent searching for this feeling of being loved unconditionally. Bernie’s wish was to have a close mother–daughter relationship.
And I kept the feelings locked away, not showing my true emotions for fear of being abandoned or rejected.
How could I be a loving wife and mother to my family when my family of origin couldn’t be the same?
Consequently, feelings of being a hypocrite plagued her life as well, due to not able to share these secrets with others, so resulting in more fears.
A Turning Point
An important turning point in Bernie’s life was during a trip to see her parents when her father was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Her mother hadn’t visited Bernie’s home and family for 8 years. So Bernie made a silent commitment to pay for a nanna, mother & daughter holiday together in the future. However, Bernie’s mother unfortunately passed away five months after that, leaving the potential of their bond unrealised.
During the grieving process, Bernie had told herself that she “still couldn’t get it right?”. Bernie turned to food to console herself over the loss of what potentially could have been her dream fulfilled. She longed for relief from the feeling of having something given and taken away shortly after. Without realising the creeping weight gain, and giving the excuses of “worry”, “life” and “health concerns”, the problem compounded. Bernie put on a notable amount of weight, which is completely out of character for the very fit Bernie, who was also finding herself increasingly emotionally burdened with the unresolved issues with her family of origin.
Beginning the Healing Process
Seemingly by some miracle, it was at this time where Bernie began her healing process:
I couldn’t be this bad, my own little family and husband were completely different?
Through much exploration, hard work, opening of deep old emotional wounds and acceptance, Bernie was able to pinpoint many of her triggers and what they were trying to communicate. This honest reflection has allowed her to work through these feelings of pain and conflict to find better ways to process and express them.
Through this soul-healing journey, replacing the negative Core Memory Belief, Bernie has shed her excess weight from size 14-16 down to a 12 and is feeling clearer, confident, healthier and happier.
Bernie has developed a great deal of empathy for others from her own experiences and traumatic childhood that consisted of bullying and sexual abuse. This means you are in great hands while undertaking your own inner healing journey. Bernie has experienced pain at it’s rawest level. Nevertheless, she has managed to come back from it as a stronger, healthier and happier being. Understandably, Bernie is passionate about guiding others to a healthier and happier life.
First Hand Experience and Understanding
These experiences Bernie has been through allows her to truly connect with her clients inner being. Bernie understands on a soul level how rewarding it can be to clear the subconscious negative energy and heal on a cellular and soul level. She truly understands the inner turmoil within you that may be holding you back. Bernie is more than a coach to many – she is a mentor and someone who you can trust. Firsthand, Bernie has seen the highs and lows, cleared her own past through courses, and has experienced what those who undertake these types of healing processes are capable of achieving and becoming.
She understands how these unhealed issues can keep you from inner peace, and how important it is to heal and respect your own inner child. Her past and her healing have led Bernie on her journey to help others by guiding them through their own soul journeys.
What you think of your-Self and how you treat your-Self is a direct reflection of how you are treated by the outside world, like it or not, it is the truth. When you understand this fact, you can then take control back for your life and a new direction emerges, doors appear where there were once walls.
“We are our own worst enemy and that is correct.”
Trust me, I’ve travelled the long, hard road to now guide you the easier path out of your silent darkness to light, love and freedom.
Bernie’s own experiences have provided her with the ability to understand and consequently empathise with her clients. This allows her to have strong connection with each individual that walks through her door. As a result, many call Bernie the “Inner Child Whisperer” or “Nanny McPhee for the Inner Child”.