Author Marie Louise reveals incredible story of hope and love through Discover Worlds Within

RAPED and abused as a teenager, this woman's painful journey of self discovery is inspiring. She shares her tips for finding fulfilment.

Mary Louise is the happiest in life she has ever been, despite suffering horrific trauma. Picture: Supplied

RAPED as a teenager and sexually abused as a child, Sydney woman Marie Louise has had more than her fair share of life's trauma.

The development coach came from a loving home, but her mother's devastating diagnosis of bipolar disorder when she was a teen left her constantly in fear that she would follow the same path.

But it wasn't until her 22-year marriage suddenly fell apart later in life and she began suffering a physical pain so severe she felt she had been hit by a truck that she realised something had to change.

"I remember squeezing my body so tight, I could feel every cell in my body," she tells news.com.au.

"I literally stopped breathing and squeezed my body so hard just so the pain would stop. I lost count of the time of the amount of times I did this, but for that millisecond in time, I was at peace."

Ultimately, the author of Discover Worlds Within said it was this massive period of pain and grief which made her realise she didn't know herself or her body and had never dealt with her painful past.

"I thought I had dealt with the abuse because I had been able to talk about it, but the physical pain showed me I hadn't," she says.

Ms Louise looked into how the brain works and learned to reconnect to her mind and body by observing her emotions. Through mind exercises, she practised "reconnecting to her body".

The process helped her find peace with all the negative events which happened in her life and come to an "overwhelming sense of peace and love".

Ms Louise says people are often conditioned to ignore painful experiences.

"The way we operate in the past means we then only see that in our future, even if it's unconscious," she explains.

"We don't have to be restricted by our past but a lot of us put walls up and we end up staying there without even knowing it."

These are Ms Louise's tips for achieving fulfilment:

• Experience anger

The author says we need to find the part of the body where we feel pain and instead of running from it, embrace it and allow yourself to feel it.

• Learn to see trauma can be positive

"Trauma can be great because it allows our grief to escape," she says. "I'm now grateful for grief because it has allowed me to get to this beautiful place (of acceptance and peace)."

• Reconnect to your physical body by observing and knowing your emotions.

• Allow time to work on yourself and your mind

"We spend four years studying a university degree but don't put the time in when it comes to working on ourselves to live a life of peace," she says.

The mother-of-one says it was only through hard work and self inquiry that she was able to begin healing and hopes her book will help others reach a stage of fulfilment and peace.

Her book has practical exercises which encourage readers to open up to live a life full of potential, possibility, love and absolute fulfilment. In other words, by learning the act of self inquiry.

Ms Louise says, looking back, she realised how she was in her life, but didn't feel part of it having spent a lot of time trying to fix herself, and even her ill mother.

She also says she had no idea how much she had unconsciously lived a life of self-sabotage.

"I slowly discovered that my unconscious fears about life, and who I thought I was, were imprisoning me, preventing me from living life completely, restricting (my) life experience," she wrote.

Continue the conversation via Twitter @newscomauHQ | @DebKillalea

###