The Centered Self
A 28-day guided journal and meditation practice for understanding the patterns you carry, and gently rewriting them.
- 28 guided meditations included
- Co-created with a therapist
- Proceeds support a 501(c)(3)
A 28-day guided journal and meditation practice for understanding the patterns you carry, and gently rewriting them.
Each day pairs a short guided meditation with reflective reading and journal prompts, so you can write your way through your earliest stories, your inner critic, your body’s signals, and your boundaries.
Created by Nadine Nicole and Associate Therapist Tenley Hardin.
• 28 guided meditations included
• Each day marked Lighter, Medium, or Deeper
• Premium full-color hardcover · 6.14 × 9.21 in · 427 pages
The predictive model running your life was built before you had the capacity to evaluate it. This journal is where it becomes visible.
A 28-day guided practice for understanding the patterns you carry, and gently rewriting them. Each day pairs a short guided meditation with a reflective reading and journal prompts that build to one honest question, so you can notice, feel, and write your way through what shapes you: your earliest stories, your inner critic, your body's signals, and your boundaries.
Get the journal · $74.99Every meditation is included and streams online. Listen to Day 1, read the first day's pages, and see how the practice feels before you commit to all 28.
Listen to the Day 1 meditation
Compassionate Curiosity. About 10 minutes. Headphones help.
Play Day 1 →Read Days 1–3
The first three days of the journal, from Lighter to Deeper, plus the tracker and how the practice works. Enter your email and the pages open right here.
Read
Begin with the day's reflective reading.
Meditate
Scan the QR code on the page and press play.
Write
Respond to the day's prompts. There's no right length and no wrong answer.
- 28 guided meditations. Each one a QR-code scan away, matched to that day's theme.
- Prompts that build to one honest question. Questions like What are you avoiding? and What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
- Room to write. Five to six journaling pages for every day, so you can return to the practice more than once.
- Self-Discovery exercises. Each day ends with an optional exercise that carries the theme into your week.
- Lighter, Medium, or Deeper. Every day is marked, so you can choose when you're ready for it.
- A 28-day tracker. These are 28 sessions, not 28 calendar days. Miss one, and you pick up where you left off.
- Come Back to Steady. A one-minute grounding practice for when a day feels like too much.
A tool for self-reflection, not a substitute for professional care. It works well alongside therapy.
Each one building on the last.
The journal moves from noticing what exists, to understanding where it came from, to questioning what no longer serves, to practicing something different. Each week goes deeper than the one before.
What am I noticing? What patterns repeat? What stories feel familiar? What emotions appear most often?
Where did this belief originate? What experience shaped this response? What was this pattern originally protecting?
Is this story true? Is it complete? What alternative interpretation exists? What new story would better serve my growth?
What do I want to practice? How do I want to participate? What kind of life am I actively helping create?
People who have done inner work
You understand the language of patterns, nervous systems, and emotional history. You are ready for a structured practice that takes that awareness somewhere — into genuine integration and change.
People who recognize themselves
You can see the dynamics playing out in your relationships. You recognize yourself in what you read about attachment, adaptation, and inherited narrative. You are looking for a way to work with what you already see.
People ready to begin
You know something needs to shift. You may not have a name for it yet. The Centered Self is built to meet you at the beginning and give you somewhere to go.
“Diving into my inner child and inner critic helped me integrate some deep-seated triggers I’ve been working on since childhood. It’s made a huge impact on my relationships and daily life.”
Julian K.Nadine Nicole
Co-Author · Founder, True ConnectionNadine brings to this journal a practitioner's understanding of what it means to rebuild one's relationship to self after trauma. Her work through PTSD and panic disorder, and her subsequent study of mindfulness and trauma-informed care, shaped her understanding that personal transformation is a prerequisite for meaningful participation in the world.
Known for her role as Clarissa Mao in Amazon's The Expanse, she is also an Advisor to Space For Humanity and the designer behind Yari Designs.
Tenley Hardin
Co-Author · Associate Marriage and Family TherapistTenley's work spans 17 years in education, clinical training in somatic therapy, Internal Family Systems, and psychodynamic psychology. She developed the social-emotional learning curriculum that formed the foundation of True Connection's earliest work, and understands intimately how narratives form in people, how they shape behavior, and how they can be examined and revised.
Do I need any meditation or therapy experience?
No. Each day walks you through what to do. Whether this is new territory or a continuation of work you've already begun, the practice meets you where you are.
What if I miss a day?
These are 28 sessions, not 28 calendar days. Pick up where you left off. Each day is also marked Lighter, Medium, or Deeper, so you can choose when you're ready for the harder ones.
Are the guided meditations included?
Yes. Each day has a QR code that opens that day's meditation, ready to stream with no account or app. You can also find all 28 on our Guided Meditations page.
Is this a replacement for therapy?
No. It's a tool for self-reflection that draws on clinical approaches like somatic awareness and Internal Family Systems. It works well alongside therapy, and it includes a grounding practice for days that feel like too much.
Can I use it more than once?
Yes. There are five to six journaling pages for every day, so you can return to the practice and compare entries over time.
Is it a good gift?
Yes. It's a full-color hardcover with a "This book belongs to" page, made to be given. Many readers buy it for someone going through a transition, a loss, or a season of change.
When will my order ship?
Orders ship as soon as copies are available, and we'll email you when yours is on its way. Questions? Write to teamup@true-connection.org.
Do you offer copies for therapists, clinics, or groups?
Yes. Email teamup@true-connection.org with the subject "Journal copies" and tell us a little about who you serve.
Where does the money go?
True Connection is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Proceeds support our research, writing, and education, and help put the journal in the hands of people who can't afford it.
Give it as a gift
For a friend starting over, a partner doing their own work, or anyone in a season of change.
Buy a gift copy →Give a Journal
$50 covers printing and shipping for one copy, placed through clinics, support groups, and therapists whose clients can't afford one.
Give a Journal →A premium hardcover practice you can return to again and again, with 28 guided meditations included.
Get the journal · $74.99 About $2.68 a day for 28 days · Proceeds support a 501(c)(3)The Centered Self is the primary practice within the True Connection ecosystem. The Illusion of Separation is the worldview — the observation that reality is more relational than modern life tends to make it feel. The Centered Self is where that worldview becomes personal and usable.
From here, the work extends outward: into how we connect with other people, into our relationship with the wider world, into the collective narratives shaping what feels possible.
Where would you like to go next?
The Illusion of Separation
The foundational essay. Why reality is more relational than it feels, and what that means for how we live.
Read the essay → Relational SystemsConnection is not closeness. It's capacity.
The worldview becomes human. What makes connection real, and what gets in the way.
Read the series → The Six PillarsSix dimensions of reconnection.
Nature, Ancient Civilizations, The Cosmos, Cultures, Climate Action, Mindful Living. The work expands outward.
Explore the pillars →