Ep 11. - Bonus Series: Reclaiming Your Sacred Freedoms #2 - Freedom of Thought & Belief: When Questioning Becomes a Sin | Religious Thought Control & Reclaiming Your Mind

🎙️ This episode is part of the Bonus Series: Reclaiming Your Sacred Freedoms (Episodes 9, 11–17)

In this raw and soul-stirring episode, Tamara Ridge opens up about her journey through an emotionally abusive marriage and a high-control religious environment that taught her to doubt her own perception, intuition, and spiritual experiences.

With unflinching honesty, Tamara shares how Mormon culture shaped her early choices, how abuse masked itself in devotion, and the heartbreak of realizing she had spent decades forcing herself to believe “the sky was green.”

She breaks down the mechanics of religious thought control—how independent thinking is reframed as disobedience, how doubt is demonized, and how spiritual conformity becomes survival. Most importantly, she guides listeners toward healing through personal storytelling, reflective practices, and a powerful somatic mantra: "My questions are sacred. My doubts make me worthy."

If you've ever wrestled with questions you weren’t allowed to ask, or felt gaslit by a system that demanded certainty over authenticity, this episode is for you.

You'll discover:

• How thought control disguised as "following the prophet" silences independent thinking
• Why critical thinking gets reframed as "pride" or "apostasy" in oppressive religious systems
• The devastating cost of policing your own thoughts to stay safe and belong
• The gap between what you were taught to believe vs. what you actually believe
• A somatic anchor practice: "My questions are sacred. My doubts are worthy"
• How to reclaim freedom of thought after years of religious indoctrination

This is the first episode in my 7-part Friday bonus series: Reclaiming Your Sacred Freedoms—naming the hidden abuses in oppressive religious systems so you can finally heal what you couldn't name.

⏱️ EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - 04:16 - Opening: Abusive marriage story - "Is the sky really green?"
04:17 - 08:09 - The parallel: Religious thought control in the Mormon church
08:10 - 13:33 - Naming the abuse: 4 forms of religious thought control
13:34 - 17:28 - The cost: Self-censorship, anxiety, performing belief
17:29 - 19:41 - Reclaiming practice #1: Permission to question everything
19:42 - 20:01 - Reclaiming practice #2: Journaling - What do I actually believe?
20:02 - 21:04 - Reclaiming practice #3: Somatic anchor - "My questions are sacred"
21:05 - 22:47 - Spiritual reframe: God gave you a mind—using it is worship
22:48 - 23:44 - Closing: The sky was always blue + CTAs
23:45 - 25:07 - Resources & next episode preview

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🌿 The Inner Light Companion is hosted by Tamara Ridge, LMFT — guiding spiritually curious souls into deeper connection, intuitive healing, and divine remembrance.

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