The World Got Smaller. I Got Louder

A Kyoto temple. A beginner’s heart. A reclamation of what sovereign service truly means.

“Shaneh’s world just got a little bit bigger and the world got a whole lot smaller.”

That’s what I wrote in my journal after day one of a retreat in Kyoto—a gathering of 30 abundance-minded entrepreneurs from around the globe, led by Ken Honda, author of Happy Money. That book shaped how I relate to the energy of money long before I ever imagined standing barefoot in a Japanese temple surrounded by kindred spirits.

But my transformation didn’t begin at the retreat.

It began when I said yes to flying across the world.

It began when I committed to showing up fully - no playing the introvert card, no hiding in the back, no clinging to the comfort of what I already knew. I sat with someone different each day. I ate with new people. I raised my hand and spoke. I showed up with a beginner’s heart—even though I’ve been dancing with money’s energy for years.

I let myself be seen.

And I let myself see.

One day, in the stillness of a temple, I noticed another woman - someone I’d only just met - holding something heavy just beneath her heart. She was drawing healing up from the earth, but it wasn’t moving all the way through.

So I did something I never do: I asked if I could help.

She said yes.

Later, she told me she never lets people “mess with her energy.” But with me, she felt safe.

And just this week—nearly three weeks later—she said:

“Whatever you did… changed me.”

I no longer see language or distance as a barrier. Not when energy speaks so clearly. Not when presence is that potent. Not when service is sovereign—not performative.

Because here’s what I know:

Sovereign service doesn’t ask you to bleed out to be worthy. It doesn’t demand exhaustion as proof of devotion. It doesn’t require that you earn your desires by erasing yourself. Sovereign service flows from overflow, not obligation.

It’s rooted in reverence, not rescuing. It’s the kind of energy that changes people—without costing you yourself.

That’s what happens when Shaneh’s world gets bigger:

I bring more of me into the room. I stop performing service and start embodying sovereignty. And that ripples out—into my work, my relationships, my bank accounts, my beliefs.

Now it’s your turn—

When was the last time your world got bigger?

What are you no longer willing to give away just to be “worthy”?

I’d love to hear. Hit reply or leave a comment and let’s expand this conversation together.