From Reactivity to Gold: Raji Deva on Awakening, IFS & Embodied Transformation

In this soulful conversation, host Leonie Du Toit reconnects with mentor and counselor Raji Deva (25+ years’ experience) to explore what real transformation looks like when psychology meets spiritual practice. Raji shares her cross-cultural roots (India/Morocco/Israel), a spontaneous awakening experience in India (Samhadi), years of kirtan and yoga, time at the Osho commune, and how she ultimately integrated Internal Family Systems (IFS), Gestalt/somatic reading, and contemplative traditions (Zen, Kabbalah, Eastern paths) into a grounded mentorship that turns everyday life into a spiritual training ground.

What you’ll hear

• The awakening that changed everything: Raji’s teen trip to India and the weeks-long dissolution of identity that became her North Star.

• Beyond “love & light”: why bypassing pain doesn’t work—and how to alchemize darkness into light without sugarcoating.

• Reactivity as a map to gold: how “triggers/activations” reveal the origin of fear and lack, and how IFS helps you meet the parts that protect you.

• Body as teacher: Gestalt-informed somatic reading, voice work, and the wisdom of movement and sound.

• Life as practice: using modern, messy life (not a cave!) as a springboard to your higher self.

• Raji’s mission: guiding clients from fragmentation to wholeness through a structured mentorship pathway—1:1, groups, and even families/teams.

• One insight to keep forever: Keep your Northern Star—return to oneness with the Creator—and you’ll always be on the right track.

Memorable quotes

“Thank you for this trigger—this is where I dig for gold.”
“We didn’t come to avoid life. We came to use life to remember who we are.”

Chapter markers 

00:00 Welcome & full-circle reconnection
02:00 Raji’s multicultural roots & early sensitivities
06:30 India, Samhadi & the doorway that never closed
10:40 Kirtan, yoga, and why the highs didn’t last
14:45 Enter IFS: meeting parts, ending the loop
16:50 Spiritual bypass vs. embodied alchemy
19:30 Reactivity/activation as the treasure map
22:00 Gestalt & the body’s language; voice as healing
25:20 Building a living, modern practice
28:40 From fragmentation to wholeness: Raji’s mentorship
33:20 Raji’s parting insight (the Northern Star)
34:40 Leonie on Spiritual A.I. and why awareness + intuition change everything

Connect with Raji

• Website & Mentorship: Devaraje.org

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Devaraje

Connect with Leonie

• Book: Spiritual A.I.: The Authentic Intelligence — Awareness & Intuition, Your Inner Technology

• Why it matters: If people knew the value of this book, they would run to it like their life depended on it—because it does.

• www.leoniedutoit.com

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— New episodes weekly. See you next time! ✨