There is an Inner Light Inside You — Introducing the Inner Calling with Dr. Victoria Podcast
by Dr. Victoria Ranade
I’d like to share my latest project with you—something I created with you in mind. It is called Inner Calling with Dr. Victoria, and it is a podcast. I’ll be honest: I didn’t know anything about podcasts when I started. It's definitely had it's challenges, but what kept me going was something powerful: a desire to connect with you—to remind you that you are worthy and amazing, no matter what you’re struggling with, and to create something that might be helpful to you in feeling encouraged in the difficult journey that life can sometimes be.
Let me back up: If you’re reading these words, you really aren’t meant to, because I am not supposed to be alive. In my twenties, I stood on the edge of death during a time in my life when I lost everything. And when I say edge, I really mean it. I went there—night after night—staring down into the void. Suicide was calling me, in a way that felt oddly cold and logical. My spirit had already left and all that remained was my body. And I had only one thing left to do.
That is, until I saw a light and heard a voice deep within me. I won’t tell you what it said (that’s a story for another time!), but I will tell you this: it was profoundly beautiful and it saved me. Later, I came across accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs)—stories of people describing a light as they neared death. When I read those descriptions, I recognized it. It was the same light I had seen.
It spoke to me in a language I had known my whole life. It wasn’t the voice of thoughts, but the quiet intuitive whisper beneath them—the one I had spent years ignoring in favor of the louder voices and realities of the world around me. The ones that, up until that point, felt like truths. The ones that told me to keep up and run endlessly like a hamster on a wheel, never enough and always needing to be more for the world around me.
So in the end, it was my spirituality that saved me. It was something deep within me — not of the mind, but of the spirit. Something beyond the noise of everyday life, beyond logic and explanation.
Despite this, I’ve noticed how rarely spirituality is discussed in the context of mental health, in a grounded, evidence-informed manner. For years, clinical psychology has given us powerful tools for healing mental health. But it has left something critically essential out: an acknowledgement of the human spirit—the part of us that longs for meaning, purpose, connection, and something deeper than symptom relief.
That’s why many evidence-based therapies are beginning to incorporate spirituality. Treatments like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) draw directly from Eastern traditions—particularly Buddhism—through practices like mindfulness, acceptance, radical self-compassion, and the ability to hold opposite truths at once. Internal Family Systems (IFS) speaks of how to access the Self— the calm, confident, and compassionate presence that is present within each of us. These are not new techniques and concepts. They are ancient spiritual practices that have supported human suffering for thousands of years. Research has only recently caught up to confirm their efficacy.
I’ve observed a growing existential ache in so many people — a quiet heaviness they can’t quite name. To separate healing from the human spirit is part of what leads to the numbness and disconnection so many people carry today. What we need is a more integrated understanding—one that honors the opposite truths of science and spirituality, evidence and mystery, data and meaning, all at once.
That's why I created Inner Calling: to create a space that allows for this mystery, a force too often neglected in modern life and yet which is essential. For it is mystery that opens us to wonder, to awe, to the quiet beauty of simply being alive. And when you are connected to the beauty of the universe, you begin to recognize the beauty within your Self. Without that connection, healing will remain incomplete. I also created this podcast to open up a thoughtful, honest conversation about spirituality, mental health, and healing as I know these are not topics that are always easy to talk about. My hope is to create space for each person to explore how to uniquely connect with their own inner light, one that is always there, even in the darkest moments.
I’m still in the process of finding my voice as a podcaster, but you can find Inner Calling with Dr. Victoria on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. It’s sponsored by Hope+Wellness, so from time to time, you may hear interviews with some of the clinicians here. It’s a mixed-format podcast that blends personal reflections, quotes, practical tools, and guest interviews. I weave evidence-based psychology into each of these themes to explore how we can all live more aligned and meaningful lives. Some of the topics I’ll explore include:
Leadership in women
Spirituality and mental health
Being your true self in a world that doesn’t always support authenticity
Trusting your intuition and inner voice
Neurodivergence, masking, and identity
Finding meaning and purpose in life
Existential questions and concerns
LGBTQ+ and Asian American identity
Ultimately, I believe each of us is on a journey, back home to our Selves—to the inner voice and presence of wisdom and beauty that has always been there, patiently waiting. Each week, tune into Inner Calling for a check-in. Every episode is made to provide kind encouragement, reflection, and a small piece of wisdom to help you keep going.
I’m not on social media—and haven’t been for the past twenty years—so I’m growing this the old-fashioned way. If it speaks to you, I’d be honored if you listened, shared it with someone you love, and subscribed to stay connected. Your support, your presence, and your sharing mean more than you know. They help us keep creating content that might offer someone hope, encouragement, or inspiration.
Because we’re each on a journey, in our own way, finding our way back to that light — back home.
