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Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 5: Guiding Principles)
Aika Watanabe 4/18/25 Aika Watanabe 4/18/25

Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 5: Guiding Principles)

In this part I share the truths I’ve come to live by—truths that have brought me peace, purpose, and power. I’d love to know what resonates with you.

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Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 4: Finding Answers)
Aika Watanabe 4/18/25 Aika Watanabe 4/18/25

Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 4: Finding Answers)

In the aftermath of unraveling everything I once believed, I wasn’t just searching for answers — I was learning how to trust myself again.

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Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 3: Conscious Chaos)
Aika Watanabe 4/6/25 Aika Watanabe 4/6/25

Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 3: Conscious Chaos)

In this chapter, I share the raw, unfiltered chaos that came before clarity, and the deeply personal unraveling that became the start of something sacred.

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Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 2: Divine Principles)
Aika Watanabe 4/1/25 Aika Watanabe 4/1/25

Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 2: Divine Principles)

I was raised with strict ideals about right and wrong, good and evil. Here, I start to question those rules—and what they really mean.

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Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 1: The Stars Aligned)
Aika Watanabe 3/28/25 Aika Watanabe 3/28/25

Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Part 1: The Stars Aligned)

The life I was born into wasn’t random, but was “written in the stars”. This part is about how it all began and how the foundation for my spiritual journey was established from birth.

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Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Introduction)
Aika Watanabe 3/27/25 Aika Watanabe 3/27/25

Spiritual Sovereignty - A Guide to Owning Your Light (Introduction)

This series is the journey of how I left behind everything I was taught in order to figure out what I actually believe, to understand who I am, and to reclaim my power. Now I want that for everyone.

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What is Failure? - A Perfectionist’s Perspective
Aika Watanabe 3/22/25 Aika Watanabe 3/22/25

What is Failure? - A Perfectionist’s Perspective

In this post, I unpack how perfectionism distorts our perception of setbacks, how shame hijacks our healing, and why internal validation is often the only kind that truly matters.

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Bo’s Story - The Secondary Victim of Narcissistic Abuse
Aika Watanabe 10/16/24 Aika Watanabe 10/16/24

Bo’s Story - The Secondary Victim of Narcissistic Abuse

This is the story of Bo, the dog I never meant to adopt—and how his love, mistreatment, and loss ultimately opened my eyes to the abuse I couldn’t yet see in myself.

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Lessons Learned - Looking Back at My Decision to Leave
Aika Watanabe 10/13/24 Aika Watanabe 10/13/24

Lessons Learned - Looking Back at My Decision to Leave

In trying to write about leaving an abusive relationship, I was shocked to find myself questioning everything. This piece explores how insidious emotional abuse can be, and what it takes to reclaim your inner truth.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 10: The Epilogue)
Aika Watanabe 9/22/24 Aika Watanabe 9/22/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 10: The Epilogue)

This series began without a plan—just a spark of inspiration from a friend—and turned into something far deeper. Here’s a final reflection on the messy, meaningful process of writing, motherhood, and climbing… and what I hope it might spark in others.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 9: A Call to Action)
Aika Watanabe 9/22/24 Aika Watanabe 9/22/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 9: A Call to Action)

Climbing is nothing without community—and now it's time for that community to evolve. From kid-friendly gyms to reimagined roles for pregnant setters, here's how we can reshape the climbing industry to support parents without forcing them off the wall.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 8: Creating my Own Place on the Wall)
Aika Watanabe 9/21/24 Aika Watanabe 9/21/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 8: Creating my Own Place on the Wall)

After stepping away from routesetting to have my daughter, I started exploring new ways to stay involved in the climbing industry—ones that align with both my skills and my role as a full-time parent. Here's what I came up with.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 7: Losing My Place on the Wall)
Aika Watanabe 9/19/24 Aika Watanabe 9/19/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 7: Losing My Place on the Wall)

I thought I could pick up where I left off in the climbing industry after giving birth—but between physical recovery, single motherhood, and closed doors, I had to face the possibility that my routesetting career might be over. What do you do when your passion no longer fits your life?

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 6: Climbing While Expecting)
Aika Watanabe 9/18/24 Aika Watanabe 9/18/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 6: Climbing While Expecting)

When I found out I was pregnant, climbing became more than a passion — it became a lifeline back to myself. This chapter explores what it means to stay connected to your joy, strength, and body through the transformative experience of pregnancy.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 5: Joining the Girls’ Club)
Aika Watanabe 9/17/24 Aika Watanabe 9/17/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 5: Joining the Girls’ Club)

From thong bikinis in Waikiki to womxn-led climbing comps, Hawaii became the unexpected catalyst for reconnecting with my femininity—and realizing the strength of womxn who lift each other up.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 4: Joining the Boys’ Club)
Aika Watanabe 9/16/24 Aika Watanabe 9/16/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 4: Joining the Boys’ Club)

What started as a side role to support my climbing career unexpectedly launched me into the male-dominated world of routesetting—where being a “diversity hire” opened doors, but also revealed the unspoken rules, subtle biases, and invisible weight of being a womxn in a boys’ club.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 3: Falling for Climbing)
Aika Watanabe 9/14/24 Aika Watanabe 9/14/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 3: Falling for Climbing)

What started as a post-breakup distraction quickly became the love of my life. In this chapter, I trace the wild, joyful, and unexpectedly life-changing journey that climbing has taken me on.

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Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 2: More Context)
Aika Watanabe 9/13/24 Aika Watanabe 9/13/24

Getting Back in the Harness - My Climbing Journey Through Motherhood (Part 2: More Context)

From glue-on rocks to full-time careers with 401ks, the world of routesetting has come a long way. In this next part, I unpack the industry's surprising transformation—and where my own story fits into the cracks.

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