There is a moment many people reach where what once made sense no longer fully explains what they are experiencing. The science still matters. The structure still matters. But something deeper starts asking for attention. A quieter knowing. A felt truth. A sense that healing and awakening may be unfolding together.KEY MOMENTS00:00 Introduction and Personal Journey01:43 Preparing to Share Messages03:09 Guest Introduction: Dr. Claudia Thompson04:32 Defining Spiritual Awakening05:55 Navigating the Awakening Process08:12 Supporting Healthcare Workers09:55 Energy and Intuition in Healthcare14:11 Combining Science and Spirituality26:09 Quantum Healing and Activation38:20 The Power of Words41:52 Understanding Our Energetic Being44:26 Synchronicities and Signs from the Universe51:02 Connecting with Your Spirit Guides54:49 The Concept of Higher Self56:48 Life After Death and Reincarnation01:01:42 Holding Space for Healing01:07:42 The Era of Authenticity01:13:25 Living with an Open HeartIn this conversation, Dr. Priya Rao sits down with Claudia Thompson, PhD, registered dietitian, intuitive guide, and author, to explore what happens when a rigorously trained scientific mind begins to open to intuition, spirit, and the unseen layers of healing. Claudia shares her own spiritual awakening, not as a sudden escape from logic, but as a gradual expansion of understanding that came through lived experience, grief, personal rupture, and learning to trust the guidance that had always been present.This episode speaks directly to physicians, healthcare professionals, and high achievers who feel something shifting beneath the surface of their lives. Those who are navigating burnout, nervous system dysregulation, or the quiet sense that the old ways of doing and being are no longer sustainable. Together, Priya and Claudia explore what awakening actually feels like in the body, how intuition differs from anxiety or overthinking, and why so many people in medicine and science find themselves questioning the limits of a purely physical model of healing.Claudia explains how a spiritual awakening often unfolds in layers, with many smaller moments leading up to a larger catalyst. She talks about spirit guides, intuition, and the physical signals that accompany energetic truth. The conversation bridges heart-brain coherence, nervous system regulation, meditation, and the importance of learning to trust yourself again, especially when the world around you may not yet have the language to hold your experience.For listeners who feel isolated in their awakening, this episode offers reassurance. You are not alone. What you are sensing does not mean you are losing your grounding or your credibility. It may mean you are remembering a more integrated way of living and healing, one that honors both evidence-based medicine and inner wisdom.This is a conversation about learning to listen, to slow down, and to move through the world from a more authentic place.Learn more about Claudia Thompson:Website: https://drclaudiathompson.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drclaudiathompsonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drclaudiathompsonTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drclaudiathompsonPurchase Claudia’s book here:https://amzn.to/3Y0sFIKThank you to our sponsor, Don’t Miss a Beat, for supporting this episode:https://linktr.ee/dontmissabeat✨ Subscribe to Open Heart with Priya Rao, MD to hear more conversations where modern medicine and spirituality meet — where we remember that healing is as much about consciousness as it is about care.Follow Priya & Open Heart:Instagram: Instagram.com/openheartthepodWebsite: https://openheartpodcast.com/Priya Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kothapalliLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkothapallimd/© 2025 Priya Rao Media LLC. All rights reserved.