Susan Heartlight: Choosing Love, Healing, and the Power to Believe

From the moment she chose baptism at the tender age of ten, Susan Heartlight knew she wanted to live a life of love, service, and healing. Inspired by her deep faith and her desire to follow the example of Jesus, she made a childlike yet profound commitment: to help others, to believe in miracles, and to hold space for people to see their own greatness. Decades later, her life’s work as a counselor, coach, and author reflects that same vow. Her career and calling have been centered on standing beside those in pain, helping them reject fear and lies, and guiding them toward the truth of their worth.

“It is my honor and privilege to serve others,” Susan often says, “and to offer a leg up so they can see their greatness and begin to love being alive.”

Susan’s own childhood shaped her profoundly. Growing up in a household where “children were seen and not heard,” she often felt invisible. Her parents worked tirelessly, but there was little time for direction, encouragement, or emotional support. Without that guidance, Susan felt unprotected, unseen, and uncertain about her place in the world. That experience gave her deep empathy for those who feel unheard or overlooked. In her practice, she makes it a point to listen intently and center the session on the person in front of her. “My focus is always on you,” she explains. “I want to know where you are and where you want to go. I want to brainstorm with you the steps to take toward creating the life you dream of.” Her approach stems from her own longing, as a child, for someone to listen and believe in her voice.

If Susan’s childhood was marked by silence, it was education that gave her voice and direction. Pregnant at the age of fifteen, she was sent to a special school for expectant girls. The journey was long, requiring a bus, ferry, walk, and another bus but the small classes transformed her life. For the first time, she received attention and encouragement from teachers who saw her potential. Her grades soared, and she began to thrive. “Attention was like sunshine and rain on a flower,” she recalls. “It brought me alive.” That spark only grew brighter. Years later, Susan attended community college, quickly becoming a leader on campus. Her passion for learning and serving others led her to a private Catholic college, where she was awarded a full scholarship. Education not only gave her the tools to build a career it restored her self-worth and ignited her lifelong mission to help others discover their own strength and gifts.

Over the past 30 years, Susan has dedicated her professional life to guiding others through pain, trauma, and transformation. She has worked with veterans, survivors of trauma, and individuals seeking peace and clarity. Despite the diversity of her clients’ experiences, she sees a common thread in their healing journeys: the yearning for relief from emotional pain. So much of that pain, Susan explains, stems from what she calls “faulty thinking” beliefs rooted in shame, comparison, or childhood misunderstanding. Too often, people carry burdens of guilt or self-judgment from experiences that were never their fault. She teaches that faulty thinking can be corrected. Through rewiring the brain, reframing negative thoughts, and embracing forgiveness, people can shift from despair to hope, from self-doubt to self-love. “Think Positive and Love Being Alive!” is not just her motto, it is her guiding philosophy.

Faith has always been the thread that carried Susan through life’s darkest valleys. Her belief in God’s presence and protection gave her strength through moments when she could have easily lost her way. She has witnessed how choices rooted in anger or greed can lead people to lose themselves, yet she remains steadfast in hope. “I believe in God and the Human Spirit to SOAR,” she says with conviction. For Susan, faith is the antidote to judgment and shame. Judgment drags people down, but forgiveness sets them free to create a worthy, joyful life. In her work, she offers that same nonjudgmental space, embodying the grace and compassion that faith has always extended to her.

Three decades of listening, observing, and guiding have gifted Susan with wisdom beyond textbooks or training. She has learned the power of stillness and presence. “When someone has experienced trauma firsthand,” she says, “sit on the floor and listen. Be still. Be quiet. Hear them and send love.” She also trusts the inner voice of intuition, that red-alert nudge that tells her when more help is needed. For Susan, that guidance is spiritual, a reminder that counseling is not only about methods and strategies but about deep soul connection.

One of Susan’s greatest strengths is her ability to help clients discover that the answers they seek are already within them. Through thoughtful questions and deep listening, she helps people access their inner wisdom. “If you knew the answer, what would it be?” she often asks. The process isn’t about giving advice, it's about creating a space where people can hear themselves clearly, sometimes for the first time.

In recent years, Susan has also found healing through writing. Through She Rises Studios, she was given a safe space to share personal stories she had long kept hidden. Though the idea of publishing her deepest experiences terrified her, the act of writing became liberating. “To keep them inside held me prisoner,” she reflects. Putting her words into print gave voice to the eleven-year-old inner child silenced by shame, breaking chains that had bound her for decades. 

Writing has become not only a personal act of healing but also a way to reach others who may be carrying similar burdens in silence. By sharing her story, Susan invites others to find freedom in truth and courage in vulnerability.

At the core of Susan’s work is a simple but profound message: You are loved. You matter. You are important. With God’s guidance, every person has the power to create the life of their dreams. Gratitude, service, and forgiveness are the cornerstones of joy, and joy itself is a choice available to all. “You cannot out give God,” Susan reminds her clients and readers. “When you give to others, your gratitude multiplies and comes back to you thousandfold.”

Susan doesn’t just preach positivity she lives it. Each day, she repeats her motto, Think Positive and Love Being Alive, not only as words of encouragement but as a practice of faith and mindset. She chooses good thoughts, sends blessings to those in difficulty, and trusts that angels are present to encourage and uplift. Her belief in the illumination of energy, the ability of love and light to shift perspective guides her to embody hope and joy, no matter the circumstances.

Susan Heartlight’s name could not be more fitting. Her life is a beacon for those in darkness, a reminder that love, education, and faith can transform even the most painful beginnings into a radiant legacy of healing. From the young girl who felt invisible to the seasoned counselor who helps others see their worth, Susan’s journey is proof that the human spirit can not only survive but soar. Through her work, her writing, and her daily embodiment of joy, she leaves every person she touches with the same reminder: You are loved. You are worthy. And life is a gift meant to be cherished.

Connect With Susan

www.Susanheartlight.com

www.Onepowerforgood.com