"You can’t heal yourself and hate yourself. You have to come to a place of compassion, understanding, honoring your humanity, and then we can utilize the tools." Vernique Esther
This Earth Xperience centers on love, faith, and healing when lived honestly. Vernique Esther, a licensed clinical social worker and relational trauma therapist, shares how her upbringing in a single-parent home shaped her understanding of connection. She believes we are born in community and that genuine love and shared responsibility are what sustain us.
Together we explore how independence can sometimes isolate us, how love requires presence and accountability, and how church culture has shifted from discipleship to performance. Vernique reflects on what it means to rebuild authentic faith communities through honesty and participation rather than waiting for leadership to change.
She also shares her approach as a therapist who bridges faith and mental health, helping clients move beyond shame and harmful theology. Her words remind us that healing begins with compassion, not correction, and that being human is not something to fix but to honor.
Each Earth Xperience has its own fingerprint, shaped by the story of the guest. The X represents anything you choose to explore, express, or expand. In this episode, the X is an Experience with Vernique Esther, a relational trauma therapist and licensed clinical social worker whose work centers on love, community, and emotional restoration.
You can learn more about Vernique’s work and resources at verniqueesther.com.
Questions to reflect on:
• What does it mean to advocate for love in a world that rewards independence?
• How has your understanding of love evolved as you’ve grown?
• When you reflect on your upbringing, what patterns have you chosen to change?
• How can faith communities make space for honesty without becoming performative?
• When you seek healing, do you respond to yourself with compassion or correction?
• Can love exist without sacrifice, and how do you know when sacrifice becomes self-abandonment?
• What does it mean for you to embody the idea of being the church?