My name is Melody Di Bona, and I am both a scientist and a spiritual practitioner. Sharing my journey with you is an honor and a heartfelt act of gratitude.

I grew up in the quiet countryside of Northern Italy, surrounded by nature and driven by an endless curiosity for how the world works. This curiosity became my calling — I devoted myself to science, earning top honors through degrees in biotechnology and a PhD in physics, and later pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer research in New York. Science gave me structure and purpose, but beneath that, I carried deep wounds — loneliness, self-doubt, abandonment and years of emotional struggle that eventually surfaced as disastrous relationships, a severe eating disorder and depression.

I was a mess, my whole existence was a plain nothingness that kept repeating day, after day, after day. I had buried within me every emotion too painful to face — until they solidified into a vast emptiness that became unbearable to hold. When suicidal thoughts began to surface, something deep inside whispered for me to ask for help — and that was the moment my healing began.

Step by step, I rebuilt my life. I devoured books on psychology, self-compassion, and communication, slowly rediscovering the quiet joy of simply being alive. Yet even as my scientific career flourished, I realized I was chasing success at the expense of peace. My body, weary from relentless pressure, began to speak through pain — storing every ounce of stress I refused to release. When my spirit could no longer bear the weight, I turned once again toward the light of spirituality: meditation, yoga, and eventually Reiki — the very practice that had first touched my heart so many years before. My life changed for the better: my relationships improved, my days were more meaningful, my body was more balanced. But I was not yet completely healed.

I completed my postdoctoral work with the most extraordinary outcome I could have imagined — my discovery was published on the cover of one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals (you can find a list of my publications here). My academic career seemed ready to take flight, and I entered the faculty job market with great momentum. Interviews came from all over Europe — opportunities that my younger self would have dreamed of.

And yet, beneath the surface, my spirit was wavering. A familiar heaviness began to creep in — a quiet warning that something was out of alignment. The pressure I placed on myself felt relentless and depression slowly found its way back into my life. In that moment of inner struggle, I surrendered. I prayed to the universe and released control over any outcome, trusting that there was a higher good beyond my plans. I stopped struggling, trying to control my life, and held in my heart the belief that everything was leading me towards the best possible path.

Eventually, the perfect position appeared — a place I genuinely felt called to, and where I knew I could thrive. They wanted me too, and everything seemed aligned… except for one final piece: approval of the funding. When that approval didn’t come through, the opportunity slipped away.

And right at the moment of that big disappointment — in the emptiness that followed the release — I first experienced Shunya. In that void, my Soul stepped in. I understood that my path was no longer solely in laboratories and grant proposals but in helping others reconnect with that same stillness within themselves.

I cancelled all my remaining interviews and instead followed a powerful intuitive nudge to travel to San Francisco to visit my dear friend — now the main investor in Shunya Healing. It was there that spirituality truly found me, and my gifts began to awaken. I experienced moments of deep remembrance, as if ancient parts of my soul were resurfacing. Events guided me to a Hindu temple, standing before the statue of Lord Hanuman — the immortal avatar of Lord Shiva, the force that destroys but also holds the space for you to rise, the vast Ocean of Compassion. Overcome with emotion, I wept every tear my soul had held.

From that day forward, everything changed. I began receiving messages, connecting with divine energies, absorbing knowledge on acient philosophies and being guided toward experiences that expanded my understanding and my own healing journey beyond anything I could have imagined. I came to see that science and spirituality are not opposites, but two languages describing the same truth — one through reason, the other through experience.

Today, through Shunya Healing, I unite the analytical clarity of a scientist with the compassionate intuition of a healer. Having experienced firsthand the immense pressure that scientists often face, I chose to additionally train as a meditation facilitator for burnout and workplace well-being. Besides energy and consciousness healing, supported by my own experience, I aim to help researchers navigate stress, expectations, and the emotional toll of an often demanding and exploitative system — restoring balance where passion and purpose can thrive again (you can find here my complete CV; contact me if you wish to see my certificates).

My mission is simple: to be of service — to people, to the planet, and to the divine flow that connects us all. Every session, every candle, every word shared through Shunya Healing carries this intention: that through emptiness, you may find fullness once more.