• A Visit with My Inner Child

    March 19, 2025 | by Lee Ann Calabrese

    Last night, while my little self slept unknowingly, I transcended space & time to plant seeds of awareness that, when placed under the right, challenging conditions, would sprout & come to fruition as an ever unfolding of her enlightenment.

    My sweet, little Lee Ann,

    There is much you will not understand but I know you will feel its essence deep within the fabric of your heart, for what can be said in words that would be any more powerful than the loving intention of this message and the way you feel while receiving it? Isn’t that the magic after all? For, it is 1979 and ripples of this conversation will be left with you in a place you will never lose it ~ deep within your heart.

    I come to you in what appears to be a dream in order to plant seeds of deep wisdom & understanding, of which you will not remember for some time. When you do recall elements of its truth, you will want to share it with others. Remember, they won’t truly understand you until you understand yourself. Knowing thy self and understanding thy self will become your highest priorities; for the world will constantly inform you of who you are and who you should be, and it will never be enough. Over time, this blatant inconsistency of what you “know” in your heart and what you know in your mind, will become unbearable.

    You will begin by sharing this wisdom with others, explaining that they are way more valuable than they’ve been told. You will sense a lifting in their energy field. They will see hope & possibility in your reflection of them and they will echo these same timeless truths back to you. But just like them, you will not fully embody its truth until you drop into your heart space and see for yourself, for this is the only place you will ever truly “know” anything. In fact, the shortest journey you will ever take is from your head to your heart and you will marvel at the paradox of how simple, yet impossible it seems. For the heart is untouched by the world, yet hidden behind layers of distorted beliefs, unprocessed feelings and patterns of fight, flight, fawn & freeze.

    Although naturel, dropping into the heart space will feel foreign and vulnerable. You will share this resistance with most of the world. But alas, a time will come where it all becomes too much and no matter how dark it gets; this will be a great catalyst for personal transformation and will lead you back to your center… your truth… to a place that feels foreign but oddly familiar. Never underestimate the power of truth within your heart, for the truth needs no defense; however, for lies to exist, they must be defended, reinforced, YELLED from rooftops, and shoved down throats. That is how you will know the difference. Truth whispers…. lies yell, truth unites… lies divide, truth clarifies… and lies blur.

    Oh, my dear child… You are almost 6 years old now and information downloaded from those first 5 years will live rent free in your subconscious for decades to come. You will soon begin school and those distorted beliefs will be reinforced and re-experienced as patterns in your life. You will believe the pain is coming from outside of you, controlled by other people and external circumstances. These patterns will play out beyond the classroom & playground and take shape in all of your relationships, especially your relationship with yourself. Your specific beliefs will be unique to you but the foundation of all distorted beliefs will be shared with humanity.

    “What beliefs?”

    Well, beliefs such as being separate from source (life itself), being insignificant, your feelings not mattering, needing to earn love, needing to look, feel and act a certain way in order to be worthy, etc. etc. etc.

    “Sounds awful, but why would my mind hurt me like that?”

    Because the mind was never meant to lead your life. It was meant to be a tool, a computer so to speak. The memory it holds are your lived experiences, storing images, videos, & narratives while operating from old, outdated programs installed during your formative years. Oh, and as a result of this conditioning, you will also seek information primarily from the left hemisphere of your brain – the logical, analytical side. Unfortunately, the right hemisphere, which is the intuitive, creative & emotional side, will be programmed as less important and very inconvenient & uncomfortable for others. Until these programs are updated, they will play out as dysfunction in every aspect of your life, especially within the mind, emotional body and physical body. As long as you are unaware of the outdated operating system within you, you will have no choice but to act from a place of misconception and dysfunction.

    It is crucial you know this, because you will be living during a time where human suffering will play out on a mass scale. Whether individually within yourself or collectively as a whole, this multi-layered suffering will have its roots in a disconnect at the deepest level – separation from your core self… the you before the world got its hands on you… your very essence… your heart… and the love that you naturally are.

    Anchoring into the heart space will allow you to see a much bigger picture than what your mind can perceive. When the heart leads your choices, the mind will rise to become its greatest ally. This is how you heal both individually within yourself and collectively as a whole. You don’t fight hate with more hate…. You don’t fight hate at all. You shine the light of awareness on it and anything resembling it, and you see it for what it is. For when you do this, you will see the futility in using your energy & life force towards more separation & division ~ the belief in ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Your heart will show you what truly matters, clarifying your intention and inspiring you to use your time & energy in impactful ways. Remember, whether it’s believed or not, a lie will always be a lie but the silent, unassuming truth will be the unshakable foundation of your entire existence.  

    “Wait, what lies again? I’m pretty good at knowing when someone is lying.”

    Yes, that will be the easy part. At some point, those external lies will become ridiculous… laughable even. The lies I speak to are the ones within you… the lies you continue to believe about yourself, especially the ones concerning your worth & power. You will recognize lies by the way they feel inside; for the body is intelligently designed and will send signals that something is wrong… signals that there is a deeper truth than any one perspective you may be holding. If you don’t see your body as a messenger of deep wisdom & truth, you will believe it’s wrong for its feelings & ailments. You will miss an opportunity for insight and be left no choice but to suppress, numb, and/or distract from the pain within.

    “My negative beliefs feel so true. If they’re not really mine, where did they come from?”

    You know, you believe your beliefs until you don’t. Even just considering such questions as “Where did my beliefs come from? Are they even my own? If I lived in a different century or in another culture, would my beliefs be the same? Challenging belief structures can be uncomfortable because so many of them are attached to your identity and sense of self. These beliefs you carry from an early age will influence your choices and shape your entire life. When the pain of being disconnected from your core self outweighs the pain of questioning your belief structures, you will be called to awaken. For you are part of an intergenerational, collective conditioning that has been operating way before you were born. When these subconscious programs are acknowledged & understood, the truth will rise to meet you. You will know what isn’t your truth by how painful & weak it feels in your body; whereas, the truth will always resonate and you will feel deeply connected to your heart. It is more of a ‘remembering’ versus a learning. Don’t forget, your body is your ally and it will always remain true to you. If it’s hurting, it is reflecting a wound that needs your attention. It’s as simple and difficult as that!

    Remember, you are hard-wired for connection and as a child, your very survival depends on maintaining that connection, so establishing emotional safety in your relationships and ‘playing along’ will be paramount. Sadly, some will forget they are playing along and will believe the distorted truths as their own. Most will pass them on to others either directly or indirectly and if you question them, they will often become emotionally triggered. Never forget, your body is designed to keep you safe, so if your nervous system has no space for this line of questioning, it will quickly overwhelm and be followed by projection or avoidance.

    “I feel scared to look inside myself. What if I find out I’m as awful as my mind tells me I am?”

    You are programmed to be ashamed of yourself & have self doubt. When you experience yourself as shameful & inadequate, you will reject any part of you that reminds you of that. This is the birthplace of self-betrayal & self-abandonment which includes anything from avoidance, projection, judgment, co-dependency, and so on and so forth. There is much shame surrounding unwelcome thoughts & feelings but when you begin to see it as a human experience shared among many, it becomes less personal. Your nervous system will need support as you delve deeper into self understanding, so learning to hold space for your painful emotions while practicing self-regulation strategies is a great place to start. Committing to intentional kindness towards self, whether in words or deeds, will go a long way towards maintaining an environment for inner healing. Your body will respond to your self kindness even if your mind isn’t on board.

    Once you begin cultivating an internal & external healing environment and recommitting to it no matter how many times you get off track, you begin to restore that sacred trust in yourself. Your body will then expand in its capacity to hold a wider range of emotions and you will become less concerned with the details of any story and more focused on how your body and heart space feel in response. Even the smallest expansion internally propels an abundance of signs & synchronicities that rush in to support & guide you.

    “I’m afraid when I let my feelings out, they’ll never stop and it’ll be too much for me to handle.”

    Whenever feelings come up and you’re unsure how to process them, practice body awareness by being an observer of your breath and noticing the rise & fall of your chest & belly. Place attention on your sensory perceptions in that moment – what you see, hear, feel, smell, & taste. Notice all that is holding & supporting you there. Speak or write out your worries to yourself or a safe person then ask your heart for guidance. Get curious about your body’s yes’s & no’s and how they’re communicated with you. Make an intention to deepen your inhale while lengthening your exhale. Notice your mind becoming uncomfortable because you’re no longer following every bread crumb it drops. It will keep attempting to pull you into the past or future, because your mind will not know what else to do. Make patience a daily practice. This is a new way of responding to difficult feelings and just like you, your mind will need time to adapt and see that you are the better for it.

    Notice that when you no longer drain your energy in overthinking, you will have space to tend to your discomfort. Feel how your body responds when you say… “I am here now… I’m not going anywhere… Your feelings matter… All parts of you are welcome, I am so proud of you… Leaning into these feelings is not for the faint of heart, yet here you are doing just that… You are strong & beautiful… You’re waking up to your divinity… your sovereignty… your love… your magic.”  

    I-n-h-a-l-e… E-x-h-a-l-e… notice your heart beating… F-E-E-L your heart beating… observe the rise & fall of your chest…. Notice the mind still agitated as it tries to get your attention on every little negative detail, not because it’s true but because that is how it’s been conditioned to keep you safe. Feel your feet upon the earth…. Connect with the timeless wisdom of nature and learn from the trees & animals. They are pointers towards another way of being in this world.

    Notice the mind feeling heavy… defeated… Place your hands gently on the sides of your head and thank your mind for taking the lead when the heart had not yet received your permission. Forgive your mind for doing a poor job when it had no capacity to do the job in the first place. Thank every part of your body for supporting you, independent of any past ill treatment it received, from others & especially yourself. Forgive your past… Vow to heal.

    Be still… s -l-o-w down…. Breathe… Notice the mind becoming calmer… Notice the heart still beating… still waiting for permission… Notice the mind surrendering… Thank it once more.

    It is time. Can you hear it? It’s but a whisper, yet its call is vaguely familiar. It is time to come home to the heart now. It’s been waiting your whole life for this.

    When you reside in the heart, you have space for your fullness of being… your full expression… for you are then connected to your light and the magic within you. This unconditional love can hold you… all of you.  Darkness can only exist absent of the light, so anchor to your heart space…. Anchor to your light…. Anchor to your truth…. Anchor to you!

    I love you sweet angel!

    Lee Ann xo

    Kindergarten Graduation 1979

    March 19, 2025
    inner child healing, mental-health, mindfulness, spirituality, Wellness

  • Authentic Living… What’s that?

    It whispers to all of us and its language as unique as the person expressing it.

    February 28, 2025 | by Lee Ann Calabrese

    ~ This is my story.

    “Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Where do I go when I die?” As a young girl, I soon realized that these questions made people feel very uncomfortable; and since those questions were important to me and part of my internal processes, then pondering such questions must be wrong; therefore, I must be wrong. The last thing I wanted to do, especially being an empath, was to make others uncomfortable. Well, ‘Lesson learned’, I thought. I tucked those deeper questions away for my eyes only; while externally adopting the role of ‘people pleaser’ or shall I say, ‘Master People Pleaser’. It wasn’t so bad. After all, I had countless likes & followers, even before that was a thing. Plus, it was clear in the beginning that those who dared answer my questions, were insistent that they themselves, had the answers and could point to them in a book or from another person. “But where did they get their answers? What makes them right? And most importantly, why when I question you, are you getting angry with me? It doesn’t seem as though these answers have brought you peace” I surmised.

    The depth of my thoughts & feelings, along with my highly-sensitive heart would be a sort of sanctuary I would visit often, always feeling held & nurtured in my truth, returning to the external world a more open, connected, and heart-centered individual. “It was almost impossible for me to explain my own depth and who would even understand?” I wondered. I barely understood it myself. The first time I knew I was different was after watching an infomercial showcasing Sally Struthers pleading for help to save the starving children in Ethiopia. I was heart sick over this and found it difficult to believe and accept that nothing could be done. It amazed me that we could just keep moving on with our life as if this wasn’t going on in the background of our experience. I still feel that way when I hear of events in the news today. I will never stop aching for those who suffer.

    An even greater challenge came in my early 30’s when life knocked me over and spirit came knocking. I lost my beloved mother to cancer when she was only a few years older than me now. This would be the first of many excruciating, life-altering circumstances to befall me, followed each time by a deep, dark dive within. My people-pleasing mask became heavier and increasingly unbearable. “Who even was I beyond this mask? a wife? mother? teacher? therapist? Hmm, how revealing that I have no identity outside of my service for others.“ I thought.

    It wasn’t long for the deep, dark ocean of grief to arrive at my door and my internal resistance to these feelings was punishing. To say my thoughts don’t like me is an understatement. “Well, don’t you like being a wife? mother? teacher? etc. It certainly doesn’t appear that way. People have it way worse than you.” Another crushing wave of guilt… ‘This really sucks’, as the tears poured out of me and the thoughts had their way with me. It was like all of my unwelcome parts arriving at once and refusing to leave until I acknowledged each and every one of them.

    “Whose voices were they even? It sounds like me but my true self would never step on someone’s head when she’s hurting. Why am I stepping on my head when I can’t catch my breath. Who even am I? Why am I here? What is the point of life? Why don’t people talk about the things that really matter? Why does the room go quiet when I bring these subjects up? Who put me on this planet? This was a big mistake sending me here. I don’t belong here and never had. I failed my mission – whatever it was. I’m so sorry I failed you all – I tried so hard.”

    I pleaded for mercy in my darkest hour and after a particularly steep fall, I finally landed on my ‘why’. In that moment, the world disappeared and time stood still… My crying stopped; the room seemed oddly quiet… I was awakening. This was the closest to grace I have ever felt, followed by a depth of peace that lives in me still ~ I am not alone.

    “There is nothing wrong with you Sweetheart. If you don’t fit in the world, it’s because you are here to envision and live a different one… one based on love, not fear… connection & wholeness, not separation & division… equality, not hierarchy… compassion, not complacency…. and the list goes on. Go live your truth fearlessly. Live as an embodiment of what you want to see in this world.

    The laughter soon replaced the sobs. If I wasn’t so connected & peaceful in my heart, I would think I had gone mad. “This changes everything. Nobody can stop me from living my truth. My time & energy are my greatest assets – my currency & life force, so to speak. Where have I been giving my time & energy? This is my life Dammit! I’ve been waiting for the world to change, totally disempowering and robbing myself of life force. What a wake-up call! The purpose of my life, beyond all roles I play, is to live a life in integrity of my true self – a heart-centered life.”

    The funny thing was that no matter how loving I was in the world, I myself, was not at the center of it. I considered my desires & needs last and more often than not, they were left unmet. This was completely on me and it was my responsibility to reconcile this imbalance. I must do this for every version of me who was previously silenced… every yes when my heart said no… every no when my heart said yes…  every time I didn’t speak up… and every time I betrayed myself to keep the peace. This returning to self and facing the truth of me was a crucial first step, albeit an excruciating one.

    “Did I have it in me to endure that? I might ruffle feathers and disappoint so many. Isn’t that selfish?” Dang! There’s that foot again. Out of nowhere, an inner wisdom and guidance spoke to, and through, me like never before. It was a loving presence deeply connected to my heart. Ahhh, there’s that grace I was feeling earlier. Some call it God, angels, spirit, guides, source… but whatever it’s called, I know I am not alone; of that, I am certain. I am always being guided and the signs are everywhere. I am now certain this path chose me and I cannot, nor do I ever want to, go back. With all of this coinciding with an unprecedented fear & division in the world around me, it ignited a resolve that both terrified and excited me.

    Following in the footsteps of this peak experience, I paused all of the roles I was playing and with a strength & resolve that previously eluded me, shared with family & friends that I must take this time to go within…to feel…to heal. I filled my life with everything soul nourishing – saying yes to my heart and a hard no to anything that would oppose its wisdom. My guides were loud & clear and their abundant synchronicities did not disappoint. My soul was calling me home and I had no idea where I would land when it was all said and done. “Who would even be there?” I wondered.

    “So, living a life in integrity of my true self… What does this even mean?” I wondered. Well, I’m still figuring that out, but I do know it starts with a desire for something more… more depth, more honesty, more forgiveness, more heart, basically living as an embodiment of love – a womb so to speak, to hold and nurture my whole self. This is an internal job and it must begin with my vow to mend my relationship with me and every single aspect of me I had disconnected from.

    As I clarified this vision, I started to pour my precious time & energy into everything that spoke to my heart. I cried when my body wanted to cry and I laughed when my body wanted to laugh. I was so attuned to what my body needed in any given moment and even if I couldn’t stop the pain, I held my heart and breathed deeply, while protecting my head from my foot. This led me to falling in love with my authentic self who happens to love yoga, meditation, my breath, my body, my vulnerability and nature – especially trees. I filled my house with plants and I grounded by placing my bare feet on the earth as often as I could. I connected with my inner child and invited her to come and play again. I welcomed her sensitivities, her curiosities and most importantly, her depth.

    I wondered about my ancestors and the traumas and hardships they endured. I vowed to heal for them. I forgave everyone, especially myself. I journaled and gave permission to all of my parts to communicate with me whenever they wanted, especially the shameful parts. I joined sisterhood circles & overnight healing retreats, practiced self healing methods like Reiki, heart-opening practices, and enrolled in courses to deepen my intuition & connection to self. I created an alter space where I connect daily with my higher self and gracing this space are candles, items from nature, a globe so I can send healing intentions to the world, my Tarot cards, smudging tools and a sweet little pic of me when I was 5 years old. Under the pic are two words: “for you” as my eternal vow to her. It turns out my family & friends are still here and enormously proud of me, but nobody is prouder than that little girl in the picture.

    February 28, 2025

  • The Art of Connection

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    February 28, 2025

  • Beyond the Obstacle

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    February 28, 2025

  • Growth Unlocked

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    February 28, 2025

  • Collaboration Magic

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    February 28, 2025

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