Experiencing anxiety? Here are 12 Simple Calming Techniques
Anxiety can be common and something that many people experience. So if you’re feeling anxious and stressed out, you’re not alone. Millions of people experience some form of anxiety on…
When Celebration and Grief Collide
My daughter’s birthday is in November. As any mom, I get excited as her birthday gets near. But for me, her birthday is a time when celebration and grief collide.…
My Body: Learning to Love it Exactly As It Is
The number of years I’ve spent hating my body is a sad testament to the times we live in. Practically from birth, we’re bombarded with messages that we’re supposed to…
Should I Be Ashamed of My Sexuality as a Mother? Spoiler Alert…NO!
Despite my best efforts, I managed to traumatize my child. The reason I can joke about it is that my “child” is 23 years old. A while back, I was…
Do You Trust Yourself? Learn How With These 10 Tips
My whole life was spent doubting myself in every way. I didn't trust myself at all. I didn’t make any decisions without running them by a handful of people first,…
Fiery girl
Living Authentically: Rising From The Ashes of Your Past
Because this is my first blog post with The We Spot, I wanted to introduce myself. But I’m not talking about your run-of-the-mill intro. I want to introduce myself in…
My Insight into the Ancient Hawaiian Ho’oponopono Technique
Insight into the Ho'oponopono Technique First, I'd like to tell you about the benefits of using the Ho'oponopono technique and how it started. Ho'oponopono is an ancient Hawai'ian practice; that helps heal and…
The Perfectionist Trap
Do you tend to evaluate your worth in terms of your performance or achievements? Beat yourself up whenever you make the smallest mistake? Find it hard to relax and accept…
Spring Intentions: Do What Makes You Twinkle
Winter completely kicked my ass. For whatever reason, once it’s dark, I’m done. The literal and figurative darkness of the season was exhausting. Even when there was inspiring weather, something…
Honoring Your Path Through Human Design
There was a time in which I felt really lost. When I didn’t know which direction to turn. When I wasn’t sure which way was up and which way was…
Be the Change!
In a world where we see many injustices, inequities, and despair. A world that at times feels heavy, out of control, and out of hand. When at times it seems…
Did You Really Lose Yourself as a Mom? Or Were You Lost Long Before?
We hear moms say it all the time… “I had children and I lost myself”. I get it. I’ve seen so many women in therapy who feel this exact same…
Cutting: A Way to Remind Myself I Was Alive
Trigger warning! Please be aware that this article discusses suicide, self harm, and cutting. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at…
Your Past: How to Let That Shit Go and Move On!
I'm sure you've heard the saying, "the past is a lesson, not a prison" or something close to that. Dang, why did it take me fortysomething years to figure this…
Let Go with Fall: 7 Ways to Change with the Season
My favorite season is here, welcome Fall! The trees are beginning to transition and it's time to acknowledge a similar change within ourselves. The changing seasons can be a guide…
Footprints Outlined in Wisdom: A Poem for the Heart
Footprints Outlined in Wisdom: Poetry by Natasha Ross Full Sun Full Moon, Full Sky, Full Bloom, looming at the end of summer. Drawings of your love fill my heart. courageously…
Spite is the Enemy, Not the Woman Next to Me.
Successful women surround me and it's so incredibly beautiful until I get a knot in my stomach. It happens slowly, but then quickly. Spite blurs my vision and creates lies…
Living in the Hard Moments When I Want to Eject
Navigating the loss of my dad a mere five years after the loss of my mom . . . there are no words. The strong desire to push eject from…
24 Favorite Inspirational Quotes for Women to Empower and Uplift
No matter what stage in life you are in, let these 24 inspirational quotes for women help you see and know your worth. Life can get hard sometimes and as…
Overcome Family Guilt and Shame: 7 Ways to Stop Saying Sorry
Guilt says you made a mistake. Shames says you are the mistake. Guilt motivates. Shame annihilates. -Susie Garlick Do members of your family bring instant guilt and shame? Specific members…
Healing Childhood Wounds with a Letter to My Dad
Healing is in layers, healing is time. Healing is excruciating. Once you think it's done, it's not. Mary Demuth Father, dad, daddy, those names can bring a boil to my…
Suicide Interrupted; Finding Hope in the Pain
Please be aware that this article discusses suicide, rape, and abuse. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME…
What is Gaslighting? How Do I Protect Myself From This Abuse?
Someone steps on my foot and I yell "ouch." The usual response from an empathetic person is, "I'm so sorry I stepped on your foot. "Are you okay? I wasn't…
My Thoughts on Navigating Change, Endings & New Beginnings
Change is inevitable and the only thing that is constant throughout our lives. The world is always shifting and changing, even when we are not aware. I have a complicated…
The Aftermath: Pressing Through the Pain to Find Healing After Trauma
Warning: traumatic birth story detailed below. Please read on with caution as the material or descriptions may be triggering. Every January, as his birthday draws near, I have a tightness…
Honoring Our Stories: The Toxicity of Comparison
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.” Brené Brown Imagine, a 41-year-old woman…
My Dance with the Devil: Finding Forgiveness and Healing Friendship
Forgiveness, there would be no chance of it. I had danced with the devil, there would be no second chances. I can remember the morning just like it was yesterday.…
Feel What You Feel: Honoring Your Emotions
Many of us are never taught to feel what we feel. Instead, we're trained to ignore our emotions, to stifle them. We label them as "good" or "bad," celebrating the…
Life With Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome: The Modern Day Stress Disorder
Life with adrenal fatigue syndrome means managing stress in a healthy way
Being Ok With Being Ok: The Unspectacular Article
Writing is a love. A passion. A joy. But it is not always easy. While I immensely enjoy the opportunity to share my heart, to be vulnerable and authentically me,…
Saying That You are Fine When You are Falling Apart
If I had a dollar for every time I said that I was fine when I was falling apart I would be rich. I am like the queen at saying…
The Holidays are Hard For Me: Navigating a Tough Season
The holidays are hard. Driving into work the other day I could barely keep the tears back. I hurt. Life hurts right now. The holidays are a hard season for…
Holiday Blues: Coming Face to Face with Loneliness and Discovering Joy
It was a crisp autumn day, down under in the southern hemisphere of New Zealand. Wandering around the city of Auckland, I found myself people-watching while simultaneously soaking up my…
Hate: 5 Reasons We Let Negativity Take Over Our Emotions
Hate has always been a hard topic to discuss. It is usually seen as negative and can be deemed as an unacceptable emotion, making us feel like a bad person…
5 Natural Ways to Manage PTSD- Simple Habits for Daily Life
How to manage PTSD in a healthy and constructive way can feel impossible. There are so many unknown things happening inside our brains that it seems daunting to try and DO anything about it. I hear you. I understand.
I’ve Been That Girl! Forgiving Myself For Not Knowing Better
"Forgive yourself for not knowing better at the time. Forgive yourself for giving away your power. Forgive yourself for past behaviors. Forgive yourself for the survival patterns and traits you…
Learning to Be Kind to Myself: What Does that Look Like?
I’m unsure where to start. What to write. What to say. I guess that is common when you hear news that causes your breath to be caught. While sitting in…
Doubt: The Painful Reality About The Path To Healing.
“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.” -Honore de Balzac Ever since I was little I have trusted myself. If I dreamed it, I could do…
The Siren Song Of A Broken Heart: The Aftershock of Trauma
July is hard, August brings healing. Trauma is a strange thing. Every year I think I’m over it, I think I’ve processed enough. Then September comes, and my mind is…
Music is Healing: Hope, Love, and Community Can Be Found Here
As the end of summer nears and fall begins, it is my favorite time of year for concerts. I love music all year long, but there is something special about…
Be the Dog: Lessons I Learned from my Greyhound
Cat people vs. dog people I am not...strike that. I WAS not a dog person. It's been said that there are two kinds of people in this world...dog people and…
When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned: Healing after Having a Baby at Twenty-Three Weeks
We are coming up on five years since having a baby at twenty-three weeks gestation. Every year, my processing takes off another layer from the pain of that situation. My…
Shame: The Ugly Truth about Secrecy, Silence and Judgment
"Unlike guilt, which is the feeling of doing something wrong, shame is the feeling of being something wrong." –Marilyn Sorensen Some days I look at the woman in the mirror staring…
Coming Clean: The Most Refreshing Benefits of Being Totally Honest
The truth is not always simple, as the saying goes. Ain’t that the truth! Over the last several years, as I grow older and a little wiser, I’ve had to…
I’m Sorry for Judging You: What Judging Others Really Reveals!
Judgement Reveals I'm sorry for judging you! Recently I stumbled upon a similar title while scrolling through my social media feed. Immediately, without even reading the article, my mind summoned…
The Restoration Strategy: Furniture and Self
It was December of 2016 and my final beloved grandparent had passed into the heavenly realm. I personally have found it difficult to endure the transition of grieving loss while…
Grief Happens: Enduring Hardship
Grief is shifty and can be such a thief. Especially in moments where there are squeals of laughter peeling through the air as children chase each other. Or, shrieks of joy…
Opening up to Pain and Not Showing up With a Smile on Our Face.
“Some people think that to be strong is to never feel pain. In reality, the strongest people are the ones who feel it, understand it, accept it and learn from…
What if the End of Something You Held Dear is Actually a Gift
This is a story of a journey~~a journey that took me to inward & outward places I had always wanted to go. Both of those places that I was so…
The We Podcast #3: Guest Maryanna Brunkhorst
On this episode of The We Podcast I interview Maryanna Brunkhorst. Maryanna is a writer, dancer, explorer, lifelong learner, woman, and veteran. She talks to us about her story and…