Two brain chemicals help shape how you feel; but they’re not the same. One drives you to chase, the other helps you savour. We often talk about “feel-good” brain chemicals as if they’re interchangeable, but dopamine and serotonin play very different roles in our moods and motivation. Dopamine: The Spark of Desire Dopamine fuels motivation, …
Author: Mariel Camilleri
Kintsugi for the Spirit: A Healing Journey in Emotional Recovery
A Facebook friend inspired this reflection. She’s been using AI to enhance her photos; creating images that are more beautiful, yet to my eyes, less soulful. And yet, I can see the gift it’s giving her: a gentler reflection, a reminder she’s still beautiful after surviving deep emotional wounds and trauma. It reminded me of kintsugi, …
Becoming Real: The Velveteen Rabbit and the Human-AI Merge
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you.” In the beloved children’s story, The Velveteen Rabbit, a stuffed toy longs to become Real; not just to function, but to be, to feel, to belong. He becomes Real not through magic or machinery, but through the depth of his …
Getting Clear on Your Purpose
Purpose isn’t something you have to figure out. It’s already here; woven into your longings, your gifts, and your way of being. The right invitation simply helps it surface. Getting clear on your purpose can be surprisingly simple. I’ve used this process myself, and shared it with many clients. It’s a gentle way to gather …
The Masks We Wear, The Selves We Hide
How much of your identity is shaped by the need to be seen a certain way? In this reflection on authenticity, Mariel draws from T.S. Eliot, The Beatles, and her own mask-making journey to explore what it means to gently unhook from the false self. Most of us construct some version of a public self: …
After the Narcissist: Reclaiming Safety, Self, and the Sacred Ordinary
When you leave a narcissistic relationship—or it leaves you—it can feel like waking up in a familiar room that no longer feels like home. The bed is the same. The view from the window hasn’t changed. But your nervous system is in pieces, and your sense of self is shattered. Narcissistic abuse doesn’t always leave …
The Body as Garden: Reclaiming the Capacity to Receive
For many of us, receiving is harder than giving. We pour our energy into others: into care, work, creativity, and survival. Eventually, there’s nothing left in the well. When support is finally offered, we often deflect, minimize, or tense up, unsure how to let it in. But the body knows how to receive. Just like …
Stress Is a Signal, Not a Sentence
We often think of stress as something to eliminate, fix, or fight. But what if stress isn’t a malfunction? What if it’s a message—one that our body has been trying to deliver for years? In my work, I see stress as a signal. Not a sentence, not a flaw, and not a personal failure. Just …
Affirmations as Healing Probes: A Somatic Approach to Rewriting Inner Scripts
Most people have heard of affirmations—short, positive phrases meant to inspire confidence and optimism. But in my work, affirmations are not just feel-good slogans. They become tools for transformation when paired with deep presence and somatic awareness. As a somatic therapist and group facilitator, I often invite clients and circle participants to listen inwardly as …