A Mom’s Tale: Reflections from the Heart

This past Saturday was my daughter’s first high school Homecoming dance. I don’t know if it is because of our recent experience of running from the gun, recognizing how fast time flies, and/or feeling for people like the Guttenbergs and Gabby Petito’s family (and so many families like them) who never get to see their little girls again, but I’ve been feeling super sentimental through this entire experience.


If you know my writings, you know that my journey is about figuring out how to live life from a loving place. It is at the heart of everything I do. Yet as a mom, I’m not above the struggle of the re-surfacing of old wounds and projecting those on my kids. My kids are my drive for living life from a loving place, and they are the ones who help me see the importance of staying on this path. I’m so incredibly grateful to be a mom and to have the opportunity keep doing better for them and myself as I grow right along side of them on this journey. As I’ve written and spoken about ample times, the moment I found the definition of love and truly saw it as the definition was the beginning of a series of life-altering changes in thought, belief, and behavior patterns that keep on offering me the most amazing gifts and blessings.

The definition (in different versions) is posted multiple places in my room as a reminder (that I’m don’t always remember to follow) to project love. Following this definition has changed all my relationships for the better and has given me the strength and courage to remove myself from relationships that didn’t have this definition at the core. Having this reminder helps me be accountable and responsible for my thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors whether I’m operating from a place of love or a place of fear. These two versions of Corinthians 13.4-13.7 are just different enough to make sure I don’t rationalize my thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors to confuse love with fear. Even if I can’t see it in the moment, I have the opportunity to hold myself accountable when I CAN come back in a loving way:


“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

1 Corinthians 13.4-13.7, NIV Study Bible (1985)

“Love is patient, love is kind; Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; It is not irritable or resentful; It does not rejoice in Wrongdoing, But rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, Hopes all things, endures all things.”

First Corinthians 13.4-13.7, Harper Collins Study Bible (2006)

I just can’t help but be grateful for my kids, because without them, I would have never known that love could be more than what I had allowed myself to experience up until that point.

At this moment, I feel nothing but love in my heart and it is the most wonderful feeling—pure AWE. My hope is that I will be able to carry this feeling with me as I know I will need it in my next moment where I will have to choose to respond to my kids from love or react out of fear.

With Love and Gratitude,

Rachael Wolff, Author of Letters from a Better Me

About this post:

This piece started as a Facebook post on my personal page. I didn’t see what I wrote coming, but as I wrote I felt this need to keep sharing. There is a lot going on in the world right now and sometimes, I need the reminder project love in my daily life. I thought maybe others might too. For anyone who needs it, I hope this helps. Thank you for reading. If you want to see more FromALovingPlace.com, you can explore the page and/or subscribe with your email here:

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Heart Wisdom Panel: Fabulous Females

On September 1, 2021, I was blessed to be the guest facilitator on Mango Publishing’s Heart Wisdom Panel. Sherry Richert Belul is the regular facilitator and she is AMAZING. When she asked me to fill in for a panel on Fabulous Females, there was NO WAY I was going to refuse. With everything going on in the world, I wanted to read about inspiring women. I had NO idea what I was going to experience when I start reading the books by the author’s on the panel. With not a lot of time before the panel, my plan was to skim through both books. I’m so grateful that I didn’t.

I started with Shelly Rachanow’s book, When Women Run the World Sh*t Gets Done (See Shelly’s works by clicking on the title). There were so many stories of women and communities of women who either have gone or go out and persevere without any excuses. I knew I wouldn’t be skimming the book when I read,

Within each of us lies the strength and courage to make a difference in this world. It’s my hope that these stories inspire and ignite a spark within you to contribute in whatever way you can and join the chorus of women’s rights around the world.

Shelly Rachanow, When Women Run the World Sh*t Gets Done, Mango Publishing, pg. 17)

Our voices, actions, and responses matter. Each story drove that point home time and time again. I read the whole entire book in one sitting. I’m so grateful that I was introduced to so many amazing women in this book.

Next up, Marlene Wagman-Geller’s book, Unabashed Women: The Fascinating Biographies of Bad Girls, Seductresses, Rebels, and One-of-a-Kind Women (See Marlene’s works by clicking on the title). Reading these mini-biographies helped me to see the wholeness of who we are as humans. What I loved about these stories was getting a taste of these women’s journeys through the good, the bad, and the ugly. It served as a reminder that we each have our own journeys, but there are likenesses in each of our stories that can help us see the human in each other. I knew many of the people discussed in this book by name, but I was fascinated by the details and realness that Marlene brought to their stories. I read her book in two-days (It’s over 300 pages).

Needless to say after reading both these books I was beyond excited to get the chance to speak with these amazing women. They did not disappoint! You can see our fascinating conversation in the link below. I hope that you feel as inspired as I did! I can’t wait to read the rest of their works!

I’m so grateful to Mango Publishing and Sherry Richert Belul for doing these amazing Heart Wisdom Panels every Wednesday at 1:30PM PDT/ 4:30PM EDT on Zoom. If you would like to learn more about these panels go to Facebook.com/MangoPublishing to watch replays and see upcoming topics and guests.

With Love and Gratitude,

Rachael Wolff, Author of Letters from a Better Me

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Be There for YOU

Twenty-plus years ago, I wrote my mother a poem. It sits next to her bed in a frame. This morning she felt inspired to read it after a very long time. She shared the poem with me, and she told me a story of how the poem came to her at the perfect moment. I’m sharing the poem here today in case anyone else needs a little inspiration, because I know if you stop to read this, it’s meant for you.

Be There for YOU

As wonderful as it is to have you there,

Be there for you.

As Great as you are with your family and friends,

Be there for you.

As Much as you are needed by all those around you,

Be there for you.

Take time for yourself and just BE.

Turn off your phone,

Walk away from the TV,

AND BE!

You have a lot to do in this life,

But you will always feel pulled until you find time for you.

Rejuvenate, refresh, and balance.

You are being guided and your tender heart is getting ready.

An Amazing adventure awaits.

Be there for You.

©Rachael Wolff 2021

I hope this reaches whoever needs this today. Please, remember to be there for yourself. We are our own lifelong partners. Having healthy relationships with ourselves projects and reflects back to us in the most amazing ways.

With Love and Gratitude,

©Rachael Wolff 2021

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Taking Responsibility for Contributing to the Collective

I’m taking responsibility for what I’m contributing to the collective. I’m not responsible for what anyone else is doing. I’m serving my highest good when I’m aligned with energy of love, abundance, and peace. It’s not just about the actions I take, but it’s the energy, thoughts, and beliefs I put into those actions. If I do things from the energy of fear, lack, and separation, I’m contributing more fear, lack, and separation to the collective—EVEN IF my actions are what others think will benefit the collective.

What I’ve discovered in the last year of doing the Daily Aligning with Love, Abundance, and Peace (click to read more) blog series is that doing things for the wrong reasons, which is out of fear, lack, and separation doesn’t serve anybody. The same action can be taken by two people, one out of fear and the other out of love. The one that comes from love is the one that serves the collective in the best way possible. The one that comes out of fear still contributes to the collective of fear. I’ve seen this in the world and within myself over and over. I’ve come to the conclusion that if I truly want to contribute to the collective energy of love, abundance, and peace, I have to take responsibility for when I’m not doing that. I have to watch where my thoughts, beliefs, and energy are going.

I’ve watched myself struggle through some very dark perspectives that have led me to take actions. Even though the ACTIONS were positive, the energy I was contributing to them wasn’t. I was in the energy of fear, lack, and separation and as much as the steps could be good for the whole, my energy wasn’t so I was still contributing to more fear, lack, and separation. It took me a long time to figure out the impact of this on myself and others.

Even now, I’m raising two teenagers whose experiences can help me see where I’m holding onto emotional pain from when I was a teen. I’ve seen myself react out of fear of them repeating patterns. I’m still actively trying to navigate not letting my actions be out of fear while helping them work their ways through this time. I keep repeating to myself, “I’m giving them seeds, they have to choose if they are going to plant them.” I remind myself that they will have to experience what is necessary for their own paths. I have no control over that. The best I can do is guide them by aligning my own energy, because then I know I’m serving them the best I can. I’m responsible for what I contribute to their journeys and that’s it.

When I take responsibility for what I contribute to the collective, it means that I’m going inside to keep myself in check. It’s not about if people agree with my perspectives, choices, and actions. If I know that my energy is aligned with love, abundance, and peace, the choices I’m making are serving the highest good for the collective. If I’m aligned with fear, lack, and separation, I take responsibility for that and do my best to figure out how stop contributing to that energy in this moment. THIS MOMENT is the only place I can make choices to do better.

With Love and Gratitude,

©Rachael Wolff 2021, Author of Letters from a Better Me

Get your copy today in audiobook, ebook, or paperback!

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What Story Do You Want to Write About Your Life?

Stop giving your power away. Start writing your own story. No one else can write it for you. I’m not telling you what to do. This is how I talk to myself. What story do you want to write about your life? That is the question I ask when the stories that I’m telling and recirculating in my head about my life are causing me suffering. One of the ways I create my own suffering is by giving my power away!! Every time I blame someone else for where my head is, I’ve given my power away. I CANNOT CONTROL OTHERS, and I CANNOT control how events fall into place. Why pretend? I do have the reigns on how I CHOOSE to write the story in my head and how I tell it to the people around me. I choose the energy I give to my stories and whether those stories align with the energy of love, abundance, and peace or fear, lack, and separation.

I have absolutely NO CONTROL over what someone else does, thinks, says, believes, or is. Me making my story about someone else is me giving my power away. I become the victim of my circumstances, others, and even my own mind when I try to make how I live inside about a reaction to other things.

What story do you want to write about your life?

When I ask myself this question, it give me the power to take the pen in my hand and write my own story. No one else has to change who they are. I can make different choices with the people in my life. I can create healthy boundaries where they are necessary. I can walk away when that is what is best for my story. I can live my life from a loving place even if I don’t agree with other’s thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, or story about me. My mom taught me early on that what people think of me isn’t my business. It’s what I think of myself that I can do something about. I will keep writing my story one moment at a time. I will keep writing myself healthier, stronger, braver, and wiser.

With Love and Gratitude,

©Rachael Wolff 2021, Author of Letters from a Better Me available in audiobook, ebook, and paperback

Kindle version is on sale on Amazon (in US) for $2.99 today!

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A New Story

Take a breath and release what is causing your mind to suffer. Tell yourself a new story. We consciously or unconsciously tell ourselves stories that cause us to suffer or celebrate, to live in lack or abundance, to love or fear, and to embrace peace or separation within our own minds. It doesn’t matter what stories other people are telling themselves, we are only ever responsible and accountable for our own stories. What do you want yours to be for this moment?

When we keep the question in the present moment, we get the opportunity to make the unconscious—conscious. We allow ourselves to see the stories we are telling ourselves in this moment, and we give ourselves the freedom to change any part of the story that is not serving our highest good—If that is what we CHOOSE to do.

Circumstances don’t have to change in order for us to change our story. Here’s an example, my car window fell off it’s track or broke in some way. I told myself a story that was causing me to suffer. Then I stopped, took a breath, and told myself a new story that helped me to exhale with a feeling of peace and abundance. My window is still broken. I still have to figure out how to get it fixed, but I’m no longer suffering in my story of it.

I love that I was able to see the story I was telling myself and how I could let the story spin out of control if I let it go unnoticed. I love knowing I don’t have to tell myself ANY story that is causing me to suffer if I don’t want to. That FEELS like a beautiful miracle to me since I once believed that I had NO CHOICE. I felt doomed to live a life of suffering. I love that I was wrong!

With Love and Gratitude,

©Rachael Wolff 2021, Author of Letters from a Better Me available in audiobook, ebook, and paperback — Click title to learn more

Don’t miss a beat! Make sure you don’t miss any posts From A Loving Place (You can also follow on your WordPress app):

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In Case You Missed It: Here’s What’s been Going on

In case you missed what’s been going on, here’s what I’ve been doing…

Guest Facilitator on the Heart Wisdom Panel—Fabulous Females (Sept. 1, 2021)

365-Day Daily Aligning with Love, Abundance, and Peace

On FromALovingPlace.com, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn I’ve spent the last 365 days focusing my energy on daily aligning with love, abundance, and peace. It has been an amazing journey, and the shifts in my life have been incredibly rewarding along the way. If you would like to see where the journey takes you, you can search “Daily Aligning with Love, Abundance, and Peace” on home page—Click here for category search. You can also find them all on Twitter, Facebook.com/LettersfromabetterMe, or LinkedIn.

Facebook.com/FromALovingPlace

This is my on-going project of contributing to Love on social media. The Facebook page now has over 9.6K followers and growing daily. I love being a part of spreading love on social media.

YouTube Channel

I have some videos available here (click to go to channel) and will keep posting when I feel inspired. You can also search “Letters from a Better Me” on YouTube. Here is one of the videos I created:

Beyond Talking Points Interview (July 12, 2021)

Polly Campbell, Simply Said Podcast Interview Episode 113 (May 18, 2021)

Nita Sweeney Author Interview (April 2021)

https://nitasweeney.com/2021/04/author-interview-rachael-wolff/

Heart Wisdom for Challenging Times (March 2021)

Postcards from the Universe with Melisa Caprio (Dec 2020)

Here are a couple of listening options:

See More here: https://fromalovingplace.com/2020/05/11/the-ongoing-journey-of-letters-from-a-better-me/

If you want to make sure to stay in the loop…Follow Along:

With Love and Gratitude,

Rachael Wolff

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Daily Aligning with Love, Abundance, and Peace #301

I’m grateful for the symbolic meanings of trees. I’ve felt grounded and centered around trees as far back as I can remember. I’ve always loved taking woods walks and being among them. When I was in my late twenties, I visited the largest Banyan tree I had ever seen. I grew up around Banyan trees, yet never fully appreciated them until that moment visiting the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Ft. Myers, Florida. I left with a seedling from that very tree. I watched the seedling grow into a large tree, but the tree wasn’t walking like the one that inspired me to get it. I remember a man at the local plant nursery telling me that it’s not spreading because the energy is being distributed to the top of the tree. If I wanted the tree to sprawl, I had to take off some of the deadweight from the top of the tree, because that is where the energy that is needed to spread is going to. I really wanted my tree to be free to be as magnificent as it could be.

This is a glimpse of the Banyan tree from the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. This is just a small portion of one very large sprawling tree. It’s called walking when a branch drops roots from the branches back into the soil.

So I climbed up the tree.

I start by pulling all the dead branches down one by one. I felt like I was setting the tree free. All this energy was going into dead ends keeping the tree trapped from growing into her full potential. AHA-moment, I’m putting my energy into places that are keeping me trapped. I kept pulling branch by branch, I need to pay attention to where I’m putting my energy. I’m not living my life, I’m putting all my energy into trying to control things I have no control over, dead ends. I’m focusing my energy on other people’s lives–DEAD ENDS! I kept pulling, tears start filling my eyes as I start seeing clearly what I need to do to set myself free—GO WITHIN!

Once I removed the deadweight, the tree started to walk. That tree taught me a lesson about energy that will live with me for the rest of my life. It also changed the way I look at trees in general. The energy that travels through a trees roots (my beliefs); travels through the trunk (how I processes things); and into the branches (what I project out to the world). The health of the branches depends on what is coming in from the ground and in from the environment, which will then determine the life of the leaves and/or flowers (my experiences that come and go). I see the sun, air, water, moon, and clouds as the Universal Unseen, this can be God, spirits, collective energy, etc. This all influences the trees life. I remind myself that I don’t HAVE to fully understand the workings of the unknown, I just see them all as working together to serve the Universal highest good.

Now, I don’t have time to go into all my symbolic meanings related to trees, but I hope I gave you enough to see their overall influence on my journey. I find every time I write about them, I go a little deeper. That’s the beauty of all these symbolic meanings is that they can grow, change, expand, and evolve over time.

I often remind myself that all our symbolic meanings for things are going to be a little different based on what we need to understand and process at the time. It’s not my business to judge other people’s symbolic meanings for things. I like to look at how symbolic meanings can work in my life to help me serve the highest good. I believe that tapping into symbolic meanings is one of the ways the Divine communes with me. This is one of the reasons one of my favorite places to be is in the woods. I tend to find some meaning in nature that serves the highest good.

Today, I commit to embracing the symbolic meanings of trees. One of the things I love doing is putting my hands on the trunk of a tree and feeling the tree’s energy while thanking it for it’s service to our planet. I love looking at old trees and thinking about everything they have felt energetically over the centuries. I feel the AWE when I just stop and look at their magnificence. Today, I’m going to do a grounding and centering exercise I love using the imagery of a tree. Here’s how I do it:

  1. I go outside and put my bare feet on the ground
  2. Take a deep breath in
  3. While I release my breath, I imagine my energy creating roots in the Earth
  4. I visualize my roots going as deep as I can
  5. I breathe in and imagine the purest energy of the Earth coming up through my roots, into my trunk (my body), and through my branches (limbs)
  6. I repeat until I feel grounded in a peaceful and light-filled energy.

I love this reminder to stay grounded, centered, and aligned with the energy of love, abundance, and peace, because that is what sets me free.

I filmed this after I wrote this piece, but wanted to add it in for you. Enjoy!

With Love, Abundance, and Peace,

©Rachael Wolff 2021

Author of Letters from a Better Me: How Becoming an Empowered Woman Transforms the World – Click title to learn more

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Daily Aligning with Love, Abundance, and Peace #93

I’m grateful for my personal growth. I’m so grateful for how far I have come since I was that awfulizing (a term my mother loved using) teen, whose stories spun so out of control that I thought that I shouldn’t be alive. I’m grateful I God said, “No, you are not done here.” I’ve had to learn some VERY hard lessons over the years, but I took them all on head first and here I am. The word collage below is one I did a 35-Day A Better Me Boot Camp. It’s a project I have participants do to align with the person they want to project out to the world. I put my definition of love as the place that grounds me in my purpose. I have multiple creations I’ve made that I surround myself to remind me of the journey I’m on. I know it’s my job to align myself with the energy I want to project out to the world. That is why I’m here writing books and blogs. It’s why I do coaching and conferences. I keep growing, changing, and shifting into the best version of me available in the moment I’m in and I’m continuously learning to be and do better. By aligning my energy, I’ve attracted some of the most beautiful souls to my life who help take me further and deeper.

Today, I commit to honoring my personal growth. I’m taking time to reflect on how far I’ve come. Our journey here isn’t about being perfect. It’s about learning, growing, changing, shifting, and transforming into the best version of ourselves that we can in this moment. I still learn a lot daily. I just had a big growth spurt to see stories that were still aligning with the energy of fear, lack, and separation. I didn’t fail because of the things that surfaced, I was given an opportunity to grow. How we talk to ourselves shows our growth.

When I look in the mirror now, I love the woman looking back at me. I love my soul. I love how God sends people to me that I can help and/or who can help me. Each day, I live my life as a better me and that is because I truly honor my personal growth. I don’t just brush myself aside. I’m on my priority list. I know that when I take care of myself, I’m aligned to help others in a more authentic and loving way. When I neglect myself, I make up stories that effects how and why I serve others. I start expecting them to be different than they are. My personal growth has shown me what is mine, what is someone else’s, and what is God’s job.

SAMSUNG DIGITAL MOVIE

With Love, Abundance, and Peace,

©Rachael Wolff 2020

Author of Letters from a Better Me: How Becoming an Empowered Woman Transforms the World

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Daily Aligning with Love, Abundance, and Peace #28

One of the ways we can align our energy is visiting memories that bring us pure joy. Being able to get ourselves to a place of complete gratitude for being able to visit certain places might be exactly what we need to shift our energy away from any energy of fear, lack, and separation. This DOESN’T mean getting into the energy of wishing you were in that place right now. When we do that, we are saying that we aren’t appreciating being where we are. That works against us. I know, the business of aligning our energy can get tricky. If you think you want to be somewhere that you’re not, pay attention to what your body does. Nope, that tight energy is one of the signs we aren’t aligned with love, abundance, and peace. What we want to do is tap into those feelings of looking out to the mountains, sea, fields, flowers, forest, etc. Wherever you have felt that feeling of AWE just from being where your feet were. Now, if you are there, go into the place of gratitude and notice how expansive that feels. Notice the feeling of pure joy. Try to remain there for three conscious breaths. I’m often brought to tears in the best of ways. Tears are my body’s reaction to feeling a feeling fully.

Today’s challenge is to make sure we have a list of local places we can go where we can feel that pure joy. It may take some exploration, but whatever it takes, DO IT! It’s funny, it took me YEARS to figure out that my area had a bunch of different nature preserves that were filled with oak hammocks and beautiful scenery. Many of the pictures you see in my posts are from local areas around my house. The one below is where I walk daily in my neighborhood. EVERY day I walk I see a bird, flower, cloud, tree, decoration, or something that brings me to a place of joy. It’s funny, I’ve been walking my neighborhood for a long time, and I thought I’ve always been observant. I started doing these daily challenges, and all the sudden I feel like I’m seeing so much more. IT is AMAZING!!! When we create space for joy, more joy appears. I love the way that works.

With Love, Gratitude, and Peace,

©Rachael Wolff 2020

Author of Letters from a Better Me available in audiobook, audio CD, ebook, and paperback. Learn more here.

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