Shannon McLaren

I couldn't keep going. What originally inspired and challenged me stopped having any juice. So I stopped. I don't aspire to twist words into something entertaining just because it's time to publish another blog. That's not my purpose. I write because my own experiences stretch my awareness into a wider bandwidth of understanding. Those moments that suddenly click... those "Well, I'll be damned" realizations... those have juice. That's why I write. That's why I give this my precious time....

We learn belonging before we understand it. In the body. In the breath. In the way we were held… or not. A mother doesn’t just give life. She offers a mirror. Of care. Of presence. Of what love is allowed to feel like. But many mothers were handed a script, not support. An image of motherhood shaped by pressure, survival, and silence. Not truth. If she could not fully see you, it’s often because no one fully saw her. This is where your power begins. Not in blame, but in responsibility. For...

Shaping how you decide where, or if, you belong isn’t something most people are consciously doing. In fact, most people aren’t as self-aware as they think. Research often cited shows that while a large majority of people believe they’re self-aware, only a small fraction are actually aware of their inner patterns or how they’re experienced by others. So what does that mean? It means the system that decides belonging is running… largely unobserved. Most people aren’t consciously deciding...