Pen Pal Service

Dear Applicant,

Re. Temporary suspension of the Pen Pal Service.

It may open again, it may never begin. Life does what it does. Will decide later what to do with this page.

Do take care,

Ana Maria Santuario.

Are you ready? This is the question to ponder…

Before you apply to work 1:1 with Ana Maria, there’s still some work to be done… it’s called thinking. Please ask yourself the following and answer sincerely, for yourself alone:

• Am I ready to see my traumas and other parts of myself that may be a challenge to look into?
• Am I safe enough to survive an emotional rollercoaster, to lay and be still, or gorge on fat-filled foods without shame and ponder upon how this pattern came to be and what steps are required to truly change any perpetual cycle of unwanted and undeserved pain?
• Am I ready to feel my hatred, anger, rage and revenge state, and do so mindfully, without shame, and without hurting another too much for them to recover from it?
• Am I ready to see my unfiltered self through the lens of wake-up calls, and to dive into stored and ignored emotional baggage and energetic blueprints, and to ultimately create a new lens of unconditional love (aka, utter truth of self and other)?
• When activated internally, do I know how to down-regulate and re-establish a feeling of safety?
• Do others rely on me so much that I feel as though my needs cannot be put first?
• Do I have the support available, be that professional or personal (the former is advised for trauma reprocessing), in case my self-inquiry takes me towards something hidden, painful and unexpected, something too much for me to dissect without somebody safe to help me?
• Am I ready to swear allegiance to myself and no other?
• Am I prepared to look in the mirror and be honest about what I see?
• Am I prepared to take ACTIONABLE steps towards problem solving my suffering and stop complaining?
• Is this the right time for this commitment and self-inquiry journey?

Intuitively, you will know whether to press pause, or press on, respecting your inwards guidance system is how you do this safely and in line with your own capacity to stay the course, with your own safety at your centre. Answering these questions helps those who aren’t ready, to stay safe, and perhaps allows time to lay some foundations to work from.

Ana Maria Santuario, the developers and publisher shall never be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion offered as a part of this service, this platform, nor from any related publication or recommendation.  Moreover, you engage with the services available with the understanding that all parties are not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional aid; where this becomes necessary, we do encourage you to claim responsibility for your health and wellbeing and urge you to seek professional treatment, support and advice from the relevant agencies.

Self-inquiry is all about ‘noticing’, noticing internal arisings, becoming aware of their patterns of activation, knowing your triggers and reactionary programming; it can also circle around and into the reclaiming your right to self-care, boundaries, safety and health, as well as exploring the unknown beyond that. Waking up to yourself means coming to face all parts of yourself, and some aspects of self can be painful to see… Waking up hurts only because the things you’ve been ignoring or in denial of ‘come up’ to be seen, heard, valued and felt, with wholehearted compassion and acceptance.

When the pain comes, become mindful of any tendency to turn towards blaming the world, and seek to resolve what you discover with modern, alternative and ancient healing modalities, none of which can be given without first asking for what you need. Thus, pinpointing your needs and desires can also be a part of this work with yourself. Ana Maria is not there to hold any hands (not right now at least); she is there to point you down towards the depths of yourself and to ask you to embrace those painful spots that most people spend a lifetime avoiding, all while guiding you towards tools of resilience, healing and mindfulness. Waking up hurts and this is not a journey for the faint-hearted, nor the ill-prepared.

For those with a little less enthusiasm for this kind of thing, refer to the Q&A sections on the blog, or perhaps write your own question to Ana Maria here. You can also confess any burdens that weigh heavy on you through the confessions page, which is completely anonymous if you choose for it to be so. There is no shame in embracing being you, nor in accepting that you’re quite content in staying the same as you are right now.

Sometimes the work can lead to acceptance, which, in turn, can make way for peace to manifest from inside, which is some people’s version of ‘enough’. Whilst others seek change at a deep and meaningful level, either way, please complete the form below and take the first step towards completing the application process. The application form you will receive via email asks you to share some stories, feel into the process and let yourself free write – your inwards world must be trusted to know what to do herein, let it guide you back home towards itself!

We wish to emphasize that Ana Maria is not an agony aunt, therapist or counselling service, but a self-inquiry expert who sees through to your patterns and behaviours and helps you re-evaluate and reframe your stories and human-programming, and to find ways towards changing how you experience life on this earth, through the lens of your own perception and perspective. Life can appear to change externally, new place, new job, new people, but true change, begins and ends on your insides, and that, dear ones, is where Ana Maria points you towards.

Navigating through the unknown waters of yourself takes a guide, somebody who made it home to safer shores of peace, serenity and love. Let yourself have it easier than Ana Maria did during her transformation and healing, and write to her for some compass points of direction – her words point to love, but only you can sail there. Add a little extra winds to your sails with her works and check in on the blog, aptly titled, Mirror Mirror, for extra support when required, and please read the book, Faith in Stories That Change, before taking another step, to make sure this is the right path for you. You may always turn to Ana Maria’s poetry book for extra love and compassion too. These are your additional guides, mapping a route already wandered to a destination found and rooted into.

Note: Upon submission you will be sent the full application form, please do not rush that step, and begin with honesty, since that’s what Ana Maria will always, in turn, give you, and there is a need for her to see you clearly through the stories you tell her…

Further note, from A. M. Santuario: “Faith, In Stories That Change, may it act as the conversational anchor, at least at first. Let it become the common ground that we begin with, just so we both know where we are from the start. Like a tree, a shared conversation will branch out from there, organically and at its own will and destiny…”

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