Carissa Daniel is on a journey to ‘uncover truth, explore the unknown, create & play; with the aim of living authentically, consciously and fully.’
She aspires to share this journey with others through the sharing of her own truth, and as part of this effort, Carissa will soon come on board as the VOICE Newspaper’s newest contributor. Her new column, titled ‘Carissa’s Heart Space’, much like the website Carissa, a Trinidadian native uses to reach out to and help people navigating various life experiences, will be focused on relationships, and healing. Before the column is released however, we thought it appropriate to share a bit of who Carissa is, and how she hopes to help others.
For most of her life, Carissa admits to feeling ‘repressed, suppressed and depressed’ because of family expectations, society’s demands, the belief system she once followed and mostly, ‘by the self I mistakenly thought I was.’
Her introduction on her personal Carissa’s Heart Space website reads: “I spent the first 25 years of my life, obediently following a path that was carefully crafted and dictated by others. I felt compelled and coerced into following this plan because I was convinced that it was the way.
During those years, I was absolutely miserable, unhappy, severely depressed, dissatisfied and felt purposeless and aimless. I wandered about life, angry and confused about why I felt the way I did and why I just seemed to not get it.”
Nevertheless, she stayed quiet, pushed and encouraged herself. After all, there had to be a light at the end of the dark tunnel.
“Thankfully there was but it came at an extremely high cost, costing me my health, peace of mind and soul,” she says.
According to Carissa, her first pivotal, life altering experience was at age 22, when she had a mental breakdown.
“My life was never the same again. Though emotionally and physically painful, the experience opened me up to a new dimension, one that literally blew my mind.
It was during recuperation that Carissa experienced grace and began a journey of self- discovery, uncovering truth and engaging in an exploration of life, beyond what she was told; an experience that was led by the guidance and wisdom of her heart.
“Along the journey, I gained crystal clarity as to why I experienced life the way I did and why the breakdown was a blessing in disguise,” she says. “The experience cracked me open and allowed me to be more receptive and more open to life.
This experience led me to take back my life. I had had enough. I finally decided to take 100 percent responsibility for me. Instead of staying silent with my head down, afraid to face the confusion, pain and deep wounds I was living from, I developed the courage to speak out and journey back home to my true self.”
Carissa says one of the major obstacles she has faced throughout her journey was being vulnerable. She struggled with acknowledging that there were aspects of her being that needed attention and healing.
“It took me several years to finally realize and accept that becoming comfortable and loving with the parts of me that was scary, intimidating and unflattering was the key to my healing, liberation and freedom,” she says. “I firmly believe that each of my life experiences, both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ was with purpose. Each path I journeyed on has helped me uncover the truth of who I am, allowing me to live life on my terms, contented, happy and on purpose.”
As a result of her experiences, Carissa is now able to share her experiences and insight with others; shining a light on their path through her writing, coaching and speaking, with the objective of helping them experience ‘the joy, liberation and peace I have come to know.’
The VOICE Newspaper eagerly awaits Carissa’s first Heart Space article, which will be published next weekend in our Canelle’s section!