Ep. 129 - From Battling Postpartum Depression in the Psych Ward to Uncovering Psychic Abilities – A Healing Journey Through the Art of Tarot with Leah Arnold-Smeets
Leah Arnold-Smeets is the founder of Woo Woo Realm, and an intuitive tarot reader, medium and spiritual guide located in Orange County, CA, with clients all over the world.
However, in her pre-"woo woo life", she was a badass COO for an app development company and a marketing and operations expert. Leah’s growth over the years from battling postpartum depression and ending up in the psych ward to emerging into this beautiful spiritual being is an inspiration to all that there isn't one right way to heal or be a mom. Her journey has inspired me over the years to also tap into my spiritual side.
When Leah is not slinging tarot cards or tapping into 'the other side,' she's busy being a mom to her two kids, Emiko and Jordy, her giant dog, and nine chickens!
In this episode, Leah and I chatted about
Growing up with a single mom in South Central Los Angeles
Living her life on other people's terms and what she thought she should be doing
Getting pregnant with her first child and suffering from prenatal anxiety
Her severe postpartum depression journey which led her to the psych ward
How to ask for help and advocating for your own mental health
Her spiritual journey awoke when she started to learn how to protect her daughter from spirits
When she started seeing visions and how she channeled that gift and her intuition into the workplace as a COO
The differences between ego and intuition
How breathwork has impacted her life and her parenting
What is tarot and how tarot can be used to help create clarity and healing
Follow Leah at
Website: woowoorealm.com
IG: @woowoorealm
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Ep. 129 - Leah Arnold-Smeets Transcript
[00:00:00] Stephanie: Welcome back to Mommy's on a Call. Today I have the pleasure of chatting with one of my close friends, an amazing mama, Leah Arnold Smeets. She's the founder of Woo Woo Realm and an intuitive tarot card reader, medium and spiritual guide located in Orange County, California, but has clients all over the world.
However, I met Leah in her pre woo woo life when she was a badass coo for an app development company and a marketing and operations expert watching Leah's growth over the years to now emerge into this beautiful spiritual being has inspired me over the years to also tap into my spiritual side.
When Leah's not slinging taro cards or tapping into the other side. She's busy being a mom to her two kids, Emmy Co. And Jordy her giant dog and nine chickens.
Welcome, Leah.
[00:01:40] Leah: Hello. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
[00:01:44] Stephanie: This is fun. So do you still have nine chickens is my question?
[00:01:48] Leah: We still have nine chickens. I actually just collected some of the first eggs they just started laying. So it's very exciting guys.
[00:01:55] Stephanie: Aw, how beautiful. Well, I wanted to kick this off by asking what has been your biggest mom win of the week?
[00:02:02] Leah: Oh my gosh. That one's a tough one because I think as moms were really critical of like what a win is, but literally they're alive. They are well, they're off to school today.
Fully fed and the laundry's done.
[00:02:18] Stephanie: And to give the audience a little bit of context, how old are your kids and what is kind of the roles that you and your partner Justin play?
[00:02:26] Leah: Yeah, so Emiko is 11, Jordy is five. They couldn't be more different. I mean, boys are different breed, right? Yes.
So Justin is the predominant breadwinner. He's the nice guy. He's the, the hero, right? The typical dad role. And I'm kind of the coo of the house. I'm the internal workings. I keep it all cohesive and and running smoothly. Well, let's, let's be real, as smooth as I possibly am without losing my, you know what? And I find little pockets here and there to do tarot readings and do my woo woo realm content, and really just continue on my healing journey, which is how this all got started.
[00:03:08] Stephanie: Well, on that note, I wanted to back up and talk about where it all started. So you were never a woo woo realm person. You started off kind of highly corporate, went and got, you know, a business degree and all of that.
Let's step back to your, pre motherhood and the beginning. How did it start?
[00:03:27] Leah: So I guess I was always interested. I think we're all like baby witches on the inside world, just collecting leaves and sticks and mixing mud. And my mom, I was born and raised into a really Christian family and, , I wasn't even able to read my horoscope. So I mean, that's where I come from. And to be full circle on the other side of the spectrum is, is kind of interesting.
But I ended up doing what, you know, I thought everybody wanted me to do. I graduated, I went to USC. I was a business major, minored in entrepreneurial studies. Ended up working in Dubai, you know, managing an interior design firm, I mean, you name it, I've done it in every industry and I kind of got blindsided by pregnancy, went through a certain situation and ended up, it was a really tumultuous time actually, and, and that's why I think Emmy goes this blessing on so many levels.
She kind of is this old soul that's still teaching me things and I ended up getting pregnant. Never thought that I've had, I would have kids in this lifetime.
[00:04:31] Stephanie: Really? Why?
[00:04:32] Leah: I just, I don't know. Maybe it's, it's emotional damage. . I don't know. I just always grew up thinking, oh, that's not for me. I'm just a different type of person and yada y yada, and lo and behold, I get pregnant and obviously we had her and it was just a whirlwind and I'm sure we'll get into this, but I think my mother wound is really a huge mission in this lifetime to heal and to kind of break generational curses. I call them curses cuz they feel like that sometimes just generational patterns as far as like motherhood is concerned and parental.
[00:05:13] Stephanie: I guess step back, I, I wanna hear a little bit about what sort of, motherhood, trauma do you think that you're suffering from, from the past? Like what sort of wounds?
[00:05:22] Leah: So I think just being raised in a broken family. Dad has his issues. I was born and he left, so I have zero relationship with him and my mom raised three kids.
I'm the youngest, my brother's the oldest, and my sister's the middle child. And. I mean, we fit into those roles perfectly too. And so I think with her, you know, just being raised in a poor family, the struggles that come with that, everybody kind of pitching in and having a say in how my mom raised kids.
she kind of was like a little bit, uh, Resentful of that. And so I think that came out in her mothering as well. And so the mother wound started and then being raised in South central la Let's throw that in there. . It's a, it was very confusing to always live in survival mode
[00:06:09] Stephanie: also as an Asian female.
[00:06:11] Leah: Oh gosh.
Yeah. Especially like they came over after the war. My grandma was like, nobody speaks Japanese. Oh. Cause I'm half Japanese. My mother's, the Japanese one, I didn't really
[00:06:21] Stephanie: realize she was raised in South Central. So were my , grandpa. Yeah. So he
[00:06:26] Leah: was out there. Yeah. , my grandma's house actually. Little fun tip here.
I mean, story, , boys in the Hood was filmed on her street and they used her house. Like the story told everybody. I'm like, have you ever seen boys in the Hood? That is the, that is the street Arlington. Wow. And it was an interesting, I mean, that's all I knew at the time, right? So everything was survival mode.
And I had family members that were in gangs. I had like, you name it, every kind of gang, every, every flavor of gang , some affiliation. And so I just grew up thinking, oh, survival mode. Don't talk to people. When people ask you where you're from, you don't say anything. You say from nowhere. And they always wanted better for us, my family.
And so they shipped us off to laces, Los Angeles Center for Enrich Studies and that's where my brother, my sister, and myself studied from. I mean, I was fourth grade till seventh grade until we moved to Orange County. And so my sister and my brother, they're kind of the more academic ones, if you wanna put it that way and I was a little bit more rebellious.
[00:07:28] Stephanie: Third child. Could never imagine that.
[00:07:31] Leah: It just is in every aspect of my life, I'm just the rebellious one, so I'm the black sheep. And so all of that kind of story and narrative of being raised in a poor family, single, broken family home, survival mode, kind of the rougher side of life, it taught me a lot about like street smarts and, and just as a person being able to protect myself and whatnot, I'm like, I'm five two.
Who the hell am I gonna like start fighting? It taught me a lot as far as survival, but it didn't teach me a lot about coping. It didn't teach me a lot about trusting myself, exploring my, my own person. Right. My own sense of identity. And it was also just kind of living everybody else's dream, life, whatever, because we gotta, you gotta do better than where you came from.
The this typical Asian thing, like, do really well in school. Become a doctor, prove your family right? And so we can all get out of this shithole, excuse my French. My brother went to ucla, my sister went to Biola, and then, , I went to usc, so I was like the only one that deviated from the whole Bruin thing.
um,
[00:08:44] Stephanie: in my And a Christian, not a Christian school.
[00:08:47] Leah: and Exactly, so I was the only one that wasn't baptized. I refused to be baptized and I wanna get something straight. Right now, I have nothing against organized religion. It's just not for me. But I, for some reason, since I was very young, just. No, you're not dipping my head underwater and saying it's it's for Jesus.
And my mom hated me because of it.
[00:09:06] Stephanie: That's so interesting that you had like a choice in that. Cuz I feel like we're baptized really young. Especially if you come from that family, like you're like a baby you like, don't even have a say. Oh yeah. And technically I was baptized Catholic, but I consider myself a Buddhist.
I so's yes.
[00:09:21] Leah: Yeah. . And, and so that's why I, I just. Kind of was this rebellious little grumpy kid. I don't, I don't know. I just keep on my shoulder when I came into this world and I ended up graduating from high school, going to usc, like I said, doing all the things that I thought I needed to do, and I mean, still paying the loans, like it was just one of those things where I'm like, I'm doing this because I can, and yeah, let's, let's reach for the stars.
And then it wasn't until. And tell me if I'm jumping way too far ahead of No, it's fine. Until I got pregnant. I had come back from Dubai after the whole like bubble burst and I came back to a recession. So I was like, okay, what do I do? And I ended up finding a job as like an executive assistant to the president of this debt settlement company.
Long story short, long drama story short, I end up getting pregnant after this crazy situation that happened at that company, which. Legally, I'm not allowed to talk about .
And so I ended up getting pregnant and I was so, I was in such a bad place then that I was really confused and I had to ask my, and this might be trigger warning, I'm sorry, or triggering for some, but I wasn't in the right state of mind.
I was actually very depressed, very anxiety ridden. I was on meds to kind of cope with the situation that was going on. And I really feel like that was the catalyst for change that really sparked this spiritual awakening in me because it was like rock bottom and there was like really, I mean, I, I either was like not gonna make it out of that ditch, or I was gonna be the phoenix rising outta the ashes and like be this new person, which thank God the latter happened.
And so I ended up calling Justin and saying like, oh my gosh. And he was at work, no warning, no special, like let's film this and let me, let me hand him the pregnancy test and be like, oh my God, look, I, and we're all like rejoicing and everybody on TikTok and Instagrams like, Mikey commenting.
It was literally like, oh my gosh, I'm pregnant. Are we keeping it? And then he was like, um, are you, Fing. Kidding me. , I'm at work. Yes. But we'll talk about this when I get home. I was in such a terrible place that, that was normal to me. Like that was the, the conversation that I felt needed to be had. So again, we have Emiko and she's, oh, I'm, it's, it was a redheaded spirit child.
Me, . Yeah. Let's talk about, because I can't even jump into the spiritual side yet. I have to talk about what probably was the most profound and difficult time of my, probably, I'm hoping my entire life was suffering from postpartum depression after having Emiko and not knowing that I was depressed.
I remember I read Brooke Shield's book. I remember there was such limited information about postpartum. You were just told that, you know, you hear about these women that are quote unquote crazy. They went crazy. They went insane and they drowned their babies. They did this, they did that.
And I'm like, God, who would do that? And I was such a judgmental person as far as how people should raise their kids that were like my friends and, oh, they should have been doing this. Like who hell was I to be saying anything? I didn't have a kid at the time. And I was like, well karma, you know what? And came back around and was like, boo, I'm gonna get you your booty , cause this is gonna be your big lesson is postpartum and I'm very grateful for the experience cuz I'm very open about it.
For the audience and everybody listening to listeners, I actually went to the psych ward because I neglected to take care of myself. I thought that if I fed my baby formula, she was gonna die. I would. I fed into all of the things that the mommy realm kind of perpetuates and really it's like, No two babies are the same.
No two moms are the same. No two people are the same. And so I was listening again to what everybody else was saying, living everybody else's motherhood. Uh, like I was living everybody else's like life. And I ended up just going. I mean, for lack of a better term, ape shit. Crazy.
[00:13:35] Stephanie: What was that like identifying moment?
How did you realize that you needed to check yourself in? Or did someone else check you in? Like how did, I guess cuz a lot of moms, they go through this, they can't identify it like you were saying, because you don't realize you're in it.
What was that point when you're like, I do need help.
[00:13:53] Leah: It was too late.
I was too far gone. I was like 10 months in when I went to the psych ward and, and somebody took me because they came over and, and this is like a whole nother thing. It was just, I felt like the world had it out for us, the universe. I had lost my job. Which I believe was postpartum depression related. Um, I got replaced immediately at the time, and it was kind of like my dream job too.
And, and like I said, postpartum doesn't care what echelon you're from, what stage of life you're in, whatever. And it just came in and it started with me obsessing, obsessing. Then it was a combination of not eating, not sleeping, cuz Emiko would just cry. She was so colicky. And then, I mean, just imagine a baby who slept 15 minutes at any given moment, even through the night, quote unquote.
Cause it wasn't through the night she was eating about 12 ounces of breast milk per serving. And she was like months old and she was, nothing would come up. She would just keep it down. That's why she was so chunky. Remember everybody was like, I remember, she's
[00:14:58] Stephanie: like, she was adorable.
[00:14:59] Leah: And she's like the same size.
Yeah. And I started losing weight, drastic amounts of weight and people were commenting on it. I was like, oh, it's just, you know, because I'm breastfeeding all the time and da da da da da. I'm stressed cuz I definitely lost a lot of weight in high school after like a breakup or in college after a breakup.
And I was like, oh, it's just stress, right? It's just stress. But then I started losing my cool all the time. I was yelling, we were fighting Justin, I were fighting. I felt inadequate, which, I mean, that comes with having a new baby, right? But it's the it ha, it's how it perpetuated and just didn't let up and even got worse that now the baby's feeding off of my energy and it just kept going, going, going for 10 months.
I lost my job. Justin got a 20% pay decrease. And mind you, this is still kind of recession a, you know, like in 2000. God, was it?
[00:15:53] Stephanie: When was that Emiko born?
[00:15:54] Leah: 2011. She was 2011. So it's like the economy was still kind of weird. Yeah. It was just financially, spiritually, emotionally, physically exhausting and drain.
We kind of went through this really difficult phase and then on top of that I'm having postpartum depression and not knowing, so I thought it was circumstantial, right? Like, okay. Of course we had to move in with Justin's grandparents. And that's where it kind of was a blessing. I really do feel like everything happens for a reason.
Cuz if we didn't move in, I. I'm telling you, I was begging people to come to Laguna Niguel and watch our baby. And everybody was in Orange County, like North Orange County, we're way south, orange County. And I even had somebody tell me, who's no longer in the family, thank God. Oh, I'm busy with my own grandkids.
And I was like, well, okay. So I already, it already took a lot for me to ask for help, which is one thing mothers have difficulty with. But on top, on top of that, the rejection and the blatant like I'm busy, and yes, some people were busy. That's fine, right? But when I'm like, I, I literally wanna throw my baby against the wall, like who's gonna help me?
Like that's how bad it is. I tell people, if you want to throw your baby against the wall, if you wanna put them in the microwave and that sounds normal to you, please call me because it's not normal. But we can get help. And that's why I'm so open about it. And again, I'm sorry, but this is like the realities of postpartum.
And so it got to the point where I started hearing a radio. And Justin's like, oh honey, there's no radio. There's no radio play, there's no music, no one's having a party. And then it just kept going. And then it wasn't like I heard voices at all. I didn't get to that psychosis level. I believe it was borderline though.
And one of his aunts came over to his grandma's house, his Omas house, and she asked, well, how are you? And I would always be like, I'm fine. Hey, I'm fine. And then that day, I don't know what it was, she just said, my face was so, Kind of just blank stare into somewhere. She didn't know where, and I just said, I'm not okay.
And I think she knew. I think everybody kind of knew. And then she's like, I'm gonna call Lindsay, Justin's mom. I'm gonna call Lindsay. And I said, okay. And so all of that, like, it just was this snowball effect. And then once I went to the psych ward, it's like everybody was like, oh shit. She wasn't joking.
And I'm like, I wish people took us more seriously. Like, I don't need you to come over and bring me a casserole. Go do the dishes, or do my laundry or pick up a kid. And so that's where it became really eye opening for me that there's. Not a lot of awareness around. Well now there is, thank God, around postpartum, we just labeled as crazy and something must have been going on or she must have been on.
[00:18:44] Stephanie: It's just the baby blues, you know? Yeah. It's just the no sleep, the,
[00:18:48] Leah: yeah. It has to get so extreme for people to like do anything or in my experience it was, and so now it's a completely different story. Right. And I now am a survivor. I. I can talk about it openly without it being this shameful guilt ridden experience where I failed as a mother and da da.
I'm like, I'm here. That is, that is winning. Like for me, for my daughter, my family, for other women out there. Cause I've helped a, a few women that were brave enough to reach out to me and um, I was like, oh yeah, honey, that's not the baby blues. We need to get you some help. And I think that's what makes the difference is.
When you have even one person to go to that hears you, sees you, feels you, then you know it's okay. And you can put your pride aside. You can put all of the like peanut gallery things that people are gonna say aside. And it shouldn't have to get to the level it did with me.
[00:19:46] Stephanie: At what point did you start to take everything inward and start to heal yourself kind of on the inside?
Like what, I guess what happened in the psych ward? Did they like just medicate you, like, you know, or where did this sort of like journey from healing from within
[00:20:00] Leah: begin? So actually I was put on a 51 50 against my. I told them I'm not going to the psych ward. If, if that's the case, I would like to go, cuz really all I needed was rest.
I need somebody to take my baby. I needed to rejuvenate and just kind of have some alone time to recoup. Put on a 51 50. I was released early, thank God I was not medicated at all. And then I unfortunately had CPS called on or like, uh, a hold on me. I couldn't be with my daughter without somebody there.
And then in order, and financially, we weren't in a position to get therapy every week so I can get a clearance from a, a psychiatrist or doctor. And so Justin literally had to beg the social worker and say, this is our situation. I don't know what you want us to do. So she lifted the hold. I mean, it was just a nightmare of an experience.
Wow. Sometimes the system works and sometimes it really, really doesn't, and I think it's so unfair sometimes, but, Thankfully we figured a way out of it. And so while I was in the psych ward, I was with people that were genuinely mentally ill, like genuinely mentally ill. I had a lady in there that said Obama was trying to kill her.
I had a girl in my same, and there's no doors. I'm sharing a room with six other people. A guy walked into the room, told me he, the angel in his ear told me, told him to kill me. Like it's, it's real. And people see helicopters and I started questioning like, well, do they, is that like in a different dimension?
Like maybe they do. Right? I think schizophrenic people really do see what they see, but it might be in a different realm that we don't see, like we don't see ghosts, but some people do like you.
[00:21:41] Stephanie: We'll get that in a bit
[00:21:43] Leah: and so. In the psych ward, I kind of have had this epiphany, this realization that one relief because people heard me now like they knew I was not joking around and I knew I'd have the support.
Everybody came in from my family, Justin's family, and that was wonderful. Very grateful for that. But when I was released early, even the nurses were like, you shouldn't be here. Bless those little Filipino nurses that I love so much that believed me. And they were, they kind of helped me get out of there.
Cause they were like, you shouldn't be here. And I told Justin during visiting hours, like, don't bring Emiko. There's energy here. And that's when I started feeling energy, which I had for a while. I just couldn't put like a name to it. Um, I was always that kid that was watching like unsolved mysteries and aliens and like all this stuff.
I was always into the woo woo side of stuff. Esoteric side and, and unexplained side of things. And so in the psych ward is when I really started connecting to that part of myself that was curious to see what was there, like where does this come from? How did this like thing take over me? And of course explain through science and like just like health and whatnot, chemicals.
But I wanted to understand it more and it just perpetuated this. Fast forward a little bit to when Meco was, gosh, she must have been. No, that's what started my spiritual journey. Let me back up. When I got out, I started, um, researching spirituality and I came across Abraham Hicks. And so I started listening to Abraham Hicks, like the gateway drug
And I started just kind of being like, well, why not me? Why can't I have this enlightenment moment where like God talks to me or, you know? And so I just started reading all the stories about, um, and researching and it just got deeper and deeper.
Then Justin's aunt from Holland, cuz he's Dutch and Indonesian, his family from Holland came over and one of the ladies, she's kind of a cousin, a friend of the family came over and started like, had her hands and almost like she was feeling the energy coming off of Emmi Coast's head and Emmi coast's 10 months old.
And I'm like, I just knew something within me knew exactly what she was doing and I was like, oh my. She's gonna tell me she's an old soul and I have to protect her and da, da da da. And it's exactly what she did. So this lady reads like dolphin energy cards, angel energy, and talks to angels. Like that's her method.
and she taught me how to protect Emiko. Imagine that you guys are trees with your roots. Your feet have roots in it that go deep into the earth, that anchor you in, and then your leaves are this bright light and you just are protected, right? So whatever visualization you need, that was hers for me and I started doing that.
Because I feel like when I was little, everyone would be like, God, you, you're such an old soul. And then I feel like because I was this light in the darkness, everything just found me and it kind of shut it down. It dimmed it, it attacked it, whatever you wanna call it. And so I kind of lost that. Spark and I wanted Emmy Co to continue keeping hers and shine bright and da da da while protecting.
And so that really was the probably the moment I was like, we're diving in. Cause I was like, I believe everything you're saying, let's dive in. And then it started with, oh my gosh, the abilities that I thought were what made me weird, like seeing a ghost of my uncle who passed away, having dreams where they would come true.
Just kind of sensing people's energy when I met them. And some people, I would tell my mom, I'm like, my, my heart does not feel good when I'm around them. Like they scare me. Like I could look at somebody and they would scare me, and I don't know why. I couldn't tell you why. I just always had that like ability, and I think we all do if we tune into it, right?
It's just a vibe. We call it vibe in like mainstream or
[00:25:37] Stephanie: intuition.
[00:25:38] Leah: Or intuition, gut feeling, you know, women or you know, womanly intuition. And so that's what really started it. And then I started exploring my own abilities, really wanting them to, to like just pop up again and flourish and bloom and I can do this.
And then Emiko started saying things where I was and she was little like one, two, whatever age you are that you can just talk like barely talk. Cuz she could barely form a sentence and she would say the, the white cat in my crib and I'm. We're all allergic to cats. We don't have a cat. There's no cats in here.
There's no cat that got in here. Then I was like, okay, whatever. You know, she has an imaginary friend, don't we all? Then it got to her like, Frightened and saying, who's the scary man? Like scary man behind you. Scary man behind you. And I'm like, oh hell no. like, oh no. And so that's when I started getting heavily into protection and how to hone her abilities while still.
Like protecting and protecting the house. So I would like energetically sweep the house before I went to bed at night. In my mind, like a lot of the things I do are visualization and I would protect her. I got into crystals, I got into tarot, like all that stuff, I, I was into tarot for a long time, just like in the closet about it.
[00:27:01] Stephanie: I was gonna say, cuz for a while I feel like you were in the closet. I mean, I'm gonna share this, but like, I think, so I was pregnant with Chase, so this would be like 2014 or so. And it, for me, it would only come out from you when you got drunk Basical. Like you would get intoxicated. And I will never forget the one moment we were sitting there and you're like, uh, your grandma wants to talk to you.
And I was like, what the f Excuse me, was I abusive with that? So you're like, oh yeah, so your grandma's here. She's your guardian angel. You'd go on this entire thing and the next morning when you wake up, you like didn't remember saying anything. And so I'm like curious how . You know, you were so, you wanted to repress that so much.
How did you end up opening up and making that like, not a drunk moment, but like a reality and what was that like?
[00:27:49] Leah: I think enough times where now I know that that was really rude of me to be so intrusive with like, no, it wasn't rude. It was still cool. Random strangers though, too, like the waitress I, and what happens is my body starts sweating and shaking and then like I, like I said, See, like apparitions or vi, I see visions in my head, like if you're recalling a memory.
So I would do that to waitresses. I'd do that. Strangers. I'm like, oh my gosh, Leah. And so that's like really rude. It's like peeking into someone's bathroom window and be like, Hey, what are you doing? And so yeah, I learned not to do that anymore and asked for permission. It starts at like this bodily sweating, shaking, and then the visions.
And it does not stop sh like my body doesn't stop shaking until the message is out, and that's how I know it's done.
And I'm like, okay, there's something there like there's something there I'm giving people, which is like my life, my life's work is to be able to channel messages from the other side and to get so good at it that when somebody passes, I'm with crystal clarity and confidence that this is them, this is what they wanna say to you, y yada, yada. And. That's like my dream. And it's like a muscle. Psychic is a muscle, and so you have to like anything, you just have to work at it.
So I started, uh, you guys were all my Guinea pigs. Thank you. But I started just doing it more often, more often, researching it, taking classes, courses, anything I could get my hands on, I would just absorb that information.
I would like devour it and it became this calling. You know, I got that job at Super Toy Box. I was originally the project manager. Then I ended up like moving my way up and then I became COO and then head of projects or director of projects, whatever lofty title.
[00:29:39] Stephanie: You wanna I know. I felt like you were living these dual lives.
Yeah. You were like a C level exec. Totally like. Corporate whatnot, Leah. But then on the flip side, you were this like magical being. Yes. And so how did you live in a world where you were like two different people showing up every day and then showing up as a mom?
[00:29:59] Leah: So it's so weird because like I made my business partner drink the Kool-Aid again, me being intrusive and controlling and really, he and I had this really strong connection and understanding, which a lot of people think is weird.
And I'm like, we need to normalize male and female platonic relationships, um, and dynamics, and it's what allowed us to work so seamlessly together. So like, like we could finish each other's sentences so we're in meetings and we can just, like, it was, the synergy was amazing and the collaboration was amazing, but it just, the work was killing us.
So the way I balanced it is I just went in there full throttle and was like, Hey, I see dead people, . But I mean, he was so open to it, so he was totally fine with it. He, he even used the like, I trust your intuition on this. Let me know like how you feel about this. So he embraced it, which was wonderful.
[00:30:56] Stephanie: That's incredible. Bringing intuition into the workplace. It is because I feel like it's all very cut and dry and data and yes, like there is data behind intuition and things like that, but to be able to weave those, that's awesome.
[00:31:09] Leah: And it was interesting because it came in handy when I had to hire people when we were like, I have a builtin lie detector test.
I think all women too, but like I have a builtin lie detector that I'm just like, I call your bullshit. Like, don't tell me that. And, and then like, you're blowing smoke up our ass. And so, It, it helps in that regard because I think when we are taught that being women, we're too emotional and emotions don't belong in the workplace, I'm like, that is a crock of, you know what?
Because that has helped us so much in my personal experience and when I talk to powerful women that are C-Suite and just killing it and Boss Babes like it is the one thing that they use that allows them to trust themselves. It allows them. Be determined and courageous and tenacious, right? And so that is really key. It's a key component to trust your intuition and to use your emotions to your your benefit.
Of course when they're out of control and whatnot, that's a whole different story. But when we lead with our intuition, which is part of emotions too, I think that it's magical. I think it's so powerful. I think it lends for so much clarity and and assuredness that.
Why wouldn't you? Right. Why wouldn't you use your emotions for that? That's the best navigation tool. And there's like science behind energy too.
[00:32:35] Stephanie: I was gonna ask, do you have any tips on like tangible tips on how to actually tap into that intuition? Yes. Like are there any things that you can do or like people can do in their everyday life to tap into that sort of feeling?
[00:32:47] Leah: Yes. So I always, and people always ask me, oh, I do one-on-one coaching too. And a lot of the questions that come through are about manifestation and mm-hmm. , 90% of manifestation is intuition. Right? And being able to visualize, trusted and just, I mean, almost like fake it to make it kind of thing. So, The one advice that, or piece of advice that I give people who are trying to distinguish between intuition and ego is usually ego is the mind.
It seeps in right after you feel really good about something, right? It's like right on the other side of fears. Everything you want and need and, and are like striving for. It's just right on the other side, but first that little devil on your shoulder has to come in and be like, Ooh, we're here to keep you safe, and, and you know, we shouldn't do that.
That's scary, right? That's. Ego comes in and kind of keeps you safe, like the super ego that wants to come in and parent you based on parental and societal standards, right? To keep you safe in line. Don't do that. Here you go. But it's flaw is, it doesn't know that you're not a child anymore, right? So you have to stop feeding it by entertaining it.
And so intuition is really this full body. Yes. It's a centered, confident. It doesn't, it's not without question or doubt. But there's something greater there that is pulling you towards it. Like when I started doing tarot and and felt this call to start doing professional readings, there was this unshakeable alignment and urge and calling to follow this path, or at the very least just pick up a deck and start shuffling it.
And once I did it was like everything fell into place. And so the intuition was followed by inspired action. , intentional action and with a vision in mind. And then when that hit, it was like, oh my gosh. That's the, that's the puzzle piece falling into place right there. It feels good. I don't mind talking about it.
Like even though I was like in the closet, the tarot, witchery, whatever, woohoo closet, I still was. Being drunk, medium, Leah, like, it wasn't like I wasn't right, and so I would talk about it all the time and, um, I'd talk to Justin about it all the time and it was just like this thing. And so intuitively I feel like I connect with it by breath work, I connect with it with intention.
And we label it as like, thought stopping, reframing. There's all these things. We're all speaking, like saying the same thing, but speaking a different language. Like intuition is gut. Um, manifestation is prayers, you know, and like and whatnot.
So it's really just, I think the most powerful thing and to I can give is breath work. Really, if you wanna control your body, your mind, and your soul, get in tune with your breath. Get a reiki session done. It's almost like a massage, but energetic massage and understanding yourself as well so you can trust yourself more and become more aware of your experience which is aKA your life and your journey so that you stop living from a place of survival like I was talking about, and start and stop reacting to everything and start responding to stuff.
Choosing to respond, right? It's such a more aligned feeling. It's a softer feeling. It's a more truthful like, it feels like there's integrity behind that. Versus road rage feeling You cut me off and how dare you. So I'm gonna very external, very external. So instead of living from the outside in, like the ST from the outside in, you're kind of navigating life from this lens of inside, like looking from the inside out and when you can control and have some sense of control over your inner realm, your inner world, and workings.
And you're able to stop that. Like, my heart's racing, I'm sweating, I'm gonna blow up on this person, or this person's wrong me, so I gotta wrong them. It's like we're all five year olds punching each other on play yard. You hit me first and it's like, where? What is going on here? So getting back in tune with your breath and finding that center.
And it'll look different on any given day. It's a spectrum, but as long as you know what that center feels like, go by what you feel less about what you think, because the mind is not always the most trustworthy thing. So your heart is always gonna speak truths to you.
[00:37:16] Stephanie: How has that helped you in your parenting?
[00:37:19] Leah: Oh Lord, how you, how dare you call me out . How dare you call me a hypocrite.
[00:37:24] Stephanie: I'm just asking. Kidding. There's a lot of moms out there, you know, they're like, great. You know, this intuition thing, this what you know, but like we're always living in this like, busy go, go, go. Like, yes. You know? So how have your practices helped you in your parenting?
[00:37:39] Leah: So I think the biggest thing is it's allowed me to explore my trauma and my wounds a little bit more. So again, I understand myself better and, and understand why I think the way I do or the lack is and where the, the, the blockages are. Um, like I said, I identified the mother wound we were talking about earlier, and to know that I'm a little bit more sensitive, I've, I've inherited a sensitivity to not being a.
Natural mother, good mom, you know, all this stuff like praising my kids. Oh my gosh. Look at him on the player. Like, I'm not the one you'll find at a park. I'm like, I'm just not that one. But what I am teaching my kids is to trust themselves. Doing my best to I I definitely mess up on a daily basis, um, and fall short.
But it's really to understand them and to see that this is a relationship that they may or may not have asked for right in coming into this world, and that they are their own people, and to not shape them in a way that I think is best for them.
My responsibility is to keep them safe, to nurture them to really hone their own natural abilities, quirks, whatever it may be, and like I said, Eriko and Jordy are so different, so I have to mother them so differently. It's just this awareness. I think when you have this intuitive connection, not only to yourself but to your kids, it allows you to have much more compassion.
I think that's what I'm trying to get at. That awareness creates compassion for yourself so that I'm not so hard on myself when I do mess up, that I can praise myself when I do good. And honor both sides of the coin, and that translates into motherhood in the sense that I can be gentle. I'm by no means a gentle parent.
I don't do gentle parenting. I try to, but it's just,
[00:39:25] Stephanie: I dunno. But I love that balance from within that you have both of those.
[00:39:30] Leah: So yes, at least I have that awareness. Yeah, this is possible. I can, I can forgive myself and bounce back to this, or I can praise myself for doing something different than what I was taught.
You know? Like I can speak to my kids differently. Um, I mean, we all lose our, our, you know what, but. It's coming back to it and not living in this place of shame, survival, oh my gosh, guilt and really having this love for yourself that translates to love for your children. It's that thing you can't love someone until you love yourself kind of thing.
And so that's been a, a huge. Like wake up call and mothering too.
[00:40:11] Stephanie: So what also made you leave this corporate world and then dive into , building out woo woo realm and building out tarot? Because it's always been like a passion, like a a side thing. But then what made you finally take that leap?
[00:40:26] Leah: So Super Toy Box was the other company. We had dream clients, I mean dream clients, but it was absolutely killing us mentally, emotionally, spiritually. My business partner and I, , we had went through a really difficult period. Finally, we have this saying, that's no more, no, like never again, hashtag never again.
And we made the conscious decision to pair things down. And pair things down. Pair things down. So it allowed and freed up time for us to do passion projects. He went into the more creative animation type of technical aspect, design aspect, and I was like, well, I'm gonna do tarot. He was like, you should, you're really good at it.
So I was like, okay. So I set up a, a Instagram I, Woo Woo Realm wasn't even supposed to be the name. It was just a placeholder and then it just stuck. It's like a good icebreaker, I guess. I ended up starting Woohoo realm on January 14th, 2020. I think it was like right before the pandemic. I mean, it was like, it was right before, I think it was 2020.
Yeah. Imal. What year are we in Monday? , and then it just took off. I did this. I just started creating content in a, in Photoshop and I started posting stuff and it really was meant for me to just share my healing journey, my tarot, my healing journey through the art of tarot.
[00:41:51] Stephanie: And can you explain just a little bit about what tarot is for those people who might just think it's some like psychic witch in like a little room, you know, reading your cards like in Tiana or something.
[00:42:01] Leah: So, and that's like what the. The stigma of it. Yes, the stigma and the stereotypical like, oh my gosh, Terri and I grew up thinking if I touch a deck, it's gonna, the devil's gonna come out . You know, really the power is not in the cards. They are magical and whatever, but the real powers in the reader and how you interpret the cards, the story you tell, it's like going to a friend and asking for their advice and their interpretation of your situation is gonna be different, varying friend to friend, right?
So how I explain tarot is they're just a vehicle. They're a vehicle for messages to come through. I do believe that they have a magical component to them, but so does the Bible, so does prayer, so whatever, whatever you wanna call it. The best way I can explain is like a weather forecast, so we can predict the weather to a certain degree based on the knowledge that you know, right, that meteorologists know at the time.
Just as the winds can change, your free will can change, and you can choose differently. So a reading can, the messages from a reading can change based on how you decide to live your life and take the messages, just like the weather.
So it's not so much, oh, I'm telling the future more so out of all the possibilities and options and outcomes, this one's the most likely and in your highest good, or these are the ones that are in your highest good.
I never really tell people anything that they don't already know, but because of the nature of your mind just racing and you having so many options, so many thoughts, so many fill in the blanks, tarot really calls out what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Cause I feel like what you want to hear is in your head and what your friends are gonna tell you.
And tarot, that sassy auntie that's like, oh no, no honey, you're gonna have to sit down for this one. And so like tarot. That like the sassy, like give it to me straight. And then Oracle cards are like, come on baby, do you need a hug? Come here. Mama will make it all better. You know? And so that's why I like doing tarot cause I'm a little bit more of the former.
But
[00:44:05] Stephanie: you sassy never would've imagined,
[00:44:07] Leah: right? So it, that's how I use tarot. And it can be, it can transcend love life, personal life, career, professional. Talking to the dead. I mean, you name it. And so it's just a matter of pulling out information in your head or in the ether and bringing it into form in the, in the sense of like a storyboard, which is what the cards are.
They're a storyboard, and I just tell the story of it. I'm the interpreter.
[00:44:38] Stephanie: I love that. , do you do it on Justin at all or do you do it to help your life at all, or do you just read other people's ?
[00:44:45] Leah: So I read for myself. I sometimes read for Justin if he has like a, like he never asks, of course. I'm like, do you want me to pull some cards?
It, it gave, it gives him the insight and like confirmation. He needs clarity. But I really love doing in-person, one-on-one readings. That's my jam. I love it. Um, I do zoom meetings, um, or readings rather. That are remote because obviously my clients aren't down the street all the time. So those are fun too, because I love the back and forth.
I love the interaction. I love that you can ask questions and I can answer them. I can pull a card, you can give me more information, and we can go deeper into that message or explore that situation a little bit deeper. So I love that one on one that's live, but I, I find it actually harder to read for myself.
I'm biased. I, I wanna hear what I wanna hear. So Taro has really taught me to be more open and accepting of what I need versus what I'm trying to control, because hello, control freak over here trying to control every little thing and it relinquish the need for that, or it encourages me too, and it gives me the ability to have.
External awareness of a situation. It's like journaling, right? It's like making a vision board. It's like just fleshing out all of the ideas in your head, thoughts in your head, onto paper and getting it out. So in that sense it's very therapeutic.
[00:46:15] Stephanie: Very. Do you do any other kind of practices kind of for yourself?
Maybe daily? Any sort of , not self care, but any sort of that, like journaling or spiritual practices daily?
[00:46:27] Leah: I do. I have a little altar for some of the deities and this might be a little bit too woo woo for some people. Um, but it's like an al for ancestors in the more witchy community. Sometimes you work with deities and I, I, I mean, it's nothing like I'm doing a seance or anything.
There's nothing wrong with that, but I, I just have a picture of the goddess. I don't worship her. I, I, it's just an archetype within me that it's, I'm being called to embody. It's like, embody that boss bitch. And I'm like, yes. There's just a goddess name to it, . And so I, I, like, I have a little, uh, coffee cup that I leave her coffee when I have my glass of wine.
I'll leave her a tiny little glass of wine. I'll put some crystals, I'll pull some cards, and then it's kind of the, she's giving me a message for the day, an affirmation for the day. And so when you reframe it, and it's not so like, oh, devil worshiping, you know, it's like, okay, it's actually, there's, there's a method to the madness.
There's actually. A lot of truth to it there. It's not as scary as people think. You'd be surprised how many people are, are open to it. I, I was blown away. How many people are open to it. It's just the stigma that makes people think that's of the devil. It's against my religion. It's against everything I believe in. We're gonna open a portal and I'm like, oh honey, you've been opening portals before you even were talking with that nasty attitude.
No, but it's just not as scary as everybody makes it out to be. Yeah, and it really is. I mean, some people go to therapy, some people work out, some people go to church, some people, I don't know, party. I go to tarot.
No harm, no foul, you know, and I'm not like summoning the, like demons or anything . I'm not trying to at least, but it's, it's one of those things that's have helped, that has helped me understand myself on such a profound level, deep level. And I'm so grateful for it. And it allows me to do that for other people in a gentle way, in a truthful way.
And also give them messages that they, that help them heal. I think that's most important. We're all just trying to walk each other home. Right. And heal and, and find that solid ground. And that's what it did for me.
[00:48:34] Stephanie: Oh, that's beautiful. Well, thank you Leah, to wrap things up, final question. What do you think is your superpower that you gained once you became a mom that makes you better at life, business, whatever that might be.
[00:48:48] Leah: Oh my gosh, honestly, It was realizing that I'm not in control of everything and don't need to be, and to let life happen and to embrace what the universe blesses you with, even if it is postpartum, even if it is struggle. There's always opportunity and healing and I guess opportunity for growth really, which is healing in itself.
In all the tough lessons that we, we encounter, and it can't be peachy keen all the time, but I think it's in the tougher moments of life, which motherhood is, has a lot of 'em that you have to kind of relinquish control and embrace that things are the way that they are. And we could actually learn a lot from our kids.
We're not here to control them. We're here to love them and learn from them.
[00:49:38] Stephanie: Oh, that's beautiful. And where can we find you?
[00:49:41] Leah: So you can find me on instagram at woohoorealm.com or on my website, woohoo realm.com. Oh, sorry. At woohoo on Instagram. And then woohoo realm.com.
[00:49:51] Stephanie: There we go. And make sure it's just woo woo realm and not underscore any sort of other weird things, because Leah has had a ton of people trying to imposter, or in like, yeah, pretend that they're her.
So
[00:50:02] Leah: that, Woohoo.
[00:50:04] Stephanie: I love it. Well, thank you Leah, so much for joining today and sharing all of that enlightening information. Thank you
[00:50:10] Leah: for having me. This was therapeutic. I love this.
[00:50:14] Stephanie: I'm glad. Well, I hope some other people out there were able to heal a little bit within too, so thank you.
[00:50:20] Leah: Thank you.
[00:50:22] Stephanie: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Mommy's on a Call.
Your support means the absolute world to me. You can find the show notes for this episode and other goodies over at mommy's on a call.com. And if you enjoyed this episode or have gotten value from the podcast, I would be. So grateful if you could head on over to Apple Podcast and leave a rating and review so that we can reach and empower more moms all over the world together.
Thank you so much again, mommy pod and I will see you here next time.