Unlocking an Extraordinary Life: Radical Responsibility, Self-Love, and Growth with Erica Lippy

In this week's episode we explore how living an extraordinary life often requires that we first heal the traumas we've experienced in our past. That was certainly the case for my guest, Erica Lippy, a renowned life and wellness coach, fit model, and creator of Passion Love Pursuit, an international movement that encourages you to become your best self -- living a vibrant life more passionately and purposefully.  In our candid conversation, Erica shares her personal growth journey, emphasizing the importance of self-love, the pitfalls of seeking external validation, and the profound impact of living with intention.

We delve into how radical responsibility and an intentional focus on personal growth can cause a seismic shift in your life. Erica shares how breaking down limiting beliefs, understanding our core values, and creating intentional space for personal growth can transform our experience.

Lastly, we reflect on the lessons life's challenging moments offer and how they have sculpted Erica into the person she is today. Erica defines success as the freedom to live her most vibrant, authentic self and offers advice on nurturing a healthier relationship with oneself. Infused with wisdom, practical advice, and heartfelt honesty, this conversation is an illuminating guide for anyone seeking to live an extraordinary life. Join us for this enriching dialogue with the beautiful, compassionate and bold Erica Lippy.

Connect with Erica:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/ericalippy/
Website: https://www.instagram.com/ericalippy/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/passion-love-pursuit-podcast/id1457611794

Connect with Michelle Rios:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/michelle.rios.official/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.c.rios
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3ahwTlqiLU&list=PL-ltQ6Xzo-Ong4AXHstWTyHhvic536OuO
Website: https://michelleriosofficial.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

many of us seek things outside of us, and that's where the validation comes from the doing, and that will never be enough. As long as we seek all this approval from external things, we will constantly feel empty, like we need something more.

Speaker 2: 0:21

Hi, I'm Michelle Rios, host of the Live your Extraordinary Life podcast. This podcast is built on the premise that life is meant to be joyful, but far too often we settle for less. So if you've ever thought that something is missing from your life, that you were meant for more, or you simply want to experience more joy in the everyday, then this podcast is for you. Each week, I'll bring you captivating personal stories, transformative life lessons and juicy conversations on living life to the fullest, with the hope to inspire you to create a life you love on your terms, with authenticity, purpose and connection. Together, we'll explore what it means to live an extraordinary life, the things that hold us back and the steps we all can take to start living our best lives. So come along for the journey. It's never too late to get started, and the world needs your light.

Speaker 3: 1:24

I am so excited to introduce this week's guest, erica Lippi. Erica is a Los Angeles native, a life and wellness coach, a renowned fit model and the creator of Passion Love Pursuit, an intentional movement that encourages you to become the best version of yourself. She also happens to be the host of the Passion Love Pursuit podcast, which is just soaring in the ratings. She's doing so well. She's having great conversations. She also happens to be a very beautiful, kind and caring soul, so it is my pleasure to introduce to you Erica Lippi.

Speaker 1: 2:00

Welcome, Erica. Thank you so much, Michelle. I appreciate you for having me on. Thank you for that introduction. My pleasure.

Speaker 3: 2:07

Okay, let's jump right in, Erica, we're gonna start with. What does it mean to you to live your extraordinary life?

Speaker 1: 2:15

So it very much goes in cohesive with my podcast named Passion, love Pursuit. So I believe it's living your life passionately and purposefully. And for me to live a life passionately is to really have that inner spark that makes you feel alive in life, that firing your belly to live just vibrantly in every area of your life, and then purposefully, is living with intention, and I believe the way life should be lived is intentionally, and so living extraordinary life is just waking up just with that fire in your belly and that desire to live your fullest and also be purposeful in everything you do. So that's my way of living an extraordinary life, but I also believe it has to be filled with adventures and experiences, because I believe that is the zest of life.

Speaker 3: 3:05

So, with that in mind, has that always been the case for you and, if not, tell us a little bit about the personal growth journey that you've gone on.

Speaker 1: 3:14

It's like where do you begin right. I feel I've had many layers of growth spurts, if you wanna say, but you know when I talk about living life passionately and purposefully, that has been my pursuit for so long, hence the name passion, love pursuit. It's something that I felt I was in search of for so so long, because I didn't feel this purposeful in what I was doing and how I was living my life and just there wasn't, as I say, like fire in my belly for what I was doing and how I was living my life and so my journey. I think I always like to go back to where my biggest pain was, and that was in relationship. I always seek love outside myself, and the reason being is, honestly, when I look back, is because I didn't really love myself, and so I always seek these outside things to prove that I was worthy, to prove that I was lovable and that. So in my experience in relationships, I've had many heartbreaks, as all of us have right, but mine stemmed at a very, very early age.

Speaker 1: 4:16

I was in a 10-year relationship from age 13 to 23, and that really shaped a lot of my perception of myself. I was emotionally abused in that relationship and he made me feel less than that. I was not smart enough. He was smarter than me and all the things. And I also formed identity based on what he liked. I started to love cars because he loved cars. I started to shoot guns because he shot guns. I hung out with his friends, so I didn't really know myself at all, I didn't know what I liked, and it was, as you can imagine, 13 to 23,. It's like I'm becoming this adult but yet I'm not becoming who I truly am. It's really I'm like shaping my identity to something that he was. And so when that relationship ended, I realized who am I and I started to go on this self-discovery journey, knowing what I know now. It was nothing of a self-discovery journey as I've gone through in the more recent years of my life.

Speaker 1: 5:14

But I started to really discover things about myself and started to kind of explore different things. And then I think it was five years later I entered another long-term relationship of five years and in that relationship it was very loving. But the one thing that I came to learn after that relationship ended is that I loved him more than myself and I started to question like why would I not stand for what I feel I deserve? Why would I not hold healthy boundaries? Like, why was it so difficult? And so that journey of discovery it kept on unfolding.

Speaker 1: 5:50

In other dating relationships I had, it's just I realized the common thread was I always seek things outside of myself, like everybody else needed to validate me. And then I started to form like into identities that really weren't authentic to who I was. And so I think that's when it really shifted and that's when I really crumbled and just kind of took a hard look at myself and said like, okay, obviously I don't feel fulfilled, I don't feel like I love myself, I don't feel worthy why do I not? And that's when I started to really uncover, like the stories I was telling myself for so, so long and that really inhibited me to being truly authentic and truly embodying that worth. If you want to say that, I felt about myself and I just started to break down those barriers.

Speaker 3: 6:42

Let's talk about that for a minute, because the stories we tell ourselves we know are really the fabric of what creates identity in so many ways. When you took a step back from those relationships, realizing somewhere along the line, you felt less than, and yet you were not loving yourself. You clearly didn't have that self-worth in place. How far back did that start for you.

Speaker 1: 7:07

I think it started actually probably before age 10. I actually don't remember any of my childhood before age 10. I don't know why. I don't believe I had some severe trauma or anything. That's my belief but it started at a very young age because I felt I was different than all the other kids. I was diagnosed with a learning disability, so I always thought I was less than the other kids and stupid and not smart enough. So I think it started at a very young age.

Speaker 1: 7:36

The stories I was forming about myself and I think that was the thing is because it was reinforced in that very young relationship. I was with him for 10 years, I think it just dug deeper. He just made me feel less then, and so it reinforced this idea and the story I already told myself and so I carried it for so, so long. You have no idea, even before I started this podcast. I've had this podcast for almost five years. Even when I was entering into the podcasting, I was still telling myself the story. Like I don't speak well, I can't remember things. I still carry those stories and I had to just continuously break it down which I could talk about that journey.

Speaker 3: 8:15

So let's now fast forward. You've gone through that second long-term relationship and you are now in a place with a bit more of an awakening. One would say right, you're starting to take a hard look at yourselves. That's not easy work. That's work that really requires you to go deep. How did you really start to make that transformation? What did the healing look like for you?

Speaker 1: 8:39

Radical responsibility, if I can just sum it up in two words, honestly is actually telling myself the honest truth, and like turning the mirror on myself and ask myself how are you showing up? What's your responsibility in this? We all play a responsibility in 100% of everything in our life. I'm talking about two adults, of course, all the listeners. We are the creators of our life. We get to decide how we show up, the actions we do, the decisions we make. We get to control that aspect of ourselves. So I think, just turning the mirror on myself and being radically honest, like you are playing a part in this situation, these heartbreaks that you're experiencing are because, honestly, you chose it. It's how you decided to not say no to this or how you said yes to this. So when I started turning the mirror on myself and asking myself why did you decide to say yes to this? Why are you not valuing your worth? Why are you not respecting yourself? Why are you not holding healthy boundaries, and so I started journaling about this I was, by the way, working with a life coach, which helped me tremendously, but this time, when I was doing this work and this is the deep sea to work that I started to do about.

Speaker 1: 9:52

I would say seven or so years ago, I started working with my life coach. Again, this was the third time with the same life coach, but this time was different because I was like, okay, I am going to be intentional in this work, I'm going to not going to be driving and heading to a client while I do a coaching call with her, I'm going to be sitting down, I'm going to be journaling, I'm going to be intentionally listening to her and doing the work. And so that was a huge game changer for me is just deciding to be intentional with the work and pushing things aside and making that first priority is working on myself. And so when I started journaling and asking myself these questions and breaking down those limiting beliefs and barriers in the stories and asking myself, okay, where does this come from, first of all, and is this true and why do you believe this to be true? And 98% of the time it is not true.

Speaker 1: 10:45

And so I started to just really dissect everything, for example, even since I said my pain mostly came in my relationships even doing the exercise of asking myself, like, what it is that I really value in a partner. What is it that I'm looking for in a partner and writing that down, but being more crystal clear on why this is important to me. For example, if I would write family for myself. The reason why family was so important is because I didn't grow up in a very tight family. I had a very small family, and so I always wanted to experience having a bigger family and having that love and support something I've never experienced. So I really valued that because it was something I've yet to experience. Once I was able to really just get clear on the clarity as power and that really is what was the game changer for me. But I think, if I were to sum it down in two words, it's radical responsibility.

Speaker 3: 11:36

And you created a space for yourself. That's so important. I think so many times people are mulling over the things they know that need to change or that they need to address, and they're spending time in their head about it, but they're going about their business and still do it, as you said, in the car, trying to take the call and multitask, versus having that intention of I'm going to create this space, because this is an important space for me to place my attention on something I need to shift.

Speaker 1: 12:05

I think that is the game changer is we need to create space and time, because I think there is so much outside noise for all of us and we're constantly doing the next thing checking off the next box.

Speaker 1: 12:16

That's why they say get your workout done in the morning, because as the days goes on you'll get busier and busier and you won't have time for it. So we have to be intentional in creating the space for ourselves. I personally love time by myself because I feel deeply connected to who I am when I am creating that space and time for being in my own existence, if you want to say, like going on a walk, being in nature, it's like when I'm able to connect myself because I'm able to like stop the noise. Some people feel like when they're with themselves they have more noise, maybe more talking heads, you know, like voices in their head just going off. But I think, in a way, allowing that is a good thing as well, because you'll see what comes up. But I do believe you have to create the space and if you're just constantly surrounded by people, you'll never get clarity on really what's going on in your heart. So space and time is so important.

Speaker 3: 13:09

I think it's spot on. What do they say? I was an executive for many decades and I used to have the line of I'm too busy to do that. And my first meditation instructor said that is why you need to do 10 minutes more than everyone else. And I remember going and being punished for this and she said, no, you need it more because you don't think you have time, which is why you need to create more time for this. And that really hit me hard. I was not making the right amount of space for my own personal growth until I sat down and created space intentionally, so I tried to squeeze it in between things. Really wasn't doing it right.

Speaker 1: 13:46

Absolutely. I think I love this line. You need to love yourself when you're by yourself, and I think a lot of people don't want to have that alone time with themselves, but I think that's how you really cultivate a loving relationship with yourself is when you're alone and being in that uncomfortable space. If you do not feel yet comfortable in that alone time, I think that's when you need to dive more into it, because I think we really need to cultivate this loving relationship with ourselves and the only way is getting to know yourself as you are.

Speaker 3: 14:16

I really want to delve into this relationship piece because I'm curious. You've had these experiences that have kind of brought some ups and downs, created some adversity for you. How has that strengthened your ability to show up in your current relationship and what is that like for you now?

Speaker 1: 14:34

I believe life is a series of lessons. I believe you will keep getting the same lesson over and over until you learn it. It's like you'll just get small little whispers here and there, like little taps on the door of these little lessons, and the longer you ignore it, the louder the knock will get, and so and then it will eventually come pounding through the door and just knock you down right. So I've definitely been through some of those experiences and I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful for those hard, hard times because that's what I needed at the time to wake me up and sometimes, honestly, that's what a lot of us need. I don't wish that upon anybody. I don't wish anybody to have these hard breaking moments where you just feel like how do I move on from this experience? But I do believe if we look for lessons, if we question like, why is this happening? What is this trying to teach me, I believe we will come up with the answer.

Speaker 1: 15:30

The hardest times have served me the most and that's helped me become who I am today, to really live in my truth and be just wholeheartedly accepting of myself the good, the bad, the ugly. It's like I accept and I appreciate the lessons I've learned because I wouldn't be where I am without them. And so even some people will be like I remember friends used to say this back in the day, basically talking bad about the guy oh, he's just not wanting something serious. And again, when you turn the mirror on yourself, you realize it's not about that person. I believe every relationship is a mirror. It's like there to teach us something like where are you showing up in your life, how are you reflecting this in this relationship? And so it's changed how I show up in relationships. I have healthy boundaries, I assert myself, I stand in my worth and knowing wholeheartedly knowing my worth, and that wasn't always the case. So luckily, we get to have healthier relationships when we embody our true value and our worth. I love it.

Speaker 3: 16:38

I love this phrase. It comes up for me every now and then when I go back to the doing mentality of external achievement, which I think a lot of us have it like hardwired into our DNA. But your worth is inherent in your being, not in your doing, and that just really sits well in my bones today, in a way I probably couldn't have owned in my 20s or even in my early 30s. But as time has gone on it has so much more meaning that, beyond anything that I may have achieved, beyond anything I may have had a relationship or feeling of security, the value is there regardless, at all times. I just didn't know how to step into it, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 17:21

And I think many of us seek things outside of us and that's where the validation comes from, the doing, and that will never be enough. As long as we seek all this approval from external things, we will constantly feel empty, like we need something more, and I think the only way we could really get there is exactly like being in our own existence. If you want to say, I love that you say that being and doing like when can we really just honor our beingness and then that's enough.

Speaker 3: 17:53

Exactly. Well then, that brings me to my next question, which is how does Erica Lippe define success at this particular season of her life?

Speaker 1: 18:02

I feel it's very similar to living an extraordinary life, but success to me is really waking up with this desire to start your day with vigor and passion and purpose and just to be able to have the freedom to do with whom you want to when you want to, and also being able to fill up your cup with things that feel aligned and great to you so that you can overflow and serve on to others. So I feel success is really is not a material thing. I feel it's very much an internal thing that you create, the way you see the world, how you show up in the world and going back to that beingness, like feeling you are living your most vibrant, authentic self and with passion and purpose and intentionality. I love it.

Speaker 3: 18:53

Okay, so non-negotiables. I know a little bit about your life I mentioned this when I introduced you but I want to understand a couple of things. First of all, can you tell us what a fit model is I'm fascinated, and I'm fascinated that you do this as part of your work and second of all, what are your non-negotiables? Because my understanding of this work is that there's probably a lot of discipline in your life and a lot of structure, and I want to better understand that. So could you tell us a little bit about what being a fit model is?

Speaker 1: 19:26

Yeah, great question. Okay, being a fit model? So a lot of people think it's a fitness model and it's anything to do with fitness. A fit model is basically a live mannequin for clothing manufacturers. So basically there is a fit model that has industry standard measurements and that body is used to fit clothing and the clothing is fit on the model and then mass produced for every size. So generally one company has one fit model. There's not generally multiple fit models, it's one model for every single size. This is how the industry works and great long time ago I used to be a fashion designer.

Speaker 1: 20:05

When I got out of college, I went to college for this and I started doing the fashion design for some time and then I took a break and I said, okay, I'm going to do. My friend suggested why don't you be a fit model At this time? I'm like, no, this is wrong with my body, I can't do that. But I'm like, okay, I'll attempt for a year I'll do it. So I signed with the agency and I fortunately started booking every go. See, I went on and so that's when I was like, okay, I'll take this break, I'll make money for a year and return to fashion design. Fast forward. I've actually been doing it coming on 20 years now, so I've been the exact same size for 20 years. I've literally fit everything under the sun. The only thing I have yet coming this year a wedding dress. That's the only thing I have not fit. I fit everything from underwear to scarves, to hats, to lingerie, to jeans you name it.

Speaker 1: 21:00

But the important thing about this I mean I didn't plan to stay in this career by any means. Luckily, it's given me the opportunity to do so many other things and explore different things that I was passionate and purposeful and that's been most of my journey is trying to discover, like, what else am I passionate about and what is my purpose in life, and so that's what's led me into the life and wellness, coaching, the podcasting, speaking and whatnot. And that was a long journey, let me tell you, to figure that out. But the great thing that has really come from fit modeling. There's many blessings, but the big thing is the discipline that I have established through fit modeling. As you can imagine, somebody that cannot change within a quarter inch. I mostly fit denim, so jeans, so my bottom half specifically cannot change within a quarter inch, so imagine the discipline a woman needs to maintain that Early on in my career it was actually not as healthy as it is today.

Speaker 1: 22:00

So, meaning, I tried all the diets, you know, and I had the stress because I'm like, okay, this is my income, I need to stay the same size. But when I really really started to love my body and understand my body, I don't have a diet, there's no diet that exists in my life. It's a lifestyle, and I've been able to maintain this because my identity, my standards, my discipline, just again knowing my body so so well. But when you talk about non-negotiable, this one's pretty big for me because when I think about living a life, it's all about intentionality. So, with intention, you need to know is it that you desire? What are your standards, what are the actions you need to do to obviously achieve this result, this standard that you see for yourself?

Speaker 1: 22:49

And so in this career I've developed massive discipline, and it's not just the discipline to eat this thing or exercise or all these things, it's more like that standard, like okay, this is what I need to do to achieve this result and I need to be consistent with it. So that's what I did. Is that when I talk about the non-negotiable, movement is key. It's something that not only is good for me, it makes me feel good. So working out is a non-negotiable, and it could be as simple as going to the gym, weight training and whatnot, or it could be going for a walk. I don't put much pressure on what it needs to be, but it has to be some form of movement.

Speaker 3: 23:29

And another one is that flexibility with yourself, so that you cannot, be like I, have to do this particular thing every day.

Speaker 1: 23:38

Yeah, for example, I really believe in resistance training. Weight training, I do believe, is key. I mean, I do think that is something you have to do in your routine if you want to say, but I don't say, oh, I need to go to the gym five days a week. It's more like I have my rotation of things. So, whether it be Pilates, weight training, walking, those are like my main things that I rotate between, but the non-negotiables is definitely some form of movement. Getting outside is massively important to me. I come alive in the sunshine. I'm like a flower I bloom. So sunshades?

Speaker 3: 24:15

Yeah, do you hike in your neck of the woods? Yeah, we are in California. Everybody's out hiking all the time.

Speaker 1: 24:21

Yes, hiking is one of my most favorite things to do and actually I haven't hiked in, let's say, six months and we actually just started back hiking last weekend. So hiking is a big one for me. Again, anything outdoors in nature is really, really nourishing to my soul. Taking care of myself when I say taking care of myself, meaning eating right, eating foods that love me back, taking supplements that nourish my body I'm really big into skincare. I just really believe taking care of this vessel, like this vessel, needs to carry me through life, so I need to take care of it because I love myself and I believe you need to nourish your body, I believe you need to take care of it. And so I learn about all that is about health, so I rid myself of all toxicity, especially when it comes to products. So, yeah, the big thing is nourishing my body and movement and sunshine I love it.

Speaker 1: 25:20

And sleep you get your all the sleep you need. Yeah, sleep is so important. Oh goodness, especially as we get older, you recognize how critical it is to really be optimal the next day. So, yes, yeah.

Speaker 3: 25:33

So Raina Williams recently talked about discipline and it really struck me as just the perfect line. She said I love discipline because discipline in my life has created freedom. And it struck me as somebody when I used to think of discipline where I'm pretty much in my younger years as more of like denying myself something I actually want. And now I realize, particularly this season of my life, the discipline that I exert in eating cleaner, moving more, getting better sleep is actually creating more freedom for better thinking, better connection, showing up as my best self in a way that I did not appreciate at a younger point in life, but that idea that discipline actually creates freedom.

Speaker 1: 26:21

I believe it also cultivates self-love. To be honest, I just shared this on Instagram not that long ago, and why I thought self-discipline is one of the ways to cultivate self-love. Because, again, self-discipline is basically saying what I say I'm gonna do, I do it, and the more I do it, the more confident I get, the more I have competence, and it just creates this ongoing loop. And so I believe the way to cultivate self-love is keeping your word, doing what you say you're gonna do, and building self-discipline. And so because as I share this, it's so, so easy to go after the burger and the fries or the chips and salsa or whatever it takes discipline to choose something healthy for yourself and to constantly choose that like consciously being aware of what you bring into your life.

Speaker 1: 27:16

That takes discipline and that is an act of self-love. So I think it's key. And so self-discipline I just think that's something that we all need to work towards, and self-discipline is just keeping your word. If you wanna be healthy and fit, whatever you wanna be, you obviously need to create discipline. You need to be continuously moving your body, eating right and whatnot. If you become lax on that, you're not gonna achieve what you want, so you have to create habits that are gonna lead to your desired result, and that requires discipline.

Speaker 3: 27:52

I love that, all right. So, speaking of habits, give us a little bit of insight on what your morning routine it looks like. I wanna hear all about it.

Speaker 1: 28:00

Okay, so it's ever evolving, like if you were to listen to a podcast. Maybe a year ago it was something so different and there's many things I wish to add to it. The days it depends how busy the day is, but if I were to say my normal day right now and I haven't been doing this every day, but I'm trying to get back into the habit of doing this but I have a red light therapy device from Juve, which is great brand. So as I wake I like to wake myself up with the light. So I just did 10 minutes on my face of red light therapy and then I'll wake up, wash my face, I put on my favorite non-toxic beauty oil, put that on my face and then I'll do some form of either grasha or facial cupping or just a gentle massage on my face, just to wake up and get the lymphatic fluid drained out of my face and just again to awake my skin and bring blood flow back into my skin. And then from there I will go drink some warm water with lemon.

Speaker 1: 29:01

So this is one habit that I have not broken for probably like four years now every single morning warm water with lemon, and then I will make the bed and just clean up the room I have to have cleanliness in my space, so that's really key and have my morning coffee with super food mushrooms and then I'll get ready for the day. And I've had this habit for so long. It might sound so silly to some people, but I'm just gonna say it. I always put on my makeup first thing in the morning and so even if I'm gonna go work out, I don't sweat a whole lot in my workout, so I will even put on my makeup just to get ready for my day and then I'll go work out. Sounds so silly, but honestly that's what I do.

Speaker 3: 29:45

You feel good and you go work out like yourself, then who cares?

Speaker 1: 29:49

I love it, so I will do some work out. I'll usually go to the gym and do either heavyweight training or I'll do Pilates. Sometimes I'll go for a long walk in the morning. I'll do rebounding that's a new habit. I just started back on for about 15 minutes a day and then I'll pretty much start my day, so hopefully are you getting up, are you?

Speaker 3: 30:11

do you subscribe to the Super Early like 5 am club?

Speaker 1: 30:15

Yeah, I get up between 5, 15, 5, 30. I love to maximize my morning most definitely. I'm definitely that morning gym person. I need to get my movement in the start of the day. I love, as I said, taking care of my skin, having my morning coffee or my cacao drink and yeah. So I like to do a lot and then I start my day.

Speaker 3: 30:38

But what I love about what you're doing is you're giving yourself the grace of easing into your day with some of those morning routines before you're running off to the gym and allows yourself to be fully awake. I admire and I'm somewhat afraid of the people that are at the gym. At 4 am I was like, oh my God, that is amazing. I'm glad it works for you, but I'm probably more like 7 am, that's just I'll be honest.

Speaker 1: 31:02

Yeah, so I wake up at, like I said, 5, 30. I get to the gym 8 am. That's quite a bit of time, so I mean I'm doing other things, if you want to say, but my staples are what I mentioned. I used to do cold showers, I used to do meditation. Again, it's ever evolving and ever changing.

Speaker 3: 31:22

Tell me about the red light therapy and the difference it's made in your life. For those people who aren't familiar with the benefits, so I used to be very consistent.

Speaker 1: 31:30

Like I said, I'm just getting back to it, but it's very good for skin health and also, depending which wavelength you use, I use just pure red light. I can't remember the wavelength, to be honest, but I use just red light on my face. But when I have pain let's say my back is hurting from a long day or I have an injury I will use infrared light then on those areas and it's instant pain release. It's mind blowing how much it relieves the pain. So it reduces inflammation.

Speaker 1: 32:02

It's just proven that light is one of those things that many people are missing in their life. As you know, we are indoors more than we ever have been and it is so, so critical. And if you don't have and I recently learned this if you do not have a red light, if you can't afford to get a red light therapy unit or whatever it may be, you could actually just get outside the first 45 minutes of the day when the sun has just risen and you will get that red light that you need and it sets your circadian rhythm. It's so beneficial. It's actually been noted as one of the most necessary things we need, and so many people are deficient in light.

Speaker 3: 32:42

Yeah, and vitamin D that comes from it as well. I love that. Okay, let's talk spirituality. Let's talk about the role of spirituality in your life, Erica. What role has it played? Does it play? Where are you on this?

Speaker 1: 32:56

Well, spirituality is different for everybody. So when you say spirituality, for me it's very much a connection with something bigger than ourselves. For me is God I am a Christian and also a relationship with self. So I think that to me is spirituality. So, as far as spirituality with self, it's creating that space, as we talked about, to really get to know yourself, and that mindfulness and being very in tune and aware of your thoughts, your actions, your beliefs, the stories you say. And so I believe, like spirituality is creating that time and space to get to know yourself and bringing more awareness to really your life and how you show up and how could you become better and what new lessons or what new things do you need to learn to become your highest self? And so that's spirituality with self.

Speaker 1: 33:52

And then, as far as my relationship with God is been ever evolving I actually recently believe it was month and a half ago I just got baptized, but I've actually became a Christian at age 14.

Speaker 1: 34:06

So my journey in becoming a Christian because I didn't grow up in a religious family my father was Jewish, my mom was Catholic, we didn't really have any sort of religion I followed my own path, discovery in that, and then became a Christian, and so it's been somewhat a journey of really discovering what that means to me and learning along the way and deepening my faith, and recently it's become very much more meaningful to me and I've developed more understanding.

Speaker 1: 34:38

It's helped me become a better person my relationship with God and again, it's unique to me alone and my relationship with God is different than my partner, for example, but that's what's so beautiful about it is how you evolve in your relationship with a higher power, and so that's my journey, I guess you could say. But I believe that awareness is such a big thing and I think when you have awareness, I think you're able to show up just differently in life, and that's how I believe spirituality really shows up in your life is bringing more awareness of something bigger than yourself, and also more awareness of yourself and how you are living out your life.

Speaker 3: 35:16

Yeah, I think I know a little bit about this from watching you. It is really beautiful to watch your journey, but I also see this selflessness and desire to have greater impact beyond yourself unfolding, which is really beautiful. I think that that's a key part of development that we go through as humans, but also knowing that we're spiritual beings having a human journey, that if you are able to connect into that and experience that outside of self, feeling of it's so much more impactful and, quite frankly, the joy of being in that space of how can I serve, how may I serve where it may help create impact and I know that's something that we share Absolutely, I mean, I think that the best if we could give anybody is becoming our best self, like really embodying somebody that is with integrity, somebody that is kind, somebody that is respectful.

Speaker 1: 36:23

And I think again, if we don't have time to bring clarity to our self or awareness to self, we're so reactionary to the world, and so I think we need to slow down and just connect within so that we can connect outside of ourselves.

Speaker 3: 36:37

I love it.

Speaker 1: 36:38

Okay, advice that you would love to have had or give to your 25 year old self, I think I'm gonna say what I normally say that all you need is within you, as I spoke about earlier. So many of us seek all this validation, all this approval outside of ourselves, and when you realize that really what you need to cultivate is the love and worth for yourself, then everything else will mirror that, and so I wish I learned this earlier, like how to really cultivate. Well, what does it mean to love yourself? What does that look like? What does it feel like? And so if I were to tell my younger self that, I think I would help her really learn how to trust herself.

Speaker 1: 37:20

What does it look like to respect yourself? What does it mean to embody worth and to really truly love yourself? And I don't think it's self love is this word that's thrown around so much, but there's so much depth to self love, and I think when we learn to accept that we are enough as we are, then that will show up in every area of our life, like knowing that our worth is inherent. We all have that worthiness, and so all you need is already within you.

Speaker 3: 37:52

That's a beautiful note to wrap our conversation on Erica. Where can people find?

Speaker 1: 37:57

you. Thank you so much. So I'm mostly on Instagram, so at Erica Lippi and then also my podcast I would love for any of you to tune in. It's called Passion, love Pursuit. It's on most platforms and, yeah, I would just love for you to come hang out and gain some value and pass it on to others in the world.

Speaker 3: 38:18

We'll include all the links in the show notes so you can find Erica. I really highly recommend that you follow her. She assist, a warm ray of light, and she is doing her best to show how you can show up as your best version of yourselves every day. And so I thank you, Erica, for your time, for your vulnerability, for your knowledge and for sharing your journey with us today.

Speaker 1: 38:45

Thank you so much, michelle. I so appreciate you, and thank you for doing this work as well and helping brighten up the world a little bit more every day.

Speaker 3: 38:52

Oh, thank you. My pleasure and I hope that you'll come back. We'll do an IG live. We'll bring everyone together. I look forward to spending more time with you in the near future. Sounds great, thank you.

Speaker 2: 39:07

Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to rate and review. If you have recommendations for future topics, please reach out to me at michellereosofficialcom. Lastly, please consider supporting this podcast by sharing it. Together, we can reach, inspire and positively impact more people. Thank you, Thank you.