Episode #40: Courage, Insight and Fierce Love with Robin Rivera

Robin Rivera is a wild woman warrior who lives from a place of raw truth and is dedicated to leadership, advocacy, and community service. She speaks with Lisa about her work to coach people and to help them transform their trauma into freedom, and the digital courses she created for women on a mission. She shares her personal story of overcoming trauma and sexual exploitation, the theme of freedom and vulnerability in her life, and how it connects to the wild woman inside of her.

Takeaways:

[2:15] Robin grew up in a family that meant well, but both her parents came from traumatic backgrounds. The lack of safety and support she felt led her to relentlessly seek freedom starting in childhood, continuing to her teen years as a Civil Rights activists. She had a warrior-like spirit but needed to work on rewiring her nervous system to learn to trust and access safety and security inside herself.

[4:55] Robin speaks about how she felt a freedom in running away, and at the same time was cultivating the skill of focused and truthful speaking to articulate the emotions she felt inside.

[10:25] People have repeatedly reflected to Robin that she possesses a raw vulnerability that inspires others to open up themselves and live more in honesty. She has owned her own deep sensitivities, and the desire to be free.

[14:03] Robin has been sexually exploited and taken advantage of since she was 15 years old. She recounts her story of feeling hopeless, used and abused, to how motherhood changed her perspective and gave her a reason to fight.

[19:56] Robin took care of her body and emotions by dedicating herself to exercise, yoga, therapists, finding a community of other mothers, and spirituality.

[22:35] Robin experienced a deep awakening and healing when she realized she can shift the old pathways and feelings in her body of trauma to one of love and power.

[24:39] Robin has been doing anti-human trafficking work for close to four years and is a mentor for those looking to get out of the sex industry. She brings her experience to enlighten survivors and policymakers on what it takes to heal and move forward. She is also doing feminine leadership coaching and gives a well-rounded and holistic program for women who are on a mission that want to birth their gift into the world. Her new online group coaching course called Light Warriors will be out soon.

[28:56] Sex trafficking is an issue of demand and very much is a national issue. Robin’s passion in this area is raising people’s consciousness so they awaken to the realization that they can create a different reality.

[30:24] Specialized foster parents and general prevention education and funding are two areas in need currently to help diminish trafficking.

Quotes

“The process of healing is always integrating the truth about ourselves.” — LBL

“I believed in the power of my word, that is all I really had.” — RR

“The wild woman inside me was shut down, ostracized, and pathologized.” — RR

“I wasn’t the broken one, I was just wild and free in my spirit.” — RR

“Even if I give them an ounce of healing, that’s enough for me.” — RR

“There is nothing more powerful than working with somebody who has been where you have been.”
— RR

Mentioned in This Episode: