Meditating with Animals with Pamela Robins

Hi, and welcome back to another episode of True Grit and Grace. I'm Amberly Lago, and thank you for being here. This next episode is recorded from a live radio show that I did this year. And it was a lot of fun because the best part about it was we got to have people call in and ask questions. And it really got me to thinking. My favorite part of my journey has actually been connection and Brene Brown. I think it was Brene Brown who said the opposite of isolation is connection. And I know some of my most difficult moments in life, some of my most painful moments, actually at my darkest time, is when I was in a lot of pain and I was completely isolated. Not just from the world, from myself, from my body. I was trying to numb out, not think about anything, trying to stuff down all the feelings. And, you know, I grew up with things like cowgirl up and suck it up. And that took me so far, but it led me down a road of despair where I was all alone. And often pain does that because we don't want to let others in. We don't want to let others know that we're in pain. And so my next guest got me to thinking about the most important. Well, one of the most important things that you can do to be resilient is to have a community. And I actually met my next guest because of a devastation. We had fires out here, the Woolsey fires. And I knew her and I had met her, but after the Woolsey fires, we got really close. She actually stayed with me for a while. Her house burned to the ground. Her teepee, where she did all her sound healings, burned to the ground. And I was amazed by not just how resilient she was, but how a loving community supported her and helped her rise up again. Like a phoenix. I swear, she is the definition. When you look in the dictionary, that is her. But it's amazing to me that in devastating times, how a community can come together. And so one of the most important things you can do to be resilient is to actually ask for help. And I know that was hard for me. I know it's sometimes hard to ask for help for me. I grew up with a thinking that vulnerability made me weak, but in fact, it strengthens you because you are allowed to let others help you and you can rise up together stronger. So if you're struggling today, no matter what it is, if you're just having a bad day, maybe you lost your job. I don't know, maybe you're stressed out from work, please do One thing, if you can do one thing, that's just reach out to someone, one person. And if you share what you're going through, I promise you, you're going to feel better. That is how I started building my community a little bit at a time. And I had somebody tell me the other day, they were like, well, you're lucky you had a community. And I said, you know what? Hard work puts you where your blessings can find you, because you have to be willing to reach out and offer support as much as you are reaching out to ask for help. So one of the things that you can do is just reach out, offer your help. And this next guest, her name is Pamela Robbins. I met her originally because she has a book called Meditating with Animals. She's amazing. She has healed herself from such traumatic experiences. I won't even get into it because I want you to hear the podcast. She tells her story much better than I can, but she's truly amazing. She is resilient. And I can't wait to share this radio show with you. It was at my friend Dr. Andre's studio and I was invited to be a guest at his radio station for the month of September, which he declared as Amberly Lago Motivation Month. And so it was a real treat to get to be on the radio and, you know, something new. And I called on Pamela to come in and be my guest once again. I called a friend. I called someone because I feel like we're stronger together. So she was my first guest. And so listen in. Let me know how you like this radio show and please let me know how you're liking the podcast. Please DM me on Instagram @amberly lagomotivation. You can also email me@amberlylogo.com because I answer all my emails. And this podcast is really for us. It's for us to grow together as a community, to build our resilience so we learn how to take better care of ourselves. So we learn that self care is the utmost importance and we rise up together. So let me know what you think and if you do like it, please give me a review and let me know what you thought, because those reviews mean so much. Enjoy the show. Thank you for tuning in. And okay, here it goes. Welcome to True Grit and Grace, a podcast designed to empower you to claim your resilience and thrive through life's challenges. I am Amberly Lago, a mindset coach, fitness expert, and bestselling author. Each week I'll dive deep with the world's brightest Thought leaders and elite performers to share tangible tools and practical advice to inspire you to keep your eyes on the prize and forge ahead. So get ready to conquer your fears, heal any trauma, lead with your heart, and elevate your life with grit and grace. Hi there. Welcome to True Grit and Grace, where with Amberly Lago. I'm so excited you're tuning in. We're in Santa Monica. It's a beautiful day, and I'm sitting here in the studio with one of my favorite people. I can't wait to share everything about this amazing lady. But let me tell you a little bit about her today's guest. She's a yoga, meditation, Reiki and sound healing practitioner. And you know, she's had so many roles in life, including being an entrepreneur, an inspirational guide, a teacher, and she is the author of Meditating with Animals. And actually, that is how I originally found her. I found her book and then I happened to come across her Instagram and I was like, oh, I really like this lady. She's into horses and we're a horse crazy family. And then I thought, oh, my goodness, I have this book. I know who this is. And so I went to one of her healing in Santa Monica. We were just talking about that. And anyway, she is the definition of resilience. I'm pretty sure if you look up resilience in the dictionary, you will find her picture right there because she has not only survived cancer, she went through a divorce. While going through her cancer, she built her, you know, business from the ground up and had a successful business. And then right around this time, it's the anniversary of when we had those crazy fires last year here in Southern California. And she lost her belongings. When I say belongings, everything. Her house, her business. And she has had to rebuild. And so today, you know, I like to bring you stories of resilience and give you the tools in which people, the tangible tools in which people use to strengthen their resilience and how they got through such hard times. So I want to introduce to you the amazing, beautiful, on the inside and out, Pamela Robbins. Hi, Pamela. Hi, Amberly. I'm so glad you're here. Welcome.

Thank you. It's really my honor and my pleasure to be here with you, my friend, and to share my story. And you are a part of my story. So it's very meaningful to me.

Yeah.

You know, we were talking before the show and talking about how long we've known each other, and then we started talking about the fires. But before we get into all of that, I do Want to talk about your book? Because actually, when I first saw it, the COVID grabbed me. Because it's such a beautiful cover.

It was at the hair salon.

Yes, we had the same hairdresser. But then I fell in love with what was inside the book. And from beginning to end. And even your acknowledgments at the end of the book, I could tell you had just such a huge heart. And so then when I stumbled across your Instagram, I thought, this is meant to be. I have got to go to one of her. I had no idea what it is. I was like, I don't know what a sound healing is. What the heck is that? So, first of all, can you tell us a little bit about what is a sound healing? Because I have a lot of listeners that are overcoming either trauma or pain or maybe just having, you know, we all have trauma, but I love to share different ways that you can heal. So what exactly. So you can explain that to the listeners.

What is that?

Yeah.

So actually, it all ties in together. The book and the sound healing. It was all part of the journey. So when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer about five years ago, I had a surgery that removed my thyroid gland completely. The nodes were attached to my vocal cord. And so in the removal of those nodes, it paralyzed my vocal cord. And the vocal cord is the only nerve in your body that doesn't repair itself. And so I was waiting for a surgery that was going to help me to be able to speak properly and to breathe properly, to eat properly, because vocal cords are incredibly important. I actually had no idea how much they were responsible for until I didn't have its full ability. And so it hurt to talk, and I couldn't catch my breath. And even now, even with the little surgery that I had, it's not a permanent fix. And so I do catch my breath very often still, even when I'm speaking. But in that time, it just makes it exciting.

It just.

Yeah, actually what it does is it keeps me present, and it keeps me grateful to hear myself catch my breath sometimes, because it really keeps me.

I love what you said. Sometimes we don't realize something that we're so grateful for, little things that we don't think about that we have now. And that's why I love practicing gratitude every day, just for the little things, because I think when you go through something like cancer or anything dramatic, it

shifts your perspective 100%. There was life before I got the. Are you sitting down? Phone call. And life after. And it was in an instant, in a Second, everything got more vivid. You know, the colors in my world, the vibrancy of the trees and the sky. And, like, it was a very visceral and tangible change. So in really losing the ability to speak and breathe and eat properly, I just got very quiet and I really started to turn inward. And that's when I noticed that my cats were on me and they were healing me and that I was having radioactive iodine therapy. And so when I was doing that, I was in quarantine and my cats beat the door down to come in and be with me. And I called the doctor because no one was supposed to be near me. And he just told me it was okay. And they came in with me, and I was in and out of a state of, like, really deep meditation during that time and just processing because I had just lost my mom to cancer. It was two days after her funeral that I got diagnosed with cancer. And then I had an incident in my marriage that basically showed me that I was not where I was supposed to be in that while I was recovering from cancer. And it was a lot all at once. And so my mind, my brain, was shutting down, processing the information. And I simply understood that I was supposed to allow that to happen. And so I was laying in bed a lot during those few days, and I was meditating and then sleeping and meditating. But the constant was my animals. They were on me. And I saw at some point during this in and out phase of meditation, this healing energy that was circulating around back and forth between them and myself. And I understood how healing works. And so I just made a note to myself that when I was stronger, I wanted to be able to return that energy to them so that they were not depleted or that they wouldn't get sick. So I knew they were working really hard for me.

And I think that I really believe that. You know, I got a little four pound dog because I love animals. And when I was bedridden and I couldn't walk, I got this little dog. And there's something very healing about having these animals. But I love when you said you wanted to make sure that you could give back. And I think that is key, and that is what builds your community, whether it's people or animals or it's a constant give and take. It's a constant flow of energy. And I think that's one of the reasons we get along so well, because we're not just taking. It's a constant flow between us.

Yeah. And it's being conscious of. Yes. You know, we do have needs. And it's wonderful to be able to ask for help and support. And then also being conscious of then when you're able, because of expectation, but when you are able to be, return that to someone. And that's a true relationship, you know, the giving, because you're giving, you're desiring and wanting to give to someone, to support them and be there for them without expectation. And then the beautiful gift of having that returned. And probably usually in divine right timing.

Exactly.

Not because it's being expected of you. And that's how what I learned from the animals, I really learned what meditation was in its truest form, an unconditional love. During that time, because their bodies on me made me not want to get up. My mind was racing. You have to go do this, you have to go do that. You have to go to work. You have to take care of this. You have to clean the house. You have to do. And yet my body was like, please let me heal. We need this energy within, you know, and if you're running around every five seconds, jumping up, you're not allowing your body to recover and care for itself in the way that it's naturally programmed to do. But my animals helped me with that.

And I think that's so important, what you just said, because I think in today's world, a lot of people view resting as a luxury, and we have to shift that from. Resting isn't a luxury. It is a necessity in order to be resilient. I love that you just said that and that your animals taught you to do that.

Yeah. I call it recharging.

Yeah.

I literally imagine myself, and I'm professional now. I actually take time during the day. Meditation is part of my life. It's maybe sometimes four and five times a day where I'll just press a reset button. I'll use an app, and I will sit on the couch and I will close my eyes and literally imagine myself like a battery taking time.

I love that I have to ask, and this is. You know, we're not getting paid to say this or anything, but there is an app that I use, and I was just telling my dad about it this morning because he's got anxiety and I use calm because they have meditations for our listeners. What do you use? Or do you have your own app?

I don't have my own app. I use Insight Timer. Okay. It has 25,000 free meditations on it. And you can from sleep to affirmations to anxiety, stress, whatever it is.

And what was that again?

It's called Insight Timer.

I love that because. Because I was never a good meditator. Like, I was like, oh, that's why I went to go take your meditation classes, because, like, I need somebody to walk me through this. But it was when I started using an app, and I had something right there, because I think so many of us, we can get in our head about being anxious about what's going to happen in fear of the future or sad about something that happened in the past. And I think that meditation helps us be in the present. And I love that you shared that we can do that throughout the day. It doesn't have to be a big deal that we can do it throughout the day.

No, I think that's a big misconception about meditation. Is that a lot of people, because I teach regularly, so I'm meeting a lot of people who have never meditated before. And an old misconception, which I also had, was that you have to sit and have no thought, and that's not possible. And so with guided meditation and with sound healing, there are tools. There's someone's voice that's taking you through a meditation, and you're feeling validated, you're feeling that you're not alone. You're feeling calmed and embraced. And it really can move you out of one space and into another. And it's so powerful. And that's what sound also does. Sound helps your brain attach to something other than the repetitive thoughts it's having and worrying about. So whether it's someone talking to you and walking you through something, or you're using the power of sound, there are ways in which whatever feels good, I use all of them. I like.

I do, too. And my husband thinks I'm crazy because I go to bed every night with the sound of ocean waves, because it stops that repetitive thought of, oh, I gotta do this. Oh, tomorrow's this, oh, I'm so nervous about this, or, oh, I didn't get that done. It breaks that cycle. And I'm also listening to some music every morning when I get up. I'm trying it out. It's advanced brain technology, and they use different sounds to heal from everyone from anxiety to children who've been diagnosed with autism. And so I think it's powerful. But I also wanted to say something that I remember happened when I first met you. So she had this class in Santa Monica, and I had no idea what sound healing was. I am like, I am going to try everything I can to feel better and to heal myself. And, I mean, I'VE really tried anything new that they're saying, this will help with your pain or this will help calm you or whatever it is. I'm a big self development junkie and a big self improvement junkie. And I thought, I gotta go try her class. And so I go to Santa Monica and she has all these bowls out, but they're beautiful. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm getting myself into. And I laid there and it was like I was transported into a different world. The only way I can describe it is like it was almost like the deepest daydream I had ever been in. And at the end, because I spoke to you before class and then I spoke with you after class and you talked to me and a couple of other ladies that were there talked to me and they're like, oh my God, my accent was different. I don't know if you remember that. But you. Oh my God.

That's why I was giggling, because I remember I was like, what happened to you?

I was like, I don't know what happened. I'm just so relaxed.

Yeah. Do you remember that? I do. I remember it very vividly.

Yeah.

I mean, I think all kinds of things can happen. I mean, I've been doing this now for a couple years and some people are awake the whole time. You know, they even watch. You know, it's a meditation even to be watching someone playing music. You know, just like you're going to a concert. You know, being in the moment can be anything.

Okay, concert. Tell everybody where you just played. Okay. She is all sitting here, sweet and very humble, but she's a badass. She just played at. Go ahead, go ahead.

The Hollywood Bowl.

Yes.

The LA Philharmonic.

That was so awesome. I loved seeing. I was following your stories and looking at the post and so excited for you. I loved seeing that.

It was so rad. Like, I just got this email from somebody like, do you want to play at the Hollywood Bowl? And I was like, is this for real? But I wrote back right away. I was like, sure, yeah, yeah. Because two weeks before, I'd been driving by the Hollywood bowl and I said to myself, oh, I'd really like to go there. Summer's almost over and I haven't seen a show there yet this summer. And then, you know, the universe was like, oh, you want to go there?

We'll make sure you are right on stage, girl. Well, let's talk about that. Like, I think it's so powerful to really declare and affirm what you want because things come True. Like, I really think it's powerful whether.

Yeah.

Whether you're doing affirmations or for me, it's, you know, prayer. I think that you start to visualize that, and once you can see it, you believe it, and then it comes into your world. I think it's possible.

Yeah. Well, you know what? I'll take that back to how sound healing actually came into my life, because while I was recovering from cancer, I was working with a Reiki practitioner, an energy worker, and I was laying on a table, and she put a crystal singing bowl next to my head, and she played it. You run a mallet around it, and it makes a sound, which I'll do for you later. And in a second, it filled my head with sound, so there was no thought. And I was like, whoa. And in that split second, it changed my life. I knew that something really, really important had happened. And the next day, I bought a set of bowls, and they arrived at my house, and I was like, I have no idea what to do with these. I just knew that I needed to do it, and it became part of my healing journey. And then also, my cats really loved it, so I would do yoga. And then I started playing the bowls, and I'm like, ooh, they really enjoy this. So I just kept doing it more. And then ultimately, I was telling friends, like, oh, I'm doing that. You know, I'm playing these bowls. So then people started coming over, and then I started getting invited to play places. And then I started working with studios in Los Angeles. I worked with the den, meditation and unplug meditation and doing sound healing. And I just kept saying yes, because I knew that the place in which I play was coming from my own desire to heal myself. And then ultimately, that turned into my desire to help other people, because I knew I had discovered this amazing gift.

So I think we heal ourselves, and then we go and help others.

And so to go back to, you know, the idea that what you ask for from the universe, what was so fascinating to me about the Hollywood bowl was that I wasn't, like, desiring anything, really. I wasn't, like, asking, like, I really need this. Like, please, universe, like, give this to me or whatever. It was just a thought thought. But the way that it came back to me was even way better than I ever and something I never would have dreamed of for myself. And I think oftentimes we can limit the things that are just there waiting for us by maybe being so specific.

So you think just being, like. For me, I think it's by having an open heart and kind of letting go of things that I was like, I gotta control this, I gotta do this, I gotta do it this way. And now I'm kinda like, you know, I need to let go. Need to let go and let God or universe or whatever you like to call it, do the work, you know, and be in alignment with that. Is that kind of what you do?

I definitely flow with the universe. I've had enough big life incidences happen to me that I realize I'm not in control and that it's much more fun to play and be in relationship with the universe and allow these messages to come in and urges and nudges to go visit someone or maybe do something different that day than I thought I was going to do. And then, you know, something miraculous happens. I like to follow the breadcrumbs and really trust that I'm on my path. And when I started doing that a few years ago, like fully and completely, really amazing things started happening for me. And I'm not saying my life is perfect, you know, it's not in all the ways. However, it's definitely very interesting and keeps me going.

Well, I like how you said my life is not perfect. I don't know if anybody out there has a perfect life. Wow, kudos. But I think we all have struggles, but you are someone that can really look at a situation. I feel like you look at what the lesson is in your situation, whether it's your cancer, which you turned into a blessing, and you're using those gifts to share that with others so that they can heal too. But there's some other things that happened that you were able to look at the lessons that you learned from it. And I think that's really important. Instead of getting caught up in, well, if I would have done this or I should have done that, or if things were different. And I think that by being in the present and accepting where we are right now, and then taking steps to, well, what can I do? What am I learning from this? And how can I move forward or how can I continue to grow is where the magic is. And that shift in your mindset is something that it is in you. I feel like it is in you. You can take an alchemist, which means, you know, you can turn lead to gold. I feel like, how do you think that you. When something bad happens or something, you feel like the other day I told my daughter, I was like, oh, spilled my coffee everywhere. And I was like, oh, things just aren't going my way. And she Was like, mom, it doesn't always have to go your way. And I'm like, yeah, you're right. I need to, like, let go. How do you. When you're having a bad day, what is something that you do to shift your mindset?

I think one of the biggest things is that I don't label things as good or bad because I feel like that's huge. It's so huge because it just takes all the pressure off of the stuff that happens to us. I mean, if I labeled cancer as bad or I labeled losing my home in the fires as bad as, you know, then my life is bad. However, all of those things, they kind of sucked. I mean, like, let's be real, like, you know, that none of this was fun. It didn't feel good. It was painful, it was hard. However, it's like I say, the biggest gifts that I've been given in my life were things that came in ugly wrapping paper. So neither good nor bad, because they're all the things, everything and nothing there are. So I don't label things as good or bad because I also believe that in a moment when something's happening, I try to just step out of it and not label it and then take from it. And if in the moment I don't know why something is happening, I just go, well, I'm going to know. It's pretty sure that at some point I'm going to know. And then that's the gift. But I'm willing to be patient and wait for the gift.

It takes patience. Patience is key. And trusting.

And trusting. And, you know, for many years, most of my life actually, I lived in fear. And I think that, you know, our mind is so powerful and the thoughts that we have, I actually feel, in some ways, and I know this is going to sound crazy, but like, I called my biggest fear to myself when I lost everything in the fires, because that was actually my biggest fear. My whole life was losing everything.

Yeah, let's talk about that for a minute. Because I feel like there's a lot of people that you know will go, well, they were in the right place at the right time, or they have all this opportunity, or they're just lucky. And I want people to know that no matter what your circumstances are, that you can rise from that, you can learn something, you can get better. It was last November. I'm thinking my house is going to burned down. And you called me that night, you stayed with me. There were road closures. And the next day we got through. Johnny was helpful in the whole situation being highway patrol and helping us get through road closures and stuff like that, but everything was gone. Talk to us about that, because that I can't believe it's almost a year

ago and November 8th.

Yeah.

So I lived in Mexico for nine years, and I been through category five hurricanes and category three hurricanes, and you have time to prepare for those. You know, they're about a week out and you can pack your things and you can make your plans, and it's a very different experience, you know, And I felt like in some way that I'd be prepared should there ever be a wildfire, but I really wasn't, you

know, I don't think anybody was. It was crazy.

It was crazy. It happened so fast. The winds were so high. It was really hot. That afternoon I got home and I saw smoke coming, but it was coming from two different directions down the end of the road there by the park. So my business, which was my meditation studio, was on one side of the road, and then my house was on the other side of the road. And I just knew that when I left and the firefighters said their last words to me were, if the fires do what we think they're going to do, it's just going to rip right through here. And even when you hear those words, you don't really think that that's actually going to happen to you. There's still this thing of hope that, like, I'm going to leave and then I'm going to be able to come back to my home. And when we evacuated, I left and went to a friend's house. I literally got into her house, I laid my head on her bed, and someone came and banged on the door and said, the neighborhood is on fire. And the fire wasn't even near there. When I got there an hour before. Open the door and there is just a wall of flames, you know, just threw my cats back in the car, took off and went to another friend's house and got evacuated again. And I was driving past my home, it was about 3 in the morning, and I thought, let me go back and grab a few more things, because I kind of panicked. So all I had was my car, my sound healing equipment, my cats, and a few pieces of clothing. And when I went to go down the street, I looked and it was just everything was engulfed in flames for as far as your eye could see. And I had this feeling in my heart and in my gut that my house was gone. I knew in that moment that it was gone and it wasn't until the next morning that I got the phone call from my friend, and she told me. And I was devastated. I mean, I was on the floor, you know, and I had my moment of just that visceral reaction. I cried, and I was, you know, I just screamed as loud as I could, and, like, I just got it out of my body. Then I just sat there and I was like, well, you know, now what are you going to do? And I was like, I just didn't know. And thankfully, one of the biggest lessons and one of the most beautiful things that came out of that was allowing people to help me. And I had.

I was going to ask what got you through those.

Love, love. And really support, like, just so much love. I had a lot of love.

Someone started a GO fund for you to help rebuild your tp. And I had friends that I only knew from Facebook that were sending clothes to me for you. And I think it's amazing that we can have when we have this community that they show up. And I think community is one of the most important parts from healing, from any kind of a trauma, is really having people around you to help you get through those times. Is there anything, like, for people who would. Maybe they don't feel like they have anyone. Because I get that question a lot where they're like, well, how did you build your community? How do you build a community? How do you have those people? Is there anything that you can suggest or say to help people who feel like they don't have people to help them to start getting help or building their tribe or their community?

Yes. I think that for me, building my community, it wasn't intentional. I was doing what I loved and sharing my meditation and my sound healing. And then people started coming around and supporting that and wanting to be part of it. So there was that aspect of it. So by simply me moving around in the world in a way that was authentic to myself and sharing my gifts brought people into my world who wanted to participate in that. So there was that element of it. And then, of course, there's friends. But you have to understand something about me. And I'm sure there are other people that are very much like this. I'm a very independent person. I take care of my own things. My initial reaction in response to all of this was I wanted to go to the desert and just hide.

I remember that.

And it was so hard for me to stay here and be present for all of it, because I was overwhelmed by people's responses of wanting to help. I actually couldn't Answer all the emails. My brain wasn't working. There was a lot that was going on for me besides just losing my home and my business and literally my slate being wiped clean. My brain could not really wrap around all of that right away and I wasn't present. So I meditated a lot, probably sometimes seven times a day just to try to hold myself in this space and be compassionate and allow for some healing. But the most important thing was allowing people to come in and help me. And that wasn't my natural way. I actually had to make a conscious choice to behave differently. So when people say, like, if they don't have support, sometimes it's their own self that is blocking that support from coming in because we feel like we can't ask for help.

I know that was really, really. It's still sometimes hard for me. And it's a lesson that I've learned, I think for me, asking for help. And there was something to that that meant that I wasn't capable or I wasn't strong. And it doesn't mean that at all. In fact, it helps build your community because it makes people feel good to be able to help you.

Well, I did have someone say to me on one of my mentors, she said, how does it feel for you when you give to somebody and when you help someone? And I said, well, gosh, you know, I mean, I feel like. I feel amazing. Like I love helping other people. And she said, well, then why would you take that feeling away from someone else? And that honestly changed everything for me. So I allowed it in and I was really filled up in so many ways by that love. And it carried me, it supported me and because I let it.

And I love that. That lesson that you learned. I had a friend, a similar lesson that I learned. I had a friend. I walked into the gym and she said, oh, you look so pretty today. And I was like, oh, no, I don't. She goes, you know, I just gave you a gift. I told you that you looked nice today and you just threw it in my face. And that hit me like bricks. I was like, oh, wow. She said, thank you. And I was like, wow, okay. And it shifted me, like, you know, why am I doing this negative self talk? And so I try to always say thank you, even if I'm not feeling pretty or, you know, if I'm feeling like a hot mess. But it is a gift that we give others when we show up for them in life. And we've got a lot of people calling in, so I know people want to talk to you. We will be taking calls soon, but before we do that, I would like to ask you one other question. And I was wondering if you could play the bowls for us in a little bit, too, because I think people need to hear that magic, especially those people who are like, what is sound Healing? I want them to experience a little bit of that. But right before we started the show today, you mentioned something that I was like, what the heck? I thought I knew some stuff about you. And I was like, what is this new book that you have coming out? Because it's got a crazy title.

Yeah, I had a crazy life, you know, so before the cancer and the divorce, then the fires and all of that, there was my life when I lived in Mexico, and I was in the hospitality business down there in Playa del Carmen. And I lived there for eight years, and I had hotels and nightclubs. And actually the nightclub ended up being the largest nightclub on the coast of Mexico. Thousands of people going in and out of there. And had a lot of dealings, like I said, with the hurricanes. There was a big fire that burned the whole business down. It was the biggest fire in the history of the town ever. And then also the drug cartels and navigating that whole element as it came in after the honeymoon period of being down there for a few years. And it really being idyllic and incredible, they came in and everything changed. And so I feel lucky to be alive, having navigated my way out of all of that and then to end up in the healing world.

Like two totally opposite things.

Yeah.

So the book's title is called from cartels to chakras.

I love it.

I love it.

And just as I had forgotten that you had told me that you had a fire there in Mexico. You truly are like the phoenix. And you have risen from the ashes because now your business is booming. I can't keep up with all the meditations that you're doing and all the events you're doing. You have rebuilt your teepee. You're traveling all over doing events. I see that you're teaching other people how to become sound bath practitioners and do play the bowls and instruments. And now you're working on your book. Can you let us hear what it sounds like?

Sure. I brought with me, actually it's my famous singing bowl. It's the one that was at the Hollywood Bowl. This is the C note. It's the root chakra. The chakras are energetic centers that are located in each one of our bodies. It's where the myofascial tissue connects, and it creates an energy center. The root chakra is located at the base of your spine, and it represents safety, security, grounding, finances. So it's the very base of all that we are. And when that chakra is off balance, we can feel unsettled, not grounded, not safe. And so this is really one of my favorite bowls. It's very soothing, and so I'll play a little bit of it.

Oh, a famous bowl. I'm here with a famous bowl. If people are just tuning in, they're like, what's going on?

They're on the moon.

They're like, what are they doing over there on the show?

Sound healing. Wow.

And.

And see if she's still singing.

Yeah. So she was rubbing this. What is that called?

It's a mallet.

The mallet around the bowl, and she stopped a little while ago, and the bowl is still singing. Yeah, that's why it's famous.

It just resonating.

Yeah.

It takes. It takes a minute for it to actually, it's really singing beautifully right now.

It likes this room. Yes.

No, really. She's very happy right now. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, before we start taking callers, tell us where people can find you if they want to buy your book. Buy the new book when it comes out. Oh, and you know what? We'll get back to that. There's a caller that I think has been trying to call in, and we want to take this call. Hello. You are live on air. Hi, you're live.

Hey, it's David from Salado, Texas. How are you?

Well, David, hello. Oh, my goodness. I am so happy to hear your voice. Thank you for calling in.

Hi, David.

Well, thank you for putting on a great show. Hi. I was just listening. I got to tell you, when she said she was going to play the bowl, and it's in the key of C, she probably knows this, but that's the one major key in music that is all natural. Doesn't have sharps, doesn't have flats. And when she started playing it, I pulled up the tuner app on my phone, and boom, right there, it went straight to C4. So that was a neat deal to get to listen to.

Oh, wow.

Well, everybody who's listening in, I have to just brag on you a little bit because I met David. He is my warrior brother, and he is doing so much to benefit cancer to breast cancer, and I'm just amazed at all you have done. You have got one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever met. And I just Want to thank you for all that you do. Tell us a little bit about your event.

Oh, gosh. Well, first of all, thank you for the great compliment and thanks for sharing that experience a few minutes ago about someone complimenting you. I'm certainly not worthy of the compliment, but I do appreciate the recognition. So what we're trying to do is help raise some money to fight breast cancer. Obviously, October is breast cancer awareness month and we wanted to do our little part to help fight this disease. Currently in Texas, we ranked third in the number of new cases diagnosed and we ranked third in the number of deaths for breast cancer. But we do have a great event coming up this Saturday night. We have a Grammy Award winning fiddle player, Jason Roberts. He's going to come out and entertain everybody. We got some great auction items. We've got a George Strait autographed guitar that he autographed especially for us for this event, a guitar pick that he used. My mom is donating a pink fiddle that Jason and his band will sign, and my favorite Crps Warrior. If there were ever a female John Wayne, then you know that that is you. You are the absolute toughest, greatest person that I've ever had the opportunity to know. And I need to brag on you because when I reached out to you, I was hoping for a book, maybe a hat that we could auction off. And you said, hey, I'm going to send you something. And I opened the box and I've got a stack of books and I've got a stack of hats all autographed by you. And so thank you so much.

You're welcome so much. And you say little event and I just saw you on the news the other day and I have to say, I was so proud you took my book. My book was on the news with you. So thank you so much. I took a screenshot of that. As you can see, I put it on Instagram. I was like, woohoo.

Well, you know, I try to do. And so much of your podcast today has been about, you know, relationship and putting good things into the world. And I tell my sons that all the time. I say, you know, life is like a washing machine. Whatever you put into it is going to come right back around and come back out. So I thought it was just great that you guys are talking about relationships, but because you were kind enough to donate your book, and it's a great book, by the way, I try to tell everyone that they should buy your book and read it. But because you were kind enough to do that, you know, I thought, hey, I need to do everything I can to help promote her as well. And I think that ties in today because you guys were talking so much about relationships, and I have so much respect for you and your husband and your family. And so I just felt, you know, it's the least that I can do from my point of view. I'll never be able to thank you enough, recognize you enough, nor show you enough appreciation for helping us out with this.

Well, thank you so much. You know, like Pamela was saying earlier, you do something with no expectation in return. And believe me, I was sending these books to you in the hats, and I just wanted to do it because I wanted to help. I would love to be there in person, but I just wanted to help how I could. And I had no idea that you would be on the news with my book, making posts about my book. I mean, you are so sweet. So thank you. And I love that saying, what you put in the washing machine is going to come back out. You've got a friend for life. And next time I'm in Texas, I am for sure going to visit you. And thank you so much for calling in. Thank you so much for calling in.

No problem. You guys have a great day, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the broadcast. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

See you later. Bye.

Bye. Thanks.

Bye.

Bye. Bye.

Okay, we have another caller. We're going to take another caller really quick. I'm here with Pamela Robbins, if you're just tuning in. And now we're taking a call. Hello, you're live.

Hi. Hi, I'm Jennifer Greenhough.

Well, hello, Jennifer. How are you? How are you?

I'm doing great. How are you? I just started tuning in about 10 minutes ago. I'm so sad that I missed beginning. It sounded like such an amazing podcast.

Oh, well, we're going to be uploading it soon into a podcast so you'll be able to listen to it. I think you will love everything that Pamela has to share. I know I could sit here and talk with her all day, and I really told her about you and you about her. And so I'm glad you're calling in Jen Greenhut, or Jennifer Greenhut, I call her. Jen is a breast cancer survivor as well. And you have truly turned that into. Into a blessing in your life because you're doing huge things with this now. And I wanted to tell them, but I'll let you tell them. Tell us about you have something coming up soon.

I have a fundraiser coming up, so My diagnosis was two years ago and kind of like what Pamela was saying, I didn't want it to, like, be the worst thing to happen to me. I wanted it to have a reason for coming and be like such a blessing as opposed to a curse. It was stage four triple negative breast cancer. And the only way I saw making it a positive was one to try to give back to cancer research and help them find a cure, but also promote the lessons that I learned through love and self love and being able to receive love. Because I really feel that was part of why I turned stage four into nothing cancer free. So every year since then, I started a fundraiser and this year it's going to be October 12th in Beverly Hills at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Because for me, life now is all about finding joy, laughing, loving, connection, bringing community together. This is the best way I can do it every year.

And I have to say, Pamela was talking about earlier, she played at the Hollywood bowl. And she was just saying earlier if you missed it in the show, that she drove by past the Hollywood bowl and she's like, oh, I need to go to the Hollywood Bowl. And then she got an email and she went and played there. And just the other, I just wanted

to go to a show and she

ended up playing on stage. And I had just said, I really want to dance again. I need to bring dance into my life. And I had passed an Arthur Murray dance studio, because there's an Arthur Murray dance studio in Santa Monica right down the street. And so I had it on my mind. And then you called me and asked if I could come to your event and told me it was at the Arthur Murray Studio.

I have something else to add to that. That's so crazy. So my mom had breast cancer and bone cancer. So one of the things that brought her Joy, it was 12 years she fought her battle, and during that time when she was in remission, she was at the Arthur Murray Dance studio dancing. Oh. So she was in her late 60s and she went to a competition. And you know, it was the thing that lit her up so literally, like had this out of body experience. When you were talking, I was like, there are no mistakes. It's like there's no all these connections. So that's really beautiful. And I feel like what you're doing is so powerful. The message that you have to share and your experience. And I'm so grateful to hear that you are cancer free. That's wonderful. And how you view everything.

Thank you. I think my job now is to stay full of Gratitude and give back as much as I can. And just speaking about animals, I was telling Amberly the other day, I have a little dog. His name is Bo. He's a multipoo and he was my service dog. And he went to all my doctor's appointments with me when I was going through treatment. And he napped with me all the time and he was always around. And just recently, he had a lump on his arm. I took him into the doctor, they removed it and it turned out to be cancer. So we were so connected. But now he's cancer free because they removed the lump. They thought it wasn't a serious cancer where it took over his body. But I just truly believe in the power of animals and their sensitivity and their love is so big.

I'd love to give you a book, my meditating with animals book. And that would be.

We can swap. I'll take a book and I'll give you a love tote.

There you go. Perfect. I love that. Perfect. And the other key to what you said, which is so incredibly important, and it's really one of the foundational pieces for the meditation work that I do in my teepee. It's self love. And it is from there that everything grows. Our love for ourselves is so incredibly important. When we have that, then we truly can be there for others and have relationships with others that are coming from a place where we're not needing anything because we can fulfill whatever it is that we need within our own selves. So thank you for that.

I agree with that.

Yeah.

Oh, you're so welcome. And just part of being self loving is also the ability to receive love from others. Because I think as women, we're always givers and we shut down when somebody wants to give us something. But it's saying thank you, like what Amber was saying, you know, opening up to those compliments and those gifts that are being given to us. It's such a big thing, too.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm so excited to go to your event on the 12th. I'm excited to dance and see you again. Yeah. Thank you.

It'll be really fun.

And how can people find that event? If they want to go, they can

go to my website, www.shopzeronegative.com and it'll lead them to the fundraiser page and they can buy tickets online. And if for some reason they're not able to come to the event, they can donate to the event or, you know, just always check up on new products. And it's all about spreading.

My products are always, I love Your bags. I love my red bag.

So the more the merrier at Arthur Murray Dance Studio. You know, we're all going to get on the dance floor and learn a salsa or rumble and connect and then just have a nice night dancing.

Thank you. And thank you so much for calling in.

Jen, it was so nice to meet

you for having me and nice to talk to you, Pamela. And we'll connect after the show. I'm sure I'll get all your information from Amberly.

I look forward to it.

Enjoy the rest of the show.

Thank you. Thanks, Jen.

Thanks, Amberly. Talk to you soon.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, thanks. I'm here at Open Mind Radio, and if you're listening in, thank you so much for listening in. I'm with Pamela Robbins, and we've taken a few calls. So many people that are resonating with your message today. And I do feel that so much of what you do comes from love and kindness and giving and building a community. And I love seeing it just grow and expand and to all that you have overcome and you just ever surprise me with all that you do. Before we go, I just wanted to make sure people know where to find you. So how can they get the book Meditating with Animals? Can they get it at the bookstore or is it better to get it on your website?

It's on Amazon, actually. So, yeah, it's Meditating with Animals by Pamela Robbins. And my Instagram is Meditating with animals. My website is pamelarobbins.com r o b I n s.com and on the website is more of my story. The events that I have at the tp, and really the TP was given to me by this is following the Universe. I did not have any plans to have a tp, but I got this information, a download one day that was like, you're getting a tp. And within three weeks I had ordered it, it showed up, and I started doing sound healing in it. And then I started bringing in other meditation teachers and sharing the things that helped me through my darkest days and my toughest times, which were nature and animals and meditation. And so that's why that tipi exists. It's not because I simply decided one day to do it. I was asked and given this opportunity by the universe. So I am the Vess. And I show up and do this work that I get to do because I love it, because I'm supposed to be doing it. And it continues on because I know that it's making a difference in people's lives. So we do A lot of self love work. A lot of sound healing, guided breath work, meditations. My horse, Tuxedo.

Yeah.

I was taking.

We didn't even get to Tuxedo.

I know. We have so much to talk about. He takes us out on meditation walks on the hiking trails and people get to meet him. He's a big part of my healing journey and I believe one of the reasons why I'm still here on this planet. He's a very important being. He's actually a co author of my book.

So seeing stories about Tuxedo and also when you tell me stories and you have a huge fan, my daughter Ruby loves all the pictures of you on Instagram where you're laying on tuxedo or. We have a very relationship. Yeah. Magical.

Yeah. 11 years of building trust.

Yeah. And that's what the horseback riding really is. I can say that because we have a horse too. And it's so much more than just riding a horse. It is trusting. It's patience, it's forgiveness. Especially when, you know, my daughter's 11 and her horse is not doing what she wants him to do.

Welcome to life.

Yes, exactly.

Horses are amazing like that. They really are great teachers.

Really good teachers. Really good teachers. So thank you so much for driving on the 405.

I had Chris drive me on the 405. I said yes to help today.

Yes. And when you pulled up, I was like, that's so awesome. What a great idea that you had him drive you.

It wasn't my idea. It was his idea. And I said yes to it, even

though I may have felt uncomfortable.

Yeah. So it was exactly what we were talking about today, in action. And that's the biggest point is, like, to not just talk about these things, but to be in action with them.

That's key. That is key. So if there's, like, one thing that you can take away from the show today is putting that into action.

Like, say yes.

Say yes to life.

Yes to life.

Say yes to help.

Say yes to love.

Say yes to love and let go and affirm positive things and know that you can rise above. You can really turn your tragedy into a triumph and into a blessing.

We are stronger than we ever could imagine. Our strength is limitless.

Thank you so much. If you're out there listening and you've listened to the whole show, thank you. We're here at Open Mind Radio. You're listening to True Grit and Grace with Amberly Lagoa. Thank you so much for tuning in. And Pamela, thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

We'll see you next week. Thanks so much for joining us this week on True Written Grace Podcast. If you like it, please rate it or share it with your friends. That would help too. If you're not yet on the newsletter list, come over to Amberly Lago.com and jump on it. While you're there, you can grab a free downloadable gratitude journal. And you might just want to check out my book or even check out my monthly motivational membership. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll see you next week.

It.