Whether we realize it or not, most of us grow up believing that happiness lies within the cultural, societal, and familial boxes we were taught to live within.  We push aside our yearnings and our dreams because they would require us to step outside those boxes and risk being cast out from the ones we love.  In this week’s episode, I talk to Erica Hernandez.  As a first generation Mexican American, Erica grew up internalizing her familial and cultural norms, which led her to believe that if she took another path, she would no longer be accepted by her family and loved ones.  In this episode I talk with Erica about battling between what she was taught she should embody or following her dreams and what her soul was craving. As a child, with a dream of wanting to be a performer, Erica remembers being told by her family “people like us don’t do that.”  What she told me was that she internalized that to mean that someone like her can’t live their dreams.  Erica shares her story of how she stepped past these beliefs and the limitations she put on herself, and how she stepped into her truth and finally started to believe she was worthy and how she finally gave herself what she felt she never received growing up… the space and permission to dream.  Erica is now a creativity mindset coach, a podcaster and a podcast producer, and she just launched a new course called Hello Creativity which is focused on helping 1st gen and women of color step into their creative identity and overcome their fears of going after their dreams.

Relevant Links/Socials:

 You can find Erica on Instagram:
@thee_erica_hernandez https://www.instagram.com/thee_erica_hernandez 

Erica’s Podcast, Hey Sister Soul Sister
@heysistersoulsister.podcast   https://www.instagram.com/heysistersoulsister.podcast 

 Follow A Collective Voice on Instagram:
@acollectivevoice https://www.instagram.com/acollectivevoice/

 Follow Erin Joy on Instagram:
@_erin_joy https://www.instagram.com/_erin_joy/ 

I would love to get in touch with you!  Head on over to @acollectivevoice on IG or my personal IG and send me a DM!  I would love to hear what resonated, or I would love to hear YOUR voice if you want to share any of your story.  

Many of us walk through our lives with stories of past pain and trauma.  Stories that have never been told and that we carry with us, sometimes until our last breath.  Choosing to take that first step to healing is no easy task and choosing to stay on the path of healing is even harder still.  In this week’s episode I talk with author Christen Bensten.  Christen is the founder of her women-owned business, Blue Egg Brown Nest, she is a mom of three, a writer, a painter, an avid reader and Jesus-lover, and a foster mom to homeless kitties.  But Christen is also shining the way for others and becoming a role model of how beautiful life can be when we choose to turn towards our pain and grief and choose freedom.  In this episode, I talk with Christen about her recently published memoir, Starving, and her story of growing up in a constant state of fear, how she managed her anxiety and depression on her own and what it took for her to find love and healing.  In her memoir, Christen takes the reader through her childhood trauma and her harrowing journey from ‘fear to freedom.’ In this episode, you will hear Christen talk about some of the details from her book, including her difficult relationship with her mother, growing up in a cult-like evangelical church that practiced exorcisms and speaking in tongues and attending a private school where punishments involved duct-taping kids’ mouths closed and tying children to chairs with rope.  Christen’s memoir is shocking, inspiring, sad, and hopeful.  Reading Christen’s book was powerful but hearing the power in her voice as she tells parts of her story left me in awe.  Christen’s memoir is a learning and remembrance that we sometimes must put ourselves first and leave behind all that we once knew and believed in order to save ourselves.  It is rare to be invited into the rawness of one’s story and Christen has swung the door wide open - her words and her voice are truly inspiring others to break free from their past and move towards mental and physical well-being.

Relevant Links/Socials:

Where you can find Christen: 

Christen’s Author/Personal Website: christenbensten.com 

Christen’s Memoir, Starving: https://www.amazon.com/Starving-Memoir-Christen-Bensten/dp/B091HZP9WX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 

 Christen’s Business Blog, Blue Egg Brown Nest: blueeggbrownnest.com

 Instagram: 

@christenbenstenauthor - https://www.instagram.com/christenbenstenauthor/ 

@blueeggbrownnest - https://www.instagram.com/blueeggbrownnest/ 

 *** 

Follow A Collective Voice on Instagram:

@acollectivevoice https://www.instagram.com/acollectivevoice/

 Follow Erin Joy on Instagram:

@_erin_joy https://www.instagram.com/_erin_joy/ 

I would love to get in touch with you!  Head on over to @acollectivevoice on IG or my personal IG and send me a DM!  I would love to hear what resonated, or I would love to hear YOUR voice if you want to share any of your story.  

I will be the first to admit that it was not until recently in my life that I have been able to fully acknowledge and own my worth as an individual and as a woman.  It took a lot of deconditioning for me to believe that I am worthy and to be able to listen to and trust my intuition again.  I know I am not alone in that journey, but in this week’s episode I talk to a woman who, from a young age, has always known her worth and has always been strong in the knowledge of who she is.  Rebecca Stalek is a mother, a wife, a doctor and a successful business owner of two Pilates studios, and she didn’t achieve all of that by hiding her voice.  In this episode, Rebecca talks about her journey of becoming a successful doctor, and then ultimately deciding to leave medicine to become her own boss.  She talks about how her ability to trust her intuition and trust her instincts is something she has been able to hone in on her whole life, and how she has always had the knowledge that she is worthy. Sometimes we don’t need a big life lesson to teach us what our worth is.  Sometimes, we just know.  And I think that is such a rare and beautiful quality.  Although Rebecca has always known her worth and been able to listen to and trust her intuition, she also talks about how she has learned to be a little more quiet, to slow down, and how practicing meditation and mindfulness have become a daily practice for her.  Rebecca is absolutely unapologetic about who she is, and her confidence is nothing less than inspiring.

 Relevant Links/Socials:

You can find Rebecca on Instagram at:

@rudeboylova https://www.instagram.com/rudeboylova

 Rebecca’s Pilates studios – Instagram and Websites:

 East Meadow, NY Location:

@clubpilates_eastmeadow - https://www.instagram.com/clubpilates_eastmeadow 

https://www.clubpilates.com/location/eastmeadow

 Forest Hills, NY (Austin Street) Location:

@clubpilatesaustinstreet - https://www.instagram.com/clubpilatesaustinstreet 

https://www.clubpilates.com/location/austinstreet

 Follow A Collective Voice on Instagram:

@acollectivevoice https://www.instagram.com/acollectivevoice/

 Follow Erin Joy on Instagram:

@_erin_joy https://www.instagram.com/_erin_joy/ 

I would love to get in touch with you!  Head on over to @acollectivevoice on IG or my personal IG and send me a DM!  I would love to hear what resonated, or I would love to hear YOUR voice if you want to share any of your story.