The Holistic Side of Law - Rachel Robinson (Revisited)

YBOP Intro/Outro: 00:00:06

Welcome back to Your Brain On Positive. All the love and support you need is residing inside of you. And we're going to make it easier to turn it on.

Jackie Simmons: 00:00:23

Welcome to your brain on positive. And if you're looking for a way to re energize your life, you're in the right place we believe like Shawn Aker says that your brain on positive is 31% more productive than your brain on negative, neutral or stressed. And to help us shift out of negative or neutral or stress. I'm happy to welcome into my studio. Rachel, I know you in a bunch of different last names. The latest one is Rachael Ray. Tell us the story about who you are and how you are who you are now.

Rachel Robinson: 00:01:05

Yeah, so I'm Rachel Robinson. When I first signed up for Facebook, I just put Rachael Ray, I think it was back when Facebook Allah allowed us to be a little more creative with our identities. And so I just put Rachael Ray, privacy, whatever being cool. But I'm Rachel Robinson, and very proudly, so

Jackie Simmons: 00:01:28

awesome. All right. So who is Rachel rods? Well,

Rachel Robinson: 00:01:34

I would say if I had to boil myself down to a few sentences, I would say that I am a global citizen, I have four citizenships. I came to the States when I was very young. And I have recently expanded into all of who I am, which is an author, lyricist, a singer, a ritualistic gardener who's now sharing that knowledge with women, and an author and an attorney.

Jackie Simmons: 00:02:06

Whoa, hold it, hold it. All right. I'm sorry. You did just put ritualistic gardener and attorney in the same sentence. Okay, and so as somebody who loves contrasts, can you just unpack that a little bit for us?

Rachel Robinson: 00:02:25

You know, and so I think I have, you really use gardening as a ritual, I mean, gardening is original, original inherently. And what it is for me is that integrating it into my life in a way that I'm really observing and learning from that ritual has been really fruitful in my ability to be resilient, to bring joy and peace into my life and make better decisions. So there are several, there are several principles of gardening that I learned just through observing plants, and how they do things. For example, one of them is, the first one is do less, okay, we plant a seed. And we, you know, don't want to dig that up before it is nurtured and growing. But a lot of people have the temptation, well, where's my seed doing will do less. And so the way that I applied that to life is that I have a lot of faith, that the energy I put forward is going to bring about what I want. But I'm intentional about the energy I put forward. So I choose to do things based on whether they're going to bring me growth, joy, or money, hey,

Jackie Simmons: 00:03:28

I'm laughing because I'm thinking about the number of people who might have planted pumpkin seeds expecting to get apples.

Rachel Robinson: 00:03:37

Right, you got to be intentional how you plant your seeds, and how you spend your time. So that's an example. How that integrates into my life as an attorney is I'm very efficient. I manage my relationships and healthy ways. And I'm a fair minded and a spiritually minded person. And so I definitely see the humanity in, in the people that I'm working with. And I think that that has led to better outcomes in the cases that I've worked on. Specifically, as a district attorney in the past, I recently resigned from that position. And And now as I move forward to work with victims and advocate for them.

Jackie Simmons: 00:04:14

So as a district attorney, you were kind of in this mix between the

Rachel Robinson: 00:04:23

institution of the courts and the people. And there's a mix there.

Jackie Simmons: 00:04:30

So what I'm hearing you say is that leaving the language the ballpark of being a district attorney, and now being an independent attorney, your focus is a little bit more precise, because that's I think, my my interpretation of what you mean by intentional is about precision. Is this going to move me in the direction I want to go or not?So what's your focus now because I mean, as far as I know, a district attorney is all about victims. It's all about serving the people. But I'm hearing that what you're doing now is a little more focused, what's the difference?

Rachel Robinson: 00:05:12

Indeed. So as a prosecutor, you know, while I have high ethical standards to uphold the Constitution for defendants for everyone comes through the courtroom. And to be fair and transparent, I'm still going to do those things, obviously. But now I have the honor and privilege of just serving victims. So when I would be resolving a case, as a prosecutor, I had to consider what a victim would want or say, but I also had to balance sort of the background of the defendants and the community as a whole, and make sure that I was considering all of those things. Now, I'll be able to just be the voice for the victims. And while I'll be explaining to them the rationale of a prosecutor, the judge the courts, as they make their decisions, I'm also going to be more focused on making sure that the victim's words are heard, that their wishes are understood, and also that they are being held through the process in a way that makes them feel empowered, and really managing their expectations of especially the timeline, I think that's the part that gets the most frustrating at times, we think we go to the police and it's over j go to jail, don't collect $200. But there's so much more that comes with it. And so having an attorney there who can sort of interpret what's going on, has already brought me a lot of joy and reignited my purpose as an attorney. And it is the way that I am able to be more focused in the type of attorney that I want to be. Alright, I'm

Jackie Simmons: 00:06:39

going to ask you to take us back because you just opened this whole,

Jackie Simmons: 00:06:44

like, question, when you first became an attorney, what did you think it was gonna be like?

Rachel Robinson: 00:06:52

Well, so during law school, I actually did several internships, I focused more on being in an intern. So I actually learned the law. So I'll take it back even further when I was seven and decided that I wanted to be an attorney based on my uncle, Robert Fletcher, saying to me that an attorney, he was an attorney, and he said to me, an attorney is someone who's a voice for those who don't have one. And I knew at that moment, I wanted to be just like him just because I liked them. But also, because of how inspiring that sounded. It just reminded me of like a superhero, you know. And so when, when I started law school, eventually, I thought I would go into international law, I didn't know if it would be something like you know, the Holocaust trials or something more exciting and interesting. As I mentioned before, I have several citizenships. I've traveled the world and it seemed like it'd be a right fit. So I did internships on doing that. And I was very disappointed to learn that international law is quite boring with a lot of paperwork. It's a lot of contracts, it's mostly corporate, so not so much purpose, not so much of the humanistic aspect of it. It's just moving money around the globe. My final year in law school, my second semester, and my final year, I interned with the circuit attorney in St. Louis, Kim Gardner, she was the first black woman to be elected as a prosecutor in St. Louis. And I think one of three black women prosecutors in the country. And I worked directly for her and her executive office, and in addition to one other division in the in the, in the office, so that I could get courtroom experience and not just be writing things for her just working with her. And what I learned from working with her and the other black prosecutors, and just in general, such a diverse city is like the immense amount of power that a prosecutor has to bring about positive change when their discretion is used in a way that is keeping humans in mind, and not just the system. So when you say like I'm leaving the system to now focus on humans, that's the other aspect of it, too, is like while I'm guiding humans through the system, I'm also not subjected to a lot of those same pressures, I can speak more freely, I can be a stronger advocate for the for who I want to speak for. But that's what I that's what I end up learning. I got bit by the bug being in the courtroom. And and that actually embodied more of what I thought an attorney was when I envisioned it. I've never been keen on mystery shows or lawyer shows. I don't read mystery books. It was just me understanding what an attorney does through my uncle and just in general, kind of knowing that they're in court. So international law, there's no court. It's all paperwork. I like to read but that was boring. And then when I got to the courthouse, and I saw that, like it's all of those things, and human interaction and making a difference in people's lives that you can see immediately. That is where I made the decision to actually be a litigator and be in the courtroom as much as I could. My under

Jackie Simmons: 00:10:00

Standing. And we're talking sort of about the difference between someone who's working at the clubhouse working at the country club where tennis is played. And someone who's actually on the court playing tennis.

Rachel Robinson: 00:10:20

I could compare it to that. Yeah. Okay, cool.

Jackie Simmons: 00:10:23

Because I was looking for an analogy. And I'm like, wait a minute, why am I struggling? Because I love everything to be in baseball analogies. And I'm like, It's the difference between owning the club and actually being on the ball field playing. Right? So it's not about the bunny. At that point. It's about what game are you playing? Yeah. Cool. All right. So you play multiple games. And I want I'm gonna bring all of your games into play, because that was one of the reasons why I'm like, oh, yeah, Rachel, we got to talk, I have to have this talk in public, my peeps have got to know what's going on in the world. Because it's one thing to step up. And to say, I'm going to be one of three, four or five, six

Jackie Simmons: 00:11:09

people in the world who have this designation,

Jackie Simmons: 00:11:13

which is what you did in law. I mean, you're one of a handful of women in the DEA offices around the country, and you're one of a smaller handful of black women who are in the DEA offices around the country. So we're talking circles within circles. And yet, at some point, you decided to just let go of all of those circles and be everything that Rachel could be in the world. And I think that's where for me, the music came into play. So tell us about the music,

Unknown: 00:11:49

literally and figuratively. I love it. Nice segue there. It's perfect. Yes, I have been into music since I was a child. I'm classically trained in piano, choir, dance and performance arts. Since I was very young. I started writing poetry books and stories in general when I could write. And then as far as being a lyricist, which I predominantly am now I'd consider myself to be a lyricist. More so than anything else. I started writing rap songs when I was about 14 or 15. And performing those around the neighborhood and with friends. I dated a guy, really brilliant lyricist. And and that got me into that space, kind of translating my poetry into rhythmic delivery of lyricism. And so I've been doing that since then, and then when I left the dean's office, and it was pretty dramatic how I end up having to leave, you know that you have to read the memoir for that. Okay, but

Jackie Simmons: 00:12:51

Oh, I'm sorry. Let's just get really, really clear. You're also an author? Yes. For that, that, so they can read the memoir to get all the gory details of the reality is that something happened? What was it?

Unknown: 00:13:06

Um, yeah, I was ordered to do something that I correctly saw as unethical and illegal within the office. And so again, that's gonna be for the book. But I left and I had already been thinking since last November about really expanding into everything that I am, I had started my gardening courses, I recorded my first song my aunt had passed away in November and it just really became clear to me that I'm going to live my life now. I'm going to live it now. And and so I just started embodying all the different talents that I have and people started enjoying them. And I realized like, I can be this and I can be prosperous as I do this, and share this with others and give them permission to do the same. So the music I have two singles out now one is called Money, cars, clothes. I highly urge everyone to listen to it. The title is a bit deceptive.

Jackie Simmons: 00:14:02

Yeah, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down and say the title again, because I couldn't even write that

Rachel Robinson: 00:14:10

fast. Money. Cars clothes is the first single

Jackie Simmons: 00:14:13

money. Cars car s close VLSE. Okay, because

Unknown: 00:14:22

then the second one is on the edge.

Unknown: 00:14:26

All right, that one I can understand money. Cards, you have to understand. There's something about me most people don't know Rachel. I am a used car salesman. Me and my guy mark. We owned a used car dealership, one in Florida and one in Maryland. So money, cars, clothes.

Jackie Simmons: 00:14:49

What the heck is that about?

Rachel Robinson: 00:14:52

Well, it really is an it's an allegory for male ego. And it's an invitation for men to put that super Official 3d Nonsense aside, and instead of invading the connections with women that they truly desire, with toxicity and games and all this nonsense like to just connect, and it gives them, it gives instructions on how it just picks sort of the harmful and unsatisfying experiences that women have with men. And then it invites them to open their eyes and do it differently so that we can actually be the women that they are desiring, indeed, for us to be,

Jackie Simmons: 00:15:31

oh, you're inviting men to change first way women have already started changing, but we get so many change back messages from the gods in our lives. And it's normal, it's natural, I teach this is something called the Crab theory, you know, that they just, they, if we do something different, it's like we've gone outside the camp fire light, that could be dangerous. And it sounds like what you're doing is inviting the men to do what historically, the men have always done, which is your job to make the light circle, the camp fire light, broader, that it's safe for everyone to be who they can be.

Rachel Robinson: 00:16:18

Right. And I think that's absolutely true. And so it's just an interesting, sort of doublespeak that we have going on. And you just said it, it's like they want to control everything, and have no accountability for the outcome of the way that they choose to control everything. And so we're

Jackie Simmons: 00:16:35

gonna give them a little more grace than that, because I don't think it's conscious on their part. I think it's just the culture they were raised to

Unknown: 00:16:42

know exactly. But this is how we make them conscious of that, that they are doing a doublespeak. If you are going to be the masculine energy that provides and hold space for women to be comfortable and receptive. And then you have to make it safe, and you have to make it easy. And it really is easy. And that's what my song talks about. Like how easy it just is. Use your words open up. Calm down. Quit demanding thing. Ah.

Jackie Simmons: 00:17:12

Yeah, so I talked over you and I'm so sorry, because that is lovely. All right. We're talking about easy and save. And what most men don't know, is that when they get angry, no matter who they are angry with or who it's directed at. Every woman in their presence feels threatened by evolution. It's not the woman's fault wherever Lucien narrowly triggered by anger to run.

Unknown: 00:17:49

Perhaps, you know, I think there was a time in our history, especially when we had more goddess worship and more sort of like women leading tribe leading country out,

Jackie Simmons: 00:17:59

well, men didn't get angry in our presence back when there was a feminine power structure. Yeah,

Unknown: 00:18:06

it was more equal and balanced. And then we had this term, it may 2000 years ago, whatever, where,

Jackie Simmons: 00:18:12

when the alphabet came in, it's a great book, The Goddess in the alphabet, if you haven't read it, it talks about the shift from the balance to the linear.

Rachel Robinson: 00:18:22

You're interesting. Yeah, I have to check that up. Yeah, and then just like this vitriol towards femininity, and just women embodying all of who they are. So we're not just feminine receptive caretakers, and all these things, like we all have a balance of the feminine and the masculine. So really, what has happened is like, it's just an an animus towards women embodying their full selves. And I think a lot of that also goes back to the third layer to what you said earlier, as far as like men, you know, controlling the environment around them. It's maybe not necessarily true. I think if we really spoke on who has who has actual control of what goes on around them, it'd be women in a lot of ways. Like we actually have a lot of control. This is why there has been this push to suppress no one picks on the slow kid. I mean, no one picks on a child that you're you already know that they're disadvantaged, they're slow, no one's gonna

Jackie Simmons: 00:19:19

everyone picks on the slow kid. My mother was a special ed supervisor.

Unknown: 00:19:24

I mean, overarching, Lee, they're not everyone is they're not seen as a threat. Exactly. Everyone's going to try to oppress and diminish and hide the light of those that they see as a threat. And the fact that men develop this ethos of thinking women are a threat when they are in their power that goes back to sort of the conditioning and stuff that started those 1000s of years ago. And so that's why when I'm not giving grace in this, I'm not not giving grace. I'm not saying like, Oh, it's your fault. I understand their condition to be that way. But that's not an excuse to tolerate. It's absolutely why we have to enlightened them that when they're doing these unconscious things, this is the effect that they're having. And they're actually hurting themselves. So

Jackie Simmons: 00:20:08

sighs Yeah, I am so in alignment with this because it's both sides. It's not just men who are hurting themselves by being unconsciously caught up in these cultural memes. It's women who are hurting themselves by being unconsciously caught up in these cultural memes. So there's responsibility on both sides. And I love that you're bringing this energy into this conversation.

Rachel Robinson: 00:20:30

Yeah, absolutely. So

Jackie Simmons: 00:20:34

what is next for you got money, cars closed, and you said the other single what's the next

Unknown: 00:20:40

single? It's called on the edge? Ooh, tell me about on

Jackie Simmons: 00:20:44

the edge, because I feel like I've been living there for a while.

Unknown: 00:20:48

So, at the end of last, at the beginning of the summer, I decided that I was going to take this cross country healing journey to retrace my footsteps connect with friends. And because of

Jackie Simmons: 00:21:00

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm a gypsy by nature. I'm an Army brat by nurture. When you say a cross country journey, I want to know where you started from and where you ended up.

Rachel Robinson: 00:21:12

Okay, NZ. But the reason for the journey was definitely because of what had happened at the DHS office, it triggered a lot of residual sort of inner child past traumas, because it parallel things that I had gone through in the past before I made it to being an attorney. And so I decided that I needed to go across the country, reconnect with my friends, revisit my law school city, my childhood home, and really come to terms with who I am now and how I got here, because that was going to be the most powerful reminder that I literally took nothing. I left high school with nothing. And I ended up becoming this powerful attorney and everything what you see now. And so I started the trip in LA to see my friend Nikki, I never lived in LA but my best friend from college, Nicola, Vince, you know her through MIROS mastermind, his beloved Oh, okay, I went to see her I had to see her, I interviewed her, I documented much of this journey as well. And so I interviewed her to talk about our expansion, our growth and just reconnect. And so that's on my YouTube channel. And then after leaving LA, I went on a two day train on a train ride, which ended up I have to detour and end up flying the last leg to St. Louis, where I went to law school at Washington University in St. Louis. And the reason I had to go back there was because, you know, like I said, I left high school with nothing, and I'll talk about it more when I get to Columbus, but the day I landed in, in St. Louis, and was at this top law school, for free scholarship, everything I knew at that moment that my life was going to be okay, no matter what happened, I have would have accomplished that goal. And I know what that goal means to society. And even though it had a more sort of sentimental meaning to me, I know also what being an attorney means in the world. I'm not like naive to that. And so I knew that I'd be okay. And then after leaving St. Louis and sort of reflecting on on my time there, I ended, I ended my journey in Columbus, Ohio, I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, my dad moved us there from Jamaica, where I was born, when I was a toddler. And I was nervous to go back there because of the pain and sort of difficult memory that I had from there. But when I went, I ended up realizing like, wow, there's also a lot of beauty here, I grew a lot, I was exposed to very educated people, wealthy people, my dad and my mom really raised me in a nice neighborhood where I had access to all the resources that I needed to develop all these skills where I am today. And so I had that gratitude, but also sat outside of the high school and I just fully integrated, little me, little rage, rage, filled, disappointed hurt me, and all the things that motivated me to not give up on my dream to be an attorney, all the things that pushed me through all those traits, all those emotions, and I just assimilated them and I said, I need you now. You know, I embraced it all. And and that is where I fully sort of came into my being it was very much a rite of passage and an ascension sitting outside that high school and, and accepting it all and loving every part of me that came out of that. And so I think if I could give something to you all when it comes to that, you know, approach life of curiosity, optimism, joy, righteous rage when it's necessary sadness, all of these things. Emotions kickstart your responses that will lead to your greater evolution. Don't hide from any of it, let it go through you let it push you in the right direction. And always just make sure that your intentions are for you there for good. But those those emotions can be catalysts for your growth.

Jackie Simmons: 00:25:19

Any woman who has ever scrubbed her bathroom in anger, it absolutely will relate to what you just said, to bring it down to something that's, that's really universal as an experience. Because when we get angry, we clean it, you know, guys, when they get angry, they walk women when they get angry, we claim I mean, granted, that's a gross generalization, but you got it right? When we

Rachel Robinson: 00:25:49

get her done, okay, that's what happens

Jackie Simmons: 00:25:51

when you get her done. You talked about rites of passage and ascension. And those are very esoteric terms. So in the context of the actions you took, what was different in the actions you were taking before your rite of passage, and the actions you were taking, after your rite of passage? Make it real?

Unknown: 00:26:17

Yeah. So I would say the rite of passage, when all this first happened in high school was just like this. I didn't realize it to be that at the time, but I was, I was moving into the real game. So go back to the analogy, like I was in the suburban bubble, whatever, and I was thrust into the game of life. And I very quickly became very resourceful. I started building the tool belt, the resiliency, understanding who's who understand that people, different people from a different strata than me, understanding the world and also learning to rely on myself in a way that I hadn't needed to really before. And it's not that I did any of this on my own, I had community around me every step of the way. And I think that community that swooped in actually made me a better prosecutor, because I ended up prosecuting people from similar communities and seeing my human reflection, and that made me a better attorney, it's gonna make me a better victim advocate, it always has. And so. So that was that rite of passage, it was just building the toolkit.

Jackie Simmons: 00:27:19

That was the first rite of passage in high school. So then you went back recently, right. And that was another rite of passage. So what's different between the actions you were taking before this recent visit? And now,

Unknown: 00:27:37

right, so laying the foundation for the initial sort of rite of passage, it was building the tools it was getting there, it was knowing that I could, I could take nothing, with community with people understanding them developing those skills, and that faith in myself and the powers that be and get to where I was now, as an attorney, my one dream at the time. Now, the difference is very similar circumstances ripped away in a way that seems so unfair, and doesn't make sense. I was doing everything right. Why are other people making silly decisions. And I have to walk away from that. But now I'm starting at this higher level of having a foundation of having that faith of having that knowledge that if I could take nothing and go to here, I can't wait to see what I turned here into. Okay,

Jackie Simmons: 00:28:25

so I'm going to just unpack this for people. Because here's what I think I'm hearing you say is that when you came out of high school, you felt that you were entering into adulthood with nothing without a lot of anything that people would consider normal or solid or safe. And yet, you went from that coming out of high school, to becoming an attorney and then working for a DEA. And so when you left the DHS office, and you went on this junket, for lack of a better word, and I'm sure there's a better word for it. But you went on this journey, sort of retracing backwards, and you got back to your high school.

Rachel Robinson: 00:29:07

And you're going, oh,

Jackie Simmons: 00:29:09

wait a minute. In high school, I started with nothing and got to there. What can I do now? Starting with my new, nothing, my new baseline? Is it going to be easier to get to my new there, what I really want? What is it that you really want? I mean, Rachel, I get you want to be the advocate for a group of people who don't have a voice? Who is that group of people, and what else do you want to do?

Unknown: 00:29:43

So I think overall, the through line and everything that comes out of me is a humanistic spin. I'm really analyzing and trying to free people from all of this fake news and fake rule that we're following right now. And I talk about it in my song on the edge And so while my lot my practice my law firm is based around Victim Rights Law, I'm also considering other areas of law only in the capacity of representing other humans like me, so. And even if you listen to the lyrics of my song, I'm challenging our traditional view of spirituality, I'm challenging the gender relationships that we currently have inviting men to look at that differently. And I'm doing it very clearly, very concisely and intellectually and without any toxicity. So who can really come back and challenge it in a way like my demeanor or anything, um, I have another song coming out where in the music video, I will be robbing a bank and then shooting all the money out of a money gun to everyone around that I robbed out of the bank. So and then maybe the bank blows up. I don't know, if that's a federal crime, I have to look at the ethics rules. Like,

Jackie Simmons: 00:30:53

I'm like, I'm here in Robin Hood. Yeah, rob from the rich and give to the poor, let's just equalize things is what your your visualization is.

Unknown: 00:31:02

And I call it a rebalancing indeed, and I've done that even making sentencing records. As a prosecutor, I would say, you know, we need to rebalance the scales. And at a certain point, the community needs a reprieve from this particular maybe, you know, psychotic person who's hurting people. Here, I think society needs a reprieve from the psychotic sociopathic institutions that do not consider the humans that work for under and by them. And so this is really going to end up being the through line. But for the law firm, yes, it's the voice for people who don't traditionally have one. And that's not because they don't have words that they can form with their voice. It's because they go on heard. And it's only been in the past 30 years, that states have started to promulgate laws and constitutional amendments, to acknowledge the validity and the necessity for victims to have a role in the criminal justice system. And if you think about it, it's silly, because the whole reason we have crimes is because of victim. Okay? And but if we look at institutions the same way, the whole reason we have institutions that because of humans, and they're supposed to be serving us, and so it's kind of a through line for me is like, how are we making sure that these infrastructures, these systems are actually serving humans? How are we interpreting and enforcing the laws in a way that humans get the benefit actual humans, and it takes the right people being in power, understanding and pulling back the veil and empowering others to understand the law that they have, and being accessible. So this is another reason why I'm having these other streams. And the beauty of having these other sort of endeavors, I'm keeping my case loads low. I'm not I'm going to be charging flat fees that make me accessible. And the rest of my endeavors will bring in money to help me thrive and be prosperous, or whatever. But like, I need that to be able to subsidize my ability to challenge these infrastructures on behalf of human beings in all capacities.

Jackie Simmons: 00:33:02

All right, we're gonna just unpack that, because that's a big conversation. We're talking about the cash that makes it possible for things to change, and cash. Some people say cash is king, what I'm gonna say is cash flow, is what the world requires for the world to be sustainable. It's not that one person has all the money, it's that the cash has to flow all over the place. However, it does it all find its own level, because it's like water. And what you're doing with your law practice, is saying, Okay, guess what, guys, I got flat fees over here. And if this speaks to you, hey, support my artistic endeavors, because that's what's gonna allow me to have flat fees over here. And if you don't meet my flat fee, and you just want to hire me, that's this middle ground. And so opening that door that people can choose which door I mean, it was amazing. I don't know if you've ever seen this, but there was this whole thing done by a beauty soap. They had three doorways into an event, and it's beautiful, not sure and ugly. And they just videotape how people chose which door to walk through and help people's friends. We're dragging them over to the door that said beautiful. It was really amazing at that. I think that that's what you're doing. You're going hey, you need help. You're not sure how to afford it. I got a flat fee option.

Jackie Simmons: 00:34:48

You want to support all of the victims in the world. You want to change this whole conversation so that we don't have Victors and perpetrators we have T ball which is what I'm all about as a transformational mediator, which you may not have known about me, I'm actually a certified mediator and the transformative style. And then there's this middle ground, which says, hey, you need help, and you got cashflow. Well, let's just pay cash flow so that all of this other stuff gets served. And I love the fact that you have these options, and that there's no judgement, whatever door someone comes through into your world is simply the door they choose to come through into your world, which is what everything that I want to do in the world is based on you. What if whatever door you choose to walk through, what's the right door for you in that moment? I mean, Rachel, yeah, what would we change the world if everybody just did that? And we stopped judging? Oh, crap, I did that wrong, are you?

Unknown: 00:36:02

And I've been in that other world? Mm hmm.

YBOP Intro/Outro: 00:36:05

Yesterday, I got asked, What's my big why? And my answer surprised me. They like turned on a video camera. And for a very specific community, they say, Jackie, what's your big one. And for anybody who's ever been part of my world, you're gonna laugh because the first thing that came out of my mouth is nothing. And then I said, I don't usually get tongue caught. And the next words were,

Unknown: 00:36:33

I spent most of my life pretending to be someone I wasn't. I now my life is devoted to make sure that nobody else does that because it's not living. It's really close to die. That's my big why

Unknown: 00:36:49

that is so eloquently stated. And you even summed up my journey so eloquently. I mean.

Jackie Simmons: 00:36:59

Yeah, that's what I'm hearing from you. Is that your big why is that being an attorney to be an attorney satisfies the mind, but not the heart?

Rachel Robinson: 00:37:11

It's the purpose and the mind. Yes. And then the art and all of that is another iteration of all of those things that is more holistic, I think, spiritually than what the law can do. You're absolutely right. Yeah. But I can also, you know, in going into that, even the doors like someone could come to and then I'm now I'm now I'm very excited about my journey, thanks to you, some of the company through law, and it's a victim, and maybe she's divorcing or whatever, something's happening to be in abuse. And she's my victim. And then she learns like, Oh, but I do ritualistic gardening. Let me teach you this ritual that will help you be persevere through what you're going through. Someone could find my song when he cars clothes and be like, Hey, I'm reaching out to you. I sent this to my husband, I'm divorcing him. This gave me the power to like the words to articulate to him. He's a narcissistic, nonsense. Oh, and your attorney? Can you hit on my divorce? Yes. Like, I just think that they all can overlap too. And really interesting ways. That could be a more holistic approach to even being an attorney kind of now that I think about it like,

Jackie Simmons: 00:38:15

great movie, and I don't remember the name of it, but John Ritter starred in it. And he ends up towards the end of the movie, and he walks into a divorce trial. And he holds up a book of Natural History. And he's goes, I cite the case of the black bear who mates for life, because he had come to realize that the machine of divorce law was preventing this man and this woman for actually having a long term relationship.

Rachel Robinson: 00:38:50

Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. So

Jackie Simmons: 00:38:52

he cites the case of the black bear who mates for life. Now, I don't know if it's true. The black bears made for life. What I know is it was a very dramatic court scene. And this is sort of what I'm hearing from you is that it's not about whether someone is a narcissist or victim. I mean, in the self esteem prophecy, whether someone's an interrogator or an Intimidator, or they're a victim or a doormat, there are no loo for victim or whatever the language is. It's not about that dichotomy. It's about recognizing the humaneness in all of it, and creating an outcome that supports everyone and doesn't make anyone necessarily wrong even if they're incompatible.

Rachel Robinson: 00:39:38

Perhaps I mean, I think there is right and wrong me as a prosecutor, I've seen wrong terrible thing that humans do to each other. But yes, and all it could be a more holistic approach to to my legal practice, indeed, and I will and

Jackie Simmons: 00:39:53

we're gonna get really clear because you know, as a prosecutor with the DEA office, you're dealing with a very small percentage of people compared to the vast majority. So let's just go with the 80% or so. And go, you know, hey, in the 80% world, we're dealing with people not perpetrator. Now granted, that doesn't mean that that the 20% or 10%, or whatever it is, but for the vast majority, your music is for the majority, not for the extreme. Right,

Unknown: 00:40:31

my music is definitely even the way I approach the law. And so I

Jackie Simmons: 00:40:36

I think it's about the invitation,

Rachel Robinson: 00:40:39

right? Because what it is, it's a reprogramming. So we might might not be doing a lot of those things conscientiously. But I have dropped a lot of those programs. I also had a different sort of father figure who showed me what's actually possible for men, I also had my issues with him. But indeed, when it comes to for how to treat a wife, how to be patient, how to be through that masculine for a calming, balanced, self assured, listening, honest, transparent. Man, I had that example. And it led to me having pretty healthy relationships with men. So that exists. Yes, I wouldn't say that they're the majority, I wouldn't say they're the 80% I would say that they're probably the 20. But what I'm saying is because of the programming that's running on everywhere, that we in our minds are just computers, like, we're just computers, we're the programming, so you're gonna

Jackie Simmons: 00:41:34

so love k ln, I we're gonna have to get you connected, because she actually took the law of attraction and turned it into computer programming language. Wow. And I put this up on something called emotional, emotional oxygen.com. I read her book online. And I think that I'm gonna have to hook the two of you together.

Unknown: 00:42:02

Thank you, I love meeting like minded, you know, it's a different way of looking at things in I sometimes I struggle to see people who can understand and this this your ability to even re articulate and enunciate what I'm saying in such an eloquent way, I thank you for that. Because I've just been thrust in it. I'm boots on the ground, or, you know, on the tennis match, however we want to put it, and I don't always have time to understand, like, what's, how to articulate what I'm seeing. And that's where the rap is. That's where the art that's where the writing comes in, because I'm able to get it out, instead of just being in those moments of confronting those pressures in those systems. So thank you.

Jackie Simmons: 00:42:39

Well, I'm gonna have to learn how to rap because lately I have been in the moment of confronting some pressure. I had a skylight collapse in my guy's office two days ago. Yeah, this is called the Florida flood, by the way, and it does happen inside Florida homes, I should say, Never happened in mind before,

Unknown: 00:43:00

in the middle of the night. So we'll have to go from that and go, Hey, people's lives have that experience, Rachel. Where? Yeah, there's

Jackie Simmons: 00:43:12

this. And here's my story. I mean, there was this. Oh, look, it's dripping inside the skylight. Let me call the skylight company. And they said, Okay, we can come out in five days. And then in 24 hours more rain. It's like, Oh, crap, it's leaking into his office, let's put a bucket on the chair to catch it. And and things are splashing out. And I'm like, oh, no, get the recycle bin, this big blue things. And we'll have any here because I don't want it's flashing on your leather chair and on your desk in your computer. And I call them again and they sit out we can be there on Monday. So now we've moved from Tuesday to Monday. And then this is Friday, be about bedtime. 11pm. All of a sudden, I heard it go.

Unknown: 00:43:56

And that whole skylight collapse into the recycle

Jackie Simmons: 00:44:01

bucket. I mean, 99% of it was contained. I was so excited. And that is so they fixed it.

Rachel Robinson: 00:44:10

Yeah, but that is so life. Like I think if we allow our intuition to guide us. If we if we are able to recognize little nuggets of wisdom along the way. That's what happens in our lives, something might crash down, but you'd be surprised how much he already had in place to support that you're ready for that fall without even knowing but that's trusting that the faith in myself that develop that's why I urge everyone to listen to even in my song on the edge. That's the voice inside of us like quiet the noise? Where are you being guided to do right and how Where are you being guided to go? Are you being guided to do it might not make so much sense in the moment. But when the roof crashes in and you realize why all those little pieces you instinctively put into place because you recognize the wisdom and doing it when it was small and then you're ready for the bigger thing and then it gets fixed and it's just less overwhelming and you can just be more grateful shifter. focus to the joy and the gratitude of wow, I was actually prepared for that. And it's such a great allegory for life, you know?

Jackie Simmons: 00:45:09

That's brilliant. All right. So if someone doesn't listen to anything other than that last rant in the last five minutes of this podcast, that's gold. All right. So, everybody, thank you for listening and being part of your brain on positive, you'll be able to catch up with Rachel, we've got links in the chat, we've gotten links in the show notes. So we've got all of that for them, no matter when they listen to this, because I know you got something coming out recent coming out soon. And people might listen to this 10 years from now. So we'll make sure they have access to it. Yeah. Final thoughts.

Rachel Robinson: 00:45:46

You know, my final thoughts is just like, I think we've covered it. But just to really sum up kind of what I'm what I've learned, and even in this conversation is, first of all, you have permission to be everything that you are. And it doesn't have to make sense as you're piecing it together. But it's you and people will walk through the door that they choose that they need in order to access you. And we are all wisdom keepers, and should never be worried that we're giving too much or too little be you and someone is going to resonate, you don't know whose life you're saving. Every challenge to every challenge is an opportunity to level up. Real quick story. I'm a gamer, I always compare these challenges to the end of the board, we have to beat the boss to get to the next board. You have to use every tool and skill and understanding of the game and the rules. And the goal to get there. Every challenge is an opportunity to level up. And even when you're feeling that righteous rage and that sadness and that disappointment as you go through that challenge that's leveling up that's pushing you find the solution that's going to get you out of that feeling gets you through this next level and get you where you're supposed to be where feels good, human, it's not always going to be clear what that is. But you'll just have an interview with Jackie, she'll put in the best words possible, and you'll understand even better who you are. After talking to her. There you go. Thank you.

Jackie Simmons: 00:47:10

Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So just so delighted, Rachel with everything that you've shared the journey that you've been on your willingness to confront the norms of society, and just say that's not what I choose. And you put step by step, took yourself in the direction of what you do choose. And when it became, oh, I chose this. But now I'm seeing this is not what I want.

Unknown: 00:47:48

Because you got to see behind the scenes, you made a different choice. And the universe

Jackie Simmons: 00:47:55

said, Okay, you want a different choice, here's a different choice. And you accepted that you would put that in motion, as opposed to feeling victimized by what other people did. And I think that's the energy that you bring to victim law. Is you help people sort out okay, yes, they did you wrong. And that's country music. somebody's done somebody wrong. Okay. That's country music. Yes, you were done wrong? And where can you now see the choices you made that contributed to their being able to do you wrong, so that once we get this whole mess cleaned up? Because we're going to hold them accountable to what they did try. But once we hold them accountable,

Unknown: 00:48:41

what are you going to change, so that we don't end up back here again, in a year, five years, 10 years.

Jackie Simmons: 00:48:51

Because what I know to be true is that life lessons are repeated, until they are learned. And I see you in this unique position to help people who are victims in the eyes of the core, feeling victimized in their own eyes, to recognize that they don't have to carry that energy into their next relationship into their next job or into their next

Jackie Simmons: 00:49:18

business. I see you at this point of pivot Rachel, where you can change the trajectory of every single life that you come in contact with. And I'm just so grateful that you shared this here.

Rachel Robinson: 00:49:36

Thank you, Jackie. Thank you for having me. You've impacted me I receive that. Thank you.

Jackie Simmons: 00:49:43

You're very very welcome. So thank you, everyone, for being part of your brain on positive and for choosing to see the world in a different way. today.