Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: You're listening to the remote mom collective podcast, where moms can find their stride in the remote work world. Whether you currently work remotely or you want to, you're in the right place.
I'm Brittany the remote mom, and I've been working remotely since 2007. I became a mom in 2015, and there's a lot to learn. Together, we'll support, inspire, and empower each other on our journey to balance work, life, and motherhood from the comfort of our own homes or wherever we're working remotely. Together, let's redefine what it means to be a working mom. Let's support and inspire each other.
Hi, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Remote mom collective podcast. I am Brittany the remote mom, and today I am here with Libby, and she is going to talk today about woo woo things. All of the woo woo working moms. And actually, somebody the other day asked me what woo woo meant, and I had to actually go and, like, google it because I'm like, you know, I don't actually know.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: So I feel like it's a. It's a catch all term, almost, where it's very much like any sort of non traditional western medicine, western ideology thing is instantly seen as woo woo, even though, like, years ago, it would have been considered totally normal.
[00:01:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: So.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: Well, it's.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: It's hard because it's, like, it is a catch all term because it overlaps onto so many different ideas.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: When I googled it, it said something about how it started in the eighties when they were just kind of calling everything woo woo that was, like, crystals and, you know, new age, all of that. So I don't mind it. I don't know if it bothers anybody, but does it bother you?
[00:01:54] Speaker B: It doesn't bother me at all. It definitely. I I think the eighties makes sense of when it started because there was a round of, like, satanic panic in that timeframe, and anything that was, like, spiritual in any sense, but not necessarily, you know, Judeo Christian ideology was instantly labeled, like, woo woo.
You look at stars, you're woo woo.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Like, yes, I remember my mom in the eighties was like, dungeons and dragons is of the devil. We don't need to be playing with that.
What are you talking about?
[00:02:35] Speaker B: It's interesting to look at history and then be like, really? This is where we ended up? Like, this is weird to you guys?
[00:02:43] Speaker A: Well, actually, why don't you just introduce yourself really quick? We just kind of jumped right in. Let's tell everybody who you are and what you do.
[00:02:50] Speaker B: That is totally, like, me, too. Hi, everybody. My name is Libby. I am a mom in business, and I work with other moms in business, mostly around mindset and mentality. I always think of it as repairing the nervous system in order to ditch the mom guilt, ditch the wine mom label, heal your nervous system so you yell less. And having that, and that goes into a lot of shadow work. So that's how we got into this topic of woo woo is the idea of looking at your subconscious mind for. In order to move past any, like, childhood blocks or anything that might be coming up for you. Like, I was raised in the nineties and very nineties style. Parenting is a lot different from the more like, gentle parenting 2024 parenting style now.
And I've seen. It's funny because I've seen some creators on Facebook and Instagram being like, oh, I yell, and then I instantly feel guilty, and then I just get caught in this never ending cycle of overstimulation, and it's like, okay, well, why are you overstimulated? Have you looked at the why and the root cause behind all of it?
[00:04:14] Speaker A: Yeah. I find myself doing that very thing is freaking out, and then stepping back and being like, oh, I totally did not mean do that. So what is. It's over stimulus, over stimulation? Is that. Yeah, yeah.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: I mean, it's part of it. And I like, being a mom is stressful. Period, full stop. Like, just being a mom is stressful. Having a job is stressful. Trying to do both is really stressful. And some of it comes from just societal expectations with the way that we live now and it. And also there's the. The isolation that we seem to have found ourselves in. And, I mean, like, the pandemic contributed a little bit to this, but even before the pandemic, moms were generally trying to do everything themselves. But if you look back at history, moms typically got together with all of the kids and everybody parented together.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, you're right. And it's every call, every podcast episode recording that I've had recently with my guests. Community has been a reoccurring theme. So it clearly is something that is very, very important. Whether you're woo or you're not. You've got to have that community around you.
[00:05:31] Speaker B: Yes. Everybody needs their circle. And whatever values it is that you're looking for in there. Having that circle is really helpful for mental health. Yeah, for everything, really.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Now you have your own podcast.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: I do, yes. So my podcast is the spells we tell ourselves, and it's more manifestation, kind of based and business related. So it's more of talking about, like, money blocks and repairing money wounds and manifesting your dream life. And then I've also talked about, like, astrology and astrological placements and what your birth chart means. And I've had people come on and talk about human design. So it is very much a woo woo podcast.
[00:06:16] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I've been listening to it. It's awesome.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: Oh, thank you so much. I have so much fun recording that podcast because it is very much my outlet for me to just, like, let me talk about why the moon in Gemini is significant for the next 15 minutes.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: See, that part I don't understand. I don't understand the astrology part about it, but I'm definitely very into the spiritual aspect of it. Astrology, for me, feels a little overwhelming because it's so. There's so much. There's so much to learn.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: There is so much. And it is overwhelming when you first start cracking into it, because for a long time, I feel like I just knew what my sun sign is, like, my zodiac sign. I'm a Capricorn. And I was like, oh, yeah, I'm a Capricorn. And then I started digging in. It's like, wow, there's so much.
It doesn't even really scratch the surface.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's so odd how, like, because I'm a Gemini sun and then I'm a Pisces moon, I think, is what it is. And so I've tried to dig in to understand what all that means a little bit. And like I said, I get really overwhelmed. So for somebody who is interested, maybe we have a new moo woo mom, or we have somebody who's interested in getting started. What's a great place for them to start to really kind of not feel overwhelmed? Or is there a way to do that? Do you just jump right in?
[00:07:46] Speaker B: I think it would depend on what they're interested in. Like, if they're interested in jumping into astrology, start off with the big three. So the sun sign, the moon sign, and the rising sign, starting off with those three things, and then just ignore the rest until you get comfortable with it.
Or maybe it is just starting with your sun sign, which is the sign that is based off of your birthday for anybody who doesn't know and just get comfortable with that. But if somebody is more interested in crystals and nature, then that's a different, sorry avenue that you can take and that there's so much that you could possibly get into because it's like we were talking about it. Woo woo is such a big term now. It's such a catch all term.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: How did you get started into this whole world of. Because you do yoga and you do all, you do have other services. When did you first start kind of going that way where you realized, oh, I'm, I'm a spiritual, you know, I'm going on the spiritual path. Because for me, it was honestly probably around the pandemic where I started being.
[00:09:02] Speaker B: Like, there was a huge awakening for people around the pandemic. You are not alone in that. So I was raised by a yoga teacher. So, like, the idea of yoga and breathing was something that just was a part of my childhood.
And I'm sure that had some influences on me. But, I mean, I've identified as pagan and spiritual since as young as like twelve or something like that. I remember being in middle school and talking about witchcraft and stuff with a friend. So it's something that I've just kind of grown up with. And I've always been a look at the moon, look at the stars kind of person, and tracking where the moon is in the sky and knowing when the new moons and the full moons are.
But I feel like when I really started to dig in on this was when I was 24 and I got divorced from my first husband. And I just was in that relationship. It was like a five year relationship that, you know, hindsight is 2020 would have never lasted more than three months. And I was in that relationship for so long that when I came out of it, it was like, okay, well, who am I? Because me pretending to be the person that he saw and that he wanted me to be is not working for me because I don't like the way things are right now. So I had to do a lot of introspection and figuring out what I wanted out of my life, what I wanted out of relationships, what my values were. And that's when I started doing shadow work and looking at my subconscious self and trying to figure out, okay, like, how did I end up in this situation where I was manipulated to be a person that is vastly different than who I am at my core? And why did I feel the need to change myself in this way and kind of coming back almost to the beginning and being? And that's when I started getting into tarot reading. That's. I think I started my, started my yoga teacher training when I was 27, or I started out when I was 26, and then I finished it when I was 27, somewhere in there.
And then I had a baby when I was 28. And that's also when the pandemic kicked off.
So I was alone and unemployed for the most part, throughout the. All of 2020 and into 2021, and I was starting to just notice, like, how I was feeling about being a mom and how I was feeling about being parenting. And I. Some of it is like, you see all this stuff on social media of, like, oh, these kids are stressing me out. I just need a glass of wine, and I can't wait for my mommy juice. And, like, I. I don't say any of this to shame anybody, so anybody who's listening, like, this is a judgment free mentality, but it was just me noticing. Noticing, like, I don't like this about myself. And so I wanted to change it and was like, okay, well, why do I feel the need to have a glass or two of wine every night? And it was because of my overstimulation and my feeling, like, anger was the default, even though, like, she was, you know, six months old, and it's like she's done nothing because she's six months old. So trying to figure out what exactly I wanted my parenting lifestyle to look like. And I knew that I felt shitty whenever my parents yelled at me when I was a kid, and I felt shitty when I was spanked, and I felt terrible when I was forced to be, like, hyper independent from a young age. So I was like, okay, well, what do I want to. How do I want to rewrite the script into something that I think is more sustainable?
[00:13:14] Speaker A: And that's how you started. Got started with the podcast and with all the services that you offer.
[00:13:19] Speaker B: Well, I started the podcast more of, like, a. I like talking about spirituality, but I don't necessarily have a lot of friends who are into the same things. And, like, that's fine, but I also know that there is a whole bunch of people that are into that. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna put it on the Internet.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:13:38] Speaker B: Yeah, I started my business originally as just teaching yoga and doing tarot readings here and there.
And I started it because I was unemployed in the pandemic, because my grant contract fell apart. And I was like, well, I'm going to make a little bit of money doing this, and then I'll go back to work after I find a full time job. But because I started all of this introspection and, like, what I wanted my motherhood experience to be, it kind of got to the point where I was like, okay, well, what do I want to do about work? Because having a nine to five, that's really inflexible, and that isn't going to be conducive for parenting and, like, going to the dance recitals and the team sports and, like, this.
[00:14:23] Speaker A: That.
[00:14:24] Speaker B: The other thing, it was kind of like, oh, well, I guess I've learned to add mentorship into my services, so that way I can eventually quit my nine to five job and actually have the lifestyle that I want.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: So it's interesting how one thing always bleeds into another.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: Yeah. Especially when you're following your passion and following the path that you feel like you need to be on it. It seems to unfold a little.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: It does, yeah.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: With ease when you finally get on that path.
You mentioned something about shadow work earlier, and I want to be sure to explain that to anybody who's listening might not know what that is. What does that look like?
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Sure. So it. It can look like so many things, but essentially, shadow work is a. It was discovered by a psychotherapist named Carl Jung. So if anybody who has followed youngonian psychology knows that there is the idea of looking into the subconscious mind to.
This isn't the correct wording, but essentially figure out our own personal behaviors. Okay, so the shadow self, the part of you that lives at the subconscious, beneath the surface, is formed during childhood. So when we think about things that our parents may have taught us, whether it be parenting styles, whether it be what we think money looks like or earning money versus receiving money. And, like, my. My dad worked 60 hours a week doing a heavy duty.
He worked for a cable company for a long time when I was little. And so, like, these. This grueling job for 60 hours a week. And the mentality is you have to work hard in order to make the money of your desires, where that doesn't necessarily have to be true. So it's breaking down these beliefs that we have learned generally during our childhood, but sometimes during our teen years as well, in order to move past any sort of, like, trauma, be able to bring in the life that we actually want, increase self confidence, increase self trust. Like, all of these things.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: Okay, that's an awesome explanation. That was.
So what are some ways that people can do that? Is that journaling? Is that working with somebody like you? All of the above.
[00:16:54] Speaker B: So it is kind of an all of the above type of thing. One of the things that I have loved about practicing shadow work is it doesn't have to be the same thing over and over again. When I first started doing shadow work, it was a lot of journal and a lot of meditation. However, I also can't sit still for more than 15 minutes, like, physically unable. So there's also shadow work of when you go for a walk, just noticing how certain things make you feel, noticing how you feel in your own body is shadow work.
I have found tarot cards and doing tarot readings to be really helpful with shadow work. There are actually a lot of therapists and psychiatrists who are starting to add shadow work into what they do. So somebody who maybe has experienced a lot of trauma in their past would be better off going to somebody who is a licensed clinical mental health counselor. Something along those lines.
A lot of them are starting to add in some of these more, like, untraditional things because they do have a lot of benefits into it.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: I love that. I think that's amazing. So one of the things I want to ask so we. You help business owners. Now, do you help, is it mainly business owners who have spiritual type businesses, or is it all types of businesses, and then you help them kind of insert the woo into that, or what. How does that. What does that look like?
[00:18:24] Speaker B: So with. With all that I do, like, I essentially have two branches of my business. One is more of the moms in business yelling less at your kids, drinking less, if that's a goal for you, and all around feeling more comfortable as a parent and a business owner and managing all of the things that come along with that. And then the spells we tell ourselves is more around the lines of, like, money blocks and manifestation, but they tend to talk about the same things, like when you break it down, it's just two separate niches that I tend to work with. For the spells we tell ourselves, it's generally people who are already spiritual based.
With moms in business, it's flexible. It doesn't necessarily have to be something super spiritual. And I've worked with people of all different types of religions because there are ways that we can frame it where it can feel comfy for everybody.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
Now, the moms in business, is that a Facebook group? Is that. What does that look like? If anybody is interested in joining?
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Yeah. So, of course, there's my instagram, which is just Libby Duffy underscore. And that's probably the best way to get, like, an introduction to my. To my services. I do have a Slack membership group. I don't know. I've had so many tech issues with Facebook, and I don't like the way Facebook structures the groups where you see something on top that's from like a week ago and then the thing from an hour ago. Is buried down. So I. I prefer slack.
And I just like it better because I can also put in, like, little voice notes and I can put in documents and that kind of thing in there.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: Yeah, Slack's great. We use it at work. It's a great tool.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: I love slack. And then I just use a, like, I use zoom for video calls and, like, all that kind of stuff.
[00:20:23] Speaker A: Awesome. And is that if anybody wants to join that, do you have like weekly meetings or check ins or monthly or. What is it? Is it kind of like a whatever happens that week or is there a structure to it?
[00:20:36] Speaker B: So, yes, there is a loose structure. I say loose because it's like we're all moms, and it's kind of hard to make everybody's schedule fit on one thing.
[00:20:44] Speaker A: Right.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: But I do have monthly trainings in there. I have monthly eft tapping scripts. So EFT is emotional freedom techniques, and it's also just called tapping. And you tap around your face, on your collarbones and underneath your arms, on top of your head. And it is a good way for moving energy and rewriting subconscious beliefs. So that's something that I offer to my moms in there.
And then other than that, I put in weekly meditations, weekly tarot polls.
There's a lot of posting of mom memes in there and just kind of like, shit posting because it's good to vent. Like, it's nice to just have a place where it's like, dude, my partner right now who's driving me up a.
[00:21:37] Speaker A: Wall, you just need that safe space to vet. I totally get that. And I love that you offer that.
Moms in business, right?
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Yes. So it is very much like there's a loose structure, but then there's also just kind of like, you will not believe what happened today.
[00:21:56] Speaker A: I know. Yes. I think we all have this moment.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: We all need it.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: We all need it.
[00:22:03] Speaker B: You mentioned it earlier, that community has come up for you. And I was looking around at what I needed, and I was like, okay, well, what mom, who is also trying to run a business, doesn't need support or doesn't need community?
So I was like, I'm going to start this. And we're going, like, we're just going to see because we might as well.
[00:22:30] Speaker A: Well, that's kind of how I was with this podcast is I just thought, you know what? I'm going to start it and see what happens with it. And I've had such a great response so far. It's still so new, but people are really interested in, like, this community. I started a group in my local community that we meet in person. So those of us who work remotely.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: Meet in person, like, for coffee, to have a human being to be around other than the spouse or the child. And so it's just been really positive. And I feel like you're right. Something about how you mentioned it earlier, even before the pandemic, we've become more lonely. And I think we went away from that community. So I love what you're doing with your, I. Your mom's in business and anybody who's interested, definitely check it out. And you're mainly on Instagram, right?
[00:23:20] Speaker B: I'm mainly on Instagram. I don't really use my Facebook page. I also have had a hard time embracing TikTok, so mostly Instagram.
[00:23:32] Speaker A: Same. I haven't even downloaded it. I'm not on it at all.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: I have one. But do I remember to post? Not usually.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: So for anyone who is, like, thinking of thinking that they want to add woo to their life. And we talked about this earlier about this, you know, for astrology, for example, just to kind of focus on yourself, are there any books that you recommend or any starter tarot decks or anything that. Yes. Okay.
[00:24:04] Speaker B: So I love this.
I love this topic. So for the, for tarot cards, I think the easiest one to learn on is just the traditional rider waite tarot deck. And then from there, there are, once you have a good feel for it, then branching out and getting other decks. Like at this point, I have probably ten or twelve or some odd decks. I don't even know.
But the, the traditional one is really helpful. But realistically, you're going to want to go for the one that calls out to you, because if it's not something that feels right for you, then you're not going to do it.
As far as books go, I really liked the untethered soul. It's by.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Yes, I have it right here. Michael Singer.
[00:25:00] Speaker B: It's right here, Michael Singer. Thank you. I was like, I'm not going to get this. Like, I. I love that book. I have found that book to be really helpful.
What else have I found to be really helpful?
From a money business kind of side of thing? There is a book.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: If you can't remember, we can always add it to the show notes later and we can be sure to give it a shout out.
[00:25:31] Speaker B: It is. I'm going. I will get there. It's by Amanda Francis.
I think it's called we should all be rich as fuck.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: Oh, did I read that?
[00:25:43] Speaker B: I love her tone of voice. And I have found that one to be really, really great of manifesting money and putting yourself in the mindset of what you deserve versus what is being offered to you.
[00:25:57] Speaker A: I think I did. Yes, I did. I just, I just actually, I listened to the audiobook.
[00:26:02] Speaker B: Britney, you and I should be best friends.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: It's like that meme from Seth brothers where they're like, did we just become best friends?
[00:26:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: Okay. Yes, we are. All right, cool. Yeah. Yes, I just, I have that one, too. That's so awesome.
Those are some great suggestions.
[00:26:21] Speaker B: I have loved both of those books. And the atomic habits book.
[00:26:32] Speaker A: Yes, I have that one, too.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: I forget the author's name, but I found when I was looking to restructure the way I was doing things and starting adding habits and systems into my life in order to make my life easier. So, like, the idea of having a set evening routine, like my kitchen reset to make sure everything is good for. Because half asleep, Libby can only be trusted to press the brew now button on the coffee maker. All right. She is not, she's not digging around in pantry. She's not doing anything. She's letting the dogs out, and she's pressing the button. So having a way to, like, make your life easier is just going to be a so helpful for your nervous system in general and not feeling overstimulated during the morning rush of, oh, we just got up. Now I have to get the kids ready and I have to get myself ready. And now we're out the door. And did I remember that thing? So having everything ready to go has been super helpful.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: That's awesome. And it's by James clear wrote atomic habits.
[00:27:37] Speaker B: I knew it was James, but I was like James Patterson. That's not it.
[00:27:43] Speaker A: I like his stuff, too, but that's definitely not it. Yeah, well, I could just talk to you forever about this, but we are seriously up on time and maybe we just need to have another episode.
But we, you already mentioned before your Instagram, and I'll be sure to share it in the show notes. Is there anywhere else where anybody can go to find you? Or is it mainly just Instagram?
[00:28:03] Speaker B: And then it's mainly just Instagram. So it's the my mom's in business is the Libby Duffy underscore. And then the spells we tell ourselves does have its own Instagram page as well.
[00:28:17] Speaker A: Awesome. So everybody go check those out. Give Libby a, like, follow all of those things. Go look at her. Women in moms in business, right? Moms in business.
[00:28:26] Speaker B: The group is called Spirit led moms in business and we talk about nervous system regulation, shadow work. I'm actually doing an inner child healing challenge all through June, so I'm which means just bonus eFt, bonus trainings, a lot of extra content, but I'm always doing random stuff because I get all these ideas everywhere.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: That sounds awesome. Well, thank you so much for being with me, being here with me today. And I will definitely check out her podcast too. It's really awesome if you're into all the woo woo stuff, and even if you're not, it's a great listen to get to know what some of these topics are.
Thanks again, Libby. And for all of my listeners, being different makes a difference, so let's support and inspire each other. Thanks everybody.
