Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:00]:

In this episode, I get to sit down with Andrea Tessier, a master coach specializing in internal family systems, also known as IFS or parts work. We talk about the concept of self from both an IFS and a Jungian perspective and how to connect with this calm, confident, and creative essence of who you truly are. You are going to love this conversation. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Goddess School podcast where eastern wisdom meets western mysticism. I'm your host, Lisa Marie Rankine, author, teacher, and Ayurvedic wellness coach here to help you reclaim your feminine superpowers, and I am so glad you're here. Listen, women are magical. They are intuitive, creative, wise, and magnetic.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:49]:

However, in today's fast paced world, these gifts often get buried under a more masculine way of life. Together, we'll awaken those powers. In each episode, I'll take you through sacred teachings like Ayurveda, shadow work, and the mysteries of archetypes and rituals so you can live with more clarity, synchronicity, and joy in all realms of life, like relationships, health, money, and more. So let's dive in so you can make the most of your one mythic life. The veil is parting. Let's begin. Well, hello, beautiful souls. I am here today with Andrea Tessier.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:01:31]:

She is a master coach and she is also an expert on internal family systems. Now, I did a podcast episode with Andrea a while back when I first started the podcast. I think it's episode nine. So if you like this conversation and you haven't listened to that yet, I definitely encourage you to go back and listen to it. But welcome, Andrea. Thank you for joining me here again.

Andrea Tessier [00:01:52]:

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited for this conversation and for diving deeper.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:01:59]:

Me too. Now I did like a quick introduction, but is there anything else that you would like to say? I feel like I probably didn't do you justice. So anything else you'd like to share?

Andrea Tessier [00:02:08]:

Yeah. I mean, like you said, master life coach, IFN practitioner, work with visionary leaders, coaches, healers who are really passionate about creating change in the world and then feel stuck in themselves coming up against their own patterns that hold them back from fully fully embodying their potential. So that's up to professionally. Personally, I am an emotional generator, a three five, which means the great life experimenter, which means I get to try a whole bunch of different things and then tell people about it. I am a Virgo sun, Aries rising, Taurus moon, also dog mama to my boxer pup, Morty.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:02:57]:

Perfect. Sounds so great. So we both had mentioned IFS, and I know many people in my community might know what IFS is, but there's probably many who do not. Can you, give an overview before we start diving in?

Andrea Tessier [00:03:12]:

So IFS stands for internal family systems. It's based on the work of doctor Richard Schwartz, and it really is a transformative approach to understanding your inner world. And it's based on the idea that we are all formed of different parts or sub personalities. You'd be familiar with the inner critic or the inner perfectionist or the inner people pleaser. And kind of the the essence that holds all of that is this core that we call the self. Self energy is calm and compassionate, and I know we're diving in today. But what we're doing in IFS is IFS sees our whole inner workings like a system, and it helps you build relationships with and among these parts, not to get rid of them, but to help understand what they're protecting and why. Not with the goal of fixing yourself, but rather creating an internal harmony so that you allow self to lead with an energy of clarity and compassion.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:04:23]:

Oh, that's beautiful I love the idea of not fixing yourself too because I feel like for many of us on a personal growth or spiritual development path there's kind of this sense of I need to fix myself and that's not it at all. It's really more about just expansion, being able to reclaim, accept, create the space to hold all parts of yourself.

Andrea Tessier [00:04:49]:

Totally agree. And that even the idea of fixing comes from a manager part of us, a part that's trying to control and get ahead, and it makes so much sense. But when our personal development journey is guided by a part, right, that's trying to be protective rather than productive, we end up feeling stuck or resentful, or it just throws our system and out of whack and means that other parts need to come up to, like, create more balance. And so I love personal growth. It's not only my work, my life's work, but it's just part of what I enjoy doing. But we need to make sure that in that pursuit of growth, it's coming from a sure desire to expand. Mhmm.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:05:40]:

Yeah. One of the reasons that I love talking to you and I love having you, I mean, besides to the fact that you're just a really fun, awesome person, is that a lot of the work that we do in my community is really based on the teachings of Carl Jung, and it's very similar to internal family systems. And I think we go more into this in episode nine, so I won't repeat that episode. But Carl Jung really talked about the path of individuation as far as reclaiming all these different parts of ourselves that are often repressed or suppressed, their shadow parts. And we also have the parts that we consciously know, like the personas, like, today, I am supermom, or tomorrow, I am an entrepreneur, and and tonight, I'm going to be a sexy lover. Right? We have all these personas as well too. But so we have all of these different parts of ourselves. Some are conscious and some are unconscious.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:06:30]:

So the work that you do is really, like, right in line with a lot of the work that we do within my community and just even here on the podcast. So I think it's really fantastic when we see different, like, modalities and different worlds combined because it really starts to point to a common truth of, you know, what it is we're here trying to do. So today, I was really interested in exploring the concept of self with you because I know that's a big part of IFS. It's also probably the most significant part of the work with Young as well. But can you explain a little bit about self self energy?

Andrea Tessier [00:07:09]:

Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. So the first thing I have to say is that, like, self energy is always there. Right? It's like the sun behind the clouds. We don't need to go looking for the sun. Right? It's right there in front of you. Right? You need to don't need to go and get it.

Andrea Tessier [00:07:26]:

You don't need to develop it. Right? Our work is really to support ourselves in unburdening what's in the way of accessing that brightness. And so in IFS, we define self energy as this calm, passionate, wise core that's the essence above who you are. It's not a part. It's actually just you. Most people, when they connect with it, they're like, oh, that's who I am. Right? Beyond thoughts, emotions, roles, protective parts, Like I said, it's not something that you develop you already are, and it just gets obscured when protective parts are in overdrive. Some key qualities, and they call them the eight c's.

Andrea Tessier [00:08:12]:

Self energy is calm and curious, compassionate, confident, clear, connected, creative, and courageous. But I actually think that there's a ninth c. The ninth c is choice. Right? The ninth c shows us that we actually have choice over our lives, where we're going, what we're doing. And for me, choice is all about freedom. Right? When we we have choice, we have freedom.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:08:40]:

Yeah.

Andrea Tessier [00:08:41]:

And so while the eight c's describe, like, the qualities of self, they also have we also have the five p's that show, like, how this shows up in real life. So self energy shows up when we're really present. You know, when you're, like, having a conversation with a friend and you're fully there in the moment and attentive without being distracted, without trying to solve their problems, you're just there. Self energy shows up as a patience, allowing something to unfold in its own time without needing to, like, have everything complete by the deadline that you just made up yourself and then go into a whole cycle of putting pressure on yourself because you made up a deadline. Right? Self energy has the quality of persistence. Right? It's gentle. It's steady. It's committed to growth and healing or whatever project that you're working on, returning to your work.

Andrea Tessier [00:09:37]:

Like, both of us have these businesses that you just keep going, you return to time and time again even when it feels like it's not working. Self energy gives us perspective. Right? When we're so stuck in a part or a survival pattern, we can only see what's directly in front of us. We get so hyperfixated. Self energy gives us bigger picture beyond the immediate problem or reaction. It can, like, zoom out and give us the hundred foot view. It it can notice, oh, that's a part of me that's activated right now. Right? It's not me.

Andrea Tessier [00:10:13]:

And self energy also has this quality of playfulness. And so when you're tapped into self energy, you might feel, like, light and open and silly even when things are challenging. Like, you're more willing to try things that are new without worrying about getting it perfect. You're just in it for the joy of it.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:10:33]:

Oh, I love the five p's. Mhmm. Yeah. So one of the things that you said early on when you were explaining the self, you're like, the self is always there. It's who we are. It's our essence. It's not a part. It just gets obscured, I believe, by maybe, like, kind of, like, the busyness or the different parts that come up.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:10:54]:

So how do we unobscure it? How do we free the self? Because I can just imagine many people are listening like, well, yes. That sounds great, but that's the issue is that there is all of this, you know, activity going on in my mind and protector parts.

Andrea Tessier [00:11:09]:

Yes. There's so much noise. There's so much activity. And the idea is that we have to acknowledge what is in front of us. Right? It's it isn't about being emotionless or zen all the time. Right? It's not something that you have to earn or achieve. We do wanna be able to, like, unblend is an IFS term for not being so caught up and intertwined with the perfectionist, the people pleaser, the critic, the fixer, the doer, the good mom parts of us. You know? That it's like when we're so enmeshed in that, we call it blended.

Andrea Tessier [00:11:49]:

We can only start to unblend from something when we can name it, when we can acknowledge, hey. Like, that's a thing. Oh my gosh. I do that. And it gives you a little bit window of space. And after you accept it and acknowledge it, you have awareness. Right? And that's where some of that, like, the ninth c of choice can come in. So we can't heal or and blend with something that we haven't named yet.

Andrea Tessier [00:12:19]:

So that's a first part is being able to see it, and that's why people hire therapists and coaches because when it's just you, you just think, like, that's who I am. It always has to be that way, but it's not.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:12:36]:

Yeah. That's so important. And I think that's a really good Good point to highlight is that these things are really hard to see on your own because they're deeply ingrained and that is like why when whether you do group work or working with coaches to kind of help you start to identify where are what are my beliefs that are leading me to act a certain way? Like, when am I activated? Or even, like, what story am I telling myself about a situation? So important because if it was easy, right, we would all be connected to self all the time.

Andrea Tessier [00:13:10]:

Yeah. And, I mean, the ancients knew how you could take that pause. Right? They knew that it was about the breath. Right? If we can pause and be in those moments and when we have that awareness, taking an intentional breath, you know, either a slow, steady four count one, it can give you the reset that you need to pause. If your parts are what's driving, you have to stop driving. Right? And the breath gives you that beautiful pause, naming what's here. Right? And you might notice somatically, oh, there's tension in my chest. Oh, I'm holding my belly.

Andrea Tessier [00:13:50]:

Oh, I've got that pain behind my shoulders. Or even naming what's here like, oh, I'm I'm in a pattern of overdo I'm eating, and I didn't realize I was eating. Like, stop and name what's here, not from judgment, but to be able to create a space between you and what's being activated. And then inviting in a level of curiosity. Like, not criticism, but, like, it's not like, why am I like this? Why am I still doing this? I thought I healed this already. No. But curiosity softens the critic. And to go deeper, like, we must soften first.

Andrea Tessier [00:14:34]:

And any amount of criticism or self judgment is not a level of softening. Another way to tap into self energy that I love is, like, moving the body. A walk, even some shaking, some dancing, get you, like, unstuck and connected to yourself again, grounding into your senses. Right? And then I have us processes guide you into, like, visualizing, like, was that calm, wise part of you and feeling into it. And if you can get to a place where you can say, okay. A part of me is feeling stressed, but I am not my stress. I am not my overwhelm. A part of me is anxious, but I am not my anxiety.

Andrea Tessier [00:15:17]:

Right? I am the one noticing it. Again, it's just giving you a little bit more room to be a witness to it, and we need that space to be able to start working with and be in relationship with those parts of us because we're not trying to get rid of them. There is no agenda to completely get rid of all of our parts. That's not the point of IFS. But what we do wanna do is build a relationship with them. So it's almost like they can turn towards you, turn towards self, and go, oh, you are in charge here. And that moment, it happens with my clients all of the time when parts realize that the grown person sitting there, like, self energy is in charge. They haven't realized it.

Andrea Tessier [00:16:11]:

They've been going on with their agenda for so long, it can soften. And they're like, oh, okay. I can let you help me with this. Yeah.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:16:20]:

So lovely. And I really like to think of, like, this work and, you know, when we look at the work of Carl Jung as really being able to tap into these unseen forces that shape our reality because we're not always consciously aware of them, but they start to come up. But that's part of what we're here to do has been like, yeah. Oh, that's interesting, that reaction I just had to my partner when he said this or, you know, that's really and to get really curious about, like, where is that coming from?

Andrea Tessier [00:16:50]:

Where else is that showing up for me? And who might this be protecting?

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:16:56]:

Yeah. One of the things that you had said that really makes me, you know, also think of the similarities in the teachings is, you know, in my community, we work a lot with archetypes and, you know, archetypes are universal patterns or behaviors or energies. We can look at the pantheons of gods and goddesses across different cultures, where we see, like, the goddess of love and the god of war and, you know, goddesses of fertility. And archetypes is sometimes we can get possessed by an archetype. Like, whenever we've said, like, oh, my God, I don't know just what got into me. You know, I just wasn't acting like myself or, like, I can't believe I just did that. Right? It's almost like this archetypal possession, which we don't wanna get possessed by archetypes, but it's really important to understand when we are being influenced because they have their own motivations that are separate themselves. Like, they're autonomous, really, within us.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:17:50]:

And it sounds very similar to maybe when that inner child or that inner critic comes up, and it's almost like this possession. Is that is that resonate? Or what are you sending me?

Andrea Tessier [00:18:01]:

Yeah. You're using the word possession, but, like, that's how we would use the word blended.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:18:05]:

Yeah.

Andrea Tessier [00:18:06]:

Yeah. And, you know, we will IFS does sort of say that everybody has the same parts. They just have different stories, different burdens, different life experiences, but they do manifest in really similar ways. There are two really key categories of protectors, one being managers, one being firefighters in the system. Managers are, like, the pro proactive parts that keep you on track. They are the critics and the judges. They are they're always on. Right? And they have really legitimate fears around, like, letting go of control.

Andrea Tessier [00:18:46]:

They have a positive function of to help you improve or just, like, function in society. Right? If I didn't have healthy manager parts, I wouldn't have been on time for a meeting. Yeah. But I wouldn't have had a really, like, a healthy lunch to get me through the rest of the afternoon. Right? I wouldn't have poured myself a glass of water. Like, our manager parts are very important. They're responsible. They're rational.

Andrea Tessier [00:19:09]:

They're reliable. They're thoughtful. They're our planners. They're our analyzers. They're our caretakers. They're our achievers. They're cautious and discerning. And so that's, like, one category of parts.

Andrea Tessier [00:19:24]:

But in their extreme position, they can get really authoritative. They can get really critical. They can get blaming. They can get perfectionistic or rescuing or controlling. They're really focused on the outward. And that's how, like, our self improvement journey can go from self improvement to self loathing and contempt very quickly. Yeah. And so people have really common managers.

Andrea Tessier [00:19:50]:

Most people will identify with a critic or a perfectionist. They also have judges. We also have reasonable or logic parts. We have parts that strive and fix and caretaker and rescue and control. We all have them. And it's often, like, our managers that are telling the stories of our lives, and we overidentify them with them. And those are the parts that we want the world to see. Right? What do you do? It's like the first question most people ask.

Andrea Tessier [00:20:19]:

Right? But they keep us living like neck up. And so this is where the other category of parts come in that we call firefighters. While managers prevent and they're proactive, firefighters take us out. They provide relief because those managers get really intense. Right? If they're always going, always doing, always producing, always stressed, like, if managers are doing that, we need a deep pressure valve. And that's where a firefighter comes in. They come in to balance out the system or protect, like, those really vulnerable exiles.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:20:59]:

Yeah. I think some of these words might be new to the audience. Like, so can you give, like, maybe a specific example of, like, a firefighter and how it would protect an exile just to kinda make it really clear for

Andrea Tessier [00:21:11]:

folks. Yeah. So I was gonna just describe firefighters. Firefighters take you out. They are the parts that numb. They're the parts that scroll. They're the parts that have an extra glass of wine even though you don't really need one. They're the parts that overeat, that overindulge, that online shop.

Andrea Tessier [00:21:30]:

These are the parts that are not these are the parts that might be addictive and go into addictive processes or eating disorders at an extreme. They're the parts that, like, might have an outburst of rage because their needs haven't been met. Basically, anything can turn into a firefighter, but a firefighter behavior is really impulsive, really compulsive, and doesn't really care about the consequences. It's just like, I don't care. I'm eating a whole pizza. Whatever. Right? And so an example would be and I'll give you a personal example of that. I think the last time I gave an example around, like, food and eating, but that one's really alive for people.

Andrea Tessier [00:22:17]:

Like, I've had, you know, really rigid parts in my system that have controlled what I eat, how much I can eat because they had certain ideals about body image and size and the aesthetic. So but I also have these firefighter parts that, like, love sweets and love to indulge, yes, for the pleasure of it. But, also, when those managers are so annoying and extreme and, like, can't help me find balance, these parts are like, you know what? We're just eating the all of the ice cream in the container. You know? And then how it works is the managers then come back on that lawn, and they're like, okay. Well, we messed up this weekend, but back to the gym, gluten free, no sugar, no alcohol for thirty days. But both of these parts are really protecting an exile underneath. And so while they are balancing one another out in our system, they're also trying to protect this little one, often an inner child, a wounded, tender, sweet one. And for me, in that example, it was one that just, like, felt sad.

Andrea Tessier [00:23:33]:

It just didn't have the attention that she wanted, that needed something to help her sue, that felt lonely. And firefighter would come in and come home from school every day and have a bowl of ice cream. And so that's to say where our managers might be the ones that are like, okay. I need to hire a coach, and I need to hire a trainer, and I really need to get myself on track because that that eating is the problem. No. The problem is is that they're so out of balance with each other. They're not in relationship, and we get to go and connect with the inner child. Because when that one is feeling safe and soothed and integrated from self energy, then we can continue our process of awakening.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:24:25]:

Oh, that's a great example. Thank you. So just To kind of reiterate or clarify when in that example that you gave Would people wouldn't work with like trying to calm down the firefighter or lighten up the manager? It's really working on the inner child. Is that correct? Or, like, how or what would be, like, the strategy in that instance?

Andrea Tessier [00:24:47]:

All of it. Because it's a system, we get to work with all aspects of the system. We wanna build the relationship between the managers and firefighters who probably up until now have been at odds thinking the other one's the problem. Right? And it's kind of like if you were working with a couple, right, you would wanna go and kind of hear both sides, hear everybody's intent, and see if we can find common ground. We're doing this thing with these two aspects, and then you would get to a point in a session where they're like, well, I just don't want you to feel sad.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:25:23]:

Well, I just

Andrea Tessier [00:25:24]:

don't want you to feel sad. Nobody wants this part to feel sad. What if I can go from self energy and help the one that's sad? Would you be wanting to relax? And they're like, okay. And then we can go and connect with that little one. And so it's both. It's the parts get to feel accepted and valid in the efforts that they have made to try to support you up until now because it's needed and it's worked. Right? You've needed the structure, and you've needed to let loose a little bit. And you've needed some protection from the sad one because chances are when we kinda started to be burdened by those big feelings, whether it's sadness, loneliness, fear, humiliation, shame, we didn't have the support around us.

Andrea Tessier [00:26:19]:

And so the parts had to come in and do their best. But the funny thing is is when you do this work with people is the parts don't realize that you've grown up. Like, they don't realize that you're a grown person and can hold this and do this differently because they didn't have that. And so we got to go and offer our systems a redo. And from a neuroscience perspective, we're really just rewiring neural pathways.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:26:50]:

It's such a beautiful way to approach the patterns of behaviors that hold us back where everything that we do is for a reason, and it's because it worked at one point. So it takes away, like, the shame or guilt where it's like, I can't believe that I'm doing this because it's like, well, there's a reason. There's a very good reason that you're doing this. Now that behavior or pattern might not get you to where you wanna go, which is why we do the work so we can start, but there's no shame about it. There's no there's no bad parts. Everyone's working to create some sort of homeostasis. It might not always work, but there that's the intent. Exactly.

Andrea Tessier [00:27:29]:

The system's really working really hard to create balance in there, create a level of homeostasis in the best way that they know how. When the managers get more intense, firefighters get more intense. And there and that's why it can feel for people very confusing and very overwhelming because there are all these parts doing their best to create balance for you inside, not realizing that the sun is there. The self is there, and all we need to do is turn towards it. And we often need someone to guide us to that place, someone that can bring a critical mass of self energy themselves. And working with a practitioner like myself, like the many practitioners that are out there, helping people tune into that essence that's there and kind of giving them an introduction.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:28:24]:

Yeah. That's lovely. I wanted to, share a little bit just as well too. So you described the self in terms of IFS because self is also a really big part of the Jung Jungian concepts that we often talk about. Now with that, the self is actually the center of the psyche, and it's the circumference of the psyche, which is kind of an interest. So it contains all of you. But it's also the part that we want to go to when we're really trying to figure out, what do I want my life to be like? Like, how, you know, what is my purpose? How do I want to evolve? And so if we think of everything that's contained within the psyche, it's our ego, like, who am I? I'm Lisa, and I came here on this podcast to talk to Andrea, and, you know, to talk about it. It's like who I think I am and how I present myself to the world.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:29:13]:

It's our personas. So these are the conscious parts, but then there's all these unconscious parts, which might be the shadow parts, parts of myself that are in conflict with the ego, and also the collective unconscious as well, too. So just all of the different archetypes and energies that are around. And that's where it's when we're sometimes self sabotaging. It's like, oh, there's a part of you, you know, your ego might say you want some one thing, but there's another part of you that probably wants something else. And that's kind of the work is to uncover, like, why do I have these patterns when people say, like, why do I keep dating the same type of person? Why do I never have enough money? You know? And it's like, oh, well, there's more to it than what you're consciously aware of. There's a lot going on unconscious, these, like, unseen factors that are shaping our reality, and that's the part we start to get really curious about. And even though I'm using different words, it still seems very similar to me to IFS.

Andrea Tessier [00:30:11]:

Yeah. It sounds really similar to me as well, and I don't know a ton about Jungian psychology or the archetypes, but, yeah, like, everything that you say. And that's what we're doing in IFS is people are so blended with or so aware of maybe certain patterns that they wanna change, and not a way of, like, the other side of it. I have to change this, you know, drinking problem that I have, or I have to change this addiction problem or the scrolling or this numbing problem that I have, not realizing that the one that wants it to change also is a part, also has an agenda. And so being able to reflect that back to people is critical is critical in being able to unblend from them and coming into the the wise the wise one that it's there. Mhmm.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:31:00]:

Now you talked a few about, like, a few ways of connecting back with self or maybe maybe a better word would be saying kind of removing the obstacles that are getting in the way of self. One of my favorite that you had mentioned is just going for a walk, getting outside, like, just moving your body. I also feel that it takes time and dedicated practice. And in this hustle and bustle of life, like, I need to get so many things done, and I'm so busy, It's kind of hard to to realign with self, whether we're talking about self IFS or self Jungian. What are your thoughts about that? Because everybody's so busy, and everybody's looking at things all of the time. It does seem to be some intention behind it.

Andrea Tessier [00:31:51]:

Yeah. I mean, you have to have reason for it. Right? You have to have a reason to wanna pause and do things differently. And until you find that reason, you'll just keep doing what you're always doing till you have a reason to change. But, I mean, yes, getting outside and, yes, you know, doing some breath work, some meditation, but, like, you can take a minute. Like and we can do this right now for the next minute. Close your eyes down and on. Bite your listeners to do this with us, and we'll do this right now.

Andrea Tessier [00:32:19]:

Unless you're driving, don't close your eyes, but you can do this as well. Take a breath. Right? Inhaling through the nose, exhaling out the mouth. Place a hand on your heart, and you'll turn your attention inward and just kind of collecting all of the bits of attention that have been going outwards and bringing them in. And then you'll ask, what part of me needs my attention right now? What part of me needs my attention right now? Just notice what comes up without any judgment. And then we can come back out. Even just guiding you through that, I noticed, like, a attention through my, like, forehead that I wasn't even aware of. I was like, oh, okay.

Andrea Tessier [00:33:30]:

That's interesting. Maybe with this part, Naze, is just, like, after we complete here, just five or ten minutes to just, like, turn the lights off and chill. Yeah. And it's seriously that simple. So that's one takeaway that your listeners can have is pausing and checking in. And you can do that, like, while you go to the bathroom or brush your teeth. Like, what part of me needs my attention right now?

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:33:59]:

Yeah. I love that practice.

Andrea Tessier [00:34:02]:

Just so beautiful. Just to

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:34:03]:

be able to tune back into yourself. I mean, I really I believe that people should do that several times a day, just tuning in. Yeah. Like, what do I need? And maybe it's even like, oh, I need to pee. I should get up and pee. I should have a glass of water, but checking in to see how your body feels as well. Exactly. Exactly that.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:34:22]:

I wanna ask one one more question before we wrap up that's not entirely aligned with what we've been talking about, but I'm really curious for your about your take as we kind of touched upon this earlier on. I remember someone had asked me before about personal development work, but, like, when does it end? What would your response to that be?

Andrea Tessier [00:34:46]:

Oh, that's so cute. You know, it's so interesting. I started a YouTube channel, and one of the videos that I'm just editing right now is about just that. So you guys need to come and be one of my first subscribers on my channel. Yeah. I think I'm titling it something like manager parts when self improvement turns into I'm playing with the last word. So come and check it out. It's gonna it's coming live in the next week.

Andrea Tessier [00:35:19]:

But it's true. Like, for me, growth is one of my core values. You know, I am here to support the raising of consciousness on the planet, And I believe to do that, I need to be doing my own work, and nobody has it all figured out yet. Right? But I do believe that if we are all doing our own part, that we'll have all of the pieces that we need. And I don't think that, like, consciousness ever ends, you know, and until at least as humans. Maybe there are other being forms, Buddhas that have achieved some level of enlightenment. So maybe if we need a hard past end, it's like enlightenment, a Buddha.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:36:10]:

I know. I have many more lifetimes before that, so I'll just keep working.

Andrea Tessier [00:36:17]:

And that's okay. Yeah. You know, this also say that, like, it's spiritually lazy to think that the the work that you're doing in this lifetime is only for this lifetime. Yeah. Right? It's for it's not just for us. It's for the people that are following us. It's for the those that are ahead. It's also for people and ourselves in future lifetimes.

Andrea Tessier [00:36:40]:

And so there is no there. There is right here. And something that I've learned in ceremony is, like, the point is just to experience it all, and self energy knows that. Manager parts do not. Manager parts that are hustling to fix you because you aren't good enough, those parts are going to get exhausted, and those parts wanted to be over already. Guaranteed. I've experienced those parts as well, and those parts are the ones that got me into personal development to begin with. Right? Because I had just had a breakup that blindsided me.

Andrea Tessier [00:37:19]:

I finally had the courage to look inward, and I realized, all of these people have broken up with me in the same way. Maybe they're not the problem. And it was the first time that I was like, Maybe I should look here so that I can, you know, have more success in a relationship. That was my way in. Thank goodness my manager parts got me in. There was an element of curiosity, but manager parts that were ready to do the work. And they got me to a certain extent, and I'm so grateful that they did because I'm aligned with my path and my purpose now. Thank you.

Andrea Tessier [00:37:55]:

And that's where self energy could take over because now this is so much bigger than getting into a relationship. This is my purpose. This is how I wanna evolve. And it's not just emotionally and mentally. It's how do I wanna take care of my body so that I can continue to grow. How can I take care of my mind? How can I take care of my the people around me in my relationship so that we all continue to grow? And my personal belief and philosophy is, like, the world is pretty amped up. We'll just say it. Like, everything that's going out there is cuckoo bananas right now, and it cannot be waiting for a single leader to be doing the work.

Andrea Tessier [00:38:37]:

What's going to balance out that system is us, us doing our consciousness work. And so I am of the opinion that the work doesn't end until you are a Buddha. And then even when you are, you're still out on the streets helping people get there too.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:38:55]:

Beautiful. And I think that's actually a really great place to end. But I want to make sure I I'll put your YouTube, your website, your Instagram, everything in the show notes. Any final things you'd like

Andrea Tessier [00:39:06]:

to say? Or Oh, that was fun. I love chatting with you. We always have, like, a fun curveball question. And I'm like, what's gonna come out of my mouth? I would love if your listeners definitely come check out the YouTube channel if you wanna dive deeper into anything IFS or inner work related. I'm putting, like, practices and processes on there that you can do, but also any questions that you've been curious around, IFS, firefighters, self energy, managers, so much more space to go deep there. So that's IFS and inner work with Andrea. And we'll drop in the show notes. I have a really juicy three day mini activation called liberated leadership that's just to support leaders from holding it all together.

Andrea Tessier [00:39:51]:

So I support visionary women. So if these anybody is feeling stretched too thin, drowned in over responsibility, holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, definitely come check this out. There's some really beautiful processes to tap into. So

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:40:08]:

Excellent. Well, thank you for that, and it was lovely connecting with you and lovely chatting with you. So thank you so much for all of your wisdom.

Andrea Tessier [00:40:15]:

Thank you, Lisa, and thank you everybody for listening.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:40:20]:

Thanks for tuning in to the God of School podcast. I hope today's episode inspired you to reclaim your feminine magic. Now don't forget to subscribe to the show. And if you've enjoyed the podcast, please leave us a review on Apple. If you wanna dive deeper into divine feminine archetypes and reconnect with your power, check out my book, The Goddess Solution. It's packed with ancient goddess wisdom for the modern woman. You can find the book on Amazon, and the link is in the show notes. And if you are ready to embrace these practices alongside a global sisterhood, I invite you to join my Divine Feminine Mystery School, Enlivened.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:40:55]:

It's a supportive space to embody these teachings with a fantastic community of like minded women. You'll find the link in the show notes. Remember, the goddess isn't a deity outside of you. She's an

Andrea Tessier [00:41:05]:

aspect of your highest self, and you are

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:41:05]:

the goddess. Until next time, aspect of your highest self. You are the Goddess. Until next time, my friend.