Life Lessons from Stroke Survivor and Author Erica Tucci

Today, I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 11 of Erica Tucci’s Virtual Blog Tour. Erica’s book Radiant Survivor: How to Shine and Thrive through Recovery from Stroke, Cancer, Abuse, Addiction and Other Life-Altering Experiences is celebrating its big Amazon launch on November 19th, 2013 at http://www.radiantsurvivor.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php. 

Erica Tucci had a full life as a corporate manager of a Fortune 500 company, a healing arts business owner and an author of three books. It all came to a screeching halt in June 2011 when she had a stroke that left her completely paralyzed on her right side. While spending more than two years in recovery, she gained much wisdom about what's really important in life. She re-entered the world with a new mission: to use her story as an inspiration for others facing life challenges, which we all have, big or small. That story can be found in her brand new book, Radiant Survivor. Erica is also an official Online Ambassador for the American Stroke Association.

Yesterday, Erica visited Vrinda Pendred at http://conditionalpublications.com/2013/11/13/, where they talked about self-acceptance, reincarnation and relationships. 

Today, I'd like to share with you a recent interview I had with Erica when I got to ask her some questions on living in the moment, gratitude and her pearls of wisdom for others. I hope you enjoy it. 

Question: Are there aspects of mindfulness and presence instilled in your concept of living in the moment? 

Erica: That’s what living in the moment means to me. Being mindful, focused and aware of your body, thoughts and feelings of the present moment. It means not allowing yourself to be engulfed by any fears or anxieties about how things were in the past or worrying about the “what if’s” about the future. It’s about getting out of your “ego-ic” mind (or monkey mind, as I call it). It’s about observing your thoughts, instead of being your thoughts. If you are in an ego-ic state of consciousness, your monkey mind is creating your reality based on fear: fear of what was and what may be in the future. My monkey mind likes to chatter in the middle of the night. When that happens, I do Reiki on my head and remember I am being guided by Spirit. I usually will fall back into a peaceful slumber. When you live in the present moment, you are surrendering to your own inner Divinity, your inner compass, to Spirit within. You have an inner peace that all is at it should be. By knowing that you are being guided and supported all the way to the very end, there’s no need to have fear about what was or worry about what will be. You can simply live in the present, since that’s really all we have, and watch your life unfold. 

Question: I strongly feel that being grateful is one of the key aspects of changing your life for the better. It is a point I stress in my Meditation for Health Program. How has your attitude of gratitude changed your life?

Erica: When I ponder on where I was when I first had my stroke – wheelchair-bound and couldn’t even lift a finger on my paralyzed side – to where I am today, on the last stretch of my recovery, I have much to be grateful for. I truly feel that Spirit was guiding me every step of the way, allowing everything to fall into place as it should: the care I received from doctors, therapists, friends and family, even my insurance. And I’ve been blessed with so many life lessons that I learned having a stroke. This may sound kind of crazy but I feel that my stroke was a gift from the heavens for all that has opened up to me since that day in summer 2011 when my life changed dramatically. Most significant was realizing what was really important in life. Life isn’t about our outer accoutrements – material possessions, recognition or vanity. Granted, it’s nice to have these things, but they shouldn’t dictate our lives. What really matters is our relationship with ourselves and others, and especially our connection with our own inner Divinity. When we have a deep “knowing” of who we are, we are transformed, and when we are transformed, the world around us is transformed. I have a “Gratitude jar” that I started at the beginning of the year. Each time something that I am grateful for occurs, I write it on a piece of paper with the date and put it in the jar. At the end of the year on New Year’s Eve, I will open the jar and look back at all the things I have to be thankful for. You should try it!

Question: I am a fan of quotes. I feel they can be a great inspiration for others. Could you give me some quotes/pearls of wisdom gained from your recovery experience?

Erica: That’s an easy one since each chapter in my book is about a lesson I learned from having a stroke, a pearl of wisdom that I will impart to you:

• Believe in yourself and never give up
• Understand the limiting beliefs that hold you back from being all that you can be
• Be grateful and have the right attitude
• Know that your experience is part of your sacred contract with the Divine
• Surrender and let go
• Establish your support system
• See recovery as a process
• Live in the present moment
• Find out what is really important in life
• Miracles do happen

I hope these to be inspirational for anyone facing a life trauma in their own lives. Writing my book and pondering over each of these lessons as I wrote about them has been a big part of my healing process during my recovery and I will continue to carry them with me to the end of my life.

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Erica Tucci and that you’ll check out her book Radiant Survivor at http://www.radiantsurvivor.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php

Here Are Two Reasons Why You Should:

Reason 1: FREE 3-DAY EVENT

Radiant Survivor Telesummit

November 12th through 14th, 2013  

Finding Our Inner Strength! Tuesday November 12th, 2013: 12 - 1:30pm PST

The Emotional Journey of Recovery Wednesday November 13th, 2013: 12 - 1:30pm PST

Spiritual Surrender and Letting Go Thursday November 14th, 2013: 12 - 1:30pm PST

When you visit the page at the above link and request a “launch reminder”, you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Erica’s 3-day “Radiant Survivor Telesummit” which runs from November 12th through 14th, 2013, with a panel of 11 world-renowned experts on recovery and transformation. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast.

Guest Include:

• Erica Tucci – Life Coach; Reiki Master; stroke survivor; author of Radiant Survivor: How to Shine and Thrive through Recovery from Stroke, Cancer, Abuse, Addiction and Other Life-Altering Experiences
• Lynn Serafinn - Coach; marketer; author of The 7 Graces of Marketing
• Bernie Siegel MD - World-renowned surgeon; author of A Book of Miracles and The Art of Healing
• Allison Maslan - Entrepreneur; author of Blast-Off!
• Barbara Techel - Speaker; author of Through Frankie’s Eyes; contributing author for Radiant Survivor
• Sue Frederick - Author of Bridges to Heaven, I See Your Dream Job, and I See Your Soul Mate
• Deb Scott - Author of The Sky is Green and The Grass is Blue; host of "The Best People We Know Show"
• Delanie Stephenson - Stroke survivor; author The Calm before the Storm; Online Ambassador for the American Stroke Association
• Mal Duane - Alcoholism survivor; certified Life Recovery Coach; author of Alpha Chick
• Suzanne Rose Lubkowski - Energy healer; intuitive Life Coach; contributing author for Radiant Survivor
• Callie Carling - Cancer survivor; Laughter Yoga teacher; creativity coach; contributing author for Radiant Survivor

This telesummit is a completely free

“no purchase necessary” gift from Erica

To register or for more info, go to

http://radiantsurvivor.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php

Reason 2: FREE GIFTS

When you buy Erica’s book on Tuesday November 19, 2013, you can receive the MP3 downloads of all 3 days of the inspiring Radiant Survivor Telesummit, plus a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe.

To claim your FREE pass to the Radiant Survivor Telesummit

and read about the free gifts, go to:

http://www.radiantsurvivor.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php  

Thanks for reading! Please share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback. AND… be sure to follow Erica tomorrow when the next stop on her Virtual Blog Tour is Dr. Linette Montae, who will be interviewing Erica on dealing with blame and fear, lessons learned and believing in yourself. To visit that "stop" on the tour, go to http://linettemontae.com/guest-erica-tucci/.

About Me, Shawngela Pierce: I am an educator, author, reiki practitioner, business owner and meditation instructor. I am an avid meditator with a daily meditation practice of over 2 hours. I practice and teach both mindfulness meditation and qigong (chee gong). I have a masters degree in the field of education with 3 1/2 years of post-masters education in naturopathic medicine. This includes mind-body therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), botanical medicine, nutrition, hydrotherapy as well as other holistic healing modalities. I love to teach and inspire, which is something I have done for over 15-years. Because of my passion, I designed the Meditation for Health Program to help people utilize the benefits of meditation as well as other holistic lifestyle changes to live a harmonious and care-free life.