Journey into the World of Cybersecurity and Alternative Education
Sep 09, 2023Season 2Episode 4
Shireen Botha
Ready to armor up in the face of cyber threats?
Join us as we learn from Patricia Espinosa, an IT and Cyber Security consultant who's mastering cyber defense through MIT's online program. Patricia's expertise is not only in the digital realm but also extends to the tangible world of small businesses, where she shares invaluable insights on protecting their assets from cyber attacks. Her dedication to making our virtual communities safe is inspiring, revealing that cybersecurity is truly everyone's business.
But Patricia's wisdom doesn’t just end with cybersecurity. She also opens up about her exploration of the Sedona Method, a life-changing practice that allows one to let go of unwanted emotions and tap into a newfound energy and awareness. Surprisingly, Patricia mirrors this journey of self-discovery in her homeschooling experiences, navigating community resistance, and shaping perceptions along the way. It's an episode that serves as a treasure trove of knowledge for those curious about cybersecurity, personal growth, and alternative education methods. A perfect blend of tech and touch, don't miss out on this enlightening conversation with Patricia Espinosa.
Join us as we learn from Patricia Espinosa, an IT and Cyber Security consultant who's mastering cyber defense through MIT's online program. Patricia's expertise is not only in the digital realm but also extends to the tangible world of small businesses, where she shares invaluable insights on protecting their assets from cyber attacks. Her dedication to making our virtual communities safe is inspiring, revealing that cybersecurity is truly everyone's business.
But Patricia's wisdom doesn’t just end with cybersecurity. She also opens up about her exploration of the Sedona Method, a life-changing practice that allows one to let go of unwanted emotions and tap into a newfound energy and awareness. Surprisingly, Patricia mirrors this journey of self-discovery in her homeschooling experiences, navigating community resistance, and shaping perceptions along the way. It's an episode that serves as a treasure trove of knowledge for those curious about cybersecurity, personal growth, and alternative education methods. A perfect blend of tech and touch, don't miss out on this enlightening conversation with Patricia Espinosa.
Tales from the Wild, stories from the Heart A journey into the mind and soul of fired-up business professionals, where they share their vision for the future and hear from a different non-profit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion. As we join our host, shereen Guerta, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.
Speaker 2:
All right, good day, wild Hearts. In honour of JK Rowling's birth month in the month of July, which is when we're recording this, I am Shereen, your helpful, magical bookkeeper. Why pick me? I'm not only the professional for the job, I am dedicated, patient and loyal, and, with finances being such a sensitive topic, that's exactly what you need. I'm good at what I do, but I'm never the person that says I know it all. I'm learning every day and I'm teachable.
Speaker 2:
Are you that business owner wondering who owes them money at the end of the month, or losing track of their bills because their business is growing so fast? What a wonderful problem to have. Are you looking for a bookkeeper you can trust with your life and to also be your ally? Then call Shereen's Bookkeeping Services today and I'll show you that I'm the helpful puff for the job. If you want to know more, go check me out at wwwshereensbookkeepingcom and allow me to keep your books clean. Welcome back. You are listening to Friends from One Places, with myself, shereen, and my amazing co-host, tanya. Tanya, how are you doing today? What do you have to say?
Speaker 3:
Well, happy Friday as it is in here. So good afternoon, Ms Shereen. So happy to be here as part of your podcast. So things are well in Miami, Florida and things that I'm sure are busy. I know you've had some challenges with electricity in South Africa, correct?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's just been crazy. We have a crisis when it comes to power, so sometimes we can go without electricity for three to four days. This is not the first time it's happened. It happens a couple of times. But let me introduce our visitor, patricia Espinosa. This is a very warm welcome to you. She is an IT and Cyber Security consultant from CBC IT Consultants, miami Florida, united States. So good to have you on the show. Welcome.
Speaker 4:
Oh, thank you, Shereen. Thank you, tanya, for the invitation. I'm really thrilled to be here sharing with you, ladies, and your audience, about being safe online and just keeping your business protected from cyber threats.
Speaker 3:
And Patricia, I know we became fast friends and I just always enjoy our collaboration sessions. So I said you know what? Let's get you on the podcast and get your message out there. And I don't even know where to begin. Let me just ask you just to kind of open up, just so our listeners can, you know, just hear who you are, and I know you have quite a presence with social media. So give us a little bit of background on yourself and what you're doing and what you'd like the listeners to take away.
Speaker 4:
Okay, well, my name is Patricia Espinosa, as you had said, and I live in Miami, florida, have a business, a company along with my partner and husband, roberto Espinosa, doing IT consulting and servicing small businesses around Miami and Florida with professional, trustworthy IT, and we secure it with sound cybersecurity measures that are so important nowadays. So that's what we've been doing. Roberto has been doing IT for more than 37 years. I have been doing IT for more than 22 years, so it's been a while. That's my background actually started in business. That's where I got my degree. In Ecuador, where I'm originally from, I actually did a master's in business. Later I switched gears and I started computer science and mathematical science. That's my background. Right now. I'm actually enrolled in the MIT online program for cyber security, so I'm really excited about empowering the community to get protected and really just be safe online and be, instead of being fearful, for all of us to just be empowered and not become a victim the victims of cyber attacks. So that's pretty much it my background.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely, that's awesome. Yeah, I mean that's amazing. And, patricia, you had a quote for us today and let me just put it out for the listeners so they can hear it. It's let go and allow yourself to see the perfection where the seeming imperfection seems to be, and this is from Lester Levinson. So, patricia, why this quote? And what does this quote mean to you?
Speaker 4:
I really have come to love this quote. I think at the beginning I quite didn't understand it, the profound meaning that it has. Lester Levinson, the one who is said to have said that, is the originator of the Sedona method. He discovered that all he had to do was decide to let go of his emotions at any given point. He didn't have to understand why he had the emotion or the source of the emotion or anything. He just decided to let go at any moment. And the more he let go, the more he discovered this energy, this goodness, this vastness that we all are. And his life changed completely after that. He had been given two weeks of life back when he was sick, very sick with a heart disease, and he ended up living 40 more years without seeing a doctor again.
Speaker 4:
So what it means really is that at any given moment we're actually interacting not with what is happening in our lives, but rather with our beliefs or our thoughts and our emotions about what is happening in our lives. So rather than let our emotions or thoughts or limiting beliefs control us, we just let them go and just get in touch with what's really there, what's really happening, and in that context you can really see that things may not have been so imperfect as you thought they were, but rather you just get in contact with what's happening and start to see the perfection or the completeness in that experience. So it has very profound ramifications. I am such a fan of the Sedona method. It's something that I have come to learn and practice more and more and I really feel like it's given me this serenity and calmness and just satisfaction with what's there from moment to moment.
Speaker 2:
So that's really it. Yeah Well, thank you for sharing that and for the listeners. If you're wondering what is the Sedona method, let me just go over it a little bit more with you. The Sedona method is a simple, powerful and easy to learn technique that shows you how to uncover your natural ability to let go of any painful or unwanted feeling in the moment. And five ways of doing this is you can choose to let go of the unwanted feeling, or you can welcome the feeling, to allow the emotion just to be or I've got it down here, so or you can dive into the very core of the emotion. The fourth way is by dissolving the opposite polarities we all carry, and the last way of doing this is seen through the feeling to the effortless awareness that is right behind it. So, tanya, is Sedona method something that you practice? What methods have you touched on doing? And, yeah, what does this quote mean to you?
Speaker 3:
Sure. So actually I was not familiar with the Sedona method until I met Miss Patricia and she introduced it to me. So I've been learning more about it. I had for many years about seven years or so had gone on a more of a energy path or just healing healing energies, overcoming traumas and trauma bonding and things of that nature, and I was very much aware of the Abraham Hicks teachings. I had seen Abraham Hicks in Pennsylvania and very much aware of that, and in speaking with Patricia she kind of enlightened me to even a more expansive method.
Speaker 3:
So actually it's not that I'm doing one or the other, I just kind of take it all in. So the way I like to think of it they would say a toolbox, but I'm not a carpenter, so I think of it more like a mermaid chest. Okay so, and I add all of my, for example, I was brought up traditionally Roman Catholic and at the college I actually teach world religions for funeral services and customs and then in my own personal journey have adapted, you know different things more, incorporating some of the spirituality, buddhist methodology. And now with the Sedona method it's just given me another gem that's what I'm going to call it. So it's another gem in my mermaid chest.
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 4:
I love that. I think I'm going to steal that line. Oh, mermaid chest.
Speaker 2:
Because that's exactly what it is. You have all your trinkets and things and my bobs and all that way, or the tools to help you deal with certain things. And I know I'm also the same. I do it a mixture of the different ways and methods. It depends on how deep that emotion and I'm feeling and where that emotion is coming from and so in how traumatic it was. So I think it depends.
Speaker 2:
I think sometimes I really need to feel it and allow myself to feel it. Other times I need to let it go immediately, especially if it tends to want to bring up some lies about myself. And then the other way is obviously to find the root of the problem, and that's you know, if you have a therapist or someone that you see and talk to weekly or daily, that's definitely someone that can assist you with that. So and thank you, tonya, for sharing that I come from very much a Christian background, family growing up with Sunday school. That's a completely different discussion for another day. But coming from that background, I like to have tools. I like to know if this happens, what can I do to help in those situations?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, Exactly, exactly. So we're all evolving and I think you know whatever works for us and all of our listeners out there. So, for example, if it's cognitive therapy, if it's the EMDR, which is a eye movement technique, if it's processing emotions, if it's getting over some of the triggers which we all have, whatever works. So I think, the more we expand and evolve and collaborate. But the Sedona method it was brand new to me and again I'm grateful for Patricia to have introduced it to me and I'm learning, like we all are. Thank you, patricia.
Speaker 2:
That's the same. Yeah, I don't know about the Sedona method until you were the one that shared the quotes and which obviously made me go and do some research about it. So thank you very much to you, Patricia.
Speaker 4:
Oh, you're very welcome ladies. I'm just glad that it may be able to be of help, as it has been to me. I totally feel like it's been my life before the Sedona method and after, just like you mentioned, tanya, about Abraham Hicks, which also was a definite influence in my life, and also I feel like it was before Abraham and after Abraham and obviously later Sedona. So, yeah, it's just that you pick and build your mermaid test right With all these tools.
Speaker 2:
I love that. So, Patricia, I know you mentioned to us that you did homeschool your son, so my question to you is could you just share a little bit about that experience and what the challenges you faced with homeschooling your son?
Speaker 4:
Yes, I did homeschool him since kindergarten. We all did as a family. I guess we were all very involved. I think for me in particular, the biggest challenge was getting started to actually commit to it, because there was a misconception in my part. I thought it was strange, it was a weird thing to do. Like I mentioned, I come from Ecuador and that's something there that you never hear of these things, even though I've been in the US, for it'll be 30 years this September, wow.
Speaker 4:
So the getting started part, the getting committed to just try it out, was the hardest, and it was interesting because my son had been hearing my husband and I all through the summer and the previous months Should we come school, should we not? Should we? And we kept going on and on about this debate until he finally, two weeks into kindergarten, he came home one day and he said Guys, I think we need to go to school, and it was talking that a kid I mean he was, he had just turned six would say that to us, and I believe in listening to the children. I listened and I said, well, let's, let's pay attention, let's maybe give it a try Just for kindergarten. He had been reading already for almost two years before he got to kindergarten. It's not like he's going to fall behind. Let's just give it a try. And I did.
Speaker 4:
And two months in, I was madly in love with homeschooling and we kept on going until the end, which he did graduate from high school and Miami college simultaneously, and I can credit also homeschooling for allowing us to enroll him, when he was 14, in the University of Miami cybersecurity program. He was classmates with my husband and partner, so it was really amazing that he could do that. He was the youngest person ever to have been admitted there and it was really possible because homeschooling allowed us to think outside of box and just consider these kinds of programs, and we did so. It's been such a wonderful right. I think I consider it a gift, and the challenge throughout actually was the immense quantity of resources that you have that you can pick, especially with the internet. I mean, it's amazing how many resources you have and it teaches you to own the education and make it yours in a way that it's fun, that is, you know, a pleasure rather than a chore, and that was such a paradigm shifter. It was really wonderful that way.
Speaker 3:
That. That just I mean it's. It's an amazing, amazing story and I was not that informed about homeschooling and, as you and I had discussed over a few conversations, there's so many misconceptions, right, there's so many misconceptions with homeschooling. So the question I have for you was you mentioned it you started right from, you know, from the age of kindergarten age, with your son. How did you get introduced to homeschooling? Because it's not the mainstream, like how was that even introduced you to choose that for your son?
Speaker 2:
Right.
Speaker 4:
Good question. He was going to preschool. We actually enrolled him in a cooperative preschool, which also was a different concept. I hadn't known about this and a friend of mine introduced me to it. So all the parents were involved. There was also obviously a teacher director that was in charge of the curriculum, but we parents had to take turns helping and doing all the running the preschool. And there was a family there that were homeschooling their older children and they had a little one in the preschool. So sometimes the children would come to the school and be there with the other kids and you know, that was my.
Speaker 4:
I mean, I had heard actually just one time before that, but during the preschool time that was when I was really got to see it firsthand and I still wasn't convinced, because maybe you have to see something more continually and for longer periods of time, perhaps until you finally decide. But yeah, that was my introduction to it. The family seemed so relaxed about it, they seemed so close together, such a tight knit family, and that also made a difference. To see that, to witness that, because that was my experience later on throughout my home school and years. The families are always sticking together.
Speaker 4:
It's such a wonderful camaraderie and just community. It was really wonderful, because that's the misconception as well. Kids are not socializing, they're staying home all day studying, and nothing could be farther from the truth. We actually take advantage of the community, so you go out to the museums and take classes there, to the botanical gardens and take classes there. You got everywhere that you can. There are services for homeschoolers and you just have this wonderful canvas of resources for you to go into the world and learn with the child or as a family or in any way that you want.
Speaker 3:
It's beautiful. I mean, it's such a beautiful, beautiful journey that you shared with us. So when you mentioned that you are originally from Ecuador and congratulations on being 30 years in the United States, is that what I heard correctly? That's amazing. 30 years, that's amazing. We're trying to get Shareen here. That's my next mission. We're trying to get Shareen here from South Africa, so hopefully we can accomplish that. So I want to maybe just ask so, because your culture was not as open to homeschooling maybe your family or friends back home in Ecuador. Was there any resistance from them? Did you have to give an account? Because we all have people in the background that talk. I don't care who you are. Everybody has somebody that's saying something, that opposition. So did you have that, or I don't want to assume. So how did that happen for you?
Speaker 4:
Yeah, definitely it was something strange for them and they respected our decision, but it was something that they went to thrill to see that, that we would choose to homeschool and I think that was across the board. I mean, you would talk to the homeschool moms, usually that would gather, bring the children to the classes or the co-ops or the whatever, and we would all experience that. I mean, from the community at large, the biggest thing always was socialization. Why are you doing that to the children? You're going to scar them for life. So that was the main thing and as time went by, then they would see the results of how children would behave and how, for the most part, how relaxed and feeling, enough of going with the flow the children had. That eventually, I think people would see that and then they might have changed their minds. So, yeah, definitely that was something that we would encounter all the time this resistance from families and from the community at large.
Speaker 2:
I'm sure, yeah, sure, yeah. Join us next week for part two of Friends from Wild Places, as we get into more exciting conversations with Patricia Espinoza.
Speaker 1:
You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places with Shereen Buetta. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast from the links to catch every episode and unleash your passion.