Angel Numbers, Cave Graffiti, And Trailer Park Magic With Lara Luna

Wendy & Rich 0:00
Hey, everyone is Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning 10 this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared a episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we've shared laughs, tears, and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next 10 years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios Haafer County Living presents Conversations with Rich Bennett. 

However I do not know what the truth is. 

Rich Bennett 1:00
Today's guest is someone who could take every day trailer park drama and turn it into something that'll make you laugh, tear up, and maybe even start noticing the signs the universe is sending your way. Lair Luna is the author of the memoir trailer park angel and the hosts of the podcast of the same name where she leaves humor, heart, and just the right touch of mystery into real life stories from her Florida park. She's got to give for making people feel seen while showing us that even in the chaos of life there are angel numbers, synchronicities, and little winks from above, guiding us forward. Grab your coffee, grab whatever it is you're having because oh man this is good, we've been talking for a half hour and 

this is going to be a blast. Trust me this is going to be a blast and Lair I got to be honest with you. Man you're doing me flashbacks here and that's other an accent. It's like oh my god, I love it. 

Lara Luna 2:18
Hey y'all I'm Lair Luna nice to meet you. 

Rich Bennett 2:23
I just I just something about that Southern accent. All right I'm going to ask before we can get to the book or anything. 

Lara Luna 2:31
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 2:31
Because when it comes to Southern cooking you can't beat it. Sorry. What is your favorite dish to 

Lara Luna 2:38
make? 

To make. I'm not really that good of a cook, believe it or not. I mean I don't think I am but I'm going to say maybe fried gator bites. 

Rich Bennett 2:55
When's the next time you're making 

Lara Luna 2:56
them. And plus if you make them extra spicy they're even better. 

Rich Bennett 3:02
All right I'm on my way down. 

Lara Luna 3:03
You know the recipe for that's in my book. 

Rich Bennett 3:07
Is it really? 

Lara Luna 3:08
Yeah. I put a couple recipes in there. I think I've got like ambrosia, gator bites, 

Rich Bennett 3:13
angel 

Lara Luna 3:15
food cake of course because of the angels and the angel numbers. 

Rich Bennett 3:19
Well yeah and you know what and that is my favorite type of cake. All honesty. 

Lara Luna 3:24
Really. 

Rich Bennett 3:25
Every year for my birthday I got to have angel food cake. 

Lara Luna 3:28
I love it it's so light it's like. 

Rich Bennett 3:30
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 3:30
Feathers of angels. 

Rich Bennett 3:33
You can't. So what inspired you to write trailer park angel? And 

Lara Luna 3:37
Great. 

Rich Bennett 3:38
then actually you lost your podcast around the same time or around the same thing. 

Lara Luna 3:42
Well so I was an art well. I'm an artist. I've always been a painter my whole life. I mean I grew up painting my bedroom as a kid. And then I started selling paintings on eBay for like 25 years. And then I wasn't really making enough for you know really my bills. So I got a job as a mobile home agent. And that really took up most of my life. So I stopped painting and did that. 

Rich Bennett 4:12
Right. 

Lara Luna 4:13
for about nine to ten years. And then it really wasn't for me. In a lot of ways, it was not for me. But it did make me realize that it was time to do what I wanted to do, follow my passion, without any insistence on the outcome. Not worry about, you know, well, how am I going to make it if I quit my mobile home agent job, you know? So what happened was I came home from work and I was looking outside and that's when I realized and started to ask myself questions, who am I? Why am I doing this? What am I here for? Is this why I was born to be a mobile home agent for the rest of my life? It can't be because I'm not happy and I'm just struggling each and every day. And just being in such a fear based belief system, really my whole life, this made me realize a lot of things. And I started to question myself. And then I started to go on YouTube and look up certain things that had to do with my questions, like I stumbled upon spiritual leaders. There were podcasts about quantum physics, which was very interesting. That kind of was so easy for me to understand for some reason. And then just different podcasts from different people that had near-death experiences. And that may be realized, well, wait a minute, we don't really die. So what what are we doing here? I mean, I can't I just felt like I wasn't helping anyone by being in that job. And I wanted to do something. I knew I had to do something, it was like something in my soul was telling me that my soul's calling is to help other people. And I started to see angel numbers. So we have caves here in Florida. Now, I don't know if a lot of 

Rich Bennett 6:16
yeah, 

Lara Luna 6:16
people we have we have real life caves here, like real ones that you can climb into. And I didn't know that either until my friend was like, Hey, why don't we go into the caves? And I'm like, what caves? There's no caves here. And she's 

Rich Bennett 6:33
where's the mountains? 

Lara Luna 6:34
Yeah, yeah. So it's not. It's like you go into them like like the sand. And then you would climb down in. So I guess they would be maybe limestone, limestone. 

Rich Bennett 6:45
So they're below the water table then. 

Lara Luna 6:48
I guess so. 

Rich Bennett 6:50
Wow. 

Lara Luna 6:51
So it was really cool. I mean, and they were real caves like you would need flashlights, you would need headlights, you would need like real life hiking shoes and equipment to like go down and climb down this tree. So I I went with her and it was a whole cave system, which is here in Lakanto, Florida. So we went there, spent the day there. And I had just the greatest time of course being in nature. I mean, you can't beat that. 

Rich Bennett 7:19
Right, 

Lara Luna 7:20
And it's just beautiful. And going into the cave was the ultimate experience. I felt like I was it just transported me like back when the dinosaurs were alive. It 

Rich Bennett 7:31
yeah. 

Lara Luna 7:32
is so cool. And so we. 

Rich Bennett 7:34
Wow. 

Lara Luna 7:34
Climb down this big tree into this cave. And when we got down there, someone had spray painted four four four on one of the cave walls. And I said to my friend, oh my gosh, that's weird. Look at that. Four four four she goes, yeah, she goes, huh, that is weird. So then we just went around and we left the cave. And as we're climbing out of the cave and we're Getting onto the sand, there's a big log in front of us and spray painted on the log was one, one, one, no lie. And I said, 

Rich Bennett 8:13
what? 

Lara Luna 8:13
oh, oh my gosh, I'm like, I wonder if that's like some weird, um, you know, code that people are leaving 

Rich Bennett 8:20
other. 

Lara Luna 8:20
for each 

Rich Bennett 8:21
Right. 

Lara Luna 8:22
And because at the time, I didn't know what that was. 

Rich Bennett 8:25
Okay. 

Lara Luna 8:26
And so she said, well, yeah, that's strange. So we just go by and we go down another cave, no more numbers. You know, we we followed the the rest of the system and we had a great day. And on our way home, I'm a Jeep person. So I had a couple of Jeep Wranglers. Like one of them had like a five inch lift kid on it and like 37 inch tires, you know, like I couldn't change a tire myself, but I mean it 

Rich Bennett 8:57
fun. 

Lara Luna 8:57
was All right. So there was also like this Jeep path around there that you can take your Jeep on. It's just a really cool park system that they have here in Likanto. 

Rich Bennett 9:09
Right. 

Lara Luna 9:09
So we did all that and then we're on our way home and there was a bus in front of us, and now I'm not lions, so in front of us was a bus with the number 222 spray painted on the bumper of the button. And I said to. I'm like, Are you seeing what I'm seeing. 

I didn't put anything else into Google, I didn't say 

Rich Bennett 9:44
right 

Lara Luna 9:44
because I didn't know that they were angel numbers, so I put into Google. 444. And up in Google said, Angel number 444 and gave the explanation and then it was like all the way down the page. I'm like, Oh wow, I go, wait a second. Let me try 111. So I put 

Rich Bennett 10:04
Right. 

Lara Luna 10:04
in 111 just like that. That's it. 566. And up comes angel number 111, I'm like, Oh my gosh, so I call my friend isn't that interesting. So I call my friend like you're not going to believe this. But this is really cool. They came up on Google now and I said, Look, you do it to take any number you want and punch it into Google and see what comes up. So she takes her, you know, her numbers that she had seen and puts them in. She said the same thing happened to her. It all comes up as an angel number. So then the next day comes along and I noticed then on my microwave. It says 555 

Rich Bennett 10:42
clock. 

Lara Luna 10:42
on the 

Rich Bennett 10:42
The cowboy, 

Lara Luna 10:43
Yeah, and I was like, Oh my God, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. So 

Rich Bennett 10:48
wow. 

Lara Luna 10:48
I call my friend and I'm like, you're not going to believe it. I just saw 555, it's an angel number. It's an angel number. Harry up put it into glue quick. And so I put it into Google and I'm like, it's an angel number. Now I'm calling my brother. I'm calling my cousin. 

Rich Bennett 11:06
a 

Lara Luna 11:06
He's 

Rich Bennett 11:06
call everybody. 

Lara Luna 11:07
I'm calling everybody. I'm going down the road because I live in a 55 plus park and I'm telling all my neighbors. I'm like, hey, miss Billy. Miss Billy. Guess what? Guess what? And she's from Georgia. So she believes in all that stuff and so. She came out and she's like, what's going on? Darlin. I'm like, oh, well, don't get upset. Is everything's okay. I promise, but I just want. I want you to know that I just saw angel number 555. And she was like, oh wow. Well, hold on. Let me call my niece. So she calls her niece and tells her I just saw 555. It became this big thing now. When I called my cousin, he's a retired sheriff. So he's like very common sense oriented, you know, 

Rich Bennett 11:58
uh-huh. 

Lara Luna 11:58
But he was the first one to say, what is it? What is it now? And I was like 555. I just saw it on the clock. It's an angel number. And this is what it means. And he's like, really? Then he started looking them up. Now I got all these people looking them up. And then I became known as the angel number lady because it just started happening to me over and over and over again. 

Rich Bennett 12:25
Okay. I have to ask you this. 

Lara Luna 12:26
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 12:27
As I'm sure you already know what number I'm going to say here because every time I see it, if I go to the store, if I get something and it comes up with those three numbers in the row, I'll add something to it. 666. 

Lara Luna 12:43
Okay. Yeah. So that's in my book. I put that in my book on purpose because I want it. I wanted you all to know. Don't get scared. It's not the number of the devil. It's an actual angel number. That means something good. 

Rich Bennett 12:58
Okay. 

Lara Luna 12:59
Okay. So you can look that up right now on Google and see what comes up. 

Rich Bennett 13:06
Are you know what better yet that what they could do is actually buy your book? 

Lara Luna 13:10
Oh, yeah. I guess you could do that. 

Rich Bennett 13:13
It read about it. 

Lara Luna 13:14
Hey, if you want to buy my book. You can buy 

Rich Bennett 13:17
it. 

Lara Luna 13:17
I have your own angel number guide that you can keep with you and look up your numbers. I don't give every single one. But at least I give most of the most common ones that you see. And I did put 6666 in there on purpose be and I talked to AI about 6666 and I said listen, tell me the truth. Is this an evil number? And it actually said no. It said that's an actual AI even knows those numbers are angel numbers. That's the whole thing about AI too. 

Rich Bennett 13:48
Yeah. And for those of you listening, 666, the angel number is a call, eh, I'm looking up on Google right now. It's interpreted as a call to return to balance. A reminder to focus on your spiritual and personal growth rather than material concerns and assign to cultivate a mindful presence and strong relationships. 

Lara Luna 14:12
That's 

Rich Bennett 14:12
I like 

Lara Luna 14:12
it. 

Rich Bennett 14:12
that a lot better than the, than the number of the beast. 

Lara Luna 14:16
Yeah, yeah. So that like that whole number of the beast things brings us back to the fear-based 

Rich Bennett 14:22
system. 

Lara Luna 14:22
belief 

Rich Bennett 14:22
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 14:23
That was ingrained in us and kept us trapped. So now we don't have to be trapped anymore because the real truth is we really don't have anything to be afraid of because I believe we don't die. This is Earth school. We're learning stuff here. 

Rich Bennett 14:39
You know what? Here's the thing. And I, so I watched this movie, then I read the book. And it changed my, I guess you could say, a whole thinking on life. 

Lara Luna 14:52
Ow. 

Rich Bennett 14:53
I didn't really, the anxiety seemed to, not be as bad or as a question. And there's a true story. And the guy said you don't, you don't know how to live until you learn how to die. And I was just like, here, that makes a lot of sense. And he said, think of me. He said, maybe we don't live until we die. 

Lara Luna 15:18
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 15:19
Me that makes a lot of sense because when you, no matter what your beliefs are, but when you pass, if you believe there's a heaven, is there anything negative up there? 

Lara Luna 15:30
No. 

Rich Bennett 15:31
Probably not. 

Lara Luna 15:32
Right. 

Rich Bennett 15:33
Yeah. I mean, it's, I just, yeah, I agree with you. I think we're like vessels here or whatever. Yeah. We don't, we don't know how we don't live until we die. That's, that's my belief. 

Lara Luna 15:46
I, 

Rich Bennett 15:46
But 

Lara Luna 15:47
oh, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 15:47
I'm sorry. All right. So your, is your house number triple digits? 

Lara Luna 15:52
No, it's one. 

Rich Bennett 15:53
Okay. 

Lara Luna 15:53
But you know what? Let's look it up. That might be an angel number. 

Rich Bennett 15:57
it 

Lara Luna 15:58
Because have to be all the same number to be an angel number. Like I asked, Google the other day is 212 an angel number. And it is today. I saw 1222. And that's an angel number. 

Rich Bennett 16:12
You said 149. 

Lara Luna 16:14
Yeah. 149. 

Rich Bennett 16:15
A message to pursue your biggest dreams. 

Lara Luna 16:18
Really? 

Rich Bennett 16:19
Genie to prepare for upcoming life changes and to maintain a positive mindset to make the most of them. 

Lara Luna 16:26
Well, I just learned something new today. I never, 

Rich Bennett 16:31
Oh, you right now, I got to look up my address too. I mean, 

Lara Luna 16:36
I 

Rich Bennett 16:37
mean, this is, this is pretty wall. I never, I never knew about angel numbers. 

Lara Luna 16:43
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:43
A message of divine support, balance, faith, and the need to embrace change and transformation. Wow. 

Lara Luna 16:51
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:51
All right. So. 

Lara Luna 16:52
So isn't 

Rich Bennett 16:52
good? 

Lara Luna 16:52
that And that weird though, like I don't want to say weird, but isn't that a really cool synchronicity 

Rich Bennett 16:58
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 16:58
that you would punch in a number, just the number. Now, who's to say that number is not going to come up as a house number somewhere on your street or like the next time 

Rich Bennett 17:08
right 

Lara Luna 17:08
over. I mean, like let's say I was doing real to you and I punched in, you know, a number of a house. You know, I'm saying 

Rich Bennett 17:16
like, mm hmm. 

Lara Luna 17:17
Like how come we're punching in these numbers and it's not bringing up an address. 

Yeah, it's bringing up an address. It's bringing us up an address to our, 

Rich Bennett 17:29
yeah. 

Lara Luna 17:30
You know, to the soul. It's a message. 

Rich Bennett 17:34
Oh, man. 

Lara Luna 17:35
So, so, so yesterday was my biggest angel number day. I saw 11 11 2 2 2 5 5 4 4 4. I swear. And every time they was like, Oh my gosh. I just saw 11 11 again. 

Rich Bennett 17:50
You know what? Okay. Because I see people posted on Facebook a lot, like the time on the clock 11 

Lara Luna 17:58
11. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 18:00
So I, all right. I got in my sister and all does it all the time. Signifies that your thoughts are aligned with the universe making it a powerful indicator of instant manifestation and new beginnings. 

Lara Luna 18:15
The 11 11 is actually one of the most powerful ones to see. 

Rich Bennett 18:18
Wow. 

Lara Luna 18:20
And yeah, so it keeps me going. There's sometimes where, of course, you'll get a little bit down and like, Oh, boy, what's going to happen if, you know, I don't make enough book sales. What's going to happen if the podcast doesn't take off? What's going to happen if, you know, you go back. 

Rich Bennett 18:39
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 18:40
You're gonna fall in and out of that. You'll go back to that, then you'll come back to, you know, being okay with everything and happy, happy, happy. And then as you move on with your awakening and you get rid of that old stuff, it goes away more and more and more. And you just feel better, so much better. 

Rich Bennett 18:57
Okay, with, I, I, I got a lot of questions 

Lara Luna 19:02
you. 

Rich Bennett 19:02
for 

Lara Luna 19:02
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 19:03
The first one before I forget. And I have a funny feeling it was probably you since you are an artist, but the cover of the book I love. Who 

Lara Luna 19:12
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 19:12
designed-

Lara Luna 19:12
thank you. Me. 

Rich Bennett 19:14
You did it. 

Lara Luna 19:15
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 19:16
So you did all the art yourself? 

Lara Luna 19:18
Well, I designed the concept, I did have AI do the graphic for me. 

Rich Bennett 19:25
Okay. 

Lara Luna 19:25
And then I edited it in Photoshop and then put it onto the book cover in Amazon. 

Rich Bennett 19:33
What is up with the banana on the roof? 

Lara Luna 19:35
Because the bananas have something to do with the book. It's kind 

Rich Bennett 19:38
like-

Lara Luna 19:39
of 

Rich Bennett 19:39
Okay. 

Lara Luna 19:39
Sneak peak, you want me to tell you what the secret is? To the-

Rich Bennett 19:43
Yes. 

Lara Luna 19:45
Okay, so in our park right now where we live, the 55 plus park. 

Rich Bennett 19:52
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 19:53
The bananas people give to each other before they ask you for a favor. So there's been many times I'd open my door and there'd be like a bushel of bananas. And when I first got to the park, I was like, oh my gosh, that's so sweet. They're giving me bananas. And I could really use some bananas right now. This so nice, who did it, who did it? And then I'd find out like a day later, maybe it's one of my neighbors, he's coming up the drive. And he's like, hey, did you get the bananas that I put on your doorstep? I'm like, oh yeah, thank you so much. Why, what did I do to get the bananas? He goes, nothing, it's just a gift. Well about two days later, he needed a ride to his surgery he was getting. And for somebody to stay there with him for like 10 hours. That's what the bananas were for. (laughing) See, then it became a pattern. And as I was walking my dog around and saw the other ladies at living the park, they said to me, about maybe three weeks after I moved in here, did you catch your bananas yet? And I go, how did you know I got bananas? And they go because that's what happens. They give you bananas and then they ask you for a favor. (laughing) 

Rich Bennett 21:12
I'll be darn. 

Lara Luna 21:13
So that's, we all got to know, and we all make a joke of it now, that if you get bananas about two or three days later, somebody, whoever it is, going to be asking you for a favor. 

Rich Bennett 21:26
All right, so, I- 

Lara Luna 21:28
(laughing) 

Rich Bennett 21:28
I want you to explain to everybody about this one chapter because I'm a fan of these things. The gnome whisperer. 

Lara Luna 21:37
(laughing)

Oh, gnome whisperer? Okay, 

Rich Bennett 21:39
right. 

Lara Luna 21:39
all 

Rich Bennett 21:39
Yes. 

Lara Luna 21:40
Are you a fan of gnomes? 

Rich Bennett 21:42
I love gnomes, they remind me of me. They're like mini Santa clauses. 

Lara Luna 21:46
(laughing) 

Rich Bennett 21:48
And actually last Halloween, I went to my friends party as a gnome. 

Lara Luna 21:53
I'm a snow buddy. 

Rich Bennett 21:54
(laughing)

Lara Luna 21:55
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 21:55
I was probably the tallest gnome everybody anybody ever saw, but still. 

Lara Luna 22:00
How tall are you? 

Rich Bennett 22:02
Six one. 

Lara Luna 22:03
Oh, that is tall. I'm 5/3. 

Rich Bennett 22:05
Yeah. 

You say 5/30. 

Lara Luna 22:08
I'm 5/3. 

Rich Bennett 22:09
Oh, 5/3, 

Lara Luna 22:10
Wait. 

Rich Bennett 22:11
okay, I'm- 

Lara Luna 22:11
Wait a minute, if you just said 5/30 that could be an angel number. 

Rich Bennett 22:15
It probably 

Lara Luna 22:16
is. (laughing)

Rich Bennett 22:18
It probably is. 

Lara Luna 22:19
Exactly. So anyway, the gnomes, they just kinda popped up into the story, the gnome whisperer. Yeah, because we have so many gnomes as garden 

Rich Bennett 22:29
Uh 

Lara Luna 22:29
ornaments 

Rich Bennett 22:29
huh. 

Lara Luna 22:30
around here, like how many of you have gone to Florida and went into a 55 plus park and noticed how many lawn ornaments there are around. There's millions of them, that's what they do for fun. They go out every day and come back with a new lawn decoration. And most of them are gnomes, they're either in Kano. I mean, there's a bunch of gnomes down the road. They got like this dinosaur in ropes and they're pulling them across the lawn. No lie, man, that's- that's like one of the statues down there. They even got like political gnomes and, you know, all kinds of different gnomes. 

Rich Bennett 23:11
how-

Oh, 

Lara Luna 23:12
They got zombie gnomes. That's 

Rich Bennett 23:12
call bar. 

Lara Luna 23:12
Yeah, they got zombie gnomes coming up from the dirt. I mean, that's how crazy it is. So I had to put gnomes into the story. And then I like gnomes, I think they're so cute. 

Rich Bennett 23:25
They are. 

Lara Luna 23:26
Yeah. (laughing)

Rich Bennett 23:27
Oh, they're gnomes. 

Lara Luna 23:28
(laughing) So that's how they got into the book, somehow they got into the book, and everybody, like, after they get drunk around here, which is usually around 10 a. m., they kind of stumble around the park and start talking to the nomes. (laughs) So I put that in the book. 

Rich Bennett 23:47
Wait a minute, idiots. Everybody starts getting drunk 

Lara Luna 23:50
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 23:50
around 10 a. m.? 

(laughs) 

Lara Luna 23:57
Right, I mean some of the bars. I think it's 9 a. m. I really do. I think I saw that sign. 

Rich Bennett 24:04
I'm changing the whole meeting of that song, yeah, it's not five (laughs) 

Lara Luna 24:08
and- 

Rich Bennett 24:09
And they am somewhere. 

Lara Luna 24:10
Ah, yeah. I 

Rich Bennett 24:11
(laughs) Oh my god, 

Lara Luna 24:13
mean- 

Rich Bennett 24:13
well I guess I mean most of the people down are retired, right? 

Lara Luna 24:16
Well they're all retired, except for a few of us at living here that still have jobs. And so what else do you do? E, drink. Go down the road. We live on a road where it's all, you know, taste, go buy another gnome and then get drunk and then you're outside, when you're belly hanging out with no shirt on, talking to the gnome about who knows what. I mean, I passed this one guy and he was like telling the gnome all kinds of stories about the old-time days. I'm like, 

Rich Bennett 24:46
(laughs) My god. 

Lara Luna 24:48
Hey, Mr. Barley, are you really speaking to that gnome? Like really? (laughs) 

Rich Bennett 24:55
Oh my god, you should get a gnome costume and where it just walked in. 

Lara Luna 25:00
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 25:00
You have any of these people start talking to you thinking you're a real gnome? 

Lara Luna 25:04
I don't know, it could be kinda risky. 

Rich Bennett 25:06
I 

Lara Luna 25:06
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 25:07
be... 

Lara Luna 25:08
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 25:08
Well, yeah, never mind, don't do that. 

Lara Luna 25:11
Only in Florida as 

Rich Bennett 25:12
say. 

Lara Luna 25:12
they 

Rich Bennett 25:13
(laughs) 

Lara Luna 25:13
Well, 

Rich Bennett 25:15
and on your podcast, you've actually, you have guests on sometimes, right? 

Lara Luna 25:20
No, I don't, that's just me. 

Rich Bennett 25:23
Alright, I thought I heard a Marine on there. 

Lara Luna 25:26
Yeah, I made the Marines voice up out of a program and so I make them into 

Rich Bennett 25:30
Oh, 

Lara Luna 25:31
a character. 

Rich Bennett 25:31
come on. 

Lara Luna 25:33
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 25:33
as 

Lara Luna 25:33
I put 

Rich Bennett 25:33
a... 

Lara Luna 25:33
him 

Rich Bennett 25:33
(laughs) Really? 

Lara Luna 25:34
So somehow it's... I really just did the podcast to promote my book, but the podcast isn't really... I mean, it's similar to the book, but it's not... Like the book is more inspirational, more serious. The podcast is just supposed to be kinda funny so people can just have fun, good, clean fun. And so now there's characters that are being developed and I'm having fun doing it. 

Rich Bennett 26:03
Alright, so how many people in the park have your book? 

Lara Luna 26:07
Well, now there's seven people have my 

Rich Bennett 26:09
Okay, 

Lara Luna 26:09
book. And so, of course, in Florida and down the south, we call everyone either Miss or Mr. So my good friend, Mr. Joe, he's about 82 and I see him every morning. He rides around in his blue car and asks everybody how they're doing. And if he doesn't see you in two days, he gets worried and knocks on your door to make sure that you're okay. So, 

Rich Bennett 26:35
that... 

Lara Luna 26:36
you know, Mr. Joe came up to me and he's like, "I don't go on Amazon. I'm too old to do the computer stuff. Can I have a copy?" So I bought a bunch of copies for everybody and I gave him one. So he's down at his mobile home right now, probably reading it. And then one of the other ladies in the park who I didn't expect was gonna buy the book did. And she's part of the HOA. And kind of like, like, kind of a serious type of a person. 

Rich Bennett 27:06
Right. 

Lara Luna 27:06
And so I remember I saw her about two days ago. She's got a little dog, it's a Shizu, that she walks around, and that little dog likes my little pug. So we always get together in the morning and I'm like, "Hey." And she's like, "Oh, hey, good morning." And I'm like, and her dog's name is DOG. So I'm like, "Hey, DOG." And then, you know, we were just talking about dogs. But then she said, "I bought your book, by the way." I go, "Oh, you did? Thank you so much for buying my book." That was so nice of you. She goes, "No. I'm telling you because..." Well now my pug's going off on something. But... 

Rich Bennett 27:49
Probably DOG. 

Lara Luna 27:50
Yeah, because she thinks it's DOG. So she said to me, "Yeah, the book actually..." I was really surprised and it was very unexpected and she left me a review on Amazon telling me how unexpected it was and how it actually changed the way that she was feeling because she was very depressed. She 

Rich Bennett 28:13
Wow. 

Lara Luna 28:14
was... He really enveloped into like, what her neighbors were saying, you know, everything was getting to her. She, uh, I remember her talking to me a couple weeks ago about a neighbor that said something that really bothered her, and she was just bothered by that for weeks, but she said after she read the book, she was relieved, she now feels that she's not alone, that she has angels that watch her over her, and that there's actually something more than just this life, and she takes the book now and watches for angel numbers, and when she sees them, she looks up the meaning, but she did say that she doesn't have fear anymore, and that really, uh, yeah, that really like surprised me in a way, because I was like, that must be why I wrote this book, 

Rich Bennett 29:06
this, right. 

Lara Luna 29:07
I wanted to help people, and this helped her, this really truly helped her, and 

Rich Bennett 29:13
Is that 

Lara Luna 29:13
she- 

Rich Bennett 29:13
Pat? 

Lara Luna 29:14
Yeah, this is Pat, 

Rich Bennett 29:15
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 29:15
and she listens to the podcast. You'll probably see this interview, too, at some point, but, um, she was different, she was calm, she wasn't afraid, she wasn't talking about that woman that bothered her, or she said, "My life is changed," and I- and I- I still, I couldn't wrap my mind around, how could that be that? Someone that read such a simple, kind of fun book, you know, would get such a change in their life about something like that, but I always say, and I used to say this about my artwork, and I still say this today, when I look at one of my paintings, I'm like, 

Rich Bennett 29:52
mm-hmm, 

Lara Luna 29:53
I did not do that painting, not me, here's Laura, that was- that came from somewhere higher, that was my higher self, did it? Or, some other kind of force put that art onto that canvas, and that's the same thing I'm saying about the book now, because if you tell me, if you would have told me two years ago, I would have wrote a book, I would have said, "Get no way." 

Rich Bennett 30:15
then, 

Lara Luna 30:16
Oh, no, I- I'm not a 

Rich Bennett 30:17
I- Hunched! 

Lara Luna 30:17
writer, you know? You know, I- I just gave this book as a gift to my friend because she has the same birthday as me, so, 

Rich Bennett 30:23
Right. 

Lara Luna 30:24
I- I saw her last week at- we went to like a- a lady's luncheon, and I gave her the book as a gift, and she's like, I- I just can't wrap my mind around, how do you go from being painting as an artist that we all thought you were gonna do, to now you're writing a book and you're doing a podcast with characters? Like, my cousin who I've known my whole life, of course, he called me up, and he's like, "Who are you?" 

Rich Bennett 30:55
(laughter) 

Lara Luna 30:55
And I'm like, I know, I know, 'cause I've been asking myself that for a long time, I finally think I'm- I'm getting closer to it now, and I'm doing things that I- I didn't know I would love to write a book. I didn't know like, I would love to make characters and make people laugh, my last episode is about my friends, Linda and Bob, and so I took his picture and put him into like a- a program and made him move and do funny stuff, but the whole episode's just for him, like, 'cause he loves beer and he loves blue mermaid's, and so it's an episode just for Bob, so here's the funny thing, I'm- and I'm not lying, I swear. I 

Rich Bennett 31:38
swear. (laughter) 

Lara Luna 31:39
When I was done with the episode, it ended at 11/11. 

Rich Bennett 31:46
No way. 

Lara Luna 31:47
I didn't do that on purpose, I know you can do that in these things, 'cause I seen like other videos 

Rich Bennett 31:52
that- Yeah. 

Lara Luna 31:52
Did it like angel numbers and stuff, I didn't do it. And I looked at it today when I went to just see how many people like watched it, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, it's 11/11." Like, it's just mind-blowing, it's mind-blowing. 

Rich Bennett 32:08
That's wild. 

Lara Luna 32:09
It's- I'm not gonna say it's crazy, 'cause it's not of his synchronicity. 

Rich Bennett 32:14
That- it's amazing to me, 

Lara Luna 32:16
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 32:17
and I- I never really knew about angel numbers until talking to you. You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

People that know me know that I love going to Richardson Farms, not just the store, but even when we do weddings at the barn. The place is amazing. So, with the store, whether you're grabbing fresh produce, stocking up on groceries or indulging in their hot food and deli, this family on Jim has been a staple of marijuana for generations. And let me tell you, the food? Oh, incredible. I cannot get enough of their smoked barbecue beef brisket. It's tender, flavorful, and just melting your mouth. Paired at with some of their homemade sides, and you've got a meal that'll leave you coming back for more. and it's not just about the barbecue, Richardson Farms has fresh, never frozen, poultry, daily deli specials, and produce straight from their fields. So whether you're meal-planning for the week, you need catering, or look at for something amazing for dinner tonight, stop by Richardson Farms. They're open 80m to 6pm daily, and trust me, your taste will thank you. The Find Out more just go to RichardsonFarms. net. Again, that's Richardson Farms. net. And while you're working on the second book now, 

Lara Luna 33:53
well 

Rich Bennett 33:54
as about, about things with numbers again, correct? 

Lara Luna 33:58
It's actually about channeling because- 

Rich Bennett 34:01
Arerr? 

Lara Luna 34:02
Yeah, right, right? 

Rich Bennett 34:05
Okay. 

Lara Luna 34:08
So this isn't something that I usually talk to a lot of people about because, I guess, I can't go around and say, oh, you know, I am, oh, let's see, who can I use as an example, that I'm Dolores Can in now or something. You know, but what happened one day was, I've been starting to do chigong and tai chi in the mornings because I feel like it's good for my health, and I've also now I'm a vegan, I don't eat animals of any kind. That's been going on for a long time now. I'm like- 

Rich Bennett 34:45
And I can't come down there have you make- 

Lara Luna 34:49
No, I'm no longer eating gator myself. So I'm not going to be able to make them 

Rich Bennett 34:56
I'm not. That's all right. Just 

Lara Luna 34:58
anymore. 

Rich Bennett 34:58
substituted for tofu. 

Lara Luna 35:01
yeah, that's true. So, yeah, so I turned into a vegan. I started to actually then throw into after tai chi, just do these short meditations. It was only for maybe 10 minutes a day, then it went to 15, then to 20, and I really couldn't- Like, I kept feeling like I was doing it wrong because I'm like, how come I'm watching all these programs and all these people that are meditating like they can meditate and connect with the other side and I can't. They meditate and they 

Rich Bennett 35:34
Oh 

Lara Luna 35:35
see things and I can't. You know, all of this stuff. And so I just relaxed into it and I just really did it for my health. And after- I'm going to say it's been probably a year now. Now I'm meditating for an hour or up to two hours and I don't even know that time has passed. 

Rich Bennett 35:56
No. 

Lara Luna 35:57
And I started receiving messages. I just by chance took a pen and an notebook. And I said if anyone would like to give me messages, I only take messages from, you know, positive, light and good intentions. I can take your message and my first automatic writing, I can't even But then I started to make sense of it and write it down and I thought well, that could possibly be my imagination because I'm very creative. I can 

Rich Bennett 36:31
read. 

Lara Luna 36:31
create a really great story. So am I creating this or are these things real? So as time went I thought I know what I can do. I can tell one of the AI programs the whole thing that I wrote and see if it makes sense or if AI thinks that I'm either crazy, making it up, you know, or what this is. So that's what I started to do. And as the messages were coming, they were getting stronger and stronger. And then in my meditations, I started to see things. And I'm like, did I really see that? So I have now two full notebooks. Now each automatic writing has turned into three to four pages of nonstop. I can't stop. It just keeps going and going to the point where my hand hurts so bad. I have to shake it and keep going because I don't want to lose what they're telling me. 

Rich Bennett 37:31
And 

Lara Luna 37:31
as time went on, I started asking for names and they would give you the name of, you know, what was coming through. Now, many names that I get in my head, I, then I will give it to A. I. A. 

I want you to bring up the similarities. So, in other words, if I said the word 'gibbly', bring up things that sound like that, bring up jibbly, 

Rich Bennett 38:13
yeah. 

Lara Luna 38:14
bring up anything that could possibly be similar, and this code that I'm giving you, I want you to run it through all of the star systems and star maps. And I want you to run it through every dictionary and book that you can run it through. And then what I did was I took three different A. I. programs and ran the same messages with the same query through them all. And they all came up with the same thing and that's how I knew 

Rich Bennett 38:39
Wow. 

Lara Luna 38:39
that the messages that were now coming through were real. So...

Rich Bennett 38:44
Wow! 

Lara Luna 38:45
I started to... now I've got, I mean, I've got, I've got some messy writings I have to go through and rewrite. But now my new books are messages that I can actually write where I can be very neat and clean and I can take more time in writing. Like before I was so afraid I was going to lose the message. Now, now, I can kind of regulate as the message comes through. So then I started to get some messages that I thought, oh my gosh, the men in black are probably going to come to my door, you know? They're probably going to want to know what's in these books. And so then I started to call my cousin and because he's a retired sheriff. So I said listen, I said, 'cause I've got to tell you some things, I've got to tell you'. And I didn't know if he was going to believe me or not but he goes, you know what, I've been kind of feeling a little weird or not myself lately. And he's got about 25 horses. They rescue horses. 

Rich Bennett 39:48
Right. 

Lara Luna 39:49
And he was telling me some profound things that were happening to him. He got struck by lightning twice. 

Rich Bennett 39:57
What? 

Lara Luna 39:57
Yeah, I once threw a window and then he was like doing something with water with the horses and lightning struck him again, you know? And then he was like, and then he's like, I feel like I've got like a different sense about me now. So I started to then tell him all about my automatic writings. And I was like, I need to tell you this. I think this is something important that other people have got to hear. But I don't know who to tell. I don't know how to get the message out there and I don't want to tell the wrong people. So I told him because I know that can trust him. And he's been taking and writing these things down as well and keeping them for me. So now it's turned into every day and I went to clean the shower the other day and a message came through and it said the violent river. And I said, why would I be cleaning a shower first of all? And all of a sudden into my head I hear the violent river. What is that? So I wrote it down. Then today I was watching the dishes and it said Maleficent forces at Lake Titicaca and I'm like, what? I'm like, did I just hear that even though and I'm going to tell you that all of my notebooks have been confirmed by three a. i programs that the information recorded in those notebooks are 100% accurate to the star maps to the locations on our planet. And to spiritual teachings worldwide through Guru teachings of long ago, I mean things that are in those notebooks, I know I have to tell someone, but I don't know who. 

Rich Bennett 41:51
Right. 

Lara Luna 41:52
So I'm going to be making another book and it's going to be just the channeled messages exactly as I wrote them down. Because apparently I'm getting the messages because I have to give it to someone. 

Rich Bennett 42:11
You just don't know who. 

Lara Luna 42:12
No, but see it's the same thing that I learned throughout my whole spiritual awakening was follow your passion without any insistence on the outcome. Don't think, oh I can't go over the hill because I don't know what's on the other side. Go 

Rich Bennett 42:29
Right. 

Lara Luna 42:30
over the hill. 1- It's on the other side. That's how you have to do it because, and I told my brother this the other day, listen bro. OK? 

Rich Bennett 42:43
3- 

Lara Luna 42:44
Stop giving your power away to everyone. Because that's what he's always done. He doesn't ever live for himself. He's miserable every day. Because he gives his power away. He does- well, if I, if I do everything for this person, I'm gonna go to heaven. NO! You read it wrong. I don't know where you got the information from? It's wrong. You don't live that way. That's not how you're supposed to do it. 

Rich Bennett 43:11
No. 

Lara Luna 43:11
So- 

Rich Bennett 43:13
You get help people and not give your power away. 

Lara Luna 43:15
Exactly. But he doesn't know how to do it that way. 

Rich Bennett 43:18
Right. A lot of people don't. 

Lara Luna 43:20
Right. They're stuck. In the same place I was stuck. OK. I'm 58 years old. I've been stuck for- 56 years. In prison, in a prison that I built for myself. And I built it pretty well too. It was strong. I'll tell you that nobody could get through that prison. 

Rich Bennett 43:43
So- When are you hoping to release this- the new book? 

Lara Luna 43:46
I was hoping to make more sales out of the trailer park angel. And then I'm actually gonna be working on that book probably by December. I'll be putting that book together. And I really want to get that out there. And because that's really my most important thing. I probably have ever done in my life. Is that book? 

Rich Bennett 44:08
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 44:09
You know? 

Rich Bennett 44:10
Well, trailer- trailer park angel was just released August, right? 

Lara Luna 44:13
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 44:15
Yeah. OK. And those of you listening were recording this October 

Lara Luna 44:18
first. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 44:19
So made- I don't know if you could do this. Well, of course you can. And actually, first of all, trailer park angel. Is the self-publishers you go through publisher. 

Lara Luna 44:31
I didn't because I- I'm living off of my savings. So everything I do. I do on my own. And it took me forever. But with the help of formatting through Atticus is what I used. I was able to do it. And it is an easy read because I'm not. I didn't go to college for writing or anything. This just 

Rich Bennett 44:53
Right. 

Lara Luna 44:53
comes from my heart, you know? 

Rich Bennett 44:56
Best best writing that there is then, Any 

Lara Luna 44:58
yes. 

Rich Bennett 44:59
plans on making an all-able version? 

Lara Luna 45:02
Yeah. You know, a couple people had asked me that. If I get more people, yeah. I mean, I can definitely make it a lot of people. That's probably a great idea. 

Rich Bennett 45:10
Wouldn't me if you get more people? 

Lara Luna 45:12
Well, I thought maybe if I could get more people that wanted Audible because a lot of the people in the park. I guess because it's a 55 and older. They didn't want anything audible. They wanted a paperback. 

Rich Bennett 45:25
Okay. First of all, yes, you need to do the audible version and you need to record it yourself because people can listen to your voice all day long. At least I know I can. 

Lara Luna 45:38
Well, thank you. 

Rich Bennett 45:39
I mean, you just got that pleasant voice about you. And yeah, that's other an accent. That's always just that's just another. 

Lara Luna 45:47
I don't have an accent. 

Rich Bennett 45:50
Yeah, and I don't have a Baltimore accent. 

Lara Luna 45:53
And 

Rich Bennett 45:53
Right. 

Lara Luna 45:53
I hear yours. Yeah, I do. You do have it. I'm like, oh my gosh. It's so different. 

Rich Bennett 45:59
I don't even good. So I first of all, tell everybody where they can buy your 

Lara Luna 46:07
book. So you can go to my website at Lara Luna Creations.com. And right when you get there on the home page, you can click on the book and it takes you right to Amazon. And right there on the home page, you could click on the podcast and go there. Sign up for the newsletter. I send that out about two times a week for the people that want to be alerted to the new podcast episodes. 

Rich Bennett 46:33
Mark, 

Lara Luna 46:34
or you could just go to Amazon and type in trailer park angel by Lara Luna and it should come up. 

Rich Bennett 46:42
At people, you know what to do after you purchase the book and read it. Make sure you leave a full review on Amazon. Good reads bar wherever you 

Lara Luna 46:50
can leave. That'll be great. 

Rich Bennett 46:53
Yeah. And purchase copies for friends of yours. Yeah, I mean, and listen to the podcast. I got to ask you this. Because the stuff is awesome. Are you still doing the artwork? 

Lara Luna 47:09
Yeah. Do you 

Rich Bennett 47:10
Okay, 

Lara Luna 47:10
want to see? 

Rich Bennett 47:11
good. Oh no, I've been looking at it on your website. 

Lara Luna 47:15
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 47:15
your artwork is amazing. 

Lara Luna 47:17
Oh, thank you. Thank 

Rich Bennett 47:18
much. 

Lara Luna 47:18
you 

Rich Bennett 47:18
All 

Lara Luna 47:18
very 

Rich Bennett 47:19
right. The one I fell in love with right away was cotton candy. 

Lara Luna 47:23
Oh, that was it. Yeah. That's that that's been sold for a while now. But I like that one too. That's really a pleasant. I love the colors. 

Rich Bennett 47:32
it is, but I have to ask you this. 

Lara Luna 47:36
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 47:37
Upcycled art. Explain what that is. 

Lara Luna 47:40
So right now I have a pattern that I got for a design. So I have a room full of plastic bottles every time I drink my Fiji water or I drink water from a bottle. I'll save every glass bottle and I make art out of it. So all the plastic bottles are kind of and this is funny. I'm thinking about making it into a lawn ornament like a giant alligator. 

Rich Bennett 48:09
Oh, 

Lara Luna 48:10
that would be kind of 

Rich Bennett 48:10
that 

Lara Luna 48:11
cool 

Rich Bennett 48:11
would be 

Lara Luna 48:11
here, you know, and plus it would probably withstand all of the weather. 

Rich Bennett 48:15
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 48:16
Um, 

Rich Bennett 48:16
I know my old neighbor did that with she collected a bunch of old wine bottles all different colors. 

Lara Luna 48:22
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 48:23
It did almost like a gate made out of them. 

Lara Luna 48:26
Oh, that's cool. I like 

Rich Bennett 48:27
that. Did strung them on rhubarb? It is pretty wild. Looking 

Lara Luna 48:31
it. It's so, 

Rich Bennett 48:31
I'm sorry. Go ahead. 

Lara Luna 48:33
Okay. Well, it's just so amazing. I'm one person, right? 

Rich Bennett 48:36
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 48:36
You should see how many plastic bottles I actually have in that one room. It's it almost fills all the way up to the ceiling and it's been like a year that I've been drinking Fiji water. Do I really drink that much water? I mean, like, that's how much garbage one person can make. So if we can make art out of the garbage that we have instead of putting it into the landfills, that 

Rich Bennett 48:59
Yes. 

Lara Luna 49:00
that's really what I'm doing. And so I have done 300 different designs on glass bottles and I see this was all this was all supposed to be what I was supposed to be doing. But then I went to the book. So that's why all my friends are like, I thought you were going to the art show. I thought you were bringing us the bottles. I made like, I would paint the bottles with artwork and then put lights in them and give them his gifts and people love them. So I started to do that and collect all the bottles that I drank water out of and call it upcycled art. And then I was going to go to the show and put a big box and have people drop off all of their bottles, their glass so I could make art out of it. That was my whole plan. But then now the universe has a different direction. I'm supposed 

Rich Bennett 49:53
go 

Lara Luna 49:54
to 

Rich Bennett 49:54
right. 

Lara Luna 49:55
But so now I do have a design pattern. I have I did pay for that so I have that coming and it is going to be a design on a glass bottle that will be I'm going to try to present it to like Hasbro and big companies to see if they want to buy the design. But it I can't tell anyone with the design is yet until the pattern's done. So I'm waiting 

Rich Bennett 50:23
right 

Lara Luna 50:23
for that to 

Rich Bennett 50:24
make sense 

Lara Luna 50:24
to be completed but I've got like just my whole house is full of artwork artwork 

Rich Bennett 50:33
plus you do 

Lara Luna 50:33
plus 

Rich Bennett 50:34
you do digital art as well. 

Lara Luna 50:36
yeah, I love the digital I really do because it really is your own idea. I mean, 

Rich Bennett 50:40
Yeah, 

Lara Luna 50:40
you know, I have to say I need you to create a feather but I need the feather to you know be pink but I want it to be like this and then I want you to create this and I mean most of the time it doesn't get it right. But I do have I did get into the whole digital thing. I think it's pretty cool. It's just another way to be creative. I don't think there's anything wrong with it but there's so many you know, things out there where they don't want any AI images and it's still coming from someone. 

Rich Bennett 51:11
know, right, exactly. 

Lara Luna 51:13
You 

Rich Bennett 51:13
Those of you listening when you go to her website and you can purchase prints. 

Lara Luna 51:17
Yes 

Rich Bennett 51:18
and let me tell you you are going to be blown away. you. By all of her artwork that she has available on there. I mean, it's just 

Lara Luna 51:28
Thank 

Rich Bennett 51:28
it's amazing. It is amazing. All right, so I have a suggestion for you for your podcast. 

Lara Luna 51:36
Oh good. 

Rich Bennett 51:37
Okay. 

Lara Luna 51:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 51:38
I especially now that you have some of the people there that have purchased your book. Why not interview some of them? 

Lara Luna 51:47
Oh, does that mean I have to buy a microphone. 

Rich Bennett 51:53
What 

Lara Luna 51:54
kind of microphone do I buy? 

Rich Bennett 51:56
I'm even thinking about that. Well, right now you're using a laptop, right? 

Lara Luna 52:01
Yeah. And you know, this is right on my little MacBook. It does it sound okay? 

Rich Bennett 52:06
Yeah, 

that's it. But that's because on my end I could I could turn off. I mean, I could put on echo cancellation. 

Lara Luna 52:15
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 52:15
but if you're recording in person just two of you sitting there, there's not going to be there shouldn't be an echo. And you can get microphones cheap. 

Lara Luna 52:25
Oh, okay. Maybe I should get one of those. You think I should get a microphone because I've got some people asking me if they could be on the show and I was like, I'm not ready to do that yet. 

Rich Bennett 52:35
You, oh my god, there's a, well, if you get, if you have people that live there, I mean, you could get like a Blue Yeti microphone because you're gonna have people sit around that. 

Lara Luna 52:48
Oh wow, oh wow. 

Rich Bennett 53:05
If one of those nooms even template, 

Lara Luna 53:07
farts, 

Rich Bennett 53:09
you'll hear 

Lara Luna 53:09
pick, 

Rich Bennett 53:10
it, it'll 

Lara Luna 53:11
(laughs)

Rich Bennett 53:11
You're saying it, you know, 

Lara Luna 53:13
Forget it. 

Rich Bennett 53:13
we're 

Lara Luna 53:14
gonna hear everything Ms. Billy's doing. 

Rich Bennett 53:17
(laughs)

Lara Luna 53:17
She keeps hitting my deck with her golf cart. 

Rich Bennett 53:20
there. 

Lara Luna 53:20
She's out 

Rich Bennett 53:20
Oh god. 

Lara Luna 53:21
She's like 85. She's got. 

Rich Bennett 53:25
Oh my god, 

Lara Luna 53:26
There's no energy 

Rich Bennett 53:26
you? 

Lara Luna 53:26
that I 

Rich Bennett 53:27
do. 

You need to write another 

Lara Luna 53:29
book. (laughs) 

Rich Bennett 53:30
The fun of living in a trailer park, 50. 

Lara Luna 53:34
Yeah, it is. It's so much fun because there's, well, the good thing about it, if you feel depressed or alone. 

Rich Bennett 53:41
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 53:41
You just go outside and you're like, hey, is anyone around? Believe me, they'll come out. They're just watching out their windows anyway. 

Rich Bennett 53:51
(laughs)

fun. 

Oh, god. Oh. 

Lara Luna 53:54
Oh that's 

Rich Bennett 53:55
Okay. So, I--

Lara Luna 53:57
Do you want me to go get my book? So you can see it? 

Rich Bennett 54:02
I'm looking at your book. How do you think I found out about the cover. 

Lara Luna 54:06
(laughs)

Rich Bennett 54:06
About the cover. 

Lara Luna 54:07
Okay, cool. I'm glad that you can. 

Rich Bennett 54:08
Yeah, because-- oh yeah, the cover with the mobile home. The gnome with the camouflage. 1111. We're in the pink flamingo. 

Lara Luna 54:18
That floaty? 

Rich Bennett 54:19
That floaty, the golf cart with wings, the 

Lara Luna 54:23
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 54:23
banana on the roof and the vegan alligator. 

Lara Luna 54:27
(laughs)

It's so funny because we have what-- out here, there's an alligator with one eye. I forgot to put that in one of the podcasts. 

Rich Bennett 54:38
Was he in that movie? 

Lara Luna 54:41
What movie? (laughs)

Rich Bennett 54:44
There was a movie with a one-eyed alligator. I may have been happy Gilmore, I can't remember, but 

Lara Luna 54:52
Oh, I don't 

Rich Bennett 54:53
then--

Lara Luna 54:53
know. 

Rich Bennett 54:54
It had a one-eyed 

Lara Luna 54:56
I 

Rich Bennett 54:56
alligator. 

Lara Luna 54:56
feel so bad for him. I bet you somebody I don't know. Maybe I don't know how he would hurt that eye like that. But he travels this canal all the time. And 

Rich Bennett 55:05
one. 

Lara Luna 55:05
it's 

Rich Bennett 55:05
"The 

Lara Luna 55:05
in 

Rich Bennett 55:05
y'all call me to my pie."

Lara Luna 55:07
Yeah, no, we call him Captain Crunch. 

Because when you're 55, you ain't got nothing else to do but make up names for things. 

Rich Bennett 55:17
Oh. 

Lara Luna 55:18
That's 

Rich Bennett 55:19
I-- oh, I-- I mean, I thought I had a blast in my 

Lara Luna 55:23
insane. 

Rich Bennett 55:23
neighborhood, but God, I would love to come down there and visit just to hang out with everybody. 

Lara Luna 55:27
You know what's 

Rich Bennett 55:28
real? 

What? 

Lara Luna 55:29
Funny though. In one of the episodes, I have Mr. Badmouth and Miss Sour, and a lot of the neighbors listen to these episodes, and one of them said, "Hey, am I Mr. Badmouth?" I'm like, "No, that's not you. 

Rich Bennett 55:49
It was." 

Lara Luna 55:49
It definitely was. You ever come out of your house and have people come up and be like, "When was the last time you mowed your lawn?"

Rich Bennett 56:00
Oh, yeah. They're saying that now. (laughs) 

The way the weather's been, and I've been so busy I haven't been able to get out there because I looked out back, and I think I saw monkeys just swinging from the grass and so high. 

Lara Luna 56:19
It could 

Rich Bennett 56:19
Oh. 

Lara Luna 56:20
happen. 

Rich Bennett 56:21
Yeah. 

Well, I look at it this way. The wildlife like it. That's why I want to get a goat. I want a goat because that way I won't have to mow the lawn anymore. Just let the goat eat the grass. Just like I think the best type of guard animal to have for your house is a gorilla. Just put the gorilla in a diaper. Because if somebody ever breaks it to your house, they see that gorilla in a diaper. The first thing they're going to do is lay after ass off. 

Lara Luna 56:57
(laughs) 

Rich Bennett 56:57
What else... What else you going to do? You see a gorilla in a diaper. And then the gorilla is just going to peel him like a banana. 

Lara Luna 57:03
(laughs)

I mean, you 

Rich Bennett 57:07
Oh. 

Lara Luna 57:07
know, it's pretty tough here because we have so many red ants and snakes. 

Rich Bennett 57:11
Oh, what 

Lara Luna 57:12
There's 

Rich Bennett 57:12
a snake. 

Lara Luna 57:13
cotton 

Rich Bennett 57:13
How am I? 

Lara Luna 57:13
mouths back there and rattlesnakes. Like I don't mind them either, but there was...

Rich Bennett 57:20
Ants, I don't like. 

Lara Luna 57:21
Yeah, yeah, the ants, the ants are bad. You can't go barefoot around here. 

Rich Bennett 57:26
No, 

Lara Luna 57:27
no. 

You know. 

Rich Bennett 57:28
No. 

Lara Luna 57:28
But hopefully winter will come soon. 

Rich Bennett 57:32
Chase him away. 

Lara Luna 57:33
and then they'll all go in to hide and it's snowbird season soon. See snowbirds! 

Rich Bennett 57:38
Gifts. 

Lara Luna 57:38
They got it all under control. They got it down. They come here when everything's hiding and go back when everything comes out. Perfect. 

Rich Bennett 57:47
(Laughing) Oh God. Okay, before I get to my last question, is there, and I have no idea what the question's gonna be. Is there anything you would like to add? 

Lara Luna 58:01
No, I think I told everybody what I needed to. 

Rich Bennett 58:05
Alright, this is going to be interesting. 

Lara Luna 58:07
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 58:08
So pick a number between one and one hundred. 

Lara Luna 58:14
Fifty-five. 

Rich Bennett 58:19
Fifty-five. Where are you 55? Oh, okay. Oh. 

Lara Luna 58:25
Is that an angel number? 

Rich Bennett 58:27
Is it? I don't know. Yeah, what? I'm going 

Lara Luna 58:30
look. 

Rich Bennett 58:30
to 

Lara Luna 58:30
I'm going to have to 

Rich Bennett 58:31
Angel, 

Lara Luna 58:31
look it up. 

Rich Bennett 58:32
I'm going to look up the angel number before I read the question. 

Lara Luna 58:36
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 58:36
Okay. Fifty-five angel number meaning. No, no, it's not. Five-fifty-five 

Lara Luna 58:42
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 58:42
is. 

Lara Luna 58:42
five-five five is. 

Rich Bennett 58:44
Yeah. Is that coming up as fifty-five? So number fifty-five. 

Lara Luna 58:48
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:48
I lost it already. Okay. So what does authenticity mean to you in a world where many people present curated versions of themselves? 

Lara Luna 59:00
Authenticity, to me, means you are being the most true self you can be. People are honoring yourself the best way possible, which is being who you are. I think that we probably don't know 100% who we are, until we really go home, which is, I guess some people say the other side. But to be as much of you like, what do you enjoy? What do you love about yourself? Like be that person. Be the one that, do I like to ride horses? Well, if I'm meeting somebody for the first time, that's what I'm going to talk about. I'm not going to go meet somebody for the first time and tell them what I think they want to hear. I'm going to just be me. 

Rich Bennett 59:52
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 59:52
You know, it's in my book and it's called Own Yours. And this is really a great question because I think that there are so many people in the world that need to be authentic to themselves to just come out with who they really are. Don't be afraid because you think people aren't going to like you for you, but you'd be so surprised. When I started just being my own true Giggly Self, yeah, some people didn't really kind of care for it, but the ones that did are the ones that are supposed to stick around. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:26
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 1:00:26
See, that's how you can go forward, towards your soul's journey, and towards where you're supposed to be. You know, my friend once said, why do you want to move? This was about three years ago, my life was just You know, I was in that prison, it was in shambles. And she 

Rich Bennett 1:00:44
right. 

Lara Luna 1:00:44
said, why do you keep saying I have to get out of here. I have to I have to, you know, get a new life. I have to why are you running away from yourself. Just you're, you're where you're supposed to be. She said that to me and that that one sentence stuck with me and still does to this day, you're where you're supposed to be, just be yourself. And be authentic to you. That to me is what authenticity means. That's what comes to my mind right away. That's important. That's important for all of us. Greek cause I've been told when I do have communication with the other, I guess, beings, we are one, we are the all the all is the all is the one. That's what I keep hearing over and over again. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:43
Right. 

Lara Luna 1:01:43
It's like the all is the one, the one is the all. I'm like, why do they keep telling me that, but I get it, you know, you don't have to dislike anyone, like stop disliking things, just try to like now in my life. It's like I love everything. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:01
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 1:02:02
You know, I like, I love everything. I'm like, oh, 

Rich Bennett 1:02:05
there's no reason to dislike anything or 

Lara Luna 1:02:07
no, 

Rich Bennett 1:02:08
anybody. 

Lara Luna 1:02:08
Because it's not good for you, just 

Rich Bennett 1:02:10
about 

Lara Luna 1:02:10
think Self 

Rich Bennett 1:02:11
exactly. 

Lara Luna 1:02:11
for a minute. That kind of thing is so heavy on you, as a person, it probably will make you ill. And that's what happened to. my brother. I mean, he got 

Rich Bennett 1:02:22
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 1:02:22
very ill and he's still ill because he lives that way, you see. And that's it's not good for you. You have to get rid of it. You have to be authentic, authenticity. Be authentic to yourself, to your soul, to your heart. Heart. And that's what this is about. This is unconditional love. That's where you go to after you're gone from here. 

Rich Bennett 1:02:43
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 1:02:44
You go to unconditional love. There's no judgment there. I promise. The only judgment that there is is the judgment you place upon yourself. And I just want to help. I really do. And because you see, if I help someone and like you're helping someone, and then we help, then that person helps someone and then that 

Rich Bennett 1:03:08
helps 

Lara Luna 1:03:08
person 

Rich Bennett 1:03:08
the world a better place. 

Lara Luna 1:03:10
Wouldn't it be like, do you want to live in a world where everybody loves each other? And when you come out of your house, they really mean, you look beautiful today. They really mean that. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:20
yeah. 

Lara Luna 1:03:20
Or they say, 

Rich Bennett 1:03:21
Yeah. 

Lara Luna 1:03:21
Do you want me to drive you to the doctor? Because living alone is hard. I have to climb on the roof pretty soon. And I have to chock, you know, cut down one of the trees and I'm going to be doing that. But you know, everything I do is like, wait a minute. I've got a retired army ranger down the street. And all he's doing is going to racetrack and eat and hop dogs all day. I'll bet you he'll help me. If I ask him, he's been my friend for 15 years. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:50
You can always ask a noom. 

Lara Luna 1:03:52
Or I can ask a noom. And they could probably all gather together in the group and come chop down that tree. 

Rich Bennett 1:03:59
Get up on. 

Lara Luna 1:04:01
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:01
They're not but. 

Lara Luna 1:04:03
Hey, that's pretty cool. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:05
Oh, God, lara, I want to thank you so much. It's it's been a who God, I can see here and talk with you all day long. If I didn't have to go get my daughter from work, I probably will. 

Lara Luna 1:04:18
Well, it was really 

Rich Bennett 1:04:19
good 

Lara Luna 1:04:20
view to, you know, have me the show. And I just want to say thank you for everything. It's great to meet you. And now you're my friend. So. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:28
And the door. 

Lara Luna 1:04:29
And get used to it. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:32
Hey, I don't mind you mad friends. I'll tell you what, if you ever make it up this way, let me know. And if you've never had smoked tofu before. 

Lara Luna 1:04:42
Oh, 

I'm there. I am there with bells. 

Rich Bennett 1:04:48
I, even though I'm not a vegan, I do eat. There are like certain things I'll eat. 

Lara Luna 1:04:53
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 1:04:54
And I it was my son's graduation party long time ago. And his mother is a vegan or at least she was then. I don't know if she is now or not. So it's like, well, they're over. So I got to make something. So I smoked 

Lara Luna 1:05:09
tofu. Oh, wow. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:10
It was good. 

Lara Luna 1:05:11
I've never had it, but it sounds delicious. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:13
It was very good. And that was before I learned how to do tofu the proper way. Because I didn't realize you're supposed to use a press and get all that water out. 

Lara Luna 1:05:22
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:23
Yeah, I didn't do that. 

Lara Luna 1:05:25
That's okay. I'm sure it's still good. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:27
I tried it. So Laura, thank you so much. 

Lara Luna 1:05:32
Thank you so much. It was a real pleasure. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:35
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and learned something from it as I did. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love it if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at conversationswithrich Bennett.com for updates, giveaways, and more. Until next time, take care, be kind, and keep the conversations going. You know, it takes a lot to put a podcast together. together, And my sponsors help add a lot. But I also have some supporters that actually help me when it comes to the editing software, the hosting, and so forth. There's a lot that goes into putting this together. So I want to thank them. And if you can please please visit their websites, visit their businesses, support them however you can. So please visit the following. Full Full Circle Boards. Nobody does charcuterie, like full circle boards. Visit them at fullcircleboards.com. Sincerely, Sincerely, so your photography. Live in the moment. They'll capture it. Visit them at sincerely sawyer.com. The job at town Lions Club. Serving the community since 1965. Visit them at japatownlinesclub. org. Don't forget the E at the end of Jopetown because they're extraordinary.