An Interview With Tranformational Leader, Public Speaker, Author and Singer-Songwriter, RIKKA ZIMMERMAN!

Transformational leader, acclaimed international speaker, successful author and singer/songwriter Rikka Zimmerman has released her new video “Bridges”, a song she wrote to show “how good, how magical, and how infinitely giving life truly is.” The song is from Rikka’s recently released new album, The Miracle, which she wrote to inspire others to reach a greater level of consciousness and universal love.

Rikka grew up around music her whole life, as her parents had met in a choir and play multiple instruments. Rikka carried her musical gift through adulthood and released her first inspirational album, Be the Change, in 2013. Two years afterwards, she was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma cancer (given 8 weeks to live), and she became painfully aware that she had been “playing it safe” her whole life. She says, “When I was faced with the possibility that my life might be taken from me, a burning passion ignited in my heart like an uncontrollable wildfire.  I knew that I had not set my heart completely free and expressed this pure love I truly am through music.” Today, Rikka is completely in remission and stronger in every way. She now desires even more to share her miracle of life, love and transformation with the world through her new album, The Miracle.

Learn more about Rikka Zimmerman in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! Where does this interview find you? Is there music playing in the background? If so, what is it? What music gets you instantly out of a bad mood? What is a song you are loving these days?

It’s 7am and I’m sitting beside my pool watching the world wake up. The sun is peeking through the trees, the birds are singing, the air is crisp, and I am grateful for life. At the moment, I am
listening to the serene music of nature, but the music that instantly gets me out of a bad mood is actually my record. I wrote this album as a prayer from my heart to remind myself to live fully
and love completely. Throughout the lyrics are affirmations that act as catalysts to expand the way one experiences life. Under that, there are 60 layers of vibrational healing tracks that are
barely audible. These tracks balance people’s chakras, increase the energy in people’s bodies, and dissolve old emotional content within their energetic field. (See photograph from GDV machine.) https://app.box.com/s/zg4r13ufxh2ubfsq4m0eda2pv43fv2hi Every time you listen, you feel surrounded by love, even in the midst of LA traffic! One of the songs I am in love with at the moment is Katy Perry’s “Rise.” Every time I listen to it, I am moved by her unshakable, unstoppable, unwavering love. It gives me goosebumps (or as I like to call them, angel bumps) every time!

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory? Was there a time where you thought of doing something completely different?

Somewhere in my little girl heart, I always knew that I was special and had something unique to offer this world. I would stand in front of my bedroom mirror singing into my hairbrush reaching millions of hearts in my wild and wondrous imagination. When I was five, I was abruptly awakened from my dream of being a singer. My entire extended family (over 50 relatives) was at our cabin in Bass Lake. The snow was falling and we were out sledding, laughing, and playing in the winter wonderland. I stood in my light pink snowsuit on the biggest rock I could find and gathered everyone’s attention and proceeded to dramatically sing “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” with my heart open wide. My uncle taped my debut performance to the world. I was so proud. I couldn’t wait to get back to the cabin to watch my brilliance captured on film. That night I got everyone’s attention and pressed play on the VHS… and guess what happened next? Everyone laughed. I was mortified, humiliated and embarrassed. They were making fun of me, saying, “She thinks she’s all that!” From that moment all the way through my twenties, I had lost my capacity to sing. Once I found personal development, I went through a process of re-writing that trauma, and I’m grateful to say that I have my voice back.

Musically, did you approach this year any differently than you did last year? How has 2017 been treating you and your career? What are you most excited about for in 2018?

I would sum 2017 as a beautiful mess. I had the honor and privilege of writing this beautiful album with Isaac and Thorald Koren from The Kin while my house (and life) was under massive
construction. I had just gotten out of a long term relationship that ended in a deep betrayal and felt like I was starting over from the ground up, rebuilding my house, my heart, my body, my
mind, and my soul. It interesting how life seems to take everything from you to only realize that what truly matters can never be taken: that the truth that we are love, can never be destroyed. Now I feel more alive, in love, and happier than ever and am beyond grateful for the journey.

I always like to ask artists about where they came from and how that city or town has influenced them as an artist now. So how do you think your hometown has affected you and your music today?

I was born, raised, (and conceived) in Ojai, California. My family has lived here for over 50 years. I just bought a new house and moved back a year ago. I love it! Ojai reminds you that
life is about relationships, connection, and community. There is not much going on here, so wherever we are, we know it’s about really being present and loving with each other (we throw
the best house parties too!)

Let’s talk about your recently released second album, “The Miracle.” What was it like putting that collection together? How do you think going through Stage 4 Melanoma changed the way you approached making this album and really who you are as an artist today?

When I embarked on this journey of creating this record with Isaac and Thorald Koren from The Kin, who have opened for likes of Pink and Coldplay, I wanted to create and epic soundtrack that would and inspire people to live their most beautiful life.

When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, I pleaded with Source to let me live because I wasn’t ready. I had not yet fully expressed just how much I truly love. I felt like I had cheated me out of myself. I wanted to go back and relive each moment and savor the richness of life more fully.

My father passed away when I was eleven and I swore that I would never let myself love that much again. I felt if I loved that much and then lost that love, I wouldn’t survive it. So I made a vow to never let myself love to that extent ever again. When I did that, it limited my ability to really let love in. What that self-proclamation truly did was keep me from loving as much as I truly do from that moment forward. So in order to be able to fully express my love, write, and sing from the deepest places in my heart, I had to feel and heal those old traumas. Cancer was the catalyst for that healing. Now I am able to love as much as I truly do and invite the audience
into just how much they truly love. I feel blessed beyond measure to get to share this gift of how wonderful life truly can be.

What was the inspiration for your album’s lead single “Bridges”? What was it like making the video for it?

I set out to share with the world the enormity of how infinite and never-ending love is. That if we allow even a mere glimpse of this love into your heart, your life will be forever transformed.
The song begins, ”Your love is like a single spark that starts a forest fire, you know my heart is only flammable. You’re the one flap of a butterfly that starts a hurricane, in a second I am forever changed. There’s so much love, can’t stop it from pouring through. We are bridges for love.”

We filmed this video in Ojai at the Matilija Dam. It was a hilarious adventure! Just imagine: it’s 110 degrees and I am repelling down the side of a mountain in a slip wearing angel wings. Yup!
That’s what happened. It was a crazy adventure getting there, but it turned out beautiful!

How do you think that being a musician today gives you the most joy in life? How do you balance all of the music with writing and your public speaking engagements? Do you find that it’s seamless to do both?

Writing songs is one of the most gratifying, joyful exciting creative endeavors for me. I love that you begin with nothing, and in the end, you have a life form that can go out, reach deep into
people’s hearts, and inspire them to have and be more! How incredibly amazing is that?

With the summer over now, what was something fun or new that you tried this summer?

I got a new puppy this year and she has been so much fun! She’s a purebred Maltese and a joy to be with. Her name is Buddha Love.

We are living in a crazy and at times rough world right now, so I am curious as to how you think being a musician gives you the most joy in life today? Do you think that new music
being created today is going to reflect these hard times?

I believe that in these more difficult times, we are being given a choice. Do we choose love or fear? If we choose love, we invite in a better world. If we choose fear, we doom ourselves to repeat the patterns of the past. Music can be an invitation to stand together and choose to create a new world. I set out to write a song that would ask people to stand for love and forgiveness. When the news
fell of the biggest shooting in US history on June 12 th 2016 in Orlando, I was devastated. My heart cried, “This doesn’t have to happen! I know that if everyone knew that they could heal
their broken hearts with forgiveness, everyone would feel that they were loved and no one would be able to harm anyone or anything!” I set out to create a song that the world could sing together to stand for forgiveness and heal the hurt that is causing this violent behavior in the world. It is my hope that the music that is created today will inspire people to choose love.

Who are some of your favorite artists, or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? What musicians would you absolutely love to work with in the future?

I’m in love with Ed Sheeran. I would love, love, love to create a song that would inspire people to choose love and kindness.

What do you hope fans continue to take away from your new and older music?

It is my hope that everyone on this planet would know through my music that they are loved. If everyone knew that they were loved, could any of the wars or violence exist?

What advice would you give to a young person who is thinking about becoming a musician one day?

Speak your truth. Sing your heart. Embrace your “too muchness” and go for it!

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself, your music, or the show?

That life is a miracle, and that they are living that miracle right now. Even for us to take our next breath, 4 trillion things have to go right, and here we are breathing easy, being given the gift of life. Take this moment to be appreciate this enormous gift that we have been given. Life is precious. Life is good. Life is kind. Life is loving. Life is a miracle. You are a miracle.