Migraine Awareness: The Peace Whisperer

[00:00:06] Hi, this is the Be Well with Dr. Michelle Greenwell podcast. Our heartwarming conversation is designed to lift you on your wellness journey. Grab your cup of tea and enjoy the podcast.

[00:00:26] Welcome to Be Well with Dr. Michelle Greenwell, where we explore pathways to healing through movement, mindfulness, bioenergetic wellness, and meaningful conversation. Throughout June, we've been honoring Migraine Awareness Month by sharing stories, tools, and perspectives that help us understand healing from a broader lens.

[00:00:48] And we've explored the body, the nervous system, the power of story, the importance of listening to the messages our lives are offering us. And as we conclude this special series, we get a chance to step back and look at an even bigger question. What if healing isn't simply about reducing symptoms? What if healing is about creating space? Creating space for peace to be present.

[00:01:14] Peace within our bodies, peace within our minds, peace within our relationships, and ultimately peace within our communities and our world. Today's guest believes that each of us has the ability to become a living expression of peace. Also known as the peace whisperer, Karen Lee Cohen is an eight-time regional Emmy Award-winning producer, an executive producer, author, and founder of the Let's Be Peace movement.

[00:01:44] Her collaborative book, Let's Be Peace, 20 Unique Paths to Healing Yourself and Spreading Peace in the World, brings together 20 contributors who each offer a unique approach to cultivating inner peace and sharing that peace with others. Karen's vision is simple yet profound. When we become peace within ourselves, we help create peace for everyone. Karen, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being here. It's my joy. Thank you, Michelle.

[00:02:16] As we do with each episode, we want to offer you a healing session. Today, we're going to invite that peace within. And as you get to the end of the podcast episode, we hope that you start to notice the difference in the way you're breathing, how you might be moving, even the thoughts that you have. To help us with that, we always have our tea ritual. I encourage you to grab a glass of water if you want, infuse it with the energy that we're going to talk about here and the ideas.

[00:02:45] Or if you've got a cup of tea, then join us as we bring the tea to our lips. So, Karen, what have you got in your tea mug today? Well, first, my mug says this is a wonderful gift, light and love. And love and light, I've been signing my emails for many, many years. And what is in it today is something called Sunrider Tea, Cali by Sunrider Herbal.

[00:03:12] And I've been subscribing to them for many, many, many years. They infuse a lot of peace in all of their products. So, and I also add, for a little pip, I add some organic matcha powder to it. So that gives me a bit of a boost. And just a green matcha? Yes, the green matcha, yes. Green matcha? Yeah, I love matcha. And I agree with you with that boost.

[00:03:40] And it's such a lovely, it's like, oh, here I am, is how I feel when I have matcha. Yes. That's beautiful. Today, I was trying to figure out what tea wants to come along for this conversation. And it's a tea that I have highlighted it on many occasions. I have this tea with every group meeting that I have, where we're going to have like a board meeting or something like that, where I want to bring a group of people together.

[00:04:09] And I thought this might be the one for us. So today is Mission for Change Community Tea. And it comes from the Cape Breton Tea Company. And its affirmation is, in community, we are empowered for change. And as we talk about peace within, then we have the harmony within all of our systems. And as we talk about peace without, we're talking about how our peace within can support the peace around us and around the world.

[00:04:36] This tea was chosen because peace is never created alone. It grows through connection, through kindness, through people choosing to care for one another. I'd like to highlight two herbs. First one is lavender. And that's one that people talk about a lot. It's something that you crawl into the tub with when you want to have a nice soothing bath and find some peace with the door closed. Lavender carries the spiritual essence of serenity and trust.

[00:05:05] It helps to quiet that busy mind, soften fear, and create space for restoration. Lavender reminds us that peace is not something you chase. It is something we allow ourselves to receive. And then if we go to the strawberry leaves. So these two is what I want to pair together for bringing the power of the herbs forward. Strawberry leaves. These symbolize generosity, heart-centered living, and sweetness that grows through community.

[00:05:35] They remind us that even small acts of kindness can nourish ourselves and create lasting change. Now we bring those two together to create an invitation to rest in your heart while remaining open to serving the world. And this tea carries a deeper purpose. And for those of you that have followed this tea, this supports the Moyo family in Malawi.

[00:05:58] A family who has had many hardships through prolonged drought, feud insecurity, lack of education, and limited access to medicine and shelter. They lost their home three years ago in a tsunami. And they don't have resources where they are for people to rebuild. So they live underneath tents. So many of us, peace can feel like an abstract idea.

[00:06:24] And for the Moyo family, peace means having food to eat, safe place to sleep, medicine when illness comes, education for the next generation. And they really hold on to that. They hope for tomorrow. And every cup of tea brings a small act of compassion, a reminder that healing ourselves and caring for others are not separate paths. They're the same journey. So as we're sipping on this tea today, I'm going to bring forward the love that the Moyo family brings.

[00:06:53] Despite all their hardships, they are such an incredible loving people and they are always sharing with our family stories and pictures and songs that they sing in their language. And it's always so beautiful. And it's always so beautiful. But for us today, Karen, thank you so much for being here. I'm going to say cheers. I invite you to just have a smell of your beautiful tea. And that's going to calm the limbic system, connect us to our motor system and allow us to just sit gently.

[00:07:27] And as we think about the affirmation in community, we are empowered for change. So you can feel a little gratitude for what you currently have in your life. Ask yourself how peace can create, can be created within, and then how that peace can be shared with someone else. I'm going to get you to check on something for me. So Karen, you probably haven't done this with me before. Some of my listeners may have.

[00:07:55] If you turn your head at the moment, see how far you can see one way or the other. And then just mark that amount down. So you just kind of take a mental note of it. Notice what it feels like and if both sides are equal. Is it equal on both sides for you? Yes. Okay. And about how far can you see? Can you see past the side?

[00:08:24] Oh, yes. Quite a bit. Okay. Perfect. And then the next question I'm going to ask. So listeners, if you were driving a car or taking a walk while you're listening to this podcast, you might not be able to do it. But if you were able, if you were seated, you're able to do this. What I invite you to take notice of now is did your belly go first when you went to turn? Or did your head go first? My head went first. My head went first. And that's most people.

[00:08:51] And that means we're isolated how our body is working rather than it's integrated. So as we go through our conversation today, I'd like for people to come back to that little check. So at the end, they'll be able to notice if the belly starts to turn first, if they have an increased range of motion, or if it starts to be more balanced between the two sides.

[00:09:17] Then you know that while you were listening to this podcast, you had a healing session. All right. While you're sitting there, I wanted to take the power of the word piece. And just so you could see how much it impacts your body while you're listening to us talk today. I wanted you, the audience, to be able to realize the words that you say, how important they are.

[00:09:47] So if you'll just repeat with me the mantra that Karen has for her movement, let's be peace, which is an invitation. If you just say it three times, let's be peace. Let's be peace. Let's be peace. Let's be peace. You may have noticed that your breath kind of did a sigh in there. You might have taken a deeper breath. Maybe your shoulders started to drop.

[00:10:15] You might now notice that your feet are connected to the floor, which you might not have noticed at all before. Or you might notice they feel a little bit deeper to that. And now if you just go back, check in and see if there's a change in the way the head's going to turn. So is there a change in the range of motion? And is the belly going with you? What is it doing for you, Karen? Yes, both.

[00:10:47] Part of it was because you helped raise my consciousness. But I definitely had a greater range of motion too. And my belly did go with it. And I wanted people to understand the power of those words. Let's be peace. So that's how much the body can change just by using those words. And yes, I did suggest, did the belly go first or did the head go first?

[00:11:13] But what the body loves is when you ask it to integrate and be connected in a whole, it will do that. But we don't usually ask that question. We just reach for something and assume that how we're going to get there is going to be the right way. But it really does enjoy bringing that integration back in. Okay, that's my playtime. Now I want to learn more about you, Karen. So your movement asks us to think differently about wellness.

[00:11:41] Many people spend years searching outside themselves to find answers. But the title of your book suggests that healing and peace begins within. So I'd love to begin by asking you, what does let's be peace mean to you? Well, exactly what you said, that it starts within and it can be spread from within. Let's be peace has been a mantra of mine for many, many decades.

[00:12:11] But it has focused more since writing the let's be peace book. I've long believed that we have many, many choices health wise, and that those choices need to be explored before we make our decisions.

[00:12:29] And so the reason we put that together with the let's be peace is I believe in, and the community that I that many of the collaborators believe that when we are more peaceful, we will be healthier. And when we are healthier, we will be more peaceful. And the two kind of really, really meld together as it is as we work with them. So let's be peace is peace within.

[00:12:58] And I believe that we have great abilities to take care of ourselves and to heal ourselves. And the purpose of the let's be peace book is for people to know we have a lot of alternatives. And as I say often in the book is if you, you know, if it resonates with you, pay attention. If it doesn't just move on, because we all have a different GPS system, we call it our internal GPS system.

[00:13:25] So we really learn learn to quiet yourself and and know what what is peaceful for you, what resonates with you. There are no right or wrong answers outside of you. It's all inside of you. I had an interesting conversation on my trip home this morning from Tai Chi class with someone who hasn't been sleeping well.

[00:13:50] And as we were talking, it came to my mind she had just been away and I said, well, how did you sleep while you were away? And she said, oh, I slept so well. And I said, isn't that interesting? Because you live alone and it's a really big house and you might not be nervous about anybody breaking in. We live in a rural area. We're not really worried about that. But there may be something in the background that you can't find that that peace within.

[00:14:19] And that keeps you awake at night. And she stopped and she goes, I didn't think of that. And I'm just bringing that up now because as you're talking about, you know, we talk about peace and sometimes it can be abstract, but it can be something as simple as that. Noticing where you're not comfortable and what happens as a result of not being comfortable and where you are comfortable.

[00:14:42] And then do you put yourself more into those uncomfortable times and get stuck with I can't sleep or are you able to shift and do something different? And Michelle, the body is so remarkably smart and talks to us all the time. And part of the mission is to learn how to listen to it.

[00:15:05] One of the things that I offer on the website for all of your your listeners is peace tips. And a lot of it is a lot of your audience will be aware of. But this is reminders, you know, in what to do the breathing. But like like you did with your friend this morning, just remembering to journal to be to be grateful, to be cognizant of what's around what's around you.

[00:15:33] So, yes, I encourage people to learn how to quiet themselves enough to listen to their body and bodies were really smart. And do you want to say the website where they can find those tips? Well, well, you've mentioned it. Let's put that right at the forefront for them. Thank you. Let's be peace dot com. It's real simple. And you get it's written right on in my background. So if you forget it, you can write it down.

[00:16:04] Perfect. Thank you for saying that. I wanted to go back to, you know, there's lots of words that you could have come up with or phrases. Where did the first idea come from for you to think about even using that phrase? Let's be peace. About 20 years ago, I was working for the singer Jewel and her mother and her mother wrote a book called The Architecture of All Abundance.

[00:16:32] And in that book, she said, we will find peace one person at a time. And it just it was like, you know, the my angels and guides went ding, ding, ding, ding. But that was my my first physical awareness of it. And so I started signing all of my my social media and my emails with be peace.

[00:16:58] And I was talking to one of my my nieces during during that time. And I said, what do you think of that? He said, well, Auntie Karen, that's really too demanding. I went, oh, good point. And I had just gotten out of a session with someone who is in the book, Dorothy Lee Donahue. And one of the stories and she teaches alchemy and Reiki.

[00:17:26] And one of the stories that she always told in her sessions was that when she was in a big corporate job, one of the things she always said to people was, let's do this. Never do this. It's always let's do this. And so I got another ding, ding, ding and put the let's and the be peace together. And that's how it came out. Beautiful.

[00:17:49] And I'm so glad that you brought that forward, because so many people do it, do phrases or affirmations as demands and don't realize it needs to be a suggestion. Yes. Have an option that you may want to participate or not. Exactly. Let's be peace. Yeah. Wouldn't it be lovely if we like and it even brings that we part in when it's let's. Yeah. Beautiful. So phrasing is everything. So that's important for people to remember.

[00:18:19] And that let's be peace. We've already experienced what it means to our bodies just to have that phrase there, which is great. Okay. I wanted to move to your book. So 20 unique paths to healing yourself and spreading peace in the world. Will you tell us because you've got a whole bunch of different contributors in there. And can you tell us a little bit about the different healing modalities that are represented? Yeah. Well, it's pretty much across the board.

[00:18:48] And what I didn't cover in that I'm covering in the next book, which is going to be let's be joy. Acupuncture and Ayurvedic and tapping. And I, one of my, one of my, my dear friends and mentors, Sue Storm, the angel lady, and she helps you connect with your, with your angels and guides. And I'm so excited.

[00:19:17] And I think that's why, and we're really, I think. But I think that's why I do want to give you a little bit of support. But I know the other people that are very, many of us that are very, many of you who are, you know, and I think that's one of my favorite people who are a native people. based on what they were doing.

[00:19:44] So everyone put their own interpretation on being peace. And I think that's one of the greatest joys about the book. And virtually everybody in the book talks about stories, how they got to where they are, what their practice is. And the other question that I asked everybody and everyone generously answered was,

[00:20:07] if our reader wants to find a person like you, how do they do that? Because we didn't want anybody to feel like this is the only person who does that, which of course is not true. So everybody talked about what they do and the best way to find somebody like them. So yes, most of them are available to work with you virtually.

[00:20:35] But if you want to find somebody in your local neighborhood, they give you tips on how to do that. So it's very interactive and it's very hopefully reader friendly. I mean, one of my greatest joys is when somebody reads the book and I get an email or a text or a phone call saying, quite a few people put the book on their bedside and then they read a chapter at a time.

[00:21:04] And one friend called me and he said, I'm having a problem because I keep reading the first five chapters because they're so good and I know I need to get past it. But it's for whatever reason, that was what was resonating with him. But I keep it here and I keep reading. So they're not all known techniques.

[00:21:31] There's a wonderful gentleman named Emmanuel Dagger who I had the good fortune of meeting in 2018 at a Patricia Cota Robles event in Hawaii. And he does something that his own modality called the core work method. And again, Emmanuel is somebody who I would suggest if you're interested, go on his newsletter because the information that he gives out

[00:22:00] monthly and daily and he does music. It is wonderful. So they're not all well-known modalities, which was one of my goals to let people know there's so many options out there. And your body will tell you what it wants, but you have to know the options are there. And, you know, and we all, you know, Western medicine is certainly part of the mix

[00:22:29] if that's what resonates with you. But what I like to talk about is teammates, you know, explore these different modalities, explore from whatever angle you'd like. And then, you know, then quiet yourself and find out, you know, which teammates work for you. And for me personally, I mean, I've had different teammates along the way. It's not like you need to be with the same modalities all the time.

[00:22:58] Our body grows, we grow, we change. So it's just learning to get in tune with yourself is really what, and again, I call it your internal GPS system because that's something we all understand. We all have. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. All right. So now I know on the horizon is the joy book. So I'm putting in my dibs to be able to talk to you again.

[00:23:27] I've just, I've been recording with Lauren Wittig in her podcast series, Facing Dementia. And we talked about a joy calendar. And we also talked a little bit more about what joy means in the spaces in our day. So I would love to have you come back and be able to dive deeper into your discoveries and what you find from the interviews that you'll be doing next. So thank you.

[00:23:55] So now let's dive into a little bit of your book because I so enjoyed reading this. And I put a few notes together. So I just want to see some of your ideas around them. You begin with Diane Osterman's chapter with a quote by Nikola Tesla. If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration. And I so appreciate that you opened with this idea

[00:24:23] of transposing younger health self over unwell self and using the frequency that the body recognizes. And many of us have forgotten what this is like since we often have only the memory of illness to go by. And we kind of hold on to that all the way through our lives. Do you want to comment a little bit about that? You've kind of talked a bit about it, but I think you probably have more you could say. Well, it's very much what you talk about. I mean, we're all energy.

[00:24:52] And everything that we do or feel is a matter of the energy around us and within us. And it's becoming, focusing on the positive is always going to be more productive for your body than focusing on the negative. And I'm not saying don't deal with whatever it is that you're going through. But one of the things I like to do is thank my body.

[00:25:19] And especially if there's some place that it's showing a little bit of uneasiness, which is what this disease is about. I thank that part for talking to me and it's something to work on. So, and I don't mean to make it sound easy because it's not, it's a process and we're always growing and learning. And so I'm bringing to you today

[00:25:49] what I've learned so far and I certainly hope to learn a whole lot more and grow a lot more in coming decades. Exactly. I was thinking, I have a family member that was visiting and she said, you know, your family's been through a lot of hardships. And I kind of looked at her and I was like, what are you talking about? I realized, if you look at it through that lens, it's like, yeah,

[00:26:16] it's definitely been a colorful voyage for our family. We've had a lot of things happen. And I thought, but I never actually stopped to look at it as the problem. I looked at it as what made the character and then the character coming forward. And it was really interesting because I never had even thought that way. So as you were saying, you know, everybody's got that journey and some parts are harder than others. Not to say, you know, I haven't struggled or my family hasn't struggled with overcoming those challenges.

[00:26:46] But the viewpoint has been always, like you said, learning more, grow more, learn more, grow more, and then see what you can do with that. And the other piece is how can we share it back out again? When we decided to come to earth this time. Okay. It's all discovery. More discovery. Oh, good. Okay.

[00:27:15] So the other one that I really enjoyed was Fabian Lewis talks about a joy meter. And so I think it's funny that joy is coming up several times here in this conversation. So joy meter being a wellness meter. And I love this idea because it can be so easy to get caught up in that day-to-day stuff and putting the calendar so one thing after another and you don't leave space for joy to find its way in. So even in our struggles, we can bring in something that can find us that joy.

[00:27:45] Can you share how this has served you and what you do? Well, it has led me to write the joy book and to talk to more collaborators. And one of the things I've learned is that one of my guides said that the reason I did Let's Be Peace First was because I needed to become totally immersed in peace, which I think I'm thankful

[00:28:14] that I feel pretty much there. It's my mission in life. And the next book is joy because I am learning how joy expresses in my life. And through this process, I've learned that I'm happy all the time. I mean, not all the time, but a good portion of the time. But when I sat down to write the introduction, I needed to come up with things that give me joy.

[00:28:44] And so that's been a wonderful journey for me. And one of the things I did, I live in California, very, very close to a boardwalk with a lot of trees. And I have a particular tree that for whatever reason, I became enamored with maybe, you know, 10, 15 years ago. And I walked a tree and I hugged a tree and I talked to a tree. And that's great joy for me. I mean, that's just, I'm in my bliss.

[00:29:13] And, you know, other things are more physically. I mean, I write about when I was programmed, I was got the position of program director at the New York television station. And I remember to this moment when I got the phone call that I got the job. And there's no other way to describe it except for joy because I had worked for so long

[00:29:41] to achieve that. So there's different degrees of joy. Tree is obviously a very calm joy. And getting the job was a very exuberant joy that came from something outside. But then I think it was joy, it is joy because I know how hard I worked to get there. So, you know, we all have different levels. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And people ask me about

[00:30:11] when I'm bagging and preparing the teas. You know, it's a lot of work, right? It's like, how do you get all that work done? And as soon as I open up the container of whatever herbs I'm working with and that first smell, which is the same as smelling that tea at the beginning of the podcast, it's just like, ah. And that's, I find the peace and joy in there. And then it's, I kind of lose track of time. Then I'm just

[00:30:40] in the whole process. So I'm just saying that out loud because as you were thinking about hugging the tree and being connected to the tree, our connection in nature, where do we fit in nature? And when I'm working with the tea, I can't, I'm not outside, but I'm as close to nature as I can really be. Of course. And participate and then be one with it. And so I'm just saying that out loud for people because sometimes we get lost in our activities and, you know,

[00:31:10] going for the walk, it's, you know, put your earbuds in, listen to the music and you zone out of nature or you can go and find that tree that speaks to you and send some energy back. It's so beautiful to exchange with a tree. And the other thing which I'm just thinking of now is I make a habit of saying hello to everybody and I'm always amused by who says hello back and who doesn't. Because don't be

[00:31:40] Go ahead. No, just some people are like, what the heck is this? And other people are, oh, hello. I live, we chose to move to Cape Breton Island and everybody waves with their hand on the steering wheel so you'll see fingers do this. Whether they know you or not doesn't make any difference but you wave as you pass everybody and that was one of the first things that attracted us was look at how friendly everyone

[00:32:10] is and, and then do you, do I know this person? And then you're just like, nope, I don't know these people but it's okay, I'm going to wave back or you go, oh, I missed waving. Now what are they going to think? That's fun. I mean, just a short story when I first moved to New York for the, the, the NBC job, I would, I was living in Chicago. I was born in Chicago and then I moved to New York and I would walk down the hall saying hello to people

[00:32:40] and the looks that I got because that was not the typical New York executive. But by the time I'd been there for a year, everybody said hello to each other. So it's, it truly is contagious. Your joy would be really helpful in others finding their joy. Yeah. Yeah. And you never know where your one smile to one person is the impact of their day. Yeah. It just, and it was such a small,

[00:33:10] simple gesture. It didn't cost you anything really, except to be aware. Yeah. Be happy. that was just the opposite of costing. Okay. I want to go to the quote you had by Susan Kennard where she felt very empowering and I want to bring this forward for people. So I think when, this is the quote, I think when people realize there are much

[00:33:39] more than they have ever thought they were, that opens the door to feeling that you can be at home with who you are. I'm just going to say it again because it's a long, it's a long one. I think when people realize they're much more than they ever thought they were, it opens the door to feeling that you can be at home with who you are. So for those who are suffering from illness, this can be hard to hear or believe. And if we go back to

[00:34:08] Migraine Awareness Month and people who suffer from migraines who may spend days not connecting with anyone and not realizing they're more because they've just been so compacted. Could you comment to how this can empower someone who is suffering from illness? Again, it's remembering that we are more. I'm sure and I

[00:34:37] am fortunate to have not suffered from migraines. I'm sure at the time that it's all consuming. But to me, it's remembering that there's a reason our body is telling us something and perhaps we need to look beyond whether it's stress, whether it's post-traumatic stress disorder. Thank you.

[00:35:06] I don't know. It's just remembering that there is a reason for it, that we are so much more than what we're feeling at the time and that when we go there and if you believe in meditation, I'm sure that'll help. When you go there, it just helps you move forward. And again, I don't have any magic words for people who have migraines.

[00:35:35] And I've experienced recently something that my sister said was a silent migraine where you get colors in front of your eyes. I've had that a few times and it's not at all debilitating for me and it passes. So that's the closest I've come. But I do my breathing techniques and sometimes I laugh because it's such an unusual occurrence.

[00:36:07] It's never gotten so difficult that I've had to take to bed for it. But it gives me a little idea that there's things that our body is telling us. And usually when I've had it three or four times, I wasn't aware at all that I was stressed. So it got me to look into, okay, what is it that my body is telling me I need to pay attention to?

[00:36:35] Um, so, um, what Susan is saying is just remember that we're more than whatever the disease we are, um, having, um, and that we have the ability to help ourselves heal. And just tuning in and doing that, Susan is one of my dear friends and mentors also. Uh, so I'm, I'm very grateful that you brought her up. She's quite special. I'm just going to

[00:37:05] suggest to, um, everyone with this idea in mind that to be able to say, let's be peace to the part of the head that's hurting the most, or let's be peace to the back of the head or through the spine. And just suggesting to those parts that are speaking, let's be peace and realizing they're sending the message, but you've heard the message, so it's okay for the message to be released so that you can actually take action to do something.

[00:37:35] So I'm just going to invite that idea. And if you want to use that turning of the head as a way to notice the amount of stress that's in the system, when the neck starts to have limited range of motion, you should be able to see all the way behind you. Many people, they kind of end up at the side and their eyes get kind of stuck by the edges of the glasses. I'll say that because we just get used to looking to

[00:38:05] the frame and then we stop. And so this is an opportunity to find out how much stress is on the body and maybe that's a way to find it before it gets to the crisis situation. What a great idea. I also want to share with your audience, a friend came up with something that I use all the time now when I do my, as opposed to, you know, she, we, we're trained to count one, 1,000, 2,000 or whatever. And what she does and now

[00:38:34] what I've been doing for the last couple of years is like one let's be peace, two let's be peace, three let's be peace, four let's be peace. And so it keeps that in my consciousness. So I, I hope that is something that might be helpful to people. Perfect. Yes. And I, I remember reading that. That's beautiful. Okay. So as we're looking at the book that came together, you didn't just stop at the book.

[00:39:03] I love, I love the way you, you approach things. I'm a, I'm a similar person. So you said we're going to make this bigger than a book. We're going to make this a movement. Can you talk about what's the difference between writing a book about let's be peace and then actually taking it to a movement and making it a world opportunity? to put it simpler, simple, it's sticking to it. You know, it's, it, it is making sure for me that I am offering

[00:39:34] tips and information to people all over. And it was a friend who, when I was still writing the book, she's in, Kelly Ratzleff, she's a person who designed the cover and is also in, in, in the book. And I got another ding, ding, ding. Yes, it, it is a movement and I've just started a newsletter that if, if

[00:40:03] your list, if your audience is interested in when you go to letsbepeace.com, you can sign up for the newsletter and that way I have your permission to send it to you. It's only going to be once a month for now, but there's peace tips within it. And one of the things I hope to do in the near future is to have a, a membership where we come together once a month and we talk about peace, what peace means to us and how we are peace inside

[00:40:31] and how, how, what, what we are, what we are doing, what we are demonstrating. So it just, you know, when, when Kelly said it's a movement again, I knew that yes, yes it is. And this is why I'm here. So it's why I'm doing this wonderful things like meeting with with you, Michelle, and and getting the word out as much as I can. I just, I'm going to be, Let's Be Peace

[00:41:01] is going to be a part of a potentially of a movie that someone who I work with is doing and somebody within within the the movie will be reading Let's Be Peace. So it's, it's just, it's putting that in people's consciousness. And even though it took me seven decades to get here, I know that that's what I was put here for, to spread

[00:41:29] peace and health and wellness. Peace is primary, but also how it's really important to me to let people know that they have many, many choices. and as much as I can get that out to people, that's, you know, that that's what I will be doing in the newsletter and on the website and in the Zoom meeting when it gets going.

[00:41:58] I love, because it could be a book and people read the book, but like you said, you've got people who sits on the bedside table and they keep coming back to the same stories to bring those ideas forward. And it's realizing that when people are looking for answers, how am I going to fix this? How am I going to get better? All those things, they keep looking, which is valuable for gathering information. But when you have something like let's be peace that needs to just sit

[00:42:28] presently with you every day and it's moved to the movement part, it just means you don't have to be out there working so hard to find more. Sometimes in Tai Chi we say less is more. So sometimes it is as simple as sit with the peace. And then if you need something extra, that's okay. But at least you started with the peace

[00:42:58] that is going to help mold everything that you need and then provide you with knowing I just need to do a little bit extra to tweak it. peace. That's why I really encourage your audience to go to the website and download the peace tips. It's complimentary and it's just friendly reminders of things that we can do, journal, gratitude, breathing, forgiveness. So I'm sure many

[00:43:28] in your audience already know all these things but it's kind of nice to just have a colorful pamphlet that reminds you of it. What's the reminder? Stick it on the fridge, in front of the computer. Yes, exactly. For those days when you do forget. Okay, so if we move from there, we know that inner peace is important for physical and mental wellness and as a movement, how can the inner peace bring about the change in the world? Can you talk a little bit more

[00:43:58] about the relationships that you've noticed as a result of how peace has been within you and what that's meant around you? A lovely question. Thank you for asking it. Something that had happened before but I'm much more conscious of it is in the workplace when I'm meeting people, people will say things like they just like my energy which is always a big compliment but now I mean I have so

[00:44:28] expanded my world because of thank you God and Zoom with the people all over the world that I'm able to communicate with and very often I'll be in something called the vintage writers group and we're all over 70 and authors whether quite a few of them are novelists

[00:44:57] and a few of us are non-fiction like me and several have said that we just like it when you show up because you make me feel more peaceful and there's one woman who I've particularly become close with and she doesn't until well she says she doesn't believe anything that's in the book she does all western medicine but she wrote me just a glowing

[00:45:27] read because she loves the peace message and so it's just it's realizing that people are responding you know that's why you know my one of my greatest joys when somebody tells me that they've gotten something whether it's the forgiveness or the journal or something that just me being peaceful

[00:45:57] they're able to expand their awareness and that's my greatest joy that's why I'm here so and I'm very grateful that I've learned that not everybody has that grace to be able to know that so I'm very grateful that I have learned that and I'm sure I'm here for other purposes that will unfold but right now as that movement gets bigger exactly

[00:46:28] exactly I was just thinking as you were talking about that inside I'm always thinking every interaction is a healing interaction so when I'm approaching people I try to start my day thinking about who I'm going to be interacting with and having that peace so when we are connecting with each other I'm offering healing however that's going to be supportive for someone and with the idea that together

[00:46:57] that's how we're going to help each other along I do feel a lot of peace from you I think when we first started talking I said to you your smile makes me feel joyful thank you it's interesting when we look at what colors we wear what kinds of things we surround ourselves with just as you look at the two of us in our bright colors

[00:47:27] and many colors that's the other thing that swirls around us which can be very impactful I remember I had one colleague that she just wore black all the time and she said I just wear black because when I go to the closet I don't have to think I can grab anything and it will match and I was like do I want to be purple today do I want to be yellow you know I'm not thinking

[00:47:56] black I never worn this on a podcast before and I got clearly this morning this is what I was supposed to wear with you you're talking to Michelle she's going to be multicolored it was a clear message okay and I

[00:48:32] you can see that at the moment but this is a room it's all blue and it's one way that I can be near the ocean when I can't quite get down to the beach so

[00:49:02] yeah all right so we have the piece within and then we have the piece that we surround ourselves in where we live and what we're doing so let's just move the conversation into a couple more places I think we've kind of talked about how how we can get healing in the planet so how we can start to ripple that effect out but there's one little piece that I think a lot of people struggle with and that's about trusting ourselves

[00:49:31] trusting our inner guidance and even being open to our angels you've talked about that a little bit about who's been guiding you and the angels that you work with how can people begin developing the trust can you share that again I'm so happy that you

[00:50:10] grace the more I learn to listen to myself the more I'm able to love and trust myself is it 24-7 probably not we evolve and it ebbs and it flows but it's really just it's consciousness it's saying okay I do love myself I do trust myself I am able to know things I don't need to go on the outside and

[00:50:39] in terms of it spreading peace you know to others I really do agree with what Linedra Jewel's mom said and we will have peace when each one of us are peaceful and we will spread peace one person at a time and I see it in my interactions with people it peace

[00:51:09] so it it is just one moment at a time learn to go inside trust your GPS system know that it and again I am going to in my newsletter give more tips on how to do that because I know it is a process but it is really an awareness once we are aware of that

[00:51:39] being a goal even if it's you know two minutes out else they can do to help you spread the message

[00:52:13] well join join the movement give me your email and go out there and be peace trust yourself and the more you can create teammates that work with and just work with you but know that when as you are healthier you will create more peace and as you are peaceful you will create greater wisdom and health and

[00:52:42] just spread peace by being peace beautiful beautiful Karen thank you for sharing your vision and your heart with us and as we're concluding our Migraine Awareness Month series we're reminded that healing is rarely a destination all of and the relationship with our body a relationship with our story

[00:53:12] the community and a relationship with peace and that peace already exists within us we just have to remember to find it and be with it is there anything else you'd like to add Karen that I might have missed no you're very thorough and I appreciate you sharing your space with perfect thank you I'm just going to

[00:53:42] talk a little bit more about migraine awareness month for you listening migraine may have brought many of the listeners to this series but perhaps what we all are seeking is something even deeper and that is to feel safe to be heard to feel that we are connected to feel hopeful perhaps peace is not the absence of struggle perhaps peace is the willingness to meet ourselves and each other with compassion and hold the space and migraine

[00:54:11] awareness month reminds us that invisible struggles deserve visible compassion so whether you're living with a migraine chronic pain grief uncertainty stressors that we have in our everyday life maybe this series will remind you that healing is possible your story matters peace begins within but it never ends there always grows through community and listeners I encourage you to explore Karen's work

[00:54:41] the Let's Be Peace movement go to her website get her tips find that newsletter find the inspirations that you can help share with the people who surround you and you can spread more peace with and as you move through your day remember a kind word can create peace a gesture on a steering wheel can do it a smile as you pass someone a quiet breath can create peace a cup of tea shared with a friend and

[00:55:11] create peace that they might not have realized they try to show to to show to them we know they're struggling and we're helping in every way we can and when enough of us choose peace we begin to change the world

[00:55:42] so thank you so much for being here and until next time everyone be well take care thank you for listening to be well with Dr. Michelle Greenwell there are a couple of resources I want to just point out when you go to the website greenwellcenter.com you'll have a pop-up window that pop-up gives you the top eight easy stress releasers that you can use every day that's something you can put beside

[00:56:12] your computer bathroom mirror beside the bedside table a great resource also my YouTube channel it at michelle greenwell and last if you're a link tree person link tree l-i-n-k t-r dot ee slash

[00:56:42] greenwellcenter that has all my resources in one spot those are for intricate little things that you can't get everywhere and it's a wonderful way for me to be able to share all the different aspects of have a wonderful day