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Create Harmony
At Create Harmony, we are elevating the pursuit of peacemaking and the voices of fellow peacemakers. Through conversations, stories, and simple practices, we explore the rhythms that nurture peace within us, between us, and in the communities we call home.
If you're longing for stillness and gratitude, you'll find encouragement here. If you're drawn to creativity, beauty, and a little fun, you'll feel right at home. Each week, we celebrate everyday joys, notice the goodness woven into ordinary moments, and make space for peace to settle gently into our hearts.
We live in step with the rhythms of nature, paying attention to the seasons and the ways they shape us, too. From Winter Wellbeing to GrateFall, our seasonal series offer fresh inspiration and gentle encouragement throughout the year.
Create Harmony
What is a Mental Wellness Boutique?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Today, we welcome our first guest on the podcast. We feature Amy Cook of Petal and Pink Mental Wellness Boutique. She shares all sorts of good info about what the store has to offer as well as details about how it came to be. You will definitely find it interesting to hear about how it got it's name. Check it out!
To learn more, go to mycreateharmony.com
Greeting And Centering
SPEAKER_01Let me get myself going here. Here we go. There we go. How are you today?
SPEAKER_02I'm good. How are you doing?
SPEAKER_01I'm very well. I'm very well. I thought we would have a little something to read to get us centered and started, if that works. Okay. It's from a book called Spirit Wheel. And it's a guy who wrote this book, is an indigenous elder in the Choctaw Nation. His name is Stephen Charlton Charleston. I don't know if you are familiar with him or not, but he's a poet and he's written a lot. He's written this book, and he's also, I think, an Episcopal priest or something. I don't know. He has a lot of different things. So I really like this because of that. So I was going to read it and silence. And whenever you feel ready, you just let me know. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Perfect.
Poem On Turning History
SPEAKER_01It's called To Turn the Wheel of History. To each generation, a task is given by a will and purpose greater than our own, a work to be accomplished even without knowing the outcome. We are called as if by an instinct of migration, something deep in our collective subconscious, a summons to see the moment clearly, to understand the implications, and then to respond. To act in order to change, to turn the wheel of history, to save what must be preserved. Now is our time. This is our calling. We see the need. We know the consequences. Let us be about what must be done.
Naming The Call To Serve
SPEAKER_01Thank you. That just sort of made me think of you.
SPEAKER_02I feel like that's so in alignment with what where I'm feeling you know, where I am today. So that's that's okay.
SPEAKER_01Well, tell me more about that. Where are you today?
SPEAKER_02So I feel like I am feeling super inspired. I'm feeling just um so much peace, uh, just peace, peace, peace. I just feel like that's continuing to manifest, and I just still am feeling that call. Like I loved when you were reading that, and he was saying about the responsibility, you know, that that's so important to uh that we have a responsibility to answer that call and to and to serve the the generation that we're in or the next generation. So that just really resonates with what I'm asking spirit and where I'm where I'm asking for guidance.
SPEAKER_01And so what do you see when you say the word call, what does that mean for you? Or if you don't know, that's okay. But what do you think?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I definitely think this like my soul's purpose.
SPEAKER_01Which is what you say more about that to serve humanity.
SPEAKER_02I know, I know that it's that. Um to share the wisdom that I have, but I think that I have the a little bit of imposter syndrome, like, well, but everybody else is doing that too. Everybody's doing Reiki now, everybody's knows about Buddhism, everybody knows how to chant. I mean, like, it's always like, why is my what I have to bring different? So, yes, that's it's like I know that that I'm meant to share the the wisdom that I have, but yes.
SPEAKER_01I see. Well, I will just say, just as a point of interest, there are more than one dentist in the world, too. I mean, they don't just have one, there is more than one, just you know, that is so true.
SPEAKER_02So right.
SPEAKER_01Right. How do you feel? Like earlier when you were talking, I do you need do you want to have a second to write something down?
SPEAKER_02Yes, please.
SPEAKER_01I don't want to rush you.
SPEAKER_02Yes. No problem. That's very poignant. I love that.
SPEAKER_01And so does that help you connect to exactly what the call is? Or can you can you pinpoint when that happens?
A Personal Encounter With Peace Walkers
SPEAKER_02Yes, like when I saw I had the incredible opportunity of experiencing the monks.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, let's just talk about that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, yes. What was your experience? Tell me about your experience.
SPEAKER_02So, so so I had really wanted to go and see them when they were gonna come to Raleigh, and then when the weather started getting kind of questionable, I was like, something spirit was saying you need to try to get to see them quicker just in case it's too cold or something's going on in Raleigh and it's too many people or whatever. Because I really I prayed so hard, I really wanted to have like a direct experience, like you know how they would show videos of only like three or four people in a section. Like, I wanted that kind of experience, you know, they want to be like how it was at the Capitol where it was tons of people, just for me personally. I just didn't. I know some people love that march, like, yeah, we're all marching for peace, but right, so yeah. So um I um so I I had been thinking about that, and then my mentor who actually is connected with Eatington Street through I think one of the pastors there, um, can't remember his name, but he sent me a message and he said that the church of Eaton Street was going to be hosting them when they came to Raleigh.
SPEAKER_01That was the original plan, yes. Yes, but then I don't know exactly what happened that changed the plan, but I know that they had to pivot. I don't I don't know what happened there, but um, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So he so he he sent me a message and he said, I have an extra ticket if you and Deja want to come. And I was like, Yes, that would be amazing, yes, yes, you know. Um, but that was still right around the time when the weather was kind of questionable, and I was like, Do I wait for that to see? Because whether that gets canceled or changed. Um, so I just had a really strong feeling that I needed to just go. And so when they were in Silar City, um, they had stopped in Silar City one night, and I was like, I'm gonna just get up first thing in the morning because I could see their little live map thing, and I saw where they were, and I was like, I'm just gonna get on 64 and drive until I see them, like until I see them marching. And I tell you, when I when I saw the motorcade, I just burst it out into tears. I was talking to Anthony, and it was just the most amazing moment. It was just, I couldn't believe it. I was like, I can't believe that this is coming true. And it was like I felt like spirit had aligned it so that I could, because I saw some, I guess they were, they may have been Buddhists, they were holding like a sign for peace, and I saw that there was a place I could pull off that was just before they were about to get there. So I was like, oh, you call and go join them. And I just, you know, I I knelt down and I was doing my chanting, and um as they approached, and I was wrestling with, I really want to videotape, but I don't, I really want to just take this moment in, you know. And um, so when they got there, and I knew that I wanted my focus to be about really giving to them, you know, it was like I'm not here to receive anything, I really just want to chant and hold the vision for their for their protection and just for them to make it through this journey safely. And um, so I as they got closer, and I had been really feeling my mom and dad so much right before then, and I think that was part of the emotion because um being raised Buddhist, we and we practice a different sect of Buddhism, which was called Nishran Shoshu of America, and basically you chant for world peace. Okay, so my mom always, you know, that was her vision, and we would go around and we would um what they call shakabuku people. So you would go up to people in the grocery store and say, Have you heard of National Nish and Shoshu of America? You chant Nam Yo and Geko, and that adds to the vision of world peace happening one day, and so it was like she, of course, she never got to see that, and so and my dad either, and so it was like in that moment of seeing them walking and being able to chant, it was just like, Oh my god, mom and dad, this is for you. You know, it was just like the greatest moment, like just that demonstration.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that just makes me want to tear up just hearing it, and I saw the mocks, so I just you know, I that makes me just want to tear up, just such such a beautiful description. I love how you connected to spirit, and that you were very clear about the fact that you wanted your experience to be a very spiritual one. Yeah, I think I I noticed that about what you said that you didn't want this to be, you know, just a tourist attraction, you wanted this to be a spiritual encounter for individually you, personally, you. Yes, and I love that you said that you wanted it to be about giving back to to the monks. I think that's very powerful. Yeah, that's very powerful. Yeah, yeah, it was that I heard when you were talking, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and then it was like, Thank you for that. And then it was like when as they approached, and I was and I was chanting, and I was I was trying to make eye contact with each one, but it was like I I wanted to really be like melt down, you know, like in a prayer position. And so I and so at one point I came up and I had my hands like this, and they gave me flowers, two different ones, and I was like, Oh my gosh, yes, it was yes, and so how has that experience shaped your life?
SPEAKER_01You sent, I mean, you know, how how has that gone with you?
SPEAKER_02I said, This is yes, I said, this is it, God. I said, This is why I want, this is what I want to live for, like, because it was also, I think, the ultimate part of it was that I had been intentionally praying for them, doing decrees for them for their protection. And so in that moment when I saw them, when they handed me the flowers, it all came full circle because it showed me it was almost like like God was saying, We heard you, you know, like your prayers, we we heard your prayers for their protection, you know, it just felt like a confirmation. Um, and that was just so I think I think the peace um that I felt in that moment. I remembered I felt it then, and then I tried to leave, and I couldn't, I should I had to go down the side street because it was so much traffic. And then it took us, so I was talking to Anthony, he was like, Well, put in your navigation so it'll help you to get back to the main road. And so I thought it was gonna take me somewhere else. Well, it took me to a different part of 64, so I was like, Oh my gosh, I can see him again. Oh gosh, I love it. And I got to, you know, experience them again, and I just, you know, was kneeling down again. But um, the point is the rest of that day, I think I felt that in that moment, nothing else mattered but feeling peace. I didn't care, you know. I know there were people that were driving by that were looking, and because I was, you know, I had my my little chanting beads, and I was like chanting, and it was like I wasn't attached to what anybody thought. I didn't have any attachment to anything other than this is my moment with with God. You know, it was just it was the greatest moment of peace. The greatest.
Chanting As The Offering
SPEAKER_01That you when we've met before, we've talked a lot about the things that you were going to do as a blessing and as an offering, and those things were great and singing and teaching and but I want to I want us to pause on the the idea that is your offering so largely the chanting. Like it when you said my mom really believed that chanting these things, doing these practices, and and because I'm not Buddhist, I don't exactly understand, but that that this is an important practice to follow, and she never got to see that fulfilled, but that when you went to the monks, the feeling that you described was like we heard you, we heard you, and you said not just like some random monks hearding you, what I felt that you were saying was the spirit said, We heard you. And I just want us to pause on how huge that is, how huge that is in a world like ours. And I don't even need to expound on that. I mean I wonder what you think about your offerings being your chanting.
SPEAKER_02I love that. That that yes, that deeply, deeply, deeply, deeply resonates.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I feel that.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I feel like, oh gosh, can I learn to chant? Like that. I mean, as you were talking, I was thinking I was thinking exactly what I was texting you when we were texting about it. I was like, peacemakers, rise up. You know, this is what this is what there are people here who are supposed to be the peacemakers. Yes, and perhaps that's you. Maybe it's all of us, I don't know, but you maybe are a leader. And that's so beautiful. I mean, where could that go? I don't even know.
SPEAKER_02I love that so much.
SPEAKER_01It's so beautiful. I mean, you should feel so good about the fact that you that you listened to the spirit and that you you you did you followed through with all the things that you felt that the spirit was saying. You heard the spirit say, I need to go there now. I don't need to wait until we're in the middle of the capital and everybody's punt pushing, crunching up on me. I need to go there. I need this to be personal, I need this to be spiritual. And you did it, and that's awesome. I just love that. I love it. So then what do you feel that the spirit is saying to you now? Or where is your heart with that?
SPEAKER_02I love that so much. I that deep that just resonates so much. Like that just, yes. Because I feel like the and it it ties everything in like with the throat chakra and the and the the sounds, the sound healing and all of that, because you're using the you know uh mantras and chants to activate you know the potential for healing and all of these things that can happen. Um my question is like how do I like what do I do? Like, what's my first step? Like, what do I do, God? Like, what do I how do I do it?
SPEAKER_01Or do or do you feel that it is important for for you is part of this, you leading other people in chanting, or do you feel that it's important that you are just chanting on your own?
SPEAKER_03That's a great question.
Leading Others Through Healing
SPEAKER_02I do feel like the service is in including people.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Leading others in that direction.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Are there already areas in your life that you have an opportunity to do that? Or not yet?
SPEAKER_02Well, one one thing that this was this is more reiki, but one thing that I found was interesting was that um I remember feeling when I heard that the um Venerable Monk, the the lead one, um, that he was under the weather. And I felt like Spirit was like, you need to do give Reiki, you know, for him. And so I reached out to Nicole, because she's a Reiki master too, and then uh my friend Latanya, who was at the shower, she's a Reiki master, and I said, maybe let's, you know, all of us at 9:30 tonight, let's just intensely focus on his picture and send him Reiki and do, you know, just 15 minutes. And they each, like all of us, but they shared with me how powerful it was just for them personally. Like they were just thanking me, like, thank you so much for asking me to do it. And I was crying, and this happened, and this got released, and this and that. So I thought that was just amazing that you know they I didn't, I guess when I asked them, I not that I didn't take it seriously, but I was just kind of like, Yeah, let's rally and do it. But it did feel feel like there was a purpose in that, and it really, you know, it was bigger than what you like.
SPEAKER_01It sounds like what you're describing is a bigger thing than just like, all right, well, we're gonna say a few prayers. Yes, yes, yes. Interesting. That's beautiful. Is Reiki something that happens in a group setting? Yes. Okay, uh-huh. I mean, have Reiki classes with more than just one a one-to-one situation.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And have you thought about that?
SPEAKER_02Yes. I did do a group, like an online virtual Reiki class, but it was only, it was always just me and Nicole that showed up. Like there was a girl who showed up from Florida and she would show up from time to time. Um, I don't know. I get, I feel like I get like, I don't know. It's like I I want to do it, but then I feel like if people don't show up, then I get discouraged. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I'm like, okay, universe, I'm ready to do this, and then people don't come, and I'm like, am I supposed to just keep doing it? Or is does it mean that it's not time yet?
SPEAKER_01Hmm. I'm thinking, I'm thinking about that. I I don't know the I mean, I I know that's not really a question for me, but I don't really know what to say about that. I mean other than what comes up for me when you say it is there's something about these monks that transcends. It's not it it's compelling to us all. I mean, it may be all, I don't know. I'm sure there's some people it's not, but we don't have to worry about them today. Um but i it transcends, and I think that is where you are uniquely gifted because you are good at transcending religious barriers. And I don't I mean, this is probably I shouldn't be giving you advice, this is not what I'm supposed to be doing, but I don't you know, I mean, I'm supposed to be helping you discover the answer. That's part of my job, but I don't I wonder whether you feel like Reiki itself is going to transcend, or it is it that you offer it under a different umbrella, or you know, not if that make it does that question make sense?
SPEAKER_02I don't know if I'm totally clear, so say it to me a different way, okay.
Making Chanting More Accessible
SPEAKER_01Um I think Reiki is harder for people to understand and relate to. Okay, and so I I wonder whether your offering could just be chanting, which is a little easier to approach than Reiki that less people are familiar with. Okay, does that make sense?
SPEAKER_02So you think more people are more open to the idea of chanting versus receiving Reiki?
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, chanting for peace, I think people are open to that, especially now, right?
SPEAKER_02Because of what they've done. Yeah, yes.
SPEAKER_01I could see that having a lot of possibility where Reiki might be more unfamiliar.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_01But I mean, as far as you what I don't know, and you probably do, you might still be doing Reiki, but you're just calling it something else.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_01And what are your tell me what you think when I say that, what do you think about that?
SPEAKER_02Um, I think I hear you saying that the intention that Reiki could kind of maybe the Reiki could kind of be infused with the chanting in some way. Yes. But it's not necessarily focused on that particular word, it's just um I don't know. Yeah. Like it, like it, like it could be a blend. It's kind of like sometimes when I sing, I'll try I'll set an intention that I want Reiki to come through my voice. You know, like I want the light to come through. So maybe kind of like that.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I love that. I think that's exactly. I mean, I think Reiki is very abstract, and there are people who are, you know, from more mainstream religion in which it's scary. It's not I mean, I I don't feel afraid of it, but you but people probably would feel afraid of it. But there was really not very many people that were afraid of the monks because they're not, I mean, there's nothing about that that was scary. It seemed like you could just go right up to them, you know, um, psychologically and physically. And so I think I'm wondering if what you think about if that is your hurdle.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so that creating a space where people feel like they like it just it feels um, yeah, like non-threatening, non, I'm not gonna have to totally just give up who I am, you know. I just can have an experience that could be transcending.
SPEAKER_01Right. I think that could be very beautiful. I think that's well, and I think people it's clearer for them to understand what they're going to experience. You know, I mean the monks were it's very straightforward. You go in, you're gonna see they're walking for peace. Period. End of story. You don't need a lot of explanation about that, and there's probably a lot about it that people outside of Buddhism do not understand, but that didn't matter because we're still gonna get to peace, period. And so I think I'm wondering if this is something what is in that for you, I guess, is what I'll say about that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, I think I think the transcendent piece is it because I've because I've heard that from people before, like just um people that maybe experienced a ceremony or something like that, and they'll say they feel transcendent, you know. So maybe yes, I feel like that is for me to really pray about what is it that the monks were bringing. Because I remember when I looked at them, I mean I know that they are um at a certain level of consciousness, beingness, awareness that most of us are not at. No. In order for them to be able to do what they're doing, for sure. I also recognize, but I also recognize that like us, they're still in human form. So it's like as I was looking at their faces, they were some of them just look very like, you know, this is you know, it's it's we're doing this. Some of them looked a little bit more peaceful, some of them looked um cold, you know, like, ooh, you know, not like they were feeling like we can't do this, but just the reality of, yeah, we're not even halfway through this, or maybe halfway through, but we still have a long way to go. I just kind of looked at them and I remember thinking that, and um, but yet, so it was, I can't say it was the you know, like, oh, one of them looked at me and all of a sudden I felt, you know, it wasn't that, but it was something about what they were doing that transcended me to a whole nother place, and that's what I want to know. That I think is what you're helping me. And if I can figure out what that is, then that could be the offering for you know, for me, for myself.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's definitely what I what I feel, what I felt when you were describing the monk, the experience with the monks, and what I hear you saying that you're trying to go toward, but not exactly knowing how to recreate that without the monks, if you will. Um Yeah, exactly. I mean, what what I was thinking when you were talking is like and this is what I felt when I saw the monks and said after I saw the monks peace is powerful. Full stop. Peace is powerful. And I think that I wonder how does that make you when you when you are dealing with imposter syndrome, how does it make you feel when you hear the words peace is powerful?
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes, that deep that, yes. I love that, and I feel like it reminds me of like I was saying when I was out there and people were driving by and they were looking, or they were, you know, one guy honked and asked me what was going on because I guess he didn't know why the traffic was backed up, and it was like in that moment, it didn't matter. I didn't it I wasn't affected by someone, I wasn't worried about someone running me over because I remember Anthony was like, Well, be careful if you're on 64, you know, standing on the edge of the street. And I was like, I wasn't even concerned about that. Like, I was like, I'm I feel so like I'm good. Um so I guess it was like um, yeah, just that feeling of me being, and I remember thinking because I so I remember when they first started walking, and they were saying everybody was saying that they were walking for peace, and you know, and I was that was what drew me in, you know, like just yes. And then when they did that post that said that they're not walking for peace, but they're walking so that people remember that they have peace within them, and that they pray that when you see them that you experience your own peace and that you're reminded that when you were struggling, when you were going through heartbreak, or when you were going through anything, that peace was always there, you know, and it was like wow, so I feel like that was that was what they did. Like, I feel like that was what I experienced was my own peace, you know. So I guess it's just yeah, figuring out yeah, how do how do I create space for that for other people to feel that to feel their own peace?
Becoming A Vibrational Translator
SPEAKER_01And as you're talking out, I was thinking what you have described being with the monks and described experiencing at times as an individual is that you are able to tap into a very deep, peaceful vibration. You as an individual, not like everybody, not you, Buddhist, you, but you as a unique creation. And that I wonder if that is the just me experiencing hearing you describe it was very powerful to me. I don't need I mean, I don't know, maybe I need I didn't need it to be a Reiki experience, but that just me observing you just like we didn't walk. I mean, we didn't walk at all, we just saw the monks, and that gave us that experience. And so I I'm thinking that that's part of this offering for you is it somehow you are gonna offer this thing in a way that other people can see it.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, that gives me a lot of chills.
SPEAKER_01I don't I don't exactly know what that means, and I would love to hear what you think about that.
SPEAKER_03I love that.
SPEAKER_01That what you're offering, I'm gonna say one more thing, and then I'm gonna let you talk. What you're offering is just your ability to tap into those vibrations, and you're modeling it for someone else. Oh, you gotta say that again. It's your ability to tap into those vibrations and you model it for somebody else. Because people don't know how to do that. We know how to do that less and less and less as we're more, you know, digitized and con disconnected and divided.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So what would it look like for you to do that?
SPEAKER_02Maybe I wonder if I did like a if I did like a video, like a YouTube video of how to chant. Like just a basic Yeah. Like actually go into a full, fast paced chanting so that they can feel it first, and then they're either gonna say, Yes, that resonates with me. I want to know how to do that, or no, this isn't a video for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think that'd be a great place to start. Okay, I think that'd be a great place to start, and then you know, you see how that goes and branch out from there.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes, and I can kind of like use my experience of the months or every you know, just say, 'cause I feel like people are so open right now, that your hearts are just so open right now because of this. And I'm just so you know, thankful for all of these mayors and governors of each town that are getting up and saying, Yay, we're so happy you're here. Because I feel like then people listen and they say, Oh, wait, who are they? And so it just feels like it's a great opportunity for people to maybe be more responsive or more open than they would normally be.
SPEAKER_01Well, and also what I like about that description is that it's it's always available, it's not contingent on did somebody come that day. Yes, because I feel like somehow that is disturbing your it's messing up your chakras or whatever it is, and that's not the right language, but you get it. Yes, the whether somebody comes is distracting you, that's right, and so if you just filmed a video and then just it's just available out there, that's right, and then people just receive it as they need and when they need.
SPEAKER_03That's right.
SPEAKER_01Maybe that's yes, yes, a little bit more accessible for you. Yes, I yes, I think that could be very powerful.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I'm gonna do that.
SPEAKER_01I can't wait. I can't wait. Be sure to let me know or put put me on a look on a link or whatever so that I won't miss it.
SPEAKER_02I surely will.
SPEAKER_01Yes, it sounds so beautiful. And even how could you incorporate singing into that in some way?
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02For you, like let's say if you were someone who um saw, let's say you saw it on a Facebook ad and you're like, oh, I wanna let's say you hadn't had no uh experience of um Buddhism at all. You're just like, you know, and you saw it and then something drew you in to click on it, would you feel like you needed like a background, or would you because I feel like what my offering is which I also felt like was my mom's, is that we like giving people an experience of feeling. So it's almost like it's kind of like that, like the transcendence, I guess, where it's not intellectual, it's more of a feeling based. So do you feel like that's necessary to give a history, or do you feel like just invite people in? Okay.
SPEAKER_01I think you need to, I think the tone needs to be less class and more just I don't what is the word? Vibration, chanting.
SPEAKER_02I mean just vibration, yes.
SPEAKER_01I I I guess that's what I what I feel is that I would go towards, and what I did go towards when it's the monks is is just this is an opportunity to engage in in making peace. Right. In bringing peace forward or whatever the language is that you want to use.
SPEAKER_02Okay, you know, right, and then on their own, they can go and do their own research, like I don't really understand anything about those monks.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I don't, I I didn't need to know, I I know a little bit about them. I mean, certainly, but I don't, you know, I mean, the dog and the monks, all of that is just really powerful to me. Whether I'm ever gonna see another Buddhist for the rest of my life, you know, it's still very powerful, period.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01So I think that's right. I think that's where the radiance is.
SPEAKER_02Oh okay, how so? What do you mean by that?
SPEAKER_01Well, I just think that that's so like peace, that peaceful vibration that you are describing is so radiant in itself. All you're doing is just translating.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Oh. You're not creating the vibration, you're just translating it. Right.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01And I wonder whether before you seemed like you felt like you needed to maybe like conjure. But you don't have to conjure, you just have to translate.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Vibration, oh, vibrational translator.
SPEAKER_01I love it. I love it. Say more about that. What does that mean when you hear those words?
SPEAKER_02Ah, that I'm able to uh the high the highest of frequencies, able to tap into that and allow people to feel it and experience it in a way that speaks to them.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, that is unbelievably powerful what you just said. That is everything I know about you. Period. I mean, it is like that is a summary of everything I know about you as a being. Yes, so totally.
SPEAKER_03That's so great. I love it, I love it. Just so beautiful. Yes.
SPEAKER_01I can't wait to see where it goes.
SPEAKER_02I love that too so much. I'm so glad you shared that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, I didn't really you you found your way there a lot. I mean, hopefully I wasn't leading you too much, but it just feels like this is such a spirit-led connection, you know.
SPEAKER_03It is that is yes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And there's I feel like there's no like concern about remember how it was looking back at our notes from our previous session. This is I wanted to see experience my growth, because I remember you saying that you felt last time that I had, you know, kind of stepped over the threshold. And so I was kind of looking back to see where I started. And one of the things that you had shared with me was um being, you know, afraid that I'm not afraid of the power of spirit, but more about what people think about it. And I feel like that this allows me, because it was kind of like that moment when I was on my knees and I was just like, I'm here, like this is what I'm meant to be here for, and I'm just letting this feel my body, and I'm not concerned. I have no concern. If you want to experience it or you want to wonder and come in and join me, great, but if not, I have no attachment. And I feel like this would allow me to be that.
SPEAKER_01Yes, exactly. And I think that you are not as aware, like where your self-awareness is stumbling, is that you're not aware that you are very gifted in that way. Like everybody cannot do that, and you can. That's where it's not, that's where you're not an imposter. Like you are really the real deal of that. You are the real deal of knowing how to get right up close to spirit, which is this mystical, mysterious, wild, crazy, vast, benevolent force, and you can come right up to it and engage and then translate it for other people. And that's huge. That's real huge. Everybody does not have that gift. Or if we do, it's a long way buried. A long way.
SPEAKER_00Maybe we're gonna all find out we do have that gift after you've mocked it for us. I don't know, but right now we don't know how to do that.
SPEAKER_02So oh, I so appreciate you sharing that. I I need to hear you say that like every day. Again, I feel like that's such the the gift and the value that you bring to me is that you're you always I feel like remind me of what what you what you see, what you feel, and you hold that vision for me. And I am just beyond grateful for that. That to me, that's one of life's greatest treasures to have someone.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's kind of funny to say that. Well, I mean, I really feel like the spirit reveals, and I try not, I mean, you know, again, it's not my job to be advising or steering you too much. It's you know, part of my learning is to let the spirit lead you, and I'm stepping myself out of the way, and sometimes I find that hard. But it feels a lot like sometimes the spirit is like, tell her, tell her. I'm like, okay, let me just say it, you know. Um I mean, all of our training is supposed to be about asking questions and helping you discover, but sometimes I just feel like when I'm dealing with you, that the spirit wants you to hear this is you, and this is what you are about, and what you can do, and other people cannot. Yes, yes, and that that can be a radiant life force, so necessary, so necessary. I really do think there's something for you to continue tapping into the energy and the experience of the monks, of how those monks somehow, and I don't even know how, I mean, maybe you could, you know, ponder on this, journal on this, whatever. How did they make everyone not make, but how did they compel people to get involved? Yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01The spirit wants you to know it.
SPEAKER_02And like the whole like the as above, so below, that is that excites me so much. Like, like what I was saying as far as like praying for them, and then them, you know, and then having that feeling when they gave me the flower, like God was saying, I see you or I heard you. Um that's also what I feel. Like I'm I feel like I I have um an access to spirit, as you stated, in a way that then it's like um, in other words, kind of like drawing down the light and then being able to visually see it here on this dimension. You know, like in other words, I feel sometimes that people can be like, well, everything is wonderful and fantastic over there, whatever we want to call that, heaven or wherever, but it's crap here. And I feel like I'm meant to say, no, it's you can have it here too, you know, like you can have it right here. Yes, that really drives me and makes me feel so alive to think about that.
SPEAKER_01Yes, in our Christian language, we would call that thy kingdom come. Yes, thy kingdom come, yes, on earth as it is in heaven, yes, amen. We actually say those words over and over again over thousands of years. I'm not sure we're getting any closer, but we're right, we are saying it.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's exactly it.
SPEAKER_01But I don't think we understand what does that mean? What does that mean? And I think that there more and more people are asking that question. What does that mean? Yes, and how do we get there? And I feel like maybe you have some clues.
SPEAKER_02So like that's what I want to do. You can wanna how to get people to have those experiences and those, you know, without it feeling like it's feeling it sounding like it's too woo-woo, you know, like I don't know about all that. But just like, okay, this has to be this has to be it. You know, like those the miracles that you experience, you know, that are no are a direct correlation to your faith or your prayer life, you know, that show up in your world, you know? Just yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think there's something to you just sharing that and letting that be a model for other people to follow.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_01And you know, as you're doing it, you might learn how to do it a little bit better. I mean, you may figure you may try it a little bit and be like, that's not quite right. Let me tweak it over here, let me tweak it over here. I don't know, but that's okay. I mean, yes, you know, yes, you don't have to be an expert day one.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01But I think the shift that I hear you making here in this session is that it's less about class and more about just opening, you know, showing up with an offering and then letting whomever receive it, letting the spirit make the connection of what where it goes and what it what needs to happen to it.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01I love it. I mean, I'm excited about it. It really, I'm excited about it for you, and so much of this. I mean, as as always is the case, it aligns with what I I'm like, oh yeah, I need to do that. That's what I need to do, you know. So it definitely yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I need to dwell on that a lot myself.
Seeing The Monks In Raleigh
SPEAKER_02So where did where did you see the monks?
SPEAKER_01I saw the monks right in Raleigh. I did not go to the Capitol. We went to a street where they were gonna be coming. We kind of went between their lunch stop and the Capitol stop.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_01Stood on the street and waited, and then they came by, you know, and I I filmed it a little bit and I watched them and I was like, oh my gosh, it's so great. And I really like it was just such a moment of I was adamant that I was gonna see them. I told Rob, my husband, and my friend the day before they came the day before my birthday. And the weather was coming and everything, and I was like, no, whatever we do, I appreciate that you want to do something for my birthday, but whatever we do, we're going to see those months. And so we went and we they walked on by, and I kind of wasn't as in the moment as I wish I had been when they were first walking by, but then as they had passed and all the people filled in behind them, and I was like among those people, I had this feeling of like, oh, it's just like a wave that we're all, you know. I mean, it was so and then we just walked along with them for a few blocks, maybe three or four blocks, and then we decided not to go all the way to the Capitol because the people we were with, one of the guys was sick with a cold, and whatever. We just didn't do that. So we went back home and we ended up as soon as we got home, my husband turned it on the TV the at the Capitol, and so we got to hear the message that he shared, you know, the venerable monk, the one that's the leader who has a name that I can't pronounce. But yeah, I watched it and I was like, oh my gosh, that was so powerful hearing what he had to say. And I really felt like I had a I had a lot of friends and people at my church that were in the crowd at the Capitol, and their experience was not nearly as great as mine because they were like couldn't hear, couldn't see, you know, and so I was like, oh, we really did have a a good, you know, I'm glad that we did what we did. So anyway, it was really amazing. And then I've been watching them on as they've journeyed along through the blizzard. Right? I mean, please.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Unbelievable. It is, it is unbelievable.
SPEAKER_01So I will circle back to who is your mentor that's connected to Edenton Street or Oh, do you know Dr.
SPEAKER_02Harshaw?
SPEAKER_01Um, he's a yes. I don't know him. I know who that is. I've heard him speak. Um our pastor Kevin Baker, I think, is friends with Dr. And they went on the freedom ride together this summer.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's it.
SPEAKER_01And a lot of people from our church went on the freedom ride. And he came and spoke. We have like a what we call midweek, which Wednesday night, you know, we taco bar, and then they have c different classes that you can take. And Dr. Hersh Harshaw, is it Harshaw? Okay, I'm not sure if it's Herschel or Harshaw, but he came and spoke to us in the fall about uh Howard Thurman, and we it was really good. It was really good. I didn't I miss the first week because we had to go to a charity event, but I saw I was there for the second week. Oh, that's so awesome. So you are you personally connected to him?
SPEAKER_02Or yeah, he has been like a I can't even find the word. He I mean, he I met him when I first started Meredith in '97. And he has just been a guiding light in my whole path of just everything. And then he has been so significant in my parents' life. You know, of course, he uh did my mom's service. Um, he didn't do my dad's service, but uh, and then has been there for Nicole, he hit Andasia, he's just been like a family, just incredibly well, he is quite the man.
SPEAKER_01Yes, he is quite the man. I mean, you know, I don't I can't remember exactly how Kevin, our pastor, knows him. I mean, you know, there are clergy and they all know each other, but can't remember what the connection is. But I know that they went on the freedom ride together this summer, so and they describe that as like a super powerful experience. So which I would love to do that at some at some point. It's not great timing for me because it always falls right in the or it did this past summer, in the phase where either lane like I have a college kid right at home or needing to do a move in. Like they're not, it's not a time that I can really like all right. Well, see you later, you know. Yes, right, you know, but I do want I would love to do it. I think that'd be amazing.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah, yeah. He spoke very highly, and he talked about that for a long time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_00Awesome.
SPEAKER_01Well, our uh pastor, our current pastor, I don't know if if you are aware of this or knew this, but last year, not 2025, 2024, we had a pastor who ended up having an affair with another pastor, and oh, etc. etc. Yeah, I was on the leadership team, and this is completely not part of your session, so I guess we've kind of sorry, um, but it was rocky to say the least. Um, it came to light and whatever scandal, blah blah blah, church scandal. So then we had an interim pastor for the summer of 2024, and then this pastor came. So he's been with us for about a year and a half now. And his previous in in part of his previous career, he had was part of a church that was blending, um, I guess trying to be more diverse. They had black members and white members in Durham. So, anyway, he's really interesting. So, we like him a lot.
SPEAKER_03That's good. That's awesome, all good.
SPEAKER_01So I cannot wait to see where this goes for you. Yes, I love it, I love it, love it, love it. You'll have to keep posting so much.
SPEAKER_02I should thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01Oh, well, I am thank you for giving me the chance to first of all learn. It's an incredible learning opportunity for me for two reasons. One, because it is I'm learning about giving direction to someone of a different faith, which is a huge opportunity. It's also a great opportunity because my directe is like this incredible radiant being, and I'm just sitting there. I'm like, okay, and I showed up too, you know. So it's just such a great, I appreciate your openness to it. I do, it's really great for me. So all right, do we want to set up a new date? Sure. Yes, let me get my glasses here and see that would put us right in the first week of March.
SPEAKER_03The first Tuesday.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, or we could do Tuesday or Wednesday. What what works better for you?
SPEAKER_02Tuesday is good at the same time?
SPEAKER_01The third? Is that what you're doing? Sure, I can do that. I'm gonna put that. Let me see if I can get that in here. At 1230. Alright. Oh, that's gonna be awesome. Yay! I love it.
Hoping For A Powerful Finale
SPEAKER_01What do you think is gonna happen when these months get there?
SPEAKER_02I don't know. I mean, as far as spiritually speaking, or just well, any all of the above.
SPEAKER_01I'm just not, I mean, I just know they're going, and I don't know what happens, like what happens when you get to the end.
SPEAKER_02So I know that yeah, they're culminating in DC, and then I know they're taking the charter bus back home. Did you hear that?
SPEAKER_01I did not hear that, but I figured that they were probably not gonna walk back home.
SPEAKER_02Well, I thought they were like, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah exactly, come get us.
SPEAKER_02Right. So, um, but yeah, I really hope that it will be my prayer is that it'll really just be like it's gonna just build to a a very big apex for them there. I mean, for all of us, that it'll just, you know, because it feels like it's gained so much momentum. Yeah, you know. So I just really pray that that maybe spiritually there'll be some shifts and things that will happen for our country, you know.
SPEAKER_01Well, I like that. I'm gonna be praying that too. I'm gonna really try to tap into that idea of that this builds momentum. And Pierce lives in DC and she asked me, like, well, what do you think Trump is gonna do when they get there? When he when they get here, and I was like, uh I don't know. I don't know. But I like your idea of just tapping into like we don't need to worry about that. We just you know yes.
SPEAKER_02I really I feel in my heart that he's that there's not gonna be any resistance. I really believe that I may be crazy for saying that, but I really think it's gonna I think it's gonna be good. I really do.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna be brain about that. Yeah. I'm gonna be really brain about that because there's so much noise. And there but their offering is just so clear and pure, and I don't know, uh it's just it's totally different than all the rest of the noise.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So Yes, and like you were saying about peace being powerful, that you know, it feels like that's is you know, that is in so much of alignment with you know what people say about love, that you know, love conquers all fear, you know. So it's like if we're holding that visual of that peace being so powerful that there's nothing that can overtake that, you know, that somewhere he will, you know, either he'll be busy working on something else or he'll realize, but I just I just really believe that it's gonna be the most powerful there. I think it's just gonna really culminate into something glorious.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I'm gonna hold on to that. I like that. I'm really gonna try to dwell on that vision of peace being powerful. I love it. And I and I thank you for modeling that for me. It's just important. It's important. Well, and it helps me believe that it could happen. Yeah, you know, it helps me believe that this is possible because sometimes there's moments that it feels like, oh, I don't know about that. You know, it just helps me believe that it is.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah, and that their whole like you know, with their whole belief that you know, if each person is having experiencing just one moment of peace, because you know, they believe that peace begins within all of us, no matter what's going on out there, where you know, where am I? So it's like if enough people can stop just for a breath and say, then we you know that it is possible, I believe.
Today Will Be My Peaceful Day
SPEAKER_01Yeah, one of the things he said was today, he said, start every day by saying, Today will be my peaceful day. Yes, today will be my peaceful day, and that has really stuck with me. I've said that a lot, and when I wake up in the morning, he said, you know, don't pick up your cell phone and me looking at it first thing. I still do pick up my cell phone, but I think you don't need to be picking up the cell phone, you need to be putting that down, you need to be saying to yourself, today will be my peaceful day. You know, so anyway, with that, I'm gonna go forth and think it.
SPEAKER_03Amen. I shame.
SPEAKER_01I love it. All right, well, keep me posted if anything transpires in between our sessions.
SPEAKER_02So I surely will. Well, thank you so much for such an invigorating session.
SPEAKER_01Well, I agree. I feel the same way. I feel the exact same way. So all right, well, I hope you have a great afternoon. Thank you too. See you later.
SPEAKER_03Bye.
SPEAKER_01Bye.
