Karin Weiri will discuss her new book, Achieving Peace, Purpose and Prosperity. As a society we have built a myopic view of mental health blaming the majority on genetics and leaving out environmental, societal trauma and influence. She will discuss how powerful the mind is and how to access our full potential when we learn how to use simple, yet powerful tools. The role of stress is huge as is the way we are over fed and under nourished. Karin will share how we can balance the body again, including using nutritional supplements, to reset the nervous system. She has learned that you can now oversee your environment and how you want to respond instead of acting with a kneejerk reaction. With these skills, you can begin to create the reality you want to live in.

We are stuck in a pattern. Urgent headlines such as George Floyd’s murder or the chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal pulls our attention, demand our support but we consistently fail to achieve meaningful systematic change. All too often once the limelight fades on the “en vogue” issues of the moment, the issue is relegated to the special interest groups whose purpose was set up to keep on fighting for justice and reform. In the storytelling, those who are in-need is always positioned as the “other,” the listener, the supporters are outsiders, the “fairy godmothers” who has the power to change the outcome. What if we told a different story? A story that showed us how we are all connected as outsiders, as the other, that alienations are actually our shared bond and our belonging? In another word, despite of our race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, we all have felt that sense of aloneness once upon a time. How would that affect the systems we design, the policies we write, and who is advocating for whom and for how long?

Many of us needed a break from the pandemic and the usual windstorms of life. We needed a respite: a journey reminding us of decency, kindness, compassion and folksy wisdom. Over the last two seasons of Ted Lasso, an AppleTV+ original, we have laughed, cried and been deeply touched by the lived experiences of Ted Lasso and his crew. Ted Lasso is about “an American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team. What he lacks in knowledge, he makes up for with optimism, determination...and biscuits.” Ted is described as winning others over with his “decency” and “relentless optimism.” But his decency and relentless optimism” is anchored in the characters own painful struggles and is displayed within the context of other characters' struggles with pain that often play out in revenge, greed, selfishness, and a general lack of care for others. Ted Lasso offers an example of what else could also be true in how we treat others with value and respect amidst our own pain and challenge. It also demonstrates that a compassionate and kindly stance can transform people and systems. Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of “Resiliency Within,” will explore with Dr. Michael Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute, the themes of Ted Lasso and how relevant the character’s journey is to many of us who have been betrayed, deceived, belittled, abused, traumatized, and ultimately transformed.

Drs. Grabbe and Duva will discuss how healthcare workers can care for themselves during the pandemic and through the experience of moral injury. Dr. Wendy Dean stated that “Moral injury occurs when health care providers are “repeatedly expected, in the course of providing care, to make choices that transgress their long-standing, deeply held commitment to healing.” From June to September, Mental Health America polled more than 1,100 health care workers about COVID-19, finding that 93% reported stress, 86% anxiety, 77% frustration, 76% exhaustion and burnout, and 75% said they were overwhelmed. Healthcare workers have been asked to work in unimagined conditions, taking extra shifts, caring for more patients in intensive care units and asked to make ethical conditions about who is next in line for the next bed. They also often receive questions from individuals dying from COVID-19 who do not believe in the diagnosis and challenging their efforts to care for them. Many healthcare workers including nurses, respiratory therapists and more are leaving the profession they have loved and cherished because the toll has been too great on them personally and professionally and there is no end in sight.

Every Memory Deserves Respect is a book written with warmth and heart. It’s about trauma, recovery, and a remarkable therapy called EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. The authors, Michael Baldwin, a client who experienced transformative relief from trauma through EMDR therapy, and Dr. Deborah Korn, a leading expert on EMDR therapy, will discuss the circumstances that brought them together to write this book and the nature of their unique collaboration. Dr. Korn will provide an overview of how and why EMDR works and will share her thoughts on its strengths and range of applicability. Michael will talk about his therapeutic journey and about the many ways that EMDR therapy enabled him to heal and ultimately re-engage with life with renewed hope and clarity and a firm commitment to self-care.

After Michelle was diagnosed with cancer a second time and endured a challenging treatment year, she was lost - emotionally and physically. She took a job at her son’s school and had to quit after 3 days due to the pain in her body. Cue major soul searching; she needed to do SOMETHING. Thankfully, Breast Friends of Oregon was literally one mile from her house and she went in to volunteer. At this support organization, she found a strong desire to give back and help other women, taking cancer and finding the silver linings out of it. Personally, she found that writing out her experiences brought her joy and now terms herself an “over-sharer.” Nothing about her cancer journey is off limits if it will help others. Her goals are to finish a book about what she has learned from cancer and to shout it from the rooftops via written words, on any stage that will have her and also as the host of the Breast Friends Cancer Support Network podcast.

Gloria Simoneaux is the founder of Harambee Arts and two time Fulbright Scholar. She will share the work she has done with children all over the world to promote their wellbeing through the expressive arts and through community building. Harambee Arts promotes the well-being of children living in poverty who are often homeless, orphaned, abused and neglected. The show will discuss how her programs enhance the stability of the children’s families and support systems. She will share how children can develop their sense of self-worth and positive personal ethics by creating opportunities for children to reach out to other children. Her current work in Dominica, Nairobi, and Nepal will be highlighted and she will share the wisdom of how she cultivates hope even in the aftermath of the most unspeakable traumas. Gloria will elaborate upon the philosophy of Harambee Arts methodology and how all children of all abilities and accomplishments are valued. She believes in joining with the child in their world, rather than following rigid agendas sometimes created by adults. She will help us understand how her current project evolved into a series of coloring books, You are the Star of this Story and I Can’t Forget. Both books are designed by and for children that addresses using expressive arts as an avenue for growth and self-regulation in the wake of trauma and natural disaster.

Drs. Larry Ward and Peggy Rowe-Ward will address how we are all as a world community are impacted by Racism and how we can heal from the traumas that arise from Racism. Dr. Ward’s book, America’s Racial Karma published in September 2020 addresses how America can begin to heal. They have been teaching and practicing with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. They received the lamp (teacher transmission) from him at Plum Village in 2001. They co-authored Love’s Garden and this book was featured in The Best Buddhist Writing of 2009. Peggy and Larry work with CEOs of Fortune 500 programs to integrate cultural diversity, corporate change and transformation. They will also address the Wisdom School they have created to bring healing to our global community.

Children can be caught in the crossfire of parental disagreements with school’s deciding to mask or not to require masks. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress, fear, and anxiety for many children. Many family members have reported increased challenges with their children’s’ behavior, including anxiety and acting out2. Making the transition from home to school will be harder for children with developmental, behavioral, or emotional challenges. Ryan Etheridge will describe how his school district has prepared the staff and teachers for helping children transition from home to school.

Gratitude, Happiness, Empathy, Kindness and Courage can be cultivated when faced when the unspeakable heartache and tragedy of the human experience. These themes are the essence of Joy Miller’s gifts. She has asked world leaders from a bouquet of backgrounds to bring forth their wisdom on how to get through our current tumultuous times by asking them to reach into their hearts and share how they have built wellbeing and resiliency during their worst of times. She will focus on personal empowerment and strategies to enhance resiliency as she elaborates upon her Resiliency Forum. “Resiliency 2021” brings together participants from 94 countries around the globe: celebrities, global influencers, as well as over 5000 participants. Join us and join her on our unified global journey.