Sense of Soul - Mindfulness, Meditation and Movement

Episode Date: February 7, 2022

Today on Sense of Soul Podcast we have, Dr. Jenelle Kim, she is a doctor of Chinese medicine, a master herbalist, a mother and a dedicated student of martial arts and Eastern philosophy for more than 30 years. As the daughter of a Korean monk, Dr. Kim began learning meditation, martial arts, and the teachings of the Tao from a young age. She has applied her expert knowledge of medicinal healing as a formulator and co-founder of JBK Wellness Labs, creating the formulas behind high-end beauty, health, and wellness products available at stores such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Sephora, Nordstroms, and Neiman Marcus.  Dr. Kim is a Wellness and Mindfulness expert, alchemizing  centuries-old practices such as mindfulness and Taoism with approaches that work for a modern audience.  She joined us to talk about her amazing new book, Myung Sung: The Korean Art of Living Meditation  Purchase her awesome book here! Myung Sung: The Korean Art of Living Meditation Check out here websites: https://jenellekim.com https://jbkwellnesslabs.com Follow Dr Kim’s journey here: IG: @drjenellemkim Don’t forget to rate, follow and leave us a comment! Please go check out our Sense of Soul’s merch and workshops including Shanna’s CLEAR ancestry workshop and learn more about us  https://www.mysenseofsoul.com Exclusively NOW on Sense of Soul Patreon, Self Love Journey, Shanna’s mini-series about her ancestral journey, “Untangled Roots” and Mande’s mini series about her two Near Death Experiences.  https://www.patreon.com/senseofsoul NEW!! SENSE OF SOUL’S NETWORK OF LIGHTWORKERS! Announcing our Nee Amazing Affliate Program! Check it out and Sign up now! https://www.mysenseofsoul.com/sense-of-soul-affiliates-page

Welcome to the Sense of Soul podcast. We are your hosts, Shanna and Mandy. Grab your coffee, open your mind, heart and soul. It's time to awaken. Today we have with us Dr. Janelle Kim. She is a doctor of Chinese medicine and master herbalist. She has applied her expert knowledge in medicinal healing as the founder and the lead formulator of the JBK Wellness Labs, the first lab to combine ancient healing wisdom with modern science, creating the formulas behind high-end beauty, health, and wellness products, and has been a dedicated student to the martial arts and Eastern philosophy for over 30 years. She is a wellness and mindfulness expert, and she combines mindfulness meditation movement and natural medicine for an approach to wellness

that is truly unique. Not only is she a doctor and entrepreneur, but she is a working mom, continuing to spread her understanding of herbal medicine and the Eastern philosophies in an effort to help others achieve happiness in the same way that these principles have helped her. As a daughter of a Korean monk, Dr. Kim began learning meditation, martial arts, and teachings of the Tao from a very young age. She combined century-old practices such as mindfulness and Taoism with approaches that work for the modern audience. And she put this all in her amazing new book, Young Sung, the Korean art of living meditation, where she introduces the Korean art of living meditation as a way to achieve a life of balance and meditation. And

we are super excited to have Dr. Kim with us today. So nice to meet you. Yeah. Nice to meet you too. It's nice to be here. And I already know based on the bit of research I've done that we resonate and that's always exciting. So yeah. So JBK wellness labs. Yes. I was going to ask you what the B stands for. Is that your middle name? And I love that you asked this because a lot of people assume it is my name when in fact it is my great grandfather. And many, many may know and many may not that I come from a long lineage of East Asian practitioners, herbologists, philosophers, and all of this incredible wisdom and knowledge has been passed down for centuries.

And so that is basically the foundation of everything I wish to share in this life. And that is exactly why I chose to name our lab, the contract manufacturing lab based on all of that incredible knowledge and wisdom. I mean, that's a name to me and probably to many is such an important thing. And so it just hit me, you know, my great grandfather was a very well-known practitioner of Eastern medicine, herbal medicine. It is definitely one of the main lines, if you will, of where the herbal medicine, which I wish to share today comes from. So it's Jinbo Kim, that's JBK. I love that because I so can appreciate that you have this connection to this lineage and to the history and your ancestors. It's so important to me. It's a big part of my journey. And I always appreciate that in people because I think it's been lost.

I agree. I also am so grateful to hopefully be a part of bringing that much more to our awareness in this day and age. And I love that you call that out at the beginning of our time together, because truly that's how I start everything, my day, my podcast, my book, my talks. I mean, it all stems from there. I really love that. I love that because I mean, they made us who we are, like everything they went through, the good and the bad, right? Like we, I always think if one went left instead of right, we wouldn't even exist. And many of the characteristics that we have all been bad, again, are things that have been passed down in our DNA. Absolutely, Shannon. If I may kind of extend upon that, I think that we're going to agree again,

not only is it the foundation that they truly have set our ancestors, all of that who have come before us, but also we stand in this lineage as well. So everything that we do will connect to our next generation, our kids, or just the next generation in general. Such a timeless healing for all of us. And I feel that I too, in my lineages have been the person called to bring awareness. So that way I am almost the witness to what they experienced and then to carry that forward to my children. But yet the evolving part of it is so, I think important, especially with women, especially. Yes, absolutely. I'm the first woman in my lineage. So you may like that. I want to dive into your lineage. I'd love to take a moment to honor your, this is

your great grandfather. Yes. I love stories. Like tell us a little bit about him and what you remember, know of him and, and how did he take on this line of work and become this practitioner? And then a second piece of that question would be, I was 40 years old when I started awakening and wanting to learn about my ancestry. Was this something that was instilled in you to learn about, or was this something that you had to awaken to? I appreciate that. So my great-grandfather, Jinbo Kim, and I really appreciate you bringing that up, is one of my greatest mentors whom I never met. It was through my father, my ultimate mentor, who I speak of in Myung Sung, my book. I have to also acknowledge, because I really love how you just put that, another mentor, almost like a great-grandfather

of mine in my lineage, who is not blood-related. It's a beautiful thing that I do want to share. It's not always blood-related. In my life, how grateful I am to have two sources of this information coming down through my father to myself, so on. And the other person is Master Bodian. And that was my father's, one of his main teachers, which again, you see in Myung Sung, my book that has now come out. And I want to acknowledge both of them. And isn't it an interesting thing to kind of, you know, I speak of yin and yang and the balance, and that's a whole other conversation, but there is kind of always that dual nature in life, night and day, feminine, masculine. And honestly, Mandy, I think this is the first time that it has come out in this way that

I too experienced this balance in some way, shape, or form, even coming from two mentors given to me through my father that have changed my life. And hopefully as they dedicated their lives will change so many people's lives throughout time. And the second part of that is, yes, I feel like I was born, as you just said, Shanna, I totally resonate with that. I was born into this, but the interesting part and what I speak on all the time, what I just truly know in my heart is that we all have a choice. Our entire life is a choice. And so this was not just given to me. It was not assumed that I would take this. I have a feeling, you know, if you, you went to my parents or people

who know me very well from the time I was young, they would probably say it was inner from the beginning, but certainly I went with life and went down my path and always wishing to find the purpose and what, what I'm here to do. And so, yes, while it always was a part of me, it was also not until I was in my early adulthood, about 20, that it really hit me. And it was a choice in that moment. That's the truth. And it was one of the biggest risks or challenges in my life, if you will, to make this decision. But certainly I made that decision and realized this is something that I have the honor of having in my life.

And how can I not take that and share that with the world? So it was a choice and I took it. Well, you continuing on these beautiful legacies of your family is so beautiful. I have to tell you, I have been living out my legacy of my family recently as well. And it was very interesting to find out. So I used to work in Las Vegas as a waitress in the strip clubs. Okay. So I found out recently that not only did one of my grandmothers open the first strip

club in Denver as a bartender, but so did my other grandmother. I love that. So that was the legacy I got to live out, but I've decided to put that aside and do some more soulful work. Which exactly led you here though, in some way, shape or form. I mean, experiences. I truly believe that I'm not just saying that. I totally relate to the fact that there are many ancestors that have been so influential in my journey and I've never met them before. In fact, prior to this, I didn't even know they existed and they have become close with them. Like I even have nicknames for them. It's like, I really truly have this relationship with someone who I never physically met, but I know lives within me. And I think that honoring them,

their stories and living this is really, truly what we all need to be doing because it really helps you understand more about who you are, your purpose and the traits that you're good at naturally, because it is in your DNA. I just want to jump in really fast and say that, you know, if I, you know, I was saying that lightly in a funny way, but I will tell you the one thing I did learn about both of my grandmothers while they were in that industry was that they were very much caretakers. They loved their people. You know, my grandma's bar was native Americans. She loved the native Americans. She took on a lot of their traditions and practices. They'd invite her to the reservation. My other grandmother would open

her home and feed these super famous dancers and let them stay with her and take care of them. And she loved them like a mother. And so you, you look at like, of course the occupation, but their souls and their soul work, it was absolutely beautiful. And, and I think that it's so touching when you do look in your lineage and you see pieces of yourself and those people. So fun. Yes. Yeah. You know what, you know, I've actually worked on a few trees, one particular I'm thinking of, and she probably is going to be listening to this, but she has a Korean line that is very hard. Now I've worked on hundreds of trees and this is what I do is I help people connect with this. And the Korean lines are very, very hard to track.

Well, one, because a lot of them have, there's like only so many last names. I mean, this is, this is really what I found. I'm like, okay, how can everybody just have these same names? But I think in most lineages have also generational is that a lot of people didn't really talk about struggles. They hold these things in. In fact, we had a beautiful guest on not too long ago, who her lineage was Korean as well. And it was not until after her father died that she found out true things that happened to him and her whole life. She thought he was this cold person never talked and then she found out the trauma that he had went through and now has a better relationship with him you know afterwards

the men in the family especially and that's in any culture so your father and him sharing with you yes that's pretty special it's very special and you're right I so interesting that you do that so one day I'm going to have to seek you out, Shanna, because it is really interesting. And you're right in the Korean culture, Kim Park Lee, let's just say it like the names and then you have your surnames. But how much you connect to that surname, I never really share because there's not really a reason to. But, you know, my grandmother's side, which is my great grandpa that I was just talking

to you about, we're Kimmy Kim. And my father said we're Andong Kim, which is a royalty lineage. And there's all of this that comes with that, you know? And so I don't always go there because it's not really, it is part of what I wish to share, but it's not really the topic, but it's really kind of an interesting thing and how serious our entire lineage takes that and the responsibility that comes with all of that. We always bring up other guests because it's so fun to kind of intertwine. We should hook you up with this guest that we had who actually breaks down your, your name for you, because they say that, that when we take on a new name, like my husband's name, it changes the vibration and the frequency of me. And so it was really fun

to see what my main name was. And then what my name is that now in those two different frequencies, it's so cool. And Shanna's Shanna just naturally had changed her name when she was young. Like she nicknamed herself and that also changed the frequency of her. Yes. I love that. And I take that really seriously. Actually my sons, I love my husband. He's wonderful. He's certainly the rock, you know, I am also, but my, my equal partner, if you will, in a balanced manner. And his last name is Nandu. It was really important to me clearly because of the connection to my lineage that my sons always carried on the Kim name. And so my boys, our boys are Kim Nandu, you know, it's not like a super common thing per se. And that was really important to me. That's why I say that, Mandy. I truly believe we actually spoke about this just a couple of

minutes ago, how important the name is and the intention you put on that. I suppose it really can depend on the intention also. Puerto Ricans do that, you know, many, many, many, many notice that and that does carry on this energy with them. Yes, absolutely. The question that you asked right before that, you asked about my father. Again, let's just say it as it is. Things have really changed over time in Asian culture. And like you said, Hispanic, there's so many cultures where not so long ago, it was not common for the daughter. I'm the firstborn. I'm his first daughter to be given so, so much for life. I have a better way of putting it. My father definitely, he was a man who truly lived on principle. In fact, I used to say that to him when I was young, daddy, you're

so strict. And he'd say, no, I'm not strict. I live on principle. And now that I'm older and I think about that, I know exactly what that means, not just older, but as life, you know, I think that's an important thing, life experience. And he was right. He truly did kind of live on the principles of the universe. And so saw me as a person, as the human being that I am, not necessarily woman, man, and that was a really beautiful thing. My father actually passed away six years ago, and that's very much a part of our story. And even it relates to the name. Why now I always knew that, for example, I wanted my sons to have that name.

And now what it means even more so it connects them constantly. You know, my Vince, he's eight years old. He was able to spend time with my father, Jackson. My four-year-old was not, but I tell you what the name of course, but the fact that my father's constantly part of our everyday, the principles, our lineage, you'd think Jackson spent every day with him, you know, my dad passed about five years ago too. Yeah. My daughter was four when he passed and I feel the exact same way. It keeps them alive, right? It keeps them alive forever. Their energy never dies. Now, speaking of children, my daughter, Lindsay has worked in Sephora and JC Penney is from 18. Now she's almost 23 and she's a manager at one of their high volume stores. She loves skincare and everything about it. She takes it all very seriously. So JBK wellness labs, they formulate

these ingredients that are, you just said some of them were created by your grandfather. And way even before that, to be honest, how long ago, kind of the core formulas, which I call bibang, it means secret formulas in the Korean language, you know, how far back they go and who created what, you know, who really knows and what does it really matter on some level, that detail. What is it called again? They're called bee bong formulas or secret formulas. And ultimately what that means, it's like your grandma or great grandma's favorite cookie recipe, right? No matter how, even if you know the ingredients, no matter how many times you try, or if you

don't know the ingredients, it never comes out. And I liken it to that. It's like the perfect recipe that has been handed down and has been committed to for so long, you know? And so there's a certain number of core formulas. And that's where I say, I'm the first woman in my lineage to be the guardian of them. And so everything we do, all the formulas we create skincare, of course, I mean, I entered this world when I thought I was going to be a practitioner of Eastern medicine and a clinic. And that was my wish. Like my great grandpa, the whole world kind of started in the beauty industry. Interestingly, right. Even bought it for a second. This is not what I think I'm supposed to be doing.

And no, yes, it was. I would much rather buy your product. Just having this conversation in the past 10 minutes, because I know what's behind it. Important. And, and long story short, we could have a whole podcast on this. What I speak on all over the world is of course, on Eastern medicine, Korean medicine, but Eastern herbal medicine. But when it comes to formulation, you know, whether it's the tinctures we drink, because we create a lot of internal supplements as well, wellness products, nutraceutical, it's really the ingredients of course, but it's the, how they're, how they're put together. It's the synergy between them, the proper formulation. Like anyone who knows me knows I speak on proper formulations, a whole bunch of herbs or active ingredients into a formula and call an herbal

formula. But with all due respect, that is not herbal medicine. And so for 20 plus years now, that's exactly what I would, Lindsay will be happy to know. I hope, I'm sure that that is what I've kind of dedicated the first 20 years of my life towards is really making sure that I do my very best to explain and educate why that's so important and what's the difference. At the end of the day, we all have a choice. If you want to go and buy a product that's filled with chemicals and you like that, go for it, you know, but at least let's be educated enough about the options that we have and why things have lasted for so long. And we say the reason B-Bong formulas exist or these lineage formulas exist is for one reason, they work. Otherwise,

why in the world would they keep following us through time? And so I do. So what formula, what is that in? Is there any products that I probably have like right here on my vanity? There's probably, probably. So, you know, it's always a little bit mysterious because we take our partnerships very seriously at our lab. And so we don't necessarily walk around talking about all the formulas that we create or in the background. Yes, but they're carried in your Neiman Marcus's, your Nordstrom's, your Ritz Carlton's, Whole

Foods. Now we even have some of the big stores, Targets or Walmarts. Regardless of how we may feel, one thing I can say is I'm happy to see that they are moving in this world because 20 years ago, many people told me when I tried to begin sharing Eastern and Western all natural products, that was not even a thing really back then, you know, and it was, it was not an easy road. So many people said, no, no, one's going to understand Asian Janelle. That sounds really nice, but people aren't going to buy it. Like, okay, thank you. And I never fought. I was like, okay. I always believed, you know what I believe I feel in my heart that this is going to really help a lot of people. And the one thing I know is no matter who you are, where you are in the world, what ethnicity, what gender we are all

human. And so I knew humans are looking for this. So please move aside. And now look 20 years later, integration is like the, well, thank you, Shanna. Your website was so informative. Just the little, I read on it, like the mushrooms and the herbs and the hemp and those kinds of products that you were talking about. I, as a 40 year old woman went in to get a facial like five years ago from my best friend and I've been breaking out a lot and I have severe allergies. I didn't even know that certain products that you layer on top of each other are not supposed to be layered on top of each other. Even though she said all my product was amazing. One was like deactivating the other. They were like canceling each other out and causing it, even though they were all fabulous product. So it's funny because I didn't even know that. And so since then she educated it on,

she educated me a little bit, but I also didn't know that about vitamins. Like if you take, if you take like B and you take it with a certain other vitamin and it compliments it and makes it activate, I didn't even, I mean, I still don't know enough. Yes. So important. I mean, I do also speak a lot on and obviously formulate a lot of wellness products, supplements. And that's a question that I feel like there was a whole year where that came up so often. I was so happy to share it because you know, and that happens with anything, even water, we need that to live literally to survive. But even if you take too much water or the water is stagnant, you know, it can hurt you. And so what I mean by that is you can have the most amazing ingredient in the world, but if it's not balanced for your body, if your body can't absorb it properly,

then it's going to do no good or it can actually cause harm. Then you kind of grow from there. Now, this ingredient, does it work with this ingredient in Eastern medicine and Chinese medicine in particular, we call that Dui Yao And in some it's the relationship between ingredients. And that is definitely a foundational principle of what I spoke of before this proper formulation. And that is just so important. Why natural? You know, I get asked that question all the time and my favorite way of putting it. One of the reasons I myself chose to walk down this road, like I said, when I was about 18, 19, I tell you what, I was raised very academically. You know, I believe I'm having intelligence, you know, but when I, when I really started

hearing the Eastern philosophy, the Eastern medicine or medicines and philosophies that have existed so long, it just makes sense. So why natural, right? I know. It's like they've been doing this forever. People, this is not new. I say that so often. I love it, Shanna. I we're on this mission together. Believe me. I know. You know what? So I love the stories behind the,

like when Lindsay comes home, when she's been educated and stuff about products and she comes home and she loves that too. She loves the story behind it. And if it has a good story behind it, she will share that and she'll sell it. She'll sell it because she believes in it. Seriously. I love the story behind what you do. You are just like the embodiment of all of this. And so I love it. Thank you. That's very kind. I hope I feel, you know, I can accept that because I am just a vessel. So I agree with you. I feel the same

every single day, every single moment, but I appreciate that. Yeah. So, you know, Janelle, you mentioned that lately people are really, you know, getting into this. I would almost go as far as saying it's trending. People are becoming more aware of what they're putting in their bodies and awareness around their energy, awareness around their emotional, physical, and mental state. And people during this COVID time have really started looking at ways to kind of de-stress, how to sit still. And so your book, let's talk about this book. And it's translated as meditation, right? And what I speak on is living meditation action. And I am a huge proponent don't

get me wrong of having moments of meditation sitting down having different techniques and practices of internal movements such as yoga and martial arts all of this and the way i can kind of root all of this as you i think we're kind of alluding to just now mandy is through what i call the three pillars okay and so that is meditation, movement, and medicine. It actually is that simple. When you talk about the Tao on one hand, it is so simple, but on the same moment, it is so complex. And the same thing with these three pillars. But what that means to me and what I hope resonates and means something to everyone that this touches is that if we are able to incorporate those three pillars into our life, balance them, make them an active part of our life,

truly that is the way we can reach success, you know, of our wellbeing, of our health, of the way we live, of beauty, it all comes down to these three things. And so that is why I went forward and wrote Myung Sung. You know, Myung Sung really does focus on the philosophy of everything. I break it down into eight keys and those keys are chapters. And it all starts, of course, with knowing yourself. That's key one, which of course takes a lifetime. And I will be the first to say that, but even having that awareness, it can be very scary, but also empowering, you know,

but if we realize that all the answers come from within and come from nature and the universe around us, it changes the life. It changes the way we look at things. And that's really the next major foundational principle of Myung Sung is that first we start, everything comes from within and through that is our ability to help others and give something to this world. But it also comes down to perspective. Someone asked me, because I think I had to make it for a video or something, these things that we have to do, and I'm grateful for, of course, but are different. Like, okay, Janelle, what's the one line you want to put on the bottom of your video? I'm like, oh my goodness, how do I pick one line?

But I'm so grateful, right? And so I really thought about that. I thought, you know what, especially during the last two years we walked through, I really believe that it comes down to our perspective. If we change our perspective by really being aware of ourselves, by taking a moment to zoom out, look at the whole picture, put ourself in other people's shoes, maybe, just maybe life will be a little bit different for us. Maybe our emotions won't run everything, you know, and that's living meditation. Just as we sit down to do meditation in 15 minutes, a couple of hours for some, a couple of days, why does it have to stop there? Why can't every single situation as a business owner, as a wife,

daughter, especially as a mother, why can't I utilize those practices and create good habits so that it just keeps going? And then life isn't so hard either. That's the truth. I always think about how like, like gratitude is a practice. It can be a practice impermanence is a practice. Mindfulness is a practice. Like these things are called practices because it's something that you actually have to practice. You know, you have to be conscious. That's another key, right? We have to be accountable and then put it into action. And the beautiful thing or the not so beautiful thing is we always have a choice no matter what is happening to us. But that can be, like I said, to myself and to many I've seen who have experienced these principles, you know, because

they are around us all the time. This is not something new. This is not my own thoughts and ideas, but if we're able to ground ourselves and see clearly, yes, it can make a very rooted situation, which is the ultimate answer. One way of putting it, I'm sure there's other answers of how we can get through moments like we all just did. I mean, as a whole world, when's the last time? I don't know. As human beings from all parts of the world, we all had such a scare. It went an interesting thing. And I know a lot of people, because I get so many messages every day, are walking through a lot of hardship. Yeah. I was thinking about this. It caught my attention when you said Zoom in, because right now they're calling this the Zoom boom.

Oh, I didn't even hear that. That's so funny, Manny. Oh yeah. So I'm sitting there like, Ooh, it's the zoom boom. So the zoom boom means that you, you know, you're going into zoom for business, but then I like what you said, take that zoom and zoom inside. This is why I love these moments, especially when I meet women such as yourselves. I mean, I can go on and on, but I do, you, you teach me these little tips that I can carry on and I will let everybody know. You're right. Zoom can simply mean us here, but yes, my point is you zoom out. In fact, key three talks about something. I have a feeling you both will like, and key three is stop being drunk on your own thoughts. The Korean word for it is doji. It literally means stop being drunk on your own thoughts. And it's such an important one. And exactly is where I really speak about zooming

out because one way of looking at it is just as we get, can get intoxicated by drinking alcohol, we can very much be intoxicated by our own thoughts. If we zoom in too much and start to limit ourselves and get so stuck on our own beliefs, which we certainly see a lot right now in the world, it can be the most dangerous thing. I love it. You've officially made my sticky note wall with that. It says stop being drunk on your own thoughts. Zoom out. I'll take that another step for me and Alcoholics Anonymous. They say that in order to get out of your own head, in order to stop being drunk on your own thoughts, the best way is to do service work. I love that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And, and yeah, getting out of self because we are our own worst enemy. Yes, absolutely. We are a lot of friendly. Could you recap those eight steps?

Yes, absolutely. So there's eight keys, like I said, and key one is of course, know your true self, right? Because everything, like I said, starts from within period. Number two is a huge part of the philosophy of heart life. It is called the true right and correct method. And I chose this word method because it really is something that we can practice. This is part of that living meditation, no matter what situation we're in. And it's basically how you look at situations and how you either react or respond to them. And I always say, I wish for all of us to respond because then we're not just working on our emotion.

And the dangers of that is we do things that we may not like, but also it's so bad for our health and our wellbeing. Right. And so the true to really break it down, the true is how we feel about a situation, which is incredibly important, but then you have the right, which is you can break it down again into it's what the, for the most part, everyone will agree upon. It's almost like the black and white of a situation. And you'll see in your life, I was just having a conversation or reflecting last night. There's some people that you meet are so true. You know, that's kind of what drives them. And there's some people in this life who are so right.

You know, it's all about the facts. And each can be good and beneficial. Each can be harmful. But if you can kind of balance the true of the situation with the right of the situation, that's what helps you kind of gain perspective. And then you come to your correct decisions and daily choices in life. So it's kind of a huge key. I won't stick so long. That is an amazing key that I need to learn more about. No, that's the divided states of America needs to learn. That is it right there because we are

so separated. There's so many things that separate us, but that's okay. Yes. I never understand when I think about like the larger scale, why everybody wants to fit in the same box when we're also different, we all have different viewpoints and that is all good because we're all kind of, I'm not a business person, but there needs to be a business person. Yes. That's right. It's part of the situation. I love that you say that, you know, that truly is

everything to some extent, which can, I find very comforting can really be likened to that, a black and white. There's the feeling. And then what do we do about balancing those things? The yin and the yang. Right. And, and I find that a lot of families are being broken up right now. Literally marriages of friends I know are breaking up because like, they're so strong in being right that they literally don't want to be around the people that. That's what happens. You can become doji based on the true, your feelings start to overcome you almost. And you can also become doji by always sticking to the fact because a lot of times in life, if I may say so, you know, it doesn't always work like that. Acceptance that that is, that is, and it's always going to be, you're always going to have that. And I think it's a

good thing. Cause like you said, we find these people who are opposite us because they probably ground us a little bit and help us see things from a different perspective. Even when we think of yin and yang, Shanna, it's like a lot of times you can go to literally, it's like, it is like the black and white in people's minds, right? It's that dichotomy that exists, which certainly does. But I think a lot of times when we think yin and yang, we see these two things, but we have to remember, and that's exactly what we're talking about. They are always shifting, always. How I feel right now, literally my health, my feeling mentally, physically, spiritually in about five minutes is going to change. And that's, if we start to realize that that's true, right. And correct. How do we constantly balance with what's happening in the situation? And it is

very empowering, you know, through some of the challenging moments of my entire life, I'll speak personally, you know, I've, I've, I practice this constantly so that we build a stronger ability to utilize these tools, you know, but, but without that, you can, life can be very challenging. Like life is, well, it's like a dance, right. Or like in martial arts, that counter movement. I think that that's important for us maybe to visualize even that we're doing that and we should be doing that. It helps us to be fluid, right? Yes, absolutely. Instead of like, I'm standing in my ground, I will not move. Yes. And actually even in writing the book, coming up with these names of the chapters meant so much. And I chose to make it almost a method because I do feel as human beings, we want direction. We do

want a sense of this is the formula, but as we're speaking of the formula exists, but how we have to fit in that there's no one answer. I swear to you, I just wrote down words. Words mean a lot to me. I've learned a lot about vocabulary. And then I slid out of our zoom real fast and looked up the definition of method because I noticed how much energy you put into words like key rather than step and method, the energy of those words, because it's a method, it's a formula. I don't know. There's something different about that energy, like something that makes it stick more. Thank you. Yeah. Some of the first that we have spoken about Myung Sung, the book January 11th came out. It's

really important to me to start to have that feedback. I can't tell you how grateful I am because that's what means the most. And the fact that you're saying this, I truly will carry it with me. And I hope many people do because it does make sense. Yeah. I wish that I had the words to explain it, but it's more of a feeling I'm feeling when you say the words, which is better, right? Yes, absolutely. And even what you said, actually, I was taught by my father, my mentor, which has been, which was passed down to him. One word means so much. And if you think like that, you know, things change in your life, you know, it doesn't mean I go around constantly, but to some extent I do practice that, that even my words, especially speaking to my children, you know, younger ones, that really makes a difference. Yeah. Well, you know, I'm a talker,

obviously. And this makes me think of Mandy's dad and also my partner. Yes. They don't, they're, they're meant a few words, but when they speak, yes, my husband is wisdom. You better listen. Absolutely. If people really thought about their words, how different our world would be. So, oh my gosh. Okay. So let world would be. I know. Oh my gosh. Okay. So let's keep going. I want to hear the rest. The key three, we kind of already touched on, which is stop being drunk on your own

thoughts. Zoom out, put yourself in other people's shoes to see more clearly. And when you can see more clearly, as we just discussed this entire time, you can only imagine how much better your life will be, how much more happiness you'll have at some point, even if you're in a really tough spot, right? So key four is how will you be remembered? Which is interesting. We kind of started our whole time together this way. One day when you leave this earth, what are you going to leave behind? What good seeds are you going to leave behind? That matters so much to me. That is the reason, as you asked before Mandy, but that's the reason why I decided to choose this, this road of life. I wish to leave behind

these good seeds and they don't, it can be the simplest. And sometimes that's the most powerful being kind, you know, being a good mother, being a good daughter, being a good friend, whatever that means to you, what are you going to leave behind one day when you leave this earth, no matter what your beliefs are. I think it's great. Right. I know when I hear people say stuff like, well, anyone I'm dead, you know, whatever. I'm like, gosh, this life is so much far deeper than that. Yes. It is rich because everything you choose to do in your life can impact everything. Yes. That is the absolute truth, which kind of leads actually, and that's my wish is that as you read my young song, it kind of all links together. The next one, you

literally just said the word connectedness. Key five is seek connectedness and honor. And this can also be a long conversation, but in the end, let's always remember that we are all connected. We are connected to our own spirit. We are connected to each other. We are connected to nature. And when you start to remember that and be aware of that in your daily life, it can really help us to just form the character of who we are and how we respond to the world and why that's so important. And key six, I think you both are going to like this one a lot too, because I think you'll like all of them, I hope, but this one I really resonate with as well. It's change your reality for the better. And again, it's everything we're talking about. You have the power to change your reality

through all of these principles that we speak of, no matter how tough the situation, it may not happen overnight, but always remember that everything can start from you. It's like the flip of a switch. It can be that simple. Key seven is, I love this. It's actually something my father, my mentor used to say. It only takes one match to light a thousand. And it's one of my favorite, favorite things to think about. I, of course, almost always think of it in the positive way that one positive action can affect even one person, then can affect so on and so on to thousands to the whole

world. So literally you can make a difference in this world. The interesting thing is just like yin and yang exists day and night, it can also mean the latter. One negative thing can also affect so many on a negative level. And again, it's that awareness. If we remember, even for a moment that we have this power and this effect, maybe it'll make us stop for a second, zoom out and make our decisions and our choices that much more. And the last one is also one of my favorites. I suppose I should stop saying that. Of course, let's hope so. Right. I wrote a book on it. No, but the key eight is be like bamboo. I truly believed in writing this, that it was a perfect way to kind of sum everything up.

And it's everything we're speaking of that when we have that power, when we're able to kind of change our perspective, we wish to be like bamboo, at least I do, which means we're very rooted, which means we have also have flexibility. It's that push pull that we were just talking about, Shanna is so important, right? And my earlier adult years, especially being a woman, you know, constantly in boardrooms with very strong people, a lot of them men. I didn't even think about that though, to be honest. Right. And that's in the book also trying to knock down doors with strength, not so much insecurity, to be honest. Like I said, I knew that the world needed things. I felt that I, a lot of times, and maybe it was meant to be the way to get my point across

or to make sure to get the job done is by being so strong and tough almost, you know, and as you kind of walk through life, you see oftentimes, and that is the principle, flexibility and softness can have the most strength. What an interesting thing. So whether it's in an argument, whether it's in a situation that we're in, you'd be like bamboo, you're rooted, a huge storm can come and push that bamboo with all of its winds down to the ground. And as soon as that storm passes, it bounces right back up. And that's certainly what I wish to be. I am loving it. Oh my God. I love it. I love it. I love it. Wow. I often use the bamboo as an example, like in my attunements and Reiki to be like that channel

and to follow and allowing that energy to flow through you, just like a bamboo reed. Yes. Well, and I think Janelle, that's a beautiful reminder because a lot of women are starting to find their voice and to own their truth. And you know what? I'm not even going to say them. I'm going to say me because I can only speak on experience for myself.

At first, I didn't know how to take that energy. I didn't know what to do with it. And it was coming off like I felt like I had to be like real strong with it and like loud with it. And, you know, and, and I realized that was not right. And it took me to go through some serious hardships to go, whoa, back up because you're owning your truth and speaking your truth. And what you just said, you can still do that by being soft and flexible. Yes. Yes.

I love that, Mandy. And you're not alone. As I just shared, I certainly have walked through and will find myself living meditation in moments where I can feel it because I'm aware of it, you know, and I choose to want to be that much better and then put it into action. This of course can be for all of us, but that's all it takes is just taking one moment and nobody has to know. That's the beautiful thing. You know, if you choose to not listen right then and there, that's your choice too. And nobody has to know they might

feel it, you know? And it is, I think that's a really key point. And I think that I'm also not a huge person on generalizations per se, but I think that's a natural thing when you are a strong personality or you really feel passionate about something that in the beginning, when you're kind of first starting, you want to just plow through and you're not, maybe sometimes that's okay. That's the interesting part. There's no right or wrong necessarily, but yes, how much strength and how empowering, especially in relationships, let's say, you know, where sometimes it is being quiet and listening and not just reacting and working on emotion. How good we feel afterwards, you know? Yeah. I loved your Instagram that you did on, you know, reacting versus responding. I love,

and I haven't seen any other authors do it, how you're reading little pieces on your Instagram. We do that. Okay. Yeah. I wonder about these things sometimes, you know, well, it's way better than going to the little Amazon arrow that says, you know, read a little more here. It's received well. And I enjoyed it because it did. It made me want to get on and purchase the book. There's just something about hearing it with your voice, because I mean, it's yours. I wanted to ask you about the movement-based approach to meditation that you specifically talk about. Is this an actual martial art practice? Is it like a Qigong or Tai Chi? I always say Chai Tea because I love Chai Tea. I love Chai Tea too. So I like it all. And maybe that's part of it, right? You have to have one

Chai Tea to do your movement, to do your Tai Chi. First of all, maybe I want to say thank you so much for your feedback. That really, really means a lot. I'm very serious about that, about the Instagram and what resonates with you. So now movement, I know is the one pillar we haven't touched on too much medicine. We talked about meditation movement is so important, right? And so it truly is. One is not necessarily greater. It's the same thing that we've talked about this whole time of the three pillars. Movement is so important because it helps us to create flow and function. And at the core of everything, I always say that the secret, the answer is function and flow. So in life, in wellness, and in movement, you have

to have these things. And movement is a very powerful way. I do practice internal martial arts, especially Qigong and Tai Chi. So, of course, I figured you already would know this, as you did. And I find that that's a wonderful, it really resonates with me. I also love doing Pilates. There's nothing wrong with doing all the things you love. You know, your CrossFit, I know that's a huge thing. And weights, it doesn't make a difference, but it does make a difference. But do what you love is what I mean by that. But I am a strong proponent and I very much recommend practicing some kind of internal martial arts, yoga, certain things that help to build internally as well as externally. So we can look good and feel good, you know, more from the external aspect, but when we, yes, but when we, when we practice certain

forms of internal practice, we are able to also affect our organ systems or deeply our circulation, our chi. And that is really important because when everything is functioning and flowing properly, right, it affects everything in our life. That's why if we're really uptight, frustrated, you go for a walk. Oh, that's crazy. Of course it can be answered as far as hormones and that's accurate, but also let's keep it simple. Like we all love, I know now simply walking and moving, you know, simply, I try to share that on Instagram as well. Sometimes certain movements where you can stand up and put your arms in a certain way where it affects your meridians can start that low. And that immediately affects your mentally, spiritually, you name it. So it's a very important pillar of

the three. Don't get stagnant. Don't get stagnant in our bodies. Don't get stagnant in our minds. That's kind of a big thing to remember and to be aware of, and maybe even visualize. I definitely am a visualizing person. It helps me, you know, reminds me. And so if we look at it that way, we want flow in a way again. Yeah. You don't want to go on the treadmill for an hour and worry about your life, right? Take a vacation when you're on that treadmill. I know what you would do, Shanna. I'd be looking for a bra. No, very good support of one. You need a Peloton.

You need a Peloton that has Brad Pitt as your, as your dude. Cause you would do whatever he's told you to do. Well, since he looks like Archangel Michael, I'd be completely connected. Exactly. Janelle,

I love when you came across your email for two reasons. Also, I wanted to bring this up your email for two reasons. Also, I wanted to bring this up. First of all, you're just infinite wisdom. Second of all, I think people get sense of soul, sometimes confused with meaning that you shouldn't care about your beauty. You shouldn't care about your hair, your looks like that living this soulful life. You shouldn't care about materialistic things. It was interesting over the weekend. I was helping my mother-in-law move and we're moving out a piece of furniture and it was a very expensive piece and I was giving it to my son. And I said, Connor, when you put your TV on top of this, you make sure and lay down like a

table runner or something. And when you put your drinks on there, put down, you know, a, I can't think what it's called a poster. I'm with you. There you go. And he was like, of course I would mom. And I was like, okay, he's like, what are you trying to say? You think I just ruin it? And I was like, well, Connor, I mean the desk you have now and your car, I mean, you've probably vacuumed your car twice in 10 years. And he goes, mom, is it sense of soul?

Or is that, that I'm supposed to care about materialistic things? And I was like, whoa, whoa, there's, there's a big difference. So we ended up having a great conversation, but there, you know, it's like, sometimes people think self-care means the meditating and mostly caring about the inside. And that if you, if you spend too much time on your vanity, that means you're materialistic and you are a good balance of both. I appreciate that, Mandy. You know what?

I like my Kiko set instead of mind, body, soul, soul, mind, body, which I love, but you know what? Because you reflect how you feel really in the inside. It comes out on the outside. I love that you bring this up, Mandy, because I can't say that this question has really come up in that way or this comment or, you know, whatever we want to call it. And I do think it's really important. And I do think it comes down to that balance. I always want to, and I believe I do stay rooted in something that my mentor taught me. A lot of things in this life are very fine line. That is yin and yang, right? It's, that's a whole

other thing. But when it comes to material things, the importance is that you own them. They don't own you. And it's such a simple phrase, but I always love that. And I also watch this with my littles because yes, this generation, I don't know, it's different. I'm not going to say one thing or another, but they definitely are just aware of things that I don't ever remember thinking about when I was young. I still don't, to be honest. And that's a reality. What are we going to do? You do have to zoom out, gain perspective, because who's to say, what is it that you look for? And if you're true to that, then great. But if we really want to create a beautiful reality and work hard to take care of our loved ones, then what is wrong with that? Now, if we get lost in that, and now all of a sudden material things mean more, and actually, this is in the book as well. At what point do you start to feel that imbalance and what do you do about that? So many people get lost in that imbalance and material things do end up taking over and are the most important and then here you are you hear those stories of you know the people who worked their entire life from their

multi whatever millionaire billionaire and they still don't feel fulfilled and they're unhappy because that's not where we find happiness and we always have to remember that but there's also in my humble opinion there's nothing wrong with material things. If they are in balance, if they come from a good intention in my, again, in my humble opinion, if you are a generous person, that makes me happy personally to be able to give in every way, you know? Yeah. Like if you're not attached to them, I mean, cause that's ridiculous, you know, knowing that, you know, they can be lost. Yeah. Yeah. Shannon, one thing I didn't share is each key starts or the beginning is a story of my father and his master. The first story. And my wish actually is that it's as if you're watching a movie, you catapult through time and it began. Right. And my, my intention is that we always feel

that connection. You know, my father's no longer here, but the principles that he shared with me when he was physically here, I know that I am understanding them on a deeper level than if he were physically here connection, you have to feel it and live it in a different way. And it said, it's a constant, otherwise they're not physically here. You could lose it. You know, to some extent. Who is the gentleman on your website at the top? So on the JBK website,

right? Yes. That's Dr. Hojin. And so he is one of the most famous doctors of Eastern medicine. Wow. In fact, right behind me, gosh, Mandy, you're touching on a lot of interesting things. Right behind me, that big green book is Dongyi Bokum, right? And so it's Hojin's book. And so he was known, long story short, you know, if the medicine started in China and it kind of went into Korea, Japan and Hojin in Korea is known to have kind of really taken understanding of Eastern medicine, particularly herbal medicine and continued that. So my lineage very much connects to the understanding and the knowledge and wisdom of Hojin. Yeah.

I found this piece of paper just recently because my mom is here. I'm trying to find some of her stuff because she's moving from Louisiana back to Colorado here. I found this little piece of paper is from my dad. On one side, it says a lot of people, and this is weird because my dad was like a big jokester. So, and this was actually written June 15, 1975. Oh, it says a lot of people

only think of doing big things in their lives, but it's the little thoughtful and kind things, the small favors that really bring joy to the lives of people that really give them an uplift of body and soul. Whoa. It's his handwriting. I don't believe you. Are you sure it didn't say, and then at the end, it didn't say body, soul and course and course there. And on the back of it, it says go home after Mardi Gras before it's too late. So whatever. Yeah. He was, I can't cry. Oh my God. Your dad was like my dad, like they're so deep and sensitive under all that. My dad didn't seem that way. So I, I too, I'm so grateful that I found tons of little things like this from him. Like he had little goals in life and, and just in principles

too, but his principles were usually came in jokes. And so it's nice to have this. I had to share that because I thought it was so funny. Oh, you know, I, I do feel this very spiritual thing happening between the three of us right now. And I, cause I was going to tell you, Janelle, this word, you keep saying mentor. So, you know, Shanna's talking about her father. You're talking about your grandfather. I think it's so such an important thing that people are listeners. If you find someone and you want what they have, you know, ask if you can surround yourself with them, find a mentor, having a mentor is so important. And you want to know what else stuck out to me is you talked about accountability. You can hold yourself accountable, but that's what mentors are for too. I just,

you know, that really stuck out to me, find your mentor. And talk to your family, you know, ask if you have grandparents alive oh my god you are so fortunate they have so much wisdom they have been through and seen so much in their lifetimes probably more than any other generations ever prior to them they are an abundance of wisdom that made you and it's so I love that we're talking about this because it is so important. Yes. I could not agree more. I'm really grateful. You've had some really amazing mentors in your life. I have, I have, I really have. And it is something that's always been really important to me. And, you know, I'm kind of processing as you're saying this, because yes, each one of us actually in East Asia, if I, if I

can, you know, it's a really important thing. This is something that has been brought up here and there, but you know, there's a lot of thoughts and perspectives and ways of life out there. And I always like to hear them and process them to some extent, depending on what they are, but there is something to say in the histories that have come before us that usually it connects to a teacher of some kind or connects through time. And I do think that that's important. It doesn't mean it's the only way, but I do think that that can be important and not all of us are able to have a mentor. And I know that. I want to acknowledge that. Thich Nhat Hanh is one of my teachers. I don't know him. He's in Vietnam. He's 90 something

years old, but he is an important teacher to me. Yes. And that's what I was going to say. Maybe some of us in this life may not find a mentor who truly can take us through the day-to-day, but that's not the meaning behind the foundation of what a mentor is. And you're right, Shan, I appreciate you saying that. And that's kind of what I wanted to touch on because I can just feel that some people might feel saddened by that. Who is my mentor? Where do I look? I didn't have that. And you know what? That is okay. It is okay. And the true sense of that is exactly what you said. My humble recommendation is yes, whatever truly hits you, be careful of everything that you listen to. Doesn't mean close off, open yourself up, gain your perspective, zoom out, but just do look for

rudeness, something bigger than us, no matter what our beliefs are. If it's God, I talk about God. If it's the universe, I talk about the universe. I really resonate with a lot of these things in my, right. But it is important. I do think that's something very important too, with a lot of the different new age, or I shouldn't even put a name on it because I don't mean to say anything, but there's a lot of different things happening right now because the world and so many people are looking for them and I couldn't be happier, but it's also a time to be that much more aware and almost careful what it is that you listen to, how you move forward. You can never gain back the day. So really just taking that time to connect. So important, vital. In fact, I could not even be sitting in front of you both today. And this is a strong statement without my faith, without my faith and my connection

to my lineage, to my family, to my purpose, my connection to my lineage, to my family, to my purpose, to meeting people such as yourselves. I mean, really. What advice based on your own personal experience would you have for a listener who's maybe struggling with finding their purpose? Literally purpose in general, but also when it comes to having a business, being an entrepreneur, being a parent, being a friend in a relationship. Key one, it always starts from within. Of course you connect, right? So it always starts from within you. Set your intention. What is it that you look for? You have to think about this. What is my purpose in this life? And then with that, number two, you have your faith. And in nature, in God, in a higher

power, something greater than you. You have to connect and you have to plug into that. And you have to follow and feel that with your mind and your heart. That's the truth, knowledge and wisdom, very Confucian in that way. So number one, set your intention. What is your purpose? Where do you want to go? What are you going to leave behind on the day that you leave this earth? Number two, what is greater than you connect to that, plug into that and go with it, be like bamboo, be flexible. And number three, I think it's really important to have a spark. I call it right. For me, it's gratitude. You said that much earlier, Shanna, if in moments that are really difficult, I find that gratitude. And that can be in the sense of looking at my children, looking at my family, looking at my

friends, being here with you both, having that gratitude for me personally is the quickest way combined with that faith and that purpose to just take me out of whatever black hole and remember nothing is lasting. Even the hardest of our moments, whether they are able to change literally inner reality, we can adjust them as we go. And that's a really important where there's an up, there's a down and where there's a down, there's an up. So in moments where we are at our darkest place, we can be lifted from that. And it's a really important where there's an up, there's a down and where there's a down, there's an up. So in moments where we are at our darkest place, we can be lifted from that. And it's really important. You've been awesome. Thank you so much. I know our listeners will love it. Where can everybody find your book? Yeah. So you can really find it anywhere you buy books. So I'm with Watkins. It's distributed through Penguin Random House, basically anywhere.

And what's your website? My website is JanelleKim.com. And as Mandy, I'm so grateful for the feedback has shared. I am definitely doing my very best to be involved on Instagram under Dr. Janelle Kim, Facebook, you know, all the various social media platforms. That whole Zoom thing is sticking with me. Everyone thinks they got to zoom in for clarity. Nope. So in the zoom boom, zoom out people and get this book.

And now it's time for break that shit down. You know, we're all human and we're all here for a purpose. And I'm so grateful for that. I'm so grateful to be here with all of you to connect to any one of the listeners that we come across. When I walk outside, I'm so grateful every single day to know that when I wake up in the morning, when I go to sleep at night, we truly are all connected in a way where we can make a difference. We can be one match to light a thousand. And if we know that, we know we're never alone. And that's a really important thing right now. Together, we really can make a difference and achieve all that we wish.

I love that so much. I loved you. You know what I feel? And I've said this before, because I've worked with so many people, I always see their lineages behind them. Like I can't just look at people anymore, hardly. And you have such a beautiful lineage and they're so proud of you. Oh my God. I was going to say the same thing. They honor you as you have honored them. It's a beautiful thing that you're doing. I honor you for doing that. You are such a beautiful example of a strong, confident, but humble woman. And we need more of you in this world. So thank you for doing what you do. My goodness. I'm very grateful. Thanks for being with us today. We hope you will come back next week. If you like what you hear, don't forget to rate, like, and subscribe.

Thank you. We rise to lift you up. Thanks for listening.