What would you do if you discovered your teacher's pension wouldn't be enough to sustain you after retirement? For Queen D Michelle, the answer came in a life-changing decision to leave Atlanta behind and start fresh in Mexico's Lake Chapala region. Her remarkable journey reveals how necessity can become the catalyst for profound personal transformation.
Queen D Michelle's story begins with a practical problem faced by many retired educators. After 27 years in the classroom, she found herself working multiple jobs to supplement her pension—driving for Uber, shuttling railroad engineers, designing curriculum online. When the realization hit that "I will always have to do this," she began researching alternatives and discovered Mexico's expat-friendly communities where her dollars would stretch further in a place with "the second-best weather in the world."
This geographical shift became the doorway to something far more significant than financial relief. Freed from constant work demands, Queen D Michelle embarked on a journey of self-discovery through meditation, yoga, writing, and community building. She authored multiple books including "Considerations: A Guide for Moving Abroad" and "Traveling Home Together," a spiritual guidebook. Her DNA testing through African Ancestry revealed her Fula heritage from Guinea-Bissau, leading to a powerfully emotional homecoming visit to her ancestral village where her people "wiped tears from her face and welcomed her home."
Today, Queen D Michelle focuses on helping others through her nonprofit organization addressing generational trauma and developing curriculum for "Generation Alpha"—children born between 2010-2024. She believes deeply that "if trauma can be passed down, healing can be passed up," and champions meditation as the essential pathway to spiritual awakening. Her own journey exemplifies what's possible when we dare to step beyond conventional expectations and reclaim our authentic selves.
You can reach Queen D. Michele using her social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/qdmichele/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/1Light1Luv
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MovingInwardOnward
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/considerations2020/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cots/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Speak Up International with Rita Burke
and Elton Brown.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Today we are speaking with a special person whose
name is Queen D Michelle.
Michelle, she's an author, aretired teacher, who packed her
bags and moved to Mexico in 2017when she realized that she
(00:36):
needed to supplement her pension.
Now, as we say on Speak UpInternational, there are usually
so many things that should besaid about one of our guests,
but we prefer if they tell theirstories, and so welcome to
Speak Up International.
Queen V Michelle, thank you,and she will tell us the
remainder of her story.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you.
I'm honored to be here andappreciate having an opportunity
to share my story.
And you're absolutely right.
It started pretty much when Iretired from teaching.
I'm 27 years, I'm an upperelementary, middle school
(01:18):
teacher and after 27 years Itried to do 30.
I was going to do 30 and out,but when I got to that 27th year
, those three years seemed likean eternity.
So I went ahead and retired.
Now, when I first retired, Iquickly realized that I was
going to have to continue towork to supplement my pension.
(01:42):
And it was cool.
I was having fun, I was doingthings I'd never done before.
I had some of the coolest jobs.
I became an Uber driver, oh,and I drove a shuttle for a
railroad company and I tookengineers and conductors to and
from their trains.
I did some online curriculumdesign work.
(02:03):
I was having a ball just doingthese different things I've
never done before and I said hey.
After a while I was like, hey,wait a minute, I will always
have to do this.
I would always have tosupplement my pension.
There would never be enough andI was way too young for social
security and even if I was, itwouldn't be enough.
(02:27):
I would have to have that andwork.
And so when you get a certainthought in your mind and you
start setting intentions, theuniverse will put things in
front of you.
And what came before me was theInternational Living article the
top 10 places to retire.
Now, this was back in 2016 andit were places like Costa Rica,
(02:51):
mexico, panama, thailand,colombia.
Both were places and Iresearched them all, but Mexico
was the one that checked all theboxes for me, and that was
because number one, I was livingin Atlanta when I retired, and
a plane ride from Guadalajara toAtlanta is three and a half
(03:16):
hours nonstop.
Three and a half hours nonstop.
So number one location waspretty pretty close.
So number one location waspretty, pretty close.
And then the second thing wasclimate.
Now, the area that I moved inwas called, and is called, lake
(03:37):
Chapala.
Now, see, it's in the state ofJalisco.
Mexico has 32 states, 32 states.
Jalisco State houses thelargest freshwater lake in the
country of Mexico and it'scalled Lake Chapala.
(03:58):
Now, surrounding that lake arelittle towns and villages, and
on the north shore of that lakeis the largest expat community
in the country of Mexico.
The largest expat community inthe country of Mexico.
See, that's where a lot ofAmericans and Canadians are
living and they figured it outwhere their dollars are
stretching more.
And then they're living ingorgeous weather.
Now, as far as the climate inLake Chapala, it was voted by
(04:20):
National Geographic the secondbest weather in the world, and
that's because it's eternallyspring.
Now it's a dry spring and a wetspring, but it's spring
nonetheless.
And then the third thing thatchecked the box for me was the
expat community.
I was able to leave my country,go to another country and land
(04:45):
very softly amongst expats.
You would think, oh, you haveto know how to speak Spanish.
Not necessarily it's good toknow how to speak Spanish, of
course, but in Lake Chapala, onthat North Shore, it's the
largest expat community andexpats there are pretty catered
to, but these are retired, theseare retired individuals, so
(05:08):
they are living their best life,as I was.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Like you guys, were living your best life.
You moved to Mexico in 2017.
So what were the biggestlessons you learned after making
that move?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Well, here's the thing I didn't realize how
distracted I really was from me,from my wellbeing, from my mind
, body and soul, until I had anopportunity, because I'm in this
wonderful place that I can nowturn and discover me, and I've
(05:49):
been.
In doing that, I discovered somany things that was already
there, that I didn't know I had.
It was a beautiful awakening ofme being introduced to me
through meditation, of me beingintroduced to me through
meditation, through yoga,through hiking, through
friendships, through writing.
(06:10):
I started writing, matter offact, in my first book.
My first book wasConsiderations, a Guide for
Moving Abroad.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I don't want to interrupt you, but I want to
move to the books, because ournext question has to do with
your books, and it seems to meas if Mexico, lake Chapala, was
the place to be, or is the placeto be.
It seems to have made quite amark on your life, and I like
that.
So my next question was goingto be about books you've written
(06:42):
.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Tell us about those books.
That's where everything wasbirthed.
Right from there, I didn't seemyself as an author or anything,
but this is what happened whenI was researching, and that's
the main thing when one istaking on such a, it has to move
, it has to be calculated.
And I started researching andone of the threads I was
(07:04):
following was a YouTube channelcalled Jerry Brown Travels.
Jerry Brown Travels.
He lives in Mexico and he was.
He had all these wonderfulvideos and I was following him
and following Facebook groupsand following threads, and when
I was had just been there, maybefour months I was in a cell
(07:26):
phone place.
I looked up and there was JerryBrown walking across the street.
I said wait a minute.
I ran out there.
I said, hey, I know you and wehad the greatest conversation
and he wanted to interview me.
And so, in doing so, he startedgetting oh man, I tell you that
(07:47):
one interview, and I'm morethan likely because I'm a woman
of color and I was, of course,probably the first and only
woman of color that he hadinterviewed and it sparked so
many questions.
And then I started trying toanswer them all and I said wait
a minute let me I can put thistogether because I document it.
I always take copious notes.
(08:07):
I had already written the bookConsiderations, A Guide for
Moving Abroad.
I had in a sense in my head,cause I had all the notes, so
that's where the book wasbirthed.
It's 10 chapters.
Each chapter is a considerationConsider visas, Consider
downsizing, Consider health care, Consider transportation, those
(08:29):
kind of things.
And it was a really easy, quickread.
People started buying it andloving it and more questions
came and next thing I know I wasconsulting and had a little
concierge.
I was having a ball and had alittle concierge.
I was having a ball those fouryears.
(08:49):
I lived in Mexico for fouryears Now, even after
considerations, a guy for movingabroad.
I started a blog called Flowingand Growing.
Now that came out of the nextbook I wrote, which is Traveling
Home Together.
Now Traveling Home Together isbased on pretty much my
awakening of self and in thatbook and that's only eight
(09:12):
chapters, but in that book Iguide people, or I take them, on
this meaty, metaphoric journeyinward.
I want.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I encourage people to move inward and that any and
everything you ever, ever wantedto know is within, not without.
How do you take thatinformation, what they have,
inward and help them deal withthe cultural differences that
people have to adapt when theymove from one country to another
, in this case, mexico?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
See, here's the thing If people move to another
country with the wrong mindset,if I went to Mexico expecting
Mexico to be like America, whatcultural shock would I
experience?
See again, research helped meto understand.
I'm leaving the country.
(10:11):
They have a different language,they have a different
government, everything isdifferent.
So it's all about expectationsand cultural shock.
That's on them because you're agrown person at this point.
So, whatever mixed views youhad about what Mexico is, your
understanding of what living inthat culture is, it's your
(10:35):
responsibility to take that deepdive for an understanding of
where you're going to live.
And if someone doesn't do that,then shame on them.
I'm going to go over therebecause I could spend my money
better.
And then you go over there withthat mentality.
You're not going to fare wellwith adapting to the culture.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
It sounds to me as if you poured a lot into those
books, into your writings, andthey were enriching experiences
for you as well.
Absolutely, tell us about yourconnection to Africa.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yes, ancestry.
You ever heard of Ancestrycom?
Right, if you were to take thatDNA test, they would tell you
you're a little bit of this,you're a little bit of that,
your region's over there.
But over 20 years ago a groupof Black scientists got together
and they created the largestdatabase of Black blood in the
(11:35):
world.
It's called africanancestrycom.
Now you take that DNA test.
Not only will it tell you, outof the 54 solvent countries,
what country your bloodlineoriginated in, it'll also tell
(11:55):
you your tribe.
So I took that DNA test and Idiscovered that I am Fula from
Guinea-Bissau, west Africa.
Now I took it on my mother's.
I took the maternal DNA test,but you can take the maternal,
you can take the paternal.
Now, people who take that DNAtest, they'll find that their
(12:18):
country of origin is probablyalong that western coast of
Africa, because, of course,that's where the slave trade
took place.
In discovering that, I didanother deep dive research about
Guinea-Bissau.
I wanted to know about theplace where my ancestor was
(12:40):
taken from See, because thatmeans that my mother's mother,
going back anywhere from 200 to250 years, survived the passage.
She didn't die on the ship, shedidn't jump off the ship, she
wasn't killed on the ship.
She survived the passage.
(13:00):
Now, when she got here, she gotmixed with a whole lot of other
stuff, of course, throughbreeding and rape, and that's
why you hear people say I'm partIndian, your original pure
bloodline is that from thecontinent, the continent of
Africa.
So she made it.
Through my research, I cameacross Guinea-Bissau because
(13:23):
there are several countries inAfrica who are participating in
repatriation.
If you can show through DNAmaternal, through DNA period,
that your bloodline originatedin that country, you can apply
for citizenship.
And I did while I'm gettingahead of myself.
(13:44):
So when I found Guinea-Bissau,when I found Repat Guinea-Bissau
, this was like a tour as well.
So through that tour, they hadarranged for me, when I came to
visit, for me to step foot in myancestral village.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Wow, full of my 60th birthday ancestral village, wow,
full of my 60th birthday.
That is amazing, and I want toknow how did you feel when you
made this discovery and actuallyhave your feet where your
ancestors most possibly walkedWere.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Absolutely.
It's the bringing back.
When I stepped foot there everya nonprofit organization called
Fula History and GenealogySociety in America.
(14:52):
Now my website isfulaamericanorg.
Now, if you were to go to thatwebsite, I got a real treat for
you.
If you were to go to thatwebsite and to click on my
soul's journey.
There's a blog that I kept.
I am a writer and I documentfilm.
(15:14):
You know these events thathappened in my life.
Of that blog, you will see thevideo of me stepping foot for
the first time and beingwelcomed into the arms of my
ancestors' people, my people.
(15:36):
It is thrilling when I see itevery time I see it, because
it's like I fell into their armsand they surrounded me.
They wiped tears from my faceand welcomed me home.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I see and feel pure joy in your tone, in your manner
, in your tenor, on your face asyou speak about that experience
in Africa.
It must have been trulyenriching for you and I see the
joy on your face.
Let's change tones a little bit.
(16:09):
I'd like to hear more and talkabout ancestral trauma, because
I think that's included in yourvalue as well.
Talk to us about that.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Absolutely.
Now, see, that's part of theorganization that I, my
nonprofit, one of the tenants,tenant number one is to just
raise awareness aboutgenerational trauma.
Raise awareness aboutgenerational trauma because we
don't know.
So I wanted to bring anawareness as to what it is, and
(16:42):
I want to awareness as to whatit is and I want to first of all
, just talk about what is trauma.
Trauma is a deeply distressingor disturbing experience.
That's trauma, right, a deeplydistressing or disturbing
experience.
Now, those experiences, thedeeply distressing and
(17:06):
disturbing one, over timeresults in neurosis, neurosis.
Now, what is neurosis?
Neurosis is a mental condition,that's right, A mental
condition not caused by anyorganic disease, and those
symptoms of that is like stress,depression, anxiety, obsessive
(17:30):
behavior, ptsd.
Now, there's levels of that andwe all have neurosis.
We do.
If you've lived, if you'veexperienced a deeply distressing
and disturbing experiences inthis life, yes, you have a form
of neurosis.
Now, although these are not aradical loss with a touch with
(17:55):
reality, it's still a form ofneurosis.
It's still a mental illness,correct?
Now, generational trauma Now,let's put generational trauma to
that.
Generational trauma is thetransference of traumatic
experiences or stressors fromone generation to the next,
(18:19):
through DNA, from one generationto the next through DNA.
So one might ask themselveswhat traumatic experiences or
stressors was transferred to usthrough DNA from our ancestors?
What traumatic experience orstressors did they experience?
(18:42):
Generational trauma is theharmful effects of historical
mistreatment or abuse.
The symptoms of these traumasare passed down from generation
to generation.
See, we're still holding DNA.
We're holding that because DNA,dna.
(19:03):
I have a little film,five-minute film, because it's
hard to explain DNA and theimportance of it and how it's
connected and it's veryscientific.
But I have it broke down forkids, okay.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
So you have a blog my Soul's Journey I guess that's
basically what it's called andyou, because it talks about what
you are discussing right now,which is generational trauma.
So what are some key insightsthat you were able to gain
through your blog?
Because a lot of people are notgoing to understand what is DNA
(19:49):
, how all of that, how that allfits together.
So I'm taking a leap of faithhere and say that most people
that probably were on your blogwere not from the medical
profession, so they were lookingfor someone to guide them
(20:11):
through this educational journey, which happens to be
generational trauma.
So what did people admit?
Without saying their names, ofcourse, but what did people
admit?
What did people find out aboutthe generational trauma that
(20:33):
they experienced?
And they probably didn't evenknow it until it was addressed
by you or someone else.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
That's just it.
It's such a huge take on I havebeen.
My sole contract with theancestors is to simply plant
seeds and water plants for NewEarth Living.
I'm planting seeds, so I'mgoing to pick up on that and
that's all I'm here.
(21:02):
I'll probably never see theharvest of it.
But here's the thing that Itruly believe If trauma is
passed, is transferred or passeddown through generations, so
can healing, so can healing, thesimple awareness.
If drama can be passed down,healing can be passed up.
(21:25):
And this one little thing I saythat every family needs that
one son or daughter that speakstheir mind, doesn't like being
told what to do and is low-keyhealing.
The generational trauma that noone seems to be aware of.
Only thing you know, you can dois enlighten them, to bring it
(21:45):
into their awareness Now, whatthey do after.
That's their journey, theirpath, their lesson.
I'm simply planting seedsbecause I cannot correct their
generational trauma, but theycan, and it starts with just
knowledge and awareness thatit's there, an acceptance of it,
that this is somethinggenerational and, as that takes
(22:09):
place, that growing sense ofone's true self, that's healing.
Generational curses are brokenand then the expansion of
consciousness in the awarenessof our ancestry and our
beingness.
It's inevitable.
It'll happen on its own.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
So how can someone who has experienced generational
trauma, how do they go aboutfinding out that they've had
this trauma, the realization,Everybody has it.
And then, on top of that, howdo they begin healing?
I'm assuming that everyoneheals differently.
(22:51):
No one heals the same.
What are some of the ways thatpeople can begin healing
generational trauma?
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Here's the thing it's , everybody's journey is
different, right, it's,everybody's journey is different
, right?
Once you become aware whattakes place within the DNA and
within your family line.
It's, it is individual, but Ican say this take, for instance,
my people, my native tongue, my, my native tongue is Pular.
(23:20):
Now, I'll never speak it, butjust knowing that's what it is,
it's a game changer.
It's a game changer.
So let's just start withfinding out who we are sending
again, sending them withinthemselves.
All the answers are within.
And so how would you tellsomebody, how does somebody
(23:42):
begin healing from generationaltrauma?
They, first and foremost, haveto admit that they have it and
that it exists, and then, second, from there, they begin doing
research, or at least trying tostudy who they are.
That's where the healing begins, is finding out who you are,
(24:03):
who you truly are, and you don'tfind that out until you go
inside.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
I suspect that connecting to one's roots.
The Sankofa bird talks aboutgoing back to find out, and
there's a saying and I'm sureyou're aware of things that if
you don't know your roots, thenyou are not moving forward, and
(24:31):
a tree without roots or plantwithout roots will not prosper.
And so I see the importance.
There's no question about it,no question going back to find
out, but a lot of people theydon't have to go back.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
everybody's not going to be able of people.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
They don't have to go back, everybody's not going to
be able to go and they don'thave the energy and the drive
and the motivation.
Perhaps it's because they don'tsee the value and benefit of it
, but I hear you loudly there.
On Speak Up International, weseek to inform, to inspire and
to educate, and we're doing thatright now by listening to Queen
(25:11):
Michelle tell her story andtalk about her experiences.
And you've been involved withcurriculum development.
Talk to us, share with us someof the details of that, please.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Okay, and again, this came from.
I think this is part of thehealing that took place.
One of the second tenants of mynonprofit organization is to
create, promote and establisheducational materials for the
enhancement of sense of self inGeneration Alpha.
(25:47):
Now I'm going to tell you alittle bit about who Generation
Alpha is.
Okay Because that's mycurriculum.
Generation Alpha is born between2010 and 2024.
They are the children of themillennials and some exes who
(26:08):
got in the game late.
They are the first generationto be born fully in the 21st
century.
They're the most materiallyendowed generation ever.
Now.
The oldest turned 13 last year.
The oldest of that generationturned 13 last year.
(26:29):
Now, understand, when I and theywill one day be the phone went
in the hand at infancy, youunderstand they were swiping up
(26:51):
and down and back and engagingexternally from birth, basically
from birth, and they are wiredcompletely different.
They are wired completelydifferent.
I'm talking about Beyonce'skids, nick Cannon kids and my
grandson who's six, and if youhave grandchildren, that's in
(27:15):
that age.
They are generation alpha andjust the name alone.
Alpha is strong, beginning,beginning.
They are, and so we have towhat we've.
Their influences are none ofthe influences that any of the
prior generations have had Get.
(27:35):
The neglect of not balancingall this external see they are
external stimuli has always beenpretty much the way that they
learn, and so what we didn't dowas give them a balance of
emotional intelligence tonavigate.
These Generation Alpha are inspaces and in platforms free
(28:02):
from parental influence.
They are in spaces and inplatforms that their parents
don't even understand.
They are going where we're notgoing.
We are not going where they'regoing.
However, we are responsible forequipping them with the tools
that they will need, emotionallyand socially, to navigate that
(28:26):
external world.
That's our responsibility.
Now, see, remember when we wereback, when we were in school,
they had classes like homeeconomics and shop and mechanics
those things to help us as wegrew.
There's nothing in place forGeneration Alpha for where
(28:47):
they're going.
You feel me?
There's nothing.
So the best that we can do isto give them the tools necessary
.
So I created 52 Insights for GenAlpha a conscious curriculum, a
conscious curriculum.
The curriculum focuses onself-awareness, see, always
going back to self, going backto who.
(29:09):
You are going back.
We have to instill this.
The curriculum focuses onself-awareness through
activities that foster, here wego, mindfulness, self-management
, relationship skills, socialawareness and conscious
decision-making.
(29:29):
Those are the kind of skillsthat need to be taught, along
with math, english andeverything else, even if it's
just a I used to go to art or goto this.
You need to go to a class likethat that helps to give you the
tools while you're out there inthose spaces that we're not how
to navigate it, because it'sabout consciousness now, not
(29:53):
home economics.
It's about conscious andmindfulness now not shop.
You see, it's different andthere's nothing in place for
them.
That's why they're disconnected.
That's why they don't know how.
Could you imagine being this inyour hand from the time it was
infancy, and it's all thatYou've gone to Egypt, cruised
(30:16):
the Nile, I have.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
So you've talked about these tools that this
generation needs in order to besuccessful.
So how did that trip shape yourperspective on African history
and heritage, since we'retalking about tools that they
(30:38):
need in order to become?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
successful.
The thing about that, thosetools I'm talking about, in a
sense, was always present inAfrica.
I mean that, one knowingoneself that was.
This is what I understood onceI visited the cradle of
civilization, once I visited themotherland.
What I realized is these thingswere already present, but we
(31:06):
were disconnected from it.
We were cut off from it.
They made sure those practiceswas nothing that we practiced.
They called it witchcraft, theygave it negative connotations
Don't do it that way, don'tconnect with nature, don't calm
your mind.
And so what they gave us wasorganized religion.
(31:26):
They gave us this, theyorganized us into this thought,
and that was never the way.
It was never the way that itwas supposed to be.
So that's what I got fromvisiting the motherland.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Every time you talk about the motherland, your
features change.
I see a sense of pride.
Every time you talk about themotherland, your features change
.
I see a sense of pride, I see asense of satisfaction, I see
the joy, and that is a wonderfulthing.
You talk about self-awareness.
I'm not sure if you're aware ofthat, but some more questions,
(32:02):
some more questions, and Ibelieve you've threaded this
response through everything yousaid as we've been talking.
I want for you to talk to ouraudience about a time when you
had to say enough.
Could you think of a time inyour life when you had to say
enough and change directions?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Enough and change directions.
Enough and change directions.
I guess that would be the timethat I retired Enough, or when I
decided that I didn't want towork until I can't work anymore
and then live substandardlybecause I wasn't working Enough.
(32:51):
I think if that was enough,that was it for me.
That was that moment thatchanged the trajectory of my
life was knowing that I hadenough and I'm not giving you my
life, I don't owe you my life.
That was enough.
That was enough.
I had worked 27 years and gavein to the, to the system, worked
(33:16):
hard, even while teaching maybea couple of jobs here and there
, because the teaching pay wasnever enough.
Teachers have second jobs, so Ibelieve that was my enough is
once I retired and realized Iwould have to keep working.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Enough.
So you've written multiplebooks covering travel, which
you've already mentioned.
Spirituality, yes.
Well-being is another, isanother one.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
So how does being a writer play in your personal
journey?
I am.
I've always loved writing.
I've always loved writing.
It was right point from.
And then, when I taughtelementary and middle school, my
favorite subject was English.
Yes, I've always written, andthat's I didn't realize how
(34:12):
important journaling is.
You know, people say, journal,write it down, journal.
But see, this is something thatI've always done, so therefore,
it was easy for me to documentmy journeys.
I'm a writer, I've alwayswritten, I've always written,
and we all have our talents,don't we?
(34:34):
We have our talents, the thingsthat we like, the things that
come easy for us.
Writing always came easy for me.
I always excelled in journalism.
That was my thing, how it cameto be, and I never would have
explored it like I have.
I never would have done whatI've done had I not left this
(34:57):
country, had I not left, had Icontinued, if I said you know
what I'm just?
And gave in to the fact that Ineeded to.
Even though I was retired, Ineeded to continue to work to
pay bills.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
You have been very creative in terms of making sure
that you had a way, or found away, to supplement your income,
and I want you to talk a littlebit about traveling home
together, which is a spiritualguidebook.
What was the main message thatyou were hoping, or are hoping
(35:32):
that individuals will receiveafter they've completed reading
that guidebook?
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Oh.
So, listen, traveling hometogether will resonate with
those who are newly awakened orwho are awakening.
See, it's a really it's noteasy Spiritual awakenings.
It can be rough, and all I dois help guide them and give them
(35:59):
the tools that's necessary inorder for them to understand
that shift in consciousness thatthey're experiencing.
See, that's what a spiritualawakening is.
It's a shift, it's a shift inconsciousness spiritual
awakening is.
It's a shift.
(36:19):
It's a shift in consciousness.
Your whole paradigm shifts onceyou realize the illusion of the
matrix and the system and thatyou are here to do.
You are created to do amazing,wonderful things here.
We're supposed to have awonderful life filled with fun
and bliss and creating andcreation.
(36:41):
That's what we're supposed tobe doing here, not grinding
ourselves into the ground untilwe can't do anything else.
And this traveling hometogether helps them.
To those, like I said, it wouldonly resonate with those who
are at that point where they'requestioning thing.
(37:01):
They're questioning this, well,and they're having these
thoughts and they're evenphysically, they're feeling
strange and what's going on withthem?
They're awakening and right nowI'm gonna you there is a mass
awakening going on.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Would you say that spiritual awakening can be a
very scary thing for some people?
Oh, absolutely, once they'requestioning what's happening and
why and where it's coming from,do you think it's a scary
experience?
There is no doubt.
There is no doubt's a scaryexperience.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
There is no doubt.
There is no doubt that it'sscary, there is no doubt.
And my book is only eightchapters.
However, it's so meaty.
It's so meaty that I created aworkbook to go along with it, so
that they can continue doingthe exercises and practices that
(37:56):
help them maintain bandwidth offrequency, if you will, of
consciousness, for that newearth.
See, one can live new earth now.
New earth that means that youcan live, walk, move and have
your being in new earth.
And new earth is just thatstate of consciousness that is
(38:22):
removed from the matrix.
I can observe it, I see it, butI'm not of it.
I'm not of it.
I'm living new earth.
I'm living new earth now andmany are awakening to that.
They're meeting.
What do you?
Speaker 2 (38:39):
say Did you coach, you guide you mentor?
Who are the they that you workwith?
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Who are.
I don't work personally, Idon't coach, I don't mentor or
train.
In that respect, I put my workout and I promote my book and
those who are attracted, thattype of work that resonates.
I trust the universe will bringall the cooperating components
together.
I am simply the plant seeds andwater plants for new earth
(39:13):
living.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Yeah, what advice would you give someone who is
just beginning their ownspiritual awakening?
Speaker 3 (39:23):
Here's the thing you will not experience, or cannot
experience, a spiritualawakening unless you meditate.
One must be a daily meditator,see, because the thing about
going inside, you meet your soulself, see, what's driving right
(39:46):
now is that egoic self.
Most people are driven by theiregoic self.
They actually feel like theyare their ego, which they are
not.
The ego has a general purpose,but it's not the general.
And going within, meeting yoursoul self, your hand is gently
(40:08):
taken and now you are taught,you are loved, you are guided.
You are led, not by your ego.
You are loved, you are guided,you are led, not by your ego.
Now, your ego is still present.
It's just in the backseat,where it needs to be.
That's a general purpose.
That's a general purpose.
But your soul self, that's theone that's aligned with the
(40:29):
universe and with you.
And if you're led and guidedand directed through your soul
self, then that's the gamechanger.
Now, people don't like tomeditate, See, you suggest
someone.
The only suggestion I have isto meditate, and I know
meditation can be hard.
So I suggest that you start offwith a guided meditation.
(40:53):
Off with a guided meditation.
See, I started meditating sevenyears ago, oprah and Deepak.
They had this 21-day challenge,this 21-day meditation
challenge, and so I took that.
And after the 21 days was over,I still wanted to go within.
I wanted that and there was noone to take me in.
(41:16):
More or less so I thought butagain, the universe is perfect,
they will put things in front ofyou, and I came across a guided
meditation that helped me meetmy soul, self.
People call it Holy Spirit,higher self.
There's so many different namesfor it and that's not even
(41:37):
important.
But knowing that is knowingthat soul is within, waiting for
you, waiting for you so it canteach you, guide you, direct you
, love you, protect you.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
So, yeah, yes, it's obvious to me that you are in
control of a lot of things inyour life and that you like
yourself, that you enjoy yourcompany.
A lot of positive things arestamped and tattooed in your DNA
.
Yes, tell me, tell us maybe twothings that you admire about
(42:26):
Queen Michelle.
Tell us three things that youadmire about Queen Michelle.
Speaker 3 (42:32):
The first thing is that I'm not influenced by what
people say.
Now take, for instance, my name, queen D Michelle.
My mother did not name me Queenand she was not pleased when I
changed my name to Queen at all.
And that was because, let metell you, when I was teaching
(42:56):
this was years ago, because I'vebeen queen for over 20 years
now there was a guy who wouldcome into work, come into the
school, and every morning hewould say to the ladies that he
passed in the hallway, goodmorning queen.
And they say good morning Red.
And to the guys he would saygood morning King.
And I thought that was theladies.
(43:16):
But it hit me differently.
It hit differently within, andyears have passed.
Here I am in living in Las Vegason my second job.
I'm still teaching, but I got asecond job and one day I forgot
my name tag.
I worked at a movie theaterticket booth and I forgot my
name tag, and so I took a littlepiece of tape and I wrote queen
(43:39):
on it and I put it on my chestand I'm continuing to work.
In a little I don't know 20something year old manager White
guy came up to me.
He said hey, you can't havethat on your neck.
You can't say your name isqueen.
If it's not, you can't havethem call you that.
If that's not your name, youhave to take that off.
(44:01):
Uh-huh, oh, okay, and I took itoff.
But within that moment, snap, Iwill be called what I want to
be called.
And so I legally changed myname.
Now, my name at that time wasDonita Michelle Williams.
Now Williams was my marriedname.
(44:24):
So I dropped that, I tookMichelle and I moved it down to
my last name.
I took Donita, which I love.
That was my given name.
I moved it to my middle nameand I took the name Queen, hence
Queen Demichelle.
So it's never letting people be, even my family.
(44:46):
I've always been that.
I guess you can call me a rebelin a way.
When it wasn't right or itdidn't feel right, I said
something about it, I spoke andI wasn't afraid.
I wasn't afraid.
I wasn't afraid to leaveDetroit and move to Las Vegas
and live there for 11 years.
(45:07):
I wasn't afraid to leave Vegasand move to Atlanta and teach
there for a couple of yearsbefore I retired.
I wasn't afraid to move toMexico, to another country.
I wasn't afraid to go to Africa.
You see, that that's it.
That's what I like about myself.
(45:29):
I'm fearless.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
And fearless you are.
Thank you.
I want to talk a little bitabout, or ask you to talk a
little bit about, the road towell-being and you talk about
there's these six aspects ofwellness, and so what are some
of the practical steps one cantake to achieve balance in their
(45:56):
lives?
Speaker 3 (45:57):
Okay, see, there are six aspects that make up the
totality of our well-being.
Those six aspects and you'revery familiar with them
spiritual, emotional, mental,physical, social and financial.
Physical, social and financialthose six aspects make up the
(46:19):
totality of our well-being,correct?
Now each one of those aspectscan be healthy or unhealthy, so
there's a balance that one needsto have within those.
Now let me give you an exampleof spiritual.
(46:40):
A good characteristic, a quality, would be that a spiritual
person has a deep they feel, adeep conscious connection to all
.
That is An unhealthy aspectwould be they're an overthinker
when it comes to spirituality.
(47:00):
Emotionally, a healthy onethey're some of the most honest
people you will ever meet.
An unhealthy one lowself-esteem.
That's emotional.
Let's talk about mental.
Unhealthy mental would beeasily distracted.
Healthy mental would beopen-minded, and open-mindedness
(47:25):
and a respect of contrast.
One has to respect the contrastthat shows up in your life
daily, right?
Respect the contrast that showsup in your life daily, right?
Physically, a healthy one.
A healthy aspect, one of thecharacteristics they would be
mindful of their gate your nose,gate your mouth, when do you
(47:56):
put those gates?
A healthy spirit, physicalaspect would be mindful of that.
An unhealthy would be out ofshape.
Physically out of shape Nowsocially, health wise, you're
involved and connected.
Unhealthy you're materialistic.
Financial healthy living withintheir means.
(48:22):
Financially Unhealthy theworking poor, that's a whole
class the working poor there are.
In that book I go over all thehealthiness, how to recognize
the healthy aspects, theunhealthy, and then I give some
examples, information and placesthey can go to gather
(49:02):
additional information so thatthey can find balance in their
lives.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
Today, you provided our audience a little bit about
yourself, life in Mexico andabroad, how important African
ancestry is to individuals ofcolor if they really want to
find out their true ancestry.
And your writing and bloggingand spiritual awakening was
(49:35):
another aspect of you that wetalked about.
And education and empoweringthe next generation, talking
about Gen Alpha what are theirneeds and what do they need to
focus on, and what do we need todo to help them focus on their
spiritual well-being and alsoour personal growth.
(49:58):
So I want to thank you so muchfor being with us this afternoon
.
We really did appreciateeverything that you've imparted
and when you write your nextbook, please let us know so that
we can have yet anotherconversation.
Arita, is there something thatyou'd like to say?
Speaker 2 (50:22):
I just want to reiterate what you have said to
our guest today, Queen D,Michelle, and I want to say that
the one thing that resonates asa matter of fact, everything
you've said I found enrichingand you've poured your wisdom
and your knowledge into me.
(50:43):
I appreciate that about namingoneself and having the agency to
determine who you want to beand where you want to go with
your life will continually ringa bell for me.
(51:04):
So I thank you, thank you,thank you.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
Thank you for listening to Speak Up
International.
If you wish to contact Ms QuinnD Michelle, please be prepared
to submit your name, your emailaddress and the reason why you
wish to contact Queen D Michelleat facebookcom forward slash QD
(51:29):
Michelle.
Qd Michelle has other socialmedia accounts you can use to
connect to her that will belisted in the description
section on Spotify and othersocial media platforms.
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(51:50):
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Join us again on Speak UpInternational, where we aim to
inspire, to inform, educate andentertain our audience.
Welcome to Speak Up International with Rita Burke
and Elton Brown.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Today we are speaking with a special person whose
name is Queen D Michelle.
Michelle, she's an author, aretired teacher, who packed her
bags and moved to Mexico in 2017when she realized that she
(00:36):
needed to supplement her pension.
Now, as we say on Speak UpInternational, there are usually
so many things that should besaid about one of our guests,
but we prefer if they tell theirstories, and so welcome to
Speak Up International.
Queen V Michelle, thank you,and she will tell us the
remainder of her story.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you.
I'm honored to be here andappreciate having an opportunity
to share my story.
And you're absolutely right.
It started pretty much when Iretired from teaching.
I'm 27 years, I'm an upperelementary, middle school
(01:18):
teacher and after 27 years Itried to do 30.
I was going to do 30 and out,but when I got to that 27th year
, those three years seemed likean eternity.
So I went ahead and retired.
Now, when I first retired, Iquickly realized that I was
going to have to continue towork to supplement my pension.
(01:42):
And it was cool.
I was having fun, I was doingthings I'd never done before.
I had some of the coolest jobs.
I became an Uber driver, oh,and I drove a shuttle for a
railroad company and I tookengineers and conductors to and
from their trains.
I did some online curriculumdesign work.
(02:03):
I was having a ball just doingthese different things I've
never done before and I said hey.
After a while I was like, hey,wait a minute, I will always
have to do this.
I would always have tosupplement my pension.
There would never be enough andI was way too young for social
security and even if I was, itwouldn't be enough.
(02:27):
I would have to have that andwork.
And so when you get a certainthought in your mind and you
start setting intentions, theuniverse will put things in
front of you.
And what came before me was theInternational Living article the
top 10 places to retire.
Now, this was back in 2016 andit were places like Costa Rica,
(02:51):
mexico, panama, thailand,colombia.
Both were places and Iresearched them all, but Mexico
was the one that checked all theboxes for me, and that was
because number one, I was livingin Atlanta when I retired, and
a plane ride from Guadalajara toAtlanta is three and a half
(03:16):
hours nonstop.
Three and a half hours nonstop.
So number one location waspretty pretty close.
So number one location waspretty, pretty close.
And then the second thing wasclimate.
Now, the area that I moved inwas called, and is called, lake
(03:37):
Chapala.
Now, see, it's in the state ofJalisco.
Mexico has 32 states, 32 states.
Jalisco State houses thelargest freshwater lake in the
country of Mexico and it'scalled Lake Chapala.
(03:58):
Now, surrounding that lake arelittle towns and villages, and
on the north shore of that lakeis the largest expat community
in the country of Mexico.
The largest expat community inthe country of Mexico.
See, that's where a lot ofAmericans and Canadians are
living and they figured it outwhere their dollars are
stretching more.
And then they're living ingorgeous weather.
Now, as far as the climate inLake Chapala, it was voted by
(04:20):
National Geographic the secondbest weather in the world, and
that's because it's eternallyspring.
Now it's a dry spring and a wetspring, but it's spring
nonetheless.
And then the third thing thatchecked the box for me was the
expat community.
I was able to leave my country,go to another country and land
(04:45):
very softly amongst expats.
You would think, oh, you haveto know how to speak Spanish.
Not necessarily it's good toknow how to speak Spanish, of
course, but in Lake Chapala, onthat North Shore, it's the
largest expat community andexpats there are pretty catered
to, but these are retired, theseare retired individuals, so
(05:08):
they are living their best life,as I was.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Like you guys, were living your best life.
You moved to Mexico in 2017.
So what were the biggestlessons you learned after making
that move?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Well, here's the thing I didn't realize how
distracted I really was from me,from my wellbeing, from my mind
, body and soul, until I had anopportunity, because I'm in this
wonderful place that I can nowturn and discover me, and I've
(05:49):
been.
In doing that, I discovered somany things that was already
there, that I didn't know I had.
It was a beautiful awakening ofme being introduced to me
through meditation, of me beingintroduced to me through
meditation, through yoga,through hiking, through
friendships, through writing.
(06:10):
I started writing, matter offact, in my first book.
My first book wasConsiderations, a Guide for
Moving Abroad.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I don't want to interrupt you, but I want to
move to the books, because ournext question has to do with
your books, and it seems to meas if Mexico, lake Chapala, was
the place to be, or is the placeto be.
It seems to have made quite amark on your life, and I like
that.
So my next question was goingto be about books you've written
(06:42):
.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Tell us about those books.
That's where everything wasbirthed.
Right from there, I didn't seemyself as an author or anything,
but this is what happened whenI was researching, and that's
the main thing when one istaking on such a, it has to move
, it has to be calculated.
And I started researching andone of the threads I was
(07:04):
following was a YouTube channelcalled Jerry Brown Travels.
Jerry Brown Travels.
He lives in Mexico and he was.
He had all these wonderfulvideos and I was following him
and following Facebook groupsand following threads, and when
I was had just been there, maybefour months I was in a cell
(07:26):
phone place.
I looked up and there was JerryBrown walking across the street.
I said wait a minute.
I ran out there.
I said, hey, I know you and wehad the greatest conversation
and he wanted to interview me.
And so, in doing so, he startedgetting oh man, I tell you that
(07:47):
one interview, and I'm morethan likely because I'm a woman
of color and I was, of course,probably the first and only
woman of color that he hadinterviewed and it sparked so
many questions.
And then I started trying toanswer them all and I said wait
a minute let me I can put thistogether because I document it.
I always take copious notes.
(08:07):
I had already written the bookConsiderations, A Guide for
Moving Abroad.
I had in a sense in my head,cause I had all the notes, so
that's where the book wasbirthed.
It's 10 chapters.
Each chapter is a considerationConsider visas, Consider
downsizing, Consider health care, Consider transportation, those
(08:29):
kind of things.
And it was a really easy, quickread.
People started buying it andloving it and more questions
came and next thing I know I wasconsulting and had a little
concierge.
I was having a ball and had alittle concierge.
I was having a ball those fouryears.
(08:49):
I lived in Mexico for fouryears Now, even after
considerations, a guy for movingabroad.
I started a blog called Flowingand Growing.
Now that came out of the nextbook I wrote, which is Traveling
Home Together.
Now Traveling Home Together isbased on pretty much my
awakening of self and in thatbook and that's only eight
(09:12):
chapters, but in that book Iguide people, or I take them, on
this meaty, metaphoric journeyinward.
I want.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I encourage people to move inward and that any and
everything you ever, ever wantedto know is within, not without.
How do you take thatinformation, what they have,
inward and help them deal withthe cultural differences that
people have to adapt when theymove from one country to another
, in this case, mexico?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
See, here's the thing If people move to another
country with the wrong mindset,if I went to Mexico expecting
Mexico to be like America, whatcultural shock would I
experience?
See again, research helped meto understand.
I'm leaving the country.
(10:11):
They have a different language,they have a different
government, everything isdifferent.
So it's all about expectationsand cultural shock.
That's on them because you're agrown person at this point.
So, whatever mixed views youhad about what Mexico is, your
understanding of what living inthat culture is, it's your
(10:35):
responsibility to take that deepdive for an understanding of
where you're going to live.
And if someone doesn't do that,then shame on them.
I'm going to go over therebecause I could spend my money
better.
And then you go over there withthat mentality.
You're not going to fare wellwith adapting to the culture.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
It sounds to me as if you poured a lot into those
books, into your writings, andthey were enriching experiences
for you as well.
Absolutely, tell us about yourconnection to Africa.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Yes, ancestry.
You ever heard of Ancestrycom?
Right, if you were to take thatDNA test, they would tell you
you're a little bit of this,you're a little bit of that,
your region's over there.
But over 20 years ago a groupof Black scientists got together
and they created the largestdatabase of Black blood in the
(11:35):
world.
It's called africanancestrycom.
Now you take that DNA test.
Not only will it tell you, outof the 54 solvent countries,
what country your bloodlineoriginated in, it'll also tell
(11:55):
you your tribe.
So I took that DNA test and Idiscovered that I am Fula from
Guinea-Bissau, west Africa.
Now I took it on my mother's.
I took the maternal DNA test,but you can take the maternal,
you can take the paternal.
Now, people who take that DNAtest, they'll find that their
(12:18):
country of origin is probablyalong that western coast of
Africa, because, of course,that's where the slave trade
took place.
In discovering that, I didanother deep dive research about
Guinea-Bissau.
I wanted to know about theplace where my ancestor was
(12:40):
taken from See, because thatmeans that my mother's mother,
going back anywhere from 200 to250 years, survived the passage.
She didn't die on the ship, shedidn't jump off the ship, she
wasn't killed on the ship.
She survived the passage.
(13:00):
Now, when she got here, she gotmixed with a whole lot of other
stuff, of course, throughbreeding and rape, and that's
why you hear people say I'm partIndian, your original pure
bloodline is that from thecontinent, the continent of
Africa.
So she made it.
Through my research, I cameacross Guinea-Bissau because
(13:23):
there are several countries inAfrica who are participating in
repatriation.
If you can show through DNAmaternal, through DNA period,
that your bloodline originatedin that country, you can apply
for citizenship.
And I did while I'm gettingahead of myself.
(13:44):
So when I found Guinea-Bissau,when I found Repat Guinea-Bissau
, this was like a tour as well.
So through that tour, they hadarranged for me, when I came to
visit, for me to step foot in myancestral village.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Wow, full of my 60th birthday ancestral village, wow,
full of my 60th birthday.
That is amazing, and I want toknow how did you feel when you
made this discovery and actuallyhave your feet where your
ancestors most possibly walkedWere.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Absolutely.
It's the bringing back.
When I stepped foot there everya nonprofit organization called
Fula History and GenealogySociety in America.
(14:52):
Now my website isfulaamericanorg.
Now, if you were to go to thatwebsite, I got a real treat for
you.
If you were to go to thatwebsite and to click on my
soul's journey.
There's a blog that I kept.
I am a writer and I documentfilm.
(15:14):
You know these events thathappened in my life.
Of that blog, you will see thevideo of me stepping foot for
the first time and beingwelcomed into the arms of my
ancestors' people, my people.
(15:36):
It is thrilling when I see itevery time I see it, because
it's like I fell into their armsand they surrounded me.
They wiped tears from my faceand welcomed me home.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I see and feel pure joy in your tone, in your manner
, in your tenor, on your face asyou speak about that experience
in Africa.
It must have been trulyenriching for you and I see the
joy on your face.
Let's change tones a little bit.
(16:09):
I'd like to hear more and talkabout ancestral trauma, because
I think that's included in yourvalue as well.
Talk to us about that.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Absolutely.
Now, see, that's part of theorganization that I, my
nonprofit, one of the tenants,tenant number one is to just
raise awareness aboutgenerational trauma.
Raise awareness aboutgenerational trauma because we
don't know.
So I wanted to bring anawareness as to what it is, and
(16:42):
I want to awareness as to whatit is and I want to first of all
, just talk about what is trauma.
Trauma is a deeply distressingor disturbing experience.
That's trauma, right, a deeplydistressing or disturbing
experience.
Now, those experiences, thedeeply distressing and
(17:06):
disturbing one, over timeresults in neurosis, neurosis.
Now, what is neurosis?
Neurosis is a mental condition,that's right, A mental
condition not caused by anyorganic disease, and those
symptoms of that is like stress,depression, anxiety, obsessive
(17:30):
behavior, ptsd.
Now, there's levels of that andwe all have neurosis.
We do.
If you've lived, if you'veexperienced a deeply distressing
and disturbing experiences inthis life, yes, you have a form
of neurosis.
Now, although these are not aradical loss with a touch with
(17:55):
reality, it's still a form ofneurosis.
It's still a mental illness,correct?
Now, generational trauma Now,let's put generational trauma to
that.
Generational trauma is thetransference of traumatic
experiences or stressors fromone generation to the next,
(18:19):
through DNA, from one generationto the next through DNA.
So one might ask themselveswhat traumatic experiences or
stressors was transferred to usthrough DNA from our ancestors?
What traumatic experience orstressors did they experience?
(18:42):
Generational trauma is theharmful effects of historical
mistreatment or abuse.
The symptoms of these traumasare passed down from generation
to generation.
See, we're still holding DNA.
We're holding that because DNA,dna.
(19:03):
I have a little film,five-minute film, because it's
hard to explain DNA and theimportance of it and how it's
connected and it's veryscientific.
But I have it broke down forkids, okay.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
So you have a blog my Soul's Journey I guess that's
basically what it's called andyou, because it talks about what
you are discussing right now,which is generational trauma.
So what are some key insightsthat you were able to gain
through your blog?
Because a lot of people are notgoing to understand what is DNA
(19:49):
, how all of that, how that allfits together.
So I'm taking a leap of faithhere and say that most people
that probably were on your blogwere not from the medical
profession, so they were lookingfor someone to guide them
(20:11):
through this educational journey, which happens to be
generational trauma.
So what did people admit?
Without saying their names, ofcourse, but what did people
admit?
What did people find out aboutthe generational trauma that
(20:33):
they experienced?
And they probably didn't evenknow it until it was addressed
by you or someone else.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
That's just it.
It's such a huge take on I havebeen.
My sole contract with theancestors is to simply plant
seeds and water plants for NewEarth Living.
I'm planting seeds, so I'mgoing to pick up on that and
that's all I'm here.
(21:02):
I'll probably never see theharvest of it.
But here's the thing that Itruly believe If trauma is
passed, is transferred or passeddown through generations, so
can healing, so can healing, thesimple awareness.
If drama can be passed down,healing can be passed up.
(21:25):
And this one little thing I saythat every family needs that
one son or daughter that speakstheir mind, doesn't like being
told what to do and is low-keyhealing.
The generational trauma that noone seems to be aware of.
Only thing you know, you can dois enlighten them, to bring it
(21:45):
into their awareness Now, whatthey do after.
That's their journey, theirpath, their lesson.
I'm simply planting seedsbecause I cannot correct their
generational trauma, but theycan, and it starts with just
knowledge and awareness thatit's there, an acceptance of it,
that this is somethinggenerational and, as that takes
(22:09):
place, that growing sense ofone's true self, that's healing.
Generational curses are brokenand then the expansion of
consciousness in the awarenessof our ancestry and our
beingness.
It's inevitable.
It'll happen on its own.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
So how can someone who has experienced generational
trauma, how do they go aboutfinding out that they've had
this trauma, the realization,Everybody has it.
And then, on top of that, howdo they begin healing?
I'm assuming that everyoneheals differently.
(22:51):
No one heals the same.
What are some of the ways thatpeople can begin healing
generational trauma?
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Here's the thing it's , everybody's journey is
different, right, it's,everybody's journey is different
, right?
Once you become aware whattakes place within the DNA and
within your family line.
It's, it is individual, but Ican say this take, for instance,
my people, my native tongue, my, my native tongue is Pular.
(23:20):
Now, I'll never speak it, butjust knowing that's what it is,
it's a game changer.
It's a game changer.
So let's just start withfinding out who we are sending
again, sending them withinthemselves.
All the answers are within.
And so how would you tellsomebody, how does somebody
(23:42):
begin healing from generationaltrauma?
They, first and foremost, haveto admit that they have it and
that it exists, and then, second, from there, they begin doing
research, or at least trying tostudy who they are.
That's where the healing begins, is finding out who you are,
(24:03):
who you truly are, and you don'tfind that out until you go
inside.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
I suspect that connecting to one's roots.
The Sankofa bird talks aboutgoing back to find out, and
there's a saying and I'm sureyou're aware of things that if
you don't know your roots, thenyou are not moving forward, and
(24:31):
a tree without roots or plantwithout roots will not prosper.
And so I see the importance.
There's no question about it,no question going back to find
out, but a lot of people theydon't have to go back.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
everybody's not going to be able of people.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
They don't have to go back, everybody's not going to
be able to go and they don'thave the energy and the drive
and the motivation.
Perhaps it's because they don'tsee the value and benefit of it
, but I hear you loudly there.
On Speak Up International, weseek to inform, to inspire and
to educate, and we're doing thatright now by listening to Queen
(25:11):
Michelle tell her story andtalk about her experiences.
And you've been involved withcurriculum development.
Talk to us, share with us someof the details of that, please.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Okay, and again, this came from.
I think this is part of thehealing that took place.
One of the second tenants of mynonprofit organization is to
create, promote and establisheducational materials for the
enhancement of sense of self inGeneration Alpha.
(25:47):
Now I'm going to tell you alittle bit about who Generation
Alpha is.
Okay Because that's mycurriculum.
Generation Alpha is born between2010 and 2024.
They are the children of themillennials and some exes who
(26:08):
got in the game late.
They are the first generationto be born fully in the 21st
century.
They're the most materiallyendowed generation ever.
Now.
The oldest turned 13 last year.
The oldest of that generationturned 13 last year.
(26:29):
Now, understand, when I and theywill one day be the phone went
in the hand at infancy, youunderstand they were swiping up
(26:51):
and down and back and engagingexternally from birth, basically
from birth, and they are wiredcompletely different.
They are wired completelydifferent.
I'm talking about Beyonce'skids, nick Cannon kids and my
grandson who's six, and if youhave grandchildren, that's in
(27:15):
that age.
They are generation alpha andjust the name alone.
Alpha is strong, beginning,beginning.
They are, and so we have towhat we've.
Their influences are none ofthe influences that any of the
prior generations have had Get.
(27:35):
The neglect of not balancingall this external see they are
external stimuli has always beenpretty much the way that they
learn, and so what we didn't dowas give them a balance of
emotional intelligence tonavigate.
These Generation Alpha are inspaces and in platforms free
(28:02):
from parental influence.
They are in spaces and inplatforms that their parents
don't even understand.
They are going where we're notgoing.
We are not going where they'regoing.
However, we are responsible forequipping them with the tools
that they will need, emotionallyand socially, to navigate that
(28:26):
external world.
That's our responsibility.
Now, see, remember when we wereback, when we were in school,
they had classes like homeeconomics and shop and mechanics
those things to help us as wegrew.
There's nothing in place forGeneration Alpha for where
(28:47):
they're going.
You feel me?
There's nothing.
So the best that we can do isto give them the tools necessary
.
So I created 52 Insights for GenAlpha a conscious curriculum, a
conscious curriculum.
The curriculum focuses onself-awareness, see, always
going back to self, going backto who.
(29:09):
You are going back.
We have to instill this.
The curriculum focuses onself-awareness through
activities that foster, here wego, mindfulness, self-management
, relationship skills, socialawareness and conscious
decision-making.
(29:29):
Those are the kind of skillsthat need to be taught, along
with math, english andeverything else, even if it's
just a I used to go to art or goto this.
You need to go to a class likethat that helps to give you the
tools while you're out there inthose spaces that we're not how
to navigate it, because it'sabout consciousness now, not
(29:53):
home economics.
It's about conscious andmindfulness now not shop.
You see, it's different andthere's nothing in place for
them.
That's why they're disconnected.
That's why they don't know how.
Could you imagine being this inyour hand from the time it was
infancy, and it's all thatYou've gone to Egypt, cruised
(30:16):
the Nile, I have.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
So you've talked about these tools that this
generation needs in order to besuccessful.
So how did that trip shape yourperspective on African history
and heritage, since we'retalking about tools that they
(30:38):
need in order to become?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
successful.
The thing about that, thosetools I'm talking about, in a
sense, was always present inAfrica.
I mean that, one knowingoneself that was.
This is what I understood onceI visited the cradle of
civilization, once I visited themotherland.
What I realized is these thingswere already present, but we
(31:06):
were disconnected from it.
We were cut off from it.
They made sure those practiceswas nothing that we practiced.
They called it witchcraft, theygave it negative connotations
Don't do it that way, don'tconnect with nature, don't calm
your mind.
And so what they gave us wasorganized religion.
(31:26):
They gave us this, theyorganized us into this thought,
and that was never the way.
It was never the way that itwas supposed to be.
So that's what I got fromvisiting the motherland.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Every time you talk about the motherland, your
features change.
I see a sense of pride.
Every time you talk about themotherland, your features change
.
I see a sense of pride, I see asense of satisfaction, I see
the joy, and that is a wonderfulthing.
You talk about self-awareness.
I'm not sure if you're aware ofthat, but some more questions,
(32:02):
some more questions, and Ibelieve you've threaded this
response through everything yousaid as we've been talking.
I want for you to talk to ouraudience about a time when you
had to say enough.
Could you think of a time inyour life when you had to say
enough and change directions?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Enough and change directions.
Enough and change directions.
I guess that would be the timethat I retired Enough, or when I
decided that I didn't want towork until I can't work anymore
and then live substandardlybecause I wasn't working Enough.
(32:51):
I think if that was enough,that was it for me.
That was that moment thatchanged the trajectory of my
life was knowing that I hadenough and I'm not giving you my
life, I don't owe you my life.
That was enough.
That was enough.
I had worked 27 years and gavein to the, to the system, worked
(33:16):
hard, even while teaching maybea couple of jobs here and there
, because the teaching pay wasnever enough.
Teachers have second jobs, so Ibelieve that was my enough is
once I retired and realized Iwould have to keep working.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Enough.
So you've written multiplebooks covering travel, which
you've already mentioned.
Spirituality, yes.
Well-being is another, isanother one.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
So how does being a writer play in your personal
journey?
I am.
I've always loved writing.
I've always loved writing.
It was right point from.
And then, when I taughtelementary and middle school, my
favorite subject was English.
Yes, I've always written, andthat's I didn't realize how
(34:12):
important journaling is.
You know, people say, journal,write it down, journal.
But see, this is something thatI've always done, so therefore,
it was easy for me to documentmy journeys.
I'm a writer, I've alwayswritten, I've always written,
and we all have our talents,don't we?
(34:34):
We have our talents, the thingsthat we like, the things that
come easy for us.
Writing always came easy for me.
I always excelled in journalism.
That was my thing, how it cameto be, and I never would have
explored it like I have.
I never would have done whatI've done had I not left this
(34:57):
country, had I not left, had Icontinued, if I said you know
what I'm just?
And gave in to the fact that Ineeded to.
Even though I was retired, Ineeded to continue to work to
pay bills.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
You have been very creative in terms of making sure
that you had a way, or found away, to supplement your income,
and I want you to talk a littlebit about traveling home
together, which is a spiritualguidebook.
What was the main message thatyou were hoping, or are hoping
(35:32):
that individuals will receiveafter they've completed reading
that guidebook?
Speaker 3 (35:38):
Oh.
So, listen, traveling hometogether will resonate with
those who are newly awakened orwho are awakening.
See, it's a really it's noteasy Spiritual awakenings.
It can be rough, and all I dois help guide them and give them
(35:59):
the tools that's necessary inorder for them to understand
that shift in consciousness thatthey're experiencing.
See, that's what a spiritualawakening is.
It's a shift, it's a shift inconsciousness spiritual
awakening is.
It's a shift.
(36:19):
It's a shift in consciousness.
Your whole paradigm shifts onceyou realize the illusion of the
matrix and the system and thatyou are here to do.
You are created to do amazing,wonderful things here.
We're supposed to have awonderful life filled with fun
and bliss and creating andcreation.
(36:41):
That's what we're supposed tobe doing here, not grinding
ourselves into the ground untilwe can't do anything else.
And this traveling hometogether helps them.
To those, like I said, it wouldonly resonate with those who
are at that point where they'requestioning thing.
(37:01):
They're questioning this, well,and they're having these
thoughts and they're evenphysically, they're feeling
strange and what's going on withthem?
They're awakening and right nowI'm gonna you there is a mass
awakening going on.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Would you say that spiritual awakening can be a
very scary thing for some people?
Oh, absolutely, once they'requestioning what's happening and
why and where it's coming from,do you think it's a scary
experience?
There is no doubt.
There is no doubt's a scaryexperience.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
There is no doubt.
There is no doubt that it'sscary, there is no doubt.
And my book is only eightchapters.
However, it's so meaty.
It's so meaty that I created aworkbook to go along with it, so
that they can continue doingthe exercises and practices that
(37:56):
help them maintain bandwidth offrequency, if you will, of
consciousness, for that newearth.
See, one can live new earth now.
New earth that means that youcan live, walk, move and have
your being in new earth.
And new earth is just thatstate of consciousness that is
(38:22):
removed from the matrix.
I can observe it, I see it, butI'm not of it.
I'm not of it.
I'm living new earth.
I'm living new earth now andmany are awakening to that.
They're meeting.
What do you?
Speaker 2 (38:39):
say Did you coach, you guide you mentor?
Who are the they that you workwith?
Speaker 3 (38:49):
Who are.
I don't work personally, Idon't coach, I don't mentor or
train.
In that respect, I put my workout and I promote my book and
those who are attracted, thattype of work that resonates.
I trust the universe will bringall the cooperating components
together.
I am simply the plant seeds andwater plants for new earth
(39:13):
living.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Yeah, what advice would you give someone who is
just beginning their ownspiritual awakening?
Speaker 3 (39:23):
Here's the thing you will not experience, or cannot
experience, a spiritualawakening unless you meditate.
One must be a daily meditator,see, because the thing about
going inside, you meet your soulself, see, what's driving right
(39:46):
now is that egoic self.
Most people are driven by theiregoic self.
They actually feel like theyare their ego, which they are
not.
The ego has a general purpose,but it's not the general.
And going within, meeting yoursoul self, your hand is gently
(40:08):
taken and now you are taught,you are loved, you are guided.
You are led, not by your ego.
You are loved, you are guided,you are led, not by your ego.
Now, your ego is still present.
It's just in the backseat,where it needs to be.
That's a general purpose.
That's a general purpose.
But your soul self, that's theone that's aligned with the
(40:29):
universe and with you.
And if you're led and guidedand directed through your soul
self, then that's the gamechanger.
Now, people don't like tomeditate, See, you suggest
someone.
The only suggestion I have isto meditate, and I know
meditation can be hard.
So I suggest that you start offwith a guided meditation.
(40:53):
Off with a guided meditation.
See, I started meditating sevenyears ago, oprah and Deepak.
They had this 21-day challenge,this 21-day meditation
challenge, and so I took that.
And after the 21 days was over,I still wanted to go within.
I wanted that and there was noone to take me in.
(41:16):
More or less so I thought butagain, the universe is perfect,
they will put things in front ofyou, and I came across a guided
meditation that helped me meetmy soul, self.
People call it Holy Spirit,higher self.
There's so many different namesfor it and that's not even
(41:37):
important.
But knowing that is knowingthat soul is within, waiting for
you, waiting for you so it canteach you, guide you, direct you
, love you, protect you.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
So, yeah, yes, it's obvious to me that you are in
control of a lot of things inyour life and that you like
yourself, that you enjoy yourcompany.
A lot of positive things arestamped and tattooed in your DNA
.
Yes, tell me, tell us maybe twothings that you admire about
(42:26):
Queen Michelle.
Tell us three things that youadmire about Queen Michelle.
Speaker 3 (42:32):
The first thing is that I'm not influenced by what
people say.
Now take, for instance, my name, queen D Michelle.
My mother did not name me Queenand she was not pleased when I
changed my name to Queen at all.
And that was because, let metell you, when I was teaching
(42:56):
this was years ago, because I'vebeen queen for over 20 years
now there was a guy who wouldcome into work, come into the
school, and every morning hewould say to the ladies that he
passed in the hallway, goodmorning queen.
And they say good morning Red.
And to the guys he would saygood morning King.
And I thought that was theladies.
(43:16):
But it hit me differently.
It hit differently within, andyears have passed.
Here I am in living in Las Vegason my second job.
I'm still teaching, but I got asecond job and one day I forgot
my name tag.
I worked at a movie theaterticket booth and I forgot my
name tag, and so I took a littlepiece of tape and I wrote queen
(43:39):
on it and I put it on my chestand I'm continuing to work.
In a little I don't know 20something year old manager White
guy came up to me.
He said hey, you can't havethat on your neck.
You can't say your name isqueen.
If it's not, you can't havethem call you that.
If that's not your name, youhave to take that off.
(44:01):
Uh-huh, oh, okay, and I took itoff.
But within that moment, snap, Iwill be called what I want to
be called.
And so I legally changed myname.
Now, my name at that time wasDonita Michelle Williams.
Now Williams was my marriedname.
(44:24):
So I dropped that, I tookMichelle and I moved it down to
my last name.
I took Donita, which I love.
That was my given name.
I moved it to my middle nameand I took the name Queen, hence
Queen Demichelle.
So it's never letting people be, even my family.
(44:46):
I've always been that.
I guess you can call me a rebelin a way.
When it wasn't right or itdidn't feel right, I said
something about it, I spoke andI wasn't afraid.
I wasn't afraid.
I wasn't afraid to leaveDetroit and move to Las Vegas
and live there for 11 years.
(45:07):
I wasn't afraid to leave Vegasand move to Atlanta and teach
there for a couple of yearsbefore I retired.
I wasn't afraid to move toMexico, to another country.
I wasn't afraid to go to Africa.
You see, that that's it.
That's what I like about myself.
(45:29):
I'm fearless.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
And fearless you are.
Thank you.
I want to talk a little bitabout, or ask you to talk a
little bit about, the road towell-being and you talk about
there's these six aspects ofwellness, and so what are some
of the practical steps one cantake to achieve balance in their
(45:56):
lives?
Speaker 3 (45:57):
Okay, see, there are six aspects that make up the
totality of our well-being.
Those six aspects and you'revery familiar with them
spiritual, emotional, mental,physical, social and financial.
Physical, social and financialthose six aspects make up the
(46:19):
totality of our well-being,correct?
Now each one of those aspectscan be healthy or unhealthy, so
there's a balance that one needsto have within those.
Now let me give you an exampleof spiritual.
(46:40):
A good characteristic, a quality, would be that a spiritual
person has a deep they feel, adeep conscious connection to all
.
That is An unhealthy aspectwould be they're an overthinker
when it comes to spirituality.
(47:00):
Emotionally, a healthy onethey're some of the most honest
people you will ever meet.
An unhealthy one lowself-esteem.
That's emotional.
Let's talk about mental.
Unhealthy mental would beeasily distracted.
Healthy mental would beopen-minded, and open-mindedness
(47:25):
and a respect of contrast.
One has to respect the contrastthat shows up in your life
daily, right?
Respect the contrast that showsup in your life daily, right?
Physically, a healthy one.
A healthy aspect, one of thecharacteristics they would be
mindful of their gate your nose,gate your mouth, when do you
(47:56):
put those gates?
A healthy spirit, physicalaspect would be mindful of that.
An unhealthy would be out ofshape.
Physically out of shape Nowsocially, health wise, you're
involved and connected.
Unhealthy you're materialistic.
Financial healthy living withintheir means.
(48:22):
Financially Unhealthy theworking poor, that's a whole
class the working poor there are.
In that book I go over all thehealthiness, how to recognize
the healthy aspects, theunhealthy, and then I give some
examples, information and placesthey can go to gather
(49:02):
additional information so thatthey can find balance in their
lives.
Speaker 1 (49:09):
Today, you provided our audience a little bit about
yourself, life in Mexico andabroad, how important African
ancestry is to individuals ofcolor if they really want to
find out their true ancestry.
And your writing and bloggingand spiritual awakening was
(49:35):
another aspect of you that wetalked about.
And education and empoweringthe next generation, talking
about Gen Alpha what are theirneeds and what do they need to
focus on, and what do we need todo to help them focus on their
spiritual well-being and alsoour personal growth.
(49:58):
So I want to thank you so muchfor being with us this afternoon
.
We really did appreciateeverything that you've imparted
and when you write your nextbook, please let us know so that
we can have yet anotherconversation.
Arita, is there something thatyou'd like to say?
Speaker 2 (50:22):
I just want to reiterate what you have said to
our guest today, Queen D,Michelle, and I want to say that
the one thing that resonates asa matter of fact, everything
you've said I found enrichingand you've poured your wisdom
and your knowledge into me.
(50:43):
I appreciate that about namingoneself and having the agency to
determine who you want to beand where you want to go with
your life will continually ringa bell for me.
(51:04):
So I thank you, thank you,thank you.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
Thank you for listening to Speak Up
International.
If you wish to contact Ms QuinnD Michelle, please be prepared
to submit your name, your emailaddress and the reason why you
wish to contact Queen D Michelleat facebookcom forward slash QD
(51:29):
Michelle.
Qd Michelle has other socialmedia accounts you can use to
connect to her that will belisted in the description
section on Spotify and othersocial media platforms.
Your voice has the power toinspire, influence and ignite
(51:50):
change.
We'd love to hear your story.
We invite you to connect to usby sending your message that
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(52:42):
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.