Julie Michelson: [00:00:00] Amy, welcome back to the podcast.

Amy Stark: Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Julie Michelson: I am so excited to have you back on. I'm also so, so excited to talk about your book, bridging The Divide. Um, but first, for those that may not have listened to episode four or haven't become familiar with your magic yet. I want you to share a little, 'cause one of my favorite things about you professionally is this science-based human that does all this beautiful energy work.

So how does a science teacher become an energy healer? Um, and, and what do the rest of us get to learn from your journey that you share in the book?

Amy Stark: Um, well, that's a big question.

Julie Michelson: So

Amy Stark: a big question. Yeah. I mean, I was happy to be a science teacher for, you know, the end of time. Um, I [00:01:00] just was obsessed with science.

We were just talking about how I took double classes of science in high school and, um. The problem was that I was working in a school that was, uh, had students that had emotional disturbances. They were classified with emotional disturbances. And I had ended up in that school because they were, they were like, come work in our school and we'll give you a master's degree.

And I was like, great. But I was risking my life for it. Oh gosh. Um, uh, on so many levels. I mean, they were threatening my life and things like that, but I also, my health was declining very rapidly and I was so young. I was. Uh, 20 years old. 20, 21 years old, 22 years old, and I should have been at the peak of my health, right?

Like I should have been super fine, but, um, mentally and physically I was. Just declining too fast. And I got scared and I was like, this can't be, like, I can't keep doing this. And so I, um, said, you know what? I'm gonna take a vacation. I'm gonna take a break, I'm gonna go on several trips. It was summertime.

And I was like, after the summer, I'll know [00:02:00] what I want to do because I'll have like relaxed enough. And I, it came time towards the end of the summer and I was like. Shoot, what am I gonna do? And uh, and I was like in the car and I was about to accept, um, the invitation to go to a new school. And it was after four years of teaching and I, I just like, couldn't do it anymore.

And, um, I was sitting in a parked car doing the interview and I rear-ended and that was the wake up from the universe to be like, not again. Do not do this. Yeah. Like it will repeat itself. It'll be miserable. You're gonna leave anyway. So I was grateful that actually that happened because it did set me off in a whole new timeline where, um, I decided to get a different job.

I started meditating in the morning, I started eating healthy, and it just set me off in this new direction. So. As I started meditating, all my gifts started opening up, which I had no clue. I had. I, I was always kind of like energetically sensitive and I would, I knew things, but like I never talked about it with people.

And [00:03:00] then, um, suddenly when I slowed everything down and I started doing this meditation, it was like very obvious that I was getting very direct information about what would happen in the future, about what, what was happening in other people's bodies. And I didn't know what to do with it because I didn't know anybody who was studying it or I had never heard about it.

Like, but the thing that I noticed that kept me going was the fact that I was getting better, like mentally and physically and drastically better. So that's when it caught my eye of like, there's gotta be some sort of intersection here of, um. You know, diving into the energy, slowing down the body, um, knowing things like I was feeling what was happening in other people's bodies, like I said, and it was in real time that this was happening.

So I was like, I gotta find the science that backs this up. And that's why, uh, bridging the divide is called Bridging the Divide. 'cause I bridge the divide between science and spirit. Also, like where you are to where you wanna be. 'cause these are the tools and techniques that I've learned over the years that work to, uh, you know, help you evolve into the [00:04:00] greatest version of who you really wanna be.

Julie Michelson: Which is amazing and I do, I think you just, you represent that bridge like you are so energetically in touch, in tune, intuitive, and some would even say out there right from what other people have experienced. Sure. Yet anybody meeting you. Would never like you. You're grounded, you're normal. You're, you know what I mean?

Like Yeah. Um, and, and, which I love. I, I just, um, I, I think that that changes the conversation too about energy and spiritual work and, um. You know, quantum physics, all, all the things, right? Because we know now that, I mean, they used to always know. Then we questioned that all of this woowoo it is science.

Mm-hmm. Um, and, [00:05:00] and so I love that. I, I was joking with you before we hit record because when I first got the, the hardcover, I was like, oh my gosh. She has a lot to say. This is a little intimidating. This is, you know. A Wow. A really big book. Um, but. And it's so easily digestible and the, and the way you have shared your journey and your knowledge and, and your tips and your exercises with people through the book.

Um, we were joking around, but, but it's also really true. Like you could use it almost like somebody would pull a card and mm-hmm. Just be like, what do I need today? Mm-hmm. And, and open the book. Oh, good. It was a different. Chapter this time.

So I, I will say for listeners out there, like a, get the book, but, but also B, don't be intimidated like I was for like a half a second. 'cause [00:06:00] when you see that it's all really bite size.

Amy Stark: Mm-hmm.

Julie Michelson: Um, and, and so, but we'll, we'll, we'll get to that. We're gonna, I, I

Amy Stark: wanna, I just wanna say something about that because, um, I'm obsessed with finding the fastest way to transform your life.

Like, so if the book had too much information, or it was too wordy, or it was too dense, or could, wasn't digestible, that wouldn't be helpful. So I, I was very, very, um, intentional deli intentional, deliberate about breaking it down. Easily. And that's actually something that a lot of people reflect back to me, is like, I'm really good at breaking down the hard stuff to make it easy and digestible.

And it's like, what's the point of knowing this? Um, if you, you know, so that's why I put in why do you need to know this? Why was this so important? Why, how does this help other people, not just me, you know? Um, because these are all universal things that help people to heal to get better. And the proof is in the pudding.

Like I am 11 years younger. On the inside I have, uh, an immune system that is. 14 years younger than what I am. You [00:07:00] know, these are all things that I, because I love to find the science to prove what I'm doing is right, but like all of this has really come from me following my heart and listening to my intuition about what helps the body to heal.

So I, I, I, I wanted to make sure that it was easy to digest

Julie Michelson: well, and I, uh, the other piece that I really appreciate, appreciate is the, the holistic. Approach, right? Like this is not just, I mean, you know, there's a chapter on blood sugar. Mm-hmm. Like, you know what I mean? Because we are whole humans. Mm-hmm.

And so if we're only focusing on energy and we're not taking care of the vessel or, you know what I mean, like mm-hmm. So, um.

Amy Stark: That's why it says there's a powerful path to personal transformation for the mind, body, and spirit.

Julie Michelson: Yeah.

Amy Stark: You know, healing the mind, body, and spirit. Because if you do, if you're too much in one area, the other areas are suffering, right?

So this is how to like, kind of incorporate all of them and see them as everything. [00:08:00] Now everything is energy, uh, and, and energy based, which I explain in the book. But, um, when we talk about. Energy of the body, we're really referring to, uh, the communication between the cells, or we're talking about like maybe the nervous system or the fascia, but we're also talking about how food has vibration, right?

So like when we, um, eat something, we're gaining that energy, right? And then, um, I talk about how we have to be careful of the environments that we're in and like what we're exposing our body to, because these all matter because it's. Energy is information for the body. Sure. And so we are finding out more and more every single day that our body is so susceptible to the things that are around us.

And so we have to be very cognizant about what we're thinking, what we're eating, what we're exposing ourselves to, what environments we're putting ourselves in. Um, and that's why I, I paint the picture, but I also share my personal journey. So you can get those pieces of like, wow. Like, okay, this is how it impacted Amy.

This is how it's impacted other people. Or, [00:09:00] um. You know, just the moments of divine, you know, communion with, uh, the other side or just like those divine moments need to be experienced by more than just myself. And so I wanted to share that because that is healing in of itself. So I've woven those stories throughout for that reason.

Yeah.

Julie Michelson: Which is, which is amazing. Um, and of course. I, I think I'm sure because it's part of my own personal journey, but like you, there's, you have a chapter in there about the, the healing power of love.

Amy Stark: Mm. Right.

Julie Michelson: But like the science basis for it, right? Like it's, it is, that's what you do. And, and by science it doesn't mean that nobody can understand it either, right.

Um, but it, it's. It. I just, I love, again, the, like, you seem way too young to have so much wisdom and I, I know you've shared it. It doesn't really all come from you. Yeah. It comes through you. It is some of,

Amy Stark: yeah, it comes through me, some of it for [00:10:00] sure. Yeah. But I started out at 26 years old, you know, with this journey essentially.

And um, I would even say. Before that, obviously I was gravitating towards certain things, like I took psychology classes because I was enthralled with the mind and you know, what causes us to behave the way we do. Um, but. I was the youngest person in so many conferences and they would just look at me like, you idiot.

And I'd be like, can we just get along and be friends? You know? So for a long time I was the youngest one in all these places, and now I'm finally at the age where everybody else probably was. Um, so

Julie Michelson: Well,

Amy Stark: and

Julie Michelson: now you are the one making the contribution, so it's, yeah.

Amy Stark: Yeah. I, I was a sponge for 18 years. Uh, I just love looking at people transform their lives.

I love doing it for myself and why would I not share that with everybody in a way that was easily digestible and, you know. Portable. I mean, I have my podcast, so that's great, and they can listen to those episodes. But this [00:11:00] is a different format, a different way of consuming the information. And of course it's much more logical and a lot more, um, studies are mentioned and things like that, you know, scientific studies.

So, uh, and then there's the exercises, because I really do wanna be like that coach. Like that is who I am. As somebody who's believes in you, who wants to empower you, wants to give you the. Not answers, but point you in the right direction to your own answers,

Julie Michelson: which is how you created your signature coaching approach.

Amy Stark: Yes, for sure.

Julie Michelson: Yeah,

Amy Stark: yeah,

Julie Michelson: yeah. Which I love. You know, uh, I love the coach approach. Yeah. For, for obvious reasons. Um, it, it just, you know, we talked in the episode that we did. Way back when. It seems like yesterday also seems like a really long time ago. Um, and we focused a lot in that episode, uh, uh, on EFT tapping.

Um, and, and there's so many other things [00:12:00] in the book that I'm like, oh my gosh, we could go in a million different directions, but. I want, I wanna, I want listeners to understand a little bit about, um, like where, because releasing emotion, it is a, a, it sounds weird the way I worded that. A passion of yours, but you are passionate about It's, I'm very passionate.

Yeah. Um, so I do want, and I do think, I think it's really overlooked and I know it's essential. For healing, optimizing learning, all, growing, all the things. Um, where does that passion come from? Yeah, because that's kind of the root, like almost like your root of it. Yeah. And then you. Add all this, you know, the science and the energy work and all the things, but it does kind of come down to that passion for releasing emotion.

Amy Stark: Yeah. So I was chronically ill for 30 years. I mean, I was told I was gonna be on, uh, asthma and allergy medicine for the rest of my life, and there [00:13:00] came a point where I forgot to renew my. My asthma medicine and I was out on a soccer field 'cause I was still playing in my early twenties and I almost had to call an ambulance because I forgot it.

And then I got to thinking like, what happens if I can't afford this? What happens if I don't have insurance? What happens if I forget to do this again and it's the, the last time I can, you know, ever play a sport again? So I started thinking like. You know, and then somebody else happened to mention at the same time is like, your body isn't deficient of those chemicals.

So I was like, what is my body deficient? Nobody has a

Julie Michelson: pharmaceutical deficiency.

Amy Stark: Yeah. Yeah. So, so all those things went, you know, started running through my head and um. Like I said, the more that I dove into like calming down and working on my thinking, the more, the happier I was becoming and the healthier I was becoming.

So I, at first, of course, when I started meditating, I was like, wow, my thoughts are really awful. And they're very repetitive and very annoying and boring, really. And so I started to [00:14:00] tackle those. I mean, it was either like, I'm not good enough, or it was like, I need to get this from the grocery store. It was like, that was it.

It was just a constant on repeat. And I was like, wow, no wonder why we're not going anywhere. And we feel like we're spinning our wheels and like. I'm happy. Um, so as soon as I started addressing that stuff, like little by little I started noticing, uh, a huge difference. And then, uh, I obviously took many, uh, years of training and energy work and things like that, but it wasn't until I found emotional freedom technique that I was like, oh, okay, this is something that happened that transforms people very, very quickly.

In the moment I see it, I'm like. Floored by it. And, um, that's when I started to realize, okay, we need to be paying attention to the emotions way more than I ever thought. And, um, here's the, the, the, at that time when I was learning the EFT, a lot of people were coming to me and saying, Amy. I've done the expensive treatments and I'm talking like hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I've done the diets, I've taken the supplements. I have quit my job. I, I still am not well. Like [00:15:00] what do I do? And it wasn't until we addressed the emotions and the energy in the body that they started to get well and quickly. So. EFT came around the same time and I started using that and I'm like watching these people get better so fast.

It was blowing my mind as well as myself. 'cause I'm with them doing it. Sure. And so that was the, the moment where I was like, okay, from now on we're doing the emotion work first. Because if you don't calm down the nervous system, the body can't receive any of those other treatments, at least in the same way that they would if it was her.

Sure. Yeah. And most likely can't receive it.

Julie Michelson: No, I I love that you said that. I, I remember, I, this is my blanket apology to my earlier coaching clients. Yeah. I always incorporated mindset work into my coaching, but in the beginning I was very much like the diet, the, this, the, you know, the things, and you would again.

Then I was like, I literally, I was like creating a course one day and I'm like, wait a minute. This has to come first. This makes [00:16:00] everything else work. Exponentially better, faster, all the easier, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, well,

Amy Stark: what's cool about it is that once you start tackling these, uh, the trauma that you've had, the programming that you have, um, the past experiences that are still stored in your body that are keeping you feeling limited, um, as soon as you start addressing that, then you're able to, um.

Uh, make better choices for yourself, you're better. Sure. You're able to show up differently, and that's why we need to focus on that first, because e everything ev every other treatment is gonna lose its effect. Um, and just cause frustration. Yeah. Because you're caught in this loop over and over and over again, day in, day out.

Julie Michelson: Yeah. And it's, it's an underlying theme, like whether listeners are aware or not, like. Everybody has stuck stuff. Everybody has trauma, big T, little TI don't care what you call it. Everybody has limiting beliefs. [00:17:00] Um, if you haven't already been working on these things, they are part of what's going on.

Mm-hmm. With you. Mm-hmm. Um, and I was, I was laughing, I just was saying yesterday to one of the employees at the clinic and, and she's younger, but it, it was. I've yet to work with anybody whose loop. Who's, you know, whose constant voice in their head is a nice voice, is an encouraging voice, is, you know what I mean?

Like nobody has a cheerleader sitting on their shoulder all the time mm-hmm. If they haven't already started really doing this work. Mm-hmm. All of those tapes are, are the things that are creating a negative impact. Yeah. Um, and so I, for this young gal, and she's in her, her twenties, and I, I was like, Hey, you are way ahead of the curve because.

You know, you don't need to just start thinking about this in 30 years when you're sick. Like, mm-hmm. Do it now. Yep.

Amy Stark: Mm-hmm. Yeah,

Julie Michelson: so I love that. [00:18:00]

Amy Stark: Unfortunately, especially women, uh, tend to feel like we are not enough. Right. And, uh, we will hear from other people, uh, that we are enough, but we, but like we don't hear it in a internalize it internal.

Yeah, we don't internalize it. Right? So, um, that's where this, this repetitive, uh, self-talk causes this. Nervous system to be an overdrive, and then we forget about ourselves or we put ourselves last, and then all of a sudden, 20 years later, you're like, what happened to my life? Like I was living it for everybody else and now I'm sick and laying in bed and now I'm a burden.

And I never wanted to be a burden to other people. So, um, that's, that's why we gotta do this. Inner work so that we can just stop that and then live from the moment where we are, where, you know, we do hear when our son says, oh, this is the best meal I've ever had, you know, or Thank you so much for always getting these things ready for me.

I really appreciate that. Like I actually saw from Spirit, they showed me that the, when people say these nice things to [00:19:00] us, they're like little gifts, energetic gifts that we get. A lot of times our perfectionist would come in and there would be all these little gifts around them that they had not opened up because they were all the people who were thanking them.

And I would just say, I want you every morning just to envision opening up those gifts and. Um, and, and 'cause the, the energy is still stored there, so you may not remember exactly what it is, but imagine opening up a, a box and then taking that lid off and feeling the energy of appreciation coming in towards you.

That is so healing. And if you're wanting to rewrite your programming, if you're wanting to heal, that's a great way to start.

Julie Michelson: Amazing. We can stop now. That was powerful.

Amy Stark: That was so, it was, it was pretty mind blowing when I saw that. Yeah.

Julie Michelson: And I love the visual, and again, this is, again, one of the things that I think is, is so extra magical about you is that you put.

You give us these [00:20:00] exercises and bites in ways that no matter where life has taken somebody, when they're showing up today to listen to this, who can't picture, visualize little gifts around us and that, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Like we, we don't have to necessarily experience. Energy the way you do and be, you know, with that same level of awareness in order to work on stuff.

And that's one of the beautiful gifts of the book is that mm-hmm. You give these really like exercises that anybody can understand. Like you just make it so digestible. Uh, but also we can all do that. Mm-hmm. And that is a, a beautiful thing. Like I know. The, the, the word appreciation is what jumped out at me.

That feeling of appreciation. Mm-hmm. That I definitely fit that category of, you know, I, my [00:21:00] self-talk would be like, oh, well they don't know, or they didn't mean it, or the whatever. The stories. The stories and, and so that is an, like that alone, just to wake up every morning and do that would change. Life

Amy Stark: for real.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I know. Wow. It's really not that hard to get Well, I mean, a lot of people would be angry with me for saying that. Uh, but I can tell you with certainty that if you can calm down the nervous system in the various ways, so like I do talk about obviously the, what I call the low hanging fruit, which is actually like eating the, the food that you eat is the low hanging fruit.

It's easy to change those things. It's easy to take a walk if. You know, you can, like, obviously if you're physically able to, right? Um, but these are things that you can do. You can start to forgive people. Like that's a huge thing that you can do to calm your nervous and your body yourself. Yeah. So, so the higher, harder things are working on your mindset, your trauma, and things like that.

So that's where I wanna help people and support people. Whenever I can because, [00:22:00] uh, rewriting the nervous system and the way that you see the world is everything. When you think that the world is out to get you or that you're not enough, like you just shrink or you, you run away from opportunities. But if you can change how you interact with the world, it's gonna be so much more.

Full of joy and you're going to appreciate life so much more and you're gonna be more present and in the moment. Because think about it, when you're, when you're thinking, I'm not good enough, you're not in the moment. Yeah. You're missing everything. Right? Yeah. Like, it's so interesting how time will go by so fast, especially when you're a mother, like, because you're thinking of all the things.

But how many times do we stop and say, you know what? I wanna remember like, my son just turned 11. Like I wanna remember his face. In this moment, like we, we forget that. Hmm. Yeah. The beauty of that. Yeah. Well, we're thinking, you know, because he was going on a camp tour, but I'm like, okay, he needs this, that, and the other thing.

It's like Right,

Julie Michelson: the logistics and the perfectionism and the, [00:23:00] um, especially as, you know, as a mom, right? You want, you wanna do the best you can do in, even if you don't have a handbook, right? Right. And so focusing on the. Well, if you're like, I used to be, it wasn't even the what, what is wrong is the potential of what could go wrong, what might go wrong.

Right. You know? And that, that you just pulled your energy away from Yeah. So

Amy Stark: much energy. Beautiful. Goes to all those things. Yeah. Um, Buddha said, worrying is wasted creative energy. Yeah. 'cause you could be creating so much more with that energy that's being wasted. Yeah. And the things that usually never happen.

Right. Um, and, and, and just being the kind of parent that can stop and say, you know what I. I'm gonna pause here and I'm gonna really be fully present and listen to what he has to say, or I'm gonna take in his face, you know, at this moment.

Julie Michelson: What a gift for him though, to, to grow up with that experience of that being the norm, right.

In the house that he gets to grow up in, of, [00:24:00] um, especially I feel like, you know, I'm older than you and, and if I look at how he's growing up versus how we grew up, how, you know. It, it's a different world like it. Mm-hmm. It really is. There is a lot. I think even more with social media and all the things that take you out, it can take you out of the moment.

Mm-hmm. Um, I'm a terrible picture taker. Like when we go away and we travel, you know, my daughter's always like, send me pictures and we'll like, take a, 'cause we're in the moment. We're not, I'm not behind the camera. You know what I mean? Like, and I'm not saying don't take a picture. There is a balance. I, I, I haven't.

I'm so in the moment that I'm like, oh wow, we were just gone a week and we never took a picture. Right, right, right,

Amy Stark: right. Yeah, because it was a great trip. Um, well, they say that you remember it better when you don't take a picture. Isn't that interesting? It is interesting.

Julie Michelson: It is. And I don't know if, is it 'cause we [00:25:00] fill in the blanks when we do take, I don't know if we change the story or,

Amy Stark: or we're just out of the moment.

Yeah. You know, when we take a picture, we're thinking of a future time when we're gonna look at it rather than being in the present moment.

Julie Michelson: Yeah. Yeah. I mean it's a beautiful thing, but um. So that I think, and I guess so do you have an exercise related to present? Like how can we learn to catch the uh, yeah,

Amy Stark: so those are all, so a lot of my exercises around metacognition, so it's learning to observe your thoughts.

So, um. I am obviously like hyper aware of my thoughts now. You know, I know when I'm taking myself out of the moment and sometimes it's okay to take yourself outta the moment. Sometimes we need a break. Uh, but being aware of when you're doing that is really key. Uh, so like you, 'cause you don't wanna wake up 20 years later and being like, what the hell?

I missed it. What? Yeah, I missed it. You know? What was the point of all that? Um, so, so [00:26:00] obviously that. I want people to not only be aware of their thoughts, but also to recognize the magic that's all around them. Because when we stop and we slow down, that's when we can see synchronicities. That's when we can start to see the beauty that is around us, the love that, that we share with others, um, because that's why we're here.

We're here to experience the incredible growth that happens from a leaf, you know, in a week, you know, and just witness that every year. Um, or we're here to see our children grow, or other people's children grow and reflect on where we are in our lives. Like we're not meant to constantly be running around and thinking about what's next.

Uh, we're there to. Connect and enjoy. And, um, I think a lot of people think that I am magical in that I have all these experiences that are pretty cool and they are, I mean, I'm not gonna lie, but we all have our own, own.

Julie Michelson: It's like, I, I mean, I am magical, but I'm just saying we all are. I,

Amy Stark: I've cultivated the magic.

I mean, I, um, I ha I slow things down. I [00:27:00] recognize when there is magic present, you know, I see it because I'm, I can slow down in the moment and because I've trained in that, but, um. Everybody else can also do that too. Like we can also just take, take a deep breath and just pre make ourselves present.

Julie Michelson: The beauty of of that is that, that there we can all do, we don't have to devote your life to this like you have.

Right, right. And may this is your life's work and this is your gift to the rest of us. But we can take that gift and use it in in our own lives. And like you said, we can all learn to slow down. We can all learn to be in the moment. We can all learn that gift of not missing. You call it magic, call it beauty, call it love this experience that we are meant to have on this planet.

Amy Stark: Yeah. Think about how when we leave our house, let's say we go for a walk, [00:28:00] people already have figured out their route, right? That how they're getting back home. But what if you were to just start walking and then listening to which way you wanted to go, or if you wanted to stop and smell some flowers or, I don't know if you've seen these videos online of like, people standing next to trees and then talking to the trees.

And the trees are like touching them. Like they're, they'll, they're, I don't, did you, have you seen this? I have not. Okay. So like they're basically, they stop to like where there's branches that are hanging down and they will be like, okay, you can touch me and the tree will move, move closer. Now obviously I'm not seeing the entire thing and maybe people are making this up, but the energy of trees and the energy of you, there is a connection with nature that we have and we are drawn to certain places and.

And experiences and, um, one of my favorite things to do is just to go out without an agenda and just see where the day takes me. Or sometimes I even do vacations that way, like one adult does that. Mm-hmm. You, but I mean, what, but I, I, I've trained myself because I know that that's where the magic is. Like, right.

I, it's always the [00:29:00] unexpected.

Julie Michelson: You can't plan it.

Amy Stark: Yeah, my heart will be drawn to a certain location. Like if we end up in a city that I haven't been in, you know, obviously we, we wanna make sure that we're safe. So I'm not saying anything like that. Sure. But, um, but you know, when you walk step out and you're like, where do I feel like going, oh, I feel like going right.

I'm gonna go right, and then I'm gonna walk for a little bit and then I feel like going left. And then all of a sudden you find this amazing coffee shop and you run into a person and you have the amazing conversation.

Julie Michelson: Right. You're

Amy Stark: just way more present. It's a, just a different experience than if you're like, I'm going this way and I'm going there.

Julie Michelson: It's like, well, and I do think, I mean, even just logically, like if you, if you know you've got the, the agenda, I'm not saying don't ever set a goal or do anything productive, but if, if you are, you know, I like the, the kind of vacation analogy or the, you know, but even like you said on a walk, but then you, you aren't focused on the present 'cause you're focused on the whatever that place you're [00:30:00] going or the.

You know what I mean? And, and you do miss the, just, I, I do think so much of it too. At least for me, my experience is the, the nature piece, right? Like, we're, um, about to plant 300 trees Oh, wow. On our property because we're insane. They're little right now, but they're gonna grow really big, um, fast. Like we got these like, anyway.

But I, I, we were sitting on the porch this past week listening to, and of course, you know, with it being springtime and, uh, we had planted some trees kind of closer to the house a few years ago, and what I noticed was immediately more birds, right? Mm-hmm. Just more joyful. Bird noises all day. You know, like we, every day I've got birds, you know, that drink out.

I don't know how they know it's there. Uh, have a [00:31:00] water bowl on the back deck too for the, for the dogs, for when they're outside and the birds know it's there. Mm-hmm. It's, they think it's there for them. Mm-hmm. You know, um, and we, but we were talking, we were listening to the birds and we were like, oh my gosh.

How we're, I'm almost a little like, are we gonna have too many birds when we plant more trees? We don't have very many trees now. Um, but it, it is this, that wonder, the magic, like for me definitely being in nature of any sort. It doesn't matter if it's like, you know, mountains, ocean, you name some kind of.

Nature and, and it's awe-inspiring

Amy Stark: if well, and healing. Yeah. Very, very healing. So the birds that you were listening to, I actually talk about this in my, uh, chapter called Nature's Remedies. And, um, just, I, I actually have some from Amazon down in the basement. Uh. Bird sounds [00:32:00] or water, running water. So both of those are very good at lowering cortisol levels.

Oh, cool. 'cause that's how we evolve. So it's a way to hack our nervous system and our body to help it to heal. But think about when you go to the beach, you know, you're in the sunshine. You have the ocean spray that has the negative ions that are coming off. You have the grounding that's coming from the sand.

Yeah. You know, from touching the sand, touching the earth. And then you have. The, um, the waves that are actually training your brain to be in a more meditative state. Mm-hmm. So it's like, no wonder why, you know, nature's so Healing. Healing, yeah. Yeah. And there's forest bathing, which is when you walk through the forest.

My fa

Julie Michelson: I look forward to when, then when a physician in the United States can write a prescription for, I mean, we shouldn't need one, but, but yeah. You know, in Japan, they will hand you a prescription. Go Forest bath. Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah.

Amy Stark: I, I've learned about forest bathing. Um, when I went, so I started running through the forest like area.

[00:33:00] There was a path and I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna turn my hands up towards the end of the run when I'm like really tired. And I turned my hands up to receive the energy from the trees. Mm-hmm. And it was. Fantastic. Like I could feel the energy coming into my body and filling my body with energy at the end of a run.

Like it's, it works. This stuff works, right? I mean, they there, I was gonna put this in my book too and I'm not sure if I ever made it in, 'cause there's all these thoughts and all these things that I've learned, but, um, even the smell of the forest actually helps Yes. To heal, uh, certain things that start with a c in the body, uh, that can be, that can destroy the body.

Mm-hmm. So interesting.

Julie Michelson: And, and I don't know, our sense of smell in our memory center is so strong too. Um, one of my favorite hikes that's not far from my house, is my favorite hike because you can, you just, you smell the pine trees on the trail. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and it's just, and maybe it's the change of, I live [00:34:00] in a beautiful place, but I live on flat farmland too.

But there is something about. For me, that smell.

Amy Stark: Yeah,

Julie Michelson: that is, well, we're so used to that. We It's childhood too. Yeah.

Amy Stark: We, we are both from New Jersey, so Yeah. You know, it rained a lot and we were used to that, that very potent um mm-hmm. Pungent smell of nature. Yeah. And you don't get it out here as much because of the lack of rain.

But, um, one of the things that I wanted to say is if anybody's ever going through anxiety or feeling ungrounded or wanting to. To feel more like themselves. One of the things I like to do is actually just imagine smelling dirt. Like if you can do that, your whole nervous system resets. And actually did you, did you get to the point in the book where I talk about all the different hacks that I use for setting the nervous

Julie Michelson: system?

It's funny because that was the one, you know, I always say, oh, we end up where we end up. But I wanted to ask you to share. Some of the, the nervous system hacks, which you just, I know you just did with the bird sounds and the [00:35:00] water. Yeah.

Amy Stark: I'm all about calming the nervous system. So, 'cause I truly believe that if you can do that, you are going to heal.

Uh, that, that the body has an innate wisdom and you'll naturally gravitate towards things that are healthier for you and people who are healthier and situations that are healthier and you're such a, find the information and answers that you need. So, nervous system hacks is my favorite. So, yes, the birds, the walking in nature, the grounding, the smelling of dirt.

But also, um, uh, have you tried the one where you cover your eye and you look up and it,

Julie Michelson: I haven't let

Amy Stark: Oh, do it. Do it right now. Yeah.

Julie Michelson: Walk us through it.

Amy Stark: Yeah. Oh, so, so cover your one eye uhhuh and keep the other eye open and look up and you'll feel, um, it drain, it might take longer for you. Um, for me it's very quick 'cause I'm very energetic.

No, I can, I can feel that. Yeah. So, and if it didn't work for you, try the opposite eye. Um, and look up. You'll feel it. The energy drain from the top of [00:36:00] your head down your spine.

Julie Michelson: It's faster on that side. Or maybe, 'cause it was my second side, I'm not sure, but

Amy Stark: yeah. Yeah. Uh, that, so that's a good one. Uh, what's another one?

Oh, the steeple. So this was hard trying to write this in the book. Like I had, uh, a, some beta readers and they were like, Amy, for the life of me, I cannot figure out what you're talking about here. So she helped me to figure out how, like, so you wanna interlace your fingers? And, um, squeeze your knuckles together.

And this is proprioception. Um, and so it causes you to reset in the moment. See, I'm very, very sensitive. I just had the reset there, Uhhuh. I can tell if you were, I feel it if you were to do it. I can feel, you can feel it too. Are you doing it?

Julie Michelson: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, so that's a nice easy one. That's funny though.

'cause when you said steeple, like immediately, like did you just go back to childhood? Yes, yes. With the, yeah.

Amy Stark: I'm like, please. Anyway, I was like, I was like, you know when you did the steeple thing? I'm like, uh, okay. So yeah. So just people just. Just interlace your [00:37:00] knuckles and squeeze. That's a super easy one.

And like, these are things that if you're a mom on the go or you're a dad that's really busy and you just wanna reset in the moment, these are things you can do. Uh, tapping obviously is something that is very good at resetting your nervous system. Um, but. If you don't wanna look like weird, uh, because you're tapping on the top of your head or you're on your face or something like that, these are alternatives.

Julie Michelson: Well, I mean, you didn't, you know, like I, I could do like the squeezing my knuckles. On camera in meeting. I didn't even know you were doing it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I love things that you can do that other people don't know you're doing. Yeah. Yeah, too, like I love all of it, you know that about me, but, but I really, I, I think, you know, like breathing, you know, is there's certain things that we, if we just did a little more of it.

And I always say, 'cause I'll have clients that'll be like, oh yeah, well, I I do that in the moment. And I'm like, you can't, 'cause it's [00:38:00] not in your toolbox yet, so I don't believe you. Like, we need to practice these things.

Amy Stark: Oh, for sure. Yeah.

Julie Michelson: Um, and like I

Amy Stark: said, it, it goes really fast for me because I clear my energy all the time.

Yeah. Uh, so for somebody else I might take a little bit longer, but you'll see how your energy is running a lot more faster and smoother, which is a good sign that you're getting healthier, uh, that your body is functioning. Properly. The ne the one that I wanna share that's super easy is just turning your head to the left.

So you wanna ho turn your head to the left and wait for it to reset. Go ahead.

Julie Michelson: I'm laughing 'cause I have, so I have, um, just a congenital fusion in my neck. Which I didn't know until about four years ago. I, I've always had really bad range of motion in my neck, and now I know why. It's because I was made that way.

That's why I was giggling. 'cause turning to the left is, is it? People would be like, well, you're not really turning. But that's as far as I go.

Amy Stark: I would be curious. There you go. You

Julie Michelson: got the,

Amy Stark: yeah. [00:39:00]

Julie Michelson: See.

Amy Stark: Wow. Isn't that

Julie Michelson: cool? That's wild. And again, for people listening, like I too, not to the degree that Amy does, but I have worked on all of, you know, energy clearing and, and all of these similar techniques for all the past, at least seven, eight years.

Um, so. Somebody may be like, wow, that was really fast, you know, or faster than me. But it, it's like wherever you are is where you start. Mm-hmm. Um, and then it almo, it, it, I, I hate to use the word, it has such a negative connotation, but it becomes addictive or mm-hmm. Um, fueling. But because, you know, it's a easy fueling, want to feel blocked once you.

Feel un unstuck, like, you know, and so, like you said, like you're clearing stuff all the time, but here's the reality, we're never done. We're always getting the inputs. [00:40:00] Like they need, they need to get cleared one way or another. Mm-hmm. And it, I love that. It doesn't need to be a, like, I'm gonna go be in a cave for 20 days.

See you later.

Amy Stark: Yeah, no, I, in fact, I talk about that in my book. Uh, I once listened to a lady, uh, who we both probably know, uh, talk about how she got her gifts because she went to a mountaintop and she meditated for what, whatever it was, five days or something like that. And she said that, that's what you, everybody has to do.

And I was like, that's. Bullshit. Excuse my language. Um, I was like, 'cause I sat on a couch in Brooklyn with a coffee cup, right? And all my gifts opened up and I had, I had no clue what I was doing. I had never meditated in my life before. And I just was like, I'm just gonna sit here and close my eyes and I'm gonna sit with my legs crossed.

Like, it was very basic and it was highly transformative. So. I believe that we, we all have, even

Julie Michelson: when you're making a shopping list. That was the other thing I wanted to circle back and highlight [00:41:00] of, you know, as like the. Because I was one of those people, and maybe that's why I like to talk about it, but I, I know I meet a lot of people that say the same thing.

I'm a bad meditator. Right? Because they think it's this, like you sit down and you get that, oh, the first time you sit. No, it's an exercise. Right. That's the whole point is

Amy Stark: Right, right. Yeah. Right. You, so that's also, I talk about that in the book, um, how meditation is conceived as like this thing of no thoughts, but it's really the, it's not the absence of thoughts, right?

It's the awareness of thoughts and learning. I mean, I would imagine myself. When I would talk about, like in my head about the grocery shopping, I'd be like, Nope, not today. And I'd imagine myself, myself, picking up that thought and putting it aside. And then when the next one would arise, I would pick that up and put it aside.

And I would say, Nope, we're just gonna be here and feel what we're feeling and process whatever's coming up. But if it was, if it was, uh, about. Grocery shopping, I'd [00:42:00] just be like, no, we're not doing that. That's

Julie Michelson: not

Amy Stark: important. Right.

Julie Michelson: And it's like, okay. And you just, you reset. Like that's part of the exercise is notice Yeah.

Shift. You know? Right. And I, I, it's like once again, then, then as you learn and you go down the rabbit hole and it's like, oh, our brain, you know, you, you do not actually want to experience a state where you have no thoughts. Yeah, that's not called life. Like, that's not good.

Amy Stark: No, no, no. Yeah,

Julie Michelson: this is not how we're made.

Amy Stark: Gratitude was one of my favorite things, which is why I put a chapter about it. Um, because one of the, it's very healing. It obviously puts you in the parasympathetic nervous system, which is where we can rest, digest, and heal. But it makes us the receiver of the things that we really want. And, um, it. So I did this exercise and I talk about it in the book where every time I thought, every time I touched something in my pocket, which was like a rock, I said what I was grateful for and I had to do it in the moment.

And that helped me to get to master my thoughts as well, just like meditation, [00:43:00] so that I was out and about because. We are not gonna like abandon all our things and go to a mountaintop and try to master our thoughts. Like the mastering and enlightenment, if you will, in my opinion is when we can be here and be fully present and, you know, share.

Yeah. What we came here to share like that is. That's enlightenment to me. Uh, so learning these little techniques to shift in the moment is absolutely necessary. And they're not that hard. Like if you touch a rock in your pocket and you say what you're grateful for while you're paying for something that is training for your brain, but also changing your energy and also making you it more of a receiver, um, to those around you.

It just changes everything.

Julie Michelson: More of a gift to those around you too, because when you're in that energy and you're interacting with the world, you are positively impacting the world.

Amy Stark: Right, too. Well, so, so when we do these micro shifts where we start being really intentional about our thoughts, we create a lens in which we see the world, which then creates, uh, a [00:44:00] whole new way in which we interact with the world, but also how our body feels within the world.

And, uh, that's when we become. These powerful creators, because we have now really engineered our brain to create the things and find the things that we want, like. Probably anybody out there who's bought a new car has thought, okay, I want a new white car, or I want that car, or whatever, and then all of a sudden they see them everywhere.

It's because your brain tagged it as important. So if you tag gratitude as important, I wanna see how grateful, um, I can be, or all the things that are being given to me, or, um, me and a bunch of my friends, we say, uh, this is gonna be the best day ever. Yeah. So in our minds, we're looking for how this is the best day ever.

Right. We're not looking for how the day sucked, because that's not helpful. Yeah. Right. We might have to revisit that later, but we are looking for how this day is awesome. Yeah. Well, and even if it's just little,

Julie Michelson: it's the, it's such an old saying, but where attention goes, energy [00:45:00] flows. Yes, it does. Mm-hmm.

And so, no, it doesn't mean that, you know, Amy doesn't ever have to deal with difficult things like that's not Yeah, absolutely. It's not that kind of magic. Yeah. But you know, it's where, where you're focusing on it is one of the, the reasons I love simple gratitude exercises as well. Um, and, and it's always really funny 'cause people, uh, the first knee jerk reaction is for, for like a client.

When we first start talking about, do you know, using gratitude as an exercise? Yeah. I am a grateful person. I'm like, I am not. I have no doubt. I am not judging whether you are a grateful person that is different than. Doing the exercises.

Amy Stark: Yeah. '

Julie Michelson: cause again, that's where the growth happens. And

Amy Stark: Well, and it when, when you're interacting with somebody who's very sick, they do find it hard to find what, what they're grateful for.

Yeah. Which is, um, one sad, but also [00:46:00] two. The reason why they have to do it so badly, because if they're gonna pull themselves out, it's gonna be through these opportunities where they can take the lo, the smallest thing and blow it up and make it the biggest thing of their day, right? Where they're grateful.

And then their attention will go there and find the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. And it really does like unlock a door, um, to their healing when they do this. Yeah, so every single thing I've put in the book is because it ha has massively impacted me. It has massively helped other people to heal.

And that's, even though it is 550 pages and it may seem dense, it is easy to read because it is, it's a jour, it's a journey.

Julie Michelson: And I, I was joking, but not joking. Also for I, I know, you know, there's amazing value to read it from page one. All the way through. But if that does feel daunting and anybody is at all energetically inclined, you know, because the way you've written it, the, the chapters are so digestible.

I do [00:47:00] think there is something really fun in the, like, what, you know, what do I need today? Or where do I need to start? And just mm-hmm. Open and see. Where the universe thinks you need to start. Mm-hmm. You know? Yeah. I think, well, you have to be open to buy the book. Right? So you're already cracked open a little bit.

Yeah. Yeah. Um, but there is, there's, so we could talk for hours and hours and hours. There's so much value in the book, and you already gave us so many exercises, but you know, by now. I do always ask before we wrap up for one step listeners can take starting today. I'll say my one step. Get the book, go get Bridging the Divide.

Okay. And play with it, even if you're not ready to really dive in.

Amy Stark: Yeah.

Julie Michelson: Um, but what would, what would your one step be, even if they

Amy Stark: just read the personal stories where I [00:48:00] talk about my connection with spirit, because there's a lot of awe that they'll experience and in that awe, it releases oxytocin, which causes them to heal as well.

So, but my one step, I would say. I think that people don't look enough at their progress. Um, so I would, I have an exercise in there where I have us sit down with our younger self and have coffee, you know, mentally uhhuh, you know, you could just either have coffee or just imagine yourself having coffee.

It just a very easy date with your younger self and. Look at what that person, that younger person was going through and think about where they wanted to be, and likely a lot of that is what you already have. And so sitting in that gratitude of like, wow, we made it, I, I really think that's really super healing.

And I don't think that we do that enough where we're like, wow, I have all the things that I once prayed for or worked for or Amazing wanted, so, yeah.

Julie Michelson: Or, and, or. [00:49:00] The, sometimes the things that are really different, it's like, oh, this is what I thought I wanted and now I have something so much better. But that I could not have foreseen,

Amy Stark: right?

Or that, you know, there's a lot of moments that are really hard and we could be like, wow, I can't believe I went through those moments and look at me now I am over here. And I'm really grateful for those moments because they forced me in a new direction. Like when for I, at 16 years old, I broke my back.

I got through that and that gave me a lot of strength, um, mentally and also then eventually physically. But there, there's moments there that happen in our lives that. Crush us. Yeah. But then they become, they're fertile ground for us in our huge transformation that can come from it. So honoring those moments and looking back as if you were having coffee with yourself.

'cause there's no ego there, there's no, um, right. We should be somewhere else. It's just like, this is what it is. We both know we, we've been here together doing this. Right. Who am I gonna fool? Like yeah. Who am I, fool? And like, [00:50:00] you know what I mean? So it allows the defenses to come down and, and you can really have a nice little conversation and a thought process.

And then think where do you want to be in 20 years? And, you know, if you were to come back 20 years and talk to the person that you are now.

Julie Michelson: Yeah. So, because so much wisdom is already there.

Amy Stark: Mm-hmm.

Julie Michelson: Yeah. So, so good. Amy, I am so appreciative for the work that you share with the world, um, for the fact that, that I get to spend time with you.

Amy Stark: I love spending time with you too.

Julie Michelson: Um, and, and just so excited that, that the birth, I know you say you book the birth, you birth the book and the book birthed you. Yes. Um, but we're so glad that it's out in the world now in a way that we can all. Bridging the divide. We learn from it. Bridging the Divide by Amy

Amy Stark: Stark.

It's, there's another longer title, the pa, A Powerful Path to Personal Transformation by healing the Mind, body, and Spirit.

Julie Michelson: Yes. But yeah, [00:51:00] thank you. Just type in bridging the divide by Stark on Amazon. That is true. Amy Stark is all you need too. But the bridging the divide, because that is your gift to us is, yeah.

Is. Bridging the divide. So thank you so very And where is the, other than the book, where's the best place to find you? If people are like, oh my gosh,

Amy Stark: yeah, sure. Stark transformation.com. Um, I have a newsletter that goes out only once a week, and I just tell you what I'm up to, things I've learned, things I'm thinking about, things I'm trying.

Um, and then I have social media, so stark transformation on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Amazing.

Julie Michelson: Thank you so much.

Amy Stark: You're welcome. Thanks for having me.

Julie Michelson: For everyone listening on the go, remember you can get the transcripts and show notes by Visiting Inspired Living Show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did.

Go get Bridging the Divide. See you next week.