Women's Wellness & Wisdom Summit

Hosted by Miss America by Kayla McCullough

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Photography provided by Rina Peselman

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“Love yourself.” A profound, yet simple statement that envelopes the majority of our holistic lives. We all have a natural desire to feel loved and accepted. It provides us with a sense of security and connectedness, and it enhances the way we feel about ourselves. Despite the inherent need for a sense of belonging, we often rely too much on the opinions of others. Sometimes we become so consumed with seeking the approval of others, that we become people pleasers and forget how to speak up for ourselves. This need for external validation often keeps us from realizing the inner power we can use to make ourselves feel fulfilled. The Wellness and Wisdom Summit, hosted by Pamela Bolado and special guest Camille Schrier, provided a global platform to unite female leaders, philanthropists and influencers to help set the stage for global connection and empowerment for all women. The first-ever Wisdom Ready! Set! Rise up! Summit event was held on July 2, 2020 and existed to help build, ignite, and inspire personal and professional well-being and purpose. “This day was created to help provide inspiration and empowerment to women everywhere. Throughout the day we will listen to some very inspirational women that paved the way for women to stay open to situations they normally wouldn’t have,” said Ms. Bolado while she kickstarted the Summit with Miss America, Camille Schrier.

Having a purpose in your life is important. It provides motivation and direction daily. When we live in a world of perpetual low self-esteem it is important to remember that our thoughts and behaviors reflect on us. Low self-esteem and mental health affect every aspect of our lives. From how we think about ourselves, to how we think of others. When negative thoughts are generated — either in our heads or through others’ comments — it negatively affects the way we end up feeling about ourselves. The 2020 virtual summit encompassed many speakers that spoke on topics ranging from mindfulness and wellbeing, self-care and clean beauty, to racism beginning and ending in the home. The main point with every subject was ultimately how to find inner peace and empower those around you to do the same.

The importance of inner peace:

Inner peace is the state of being connected to the deep internal knowing that everything is okay, and always will be. The concept of finding one’s “inner peace” has been part of spiritual and metaphysical practices for centuries and has just recently become more mainstream with the development of popular psychology. “So much of the process of finding inner peace is being able to get to that ‘deep down’ place where you know and feel that ultimately, everything will be okay,” one of the speakers during the Mindfulness and Wellbeing seminar said. With that said, remember that the goal isn’t happiness. One of the most important parts of discovering your inner peace is that you trade in your desire for “happiness.” And unfortunately, happiness is fickle. It can lead you to be unhealthily attached to certain achievements, belongings, or specific circumstances. It can lead you to become dependent on other people’s opinions, or life unfolding in a particular way. “When your goal is happiness, you will always find just behind it a lingering sense of unhappiness – that’s how balance and duality work. Inner peace, however? That’s the state in between the scales. When it’s your goal, there’s no way to lose.”

The summit provided many talks on how to connect to your deepest wisdom. It allowed many inspirational women to share their stories and advise others on how to connect to their higher self. The most important thing that I took away from this event was that wisdom is not something you have to create, justify, imagine, or reach for. It’s always within you, it’s always an option, and it’s constantly a choice. You just have to make it.