Dr. Jelena Petkovic – A Woman of Peace
Founder of The Women of Peace, a non-profit organization that supports women in their journey to leadership, service and to be the change they wish to see in the world. She practices concierge medicine in Miami and has a doctorate in Health Science.
Jelena is a 15 year- licensed medical provider, best-selling author, thought leader, visionary, voice of love, humanitarian, and transformation facilitator. Jelena’s gifts to the world include integrating the best techniques from the eastern and western medicine and wisdom, providing you with the most loving, nourishing, and rejuvenating methods to support your journey to radiant health and happiness.
She is committed to supporting people by reminding them of their true nature, the pure love that they are. Jelena is not just a medical professional but a devoted spiritual teacher and founder of The Women of Peace, a non-profit dedicated to women’s empowerment and leadership development through the medium of peace. She invites those that have been searching for mind-body healing integrated with spiritual guidance and those medicines that honor nature, the heart, and soul to reach out to her for integrative care and support.
Jelena is a first generation Serbian American who grew up in Chicago IL. She has traveled extensively around the world and after spending 7 years in Spain and mothering three beautiful children, she settled her life and work in Miami, Florida 6 years ago. Today, she finds joy in spending time in nature, doing yoga, writing, and connecting on all things love and God.
INTERVIEW:
Jelena, what does being a woman of peace mean to you?
It means I am committed first and foremost to a lifestyle that honors my truth, that reflects who I am and what means the most to me. When I honor my heart and soul, I live in joy and in the energy of abundance and can trust myself to lead and take action as I am connected to the current of love for humanity..
What inspired you to start a movement to inspire and support other women?
I had always wanted to be of service to humanity. I was sensitive to the injustices, the sadness of separation, the lack of care and kindness between brothers and sisters. I spent my childhood reading National Geographics and listening to classical music and dreaming of how I could help little children feel loved. My yearning to be of service lead to me to study medicine and then get a doctorate in Health Science with a concentration in Global Health.
I spent 20 years on a journey of self-discovery and inner peace and it wasn’t until I battled my own shadows that my prayers were answered. One morning sitting in deep meditation I received a calling in the form of a white energizing light to create The Women of Peace. I wanted to help women get familiar with their true radiant nature, trust themselves and start to lead from a place of peace-rooted power.
I understood the struggles of women and their importance in the health, education, and wellness of children. I prayed that my life’s passions and hardships would somehow translate to a higher service to the world and I knew it had something to do with women and children. I know now my desires to help others stemmed from my desire to first help myself.
As I got connected to peace, I knew other women could too use peace as a medium to finally realize all they had to offer the world, deciphering truth from that which is influenced by fear, trauma, wounding, other’s beliefs and their own egoic limitations. The more one gets to know themselves as peaceful, as this infinite being of infinite potential, the better one would be at tapping into their higher self, connecting to and listening to God above all else.
“When peaceful we can stand up for what we believe and be the change we wish to see in the world”.
The more we get to know ourselves as peaceful, the easier it is to remain and return to peace, even when we “lose” our way. This is why The Women of Peace hashtag is #peaceisourpower. Because in peace we get to shift the world by honoring ourselves and our truth more consciously.
In peace, we effortlessly move in service as we have more liberated energy and are without effort connected to the needs of the world, of children, and the vulnerable. In peace, we get to serve in a more graceful feminine light which honors our biology and supports healthy relationships.
What are the struggles you had to go through to become who you are today?
I grew up very sensitive and the world was very painful to me. I took it all personally and when people acted violent or harsh, I blamed myself and thought I deserved it.
I settled for less and sacrificed myself again and again. I was too afraid to be myself to be loved for myself. I was a people pleaser and allowed myself to be put second to have a sense of peace and be of value. There were many moments I did not want to live and even the slightest rejection would make me think of ending my life.
It wasn’t until the birth of my first child, my daughter Valeria, that I had my first “awakening.” After being born at 27 weeks and less than 3 pounds due to my mind-body disconnect, I prayed to God and asked him to help me heal her. I spent three months in an almost hypnotic state focusing on her and her health.
I wrote about this in my best selling book “Return to Beautiful – A Journey into Healing, Flourishing Health and Bliss.” I spent every minute of those three months in prayer, visualization, and gratitude. To my surprise, I never felt more in flow or more in peace then at this time.
I knew exactly what to do and where I was supposed to be. When she emerged from the hospital the nurses called her “la campeona” (the champion in Spanish) because they said her outcome was flawless and miraculous. I knew then my life was forever changed and that I had discovered my purpose and my strength.
My children are my inspiration, my hope, my joy and my heartbeat – they are my why. Once I began to step into my truth, my marriage fell apart. This was the most painful and difficult living death for me. Once I healed from this, I was able to connect on a deeper level with my family and today, find myself hopeful that the best is yet to come.
The future is female – could you expand on it?
Women are naturally in tune with what is needed to bring the world to harmony and balance. We are often empathic and want to take everyone’s needs into consideration. Women naturally tend to take the responsibility of caring for children and extended families. Studies have shown that children’s health, emotional stability, education, and long-term wellness depends on the mother’s empowerment, health and education.
Women’s empowerment, capacity to care for themselves, is often the catalyst of social and economic improvement. When women are well, everyone is better. This is not a myth. The Women of Peace specifically is dedicated to women because we know how important they are to everyone in the family, especially the children, and we want to help them get out of their own way to trust in their value and capacity.
The current world reflects a masculine to feminine imbalance and women are often not celebrated or respected for what they bring to the world. The future is feminine because women are more and more taking their place as leaders of their own life. I believe as women start to honor themselves and honor each other in bigger and bigger ways, we will witness a shift to a more harmonious balance between the masucline and feminine and our children will begin to reflect that in health.
How do you embrace the Goddess within you?
A few years back I connected with the term Goddess much more than I do now. I felt most like a Goddess when I truly focused on giving myself what I needed without judgement.
As a recovering “Type A” and people pleaser, I felt so much guilt around sleeping in when I needed it and just finding joy in the simple things. As I began to give into my own needs, I found myself more compassionate, loving and giving to others. The quality of whatever I did was better and I made less mistakes and was more efficient.
I prioritized peace over parties and began to feel my full feminine light shine. I became a poet and my expression was my being, I played and laughed more and even though I was much less social, I made more authentic and powerful connections when I did make it out. I felt myself enjoying being a woman and my femininity was expressed the more I did it only for me; not to please anyone else.
Today, I feel healthiest in my feminine and devoted to God. It is here in the interplay of surrender and devotion I feel held in the vibration of divinity.
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