Society’s current economic systems are harmful for you, your loved ones and all of life on earth…but maybe you’re stuck in a job you don’t believe in, working for an extractive company just to make ends meet? Maybe you feel trapped because you need to afford supporting your children or family?
Thankfully, today’s guest, Mariah Gannessa, is a mother, co-founder of Four Visions Market, and seeker on the medicine path. She shares her experiences in aligning herself with indigenous medicine ways, sacred commerce, creating a business that is ‘beyond fairtrade’ and so much more.
In this episode you will discover how you can reconnect with the abundance of nature and align yourself with a reciprocal way of living.
Mariah shares:
- How Four Visions Market uses ‘sacred commerce’ and why it is ‘beyond fairtrade’
- How we are birthing a new paradigm where we can all thrive
- How motherhood is the fire under Mariah’s butt to ‘get up and keep going’ in creating a new reality
- Near the end, Mariah shares a spur of the moment blessing for the listeners of this podcast, which gives me tingles every time I hear it
There is so much practical inspiration in this episode. No matter what stage you are in your journey, there are steps you can take…little things which will create big ripples of positive change.
I’m your host Nathan Maingard and, as a highly sensitive person in a profoundly sick society, I was nearly crushed by my efforts to fit a mould our society just calls ‘being a good citizen’. Now I help people like me to feel, heal, and grow a beautiful world using gentle breathwork, empowering songs, stories and poems, and 1:1 sessions…as well as this podcast.
Support yourself, the planet, and this podcast:
- Heal yourself while supporting the sovereignty of indigenous peoples at https://alreadyfree.me/fourvisionsmarket (use discount code ALREADYFREE for 10% off your first purchase) (affiliate link).
- Sign up for the 5 Day Morning Practice Challenge to take control of your life!
Connect with me and leave a review:
- Leave a review to celebrate and support the podcast
- Send me a voicenote/message on Instagram
- Send me a voicenote/message on Telegram
And now, please enjoy this heartwarming, inspiring and empowering episode with the delightful Mariah Gannessa.
Links and things from the episode:
- Fourvisionsmarket.com
- @fourvisionsmarket
- @mariahgannessa on instagram
- Magicfundamazon.com
- Nathan’s song Eskawata Kayawai
- Children of the rainforest nonprofit
Timestamps:
06:17 How to receive from indigenous wisdom
11:34 How to walk in right relationship with indigenous cultures
13:27 Spiritual payments: making an offering of gratitude to Nature
15:04 Giving up conveniences to honour connection and communion with divinity
16:48 The Four Visions Market
18:20 Why indigenous communities need your economic support
23:14 Indigenous people get spiritual support but they need financial support
24:45 What is four visions market and why it’s important
26:14 How Four Visions Market uses ‘sacred commerce’ and why it is ‘beyond fairtrade’
29:41 MAGIC Fund: Movement for Amazonian Growth and Indigenous Cultures
30:42 Sharing gratitude and abundance for all
31:17 The new paradigm: we can all thrive
32:51 How to get involved in sacred commerce and get out of ‘the cycle of no life’
34:13 Why you should fill the time you can with joy and nature
34:54 Some of the ‘Little things’ you can use to make big ripples in your life.
39:28 There’s always medicine, wherever you are
40:51 How motherhood is the fire under Mariah’s butt to ‘get up and keep going’ in creating a new reality
44:21 Journeying to the stars to meet her son (and how it was the most powerful ceremony she’d ever experienced)
46:50 How being with her child is being in spiritual work
47:42 Parenthood is the reminder of why we do what we do
51:42 How to support the wisdom ways you receive healing from
59:51 On being worthy of receiving from indigenous cultures
01:01:54 What We are already free means to Mariah
01:02:22 Say yes to life!
01:03:42 A final blessing from Mariah Gannessa
Transcript
Welcome to we are already free, a podcast helping down to earth
Speaker:seekers and free people to live their truth and be the change,
Speaker:rather than wasting too much time and giving too much energy
Speaker:fighting against what they don't want.
Speaker:Have you realized or noticed that the current economic systems are
Speaker:harmful for you, your loved ones, and really all of life on Earth?
Speaker:But maybe you're stuck in a job you don't believe in, working for
Speaker:an extractive company just to make ends meet.
Speaker:Maybe you feel trapped because you need to afford supporting your
Speaker:children, your family, and you're trying to find a different way.
Speaker:But it's really hard to know what direction to turn in, what kind of
Speaker:work you can put your effort and love into that will be in service.
Speaker:With this great unfolding, this great rebirthing of life that
Speaker:we're all going through, thankfully, today's guest Mariah
Speaker:is a mother's cofounder of four visions market and seeker on the
Speaker:medicine path. She shares her experiences in
Speaker:aligning herself with indigenous medicine ways, Sacred Commerce,
Speaker:and creating a business that is beyond fair trade and really so
Speaker:much more. In this episode, you'll discover
Speaker:how you can reconnect with the abundance of nature.
Speaker:And align yourself with a reciprocal way of living.
Speaker:Mariah shares how 4 visions market uses sacred commerce, and why it
Speaker:is beyond fair trade.
Speaker:How we are birthing a new paradigm
Speaker:where we can all thrive.
Speaker:How motherhood is the fire under
Speaker:Mariah's butt to get up and keep going in creating this new
Speaker:reality. Near the end of this episode,
Speaker:Mariah shares a spur of the moment blessing.
Speaker:It's really a short little bit at the end.
Speaker:She shares it for the listeners of this podcast and it gives me
Speaker:tingles every time I hear it.
Speaker:There is so much practical
Speaker:inspiration in this episode.
Speaker:No matter what stage you are in
Speaker:your journey, there are steps you can take, little things which will
Speaker:create big ripples of positive change.
Speaker:I'm your host, Nathan Mangod, and as a highly sensitive person in a
Speaker:profoundly sick society, I was nearly crushed by my efforts to
Speaker:fit a mold that society simply calls being a good citizen.
Speaker:Now I help people like me to feel, heal and grow a more beautiful
Speaker:world using gentle breathwork, empowering songs, stories and
Speaker:poems and one to one sessions as well as this podcast.
Speaker:To support this podcast, use my affiliate link to shop at the four
Speaker:visions market, the company featured in this episode.
Speaker:Visit the show notes in your app or directly at already free dot me
Speaker:forward slash 009 to find the link and a discount code for 10.
Speaker:Percent off your first purchase.
Speaker:This way, anything you purchase is
Speaker:directly supporting indigenous peoples and nature conservation
Speaker:while also helping me make this podcast the best place for down to
Speaker:earth seekers and free people to be inspired to live their truth
Speaker:and be that change.
Speaker:Thank you for being a part of
Speaker:birthing a new world with me.
Speaker:I'm super stoked that I get to
Speaker:offer you this.
Speaker:And now please enjoy this
Speaker:heartwarming, inspiring and empowering episode with the
Speaker:delightful Mariah Ganesha.
Speaker:Ah, yes, I forgot one more thing.
Speaker:I wanted to apologize to Mariah.
Speaker:I didn't think to ask her for the
Speaker:pronunciation of her name.
Speaker:So when I'm speaking with her in
Speaker:this episode, you'll hear that I say Maria.
Speaker:And it was only near the end when she herself said her name that I
Speaker:clicked that. It's Mariah.
Speaker:So thank you for understanding and please accept my apologies.
Speaker:Names are important.
Speaker:They help us to give structure and
Speaker:form to things.
Speaker:And so again, thank you, Mariah.
Speaker:Enjoy the episode.
Speaker:So thank you again for coming on
Speaker:the podcast. It's really it's you were
Speaker:recommended by kashkan and I had such a beautiful chat with him a
Speaker:couple of months or so ago and really enjoyed that and.
Speaker:There's so many questions I want to ask you.
Speaker:I really want to keep this focused on this indigenous thread that
Speaker:seems to be a sort of lifeline in our times, this reminder, these
Speaker:lineages that have remembered or that have never forgotten, really,
Speaker:our true nature and our the fact that we are nature, that we are
Speaker:integrated with nature and how important it is to live lives
Speaker:aligned with that.
Speaker:And how can we see the results of
Speaker:not living a line in those ways? So much disease and so much pain
Speaker:in the world.
Speaker:And so I guess really just to
Speaker:begin this conversation, the question I'd like to ask is how do
Speaker:you live your life aligned with? The indigenous ways and how does
Speaker:that affect how you show up in the world?
Speaker:Beautiful way to start this conversation off.
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me, Nathan, and it's an honor to be
Speaker:here to answer that question.
Speaker:I guess I would start with saying
Speaker:that for me, the journey that I've taken with the receiving of
Speaker:indigenous wisdom has been one of really coming from a place of
Speaker:humility, a place of recognizing that.
Speaker:These indigenous wisdom cultures are thousands of years old and
Speaker:hold ancient secrets that have been guarded and safeguarded by
Speaker:the ancestors for millennia.
Speaker:And so to even get the opportunity
Speaker:to receive, to learn with indigenous wisdom keepers, to be
Speaker:in partnership with them, to support them as well and to have
Speaker:them as part of my life is a tremendous honor and I really see
Speaker:it as such.
Speaker:And so that's the approach that I
Speaker:have. Take in with all the work that I
Speaker:do, whether it be in the studies of the plant medicine culture,
Speaker:whether it be in the sharing of the tools of the Amazonian
Speaker:cultures with other people.
Speaker:The approach that I take is really
Speaker:based in this humility, because at the end of the day, we're living
Speaker:in a very epic time.
Speaker:It's a time where these plant
Speaker:medicines for the first time for the first generation really are
Speaker:coming out of the Amazonian rainforest and they're being
Speaker:shared with the West.
Speaker:And as we all know, all over the
Speaker:world, humanity is hurting.
Speaker:Humanity is in need of healing.
Speaker:And we're at a place where what we've been doing for centuries
Speaker:hasn't been working.
Speaker:And more and more people are
Speaker:starting to look for alternative ways to come out of the darkness,
Speaker:come out of the mass confusion that we have been living under, as
Speaker:though we're a cloud for many generations at this time.
Speaker:And so to have the opportunity to.
Speaker:Utilize the teachings and the
Speaker:cultural traditions of these intact indigenous lineages and the
Speaker:tribes is an honor more than anything.
Speaker:And so that is really how I approach the work that I do and
Speaker:it's really the basis for why I do what I do and has been the
Speaker:inspiration for newing to utilize the connections that I have built
Speaker:over my years of studying the plant medicines with different
Speaker:communities and different tribes, the relationships that I've built.
Speaker:Utilizing those relationships to be a bridge and to share with
Speaker:others. Because through my own personal
Speaker:life, I've received numerous blessings and abundance of
Speaker:blessings through the utility, through the opportunity to work
Speaker:with these tribes, to work with their healing traditions.
Speaker:And they have transformed my life, transformed the lives of my loved
Speaker:ones, and have brought so much healing, so much truth, so much
Speaker:connection, reconnection, remembrance, all the good stuff
Speaker:that we're looking for, right? And so I truly believe that within
Speaker:the wisdom cultures, within the traditional ancestral traditions,
Speaker:we find a balm of healing, we find the medicine that we are all
Speaker:looking for. And so we're really at this
Speaker:wonderfully unique and potent time in humanity's evolution where
Speaker:there's this merging happening again, this sharing happening
Speaker:within the within the indigenous cultures and the rest of the
Speaker:world. And I feel that it is crucial,
Speaker:it's crucial for all of humanity.
Speaker:In our awakening process, in our
Speaker:remembering process, that we utilize the blueprint of these
Speaker:ancestral traditions that have been used for millennia to heal
Speaker:their people and are now being shared to help all of humanity
Speaker:heal. Yeah, it's certainly.
Speaker:Speaks to me deeply where? I feel like for myself, my
Speaker:lineages, so i don't know that well.
Speaker:The word is broken and I don't use that as a sort of judgment on me
Speaker:or my lineage.
Speaker:But that's the reality is that i
Speaker:don't know the wisdom keepers of my lineage.
Speaker:I speak to my ancestors when I pray, but I don't.
Speaker:I didn't get that direct passing on and if I think my mother and my
Speaker:father the abuses that they suffered under where their parents
Speaker:didn't even have a single tool for navigating reality in any kind of
Speaker:holistic way. And then my parents have done so
Speaker:much work, but they really were the first generation and there are
Speaker:so many now who are first generation who are starting to,
Speaker:like, try to return to some way of connected living that is, that
Speaker:actually makes sense within the context of reality as it is.
Speaker:And so yeah, I'm just really grateful for me having these
Speaker:indigenous peoples, having these wisdom keepers, in particular the
Speaker:honey Queen, who I've done some work with ayahuasca, although not
Speaker:a massive amount, but like that.
Speaker:Experience of sitting in circle
Speaker:with indigenous peoples whose lineage is intact was like the
Speaker:biggest. Like you've been saying, is this
Speaker:just this healing experience of like, wow, there is a way that
Speaker:makes sense. There is a way.
Speaker:And actually that the healing that I need to do is only so that I can
Speaker:come home to joy, to celebration, to remembrance.
Speaker:And so I'm wondering how, what are some of the ways that you
Speaker:incorporate some of those lessons in your life?
Speaker:Maybe in rituals or in thinking or in how you show up in the world.
Speaker:Well, there's a lot that I could talk about here, and I guess I
Speaker:wanna start by just touching on what you're talking about, because
Speaker:I think it's really important to address this absence that we in
Speaker:the Western culture have with culture, with tradition, you know?
Speaker:And so because of that deep absence, that's another reason why
Speaker:so many of us are feeling drawn to these rich cultures.
Speaker:And it brings up the question, how do we?
Speaker:How do we walk and write relationship with these cultures
Speaker:that are gifting and giving us so much beautiful healing
Speaker:opportunities, opening so many doors for this reconnection, for
Speaker:profound healing, opening the door for us to connect with our
Speaker:ancestors in a ceremonial way, in a way that honors nature and all
Speaker:of creation. It's such an incredible gift and
Speaker:at the same time, it's not our culture.
Speaker:And so that is a fine line that we have to walk.
Speaker:And we have to learn how to navigate with respect and with
Speaker:reverence, because at the end of the day, we're being given this
Speaker:incredible opportunity, this incredible blessing of sharing of
Speaker:these cultures and sharing of these ancestral traditions.
Speaker:And from my perspective, if we can come from this place of deep,
Speaker:profound gratitude, then we're able to utilize these tools,
Speaker:utilize the ceremonies and the traditional rituals to kind of
Speaker:fill this massive.
Speaker:Void that we have because so many
Speaker:of us are disconnected from the traditions of our ancestors, the
Speaker:ones that whose blood we carry.
Speaker:So I just wanted to mention that
Speaker:because it's a, it's a very delicate line to walk within this
Speaker:context of utilizing other traditions for our own healing.
Speaker:And I think that kind of transitioning into this question
Speaker:where I really find the biggest amount of.
Speaker:Bringing it full circle comes for me is through spiritual payments.
Speaker:And so spiritual payments are used throughout many indigenous
Speaker:cultures. But they are in concept, the
Speaker:concept of making an offering or making a payment to nature, to the
Speaker:creator, in gratitude for everything that we have received,
Speaker:in gratitude for everything that we are asking for to come forth.
Speaker:To us and so one of the most important things that we could do
Speaker:while we're walking this healing path and in this process of coming
Speaker:home and utilizing tools from other traditions to do so is to
Speaker:make these offerings.
Speaker:And so spiritual payment can be
Speaker:done in many different ways.
Speaker:You can go out into nature, you
Speaker:can make an offering of different plants, you can make an offering
Speaker:of crystals or ceremonial tools.
Speaker:You can make an offering of.
Speaker:Any sacred object that have blessed your life and have been
Speaker:really beautiful tools for you that you're ready to give back to
Speaker:the earth. And the sense is that when we
Speaker:give, we receive.
Speaker:And so through these spiritual
Speaker:payments, our relationship with nature and the force of life
Speaker:becomes stronger. And more than anything, it's
Speaker:through this inherent relationship and devotion to strengthening our
Speaker:relationship with the force of life that I find to be a very
Speaker:powerful pillar. To carry me through and to allow
Speaker:me to walk this path in a good way.
Speaker:Spiritual payments can also be done in the form of fasting,
Speaker:giving up food or drink and spending a day or two days in a
Speaker:place of silent meditation, reflection, and prayer.
Speaker:With the idea that we're giving up something that we that is
Speaker:convenient to us, something that we often take for granted.
Speaker:And we're putting it aside for this period of time to be able to
Speaker:allow ourselves to.
Speaker:Come into greater communion with
Speaker:God, with nature, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker:Life, whatever name resonates for you.
Speaker:And this can also be done with giving up, you know, social media
Speaker:or technology for a certain amount of time.
Speaker:Spiritual payments can be anything that we want them to be.
Speaker:But it's simply through the intention and through making this
Speaker:offering to the creator that we are able to open ourselves, to
Speaker:receive and to connect and to have a deeper communion and connection.
Speaker:And so this is one of the most powerful things that I have used
Speaker:in my life to kind of guide me.
Speaker:Had to give some structure to this
Speaker:process of receiving so much and working with the different
Speaker:cultures. So hope that kind of answered your
Speaker:question. I'm happy to elaborate more, but
Speaker:that's kind of the first tool that really comes to mind for me when
Speaker:it when it comes to you know, rituals that I use on a regular
Speaker:basis to support me in my work yeah well, so let's get into that
Speaker:a little more around just your work because you have this company
Speaker:that. You are a part of or you've
Speaker:launched. I'm sorry if I don't know the
Speaker:exact positioning, but the it's the four visions market, am I
Speaker:correct? Yes, for origins market and i
Speaker:started it about six years ago with the Father, my son and we
Speaker:kind of, it was a dream seed that kind of developed and is now, you
Speaker:know, a entity of its own.
Speaker:It really is taken on, you know,
Speaker:its own mission and I'm kind of just now in service to its
Speaker:platform and to the work that is coming through and it's been, it's
Speaker:been wonderful.
Speaker:Yeah, so. Please share, because
Speaker:this is one of the things you spoke to a little earlier, at
Speaker:least from what I was understanding, is this idea of
Speaker:being this fine line of like, say, for example, me as a Westerner
Speaker:looking to reconnect.
Speaker:And so I find this indigenous
Speaker:tribe or these indigenous ways, and I think, oh, that's fantastic.
Speaker:And so I start working with hope, or I start working with Sanango, I
Speaker:start working with Sage, all these beautiful medicines from the
Speaker:Amazon and from North Americas and these various places, and then
Speaker:that can very easily become.
Speaker:An extractive experience where I'm
Speaker:just taking something for myself so that I can benefit without
Speaker:really giving back.
Speaker:And my understanding is that your
Speaker:company is really a way for people to access a reciprocal experience.
Speaker:So if you could explain what how that works with your company, how
Speaker:is it that by supporting your company, someone can directly
Speaker:support the indigenous ways, the indigenous peoples, in a way
Speaker:that's really respectful and really, yeah, reciprocal.
Speaker:Yes, I would love to.
Speaker:So I guess I'll start with a
Speaker:little background of how 4 visions came to be and how I kind of got
Speaker:into this world because i never planned to start a business.
Speaker:It was really supposed to be a initiative, an arts initiative,
Speaker:call it what you will.
Speaker:But in my head when I first
Speaker:brought back the first set of Amazonian jewelry, it came because
Speaker:I was working with the Colombian Titus and i felt so deeply in love
Speaker:with the culture.
Speaker:With the love that they shared and
Speaker:gave to me and to the other people who were working with them.
Speaker:And I felt so honored to get to receive the healing from them, to
Speaker:get to have this incredible experience of sharing with them
Speaker:and that I wanted to support them.
Speaker:And they had all this beautiful
Speaker:art and they needed to sell it.
Speaker:They needed to be able to, you
Speaker:know, get the economic revenue from that art to be able to feed
Speaker:their families and to do a lot of.
Speaker:Other important things which I'll
Speaker:share more about in a little while, but i brought this first
Speaker:bag of jewelry back really like just thinking I would share it
Speaker:with my friends that maybe I could utilize it to talk and educate
Speaker:people a little bit more about the Inganno tribe, which wasn't the
Speaker:first tribe that i started working with in Colombia.
Speaker:It was never with the intention of launching a business or a
Speaker:platform, but over time it throughout my relations I started
Speaker:meeting. Other indigenous communities and
Speaker:the message that I was getting over and over every time I spoke
Speaker:to these incredible tribes and I was asking how can I support, how
Speaker:can we support, how can we give back?
Speaker:You've given us so much you're giving so much what do you need
Speaker:from us? The answer or time and time again
Speaker:was economic sovereignty.
Speaker:Because at the end of the day
Speaker:whether we like it or not, all of the world survives on a money
Speaker:based economy in today's world so what does that mean?
Speaker:Like, in our heads we often think, ohh, the indigenous tribes,
Speaker:they're living deep in the Amazon jungle and they're, they don't
Speaker:need anything from the western economy.
Speaker:They don't need to go to the store.
Speaker:They grow all their own food.
Speaker:They don't need any sorts of
Speaker:building materials. They do everything from.
Speaker:They take everything, and they use everything from the resources
Speaker:available to them in the Amazon Forest.
Speaker:Well, yes, that's a beautiful visualization, and it probably was
Speaker:true 200 years ago.
Speaker:But today we're living in this
Speaker:time where there's so much sharing of culture and there's been so
Speaker:much movement and mobilization outside of the Amazon for these
Speaker:tribes that they're very much reliant on the necessities that we
Speaker:also need, you know, and so they need money to be able to purchase
Speaker:those supplies again.
Speaker:Additionally, you know, there are
Speaker:many of the tribes are facing the backlash of decades and decades of
Speaker:deforestation and ecological attack on their territories that
Speaker:have left their rivers running dry, that have left their forces
Speaker:depleted. That have left the fish dead in
Speaker:the rivers due to the chemicals that have been you know put into
Speaker:the rivers by the by the larger companies that are taking
Speaker:advantage of the rainforest and her peoples.
Speaker:In many ways.
Speaker:And that have been doing so for
Speaker:hundreds of years really now.
Speaker:And so at this point, so many of
Speaker:the tribes who are wanting to preserve their culture as well as
Speaker:preserve their peoples because it's a element of survival at
Speaker:these at this point, they need to take matters into their own hands.
Speaker:They need to and they need money to be able to do that.
Speaker:So when a when a river runs dry, they need to drill a well, and
Speaker:drilling a well is just as expensive as the Amazon jungle as
Speaker:it is at any other part of the world.
Speaker:And when the fish are killed off because of the chemicals they need
Speaker:to build fish ponds and they need to start to sustain themselves and
Speaker:plant food forests and basically recuperate a lot of the resources
Speaker:that have been devastatingly depleted through, you know, the
Speaker:western civilization and colonization and, you know, the
Speaker:way that big companies operate in the world.
Speaker:And so when I was starting to really understand what they needed
Speaker:the money for, it really became clear to me that I felt called to
Speaker:get them that money.
Speaker:I felt called to be a bridge to be
Speaker:able to be a partner to the tribes and to be an ally for them.
Speaker:You know, a lot of times they get a lot of spiritual support and
Speaker:people saying, you know, we support the Amazon, but at the end
Speaker:of the day what they need is money.
Speaker:They need money so that their tries people.
Speaker:Don't have to sell out and get paid to burn down their forests,
Speaker:which is happening in the Kujawa territory in the Amazon where
Speaker:unfortunately due to lack of jobs in the tribe, many of the tribes
Speaker:people have been taking out the payouts from either the government
Speaker:or other big companies.
Speaker:Big industries that are basically
Speaker:offering them money to burn down their trees.
Speaker:And so this obviously directly affects the tribes, but it also
Speaker:affects the Amazon rainforest.
Speaker:For the lungs of the earth, which
Speaker:on a scientific level is important for proper oxygen for all of the
Speaker:planet and for all of the planets ecosystems to flourish we have to
Speaker:protect the Amazon rainforest.
Speaker:And so there's a lot of different
Speaker:layers that I started uncovering that I never looked, I never, I
Speaker:never went looking for but it they started coming to me through
Speaker:simply when I started asking the question how can I help?
Speaker:How can I support and again you know.
Speaker:Through my own personal studies i have been working with plant
Speaker:medicines for over a decade now and through my work with the plant
Speaker:medicines that was really the catalyst for why I started looking
Speaker:for ways I could help, you know.
Speaker:So it was my own personal healing
Speaker:journey that led me that inspired me to find a way to give back.
Speaker:So that all being said, four visions market became a bridge,
Speaker:became an opportunity where.
Speaker:We could support the tribes where
Speaker:we could source ethically medicines and plant tools and
Speaker:traditional art directly from the tribes.
Speaker:People are the artisans, giving them the opportunity to practice
Speaker:their traditional culture.
Speaker:So you know when their art is
Speaker:valued, when they're medicinal tools and products are valued,
Speaker:then the younger, the younger generations with teenagers, they
Speaker:don't go into the cities looking for some.
Speaker:Other job with the mining companies or the oil companies,
Speaker:they stay in the in the communities and the territories
Speaker:and they study from their fathers and their grandfathers and they
Speaker:learn the botanical remedies, they learn how to make the tools and
Speaker:the traditions are preserved.
Speaker:So there's a lot of beautiful
Speaker:things that happen when we empower and when we acknowledge that these
Speaker:tools are powerful and that we are wanting to support and receive
Speaker:them. So educating.
Speaker:The customer was really important because I didn't want to just
Speaker:start sourcing all these incredible tools and leaving the
Speaker:customer kind of in the dark about what we were doing.
Speaker:And that's where I start.
Speaker:We started to come up with this
Speaker:really unique model and that's really beyond fair trade.
Speaker:And I like to think of it as sacred commerce, like the true
Speaker:epitome of sacred commerce.
Speaker:And this is kind of where I
Speaker:started to really get interested in running a business.
Speaker:Honestly, because before that I was really just turned off a
Speaker:little bit by all the different elements that are required to run
Speaker:a ecommerce business in 2020 You know that it was 2019 2018 when we
Speaker:started going online.
Speaker:So essentially, you know, it was
Speaker:when I started to see, wow, there can be a different model than what
Speaker:has been shown to us for the last 4050 years in capitalism that can
Speaker:bring abundance to all involved and so.
Speaker:Well, we developed this beyond fair trade model that not only
Speaker:gives 50 % of all the purchases directly back to the indigenous
Speaker:artisans, which you would obviously consider like normal
Speaker:fair trade, right? But then on top of that, all of
Speaker:our profits, we take 10 % and we donate it to different indigenous
Speaker:tribes, different communities or initiatives that are happening
Speaker:that we want to support.
Speaker:We give a lot of the donations to
Speaker:different nonprofits and not-for-profit Organizations that
Speaker:are preserving the Amazon rainforest or that are doing
Speaker:really good work with the preservation of culture and the
Speaker:Amazonian peoples. And so this has allowed us to make
Speaker:a really big impact and we do it as a community and that's really
Speaker:the thing that sets our model apart from any other, you know,
Speaker:source of these tools because we're giving the client, the
Speaker:customer, the opportunity to really play a part.
Speaker:In creating this reciprocity and play a part in being in
Speaker:relationship with the tribes because they are making a really
Speaker:big impact simply through their purchase and it's giving people
Speaker:the opportunity to work with these medicines with a certain closeness
Speaker:to the Amazonian peoples that's simply not available if you're
Speaker:just purchasing these tools from anywhere without a greater
Speaker:understanding of what projects are being supported by your purchase,
Speaker:what tribes are being supported by your purchase.
Speaker:And so we started to really educate, we started to really
Speaker:build in this element of education into our business model and that
Speaker:really was pivotal in allowing us to grow, allowing us to have the
Speaker:reach that we have been able to have over the last few years.
Speaker:And it's developed into this really beautiful bridge where we
Speaker:are bridging the world to the Amazon and anyone who's interested
Speaker:in plant medicines, here's about four visions because they are
Speaker:looking for this opportunity and that's something else really
Speaker:important. Most people who are wanting to
Speaker:work with plant tools or wanting to receive, they want to do it in
Speaker:a good way.
Speaker:It's just that they're not exactly
Speaker:sure how.
Speaker:And so for visions we wanted to
Speaker:provide people the opportunity to do this and to know that they
Speaker:could receive these tools in a in a good way, in a way that was
Speaker:honoring of the traditional cultures and really was forging a
Speaker:bridge between their tools, the products that they receive.
Speaker:Their front door and the artisans and the medicine makers, the
Speaker:traditional botanists that were making them.
Speaker:And so that's really kind of how 4 visions came to be.
Speaker:And through it, you know, we launched a sister nonprofit
Speaker:organization, Magic Fund, which stands for the movement for
Speaker:Amazonian Growth and Indigenous cultures.
Speaker:And that was really important for us so that we had a specific
Speaker:organization that we really could back and support and is doing
Speaker:really beautiful. Things and specifically the
Speaker:Colombian Amazon, we have a lot of incredible projects that we're
Speaker:funding this year.
Speaker:And it's been, it's been so
Speaker:beautiful to be able to work closely with tribal leaders, to be
Speaker:working with chiefs and healers and spiritual teachers of these
Speaker:different tribes and communities and really getting this feedback
Speaker:pretty consistently now that thank you and when can you place the
Speaker:next order, you know, and so there's nothing, there's nothing
Speaker:more beautiful. To hear from tribal chiefs and
Speaker:spiritual leaders that than this you know that like a confirmation
Speaker:that they are truly very grateful as well.
Speaker:And so this element of gratitude and abundance for all is woven
Speaker:into the core principles of four visions.
Speaker:So that the person receiving these medicine receive optimum blessings
Speaker:and abundance to their life through the use of these healing
Speaker:tools. And that everyone else involved in
Speaker:the in the chain of how to get those tools to their front door.
Speaker:Also benefits and also flourishes and also thrives.
Speaker:You know, and I think that really kind of goes to this new paradigm
Speaker:that we're entering into and that we're birthing as humanity is we
Speaker:can thrive. You know, we can all be in
Speaker:abundant, sacred relationship with the Earth mother and with all the
Speaker:sacred wisdom that she has to offer us, it's available to us.
Speaker:We just have to make it happen.
Speaker:You know, we have to think outside
Speaker:the box.
Speaker:We have to kind of unveil the
Speaker:cobwebs of the eyes.
Speaker:That have kind of kept us thinking
Speaker:in the ways that we've been thinking for generations that
Speaker:hasn't worked and start to realize that maybe there's another way,
Speaker:you know? And so for visions has really
Speaker:proven that to me.
Speaker:And I think that it's beginning to
Speaker:do that for others too and inspire others and that's truly just an
Speaker:incredible blessing. So how would you if someone is
Speaker:interested in? Because I think one of the things
Speaker:sort of preface before I ask the question, but is basically.
Speaker:And this time, so many people's.
Speaker:A fitting into society has become
Speaker:a lot harder for so many westerners, especially those who
Speaker:are realising that the old systems aren't effective.
Speaker:They haven't been effective.
Speaker:They are making people sick,
Speaker:they're making the world sick and they want a different way.
Speaker:And yet they're still kind of in that world of like now maybe
Speaker:they've got a few kids, they're like trying to work out, OK, how
Speaker:do I pay the bills and also be a part of this new world.
Speaker:And so the question I have for you, as someone who clearly has a
Speaker:lot of experience in this area, it's like.
Speaker:Do you have any tips or ways that someone could look at getting
Speaker:involved in or start thinking differently about sacred commerce
Speaker:and having a purpose and really like moving in that direction in
Speaker:their local area wherever they are in the world?
Speaker:Like what are some of the ways you might recommend to someone to get
Speaker:started? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:So there's so many different ways and little baby steps that we can
Speaker:take to start to kind of pull us out of the cycle of what my
Speaker:teacher title, Juanito, likes to call the cycle of no life.
Speaker:And I think that so many of us are living in that cycle where it's,
Speaker:you know, work.
Speaker:sleep food works.
Speaker:Food, you know? And it's just there's this
Speaker:constant cycle of autopilot where there is no life being lived, you
Speaker:know? And so how do we start to get out
Speaker:of that cycle? It depends, you know, where we're
Speaker:at in our spiritual path.
Speaker:Like, do we have a spiritual path
Speaker:or are we living like a normal nine to five?
Speaker:You know, just starting to hear about some other ways right so I
Speaker:guess we'll start.
Speaker:We'll start there and then we can
Speaker:kind of go bigger so it can start.
Speaker:Really by just taking a look at
Speaker:how we can bring more color into our lives, so how we can start to
Speaker:bring more joy and beauty into our lives.
Speaker:Whether that be starting to find practices that can connect you
Speaker:with nature. Because many of us who are living
Speaker:in that cycle of no life are very disconnected from our source
Speaker:Mother Nature. And so especially if we're living
Speaker:and working like in an office space or we're living and working
Speaker:within certain situations that leave.
Speaker:Us with limited time for ourselves, one of the best things
Speaker:we can do is fill that little time that we have for ourselves with
Speaker:things that bring joy and with things that bring connection to
Speaker:nature. So whether it be a walking in a
Speaker:park or walking on the beach, whether it be swimming in the
Speaker:ocean or going to a Creek and connecting with water, whether it
Speaker:be having a fire, you know, and connecting with friends and family
Speaker:around a fire and connecting with the.
Speaker:Element of fire, which is a sacred, powerful element.
Speaker:These little things that we start to add in, they start to make big
Speaker:ripples into our into our lives.
Speaker:And by calling upon the force of
Speaker:nature, we can start to open our hearts and open our minds to
Speaker:greater change. Because nature then becomes an
Speaker:ally that is literally accompanying us on our journey.
Speaker:So you look, start to look and see where we can start to add a little
Speaker:bit. More of that colorful living.
Speaker:And then from there we start to look at the choices we do have,
Speaker:the options we do have within our life.
Speaker:Where do we go shopping? Are we shopping at a big mega
Speaker:chain grocery store? Or are we supporting local
Speaker:farmers? Or are we planting some of our own
Speaker:food? You don't have to start with a
Speaker:huge garden, but maybe you start growing your own herbs, you know?
Speaker:And we start to make little baby steps towards living more in
Speaker:connection with the earth and living more in connection with
Speaker:ourselves and with all of.
Speaker:Nation, we start to take a look at
Speaker:where what businesses we support.
Speaker:You know, if we're supporting
Speaker:again big Mega Industries that don't practice this element of
Speaker:sacred commerce that are leaching from under from under privileged
Speaker:people who are without resources and are taking and demolishing
Speaker:communities. Or are we choosing to uplift local
Speaker:businesses and buy from local people in our community who are
Speaker:trying to? Support themselves, you know, and
Speaker:to and to offer something to the community.
Speaker:So we start to vote with our dollars essentially.
Speaker:You know, whatever money we have in our pocket at the end of each
Speaker:paycheck we start to really think like how are we spending it?
Speaker:Because that's a really big shift that we can start to make in our
Speaker:consciousness, you know and really thinking like even it's as it's as
Speaker:easy as like am I going to buy a Starbucks coffee or am I going to
Speaker:go to the local coffee shop and support the local business, you
Speaker:know so. It can be really small.
Speaker:And then as we get going on that and we start to kind of rewire our
Speaker:brains, essentially we start to see that there are opportunities
Speaker:to bring more connection every moment, every second.
Speaker:You know, with our breath, with connecting with plant allies in
Speaker:ways that you don't even need to know a lot about plant medicines
Speaker:or have access to the ancestral plant medicines to start to work
Speaker:with plants. You start to take chamomile tea
Speaker:before you go to bed.
Speaker:And you and you start to connect
Speaker:with the chamomile plant for calming, for anxiety relief, and
Speaker:you start to form a relationship with that plant.
Speaker:And then overtime, chamomile becomes an ally for you.
Speaker:Allies are tools that we can utilize that come like spiritual
Speaker:friends accompanying us on our journey.
Speaker:And so allies can take the form of plant tools.
Speaker:They can take the form of prayer and meditation.
Speaker:They can take the form of any sort of spiritual practice, like yoga.
Speaker:Or any other sort of Qigong or Tai Chi?
Speaker:Any sort of bodily movement that is conscious, that's allowing you
Speaker:to form that mind, body connection.
Speaker:And we start to go looking for those things.
Speaker:Maybe you find joy and making music.
Speaker:Maybe you find joy in creating art.
Speaker:Maybe you haven't drawn since you were in kindergarten because your
Speaker:kindergarten teacher laughed at you and told you are a horrible
Speaker:artist and you never picked up a pencil or crayon again, you know?
Speaker:And so maybe you pulled that out again.
Speaker:Maybe you join a local.
Speaker:Art class and you start to kind of
Speaker:reignite that passion for life.
Speaker:That search is how we get out of
Speaker:the cycle of no life.
Speaker:And once we start to pull
Speaker:ourselves out of that cycle, we start to see that there's a whole
Speaker:world waiting for us to live, and there's a whole potential awaiting
Speaker:us as soon as we open our eyes to it.
Speaker:And that's kind of where that catalyst kind of comes in and one
Speaker:thing leads to another.
Speaker:And we slowly start to find more
Speaker:and more resources that start to bring more and more joy to our
Speaker:lives. And then we start to emanate that
Speaker:joy. We start to live.
Speaker:From that place and we inspire others, we might eventually become
Speaker:someone that can help someone else who is also in that dark place or
Speaker:in a place of absence, the place of like true lack within
Speaker:themselves where they're so disconnected that they need help,
Speaker:they need guidance and maybe we can one day be that for someone
Speaker:else. And so that's kind of how I see
Speaker:this process of, you know, finding connection and starting to utilize
Speaker:the tools around us and there's so many tools available to us.
Speaker:You know, I just named a few, but really, like, there's just an
Speaker:infinite amount of resources available for us wherever we live
Speaker:in the world.
Speaker:You know, there's always, there's
Speaker:always medicine. So we just have to open our eyes
Speaker:and start looking for it and start calling it forth, and it will
Speaker:start to appear and present itself in the most magical way.
Speaker:Because that is what life is all about.
Speaker:I love that you started with just the little steps.
Speaker:I think that's good.
Speaker:Medicine for me as well, because I
Speaker:have this tendency to think I need to do it all at once, and I'm and
Speaker:I burned myself out trying to like, be something instead of just
Speaker:being here now, which is like the best, the only starting point
Speaker:really. I'm curious around because I think
Speaker:I read somewhere around motherhood and how that has been a part of or
Speaker:is a part of your journey as someone who's a mother has become
Speaker:a mother and i wanted to kind of just touch on that as well as a
Speaker:bit of a segue from what we've been speaking about.
Speaker:But I also think it's connected.
Speaker:It's the sense of what are we
Speaker:bringing into the world and how are we sort of caring for that
Speaker:which we are responsible for, that which comes through us.
Speaker:And I'm just curious to know how does motherhood relate to your
Speaker:work and how does how has it shifted or how is it supported by
Speaker:this work that you're doing? I'd love to talk about that, of
Speaker:course, because it is the inspiration for me showing up
Speaker:every day. My child is the constant.
Speaker:Fire under my butt to get up and to keep doing the work that I'm
Speaker:doing because I truly believe that this is for the ones that are to
Speaker:come. You know, we are creating a new
Speaker:reality, a new paradigm, a new life for our children to inherit.
Speaker:And so I guess I'll start with my journey into motherhood because
Speaker:it's kind of an interesting story because for me, when I became a
Speaker:mother, I was deeply in my spiritual studies.
Speaker:Within the Yahei tradition of Colombia, and so the yahee is the
Speaker:Colombian Forum of Ayahuasca, and there are about 5 tribes in the
Speaker:Colombian Amazon that are stewards of this medicine.
Speaker:But like I mentioned at the beginning, about 10 years ago I
Speaker:met my teacher title Juanito, and I started studying and going
Speaker:through different initiations and eventually became a disciple of
Speaker:this 5000 year old culture.
Speaker:And tradition and so very
Speaker:interesting to be a white woman within a studying an indigenous
Speaker:tradition and especially like the way that my studies developed they
Speaker:became very focused.
Speaker:I was drinking a lot of medicine,
Speaker:doing different diets and studying with the plants of the culture and
Speaker:doing a lot of the spiritual payments and the spiritual tools
Speaker:and practices that come with the culture of yeah, hey, so when I
Speaker:became pregnant. It was, it was a little bit of a
Speaker:kind of a shake up to everything that I had been doing up into that
Speaker:point in the culture of yahua.
Speaker:When a woman becomes pregnant, she
Speaker:enters into a different ceremony.
Speaker:It's a A9 month ceremony will
Speaker:really 12 months because we include the three months
Speaker:postpartum as the completion of this spiritual diet and it's
Speaker:actually a time where we step away from the plant medicines and we
Speaker:start to connect to the medicine.
Speaker:Of life and the medicine of
Speaker:gestation, the medicine of creation.
Speaker:And so it was a little bit of a shake up for me in that sense,
Speaker:because I was loving my life, I was loving everything that I was
Speaker:doing. And to have to kind of step away
Speaker:from it or find a new way to relate to it challenged me in a
Speaker:lot of ways and brought up a lot of strong processes that in the
Speaker:end I needed to go through for my own personal healing, to become
Speaker:stronger in the path, to better understand the tradition as well
Speaker:that I was studying.
Speaker:But then, you know, because that's
Speaker:such a, it's such an interesting element of the tradition around
Speaker:the around the gestation and pregnancy and really seeing it as
Speaker:its own unique ceremony.
Speaker:So until I went through that
Speaker:process, I was really missing a huge chunk of this culture and it
Speaker:gave me the opportunity to really go into this, what is called the
Speaker:study of creation and the study of motherhood and the study of birth
Speaker:and for me.
Speaker:I went into a incredible time of
Speaker:connecting with the force of life, connecting with my ancestors,
Speaker:connecting with my bloodline and doing a very deep cleaning process
Speaker:to purify and to clean everything that I needed to heal, everything
Speaker:that I needed to resolve in order to bring forth my child.
Speaker:And you know, they say that it's like a process of calling them
Speaker:home from the stars and so in the birth portal and the time when he
Speaker:was coming through, it really felt that.
Speaker:I was journeying, I felt that I was journeying to the stars to
Speaker:meet him and to bring him forth.
Speaker:And it was a very celestial
Speaker:experience and honestly stronger than any other plant medicine
Speaker:experience that I've ever had, which really blew me out of the
Speaker:water because, you know, I've drinken yeah, hey, for many years.
Speaker:And it was, it was quite shocking to experience something that, you
Speaker:know, quantitatively. There's no quantification.
Speaker:But in that, in that experience, I felt that this was the most
Speaker:powerful ceremony that I had ever had.
Speaker:And so it left.
Speaker:Be really humbled.
Speaker:And of course, you know, I fell in love with my son and had this
Speaker:really beautiful process of birthing him in my power, in my
Speaker:home, on my land, and then getting to do the spiritual payments that
Speaker:we do in this tradition following the birth.
Speaker:Because in order to complete this cycle, in order to support the
Speaker:soul in grounding them into this world, after being in the
Speaker:celestial world for the last nine months, there's different rituals
Speaker:that we had to do.
Speaker:In order to complete that process,
Speaker:and it was completing the process for me because I also went through
Speaker:a rebirthing process through the gestation and the birth of my son
Speaker:and then, you know, of course, completing his process so that he
Speaker:could walk forward in this life.
Speaker:And so it was, it was a really
Speaker:magical, beautiful, transitional point in my life.
Speaker:And I really did come away from that feeling anew, feeling like I
Speaker:was a different person.
Speaker:And I know that that's pretty
Speaker:common. For women after they give birth
Speaker:and for just new parents in general, because it's such a such
Speaker:a reality shift, you know, to realize that there is another
Speaker:being that depends on you and that looks to you for every single one
Speaker:of their needs.
Speaker:And it really helped me and
Speaker:inspired me to recognize that every thought that I think every
Speaker:word that I speak, every act that I take is a mirror for him.
Speaker:That is an example for him.
Speaker:And what do I want to leave as my
Speaker:legacy through? Through my child.
Speaker:And so that kind of spread out in a lot of things, right?
Speaker:And it can be as simple as.
Speaker:And this is something I didn't
Speaker:mention when we were talking about those simple spiritual changes we
Speaker:can make. But like, I noticed that while I
Speaker:was just spending time with him, I was in spiritual work.
Speaker:I was in study because I was learning about myself.
Speaker:I was learning about what it means to raise the next generation, what
Speaker:it means to be a steward for another soul, what it means to
Speaker:honor the other souls sovereignty.
Speaker:And I noticed that was one of the
Speaker:most shocking things for me when I looked into my child's eyes those
Speaker:first few months, like recognizing just how sovereign he really is
Speaker:and was in that moment and realizing all I am here to do is
Speaker:to is to walk with him and to protect him the best that I can.
Speaker:But more than anything, to honor that he has his own path, he has
Speaker:his own mission, he has his own purpose.
Speaker:And all like all I can do is accompany him on this journey.
Speaker:And so it was, it was a very spiritually awakening experience
Speaker:that left me forever changed and every choice that I make now it
Speaker:comes back to him, you know, and I think that that's really a
Speaker:beautiful thing about parenthood there.
Speaker:It's like that constant reminder every step of the journey of why
Speaker:we do what we do and choosing, you know, what we fill our time with.
Speaker:And so I really had to start to get really focused on, you know,
Speaker:my what, how I was using my time.
Speaker:And what I was doing with my
Speaker:projects and it really provided a great catalyst for me to really
Speaker:smooth forward with clarity with devotion.
Speaker:And my devotion to my child ended up being like the reason that I've
Speaker:been able to pour my heart and soul into the different projects
Speaker:that I'm doing for the Amazon and for the Amazonian peoples.
Speaker:Because I really do feel that the these wisdom teachings are the
Speaker:answer for all of humanity.
Speaker:And that.
Speaker:Over the next few generations we're going to see a continued
Speaker:sharing of these tools, of these cultures and of these traditions.
Speaker:And so setting the platform or setting the pillars down for like
Speaker:how that is going to look over the next 20 or 30 years as these
Speaker:medicines and these cultures continue to come out of the
Speaker:jungle, more and more is imperative to ensure that we can
Speaker:really rise and we can we can receive the most from this time.
Speaker:That we're living in and that as humanity that are, that are
Speaker:children, that are, that are growing, that are coming into this
Speaker:world that they can receive a different world than we inherited.
Speaker:And so that's really my reason for what I do and I love to share
Speaker:about it, have there's a lot of passion for me there and that
Speaker:subject because he is my life, he's my world and he's also, you
Speaker:know, my biggest teacher in so many ways.
Speaker:So yeah, that's a little bit about my journey into motherhood.
Speaker:Thank you so much for sharing out my partner.
Speaker:Kylie and I are not yet parents, but we talk about it a lot and
Speaker:it's definitely something that's calling us and there's obviously
Speaker:those, like you said, there's no quantifying or no, it's like the
Speaker:thing that I know that's so big that there's no way to know how
Speaker:big it is, but I know that it's too big for me to know, which in
Speaker:itself is scary enough.
Speaker:But yeah, it's just beautiful to
Speaker:hear. Thank you so much for sharing.
Speaker:And I and I and I really see that a lot in the medicine path, people
Speaker:I see who are, who have children, who are on the medicine path
Speaker:working with plant medicines.
Speaker:I see such a difference in the way
Speaker:that those children are navigating the world and I see a difference
Speaker:in the relational dynamics between the parents and the children.
Speaker:So yeah, I really appreciate your sharing.
Speaker:Thank you very much.
Speaker:I the next question is kind of a
Speaker:little segue. Again, we're just kind of moving
Speaker:around a bit, but I'm curious to know.
Speaker:I mean, I definitely believe that your company obviously is a really
Speaker:great option for this, but just wondering if you have any other
Speaker:recommendations for people.
Speaker:So I'll give you some context.
Speaker:So having worked with the Honey Queen a little bit myself, when
Speaker:they come to South Africa, I've at some point one of their songs that
Speaker:which the words they say escalator, kaaway, which I'm sure
Speaker:you know this, but for anyone listening, it means
Speaker:transformation. And one of my songs that I had
Speaker:written many years ago is all about transformation and while I
Speaker:was playing. On one of the weekends as someone
Speaker:started singing escalated care over my song and it just it just
Speaker:suddenly the song that was already 7 years old suddenly was complete.
Speaker:And so I've been playing that song and I use it and so after that
Speaker:experience with the Honey Queen and with now using some of their
Speaker:words in my songs I just put money up some a small amount of money
Speaker:aside every month that I then give to the honey Queen to some of
Speaker:their projects. Like if they building a building
Speaker:in the village and they need money then I have something I can
Speaker:support with. So the question I want to ask is
Speaker:how? Do you recommend or invite people
Speaker:to support their indigenous peoples or their sort of wisdom
Speaker:ways that they have access to, or that they get wisdom from,
Speaker:whatever those ways might be? Yeah That's such a great question
Speaker:and I'm happy you asked it because it's important to touch on that.
Speaker:You know, how do we go about finding ways to give back?
Speaker:And it's it goes beyond like purchasing a product, right.
Speaker:So it's important to talk about different ways in which we can
Speaker:support. So the first thing I want to talk
Speaker:about is amplifying different projects that you resonate with.
Speaker:There's so many incredible nonprofit organizations.
Speaker:And so many incredible indigenous initiatives that are taking place
Speaker:all over the world, not just in the Amazon.
Speaker:You know, if you go into your local communities, chances are
Speaker:that there are indigenous peoples or close to or where you live and
Speaker:you can support them in numerous ways by going to their events, by
Speaker:sharing about their work, by seeing what they need and
Speaker:utilizing your contacts, your resources within your community to
Speaker:support them and to give back.
Speaker:And then, you know broader terms
Speaker:like you need to find the projects that really speak to you because
Speaker:what 4 visions really focuses on is giving a lot of different
Speaker:opportunities. So for example, I mentioned that
Speaker:we're in partnership with our nonprofit, but we also are in
Speaker:partnership with many other nonprofit organizations that we
Speaker:get behind. And the work that we do there is
Speaker:to give people more opportunities to learn about the different
Speaker:projects and resources that are taking place.
Speaker:So for example.
Speaker:You recently just partnered with
Speaker:children of the rainforest, and this is a nonprofit organization
Speaker:spearheaded by Chief Barassi is kakua, the Yawa Nawa tribe.
Speaker:And they are doing a lot of incredible work, and they're
Speaker:focused on building a language preservation school for the Yawa
Speaker:Nawa tribe and their community New Hope Village.
Speaker:And so if you have ever worked with the Yawa Nawa in any capacity
Speaker:you know and you feel called to connect children of the rainforest
Speaker:is a great organization.
Speaker:And that's really working to.
Speaker:Preserve the language, because that's something that a lot of the
Speaker:indigenous tribes are facing, is that the younger generations are
Speaker:growing up. They're not learning their
Speaker:traditional languages, and so these languages are endangered.
Speaker:And so a lot of the tribes are facing and the need to preserve
Speaker:their traditional languages.
Speaker:And you know you.
Speaker:It was cool because you just mentioned, like, the power that
Speaker:the Huni Kuin language had for you and in your journey.
Speaker:And it's true, these indigenous languages are so ancestral, and
Speaker:they're codes of profound connection with the ancestors.
Speaker:Have found connection with the Celestial realms.
Speaker:They carry secrets that have been stewarded and safeguarded by the
Speaker:indigenous peoples for millennia.
Speaker:And so it's vital that we preserve
Speaker:those languages because within them holds the key to like the
Speaker:pillars of these cultures and the and the foundations for many of
Speaker:these cultures. So that's one project.
Speaker:The Kootenai tribe have their own nonprofit called Transform and
Speaker:Illuminate. Project that's focused all on
Speaker:reforestation. As I mentioned, they've been
Speaker:facing a lot of horrible fires in the area of their territory in the
Speaker:Amazon Basin and are dealing with tremendous need to reforest and to
Speaker:plant trees and to begin to rebuild and preserve their
Speaker:territories and their land.
Speaker:So there's many incredible
Speaker:projects out there, and there's not there's not one answer.
Speaker:You have to find the.
Speaker:One that resonates the most with
Speaker:you and it's wonderful to hear that you've been you've been
Speaker:setting aside a little bit each month because it's such a great
Speaker:practice you know and it's like kind of can be compared to tithing
Speaker:a little bit in the sense that you know we what if there's a specific
Speaker:tradition that's supporting us in our healing and evolutionary
Speaker:growth that we find a way to give back and that's why I started with
Speaker:like ways in which we could just amplify their projects if you have
Speaker:a platform share about it become an ally to them by utilizing.
Speaker:Your network to get their message out there more, you know, it
Speaker:doesn't have to be just financial, but at the end of the day, most of
Speaker:us in the West have a lot more money to play with than the
Speaker:indigenous villages. So for us, 20$ a month really
Speaker:doesn't break the bank.
Speaker:But if you can make that
Speaker:commitment monthly, it becomes, you know, it becomes a spiritual
Speaker:payment in a lot of ways.
Speaker:So it's like it's creating that
Speaker:foundation of sacred reciprocity, which allows you to have a
Speaker:stronger connection with the Amazon and the Amazonian.
Speaker:Peoples and really just allows you to be able to catalyze forward and
Speaker:grow so much more in your connection with these cultures
Speaker:because you're making an effort to say like I'm with you, I stand
Speaker:with you and I'm not just saying that I'm really doing something,
Speaker:even if it's a small thing.
Speaker:You know the point is that we're
Speaker:doing something and little by little these ripple start to have
Speaker:greater effect and these organizations start to get
Speaker:greater. No notoriety, notoriety and they
Speaker:start to become more heard about and this is really how we can
Speaker:start to make a big bigger change, you know, because at the end of
Speaker:the day, the Amazonian people, they do need our help.
Speaker:If they were just living like they were living they had lived 500
Speaker:years ago, then they probably would be fine.
Speaker:They would be sustainable, they would be within the context of
Speaker:their traditional ways.
Speaker:But because of the raping of their
Speaker:cultures that has taken place over the last 300 years, it can't be
Speaker:denied that at this point.
Speaker:They do need the industry, they do
Speaker:need the financial support to be able to put in place the necessary
Speaker:infrastructure and the necessary economic structure to support
Speaker:their communities so that they can live well and so that their
Speaker:missions and their work and their healing can continue to be
Speaker:preserved. So I think that's kind of getting
Speaker:to be a little repetitive at this point, but it's important to just
Speaker:say that it really does kind of come full circle, you know and so,
Speaker:yeah, I hope that answers your question.
Speaker:Like really it's just about finding like the initiatives that
Speaker:inspire you the most and that you wanna get behind.
Speaker:And it really, it could be like a native if you living in the in the
Speaker:northwestern or the southwestern United States, you know, finding
Speaker:the Navajo and Navajo tribe or reservation and seeing what they
Speaker:need and how you can support them or finding whatever indigenous
Speaker:communities are near you and attending their workshops,
Speaker:attending their classes.
Speaker:Giving that support in that way.
Speaker:So yeah and it's and it's really it's for us too that's another
Speaker:thing. It's not like we're like giving
Speaker:cause we feel like we have to or we should it's the way that we can
Speaker:all rise together and this is the way that we can really create that
Speaker:new way of thriving and flourishing and I think that
Speaker:that's it's really important that we stand together at this time.
Speaker:You know for humanity that we come together that we unite, that we
Speaker:recognize that we're all in this together because there's just
Speaker:been. Too much separation at this point,
Speaker:you know, it's like the story is old.
Speaker:We got us write a new story and we gotta write a story of unity.
Speaker:We gotta write a story of coming together, of supporting one
Speaker:another, of forming allies, ship and alliances.
Speaker:And many of the indigenous leaders talk a lot about that.
Speaker:As to why they started to come out of the jungle and start to share,
Speaker:because it's very recent that most of these tribes are coming out.
Speaker:We're talking in the last 10 years, some of them 20, but we're
Speaker:really talking in the last decade.
Speaker:That these traditions are coming
Speaker:out of the rainforest we shared.
Speaker:And many of them speak to that of
Speaker:why, being that they feel that it's time that we put down these
Speaker:barriers of blood or of race or of skin color, and we start to really
Speaker:realize that we are one race, we are the race of humanity and we're
Speaker:one tribe.
Speaker:And that's, you know, these
Speaker:cultures are available to all who want to receive them in a good
Speaker:way. And I think that's important to
Speaker:mention because a lot of us find us.
Speaker:Ourselves and like a little bit of a story of, oh, I'm not worthy of
Speaker:receiving these teachings or I don't want to be, you know, taking
Speaker:more from these cultures or I, you know, just like all of the.
Speaker:All the stuff that's out there regarding.
Speaker:Yeah, just taking from the cultures and not respecting the
Speaker:traditions. But at the end of the day these
Speaker:indigenous cultures are saying come drink from our well, we have
Speaker:enough water to nourish all of humanity.
Speaker:We have enough to share.
Speaker:We want to share, you know come
Speaker:and heal with us because we want all of our brothers and sisters to
Speaker:heal and we don't differentiate.
Speaker:And that has been my experience.
Speaker:We're of working with these different tribes and these
Speaker:different communities and it's been so beautiful to see this
Speaker:perspective because it really.
Speaker:Has allowed me to kind of soften
Speaker:into this and recognize, OK you know, i can do this.
Speaker:I can walk this path with the plant medicines.
Speaker:I can walk this path with these ancestral cultures that maybe
Speaker:aren't mine. But if I do them with
Speaker:righteousness and if I if I do it with respect and reverence, then
Speaker:it can actually be something very beautiful.
Speaker:And so that's something that I just wanted to mention because I
Speaker:think it's important to say as well thank you so much for your
Speaker:time, Maria. It's been really a pleasure to
Speaker:connect and to hear.
Speaker:From someone who's so closely
Speaker:integrated into these cultures and really doing such beautiful work
Speaker:to help us all, to rebirth in this time, to rebirth so that we can
Speaker:live a different way.
Speaker:Because it's in a way where I feel
Speaker:like I and I, the people I witness a lot in the West.
Speaker:We're like imagineering.
Speaker:We're visioning a world we don't
Speaker:exactly have a context for.
Speaker:And I think the indigenous ways
Speaker:are such a beautiful template and such a beautiful example of, hey,
Speaker:this is our natural state.
Speaker:This is possible.
Speaker:We can be in joy, in life, in celebration.
Speaker:So I have one more.
Speaker:Well, I have another question
Speaker:after that. But the final kind of big question
Speaker:I have for you is what does we are already free mean for you?
Speaker:We are already free to me speaks to the inherent sovereignty that
Speaker:we carry each one of us within our hearts.
Speaker:That is our divine connection to nature, our divine connection to
Speaker:source, our divine connection to our own authenticity and our
Speaker:existential liberation that is awaiting us.
Speaker:All we have to do is open our eyes and choose it and say yes to life
Speaker:and claim it and allow that reality to sink in.
Speaker:And to bless our lives.
Speaker:And so to me that is what we are
Speaker:already free represents this internal sovereignty over our
Speaker:body, mind, spirit and soul that is available to us and that is
Speaker:inherent within each and every one of us.
Speaker:Thank you, I'm really grateful to hear your reflections and where
Speaker:can the listener find you? Where are the best places to
Speaker:support what you're doing and to connect with you further?
Speaker:Yeah, of course.
Speaker:So you can learn more about our.
Speaker:Wrote initiative for visions at four visions market dot com.
Speaker:Check us out on Instagram at 4 visions market and my own personal
Speaker:Instagram at Mariah Vanessa, where I share a lot more about my own
Speaker:personal spiritual journey.
Speaker:And those are the main places for
Speaker:now. You can also check us out magic
Speaker:fund amazon.org and to learn more about our
Speaker:nonprofit. And those are the main ones.
Speaker:So that's it really.
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Thank you so much, Maria Mariah.
Speaker:I realized I didn't even think to
Speaker:ask you the pronunciation, even though names are so important.
Speaker:So, Mariah, thank you very much.
Speaker:I really appreciate your time
Speaker:today. All the way across the world in,
Speaker:could you say Colombia? And it was raining and I even
Speaker:heard Thunder, so thank you.
Speaker:What an amazing thing.
Speaker:Yeah, the rains came to bless us and he then God bless you.
Speaker:God bless your project.
Speaker:Thank you to everyone who tuned in
Speaker:and thank you for this wonderful opportunity to get to connect and
Speaker:share a little bit more and wishing you all the best and many
Speaker:blessings. Thank you again to Mariah Ganesha,
Speaker:and funnily enough, I know I said I said her first name wrong
Speaker:throughout the episode.
Speaker:I actually don't know if that's
Speaker:the way to pronounce her last name.
Speaker:So, Mariah, please forgive me if this is incorrect, but let me know
Speaker:anyway. Thank you to Mariah of four
Speaker:visions market for blessing us with your presence on this
Speaker:podcast. You can find links to Mariah, 4
Speaker:visions, and everything else we discussed by visiting the show
Speaker:notes wherever you listen.
Speaker:Or directly at already free dot me
Speaker:forward slash oh nine.
Speaker:As I mentioned before, I've also
Speaker:become an affiliate of the four visions market, so you can buy
Speaker:from them and support the podcast at no extra cost to you.
Speaker:They have clothes, courses, instruments, jewelry, ceremonial
Speaker:tobacco, and heaps of other lovingly crafted medicines and
Speaker:sacred creations made with many blessings by indigenous peoples.
Speaker:One of the things they sell is the ceremonial tobacco named Hope,
Speaker:which is a huge part of my personal practice.
Speaker:It has helped me massively in grounding and rooting and really
Speaker:staying centered and aligned with my mission, with service, with
Speaker:joy, with presence.
Speaker:So I'm so grateful that they have
Speaker:such a reliable source for that.
Speaker:It's amazing.
Speaker:This is truly spiritual medicine, what 4 visions market is offering,
Speaker:and a much better way of engaging in commerce which empowers
Speaker:everyone involved. Find my affiliate link and a
Speaker:discount code for 10 % off your first purchase at already free dot
Speaker:me. Forward Slash 009 finally, please
Speaker:subscribe or follow the podcast wherever you listen and leave a
Speaker:review on Apple Podcasts or a star rating on Spotify.
Speaker:It will take you a minute at most and makes a big difference.
Speaker:It lets me know that you're out there digging the vibe, enjoying
Speaker:what I'm putting out, and enjoying what this podcast is bringing.
Speaker:It also helps anyone else who's thinking of listening who's making
Speaker:that decision, and helps them to know that this is something worth
Speaker:giving attention and time.
Speaker:So thank you so much for that.
Speaker:You can find all the links to platforms in the show notes with
Speaker:everything else at already free me forward Slash 009 Until next week.
Speaker:I'm your host, Nathan Mangad, and it's been an honor to share with
Speaker:you today. Dear listener, may your every step
Speaker:be a remembrance of the miracle and blessing of life.
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