Whose Voice Is This, and Is It Mine? — A Plant Ceremony with Ruda and Manzanilla

In this episode, I share what I brought home from two weeks at the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues — and the question the Abuelos have been asking me ever since. I sat in rooms with Indigenous siblings from territories I have never visited, speaking languages I will never speak. And my body kept recognizing them. The same grief. The same medicine. The same pulse. And what I understood — slowly, then all at once — is that the lines drawn between us were never ours. The Abuelos are tending sacred fires in every direction, across every Indigenous territory in the world, and those same fires are rising in our chests, surfacing the patterns and voices we have been carrying as if they were ours. Today we work with two plant relatives — Ruda for fierce discernment, Manzanilla for soft receiving — and we ask the question the grandmothers are asking: Whose voice is this? And is it mine? In this episode: What I witnessed at the UN Permanent Forum — and the recognition that lives in the body before the mind catches up The Mapuche understanding of the Abuelos as living presence, not memory A teaching from Arkan Lushwala on sacred fires being tended in every direction A plant ceremony with Ruda and Manzanilla to help you discern what is yours and what was passed down The question to carry with you this week when familiar patterns surface This is for the woman who is finally done carrying what was never hers. If something here touches you, feel free to share it with someone you love or post a part that resonates. Thank you for reading, hearting, commenting, and simply being here. Your presence truly matters. And if this work has nourished you and you feel moved to reciprocate, you can support it here with a cup of tea—> tesito. ☕ Ways we can walk this path together: 🌿 Sunday Gathering — Every Sunday, I hold a 30-minute meditation circle on Zoom. A small sanctuary for your nervous system. No experience needed — just your willingness to pause. Todos son bienvenidos. ——> Register Here 🎙️ Slow Living as a Way Home — My bilingual podcast where we explore ancestral wisdom, cultural remembering, and what it actually means to come home to yourself. Available wherever you listen. ——> Listen Here 🏔️ Slow-Living Retreats — Intimate, application-only gatherings where slow living becomes embodied. Multi-day immersions in beautiful landscapes — ceremony, photography, community, and the kind of rest that changes everything. Next Adventure: Slow Living in the Highlands of Scotland. —> Learn More 🌀 Sabiduria — A weekly newsletter I write alongside Juliet and Georgina, where we explore embodied ancestral wisdom — the kind that moves through the body, not just the mind. If that calls to you, come find us on Substack. —> Subscribe to Sabiduría