Episode Details

The Andean ancestors asked the same question we’re still asking: what keeps us alive?

The sun wakes us. Pachamama, Mother Earth, feeds us. The mountains give us water and medicine. So they honored them as fathers, mothers, and protectors. The ceremonies built on that gratitude have been passed down for generations.

In this video, I sit with an Andean maestro for four of them:

• Coca leaf reading, which looks at where you stand today
• Cleansing with ruda, to release the heaviness we carry from others, from our own words, and from simply living
• Flourishing, to renew the spirit the way a shower renews the body
• An offering to Pachamama, the most sacred of the four, which is simply a way of saying gracias

The coca leaf reading isn’t fortune-telling. As the maestro says, no one can know the future. What the leaves can show is whether you’re walking toward it well.

So I asked what I actually wanted to know:

• How do I walk this path in a beautiful way?
• When will I meet the partner I’m meant to share this life with?
• How do I call forward the spirits of children I haven’t met yet?

What came back was simple. There was something blocking love, but it can be passed through. My purpose is already clear; I just have to stop hiding my voice. On the timing, the leaves didn’t give me the answer I was hoping for. And underneath all of it was the same instruction: listen to your heart. It is the wisest guide we have.

“You already know where you are going. Just follow.”

ABOUT MICHAEL TRAINER

Michael Trainer has spent 30 years learning from Nobel laureates, neuroscientists, and wisdom keepers around the world. He's the author of RESONANCE: The Art and Science of Human Connection, co-creator of Global Citizen and the Global Citizen Festival, and host of the RESONANCE podcast.

His work explores what it means to be fully human—through meaningful relationships, ancient wisdom, modern science, and extraordinary experiences.

Featured in Forbes, Inc., and Good Morning America.

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