Lately I have been attracted to succulents and cactus type plants. I like having them around, I find them beautiful and also easy to take care of. I have also been wanting some type of magic of cleanse. Also I have been having a strong desire to know more about the Indigenous people of Canada and Mexico. I have so much respect for people who know how to live off the land, know how to enjoy nature and create a relationship with Mother Nature that they go to nature to feed them, provide them entertainment, provide them answers for their prayers and reason to pray. I respect people who have this connection… I am working towards it.
As a girl from the country- I have always had a connection with the prairies. I love being outside in the morning and around sunset and just watching the changing colours of the landscape. Saskatchewan has amazing sunsets and sunrises and because it’s sooo flat, you can see it happen for a really long time- depending on the season. But I also love the mountains… I went a few times to the mountains to ski for a week when I was a teenager and then I never really had a connection with mountains until New Zealand in 2004 and more so in 2008 when I backpacked around B.C for a few months and then I had an opportunity to climb mountains and Volcanoes during my travel of South and Central America and I was constantly in awe… and constantly inspired. Something on my bucket list is still to travel to Nepal and do a 16 day-21 day hike in the mountains. I am planning this to happen probably in 2 more year (November 2018-November 2019 Finish my school) December 2019 spend with my family and then in January head back to India to take my PanchaKarma training and travel around Asia for at least 3-6 months and then begin my Ayurveda Practioner intership in some place- perhaps Mexico, perhaps Puerto Rico, Perhaps Victoria or Vancouver … who knows in 2 more years I may be called somewhere else.
So I love the Prairies… love the mountains… BUT I REALLY love the ocean too! (I just love nature.) And the past two years I have lived next to the ocean and found comfort in going swimming in the warm water almost every day. In the ocean- I feel although I can clean my spirit.
This year in November I am going to move to a beach with surfing for beginners/intermediate and I am going to learn how to surf good.
I love being outside and camping and bonfires and exploring, it feels good. It makes you feel healthier and happier- more connected. Drama and consumerism isn’t found in the depths of the ocean or the dampness of the forest. You don’t feel like you need to have make-up on or perfume when you are hiking or cooking something over a fire.

I left Mexico 4 months ago, living in Playa Del Carmen, giving private yoga classes and massages, I was working at a Market and in a Yoga studio once a week. I had began relationships with various women and people in the different towns around Playa Del Carmen- and began networking to give Yoga retreats at a couple places… I was studying for my second level of Ayurveda to become a yoga practitioner, I was dating some really nice guys, going to the Ocean every morning for Yoga and a swim… and pretty much enjoying life as a newly single, 31 year old woman. I just spend a month with me family or Christmas vacation and had began travelling a little bit within Mexico. Life was pretty good…

Then opportunity knocked to go do a job for a few months- which turned into 4 months.
I quit my jobs, told my clients I was leaving for awhile, took a leave of absence from my school, I said goodbye to a few nice guys, put all my things into storage and returned to Canada with a suitcase.  It was a fun few months, lots of work and I made less money than I had previously thought I would- but I made a few bucks.

Now I am back in Mexico- I came with a backpack this time (borrowed from a friend), and my plans are to be here for a month (to take care of my Visa stuff) then return to Canada in a month and 10 days and probably go to Puerto Rico for a week on my way home to visit a friend.  I am not studying, I am not working, I am not dating, I gained some weight and lost some muscle while working in Canada- not taking as good as care of myself as I could have- but having a little bit of a social life after work instead. After working in two different Power Plants in four months for 120 days- I really needed a cleanse… a little fresh start for the next few months… and the months that follow, so when I return to Mexico in another 6 months- I will be in a really good place to continue life. I already am going to be making some changes and change my location from the beautiful Mayan Riviera, to another destination- somewhere where there is surf! Why not? I’ve enjoyed surfing a lot in the past and it’s a way for me to connect with nature and quiet my mind. My future plans for November will be to find a place and rent it for 6-12 months…a place with 2-3 bedrooms, where I can invite friends and also offer therapies or private yoga classes. I was to have a simple house, but with a nice kitchen and some type of patio- where I sit and read and drink tea. It would be great to live within 15 minutes walking to the beach and to have nice neighbors- that keep an eye on me and me on them. I want to become a super nerd- focused and strict on myself. Wake up in the morning and having Yoga and Surf then study, have a big, healthy, vegetarian lunch and then study for the next 5-10 hours. Then go to bed tired and wake up and do the same thing. Maybe I will begin to work 2-3 times a week to maintain myself and permit myself to become friends with a few people to go out once a week or on Sundays when I will give myself a free time. I AM A REALLY social person and it may be hard for me not to want to do social things a lot- but I will just need to treat my education/studying like a job. I can only miss it if I get permission to get it off and then need to pick up another shift. If I begin dating that’s cool- but at this moment, I have lost interest. I am not going to worry about finding my future husband, it will happen naturally and organically… I am positive of that. I am over online dating and worrying about my biological clock- incase I may want to have a child. For sure everything happens for a reason… and well, I just need to keep the faith and chill out.

I feel this even stronger today- than I did on Friday. Actually today I am really calm. It’s Monday, it was a bit cloudy earlier, I slept in late after an amazing weekend without much sleep. I had some really power experiences, once that left me feeling clean and with desire for adventure and time in nature again. Making me want to find my truth and be honest with myself.

I saw some pictures of my friends facebook page about some ceremony. I asked a question about what the matched up green stuff was, in once picture… he said it was Hikuri. I never knew what that was- so googled it and wikapeda told me that
“A hikuri is, within the religion of the wixarica (huicholes), the conversion of the spirit of Tamautz Kauyumari (Our Big Brother Venadito of the Sun ) in the cactácea Lophophora williamsii , becoming thus Tatei Hikuri or Our Mother Hikuri.

It is one of the most important religious concepts within its beliefs, and one of the most well-known iconographic conventions about this town. Given its hallucinogenic properties, hikuri is used by the natives as a ritual resource for communication between the earthly and divine worlds. In Spanish it is known like peyote by the derivation of Nahuatl peyotl .

This cactus is collected by the Wixarika year after year on the pilgrimage to Wirikuta , in the desert of San Luis Potosí , Mexico .” From Wickipedia.

Neat I thought, I was playing with the idea of trying “peyote” sometime in my life and had actually been talking about it recently with some Canadian friends- we all kind of came to the conclusion that it’s pretty powerful, and worried about the after effects. Would it change you forever.

Well in reaction to my previous thoughts, I hope so. All experiences change you- and receiving more information and understanding more about the magic of the world- is my true purpose. I don’t want to stay in the dark of our society- just to enjoy beers and television with more people. (Note: I have nothing against society, beers or television) Soul searching and spending time in nature with quality conversation and information exchange, and learning about new things and concepts- really makes me happy.

-So I asked my friend about if there was any Temezcals happening around here in the next month and I would like a cleanse… and he told me that on Saturday we was coming to a Hikuri Ceremony in San Miguel de Allende and if I wanted to come- they were were leaving Saturday at a certain time, so much money for the ride and ceremony and to bring warm clothes, water proof jacket, candles and a few other things for the ceremony. And that was it… I decided not to call him and ask more questions. I packed what was on the list and on Saturday I made my way to the meeting spot in Roma (his Yoga store.)

I was the first one there (Canadian time efforts) so left and took a little walk around the cool neighborhood- well around a few blocks- as a neighborhood in Mexico is very big.
When we left, I was driving in a Van with five guys  (two being Huicholes who would be singing in the ceremony) and 3 girls all in our 30’s. Every seemed cool so I was happy about that. The night was really rainy and we picked up another Woman and headed to the mountains. It was raining a lot- so I thought we must have some type of cabin… wrong. We waited for the rain to become less to be able to light a fire… where we carried all our things to a spot and sat around in a circle as the fire was stoked. We would soon begin the ceremony… I was nervous and excited. We were handed a cactus by the name of Hikuri- and we cleaned it and put it on a blanket. We then listened to music, singing by the singers and also Marakame and al abuelo Tatewari. We were blessed by the Huichole Shaman and connected to our Hikuri and began to eat it. When the effects began we were dancing around the fire, with other members of the Huichole community and other Mexicans from different parts of Mexico and myself. I was the only foreigner there- but I never felt out of place. I felt comfortable and although I never understood everything- I understand the intention and a girl named Karla helped translate some things. We drank more Hikuri as a mixture and added water and kept dancing and then returned to our spot around the fire when the cleansing began. The shaman came around with other healers first cleansing you with Copal then with their feathers and words and the Shaman other had you breath deep and exhale and he sucked out something (which later I would find out is “enfermidad” or sickness) and he spat it out in his hand as a Crystal.  YES AS A CRYSTAL. Yep, there was a fair size one he pulled out of my heart area. I was impressed to say the least. After this happened, offerings to the fire continued (Cacao, Tobacco, Copal, Coconut) prayers to the fire continued and dancing and people sitting around and having experiences… I would check out the nature behind us for awhile and there I had several amazing experiences- so beautiful and heart-warming, I felt connected to the beautiful Cacti around and saw them as beings with souls not just plants…souls that moved and were could be interacted with.
We joined around the fire 3-5 times for cleansing and on of my final times being cleansed when the feathers went over my face I had a vision of a beautiful pink diamond type shape come and rest on my third eye and like it was meant to be there it seemed to fit and light up spreading light everywhere… I smiled and felt amazing. After this I wanted to continue meditating as my visions were pleasantly fascinating and vivid- but I chose to dance around the fire instead- without shoes I danced in the cool mud and enjoyed the ancient and beautiful ceremony of the Huicholes and felt so greatful to be there was the beautiful people out in the beautiful mountains of San Miguel de Allende. When day light came- the ceremony continued and it wasn’t until around 12 or so that we finished the ceremony by more prayers to nature and gratitude… and then we stayed for several more hours, celebrating, eating over the fire and just having fun- people now had some mezcal and tobacco and food to relax with. The drive home was also nice- as that part of Mexico is so beautiful, so it was nice to sit in my thoughts, listen to good music being played and laugh with people I now will call friends. I felt throughout the ceremony I was understanding so much and the reason for so many things and it all just made sence- and figuring out other things for life- seemed easier- however, I was only able to get to a certain point of understanding before I stopped and continued doing something else… I think with more intention for meditation and to contemplate on certain questions the answers would come through… but as it was my first time I was really just rolling with everything, not trying for anything. In November there is another ceremony… maybe I will need to attend this again. It is defiantly something I want to do again and would encourage others to try and to connect with another culture and the divine.
The effects from the ceremony, the good things to come and the cleansing and connection will continue over the next 5 days and some- so I am just taking it easy this week and want to just be present and reflective.