Wow. Wowie wow-wow, am I grateful. I write the description for this video — a two-part conversation in which I was nothing more than a camera operator in part two! — from immense exhaustion yet immenser gratitude.
I’m so grateful for our team, and for all of you watching who have cared to meet the team. I couldn’t put a tangible value on the privilege of sitting in a dark room retreat (where I was ten months ago, during part one) and fully trusting such dear humans to co-create Light & Shadows.
In today’s co-creation Tamar sits down with Lori to reflect on her experience during heart-centered therapy, but before long these two legendary ladies broach an inspired conversation about the bread and butter of Light & Shadows: the vast world of plant medicine.
Medicine holds the potential to connect us to the peace of our True Selves, offering deep rest from any conditioning or identification stemming from culture or trauma. Lori reflects with Tamar on that potential as she contemplates an invitation to take the medicine of San Pedro (Huachuma) in Peru, viewing her decision through the lens of relationship. Relationship, whether with a plant or a person, teaches us who we really are — courageous and deeply feeling beings of heart. As Lori made the heart-led decision to change her life and move to Ecuador (inspired by a video Tamar produced!), we all share this birthright to live in alignment with the truth of our inner voices. Today’s conversations serve to remind us of this power we all hold. We are writing our stories, and when I look at the life that’s blooming here in Vilcabamba, I experience awe: what a story.
So yes, I’m grateful. Why am I exhausted? Five days ago I was going through some stuff and breaking down in tears for a half-hour in our office, Tamar’s hand on my back. Four days ago I was doing the same thing, but not for quite as long. Three days ago I was drinking Ayahuasca alongside friends as my shaman Don Luis offered ceremony at my house. Two days ago the Light & Shadows Edu-Reiman skeleton crew was in the office late at night, filming Luis drinking Aya and cleansing our space energetically. Last night, finally, this insane week ended with the team filming Luis and I receiving a difficult ceremony of Huilco / Huilca / Vilca — the medicinal tree responsible for Vilcabamba’s name.
Only rarely does our filming coincide so thematically with the video we’re releasing, and as they’ve coincided this week, I’ve felt more trust than ever in our path, in medicine and in the inspiration behind Light & Shadows. Tamar and Lori embody that inspiration as they talk about medicines like San Pedro, which happens to be the other plant-medicinal namesake of the Vilcabamba and San Pedro de Vilcabamba area. Tamar and Lori also embody the human potential to speak from connected hearts.
I hope you enjoy their palpable friendship and beautiful reflections. I hope you can understand why, no matter how exhausted I may be, gratitude abounds when I look at the people around me and what we’re doing.
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