I grew up surrounded by books, art, and music, as well as a cultural blend of Shamanic and religious traditions, but I’ve always perceived life as energy and felt guided from within. My path has been a gradual process of remembering who I truly am by shedding everything I am not, while helping others do the same.
My spiritual journey started as a child, pondering the meaning of life and rebelling against the limiting religious and patriarchal views of my environment. I felt different and out of place for the most part, but I remained curious, creative, and eager to understand my human nature, in spite of the many emotional challenges I encountered. The concept of “boredom” was not in my dictionary.
I dove into seven years of intense psychoanalysis in my early 20s, which became a springboard into spirituality. At some point, I decided to renounce the world, embarking on a “personal retreat” for a few years in almost complete isolation, to delve more deeply into myself. I began meditating without intending to, or even knowing what I was doing, which eventually turned into a more disciplined, daily practice of sitting still.
Although I had rejected anything that had to do with religion or God from a very early age, I awakened to the Divine for the very first time through unexpected mystical experiences. The only way I can describe it is that God cracked me open so that I could perceive this loving, eternal Presence weaving the very essence of life and inspiriting everything—within and around me. Needless to say, this changed me completely and forever. But it was just the beginning of a lifelong search for a deep understanding of the nature of reality.
My Teachers
I first perceived the different aspects of the mind while practicing Vipassana meditation during a 40-day retreat with Ajahn Tong Sirimangalo, an enlightened Buddhist master from Thailand who initiated me as a nun. With shaved head and eyebrows, dressed in a simple white robe, I followed a very austere, mindful lifestyle that quickly transformed Buddha’s teachings from mere concepts into real experiences. I began to comprehend the nature of the mind, as well as how to silence it, which allowed me to get a taste of the superconsciousness state known as nirvana.
The monastic life proved too austere and restrictive for me, but I traveled to his monastery in Thailand for one last retreat, once I had moved from Mexico to the US to study music. From Thailand I jumped to India for the first time. I knew my path was about to change, for India felt like home.
Back in the US, I was initiated by Anandi Ma, an enlightened saint and the spiritual heir of Kundalini Maha Yoga master Sri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandasji. I immersed myself in their spiritual teachings, practices, mantras, and rituals for more than 12 years. I had been attracted to the Indian culture since childhood, so all of it fit my nature easily.
I had previously met another Indian saint, Baba Hari Dass, who was a master yogi for whom I felt intense love from the first moment our eyes crossed. On one occasion, while visiting him in India, I spontaneously went into a state of non-duality. It was not a trancelike state, such as samadhi or nirvana, which I had had through meditation. This happened while I was in the kitchen putting my dishes away, as I did every day. An intense force suddenly took over me, and I became Pure Awareness, One-With-All, witnessing life from a plane of no-mind—of inner silence and peace.
It is impossible to describe this, for everything looked the same but my experience of it was absolutely different. The usual sense of separation from people and objects was gone; there was no self-consciousness or self-centeredness, and the world didn’t have its familiar, painful density! This event left a deep imprint and fueled an intense drive to find the way back to that purity of being. It also made clear that this feeling of entrapment, separation, and loss is the ego-mind and the cause of the constant suffering of the human condition —what we try to escape or buffer with distractions, addictions, and fleeting moments of pleasure.
I’ve been blessed by other Indian saints and spiritual teachers over the years, both in the body and in non-physical form. In time, however, I’ve relied less on the external form of gurus, spiritual groups, and rituals, and more on my self-exploration, spiritual disciplines, and studies of yoga philosophy and Advaita Vedanta.
My Writing
I’ve enjoyed writing poetry since adolescence, although my musings turned less existential and more spiritual over the years. Once I decided to take my writing more seriously, my external world was flipped upside down through divorce and bankruptcy while a new perception of the universe emerged, along with cosmic insights and a deeper comprehension of Divine Consciousness.
I discovered a Feminine-Masculine Soul Spectrum that helped me better understand and be at peace with this world, which I explored in depth in The Indigo Journals. Eventually, my writing, working with clients, and my own inner work helped me develop a unique spiritual method that allowed me to completely turn my life around after a series of painful events, where every rug was pulled from under me and I had to surrender to something greater than me emerging within. I share the Swan Method in my book You Are Your Healer and also teach others how to implement it to heal the past, master the ego-mind, and awaken to the eternal Self we all are.
Other Details
* I am a Spiritual Author, Teacher, and Coach: SoulGuidedCoach.com.
* I have studied English Literature, Professional Music, and Classical Homeopathy.
* I’ve been an editor, translator, teacher, artist, singer, composer, homeopath, business manager, as well as a jewelry, graphic, and web designer.
* I speak English, Spanish, and French fluently.
* I love Music, Yoga Philosophy, Advaita Vedanta, Meditation, Mantras, Numbers, Crystals, and Computers.
* I’ve lived in and traveled through Europe, Mexico, Asia, and the United States.
* I currently live in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.
I share the Swan Method, a unique system of self-exploration in You Are Your Healer: The Ultimate Guide to Heal Your Past, Transform Your Life & Awaken to Your True Self. Visit YouAreYourHealer.com to learn more.
I share my journey, cosmic memories, and many spiritual tools in The Indigo Journals: Spiritual Healing For Indigo Adults & Other Feminine Souls. To learn more about it, visit: TheIndigoJournals.com