Plant Medicine, Ancient Wisdom, and Starting Over: A Journey with Tressa Vazquez

Welcome to another episode of the Can We Start Over podcast! This week starts with host Britt sharing his recent experience with ketamine therapy. Lindsey and Britt are feeling full of possibility after 6 weeks in Ojai!

The conversation then shifts to a powerful interview with Tressa Vazquez, a yoga teacher, holographic sound facilitator, and sacred ceremonialist.

Tressa shares her journey of leaving corporate America and finding her true purpose in life through the use of plant medicine. Her story is one of listening to her intuition and following the call of her heart, even when it meant leaving behind a comfortable and familiar life.

Tressa's story is a powerful reminder to trust your path and follow your heart's call, even when it feels scary or uncertain.

Tressa also discusses the power of love and how it guides her in holding space for others. She believes that love answers many of life's challenges and that we all can tap into this universal energy and share it with others.

For information on Tressa's upcoming epic 12-day Journey of Higher Consciousness and Mastery through Egypt, CLICK HERE.
Follow Tressa on Instagram HERE.
Keep up with all of Tressa's offerings on her website HERE.

To save 25% on Lindsey's deep-dive healing experience that helps realign your body, mind, and spirit -- Energetic Reset Sessions, CLICK HERE.

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Transcript

Britt: 0:15

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Can We Start Over podcast. My

Lindsey: 0:18

name is Brit. And my name is Lindsay. Welcome, welcome. We are glad you're here. Today I just woke up feeling like anything is possible.

Britt: 0:27

Me too. Partially because I did ketamine yesterday.

Lindsey: 0:33

As a therapeutic treatment. Right, yeah. It

Britt: 0:36

didn't just go down to the local rave and get it out of somebody's fanny pack.

Lindsey: 0:41

Yeah, man. Then you'll end up in a k hole in a port a potty and that's not

Britt: 0:45

good. Yeah, I always wondered what k hole meant until yesterday. When I found out I don't know but is that like a bad thing as a k hole a bad you can't move Yeah, I couldn't move Oh for a while, huh? But I mean I set my I was in my bed right safe I knew everything was cool, had my little headphones on playing, you know, nature music, weird ambient shit. Uh, cause that's what it it's called Mindbloom, you should look it up. They don't sponsor us, but uh, it's pretty cool. And I've only done yeah, not yet. I've only done one treatment, so I can't completely vouch for it, but uh, it was pretty cool.

Lindsey: 1:21

Yeah, it's definitely amazing that there's an option for someone to do psychedelic treatment, and I know there's like so much back and forth between, it's not plant medicine, it's not this, but I mean, if it helps someone feel better, then we should just utilize it. Yeah, I'm trying it out.

Britt: 1:37

Yeah. You know what I also do? I eat, uh, like gas station food sometimes, so. I'm not too worried about it. I can try ketamine a couple times. Uh, with, you know, I, I swim in rivers that have run off from cities. I don't know. I'm not gonna overthink it. Yeah. You know?

Lindsey: 1:56

Yeah. Just do what you feel called to do. Yeah.

Britt: 1:58

And I must say in the first, uh, like, right after it was over, I was like, wow, that was fun. But was I supposed to really learn something just now? Am I, should I be crying? Should it like, what, what's wrong with me? Am I okay? And yes, I was okay. But the benefits I've noticed a few hours after into today. And I'm feeling a lot better. I'm very present right now, which I'm usually not very present. I have to try hard to be present. I'm always thinking about the next thing. But since yesterday morning, I'm just focusing on now. And that feels awesome, because that was my intention going into it. Right. I was also, because when you said intentions with stuff like this... You also know that the medicine is just going to show you what it shows you, right? So, you can have an intention, but it's an intention. It may not be the first thing that happens. So, I didn't really think my intention would happen so easily. Yeah. And maybe that's just a side effect or something that happens when you do the ketamine treatment. But luckily, it's what I wanted to happen and

Lindsey: 2:58

it's happened. Right, right. And well, I think there's something to be said for someone who already has own awareness. on multiple levels and, like, has practices. I know that's such a big word, but, you know, if you're creative and you're devoted to something and you have some kind of, like, awareness practice, whatever it is, then whatever the medicine is, even if it's not a medicine, even if it's a modality, can, like, Help in a deeper way. Right?

Britt: 3:27

Well,

Lindsey: 3:27

I'm feeling pretty good about it. Yeah. Yeah, and definitely being in Ojai is just feeling so good I've been doing my course A Course in Miracles Work and just feeling it loving it. It feels really good. Like every day. There's a little Magical encounter or spark or something? That's like, oh, yeah, this is right. This is exactly right. Yeah Yeah,

Britt: 3:51

you know what else happened today? We went to get some coffee And ran into a person that we've had on our list to have on the podcast.

Lindsey: 3:59

Yeah, that we had no idea would be here at all, even in the state.

Britt: 4:03

Right, exactly. Had no clue. Saw him at the coffee shop. He was super nice and was like, I want to come on your podcast. Yeah. Wild, so look for that.

Lindsey: 4:14

Yeah, those are those little yellow arrows, as my lovely friend says. And also when the little yellow arrows there aren't there, man, just like don't freak out because they're coming back. Right. It's just actually means you're supposed to like sit under a tree for a while. Right. If there's no arrow, don't fucking go anywhere. Just chill out.

Britt: 4:34

Sometimes that might mean get on some ketamine treatment. I don't know. Right, right.

Lindsey: 4:38

Yeah, do the thing that's gonna get you back to like your, your truest self or your whatever can be highest self, but it doesn't need to be highest self. You're

Britt: 4:47

yeah, you're fine. You're doing it. You're fine. You're here. Yeah. You're still here. You're good.

Lindsey: 4:52

All of this feels really in line with our episode today, and I'm so excited for our interview with one of my teachers, my friend. Her name is Tressa Vasquez. She's amazing. We met about two years ago. She is a mother of three. She's a yoga teacher, a holographic sound facilitator, and a sacred ceremonialist. Her work is really heart centered. She shares with people in this space of awareness. That really helps them move toward a deeper connection and really in the essence of a vibration of unconditional love. And she talks a lot about it in the interview. And I think that really just like comes off of her being. You know, I love learning from her. She was actually who trained me in holographic sound. And she does, she holds space for people in such a grounded and real way. Like she's 1000% authentic, whether she's. Serving sound medicine, training sound facilitators, or holding space in sacred medicine ceremonies, or if she's just being your friend. And you can find out more about Tressa on her website, mamapachamedicine. com, or follow her on Instagram at Tress37. These links are all available in the show notes. and you can connect her with her and you can connect with her there to find out more ways to work with her. She is co facilitating an incredible 12 day journey into Egypt with Dr. Paul Hubbert, who is the founder of the Institute for Holographic Sound and Inner Balance, and this Egypt journey of higher consciousness and mastery happens November 29th through December 12th. So it's two week journey into Egypt that includes a private grand sound ceremony in the Great Pyramid, which sounds amazing. That is insane. I want to do it. I know I've been wanting to go on this journey for so long and we will do it. Yeah. When the time is right. And

Britt: 7:02

we've talked to people that have done it. With her and oh my gosh, it sounds

Lindsey: 7:06

insane. Dr. Paul has been leading these journeys for several years and yeah Everyone we know comes back different and with an incredible story to share You can learn more about it at holographicsound. com And definitely if you're looking for an amazing journey to go on at the end of the year The one to Egypt is the one to do Also, I want to remind everyone that all of my one to one sessions are 25% off until August 31st, which is an incredible value. My favorite offering right now is called the Energetic Reset, which is a three hour deep dive healing experience that is truly, Body mind spirit realignment and we use intuitive somatic work to dig into blocks within the body and then move them. We use mindfulness and parts work to open this field of awareness and really take time to just be with yourself in a deep way. And it finishes with a deep holographic sound session. You will leave feeling completely restored. Check out the Energetic Reset session on my website, Sunnylandandco. com, or any of my other sessions that pique your interest, and if you book before August 31st, you get an awesome savings. All right, let's get into the episode. Let's do it.

Tressa: 8:33

I've been thinking about this, and I've all, I've loved listening to y'all's podcast since you've started putting it out, and yeah, thinking about what is my starting over story, and There's certainly been a handful of big moments, um, and experiences that lent themselves to starting over, right? And so I can think of like becoming a mother and getting divorced and leaving corporate America, um, as like three of the big ones. And I guess for me, I connect most to my most recent starting over, which was Really just like a shift in how I spend my time and generate income and show up and, you know, uh, it's been a wild and fun and beautiful ride. I think down to like the microcosm of it. It's like every day I'm open to starting over. So like trying to be present to whatever shows up and really like releasing the control that Like, I think the universe knows more than me, and I'm open to see what, what arrives for me. Yeah, that's been a really beautiful practice, and it's been amazing to get to experience, uh, life in a new way. And I am continually in awe of, Of the experiences I get to have because of that.

Lindsey: 9:59

That's so amazing. So tell us what was it like before this most recent shift, you

Tressa: 10:05

know, I think that um The shift came in two big pieces. One was maybe actually it's been about 10 years ago when I left corporate america And I spent a decade in medical and pharmaceutical Recruiting I was like playing the part and, you know, climbing the ladder and get in the office and all the things and it served a beautiful purpose and then at some point I could feel I was done. I went through a series of positions trying to find the next home that never fit. And then at one point, I got fired. Honestly, that's one thing I realized in thinking about my starting over journeys. I'm a little hard headed. And so sometimes I'm really getting forced to like, no, come on, this is not what is you're doing here. So yeah, so I got fired. And in that moment, I could feel it in my body. And I wasn't even that good at listening to my body then. But I could feel I cannot. Do this again. Like I am done working in recruiting and at the time I was teaching yoga part time and I was living with a partner who allowed me the space to try to teach yoga full time and to really follow that path of working in wellness and I'm so thankful for him and for that time in my life and for having that little cushion to explore. And that was going well. I was happy, but I was definitely struggling. And then I found plant medicine. And that's like the real big starting over is, um, beginning to work with plant medicine, which was about six and a half years

Lindsey: 11:44

ago. Now I want to hear where that led you. What do you do? With plant medicine and how you act as a space holder for other people's healing that

Tressa: 11:56

year. I think maybe that was, yeah, about 10 or nine years ago. And the two big pieces that I gained from that experience was, um, meeting Hanuman, which if you do or don't know, I know, you know, um, we share a deep love for Hanuman. He's the monkey God of, um, in the Bhagavad Gita and all in the Hindu mythology. And he, yeah, love and devotion and his, um, spirit and his essence. Yeah. Just opened up so much love and devotion in my heart and. I love to think about it when they say he does the mirrors of our hearts, you know, so that we can reflect that pure love outward. And, um, and then I met this couple who started talking about ayahuasca and I don't know, the man, he talked about literally pouring his purge on his head. And it was a disgusting story. And there was some part of me that was like, I have to do this. And it was baffling to me that that was my innate response. I had heard about it plenty and was always a hard no, and there was something in his sharing that lit a fire in me, and I knew, I guess, in meeting both of those energies at that retreat, that they were both going to be a predominant part of my life. I had no clue how, and what it's turned into is, really sharing my deepest medicine, which is love. And it's like so cheesy, but it's so true. And I think that the answer is always love. And the question is, how can I get to love? And. When Rumi says, our task is not to seek for love, but all the barriers we've built against it. And so, like, that is the quest. Where have I built barriers against love? And that's how I hold space. It's like an invitation for everyone to find their own vibration of love, to experience love, to know they are loved, to share their love, and just to, like, give space for us all to remember that, like, love is our birthright. And that is all. And I think that's where I come from when I hold space. And that's where I come from in my daily practices. And that's where I try to come from in my parenting and in my interactions with people. It's like, uh, realizing it's all the same. It doesn't matter if we're sitting in ceremony together or we're talking on this podcast or I'm driving my kids to school. It's like all of it is equally as sacred.

Lindsey: 14:32

I love it. So beautiful. So from that moment, is that when you had this connection with your, like, essence of. Sharing this love, or how did that build?

Tressa: 14:45

You know, it wasn't. It was when I had my connection. Yeah, experiencing this love for the first time. And then it just became this like, moth to the flame. I want to follow that feeling. How can I be there more? Simply because it felt good, right? And in plant medicine, I knew I'd always be working with the plants once I met them in that way, but I had no, uh, idea what that would actually mean and what would actually be asked of me. But it really was like a little bit of this, like, babe in the woods. I was in awe of all the things I was experiencing, and it was just one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other. And... Eventually I was being asked to support in new ways and, you know, it started by cleaning the buckets and cooking in the kitchen, you know, and then it started to grow in the ceremony space and I could feel this energy inside of me being pulled out and exposed and remembered. And it's like, Oh, here we are, here we are. And it's just, um, yeah, I think I do have this, uh, it can be like a, it's a, it is annoying to me actually, but I could feel annoyance when I think of it, but this child like, uh, wonder sometimes. The purpose that it serves and what it is good for is that it relaxes a lot of the grown up expectations and kind of allows me just to daydream or be optimistic and like watch it unfold instead of try and control it.

Lindsey: 16:27

You know? Yeah. How did you begin to let go of those grown up expectations that we, I know we all feel?

Tressa: 16:38

You know? I think like there's been, again, periods of... experiences that required that. And so what comes into my heart when you asked me that it's really like, uh, leaving my marriage, right? So I had built this life in the suburbs with my three kids and the house and the marriage and. It was not good for me and the expectations that were around me. I mean, when I decided to leave my marriage, I feel like most people were like, don't do that. That's a big mistake. You know? And like, it's almost when it's, you get so uncomfortable that the unknown seems less uncomfortable than the current experience. And it is a scary place to be. But sometimes that's what it takes to release the grown up expectations and say, I don't feel good in this. example. And it's hard because we put so much expectations on ourselves, on each other, on what it should be like. Yeah. And it's scary not to try to live up to those expectations.

Lindsey: 17:50

Right. Yeah. And there's, I think culturally where we are, there's such a disconnect that maybe a lot of people don't even know. Yes. Or we're so used to. Feeling to things, feeling less than that. We're just like, this is it. This must this. I think it's,

Tressa: 18:10

yeah, such a culturally ingrained that it's like the fish doesn't know he is in the ocean. Mm-hmm. And you know, I pray for everyone that they can have some glimpse of. Flicker of light to think, Oh, maybe I want something else if that's what they want, you know, and that's kind of how I honestly I felt about my ex husband. He wasn't happy either, but he would have never left because it was comfortable. And that I think is so common.

Lindsey: 18:43

So then how do you get to? Washing bucket or get from washing buckets or working in the kitchen. And also I guess I want to ask, where's this happening? When do you end up going and traveling to, I hope I'm going to, did you go to Peru or?

Tressa: 19:03

Eventually I did go to Peru, but initially I, so it was beautiful. I Bhakti Fest and then. Within a week of being home, a childhood friend of mine who I love dearly called me up and she said, this is going to sound crazy, but hear me out. I was at paleo effects and I heard a panel on shamanism and I want to go try ayahuasca. Will you come with me? And I'm like, heck yes, of course I will come with you. And that even that alone was so mind boggling to me that that happened. Thank you so much. That it was like, this is such a full body. Yes. When I didn't really know what a full body. Yes. Was. And so we went synchronicity.

Lindsey: 19:49

Yeah.

Tressa: 19:49

Yeah. Huge. She set it all up. She, you know, all I did was get in the car and go with her and we ended up sitting the first night. She never sat again. She didn't even finish that retreat. She just, that was enough for her. It was so clear to me that her job, and she is such a connector in life in so many ways, her job was to deliver me to the medicine because she's, I would trust her and I would say yes to her. And yeah, so then I started sitting with a group out of Austin. Um, and I did that for a couple of years and then they moved to Guatemala. And I continued to work with them in Guatemala. And then I planned my first trip to Peru. And by this time I was about three to four years working with the medicine. And then COVID happened and I didn't make it into my, my planned trip. And. That was actually such a beautiful, I mean, I understand so many people had a lot of struggle and loss and I was just grateful that my experience was, it was a pause that I needed that I would have never taken and I was able to dive so deep into my practices, into my work with Hanuman and really just make this cocoon and allow myself to turn into the mush and your g. be reborn. And when things started opening up again, then I went to Peru for the first time. And so by that time I was, you know, four and a half years, five years into working with the medicine before I ever got into Peru to experience it in the jungle. That was beautiful. And by this time too, I was working to facilitate in my teacher's circle a lot and I could feel my own medicine. Being remembered and being enlivened and I when I was in Peru Every plant that I worked with whether I mean there were several that I worked with in various ways and every plant told me You need to rely more on the plants and less on the people And it was a very clear message that I was putting too much stock into the humans and not enough into the plants. And that began this unraveling, um, this like very humbling experience of actually just giving myself into the guidance of the plants and allowing them to be my teachers again, with the hardheadedness, I kind of like, I, I. Ended up leaving the teachers that I was working with and it felt like a little like it caught me off guard But it was one of those moments where I was being forced out because I probably would have never left you know, and I needed to go on to what was next and that unleashed a whole New layer of working directly with the indigenous and really connecting in going four days into the Amazon to live in a village, you know, and to learn from the people who have been doing this for thousands of years and. That was really an experience that, um, I think really just catapulted me to this new iteration and, uh, the present of what's happening. Yeah.

Lindsey: 23:08

So tell me a little bit more about that, living in the Amazon.

Tressa: 23:13

Yeah. Um, it was one of another synchronicity where it was like, there was no plan to go. And then all of a sudden the bags were packed and we were heading to the airport and it was just boom, boom, boom. This is what's happening. And man, you know, it was so beautifully intense the entire experience to be with people who live and breathe the jungle as their daily life. And it was such a, Honored a witness life in a village and to be included in all of their experiences and to be a part of the village for the time that we were there and, um, everything from meals and music and ceremony and hikes. And, you know, there's a plant medicine called Sonanga, and it's an eyedrop that really burns your eyes. And, you know, It's intense. However, we walked into the jungle with the men in their headdresses and the children in their feathers and we watched him pull up the plant and scrape the root and make the Sananga in a giant leaf and then from that leaf put it in our eyes like it was receiving the medicine in the way the medicines been given for thousands of years and that is an experience that to me is I mean, unduplicatable. It doesn't matter how long you train and spend in the jungle, there is nothing like that. And it was a very beautiful initiation.

Lindsey: 24:50

And then from there, you're, so you're, it's like you're on the, you're on your own path, but you're also taking your path and offering it to others. So how do you hold space for yourself and others? You're, cause you're learning so much. I mean, you're going to the jungle, you're having all these brand new experiences and then. You bring it back for your own circle at this point. Is that right? Yeah,

Tressa: 25:23

It is and so the way it's like It's like two pieces because it is so important for me to continue to do my own work and for me to make space To be in a space where I am not in charge and where I am not is holding space or being expected to do anything So that I can continue my own personal work Uh, I do feel you know Maybe it will happen sometime, but for the most part, I don't ever really have my own personal experiences when I'm facilitating medicine circles. I'm definitely making time elsewhere to do that work. And sometimes it's just me by myself and sometimes it's me going into the jungle for weeks. You know, it just depends what there's space for. But the medicine has made it very clear too that like it is my What's being asked is that I am the bridge because not everyone's going to travel for four days to go into the jungle and work with the Hooni Queen and I fully know that and So what I can do is I can go to these places. I can go to these power places I can visit temples and wisdom keepers and indigenous leaders And then I can bring it back, and I can do my best to get out of the way and become the clearest vessel that I can be to share this medicine with everyone who wants to experience it. And, you know, I've, um, I feel like... Some people who could probably, you know, we could all use the medicine. I think it's, what did they say? The medicine is for everyone, but not everyone's for the medicine. So it was like that. Um, but I want to bring it to the people who don't feel called to go to the jungle and who aren't going to make those pilgrimages and yeah, who just don't have the capacity for whatever reason. Still. Everyone should have the medicine if they want it. And she would have never left, you know, all the medicines. They would have never left the jungle if they didn't want to be shared.

Lindsey: 27:27

Right, right. Yeah. So how do you work with people? Like, how do you suggest or offer that people use medicine, whether plant medicine or... any ancient wisdom, any healing when they want to make a significant change in their life?

Tressa: 27:46

I think that's the key, what you just said, is like the ancient wisdom. And the ancient wisdom can come in so many technologies. So yes, plants and animal medicine is definitely One of those categories. Um, sound medicine would be another one. Devotional chanting, you know, all of these ancient practices that have been done for thousands of years hold so much wisdom for us if we invite them in. I think for people that I work with, I invite them to come in any way that they want to show up. So, usually it starts with sound, because this is a palatable way to make an introduction to the work that I do. And so they come for sound, and you could have... equally as powerful experiences using sound medicine or devotional chanting as you can with plant medicine. And so it's really about like Seeing if we can get quiet just long enough to tune into the little whispers or the little pings or the little pulls Why do I keep hearing about this book? Why does this keep coming up, you know and getting curious and allowing that to lead some of our motions and our decisions and I always, I guess I always invite people, yeah, to start with sound, um, sometimes chanting, and then see what that opens and what, what they feel called to next. Mm.

Lindsey: 29:10

So when, when you work with sound with people, just tell, tell us a little bit more about that for people who aren't familiar.

Tressa: 29:19

So I work with a type of sound that's called holographic sound healing, and um, I know you do as well. Yeah. Yeah. Um, And this is a technology that is, it's been around for thousands of years. It derives from like ancient Egypt and the energies of some of those, some of those ancient energies there. And it really is about becoming a clear vessel that will allow for sound to come through and heal us. Everything is vibration and, We can heal with the vibration. We can heal physically. We can heal energetically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually through through sound vibration. Um, so that is the sound that I work with. And when

Lindsey: 30:10

people find you in this way, and they want to have like a one to one sound session with you, potentially, eventually, they're just getting more interested in their own inner audio. Yeah,

Tressa: 30:24

it can be anything. So it can be, um, we could be working on something physical. We could be working on a belief system or a pattern or a habit that you want to deconstruct. Um, it could be really any focus that someone wants to bring to it can be addressed. Certainly it's, Generally calming, relaxing, and you know, stress reducing, sure, but we can actually very much tune in and get very specific with the work that we

Lindsey: 30:58

do. And then from there, do you see that frequently or do you see that there's a pattern that then people open up to other types of medicines and other types of healing?

Tressa: 31:10

Yeah, I would say, yeah, pretty much. I usually start with sound because, uh, it is a good way to meet me and to experience what I offer in a in an easy one hour package, you know No commitment. Just come check it out. But yes, uh, it typically Tends to then lead to other types of work, whether it's with combo, which is a frog medicine or with plant medicines of various types, not all hallucinogenic, some very heart opening, some very grounding, some very protective, and so it's it's stepping into Yeah, different ways to plug in and it's cool to see how that unravels. Um, there's a woman in our circle I can think of who was very feeling very drawn to working with tobacco. And so she came over for a few hours and helped me process tobacco from the way that I purchase it. And we just sat outside and deconstructed and took out the stems and had these like beautiful conversations while we were working with the tobacco medicine. And that in itself was a healing experience.

Lindsey: 32:21

Yeah, that's so amazing. And I just love, I can just picture that happening. And I know that your, like your medicine is that, that space for people to have a person that. That is that love you really are that you embody that I that's why I can just picture having that comfort like sitting there on on the porch or whatever and I'm sure it was healing even though you're just chatting or maybe not. But you know, you offer the space for these. Deeper healings to come through for someone. Yeah,

Tressa: 32:58

and you know, I think a lot of it in the starting over. There was a big starting over point when I left my teachers. And, uh, I guess that was just last year. So it's been a little more than a year. And what the starting over and the space that was able to open up when I When I did end up leaving was that it was that space of raw, unfiltered love, and I did experience that with my former teachers sometimes, but I also experienced other things that felt. Competitive, or egoic, or not from love. And I can feel in my heart and in my bones that I don't ever want to make anyone feel any way other than love. You know? Uh. And there's a softness that that actually allows. Do I get angry? Sure. Do I get sad and lonely sometimes? You know, do I get frustrated with my teenagers? Absolutely. And I also know that I am love. I am loved. I am loving. I am beloved. And it's all okay. Like, it's all part of it. Let it all be in love. You know? Mm.

Lindsey: 34:18

Yes. So, from that space, do you experience working with people who you feel might be taking the medicine too far? Or, you know, do you ever experience that? Because I, there can be also this real, um, bro culture around plant medicine that's really emergent, emerging in the last couple years. And maybe it's always been there, but. Do you ever experience working with people in a way where you need to lead them on a different path or, or they need to figure out a different path?

Tressa: 34:57

I mean, not honestly, not really. I did probably experience some of that, like I mentioned, like a bit of competitiveness, um, at other places on the, on my path and right now, um, Where I'm at in the the container holding space of it I is it like a trusting in the medicine and I trust the medicine to guide me to know how much medicine to share I don't I've never I haven't said no more But maybe if that happens that I will know and I will be clear enough to know, you know I've definitely seen some people push the edges and a couple times, then maybe they get their butt handed to them a little bit. And then the next time they come back a little humbler, you know, and like that, like trusting that the medicine is going to give them what they need to guide them. And I think when the humans can get far enough out of the way to hold a container of raw love, then the plants and the medicines can. Have the freedom to guide the people, you know, when I can get myself out enough, yeah, that it's all gonna work out,

Lindsey: 36:05

right? Right. Yeah. And I guess that also, it's like the right people are coming into your circle. And then the right people are leaving when it's time as much as you can, like you said earlier, put one foot in front of the other and just trust and trust. It's like, The right people kind of flow in and out. As needed for them and for you and for the circle.

Tressa: 36:34

Yeah. And that, I mean, I've had one experience in a combo circle where I told someone I couldn't work with them anymore. And the reason I did that is because she didn't trust me and I could feel that. And so then at that point, It was, there wasn't a lot I could do to share the medicine in a full way and that you really needed to find someone that you did trust to work with a powerful medicine like combo and I love to see who shows up because it is always the right people and it is always people either similarly going through the same type of energetic work in the circle or people who are going through what I've just experienced in my own work or people who are really seeking and answering the call. Of, uh, of self love, which is some of the biggest medicine I will, I will, I will serve up. It's like, yeah. And it's always the right people who find me. And it's always the people who need the medicine that I carry.

Lindsey: 37:37

Yeah, yeah, what I envision is because you mentioned it's people come sometimes that are like experiencing what you kind of just have been through. It's like you're holding the flashlight in the cave. You're just like a few steps ahead or maybe more than a few steps ahead. But like, so you've already seen that what's back there and you're like, all right, this is where we go. Yeah,

Tressa: 38:02

it is. And it's very much of that as above. So below as within. So without it is truly a collective effort in healing. And we're all attracted to the circle that we're sitting in because that circle has healing for us and we have healing for the circle. And so like creating a circle, It's a space where everyone has a part if they want it and where everyone belongs and where everyone has a medicine to share and yeah, it's like, it's like when we can, um, enliven our own inner medicine, then we give people permission to also do that. And it just trickles out.

Lindsey: 38:43

And then that reminds me of a lot of people, like anyone could do, anyone could experience plant medicine on their own. You know, they have, they could acquire whatever they wanted and do it alone and there's nothing wrong with that. But how potent community and like sangha is that makes that. Like come out even more

Tressa: 39:07

Yeah, it's so true and it is really this Essence that the circle heals the circle that we are the circle and the circle's healing me and the circle's healing you and the circle's healing we it's all of it and it's like such a joyous place to play in and Actually, I will say too, that's one thing I really got to experience and learn from the Hooni Queen was just like the joyous experience that everybody belongs and this is fun and we're having a good time and even when we're not, that's okay because it belongs to and just Yeah, they just really open up that to see an actual village have ceremony with so many moving parts and so many people and even the children, if they want to sing and they want to dance, then they are and they're given just as much space as the page. And it's like this beautiful dance. And that's how it should be, I think.

Lindsey: 40:10

Yeah. Yeah. Community is just, it is where we are actually going to heal. Yeah. Yeah. So in line with, with that, how do you, how do you offer, how do you teach devotion in, in someone's personal practice or in community and how someone can use a devotion practice to transform their lives?

Tressa: 40:41

Yeah, I think devotional practices are so important, and I think almost anything can be a devotional practice, right? Um, It's the idea that, you know, oh, it's, it's shifting from the idea that we have to be disciplined in our daily efforts to be better than we are currently, right? And releasing that control and flipping it into devotion and allowing the practices, whatever they might be, to be an act of love, starting with oneself. You know, I do my daily chanting to Hanuman, and so I'll get on a call with a small group and we will recite the Hanuman Chalisa 11 times. And maybe some days I don't get on because I'm working or I have a client or something, and then maybe that trickles into an extra day or two, and then I'm going to sleep late. And then by the time I come back to the devotional practice, it's like, Oh, I forgot how good this felt for me and how much I am beaming because of this devotion that I'm feeding to myself right now. So yes, my devotion is in homage to Hanuman and to the sangha that I recite with, but it's also devotion to me. And I think sometimes we have a hard time even Considering that we're worthy of our own devotion. Yeah. Just like letting it be a gift to the self first, and then we can pour into the other cups.

Lindsey: 42:16

Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we are, it's so easy to forget, but we are the expression of what we're devoting ourselves to. Hanuman, the universe, God, love, whatever, it's, you're that. So, gotta turn, flip that mirror and be devoted to ourselves. And yet it's just so easy to think it needs to be outward first. Uh huh.

Tressa: 42:43

Yeah. Or that we have to do it. Or that if I do this, then I'll get something or feel better.

Lindsey: 42:51

Like the good girl thing. Yeah. Which comes, which is indoctrinated in us in a lot, I mean, from a lot of obviously like patriarchal. Society and the way religion changed, um, but yeah, so that you, that can be ingrained where it's like, be good and then get the good thing after, yeah, instead of, I am good. And then good things. And

Tressa: 43:17

so I'm going to give myself this good thing, because I'm so good.

Lindsey: 43:22

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you really have a way of just showing that with a lot of humbleness. Thank you. Yeah, you're so welcome. Yeah,

Tressa: 43:37

I've been hearing this a lot this week. There's a lot of people sharing really intimate, beautiful things with me this week about the way that I am perceived, and it's like watering my garden in a really wholesome and nourishing way. So thank you.

Lindsey: 43:51

Yeah, you're so welcome. Tell us about, I know you just went to Egypt for a holographic sound retreat. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? And what you experienced

Tressa: 44:05

there. Yeah, I would love to. Um, so it was my second trip to Egypt in just over six months. And last year, my holographic sound teacher, his name's Dr. Paul Hubbard. Um, he invited me to co lead the trip with him last year and it went great. And he invited me back this year and we'll actually be going again in December. And so, um, Egypt is the most magical place, and there is so much energy and so much love, actually. Um, and just so much to be... Connected into. And so we take a 12 day trip to Egypt and we fly into Cairo and spend some time there. And then we fly to Aswan and spend some time there and then we cruise the Nile and we just stop at all the temples and we visit all the holy sites and taking it up and then back to Cairo and we finish in the great pyramids and we actually do a private entrance into the great pyramids. Um, Where we're able to do a sound ceremony and the entire trip is a spiritual pilgrimage and it is set up that way and the Egyptologist and the tour manager, they have been working with Dr. Paul for decades and they have just created and curated the most epic. Yeah, spiritual pilgrimage. And he told me the first time nobody comes back the same and I'm like, yeah, of course It's gonna be an awesome time, you know, and it's like like

Lindsey: 45:45

spring break. Yeah, no one comes back the same sure

Tressa: 45:50

And and what's I mean, it is just the most epic Uh, in my experience, just like downloads and upgrades and releasing and receiving and yeah, it's both times have been just really beautiful remembrances. I, I can just, um, know that everyone on our trip has been there in lifetimes before, and we are all going to reconnect and to be reminded and to be connected to the love of. Ancient Egypt and the Netaru and the gods and the goddesses and. And the present day people. I mean, it is such a beautiful country and it is so everyone is so kind and loving and happy to see you. And it's just a very beautiful, um, beautiful journey where we get to do a lot of sound work as well.

Lindsey: 46:46

I wanna do it so badly.

Tressa: 46:49

Maybe in December. I know you'll be on

Lindsey: 46:50

one sooner or later. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Yeah. So what kind of magic happened for you there? If you wanna share like, some, any, anything that is, feels shareable.

Tressa: 47:03

Um, well, I'll share with you a really magical story, which was actually from my first trip with Dr. Paul. But I, um, I have a crystal that I keep on my altar and it's always on my mason ceremony and it's a crystal I've turned in my hand a thousand times and we did a private ceremony at the Isis temple and I had been taking it into all the temples and in that ceremony I just had a ping to give it to a woman on the trip and just for the day and so I handed it to her after our sound ceremony and I said, carry this around. Do with it what you want, just bring it back to me when you're done. Day goes on, and then that night we're on the boat, we're... You know, cruising down the Nile and she comes in dinner and she hands it back to me. Thank you. I'm tumbling it in my hand. Like I've done a thousand times. And then on the face of one of the points, there was three triangles etched in the crystal that were not there before. And the next stop we were going was to the great pyramids. And I mean, I can show you the crystal, the triangles were not there and then they were. And it was just like, I don't know. It's magic.

Lindsey: 48:16

It's magic. I know. That's what I was about to say is like someone was going to hear that and find a thousand reasons of how it could happen. And it's just also magic is the real thing.

Tressa: 48:28

Yeah, there's a place in Egypt. It's called Abydos. It's one of the temples. And, um, it's, there's a Column pillar off that you can see. And on the pillar there's, uh, it's not even etched. It's, they don't know what it is or how it got there, but it's a flower of life symbol. And it's, they found one in Egypt, one in China and one in Peru. And they're all done in the exact same way. And they're so precise that even like modern day technology wouldn't be able to duplicate them in the way that they are on these rock faces. And. It, it, that is like the essence of the magic of the place. It is everywhere. And I'm sure it is amazing to go to Egypt as a tourist and you're going to get goodness regardless of if you know what you're getting into, but then to add the layer of sound and medicine and vibration, sound medicine, I should say, uh, and vibration. Uh, it's like just really opens it up to a whole new level. And it is. amazing and wild and full of magic.

Lindsey: 49:34

Yeah, yeah. So what do you say to people who are interested in plant medicine or sound medicine or magic or devotion, all of these things, but they're like, There's a little fear or trepidation. What do you say to people? How do you shine that flashlight a few steps ahead?

Tressa: 49:59

Yeah, I think it is like such a practice of trust. And so when people are curious Uh, if we can trust our curiosity to be our own flashlight, right? And know that it is not like for nothing. There's a reason that we're feeling curious. There's a reason we're starting to ponder possibility. There's a reason that maybe the shoes we've loved for ten years don't feel good anymore. And just like really giving ourselves permission to be curious. Like just starting there, what would it be like if I drank cacao in the morning instead of coffee? What would it be like if I took a walk instead of watching the news? You know and just like Letting it be simple and letting it be, like, sweet and, yeah, I think curiosity and trust.

Lindsey: 50:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Curiosity instead of, or, or in, like, opposite of trying to figure it out. Yeah. Which is common, can be common for people. Like, oh, I need to know what this all means.

Tressa: 51:14

I think there can be an, uh, air and energy of like, yeah, needing to fill, fill up all the spaces. So I'm going to go watch all the documentaries I can find about whatever it is I'm interested in, or I'm going to read and listen to the audio and hear all the people and all the things they have to say. And it's like, well, what actually would happen if I just go get curious and have my own experience, whatever it may be. Yeah, and we're such a consumption and it's again, it's not our fault it's so ingrained and we can be born into it and not even realize but like the constant consumption of information and food and liquid and All of it if we can just back up just a step or two and like give just a little space for something else

Lindsey: 52:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I always, like, teach or talk about, like, the power of just a 1% shift and how you can, you'll, like, be in a completely different place and it's, like, a scientific method that I, like, teach from where if you flew from New York to L. A. but you shifted one degree, You'd end up in, like, San Diego or something. So, like, if you just, if we just shift, like, one degree, because obviously also the one degree is going to lead to another degree and another degree, maybe. It might not, but you're still going to end up in a different place.

Tressa: 52:42

It is, and it's like, uh, it just takes that first little space to allow for something new to come in. Yeah, yeah,

Lindsey: 52:51

yeah.

Tressa: 52:52

I think I would also tell people who are curious. To like turn off the news and turn off his radio and don't read the newspaper. And even if they only, if it's, if that seems blasphemous, then don't do it for a day. And if that's okay, then try not doing it for a couple of days. And just like actually giving our own. Thoughts, space to make their own, you know, conclusions, curiosities again, but yeah, that would be a big recommendation I might make to someone

Lindsey: 53:23

interested. Yeah, that's really good. Yeah, like who am I without information coming, blasting at me from all, all areas. I know we're, like, getting into the time where you probably need to go. I know he's getting antsy. Okay, we end with, um, two questions. Okay, so the first, the first question is, what do you, what's happening in your life right now, or is there anything in your life right now that feels like something new, or like another starting over? Or maybe it's even something that is down a little bit, but you can, like, kind of see it coming.

Tressa: 54:04

I think for me right now, it is, uh, everything feels so new, like image, like in a place of expansion and yeah, like letting every day be an opportunity to, like I started with just be open to whatever is coming my way. And a lot of it, there's a lot of newness and a lot of just like being really open to whatever it looks like.

Lindsey: 54:29

Hmm. I love it. So beautiful. Yeah. And then we always end with a question from Eli and Jack. Can Eli ask the question himself? Yeah. Okay. Will you go get him or you want me to go get him? I'll go get him. Okay. Yeah. He wants to ask it himself this time.

Tressa: 54:46

Cool. Hello. Hello.

Britt: 54:50

All right, buddy. What's your question?

Tressa: 54:54

Why do strawberries have to be The red to be ripe. Mmm. Well, I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, I would think that the red is what makes them sweet and juicy. And that's how you know. It's nature's way of letting us know they're ready. That's nice,

Britt: 55:13

yeah. That probably makes animals want to eat them, and that's good, because that spreads the seeds.

Tressa: 55:18

Yeah, and it makes them easier to find.

Britt: 55:21

Nice. Was that a good answer? Is that a satisfactory answer? Yes.

Tressa: 55:25

Thank you, Eli. Thank you.

Britt: 55:28

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming

Tressa: 55:30

on. Yeah. Thank you for having me. This was so much

Lindsey: 55:32

fun. Yeah. Thank you so much for doing this, for sitting with us. I want to make sure people know how to find you. Probably

Tressa: 55:41

the best way is on Instagram and it's at Tress37. T R E S 37. Um, I've got some holographic sound trainings that will be coming up in the fall and another trip to Egypt in December. So, yeah, that'll all be out there.

Lindsey: 55:56

Awesome, yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Yeah, a wealth of, of love. Of self love, yeah. Yay, thank you. Thank you.