Over the years I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to spend so much time with indigenous cultures.

These experiences have challenged my Western perspectives and broadened my understanding of the world.

These opportunities began happening more and more often in unplanned and serendipitous ways.

A last-minute change during a trip to Mexico led us to Colombia instead.

This unexpected detour would lead to one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. 

While traveling to our eco resort, a friend called me unexpectedly with a message from a Mamo, a spiritual leader from the Arhuaco tribe.

He told me if I had the chance I should visit him, but unfortunately, it was a 10-hour drive in the wrong direction, and we had flights booked for the next morning.

After hanging up, I felt an inexplicable urge to convince a taxi driver to take us to the mountains the next morning.

I would figure out later how to explain to my then girlfriend, who had only packed poolware, why it was a better idea to drive 10 hours into the mountains for a multi-day trek instead of relaxing at the eco resort.

After being accepted by the Mamo, we arrived at his village and were warmly greeted by a beautiful family with three young children.

The eldest, a seven-year-old, emerged from the jungle hours later, proudly wielding a machete.

I quickly realized it was a perfectly normal childhood activity for a seven year old to be alone in the woods sharpening his machete skills.

That night, a visitor from another village arrived and sat across the fire from me.

As we prepared to go to bed, he casually mentioned that we would speak tomorrow. Intrigued, I went to bed wondering what he had in mind.

The next day after a special ceremony and cleansing in the waterfalls the man from last night found me, it turns out they call him the governor, and he is responsible for all the sacred sites on earth.

This job is so important he dedicates his life to it and will never marry.

He called me over and told me he had known for a long time that I was coming.

I was taken aback, considering I had only known about the trip for two days.

He explained that we were now connected on a spiritual level, and that he would be working with me on future projects.

Which is exactly what happened.

I'm now working with him on collaborative projects that aim to protect and preserve sacred sites, like land buyback projects.

Here is a video with the Kogi tribe who are very closely connected to the Arhuaco who also have this deep connection with the planet.

Over the years I have come to realize the depth of their wisdom.

They might not use the language we have made up around these things but their understanding of psychology, human behavior, and even quantum physics is undeniable.

These Indigenous cultures I’ve been lucky enough to connect with understand the critical importance of our connection to nature and the need for preservation. 

They recognize that we are driven by emotions and that our egos can lead us astray, fostering selfish and dominant behaviors.

They have taught me that everyone has the inherent right to be free and to have joy, connection, and love.



If there is one lesson that I learnt from them, that I would recommend you bring into your lives, it would be this:

Modern society constantly provokes levels of threat within us. Understanding this is the key to true compassion.

We are all driven by the same fundamental human traits.

These traits are activated based on our perceived level of safety or threat, which is influenced by our environment.

For example one of our fundamental needs is to be part of a tribe or included in a community.

This is coded in our DNA – we feel safer in groups.

Now what keeps these behaviors in place are a complex interplay of emotions that act as guardrails.

On one end of the spectrum is the negative feeling of isolation and abandonment that drives our actions towards finding a group.

The other is the positive feeling of belonging and inclusion that rewards us for achieving that outcome.

Now look at the environment we have created in our modern society vs the indigenous cultures.

Ours promotes individualism, competing against each other; who has the highest score on the test, who is the fastest athlete, who has the best resume, who has the most money etc.

While a lot of these tribes promote sharing skills, group decisions, and working together.

Perhaps we can be a little more understanding towards each other knowing our environment can be provocative, if someone is upset, it is because they are feeling threatened in some way.

The more we know, the less reactive we all will be.

See you soon

Paul

P.S. I'm excited to share my recent conversation with Hale Schneider on "The Expansion Business" podcast!

He had some great questions about the concept of mental freedom and how to break free from limiting beliefs to achieve a life of fulfillment and joy, plus a lot more!