La Virgen de Guadalupe

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Samos Padres! [00:00:03] Speaker B: A podcast dedicated to the constant development over parenting and ourselves. [00:00:07] Speaker A: We are your hosts, Paulo and Yesenia. Thanks for joining us as we share our parenting experiences rooted within the context of our own life journey. [00:00:16] Speaker B: In that spirit, we will also be sharing parenting information and the stories of madres and padres out there who have. [00:00:21] Speaker A: Embraced their own personal evolution as the great latest gift of parenthood. [00:00:27] Speaker B: Here we go! Hi. [00:00:35] Speaker A: Hola. Welcome back. [00:00:40] Speaker B: So we're here once again. [00:00:42] Speaker A: Yes, we're here on releasing this. We're releasing this episode on el dia de la virgen de Guadalupe. So, yeah, very special episode because we want to honor this day. [00:00:57] Speaker B: Yes, let's honor this day. And actually, it's going to be a first for us. [00:01:02] Speaker A: Yes. [00:01:02] Speaker B: Talking about spirituality and religion in a way. Yeah. [00:01:09] Speaker A: So we'll get to that. But first, what are we drinking, Paolo? [00:01:12] Speaker B: Oh, the drink for today. The drink for the day. Since it's the weekend, it's actually Michelada. [00:01:22] Speaker A: Tell us what you put in it. This michelada, because you did make this from scratch. [00:01:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I made it from scratch, although there's a missing ingredient. But I'm like, how can I replace the ingredient still with...? Taste so good. So obviously it's made with a Modelo beer. [00:01:39] Speaker A: Modelo beer, yeah. [00:01:40] Speaker B: Clamato. A spicy sauce. Tapatillo. I put tapatio in there. [00:01:47] Speaker A: Okay. [00:01:47] Speaker B: Lemon, pepper. [00:01:49] Speaker A: Pepper. [00:01:50] Speaker B: Yeah. And that's about it. And a little bit of salt. [00:01:55] Speaker A: Oh, and a little bit of salt. [00:01:56] Speaker B: Yeah. There's something else, but I don't think I should say it. [00:02:03] Speaker A: What is it with you? [00:02:04] Speaker B: I don't know, because people are going to go, oh, yeah, that's a weird drink. It actually tastes so good. [00:02:10] Speaker A: Did you put eggs in this again? [00:02:12] Speaker B: No, that's noise. No eggs. And actually, you know what? It was because I needed to replace that sauce. I cannot even say, but that sauce. So I put a little bit of ketchup. Organic ketchup. [00:02:31] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:02:32] Speaker B: I put organic ketchup. But the thing that makes it so special is actually the type of lemon that I use. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Okay. [00:02:38] Speaker B: It's some tiny little ones. Now, that mexican key limes, it's a different variety. [00:02:44] Speaker A: Okay. [00:02:44] Speaker B: But they're small, so juicy. It's just the taste. [00:02:46] Speaker A: Are these the ones from my dad's tree? [00:02:48] Speaker B: Yes, that's the ones from my suegro's tree. [00:02:51] Speaker A: Nice. Cool. [00:02:51] Speaker B: Imagine freshly. [00:02:52] Speaker A: I thought you were going to say you put like a one sauce or something. [00:02:55] Speaker B: No, they're adventurous right now, but it tastes really good. [00:03:03] Speaker A: Well, let's move on to high, low, oh, yeah. What was your low this week? [00:03:11] Speaker B: Low for me is like, I haven't been. [00:03:14] Speaker A: Or did you want to start with the high? [00:03:15] Speaker B: No, let me just say the low. Okay. The low for me this week is I take supplements. I take supplements for the past week. I saw these supplements that I bought a while ago and I'm like, I haven't taken these supplements. Let me check them out. And I'm going to just take them by themselves, not with anything else combined. And I was taking two suppose to get rid of toxins in the body. But the thing is, at night, I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't getting tired. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Okay, they're not working for you. [00:03:55] Speaker B: It's not working because there's already been. Well, some people may say, oh, yeah, Paulo, that's a plus. I actually been waking up at five in the morning. Yeah. Every day. [00:04:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:07] Speaker B: And then I cannot go back to sleep. No. Like, today was super hard. I actually tried to make myself sleep a little bit more, but yes, I was able to compete a little bit more. But then I felt horrible. It was sluggish. [00:04:18] Speaker A: Bueno. So a fail on those supplements. [00:04:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Fail. No. Yeah, that's it. [00:04:28] Speaker A: Try another one. [00:04:28] Speaker B: Right, well, yeah, I'm just going to. [00:04:31] Speaker A: Well, my low is that I actually got officially diagnosed with TMJ, which it stands for something that I don't know. Can you look it up while I'm talking so we can tell people what TMJ stands for? But I got diagnosed with that. I literally have been actually having this issue for probably six months. But it was manageable for me. It's basically pain in my jaw area, problems with opening and closing my mouth. And it got so bad that my ear, my right ear started to have, like, severe, severe pain. Okay. TMJ stands for temporal mandibular joint pain. [00:05:21] Speaker B: Yes. Acute pain. [00:05:24] Speaker A: Yes. It says that it's displacement of the cartilage disc that causes pressure and stretches certain sensory nerves. Anyways, it's pain in my jaw, and it was so bad, I had this really sharp, sharp pain in my ear. And I actually thought that I had an ear infection. And when it got to that point where I was having this horrible pain in my ear, I was like, oh, my God, I probably have an ear infection. And it would literally happen most at night when I was going to bed. And so I went to the doctor and she's like, yes, you have an ear infection. And I was like, great, give me antibiotics and I'm going to be on my way. So she gave me the antibiotics and I finished the antibiotics, and I still had ear pain. And I went back to her and she checked me again, and she's like, oh, I don't know what's going on. So she gave me different antibiotics, okay? I went on a second round of antibiotics, went back, still had ear pain. So I thought, she's going to have to give me something else. And then she checked my ears. She's like, oh, yeah, you're fine. She's like, you have TMJ, but I can't treat you. Your dentist has to treat you. And I was like, what? I don't understand this. What? She's like, yeah, it's your jaw, so your dentist has to treat you. So then I went to the dentist, and then the dentist said, yes, you have TMJ butt. I have to send you to an oral surgeon. So last week, I finally went to the oral. [00:06:55] Speaker B: You're skipping in one part. [00:06:56] Speaker A: Which part? [00:06:57] Speaker B: You actually went to the chiropractor. [00:06:59] Speaker A: Oh, that's right. Oh, man. It's because you guys know how these, like, these appointments. First of all, each time I was on antibiotics, it was ten days, another ten days. And if you can imagine, I'm suffering because this ear pain is so sharp and it's happening at night and I have ringing in my ears and I have just all this pain. So anyways, I was like, let me try my chiropractor. So I went to my chiropractor, I was like, please help me, I have TMJ. And she's like, oh, yeah, I can totally crack or align. Fix your jaw. Yeah, she like, popped my jaw and I was like, oh, my God. I mean, I felt better. And then she does this procedure where she puts on a glove on her hand, and then she sticks her hand in my mouth to massage the muscles that are inside of my mouth along my cheek towards the jaw. Like your gums. That sounds the worst pain ever. I can't even describe it. It was just the worst pain ever. But I did feel, like, a little better. But see, still not completely going away. So anyways, long story short, because I have gone really long with this story, went to the oral surgeon this past Thursday, and he says, yes, you have TMJ, but I need to start out with first level analysis, and I need to see, because he explained how, yeah, it's a joint at the very top of my jaw. He's like, there's a joint there and it's got, I don't know, it's swollen. It's swollen? Yes. So there's some inflammation there. But he has to get rid of the inflammation in order to be able to really see if the joint has things stuck to it. I forget what he said gets stuck to it. But then that's what causes the problem. So anyways, long story short, right? He said, I have to do ten. No, I'm sorry. Two weeks of a liquid diet. [00:09:03] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:09:04] Speaker A: I cannot chew because he's like, I can't fully immobilize your jaw. That would be way too hard for you. [00:09:12] Speaker B: But I think the diagnosis like that or that approach is actually really good because he's trying to avoid at all cost a possible surgery. [00:09:20] Speaker A: Yes. He's like, I want to do first level things. So, yeah, two weeks of a liquid diet, I cannot chew anything. And then I'm also on a muscle relaxer at night and an anti inflammatory in the morning. [00:09:38] Speaker B: Oh, wow. [00:09:38] Speaker A: For those two weeks. And also heat. I'm supposed to be putting heat on myself, like, as many times at 20 minutes intervals, which I haven't even started doing. But I already feel better, to be honest. Like, not chewing. I'm three days. [00:09:54] Speaker B: Because it's like, if you're not chewing, you're not using the muscle. [00:09:57] Speaker A: Yes. So I'm three days into my liquid diet, which has been difficult in the sense of when I go out, I'm like, oh, my God, I'm out. What do I eat? I have to find, like, panera so I can get like a tomato soup or something, because really, what do I eat? So anyways, that's kind of the low. [00:10:19] Speaker B: Well, you're going to have to liquefy a lot of foods. [00:10:21] Speaker A: I do lentils. Lentils. [00:10:23] Speaker B: You're going to have to do stews. [00:10:24] Speaker A: A lot of stews in the liqualora blender. Yes. That's my life right now. That's kind of the low. [00:10:30] Speaker B: Well, it's two with the spoon, but. [00:10:32] Speaker A: Like, every low, there's kind of a high in there. Right. Because I am getting better. So let's move with that. On that note, what is your high? [00:10:39] Speaker B: Oh, the high? My high is like, I spent time with my family Saturday. Yeah. On Saturday, my sister came to visit and I went to obviously hang out with them. And I was able to see a lot of my siblings. And we had a good family time. We had a good time. I saw my mom. Yeah, she's looking all. Yeah. And even Pablo Jr. And Victoria, they went with me and they spent the time, they were not pressuring me to come back home. [00:11:14] Speaker A: Yeah. So it was just an enjoyable experience. [00:11:18] Speaker B: Yeah, it was a chill day, enjoying plenty of laughs. [00:11:21] Speaker A: I missed it because I was my brother's plus one for his work. [00:11:27] Speaker B: Based on what I hear, it was good. [00:11:28] Speaker A: Yeah, we had a good time, too. My high is actually, it happened this morning because my parents came over unexpectedly and my mom took out her. I don't know. [00:11:44] Speaker B: No wonder. This is the reason why we're going to right now. [00:11:47] Speaker A: Yeah, it's kind of connected to today, right? She has been telling me to cut the dead roses off of our rose bushes because she's like, you want to help the rose bushes to grow? And so when you see the roses wilting, she's always telling me like, cut them, cut them, cut them. And I hadn't done it. And so she came over with her scissors that they actually use for working in the grapes. So they're super, really good for that. And so she busted out her scissors. Or are they called shears? [00:12:28] Speaker B: Yeah, shears, scissors. It's fine. [00:12:30] Speaker A: Then. And then I was like, oh, I'm going to help her because there's way too many of these. I mean, our rose bushes are humongous at this point. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, she's going to be here for a really long time and I can see she's struggling, so I'm like, I'm going to help her. So I started helping her and then Victoria came out, which she doesn't always do, but she came out and she was hanging out with us. And then my mom was, oh, Victoria, like, come and help us. You do the ones over here. And so my dad went and got her her own shears scissors. And so then she had them. And then my mom taught her how to cut them. How to cut them correctly. And so I don't know, I was very present that in that moment, I was like, wow, I'm so glad that she'll always have that. That my mom taught her how to trim the roses. [00:13:23] Speaker B: Cut the roses. [00:13:24] Speaker A: Yeah, to cut the roses. And I'm like, wow, I don't know. It was a beautiful moment. Memory created. [00:13:29] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, it was cool. And then the day was beautiful. [00:13:32] Speaker A: And the day was. It was really beautiful. And then my dad helped with for. [00:13:35] Speaker B: This time of the year. That's beautiful. [00:13:37] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:37] Speaker B: To be sunny, prune the tree. [00:13:40] Speaker A: And so it was just a lovely morning. So that was my high. [00:13:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:45] Speaker A: Well, and that, ladies and gentlemen, that's. [00:13:48] Speaker B: Going to lead us to today's topic. [00:13:50] Speaker A: Leads us to today's topic of La Virgin de Guadalupe. [00:13:56] Speaker B: That's right. We're going to talk about the Virgin of Guadalupe. [00:14:00] Speaker A: So, Paolo, why don't you kick us off for anyone that may not know who la virgin de Guadalupe is, Mr. Teacher? [00:14:10] Speaker B: Well, the bijen de Guadalupe. Recap. It's been a while since I invested myself into the story, trying to remember the story. So la bijan de Guadope actually appeared to an indigenous person named Juan Diego, and she appeared to Juan Diego in four occasions. All right. The first encounter happened on December 9. The second one happened on December 10, the third one on December 11, and the fourth encounter and last encounter on December twelveth. Well, basically, the whole purpose of the apparition was due to the virgin. She wanted a temple, a church to be built on that site, which was on the Tepec hill in 1531. [00:15:04] Speaker A: Okay. [00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah. So she conveyed a message to Juan Diego to go and tell the bishop that she wanted a temple to be built on Tepe Hill. And obviously the bishops and the clergy, all that, they didn't believe him. [00:15:20] Speaker A: And that's why the back and forth. [00:15:22] Speaker B: And it was the back and forth, back and forth, even on one occasion, San Diego even tried to avoid taking the same route because his uncle was actually really sick, but he took a different route. But the bridging still appeared to him. And she was like, juaniego, don't worry. Just go and deliver that message. And please go because your uncle is going to be fine. First of all, your uncle is going to be fine. Don't worry. Don't worry about your uncle. Just go and collect roses. Put those roses in your cook, and go and tell the bishop again that I want a church to be built here. And he goes, actually, he goes on December twelveth to collect the roses, which actually is so interesting because roses do not bloom on Tepejac Hill at this time of the year. They don't bloom. But Juan Diego found them, and he put them in his cloak, which was in Spanish, the cloak. The tilma. Yeah. So he put the roses on his tilma and went to deliver for the fourth time the message. And when he was talking, obviously, to the bishop, he was like, and she told me to deliver these roses. And he actually just let go the roses. And the image of Guadalupe actually appeared on the tilma, on the coke appear. And as most of us know, the image of the vehicle, the Guadalupe is actually a brown skin virgin. [00:17:01] Speaker A: Yes. [00:17:01] Speaker B: So that's a first shot. [00:17:03] Speaker A: That was the first. [00:17:04] Speaker B: That was a first. And actually that helped propel. That helped a lot in the conversion of a lot of indigenous people to Christianity. [00:17:16] Speaker A: And that is basically. Yeah, that's the story. [00:17:21] Speaker B: That's the story. [00:17:22] Speaker A: Lavida Guadalupe, for anybody that may not know about her, but even today, I think there are a lot of celebrations. [00:17:30] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:17:31] Speaker A: On December twelveth, I mean, she's major. [00:17:33] Speaker B: Yeah. No, you called yourself a Mexican. [00:17:37] Speaker A: You know who she is. [00:17:38] Speaker B: You know who she is. Because on December twelveth, we make a huge celebration. It's part of the identity of mexican culture. [00:17:44] Speaker A: It is, yeah, it is. I think that whether or not you're Catholic, I don't think it matters, like, you know, who la Virgino Guadalupe is. She's such a part of the mexican culture. I would say she's connected to what it means to be mexican. [00:18:00] Speaker B: Yes. And obviously the cloak, the tilma is actually on display on the basilica, which, that was. The temple that was built right now is the second basilica. The first one actually got replaced by the newest one. [00:18:15] Speaker A: Yes. And there is such a deep reverence for La Virgin. A lot of people also do things called mandas. [00:18:23] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, it is huge. The devotion to the Guadalupe is huge in Mexico. Millions upon millions of people actually go and do these pilgrim bridges to the basilica. And they call them mandas. Yeah. [00:18:38] Speaker A: So mandas are like, when you say virgin, if you will help me beat an illness or you help my daughter, my son, to beat an illness or something like that, then I will go and see you at Mexico City. And sometimes people will walk, right? I mean, sorry, not walk. They'll go on their knees, kneeling, kneeling. [00:19:09] Speaker B: They do different things and they move. Yeah, they walk on their knees. Let's just say that's one way. [00:19:16] Speaker A: There's different mandas sometimes. It's just, I will make the trip like a pilgrimage. I will make the pilgrimage all the way to see you. [00:19:23] Speaker B: Oh, you know, you help Mexico. And if I'm healthy and all that, I promise that I'm going to go and visit you. There's different levels. It all depends on the faith of the person. [00:19:39] Speaker A: And I think it's really important to say that people are asking for a miracle. It's not like, just help me. It really is. I have such immense faith and reverence for you and I believe that you can make this miracle happen. I don't know, just this beautiful reverence for her to ask for a miracle, really. I want to make sure that people understand the faith that people have for Laviergen is just immense and that's why she's such a powerful figure. Now, I think you started talking about this when you were telling the story about there's also a little bit of a flip side to La Virgin. Right. In which people point out that her story, her existence, it was used as a tool by the Catholic Church to further their project of converting people to Catholicism and as part of colonization. Right. Of the indigenous people of Mexico. And so while there is this beautiful side to the story of Lavician and the, you know, the reverence that we have, there's also this side where you also understand that she was also used. [00:21:23] Speaker B: Definitely a tool. But men, humans, we have used a lot of different people, different religious beliefs. Iconic, the good and the bad. [00:21:36] Speaker A: Right. [00:21:36] Speaker B: Yeah. It's just like, how can we take advantage to further move. [00:21:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Other goals, agendas. [00:21:43] Speaker A: Yeah. But having said that, then when you look towards more of the history of Mexico, there's also how people would use her as a symbol of resistance. And even when people in Mexico were fighting for independence from Spain, they had a banner of Our lady of Guadalupe. Not just then, even the UFW, the united farm workers here in the US, when they're fighting Cesar Chavez and everything. During that time, they also had the banner of La Virgin de Guadalupe. Right. She's this symbol of resistance at the same time. [00:22:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, and yet at the same time, it represents unity and hope. [00:22:39] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. So she's really this beautiful figure. But what I want us to kind of slip into now is talking about our own personal connection, because at the. [00:22:56] Speaker B: End of the day, that's what matters. [00:22:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, why don't you start? What do you remember? Or what's your connection to La Vrikin de Guadalupe? [00:23:09] Speaker B: Well, I actually grew up believing on the Rican de Guadalupe. Like, not questioning anything. Yeah. And at the end of the day, it's just a beautiful belief on the Birkin and what she represents. [00:23:23] Speaker A: Would you guys set up like an altar for her on the twelveth or buy her roses? [00:23:27] Speaker B: No, decorate the image. Always in our home, there has been always an image of a Birken developer. Yeah. In Mexico, there wasn't this big image in the living room. Here in California as well, there's always an image of the. And even up to this day, I continue to actually, when I pray, there are some prayers that I say that are for the birhandawalope. [00:23:59] Speaker A: Yeah, for me at least. [00:24:03] Speaker B: No. And I have to say them every morning. [00:24:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:05] Speaker B: Otherwise I feel that something in my day is missing. It's just part of rituals and routines. [00:24:10] Speaker A: Yeah. For me, my connection to the birdhand is a little bit more complicated, and that's because, well, I grew up catholic and religious and going to church on Sundays, first communion, the whole deal. But there came a time where I started to question a lot of the beliefs. And so what ended up happening for me is that I kind of threw everything out. I kind of just stopped. I don't know, just kind of threw everything out. Jesus Lavidhen, like, all of it, in a way, and kind of focused more on different teachings around spirituality. Right. And so it took me a while to come back and to be able to reintegrate the different pieces that I really love about the catholic religion. Right. [00:25:24] Speaker B: A lot of beautiful symbolism. [00:25:25] Speaker A: Yes. A lot of beautiful rituals, symbolism, just beliefs. And so I slowly started bringing things back, and that included Lavirgen. And it took me a while, but I began to really just connect with her. I think because of her role as a mother and just know, incredible strong mothering energy that the virgin Mary, Mother Mary is in general. But then also because my parents are from Mexico, that connection to La Vidjan, the Guadalupe, is. It's. It's strong, and it's part of my culture. And so also reclaiming her as kind of part of my spiritual kind of tools who I revere and I call upon and I go for guidance for, and I connect with their story and their teachings and, yeah, I just had to come back. I had to come back to reclaim that. And so that's kind of, I think the beauty of living a spiritual life and understanding, at least for me, that everybody's spiritual path kind of is unique, and it should be. And so to be able to bring in La Vitino Dalupe as this strong feminine energy that teaches me a lot about mothering. Yeah, that's where I'm at with the virgin today. [00:27:28] Speaker B: Can you provide us an example how this virgin has helped you become a better. [00:27:34] Speaker A: So. Well, Lavidhen Mother Mary or the Virgin. [00:27:38] Speaker B: The Guadalupe, at the end of the day, it's the same person. [00:27:42] Speaker A: It is. But I feel like, at least for me, their teachings are different. [00:27:48] Speaker B: Yes. [00:27:50] Speaker A: Because different times. Yes. When I think of Mother Mary, la mama de Dios, the mother of God. Right. The mother of Jesus. [00:28:01] Speaker B: Jesus. [00:28:02] Speaker A: When I think of her, I think of how she said yes to her role of being the mother of Jesus. Right. She said yes. [00:28:18] Speaker B: Be careful. Yeah. Because words have impacted mother of Jesus or mother of God. [00:28:22] Speaker A: I know, I know. Sorry. Mother of Jesus. What I mean to say, as the mother of Jesus, she said, yes, yes, I will do this. And then to have the strength to allow her son to be Jesus and to be this carrier of this message which ultimately led to his crucifixion. Right. I guess as a mom we think, oh no, I'm not going to let my kid do anything dangerous. I'm not going to let my kid do something or practice something that is. [00:29:06] Speaker B: Going to have you the age of being physically attacked. [00:29:12] Speaker A: Yes. [00:29:13] Speaker B: At any given moment. [00:29:14] Speaker A: Right. I mean, there was so many things I'm sure that we can't even imagine, maybe today. But I do imagine that she was afraid for him and yet she still allowed him to be free, to be his full self. And so as a mother, I lean into that to try and allow my kids to be free, to not let the fears of what I am afraid of, for them to really hinder them being their full selves, to go along, to allow them to make the choices. [00:29:59] Speaker B: That they want to make for their life. Yeah. The freedom to choose. [00:30:02] Speaker A: So when I think know the mother of Jesus, that's what I think know Mary. When I think of de Guadalupe, I think her story is more of just the motherly presence and more of that. She was guiding Juan Diego as a mom because she does more of that guidance right where she says, am I not here that I'm your mother, I'm supporting you. And this feeling of how mother earth and the motherly energy is always supporting us. And so she's like, what do you call, what's the word I'm looking for? She's a manifestation of that, a reminder of that. Just motherly love. [00:31:01] Speaker B: Yeah. And unconditional love as well. Because for me, what the first thing is like, why did she appear as a brown skin virgin? And that means even though the indigenous people, I love you, I don't care about the color of your skin, I don't care about, yeah, I'm here, I love you. But then there's something else. Yeah, once we take that into something. [00:31:27] Speaker A: Else, but she's just the symbol of this motherly love that whether or not we as mothers, maybe we have a nurturing presence in our lives, maybe we don't. But regardless, there is a motherly loving presence that sustains us and supports us at all times and that we can connect to. Yes. [00:31:55] Speaker B: And it exists for all cultures, all social classes that we have created, backgrounds, ethnic classes. Yeah, all of that. [00:32:04] Speaker A: So I can lean into that and mother myself in those times where I need that for myself and that hopefully allows me to be a better mother. But then in those moments where I think, man, what if the day comes when I'm no longer here and my kids will move on without me or. [00:32:28] Speaker B: Because they're going to move on regardless of that, right? [00:32:30] Speaker A: I mean, we don't know. We don't know the future, but it can happen. And who knows when it'll be? Or even in those moments where I feel like I fail as a mom because that's normal, too. I know that my kids also have. [00:32:51] Speaker B: I wouldn't call it fail. Fall short of your personal expectations. [00:32:55] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:32:55] Speaker B: That you have for yourself. [00:32:56] Speaker A: Fall short. Thank you. That's a beautiful way to say it. I also know that no matter what, there's this motherly presence that also supports my children and that also they have access to. I'm not it for them. I'm not all of it. I'm just a physical manifestation of a mom in this moment, in this lifetime with them. But they also have a grander motherly presence that supports them. And so I think that's beautiful. I don't know that makes my life that much more rich spiritually, to know that I can connect to that energy in my life. I feel like a lot of times, in those hard times, that's what we need. We need these reminders that we are supported, that we are loved, that we can access, that nurturing that we need. [00:33:51] Speaker B: Yeah. And for me, the praise in the morning that brings me, I do them not out of ritual and necessity. I do them because it brings me a sense of peace and calmness, focus. Yeah. That's why whenever I don't do them, I feel like something is missing. Because sometimes I do forget. [00:34:10] Speaker A: Yeah. It nurtures. [00:34:13] Speaker B: I do forget. But why? Because every morning is different. Yeah. When I tend to remember they do and do them, it just bring me that personal peace and focusness and presence of the present moment. The consciousness of the present moment is beautiful for me. It helps a lot. One more thing. I don't know if it goes to. Yeah, but although I do them now, for a while I've been starting to pay attention to what I'm saying and I'm starting like, who created these prayers? There are some stuff that I don't actually connect with. [00:34:57] Speaker A: There's some words or phrases. [00:34:58] Speaker B: There's some words and phrases that don't. But yet I do say them and go like, I'm sorry, but I just grab what makes me feel good. I'm like, yeah, but I don't know. I don't know if it is, but I do it because this is my prayer. Yes, it is my prayer. So I'm going to be focusing on the things that makes me feel alive. And he's going to make me brings. [00:35:23] Speaker A: You peace and a sense of connection. [00:35:26] Speaker B: If it's a connection, as long as he helps me become, you know, the best version of myself at any given moment, what else can I ask? [00:35:36] Speaker A: You know, I think our purpose in sharing all of this, honestly is just to share. I will definitely be putting out an altar for Lavidkin. We've been doing it and we have a couple of years. [00:35:51] Speaker B: Yes, and we have a beautiful image. [00:35:53] Speaker A: And then we'll be putting roses for her and lighting candle for her. [00:36:00] Speaker B: And yes, we have roses this time of the year. We do a lot of them. [00:36:06] Speaker A: And becoming a part of the community that celebrates her and reveres her and connects with her, but sharing it because I think it's really beautiful to offer perhaps a different perspective on La Virgin. [00:36:25] Speaker B: Yeah, because traditional. Because there's so many other things that are said about the wikin, but at the end of the day it's just noise. Focus on the things that make you feel better and feel good if something doesn't bring you that peace and that probably is not good. [00:36:41] Speaker A: Yeah, and I also think that there are people, 1000% because a lot of. [00:36:47] Speaker B: People, honestly, I mentioned it, but a lot of people are going to focus why the catholic church use the brown skin just to compare more indigenous people. That's not the whole point. That's not the point. The point is just to bring peace, hope, unity, give us something to rely upon in the hard times. Because I do believe in hope. Hope is essential. [00:37:12] Speaker A: Yes. And she's definitely a symbol of that for many people. And I think that's part of what makes her such a long standing symbol in our culture. So having said that, I want to close us out with a beautiful reflection that actually she's part of a oracle deck that I love. It's from the divine feminine oracle deck by Megan Waterson. And I have actually had Lavidhen come up for me a couple of times when I've drawn from the oracle deck, and I absolutely love what it says. So I'll leave you with. Yeah, we'll see you guys next time. Yes, so here it is. So it says, when Saint Juan Diego was concerned that the archbishop would not believe him and was racing to meet our lady of Guadalupe, she appeared suddenly and said the most beloved phrase in the apparition story, a phrase that is inscribed on the entrance to her basilica. Noestoyoaki. Quesoitu madre. Am I not here? I who am your mother? The energy of a mother's love can travel to meet you anywhere, whether within the world or within your own heart. The message is that she is here. You are mothered, but the message is also to ask for what you need. Saint Juaniego asked our lady of Guadalupe for a sign that proved her identity and existence. She gave him her image emblazoned inside his cloak, one that has been venerated and considered holy ever since. Because he asked for her assistance, we are ennobled with free will. The divine needs our request for assistance in order to enter our lives. All we need to do is to assume the simplicity, the heart, and the humility of a child and ask for a sign that she is here. We will be met with more love than we could ever imagine, and love is always the greatest and most powerful energy of protection. Yes, you're beautiful as the la proxima everybody. [00:39:23] Speaker B: Asala proxima ike Viva labor. Hi, if you like this podcast, please share with your friends and family. [00:39:35] Speaker A: You can subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. It's super important to help spread the message. [00:39:41] Speaker B: You can also follow our parents on Instagram at Imdasiania, at Paolo Manchaka, and at Somosta Padres. Gracias.