How People Grow: Finding Wisdom in Every Season

John Perkins - Change Your Dreams & Choose Life Over a Death Economy

In the late 1960's John Perkins nearly died in the Amazonian Jungle of Ecuador... he was saved by a traditional healer and it changed his life. In this season finale episode, he shares his story. John Perkins is a New York Times bestselling author, international speaker, and activist best known for his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and other works including The World Is As You Dream It. A former chief economist at a major international consulting firm, he advised the World Bank, United Nations, Fortune 500 corporations, and governments around the world. His writing explores global economics, indigenous wisdom, and pathways toward a more just and sustainable world. Perkins is also a co-founder of the Pachamama Alliance, which partners with Indigenous communities to protect the Amazon rainforest and advance global sustainability.  Learn more at https://johnperkins.org/ [https://johnperkins.org/]and https://pachamama.org/ [https://pachamama.org/]  To support this podcast go to: https://substack.com/@davidachata To learn more about David's leadership & personal work: https://jointherootedway.com/ Original music by Makete and Mad Hellelujah: https://makete.bandcamp.com/

Francisca Santibanez - Listening to Plants & The Spirit of the Earth

Can plants really teach?  In this episode, I speak with Francisca Santibáñez, founder of Plant Spirit Talk, about plant communication, and her own journey of healing that reshaped her life. Raised across Brazil, Chile, and California, Francisca traces her lineage to the Tupi-Guarani people of Brazil and has spent over a decade studying plant healing with Shipibo teachers in the Peruvian Amazon, alongside other Indigenous lineages in Peru. We talk about how a severe health crisis became a turning point that led her into herbal medicine, plant initiations, and a lifelong path of remembrance and healing. Our conversation explores what it means to listen to nature, heal ancestral wounds, and how that listening can restore connection, meaning, and wholeness. Learn more about her work at https://www.plantspirittalk.com/ [https://www.plantspirittalk.com/] To support this podcast go to: https://substack.com/@davidachata To learn more about David's leadership & personal work: https://jointherootedway.com/ Original music by Makete and Mad Hellelujah: https://makete.bandcamp.com/

Casey Church - Understanding the Power of Ceremony

Leonard “Casey” Church is a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, of the Bear and Crane clans. A former U.S. Marine, he is a cultural practitioner, teacher, and spiritual leader who has spent decades working to restore Indigenous ceremony and identity in contemporary life. He’s the author of Holy Smoke [https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Smoke-Contextual-American-Ceremony/dp/1935931601/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ISQONI2NWB7G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KsNf2Kvv8-eYJu6voBOFsJ_Q9F_nnOHXyHyyH8rA9p0.kBaAu95xAPDt6Z_utGEDdB_-mgpB5futqPP29oS3yPs&dib_tag=se&keywords=casey+church+holy+smoke&qid=1775607299&s=books&sprefix=casey+church+holy+smok%2Cstripbooks%2C132&sr=1-1] and Native American Rites of Passage [https://www.amazon.com/Native-American-Rites-Passage-Pentecostal/dp/1935931776/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KWDISKZUMAIA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AyHnnPrtG0C00oJx2Ebb08n3u1bJkwVRFpSDxkttCDZxHphp4sDraYxs__Yn2DLRzgmhv12FGBCntAJcNa7HUjqvN_PFSjJfIsVmapi7TabjSp6RBo3F1rpezwrpmy-99tfipMhcftITESGX9aC4w-3yqFtBjw-_OR6Iylhc49WrfZkTiNzRU6DjI2qGZdG2rE3AaWgl0Xcqu77y_OHFgc1ob1p71cGFMt5NWhCv4HA.qzMbf8d5GIdb07X22uFH_vImvyr2azun1yDQTqSDbIU&dib_tag=se&keywords=casey+church+books&qid=1775607254&s=books&sprefix=casey+church+book%2Cstripbooks%2C147&sr=1-1], and his work explores how ritual and ceremony can foster healing, belonging, and personal transformation. Today Casey joins us to talk about the role ceremony plays in the lives of indigenous peoples and how "everyone has a native heart." To learn more go to https://www.gmwgathering.org/ [https://www.gmwgathering.org/] To support this podcast go to: https://substack.com/@davidachata To learn more about David's leadership & personal work: https://jointherootedway.com/ Original music by Makete and Mad Hellelujah: https://makete.bandcamp.com/

Lorena Saavedra Smith - Reweaving the Broken Soul

Lorena Saavedra Smith is the author of the new book, Awaken Your Roots: Reclaim Your Ancestry and Sovereignty by Heeding the Jaguar’s Call. [https://www.amazon.com/Awaken-Your-Roots-Ancestry-Sovereignty-ebook/dp/B0DPTMMYHB?ref_=ast_author_mpb] Lorena is a Pacha Philosopher, an Eco-Psychologist, and a wellness consultant dedicated to helping individuals heal through ancestral wisdom, nature reconnection, and holistic well-being. She joins the podcast to share Pacha Philosophy, and her ideas on how to reweave the broken soul.  Connect with Lorena at https://www.lorenasaavedrasmith.com/ [https://www.lorenasaavedrasmith.com/] To support this podcast go to: https://substack.com/@davidachata To learn more about David's leadership & personal work: https://jointherootedway.com/ Original music by Makete and Mad Hellelujah: https://makete.bandcamp.com/

Damian Costello - The Role of Visions & The Life of Black Elk

Dr. Damian Costello joins us this week to talk about the role of visions in an indigenous worldview. Dr. Costello is an international expert on Nicholas Black Elk, a Lakota Medicine Man. Damian is the author of Black Elk: Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism [https://orbisbooks.com/products/black-elk], and holds a Ph.D. in theological studies from the University of Dayton. Currently serving as the Director of Postgraduate Studies at NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community, he focuses on the intersection of Indigenous traditions and Catholic theology, with a career deeply informed by extensive ethnographic research. To support this podcast go to: https://substack.com/@davidachata To learn more about David's leadership & personal work: https://jointherootedway.com/ Original music by Makete and Mad Hellelujah: https://makete.bandcamp.com/