Indigenous Wisdom with Julia Carmen

Indigenous Wisdom Stories: Mothers Give Us Life Twice

What do you do with the love that didn't always come in the form you needed? Twenty years ago, Julia Carmen wrote an essay about being asked to care for her 80-year-old mother. She didn't want to do it. She called her sister. She briefly considered trading mothers with a friend. What followed those four days — and the fifteen years after — became one of the most profound teachings of her life. In this episode, Julia reads that essay in full, then reflects on everything that came next: how she and her mother slowly found each other, the soul work of walking two worlds at once, and the ceremony Julia performed to help her mother rebirth — and go back home. She shares the story of Las Mañanitas, the Mexican birthday song her mother sang to her every year at 5 AM, and what she finally understood it was saying. Julia's mother passed in 2019 at the age of 95. This episode is a love letter to her — and to anyone still working out what to do with everything their mother gave them. "Mothers give us life twice, if we are lucky. Once when we are born. Once when they leave us." This episode was first released as Episode 109: My 80 Year Old Mother. [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/blog/episode-109] We're bringing it back because these questions don't belong to any one season. Learn more about The School Without Walls and the Dragonfly Guides: * Get your free guide: 10 Questions to Ask Your Soul Self [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2149028164] * Enroll in The Magical Papers [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/magic] * Schedule a free Cafecito y Chisme Call with Julia [https://calendly.com/swow/discovery] * Explore The School Without Walls [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/] Production assistance from Podlad.com [https://www.podlad.com/] and Daypack Digital [https://daypackdigital.com/]. Artwork by Olivia Dancel. Dragonfly art by Soul Creative Design [https://www.instagram.com/soulcreativedesign/].

Indigenous Wisdom Stories: A Place to Just Be

Today, Julia revisits one of her most cherished stories: a memory from 1957 in the Mission District of San Francisco, when she was four or five years old and her Tía Francisca was living with the family. This is a story about what happens when two people show up in a kitchen with a willingness to just be. No fixing, no pretending. Julia talks about soul care—not the Instagram version with bath bombs, but real tending. The kind that happens when you're known, your whole self, the grief and the giggles and the messy parts in between. Julia also opens about belonging—what it means to really belong somewhere, not just show up and be tolerated. And she shares what the School Without Walls is building: a space where you can come as you are and be held. Julia also shares this reflection which pairs with today's episode: On the day we held the service for my Tia Francisca, it was a beautiful day but I was feeling very heavy in my heart. As we were going into the chapel, I saw what I first thought was a huge bird, but it was a Blue Dragonfly. So today, I want to share with you Blue Dragonfly's message that I heard on that day: Hey Mija,  Do you really think we have left you behind? Do you really think we do not guard you? Listen to me. You are loved beyond any love you could imagine. Have faith in yourself and in us that all is working out for your good and happiness. That sure sounds like something my Tia Francisca would say. Learn more about The School Without Walls and the Dragonfly Guides: * Get your free guide: 10 Questions to Ask Your Soul Self [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2149028164] * Enroll in The Magical Papers [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/magic] * Schedule a free Cafecito y Chisme Call with Julia [https://calendly.com/swow/discovery] * Learn more about Master Alma Class [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/curandera-de-las-curandera] (MAC) sessions * Explore The School Without Walls [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/] * Connect with us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theschoolwithoutwalls/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theschoolwithoutwalls] Production assistance from Podlad.com [https://www.podlad.com/] and Daypack Digital [https://daypackdigital.com/]. Artwork by Olivia Dancel. Dragonfly art by Soul Creative Design [https://www.instagram.com/soulcreativedesign/].

Indigenous Wisdom Archetypes: Mother Earth

This month in our archetype series [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/blog?tag=archetypes-series], Julia sits with Mother Earth. Julia explores what it actually means to carry this energy—the gift of it, the weight of it—and how Grandmother Dragonfly shows up as a companion for this archetype. She talks about the difference between nurturing from fullness versus nurturing from depletion, the "spaghetti dinner" moment when you realize you're running on empty, and why soul care isn't selfish—it's essential. If you're a Mother Earth archetype, you'll recognize yourself in these stories: how people trust you without knowing why, how your presence shifts a room without needing to announce yourself, and why you keep saying yes to everyone even after you've said yes to yourself. Julia challenges those who lead with this archetype to ask themselves: What would it look like to let yourself be held the way you hold others? Learn more about The School Without Walls and the Dragonfly Guides: * Get your free guide: 10 Questions to Ask Your Soul Self [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2149028164] * Enroll in The Magical Papers [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/magic] * Schedule a free Cafecito y Chisme Call with Julia [https://calendly.com/swow/discovery] * Learn more about the Alma Class [http://theschoolwithoutwalls.net/alma-class]  * Explore The School Without Walls [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/] * Connect with us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theschoolwithoutwalls/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theschoolwithoutwalls] Production assistance from Podlad.com [https://www.podlad.com/] and Daypack Digital [https://daypackdigital.com/]. Artwork by Olivia Dancel. Dragonfly art by Soul Creative Design [https://www.instagram.com/soulcreativedesign/].

Indigenous Wisdom Conversations: Sound as Inheritance with Catherine Gairard (Part One)

What does it mean to own something you made — in a world where anything digital can be copied in an instant? And what does that question have to do with the music your ancestors carried? In this episode, Julia Carmen sits down with Catherine Gairard, a French-Peruvian harpist and songwriter who creates what she calls emotive landscapes — music designed to reach the places words can't always find. They begin in the practical, discussing digital art and why proof of ownership matters more to small, independent artists than most people realize. But the conversation doesn't stay there. It moves — the way good music does — into something deeper: cultural inheritance, the difference between forgiveness and ongoing harm, and what it really means to carry a lineage forward rather than be weighed down by it. And then there's sound itself. Catherine breaks down the science of healing frequencies — why 432 Hz feels different in your body than 440 Hz, why you don't just hear with your ears, and why the idea that music "goes through you" is not metaphor. It's physics. This one starts in the practical and walks right into the sacred. Listen in today and join us in a few weeks as Julia continues the conversation with Catherine in a powerful Part Two.  Links & Resources: * Catherine's music and work [https://www.youtube.com/@Catherinesmakingmusic] Learn more about The School Without Walls and the Dragonfly Guides: * Get your free guide: 10 Questions to Ask Your Soul Self [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2149028164] * Enroll in The Magical Papers [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/magic] * Schedule a free Cafecito y Chisme Call with Julia [https://calendly.com/swow/discovery] * Learn more about Master Alma Class [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/curandera-de-las-curandera] (MAC) sessions * Explore The School Without Walls [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/] * Connect with us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theschoolwithoutwalls/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theschoolwithoutwalls] Production assistance from Podlad.com [https://www.podlad.com/] and Daypack Digital [https://daypackdigital.com/]. Artwork by Olivia Dancel. Dragonfly art by Soul Creative Design [https://www.instagram.com/soulcreativedesign/].

Self Discovery & Soul Care: The Alma Class

In this episode, Julia Carmen introduces the Alma Class: a year-long container for those who are hearing the knock—that inner call to come home to themselves. This is not a curriculum. It's a remembrance. The Alma Class is for anyone who has felt that movement within, that sense that something deeper is asking to be known. Julia talks about what soul listening actually is, how the archetypes guide your own remembrance, and why this work cannot be rushed or done alone. She shares what you receive as part of the class—quarterly group sessions, one-on-one time with Julia, access to the Dragonfly Messenger readings, the Dragonfly 52 card deck, early access to retreats, and most importantly, real time with Julia focused entirely on you and your soul self. Learn More: * Free Cafecito y Chisme Call with Julia [https://calendly.com/swow/discovery]: Book a conversation with Julia to explore if this is the right timing and fit * Listen to "The Light Beings" recording on the website [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/alma-class] * Visit The School Without Walls: theschoolwithoutwalls.net [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net] Learn more about The School Without Walls and the Dragonfly Guides: * Get your free guide: 10 Questions to Ask Your Soul Self [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2149028164] * Enroll in The Magical Papers [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/magic] * Listen to Diamond Dragonfly's Message [https://share.transistor.fm/s/84ff3065] * Schedule a free Cafecito y Chisme Call with Julia [https://calendly.com/swow/discovery] * Learn more about Master Alma Class [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/curandera-de-las-curandera] (MAC) sessions * Explore The School Without Walls [https://www.theschoolwithoutwalls.net/] * Connect with us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theschoolwithoutwalls/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/theschoolwithoutwalls] Production assistance from Podlad.com [https://www.podlad.com/] and Daypack Digital [https://daypackdigital.com/]. Artwork by Olivia Dancel. Dragonfly art by Soul Creative Design [https://www.instagram.com/soulcreativedesign/].