About Ana Maria Vasquez

Colorado Soul Stories - Mama Jill with Ana Maria This is a cleaned-up and speaker-labeled version of the original transcript featuring host Mama Jill and guest Ana Maria. The conversation has been formatted for clarity, grammar, and readability while preserving the natural flow of dialogue. Mama Jill: Okay, welcome back to Colorado Soul Stories. We're on the road in Nathrop, Colorado. We're actually rerecording a little bit with Anna Maria here. We recorded in a studio and lost the first half, so I’m at her beautiful house here, near the woods in Nathrop, surrounded by her kitty cat you might hear, and there's horses outside. So you know, it's a house, it's real. Ana Maria Vasquez is an animal-nature, multisensory, intuitive. Did I say that right? Okay. And her journey started after some hard things happened to her, and she sort of transformed that into a new life. And, welcome Anna Maria, and let's talk about your journey. Ana Maria: How fun is this to have these Colorado conversations? Right? I'm so grateful you're doing this. Mama Jill: So there are animals here. There's a reason for that. Ana Maria loves animals and they love her. Ana Maria: The animals are used to talking to us humans, you're in my house. Mama Jill: So I love it. I love it. So sweet. It's the sweetest cat ever. What is his name? Ana Maria: That's Sammy. He's 16 years old. Yeah. Mama Jill: Gosh, you can't tell. He's very youthful. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Let's start with you coming to Colorado. Ana Maria: Yes. I came to Colorado after I got my master's degree in communications and adult education, and I was headhunted to come work at Fort Lewis. College, I guess it's university now actually. Right. Um, but I got to work there, um, for eight, 10 years. And, uh, then I got headhunted again by an independent bank in Durango. And then I kind of went back and forth between the two. And, uh, then the big, you know, the recession in 2008 hit the rest of the country. It finally hit Durango in 2010. That's when my big life tsunami happened. Yeah. I lost my job. I lost my home and my land. Um, I knew, you know, I could get another job somewhere, but I felt like, you know, I did everything I was supposed to do and the way I was supposed to do it, and here I was still miserable. Right. And now I lost my job and I had a lot of moments, even with a really good job, right. When, when I was working, um, both. At the college and even at the bank, I got to teach about like heart-based management. I got to teach meditation and yoga, different things like that. That, you know, weren't common necessarily, but I had a bigger draw, but I wasn't sure what I was gonna do. The bank would lend me out to work with, you know, their customers. And I would get so much feedback like, you do not need to be working in a bank, right? Like, you need to be doing your own business, but you know, you've got retirement. Oh yeah, you've got vacation, you've got all the, the golden handcuffs. Why would you leave? Right? Yeah. So I was stunned when I lost the job and there I am, you know, sitting in the ashes that used to be my life. And I'm like. If I have to do this again, I wanna do it different. I want a deeper connection. You know, I grew up with a huge connection with animals. Like we were saying, of course there's a lot of animals around here. I was a kid who, if there's a cat under the table in the kitchen, that's where I'm gonna be. Right? Or the dog in the backyard or whatever. I would've never said that I was an animal communicator. 'cause we didn't even have that word when I was growing up. Right. Yeah. It wasn't like one of your choices on career day, that's for sure. Right. Should be. Yeah, I know. But I knew I was so close to them. So I knew that's what I wanted to do, and I had heard from other spiritual teachers that we're all wired for that we can do that. We're just too distracted, right? By the modern world. So I thought, well then that's what I wanna do. Yeah. So I had a spiritual teacher and I said, this is what I want to do. And she gave me an assignment and she said, for 30 days, I want you to go out to a tree, put your hands on it, and just be with this tree for 30 days. For 30 minutes. At this point I had moved to Wisconsin 'cause I had lost everything. Right. I had to move in with my dad. Right. You know, you're at this point where you are not expecting that to happen in your life. So that's why I feel like I am the poster child for all of this work, because I didn't want to do those things, but yeah, it's how it unfolded. Mm. So I had to do that. So I honestly, you know, I thought she was full of crap, to be quite honest. Okay. I was like, she doesn't know what to do with me. She needs 30 days to come up with something. Okay. But I am an overachiever and I'm a really good student, so I was like. I'm going to do this mm-hmm. To the letter if for no other reason than to come back at the end and say, I did it, it didn't work. What else have you got? Right. Right. You know? Yeah. And so for three weeks I went out every day to the same tree. 30 minutes. Felt very silly, very like, um. Oh, what's the word I'm looking for? Like self-conscious, like what am I doing? And I didn't even know if I was like touching the tree in the inappropriate Right. I just didn't know what I was doing. So I really just spent a lot of time talking about that. Yeah. To the tree. And three weeks went by and nothing happened. Right. There wasn't any hallucinating there anything. And somewhere in that third week or so I was in my house in the living room and I asked a rhetorical question, you know, kind of talking to myself out loud. Yeah. And I don't even remember what the question was because what happened next was so amazing and changed the absolute course of my life. So I ask this question out loud and I hear in an audible voice outside of my head. Yeah. The answer. Wow. And I was like, where did that come from? And it felt like it came from the tree, from outside. And so I stood up and went to the window and I was like, was that you? And I heard again in a voice outside of my head. Yes. Yeah. And the first thing that I said was, I asked to talk to animals. I don't know what to do with a talking tree. And now I'm embarrassed, right? That that was my answer. But that was my humanness. I didn't understand anything about the energy. I didn't understand any of this stuff. And it chuckled. The tree chuckled and it said. The animals are coming. This is a recalibration process. And then that, like, I honestly thought I had had a mental break, right? Because a tree is talking and I'm hearing it. That's not, we don't, we're not taught about that kind of stuff. Right. And fortunately, right from my time in higher education and things, I had a lot of really good connections to very good mental health professionals. Yeah. And so I was like, okay. I can check that out for sure. After I listen to what this tree has to tell me. I take mental health very seriously and I was also very curious. Yeah. So. That started this, um, ongoing situation where I would ask the tree questions that I didn't know the answer to, but I could find the answer to. Um, and things like, what kind of tree are you? Right. I didn't know. Yeah. And, and it said first I, I had asked it, well, what should I call you? And it said, you can call me Ruby. And I thought, oh, that's sweet, Ruby. And then I said, okay, well what kind of tree are you? And it said, well, I'm a Red Pine. And I was like. Well that's a little too on the nose, don't you think? Ruby? The Red Pine. And so I got a friend who was a botanist and knew trees. Just, you know, so that there wouldn't be any questions. Yeah. And sure enough, he's like, he thought I was silly 'cause he is like, this is a Red Pine. We have lots of them around here. Okay. I can't believe you don't know this. Right. So I was, I was grateful for that. And even more intrigued at this point. Yeah. And so I didn't notice right away, but I eventually noticed that she was missing her canopy and she was in between a bunch of other trees, so I couldn't tell right away. But one day when I was out there, I noticed she didn't have her canopy. And so I asked her, and she said very short words, uh, big wind or big storm, strong wind broke. And I was like, oh. But it also looked like oddly right from my landlord's apartment that you could, from his kitchen, it looked like it would be the perfect view. Like maybe someone did it intentionally. So I was in his kitchen one day and I asked him what happened to that one tree? And he said, almost word for word what Ruby had said to me, oh my God, it was a big store and this huge wind came through and then it was just broke. And so it was those pieces, right? And sure enough. The animals did come and it was, I wanna say within six weeks after that. Oh, first experience. Yeah. The animals started showing up. I had taken my dogs out to go to the bathroom one night and they were black dogs and they went one way and I turned around and I almost tripped over another black dog. And I was like, what is going on? But there was nothing there, right. It was like the way I describe it is like Star Wars. Where Princess Leia is playing that video and you see it like an overlay. So I'll like see things as an overlay. In this case it was a little a smaller, medium sized black dog with white on the tips of its ears and on its chest. And I was like, what was that? And I heard again, another voice say, you'll know when you need to know. At this point, I was doing some life coaching with folks, you know, trying to decide what am I gonna do, you know, with with my life. Where am I gonna go? What am, how am I gonna do this? Um, and then, I can't remember if it was the next day or a couple days after that, I was in a life coaching session and I heard in my head ask her about the dog. I thought, I'm not gonna ask her about the dog. Right? She'll know I'm crazy. I'm still trying to prove I'm not crazy. And I kept getting in the nudge. So I finally said, tell me about the medium sized black dog with the white tips on the ears and the white on the chest, and it gets really quiet. So I'm like, uhoh, right? Like she knows I'm crazy. It's up. Everybody knows now, and she starts crying. And actually I'm very used to this reaction now, 15 years later. Right. And um, she said that's not possible. She said, that dog died 14 years ago. Mm. And I said, well, I don't know what to tell you, but he was in my backyard last night and let's see what he has to say. And we were able to share a message and it meant a lot to her. And then, you know, it was like a faucet was turned on and the animals started coming through. And it's multi-sensory is like how I explained it, right? So I will sometimes hear things either in my mind’s head or outside, or I'll, uh, see something in my mind's eye or again on an overlay in the physical. Um, sometimes I'll feel something or just have a knowingness. A lot of times personalities will come through of the animals so I can confirm, right? Yeah. Um, a lot there'll be these times where, you know, the dogs all, it'll feel like even though I'm just in the room by myself, it'll feel like they've got their paw on my leg. So every once in a while you get instructions, I'll get, something will show up ahead of time. I've had it here in the house where I get up in the morning 'cause I work from home. Yeah. And I'd walk in and I would see in a recliner. Like somebody sitting there, but it's, I can tell it's not a real person. And then I, I look and they're like, I'm here for someone later, is what I'll hear in my head. Right. It's all like you, you can understand why you would think you're crazy, so you really have to like know that you're mentally sound. Because you know that's true. And then the confirmation, right. I'm not trying to convince anyone. It's the confirmation that comes through information that I couldn't possibly know. Right. Like with that gentleman when I finally got into the session. Yeah. I said, just so you know, your dad has been here all morning. And I said, there's a, a big man, he's a large man in overalls and a red flannel shirt. And he didn't wanna be late, so he just sat in my living room and she said, oh my God, that's my dad. He's exactly like that. He would never wanna be late. Right. Like, and he wouldn't wanna impose and he would just try and, you know, wanna stay outta the way so. It, it's really fascinating when those things happen and again, it happens 'cause everything is energy. So it doesn't matter if it's your dog or your dad. Right. And it doesn't matter if they're embodied or they've crossed over. Yeah. Because energy, everything is energy. And when we have these connections Right. With loved ones, it never ends. Yeah. And, and we always have access to that. Mama Jill: That's powerful. That is really powerful. Ana Maria: I do almost all of my work remotely via conference line. So telephone. Yeah. And I am, um, because I've always. You know, lived in smaller places, I had to not just rely on, you know, my local economy, right. So I work globally. I have clients around the world. Wow. Um, and it's wonderful. You know, it's so rewarding because the animals, they reflect messages back to us through their behavior, through their, um, physical issues that are going on. 'cause we're so connected to them and we've got these sole contracts. They're so excited to be able to get the messages to their people and the people are like, I had no idea. Right. How would you know? Yeah. Wow. Mama Jill: So how do people find you? Ana Maria: I'm fortunate that I get asked to speak on a lot of summits. A lot of online conferences. I have my own classes, right? I teach classes, I have private sessions, I have certification programs. My website is intention training.com. Mama Jill: Right, right. And I'll put that on the website, um, for this episode so people can find you and, and on. There's also a book, called Nature, is that what it's called? The whole title. This one? Ana Maria: Yeah, it's Nature. Um, it's got a longer title, which I always kind of forget myself too. Uh, Divine Experiences with Trees, Plants, Stones and Landscapes. That makes sense. I knew there were more. My publisher would not be happy that I didn't have that on the tip of my tongue so long. Mama Jill: It is long., I feel like once you kind of got going on this awareness, and this all started about 15 years ago, did you say? Ana Maria: Yeah, in 2026 I'll be celebrating, uh, 15 years in business. Oh, professionally, right. I was doing it for a little bit before that as I was, you know. Honing my skills, making sure I was mentally sound, things like that. But it really took off, uh, quick and big. Mama Jill: Wow. That is so cool. I mean, since I scheduled this interview, I mention what you do and, so many people have just been, oh yeah, I know an animal intuitive, or I use animal, and I'm like, okay, cool. And we talked earlier about how perhaps Colorado was a place that might be a little bit more open-minded about things like that. How has the landscape here contributed, would you say? Ana Maria: Well, I feel like folks who are drawn to Colorado, whether they were born here and stay, or whether they, you know, migrate here, they have this connection to the outdoors. They wanna be outdoors, um, and or the wildlife, right? Or, you know, we have the joke in Salida that you show up and you get a bike and a dog, right? Like, they hand it out at the, at the edge of the city. So it, it's that piece. People are already connected to nature. I get this a lot where people come up and they're like, you're never gonna believe this. And they're like, okay, well maybe you'll believe it. But they had this amazing experience with a bush when they were out jogging, or they were mountain biking and they heard a tree talk. And they're like, is that possible? And I'm like, oh, it's possible. Yeah. And even, and so yeah, people seem to just have be more open, open because of that connection. They know already that being connected with the natural world makes 'em feel better. Mama Jill: Perhaps this episode can be an encouragement to people to not just go outside, but But go into the woods, go on a hike, get out away from cars and phones and things and start reconnecting. Yeah. 'cause we all have the capability. Ana Maria: Well, and it's important, right? Like there are biological things that happen. There's that whole movement grounding. Right. About grounding. And people can look that up. I think it's grounding.net. Oh. And it's about, or earthing, um, where you put your bare feet or your bare hands, either on the ground or on a tree. Um, and you are receiving negative ions. Like they know that negative ions are released. And the way that, atoms in our body, they have to have balance. And when we're in synthetic environments, we get unbalanced. And all of these electronic, you know, I'm pointing to the tv, I'm pointing to the console, I'm pointing to all of the electronics. Right. They are pulling from our, the cells in our body. Wow. Because they want those negative electrons to balance themselves. It's not anything bad or nefarious, it's just how things work. And so our body is the biggest organic. Thing that any of these things can pull from. So it's important that we are continually replenishing that. And you do that by going outside? Yeah. At least five minutes. Right? Oh my God. They're saying 20 minutes. But is the more that you can do it, and most people probably recognize this. We feel brilliant when we're out in the woods and I guarantee you it has more to do with us remembering, right. Coming back to our center, remembering who we truly be, remembering that we're connected to everything. Yeah. And so there are actually like physical things that are happening to us. That don't happen to us if we don't spend time outside. And so moving from nature being this beautiful backdrop to an actual ally, right, that you're connecting with. Oh yeah. It makes a difference. Mama Jill: I wonder with, you know, we all work in front of computers and some people longer than others, that's the people need even more. Ana Maria: Uh, probably, yeah. The, the term is called EMFs, right? Electromagnetic frequencies. Okay. And so they're coming out at you all of the time, and the more time, and it just is the way that we do it. Again, you know, I've been fortunate to have all these different, uh, coaches and mentors that aren't fear-based. They always come from love. And so they're always like, you can do whatever you want, but have an exit strategy, right? So if you're gonna sit in front of your computer all day. How, what are you gonna do at the beginning of the day? What are you gonna do at the end of the day? Right? Can you get outside? Can you take a five minute break and just stand outside? You know, what are the things that you're gonna do? That's a, that's a good thing to, to mitigate it. Really consciously think about that. Mama Jill: I think of my husband, who's a very hard worker, but sometimes he's, you know, it's like almost 12 hours sometimes. And I beg him to get outside. But if he could incorporate that into a routine, maybe. I know, and he loves outside, don't get me wrong. Yeah. But he's just a hard worker. So, um, I'll go home and suggest that when I, you know, walking the dog, going on a bike ride, all those things, Ana Maria: Even just standing still. Five minutes bare feet on the ground. Or if people can't do that right, 'cause it does get cold here in the winter. Then bare hands on a tree like the trunk of a tree, need it, have some, you have to have touch. There's all these exposure on the bottom of your feet. They're between 50 to 80,000 receptora. And that's why we put things like oils and things on our feet because it's taken up, right? Reflexology happens on the soles of our feet. This is a big deal. And our hands too. We don't have as many in our hands, but it's a, it's a good, you know, it's a good, uh. Substitute if you can't do it. Another thing is to sit on a rock because, you know, you look at your, um, spinal column, right? That is all just an information superhighway. Oh, you know, that's your wiring. Wow. And then you've got your tailbone. And when your tailbone comes into, um, proximity with that rock, now rocks are electromagnetic beings. Mm-hmm. Really, they're putting out energy and they're pulling it in. And when you are in there. Energy field, right? Which is typically four times the diameter of the rock. You are receiving that energy. This is a big deal. You're getting a huge boost, and if you're sitting on it, you are receiving that information. Okay. Wow. It's huge. It's fast. There's, so we, we move through our life so asleep, not realizing all the amazing things that are happening in the energy exchanges that are happening. Yeah. And when we're tuned into it. You see more magic, right? Yes. Like so, so much more amazingness is not missed. Mama Jill: So, uh, her partner is not here right now, but I love the story and you don't have to tell the whole details, but that was a bit of a magical experience for you also. And do you see that as connected to your whole kind of journey? Ana Maria: Absolutely. Right. Like that, that's the thing. It's the piece about. You connect to your intuitive abilities because it allows you to live a more guided life. And that's exactly what happened, right? Like I was in the listening, where was I gonna move back to when it was time for me to come back to Colorado? 'cause I knew I was coming back, right? And so I ended up in Creststone. And I, um, was in the listening, uh, and one of my friends had called me on it. She's like, so you moved to this tiny, tiny little remote mountain town. Anyone who knows Creststone, right? A couple hundred people tops in the summer, right? We've got more people, but there's not a lot. And she said, you said you wanted to meet your partner. How are you gonna do that in this tiny little town? And I said, well, I don't think. He's probably lives there, but I think we're gonna end up being in the same places. Right. And one of the things that I do is I work on being an intentional manifester in my life because we don't even understand how powerful we are as energetic beings. We are electromagnetic beings, meaning we put out signals and we attract. Signals. So we wanna be intentional about what we're putting out there. So I had been being intentional. I wanted to call him my beloved, and, and these were the traits, these were the things that I wanted to do with my partner, right? So I had a list. Well, it turns out at the same time, my partner, I call him my zen cowboy, he was doing the same thing. He was making a list of things that were important for him in the woman that was gonna be in his life that he was trying to call in. And so. One afternoon I, you know, of course I fell in with the musicians and the artists in Cresto. Just as how I'm wired. And so the band, the Blue Rooster outta Creststone was going to be playing in Salida, but I gotta go over the pass, right over, um, poncho Pass. And I thought, oh, I don't know. That's gonna be a lot of work. And I kept getting the nudge right here in the voices. Like, just go. It'll be fun. And so I decided, well actually what happened was one of the band members was having a birthday and one of the wives was making a chocolate cake. And I'm very food motivated, very much like a lot of my clients, I guess. Right? Always treat motivated. And um, so I thought, well, I could drive over the pass for chocolate cake. So I came to Salida and they were playing at the Boathouse for anyone who knows Salida. And um, I. He was dancing with one of our neighbors who happens to be one of our neighbors now, and I was dancing with one of the band members' wives and we danced right into each other. Oh. And he said, um, you know, hello? And I said, hello. And normally right, like my thing is if you mention you're an animal communicator. People weed themselves out right away. They're either gonna say something snarky or kind of condescending or you know, they're gonna be really weird. And so I said that and he just stopped and said, oh my goodness, I love animals and I have a huge connection with animals. And as I say, the rest is history. Right? 10 years later. And it was that part about both of us consciously manifesting and right, everything is energy. What are you gonna do with the energy around you? Mm. Did he write that, his own list on his own? Or did he get advice for that or, I don't actually know where he learned. Yeah. I don't remember where he learned that. I think that's cute. Right. But he had been, you know, he'd always been a, um, you know, listening to like the DAO or reading the DAO and then Wayne Dyer, uh, these kinds of spiritual teachers that, you know, teach awareness Mama Jill: The part that is also cute that he tells is it was love at first sight for him. Love, love at first sight, Jill. That's what it was. Lemme tell you about it. Very sweet. Very sweet. And then you end up, you know, coming together and he moves you out to his property, which we're at right now. How many acres do you have? Ana Maria: 40. Mama Jill: Wow. Yeah. Really pretty spot here. I'm not gonna say exactly where it is, but Wonderful mountain views and right by the forest. And there's horses like big dogs. They're very friendly. And I've never met such friendly animals as I have met here. Um. So this is also where you kind of discovered some further pieces of your journey came into play, like the medicine wheel. Ana Maria: Yeah. You know this piece about earth-based practices, right? Because the Earth helps us remember right who we are, uh, why we're here. This, this deeper connection piece and, you know, indigenous folks around the world have, have had that close connection. And, and it doesn't matter, right? All of us, if we go back far enough in our lineages, we were tribal people sitting around fires, being outside, being connected to the natural world and. When you're living in the natural world in that way, you have to pay attention to the signs and symbols because it's imperative for your survival. And one of the earth-based practices that we found around the world, it's not just, uh, north American based, are medicine wheels. Yeah. And they are a collection of stones. Typically, they start with the four directional stones. And it really is this physical piece of working on the land that reminds you that you're connected here, you're connected above. I was pointing to my heart, sorry, I forget sometimes on audios, um, that we're connected to everything, um, and that there really is no difference between us. And so. With those medicine wheels, you start with the directional stones, right? You find the east, the west, the north, and the south markers, and you put down bigger stones. Then you fill them in with smaller stones, and each stone, uh, can correlate with, um, a time of year or the planet, or a plant or an animal. They all have very different significance, and again, it's gonna depend on what tribal affiliation you have. Okay. Or your lineage. And so, I was in, in my teachings, um, in my trainings, I had initiations working with the medicine wheel. And so I would oftentimes just kind of create my own medicine wheel with four directional stones, whether it was on my desk or just outside. Oh. But just, you know, to connect with and, um. Go through the process of connecting with each direction, and the elements and all of those pieces. Uh, so I had been living here on the land, I don't know, a couple years, probably at that point. And I'd been walking the land every day, right, as part of my own personal practice. And one day I came to a clearing in the trees and I was like, oh, this wants to be a medicine wheel. And so I shared it, uh, with my partner and he was like, oh, yeah, that feels really good. So he started collecting stones like right away. I was very impressed. Like I would sit. Doing my work. And I would watch him with a wheelbarrow go by with all these barrels of stones. And so he got them all out there and he said, okay, it's time to lay the directional stones. And you do it very ceremoniously, right? Because this is a ritual, this is very special. You're connecting with the actual energy, the entity of the direction of the east and the direction of the north. And you know, each one has its own energy and it correlates with different seasons of our lives and. Even day, right time of day and all of this. So we're getting ready to do this and I look down and I'm starting in the east and there's already a big stone in the ground, in the direction of the east. So then I start like looking around and I look and there's one in the south. And there's one in the west and there's one in the north. Yeah. And I'm like, how did I not see that? I mean, the, you know, there's a little growth Yeah. And stuff. And so I got the compass out and sure enough it's only a few degrees off. Wow. Which means at some point it was set. Yeah. And we do know the San Isabel National Forest, which is what we back up against. Was an old Ute trail. Okay. They would go to Mount Princeton, right. And then the hunting grounds in this area. So it makes a lot of sense that it would've been, I've, I've been in, um, communication with, uh, some different chiefs of different tribes, um, to ask them, you know, get information. Uh, they, you know, it. It wasn't a written down, it's not like it would be cataloged Oh yeah. In Nathrop it's this. Right? Yeah. Um, but everything that they asked me and that I talked to them with seems, you know, to have pointed to that. And so we, uh. Reactivated it. You know, we, we maintain that and, and we use it in our practice. It so special that it was used and well. Right. And it's a very sacred, uh, you know, it, it's, it's a church, right? And you need to treat it as such, just like if you go into a cathedral or, or a temple or you know, something to that effect. And, um, so right in the book, I tell the story 'cause it's, it's a phenomenal story. But before I did that, 'cause my publisher had asked me, you know, can we tell the medicine wheel story? And I said. I don't know if I can, right. It's, I don't know that it's my, I know part of the story is mine to tell, but I don't know. It's bigger. This was handed down. Yes. I need to go be with it. So I was in meditation for multiple days. Okay. About that and talking, and I walked the wheel each day. And on the last day that I did it, I finished and I sat down on a bench that we have next to it. And these deer walked through. On the north side, and at this point, my Great Dane Astro was with me. Oh yeah. He didn't move. He didn't move. He was, his eyes were trained on him. The deer were trained on us, and it was this huge buck and a dough, and energetically and symbolically, metaphysically deer have to do with a gentle luring. To new adventures and traditional ways. Ooh. And so I knew right away this was about sharing. Right. This is a new adventure. Get it out there and share the traditional ways. Then there was this, um, Clark Nutcracker, uh, Clark's Nutcracker. It's a, a big gray seed eating bird. Oh, birds. Yes. Yeah, yeah. And these birds are phenomenal. They will plant 50 to 80,000. I actually 30 to 50,000 seeds throughout the summer. They find almost all of them, they have an over 90% rate. I don't know who studies this, but they have over 90%. And that energy, and their energy, again, the symbology has to do with ancient wisdom being uncovered again. Oh, and so I knew, right? Like, oh, you start piecing these together and you get the puzzle that comes together that says, yes, it's time to share the ancient wisdom. And you are, of course, you're trained, you know, and you're practiced in being aware and noticing things. Mama Jill: There was a woman visiting me when we had our interview scheduled. I think we were getting together the next day. I only saw her for a couple hours, but she shared with me that she was pursuing probably coincidences, some people might call them. Certain numbers were coming up for her. But she was paying attention and she was trying to kind of make sense of it all. And I just wanted to validate that piece that we all often have these like serendipitous, coincidental things. We talk with our friends about this and you know, we've got a, a group that we can. Kind of go, yeah, that's cool. You know, that's, it's not just for us a coincidence or something. It's something more, and we're trying to pay attention. And what I like about your practice when you're supporting other people is that you let them own their experiences, and you help them find, you don't necessarily tell them how to do stuff. You help them, maybe notice, yes, that might be a symbol. You know? And that's your specific symbol, right? Ana Maria: Yeah. I call it unpacking. That's your intuitive backpack. Yes. I help you unpack your intuitive backpack, right? Yeah. We all know, all of us in Colorado know what it's like to have a backpack on and be like, where is my granola bar? Right? Oh, shoot, it's at the bottom right. Or my water, or my map. Right. I need to know where I'm going. And when you have a hiking partner, right? They can turn you around, dig in the back, here's your flashlight, here's your water, here's your map, eat your granola bar. Right? And, and it just makes it easier. It's not that they're doing the hike for you Right. But you're, you're helping them get the tools. Yeah, and that's exactly it, because the way that our intuition works. It works with our subconscious mind, which doesn't have language. And so it's colors and feelings and thoughts and emotions, right? Yeah. And so what will happen is something will be trying to get our attention right, and it will hit that subconscious side of the brain, and then the analytical brain can help us connect the dots. Except for most of us, what happens is the intuitive side shows up. And the analytical side shows up like a bouncer. And it's like, who is that? Cite your source. Where'd you get that information? Yes. And the intuitive side goes Ah. And runs away. Runs away. Yeah. So we have to train our brain to watch for that. Right. So I know right when a deer shows up. I know what it means for me. Okay. Right. I've, I've worked with them enough. They've come up in other people's sessions that I have like go-to lines about that. Right? And so it's that piece about helping people tune in. 'cause all of us are wired for this, but we're wired a little bit differently, right? Some people are more clairvoyant, they see things more. Some people hear more, some people feel things more. I definitely work with people that are. One of those mine comes through, typically all of them. And usually simultaneously, if I sit and dissect it, I can say, okay, this knowing has dropped in first. Then I saw that, and then I, you know, and I really have to discern. But that, that's fine, right? Yeah. But for most of us, it's all happening concurrently. We're just not aware, right. Or, you know, or letting the, um, the conscious mind. The, um, bouncer guy come in and make a poof away, which is a bummer, you know? Yes. Yeah. I hope people that, uh, had no idea what we're gonna talk about today are, are, are maybe getting a little bit of like, maybe I'll try to be more. Aware of those things. Yeah. Or at the very least, go outside more. Yeah, go outside, you know? And it's not the loud voice, right? Yeah. It's the small voice. It's the quiet one. The one that's like me, me, me, me, me. Look at me. That's not it. Thank you. Stand over there. Now let me feel in. And it's a very small nudge, and that's why it's subtle energy. Mm-hmm. So we have to learn how to not be distracted and pay attention. Right. Like. Most of the time when I'm just going through my day right. I'm distracted like everybody else. Right. But when I'm in a session, right, like I have sat down, I've done breathing, maybe I'm using essential oils, maybe I've got some crystals. Right. So you kind of prepare to be, yes. To get my, to slow my mind down. Yeah. So that I can. Be aware. Mama Jill: So all the things we've talked about, Anna Marie and I have talked about before, and she's been using this word, “unfolding,” and I actually mentioned you in a couple other interviews. So your name comes up when we're talking about listening and paying attention. And like you said, sometimes when we're trying hard it, it is a form of distraction. And I had a really tough night last night with, it was the night before the podcast launch Right. And something was going wrong and I was in tears. I couldn't figure it out. And. I actually called my son and he calmed me down. He told me all the things I used to tell him, so we could do that for each other now, but I thought about stuff you and I talked about, about taking a deep breath and just being more present and just take a few steps back like that unfolding word came into my head and I'm like, I just gotta go to bed and let it go. And then everything was all right the next morning, which was magic to me. Yes. I must say. And I said a lot of grateful things and kind of felt very wondrous about that. Yeah. And happy. Yeah. But my conversations with you lately definitely helped me with that. Ana Maria: Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad. Oh, yeah. You know, I always look at it like a big cosmic scavenger hunt, right? We get one piece and we don't know the whole thing. We can't say the whole puzzle, but we, but we're given one piece, and what are we gonna do with that? Right? Are we gonna feel into it? Are we gonna be like, meh, whatever, right? Right. And then we'll get another piece, right? And it, and that is the unfolding, right? Yeah. That next. Piece. And even, you know, I get it too, right? Like building a business from the ground up, a tech business online, right? So there's those pieces that are there. And then there is that time where we just have to breathe and trust, like, I don't know why it's happening like this, but me stressing myself out, raising my blood pressure, you know, like. Low vibrational stuff, right? We have to acknowledge when something bad happens. We don't wanna like, love and light over it, you know, know. Yeah. We want to acknowledge this is what's up. This is how I feel about it, right? Like, I'm, I'm so angry. This is my launch, right? And I, and, and I wanted it to go good. And now I don't even know what's happening, right? Like. And that anger, but then not to keep beating that drum. Right. Because what happens then is then we're just a downward spiral of, ain't it awful? Oh yeah. So then we have to shift. Right? And one of the things that was taught to be channeled through a three was a three step process: So the first thing is, what's up? Right? Oh yeah, it's not working. The technology is not working and, and and, and I have a launch and it needs to be working. There's a timeline here. I have contractual obligations, whatever it is. That's step one. Step two, how do you feel about it? Because emotion, our energies in motion. That's important. That energy is telling you something. So I'm mad, I'm sad, I'm scared, I'm angry. I wanna quit. Like any of the emotions, just let them come up. We spend so much time trying to push 'em down and it's like, you know that old game, whack-a-mole where you'd like hit the, the little mole comes up, you hit 'em. This is very violent and I wish we had a different example, but it's what we got. And then you hit him and then he pops up somewhere else. That's what happens with energy if we don't deal with it. So we do the first step. What's up? Second step. This is how I feel about it. And the third step allows us to create a pivot point, and it creates a shift in, in our, the trajectory of our energy. So even though that's happening, even though I can't get the tech to work, and even though I can't stop crying about it. That's not my ultimate truth, right? I'm doing this podcast to, to, to showcase the amazingness of Colorado, right? Like, this is bigger than me. My truth. It's this is little and stupid. I can breathe, right? Yeah. And then when we shift into gratitude. Our whole vibration changes. Yeah. And you don't even have to be grateful for these fricking, you know, technology problems, but the fact that all these people, I got to meet all these stories. I got to hear all these stories. I get to tell as soon as we do that and we shift the energy that allows a new attraction to come in. Right. So you go to bed, you're like, there's nothing I can do anyway. Yes. And it can shift right? When we're on, it's so tight. It can't move. Mama Jill: It's tight. But I did do that. I, I learned from you. I lit a candle. I asked for an answer, I think I called my mom and I said, I'm just letting it, I'm gonna let it go. And just be grateful, you know, for everything else I have and, and things will not, maybe not go the way wanted them to wanted, you know, I was, but um, yeah, it did work out, but it, I, it was so helpful to, to kind of have a new way to deal with it. That's good advice. Ana Maria: Well, right, and, and the thing is, is we're energetic beings. We move through our day and then we get hit with energy. And what we try and do is contract around it. Right. If I can make the energy smaller and more manageable Yeah. Is what we're thinking without thinking it. Right. Yeah. And, but that's not it. We need to expand around it so it can. Flow through. Okay. Right. But we wanna control it, fix it, and we can't. Right. Yeah. It is just a human condition. None, nothing that we do is wrong. Right. It, some of it is just more effective than other things. Mama Jill: Oh my goodness. Well, I think we can, conclude this portion of the interview. So, it's been a joy to be in Ana Maria's surroundings. It's very welcoming and cozy and filled with animals. Ana Maria: Thank you so much. Thank you, miss Jill. This is great. Mama Jill: Okay. Bye-Bye everybody. Or, or see episode.   Mama Jill: Hey, thanks for listening. I appreciate each and every listener. Whether you listen to an occasional episode or you have signed on for the whole thing, you are a kindred spirit who appreciates, what I'm trying to do here and FYI, I do do this completely by myself. It has not been an easy learning curve. But I really wanted to do it and I had a passion involved, and so I've learned the technology For the most part, it's, it's kind of ongoing, but, um, I will say if you really do like the podcast, um, it costs nothing to subscribe. Or to, um, download and, uh, give us a nice rating. That's a great way to appreciate it. You can also go to my website, Jill CarstenWriter.com/ColoradoSoulStories. Where you can sign up for newsletters. If you want information on future podcasts or if you'd like to be a paid subscriber. I will be offering exclusive content and we are working on some subscriber events with people that I have interviewed with, musicians I've interviewed. We're gonna have a few parties as time goes on, so information on that will be on the website. In the meantime, thanks and whatever you do, wherever you are in the state, go out and make Colorado a more soulful place to b