Unveiling the Self: My Alchemical Awakening

A chance encounter with the founder of Brazil’s largest alchemy brand marked the beginning of an unexpected journey. Given a set of natural remedies, I initially overlooked their subtle power, too caught up in life’s chaos to notice. But the seeds of transformation were planted, leading me to deeper self-enquiry through meditation, yoga, plant medicine, and silence.

On my first solo trip to Asia, I immersed myself in a 10-day Vipassana retreat. In those humbling days of noble silence, waves of unprocessed grief, toxic patterns, and restless thoughts surfaced, forcing me to confront the pain of my father’s death and the boundaries I had never set. By the fifth day, the chaos in my mind quieted, and I felt an inner harmony I hadn’t known before. Emerging from the silence, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony moved me to tears, as if the universe itself was affirming my journey.

Determined to heal further, I traveled to Juazeiro, Bahia, to visit my father’s grave and reconnect with a family I barely knew. In meeting my father’s sisters and hearing their stories, I unearthed pieces of myself long buried. Standing at his grave, surrounded by love, I finally faced the grief I had locked away since childhood. This pilgrimage wasn’t just about reclaiming my lineage—it was about freeing myself from the inherited pain and patterns that had unknowingly held me back.

Through nature’s alchemy and the wisdom of self-awareness, I began transforming that pain into clarity, balance, and a deeper understanding of who I truly am.