Culture
JAN 2023
“My biggest purpose is to share my experience. I have this plant project for that reason. I want to show people that they can be healthier because the natural state of the human is to be healthy.”
– Ananda Mora
Ananda Mora is a magical human from what seems like another time. Her parents raised her with her many brothers and sister, completely submerged in nature. They traveled all over Mexico as kids, never staying in a place for long. She had no electricity in her youth and only ate what her family grew. Because of this way of life, I find Ananda to be connected to the world around her and herself like few other people I have ever met. She is wise beyond her years and has mastered the art of intuition when it comes to nourishing herself, the people she surrounds herself with, and the work she does.
I had the great fortune of visiting her in the beautiful oasis she created in the middle of Mexico City. Her parents taught her to respect plants and use them to heal, which has left a strong mark. She has set up a little apothecary full of herbs, roots, and mushrooms and is open to receive people who feel inclined to have natural medicine as an ally. Like plants, she cares about healing the problem’s root cause and is not interested in a quick fix.
Ananda manages this project in a very intimate way, giving time and space to people, serving as a guide in the process of understanding the ailment, and making top-quality natural products available, specific mixtures for each person.
Below I have added many pictures of her space which she has opened to me and invites anyone else who needs a break from the craziness of city life. Every time I have been there, I left feeling grounded and re-energized.
All over her home, she has artifacts, plants, sculptures, and many more objects that she has made. Ananda is excessively creative, which is also visible in her work in glass and ceramics. She works with artisans and is very concerned about helping the country folk she grew up around. It is beautiful and inspiring to encounter someone with such an urge to connect, radiant openness, and security in herself and in what she believes. You can follow Ananda on Instagram, and also her other accounts: Dual for ceramics, Casa Kimia for her apothecary and her stained glass work here.
Below you will find an interview with Ananda about her childhood, relationship with plants, self-care, and future plans.
What do you do in your day-to-day to make yourself feel balanced?
Balance is the most important thing. When you are balanced, everything is aligned, and you are aware. I create balance in my life by keeping order around me; it is the first thing I attend to in the morning and the last task at night. Rituals are also essential for me. The ritual of making tea, taking a long shower, being conscious and grateful for the water and food I am eating, and so on. These things are what make you present.
Disorder, trash, and injustice are what bring me out of balance, so I do the opposite, making balance in all I can. I keep attentive to my cycle, thus giving my body and my being what it needs, accepting my energy, my rest time, and nourishing my senses with nature and beauty.
What does your diet consist of?
Nutrition is not just what you eat; it is what you see and listen to. It is the input you take in from all different senses. The food that I eat is very varied. I practice intuitive eating, so I always listen to and know what my body is asking for. I grew up in the countryside, and my parents grew all our food. My siblings and I have this beautiful connection to the seeds that grow into nourishment. In my house, we never had processed food or sugar of any kind, so my palette is very clean, and my body never craves that. In fact, I don’t need to eat a lot at all – sometimes only once a day. I eat a lot of greens, but sometimes my body asks for meat and fish, which I am very okay with. Sometimes it is just a kilo of tomatoes with lime and salt. I love to cook at home, very simple. So I go to the market and observe fruits and vegetables. The right food always catches my attention by the color and texture.
What was your childhood like?
I was born in Hidalgo, but I spent only the first two months of my life there. I grew up all around Mexico, traveling with my family, which consists of my parents, four brothers, and sister, Isa. We were all born in different parts of the country, some in Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, another in Bacalar, and Puerto Vallarta, but always traveling and always in nature. We were a wild tribe, jumping from rocks and riding without a saddle. My parents also taught us to be very aware and present, teaching us to be respectful and grateful with nature, letting us explore, and be us. There was no electricity; we showered in the river and were taught basic academics by our mother.
My father didn’t want us to attend regular school, but they spent a lot of time and attention on educating us. He always said that living life is the best school. It gave me a lot every day, it’s incredible for me to learn new things, and I like to be free on the conclusions I form.
They gave all of us children a very strong foundation. We also grew up with many animals and, as I mentioned, grew our food.
My parents treated us with herb infusions. When we had a stomach ache, they would mix soil and water and put the cold earth on our warm stomach. The mud absorbs the heat. In nature, when an animal is hurt, they lie in the mud. Another remedy was that we were laid on the table with just a sheet over us when we had a fever. They fanned us with air to cool us down but always explained that it was part of growing and that we should receive it because it would pass. It is not bad; it is just a part of life.
Because of how I was brought up, I have a great passion for traveling. I love to change it up and go from the beach to the forest, to lakes, rivers, and mountains. Mexico is a fantastic place because it has all these different terrains. I guess that’s why I was born here.
Slowly I am feeling the urge to settle and build my house, which would definitely be in the woods close to a river.
What was your parent’s relationship with plants?
They are both very passionate and knowledgeable about the natural world. We always had a beautiful, big garden, and they would make tinctures out of the medicinal plants. My parents met in Puebla but then moved to Huautla de Jiménez, where Maria Sabina and mushrooms are from. In a very medicinal and magical way, they had a close connection to mushrooms. My mother, from Germany, had a vision on her first trip about all her future children. The plant conveyed that her mission was to have us and that she needed to raise us in nature.
My dad still lives in the mountains with just a few things. He taught us about nutrition, exercise, and meditation. When I was very young, he also introduced me to mushrooms and peyote. He would tell me these beautiful, crazy, healing stories about this medicine. My father made a ceremonial Temazcal for me 20 years ago to introduce me to these plants and was adamant that I understood that it was sacred medicine and that I needed to have a lot of respect for it.
My mother’s garden is exceptional; always full of medicinal herbs, flowers and hummingbirds.
How do you work with plants currently, and what is your dream for the future?
Because I grew up in such a natural way, it was a big challenge to move to the city at first. But I needed to know how to live in these two worlds and learn about different systems. When I started meeting people and making friends in Mexico City, I noticed that many of them were taking pharmaceutical drugs for things as little as a headache. I would speak to them about herbs which were still uncommon as it was not easy to find in the city.
My biggest purpose is to share my experience. I have this plant project for that reason. I want to show them that they can be healthier because the natural state of the human is to be healthy.
Initially, I worked on this for friends, family, and myself. I spend a lot of time looking for people who grow organic herbs properly since cutting and drying them is very delicate, and preserving their medicinal actions is vital. Many of the herbs I work with are collected from the wilderness, so I have to be very attentive to the seasons and observant.
People have slowly learned how I work with plants through word of mouth. People who come to me already believe in herbs, which is so essential in order to work with them. With intention, you direct plants to help you in the ways you need them to. They are open people who have chosen an alternative way to heal. My work is to give those people direction. For example, someone will come and ask for a supplement to sleep better. For me, it doesn’t work like that. I inquire about the root cause by asking questions about their life and what stresses them. Rather than just covering up the symptom, I help identify where it is coming from and what actions to take to fix it. Additionally, I recommend them herbs, teas, and tinctures.
I like to keep what I do the way it is because I want to give time to everyone who comes to me. If it were bigger, it would spread me too thin, and I would not be able to do the work with the attention it needs. I care about quality and putting a lot of love into every tincture and herb concoction I make. Now I am happy like this. I am open to helping others, but they must be willing to do the work, which means connecting with their bodies and understanding different systems. My dream for the future is to have land in the mountains and make a botanical garden with stained glass houses.
Can you tell me about all your creative work?
I didn’t study anything, but I do many things. I am able to do this because it is my nature. I love to work with my hands and hold, cut, and change materials. It is the best because I am very mental, and to be super present, I need to be working with my hands. That is why I always have five projects on the table or more. I especially love to make multi-functional pieces.
I work with glass a lot which is beautiful because to make a piece of stained glass, you need to go through a design process, then you work with paper, choose the color combination, cut the glass and fit it with metal. The process is incredible because there are so many different parts to it, and it is a skill I am able to do anywhere. I also work with marble and a lot with artisans. This type of work connects me to the people I grew up with – simple, beautiful country people. In this form, I can stay in touch with them. Simplicity has always taught me a lot. I travel to these little towns around Mexico, and I give them work. I guess you could call it a type of social responsibility work too. It’s great because I now have good connections in the city with people with taste, and I can make everyone happy by bridging the gap between them and the artisans.
What is your relationship to psychedelics?
As I mentioned earlier, my father was my psychedelics mentor. When I was young, he told me: “The day you want to try psychedelics, let me know, and we can do it together.”
I did so. My first strong psychedelic trip was with a macrodose of mushrooms – an expansive, beautiful experience. My father taught me about magic, the connection with the elements, and the power of the mind, all the while accompanying me in the navigation of the experience in silence.
It is essential to take care of our mind because, on these substances, we receive a lot of information that we might not be ready to receive. It is also essential to do them in nature, especially in the beginning, while you learn to navigate such strong energies through all the portals you open.
It is not a game, and if you don’t know how to deal with certain dark things that can come, it is easy to get more confused. It is important to have an intention and do it with people who can support you if you enter into a strong process, at least the first few times.
I have no favorites when it comes to plants. Each offers different guidance, deepening what you want to work on. I believe that you need to eat the plant where it grows. Mushrooms in the rainy season in the mountains, Peyote in the desert. I know from my visions that I am following the path my father paved and that I am in charge of taking over the work he has started with mushrooms as medicine.
If you could choose to exist as one plant, what would it be?
Even though it is not a plant, I would choose to exist as mycelium. It grows under the soil, so it could be more visible, but it does a lot of things. Most importantly, it makes connections, which I do a lot. I don’t display my work often but always think about and work for the whole community. We are all connected, which is why making people feel well in their bodies and minds is so important to me. You can only share and give good energy back to others when you are well. That’s why I invite people to focus on themselves, on being really well, because it is a responsibility as part of the community.
