Meet Joaly Trinidad

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joaly Trinidad. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joaly, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?

I have always felt an innate sensitivity to the world of the unseen, naturally sensitive to the subtle frequencies that pulse through existence as though I could tune into multiple radio stations at once. The word empathy, which finds its roots in the German concept Einfühlung, or “feeling into,” resonates deeply with my essence, as though it has been coded into my cellular constitution for many lifetimes. Feeling into the realm of spirits, the future, people’s heartaches, pain bodies, extraterrestrial communication during waking and sleeping hours is a gift I have learned to embrace. Growing up in New York City, however, this gift was super hard to navigate. Being in a loud Dominican household, oof, made things even worse. You could always find me sleeping in la sala (the living room) couch. Fatigued, anxious in crowded spaces, people pleasing, overly self critical, dissociating, hard time focusing, you name it, a hot mess.

I remember being chiquita, seeking refuge in cabinets, closets, even hampers, hiding from the relentless energetic noise that surrounded me. In these tiny, cave-like sanctuaries, I would immerse myself in the rhythm of my heartbeat, longing for stillness. Yet even there, my mind ran wild with vivid, seemingly made-up scenarios about random people and places, as if some unseen figure in my head were compulsively flipping through channels on an old TV. This constant overstimulation blurred my boundaries, leaving me confused, mistaking others’ inner voices for my own while my own energetic signature lay buried beneath layers of incoherent chatter.

It wasn’t until I lived in the Dominican Republic at ages 9 and 10 that I finally found a sense of peace. There, frequent power outages left no choice but to go outside, find a park, and lie beneath the only light available—a starry sky that stretched endlessly above me, cradling me like a mother sheltering her child. Under that cosmic embrace, I felt me.

Empathy, always walking beside me like a wise elder offering whispered teachings, only began to make sense when I uncovered its origins through plant teachers, profound inner work, and diving deep into my roots. Through opening up to my family about what I had been experiencing, I discovered that this gift had been present for many generations and that I was born into a lineage of Afro-Taino touch healers, seers, oracles—magic that had been long hidden due to fear of persecution for being different, powerful, or knowing too much. The weight of colonialism cloaked my family, pressing heavily into silence and conformity.

During an Iboga ceremony—a sacred root from Central Africa, where parts of my African ancestry is from—I came to better understand my sensitivity to the world, anxiety, inner critic, etc., not as psychological phenomenons, but as a vibrational inheritance passed down through generations of shamanic alchemists. Iboga revealed how, through slavery, some of my ancestors rediscovered their abilities of divination, as well as other gifts available to us all, through heightened attunement to the dangers in the field around them, enabling them to break through the veil of ordinary sensory perception. It taught me to see this heightened awareness not as noise but as a language—the language of my ancestors and divine self. I came to understand how to use my sensitivity as a portal and technology that inform the blueprint for my mission, craft, and service.

Though I still wrestle at times with my inner critic, anxiety, and feel fatigued by my heightened sensitivity to the world around me, I’ve learned to meet these teachers with curiosity, allowing myself to walk with them as their student.

By embracing this deeper listening and tuning into all that exists around me, I serve as a vessel of transmutation. This shift has deepened my connection to the invisible realms and etheric murmurs of the universe, a connection I continue to nurture. I now live in constant communication with this plane, channeling my gift through modalities such as shamanic breathwork, biofield tuning, yoga, counseling, ceremonial work and leading a non-profit focused on the preservation and empowerment of indigenous wisdom.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a ceremonialist, biofield tuning practitioner, breathwork guide, and co-founder of both Sacred Roots Foundation and Root & Wisdom, with a degree in Psychology and a Master’s in bilingual counseling. Through these platforms, I am currently immersed in several deeply meaningful projects that align with my essence and mission.

One such project is Smile Gabon, a program we’ve launched through Sacred Roots Foundation that helps fund life-saving dental procedures in Gabon, Africa. We’ve recently completed an initiative focused on promoting self-sustainability in Kanda-pie, Gabon, where we supported the installation of beehives in collaboration with the Association for the Development of Cultures of Pygmy People of Gabon (ADCPPG). Additionally, we are developing the village of a woman who goes by Mama Toto, a guide in the Maboundi Bwiti tradition, who leads women through the sacred initiatory process with the plant sacrament Iboga.

Through Root & Wisdom, my partner and I facilitate retreats and develop programs designed to guide individuals in transcending the limitations of the mind, offering a pathway to self-realization and liberation from suffering. What is most special and exciting about this work is that it is my art to influence the natural world, the unseen forces of the universe, and the psyche in ways that transcend ordinary human understanding and both physical and mental constrictions. I am able to witness and live in magic day in and day out. For that I am beyond grateful and feel that I am living out my wildest dream.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

One of the qualities that has had the most impact on me is deep listening—to myself, spirit, and nature. This has often led me to experiences that deeply align with my purpose. The soft whispers of the heart are often ignored until they grow louder. They may involve making a challenging change in our lives that will propel us toward becoming our most self-actualized selves. However, making that leap requires detaching from comfort, the known, and safety. I’ve taken that leap many times and am thankful for the opportunity to embrace my ever-evolving self.

This journey has meant befriending grief over and over—grieving the old versions of myself that had to be left behind, as well as friends, jobs, and lovers who no longer matched the vibration of my evolution. Particularly on the path of ceremony, I came to understand that my journey would feel like a constant unearthing of the foundation of who I thought I was, where steady ground would often be absent. But without that steady ground, I eventually realized I was floating—flying, free from the tetherings that would otherwise prevent me from fully being who I am meant to be in this incarnation. My advice is to live untethered and to awaken in all the realms that you can.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

One of the most influential teachers in book form came to me through Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. It was recommended to me by a stranger who gave me a note on the 6 train in New York when I was about 17. The stranger wanted to take me out for drinks and when I revealed my age, he recommended this book instead. The book felt wise beyond my comprehension, yet I fell in love with the way it made me feel as though I could weave poetry into every lesson life had to offer. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then, gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” This quote taught my eager, restless self to embrace the unknown, to allow life’s questions to unfold rather than forcing answers before their time.

Another quote that stood out to me was when Rilke advises the young poet to give up poetry, saying, “If in the middle of the night, you wake up and feel you must, then this is your calling.” For me, this helped clarify how to ensure my choices were rooted in my truest, deepest longings. As someone who often gets lost in other people’s expectations, this advice became a compass—a way to listen to my heart and understand what I must do to follow my path.

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