Meet Wakan Vers3

We were lucky to catch up with Wakan Vers3 recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wakan, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I was never attracted to becoming an adult with a 9-to-5 job, married, with children, or a housewife. I respect anyone who’s able to surrender to that lifestyle, plus dedicating your entire life to raising one or multiple children is an incredible responsibility & super honorable! I, personally, just never had that dream. Since I was a little girl, I would climb trees, play with lizards, and when I would travel to different countries to visit family, taking pictures with foreign animals was more of an eagerness rather than standing in a family photo for holidays. When people were sad around me, I would feel their emotions deep within me growing up, like a pain in my chest, a heaviness. My older brother used to call me “Counselor Chrissy” as a joke because he said I was always therapizing my friends & giving advice. When I was a very little girl, I could also remember listening to adults speaking amongst each other or to their children & I would find joy in just reading them across the room, reading the room, reading the energy. I also felt strongly that I was very different then others. I guess I had a bunch of friends who loved to party, hang out, or just be, but I never truly felt connected to them. I always felt like an outcast. A kind of weirdo, & a black sheep. Hurricane Andrew hit Florida when I was 10 years old. My parents, brother & I lived in Miami. Probably one of the most affected areas that was hit the hardest. My Father stayed in our house to rebuild it while keeping my brother and me in school in Key Largo, where I spent most of the time by myself, while my Mother would drive up to Miami to help my father gather materials to reconstruct our home, and my brother out with his friends being a teenager. A year afterwards, my brother was hit by a car & cracked his skull open. He was in a coma for 6 weeks. When he rose from the coma, he had to relearn how to walk, eat, speak, and live. He had scar tissue on both sides of his brain, suffering from a traumatic brain injury while developing epilepsy. I was almost 11 years old when that happened, and he was only 14. After my parents lost their home in August ’92 to a category 4 catastrophic hurricane, they almost lost my one and only brother in September ’93 to a car hitting him while on a bicycle. I found myself traumatized. I witnessed the impact of a double devastation through the windows of my parents’ eyes, and a blood brother I knew for almost 11 years woke up from a coma a different person, a new personality, with a heavy tongue and slurred speech do to the impact of his head injury. all within less than two years, my whole life that I once knew, including an older brother I grew up with, changed overnight. I had a big mixed family! Colombian and European. But between both the impact of the hurricane and my brother’s accident, there wasn’t a lot I had in common with my cousins anymore. I wasn’t able to connect with people anymore, and I walked around very angry and disturbed. As years went by, my brother started to gain more cognitive consciousness, he learned how to walk again, and even had a baby. He joined a car club and taught me everything I needed to know about ’90s hip-hop music. I’d wake up to him playing instrumental beats with profound bass that would vibrate my bed from his two 12-inch Pioneer speakers and subwoofers. My grandfather from my mother’s side was a published New York City poet & my brother and I followed in those very footsteps. We grew up sharing our words across the dining room table & would critique each other’s lyrics, verses, and poetry. We got really close. He even insisted that one of his neighborhood girlfriends walk discreetly behind me as I walked to my middle school every day to make sure I would get there safely. We both started to make some bad decisions as years went by and got into some trouble. We were not necessarily attracted to hanging out with the healthiest individuals. There were always parts of me that wanted to be around toxic, dysfunctional behaviors, while my brother was just trying to make a way for his life to feel normal. His car accident affected his speech and impaired his decision-making, so a combination of a brain injury and drug use resulted in trouble. I witnessed within a year, two different groups of people jump my brother right before my eyes as I stood in his blood, just because he was protecting me to keep me safe. The first group pistol-whipped him after pointing a gun in his face. I jumped in front of it, so the guy just flipped the gun over and beat my brother over the head with it while the other guys continued kicking and punching him. Back in the hospital again do to the last violent act, his lungs collapsed and a bunch of bones were smashed in his hands and arms from when he was covering his head from the brutal attack of kicks, punches, a crow bar, and a bat from a group of five neighborhood bullies. We grew up as fighters, my brother and I. We were raised watching boxing matches and told to never give up. We were tough kids and mostly felt misunderstood, by we always had each other’s backs! (support) After all of the physical blunt trauma to my brother’s body, he, including my whole immediate family, was tired. We all grew incredibly lost. Devastated and desperate. My brother’s girlfriend wound up giving birth to my gorgeous nephew with so much pure and abundant love, but we were all so tired and lost at that point, none of us knew how to care for an entirely new little human being properly. Years of doctors prescribing my brother hundreds of different medications, his lungs collapsing after being jumped, and battling addiction, he developed an A-fib. Which is a type of irregular heartbeat. When I moved out of my parents’ house, I would come home to visit him, & my nephew, and noticed his health declining. He had a hard time breathing, he looked so bloated and lethargic. Even as tired and worn down as he felt, He always made sure to sit and teach his son, my nephew, everything there is to know about life. His son Isaiah was his best friend, and my brother Alex was his. Several years of watching my brother be forced to take handfuls of different medications prescribed by multiple doctors, then losing custody of my nephew after raising him for 14 years when baby momma wasn’t living right, my brother was heartbroken. His health started to decline more. He called me to come home for Christmas, excited to share a gift he bought for me, but I never made it. New Year’s Eve 2014, I opened up Facebook and saw a picture online that was taken of him petting a white wolf at a TBI facility, for therapy, and I felt like I needed to come see him. When I got to his house, he was so excited to exchange gifts from last Christmas, but I wanted to wait until New Year’s Day so he could sleep off the drinks he had that night before I got there. I planned to rise to Papa John’s pizza the following day, exchanging gifts while watching Seinfeld like old times and ”’crack jokes”. I went to his bedroom to awaken him, but he looked as if he was still sleeping off his hangover. But when I went a few hours after that, he had already turned blue at that point. Also, in the same position he was in when I first went to his room to wake him up. I wasn’t sure how long he had been lying there dead, but I was just happy it was me who found him instead of it being my Mother. Once the cops got there, I realized a black jewelry box was sitting at the foot of his bed. As the cops were writing in their notepad, I reached for the box, knowing that it was my gift that he wasn’t able to witness me open. I opened the box, and it was a pair of teardrop larimar crystal earrings that he put on layaway for me for Christmas. In that moment, I felt my entire heart break wide open. I felt a surge of subtle grace and humility. The sorrow was tense and full of depth. I remember the moment I found his body, I gasped for my breath and voiced, “Oh Alex” with a sigh. After a surge of deep compassion and strife, I then felt grateful that he was finally free! Free from pain, from physical disabilities, from living every day in shortness of breath with no lung capacity to breathe comfortably and functionally. My older brother spent his whole life taking care of me, protecting me, and making sure I was safe. I witnessed a lot of pain, & strife in my life. I realized after losing my brother to his next destiny, I was truly on my own; I had nobody to fight for me. I finally started fighting for myself. I left my old life behind to die, and I introduced myself to my breath. To plant medicine and healing. I took the earrings my brother bought me as a sign to travel deep within and assist myself with crystals. I never worked with crystals before that pair of earrings. I never knew how powerful they were or anything about their healing properties. He opened me up to a whole new world I was unaware of! I started creating crystal grids and meditating deeply. I started spending a lot of time in a historic village just lying on the ground connecting to the dragonflies, peacocks, and other animals, then finding out that it’s originally a Native American burial ground. I moved into the village because I felt at home there. After sitting with Tiger Yage’ for several years from Putu Mayo, I was called to start opening my heart to peyote. I continue learning every day to connect to the elements through several different teachers, Sun dancers, Moon dancers, Elders, as well as my intuition and research. Connecting with nature is the fastest way to connect to “our nature.” We are nature! Our flesh is the earth, Our breath is the wind, Our blood is the waters, & Our heart is the fire. In my practice, I believe that we are all immortal souls having a human experience. If we allow ourselves to connect to everything while remaining unattached to expectations, we begin to find ourselves free! I strongly believe that the easiest way to clear karma is forgiveness. I believe that gratitude is the root of prosperity. I strive every day to remain grateful while I breathe life, releasing death. Iam incredibly grateful to teach as I learn through the web of life!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

One of my Colombian teachers, Emiliano, who follows the Native American Lakota tradition, referred me to deepen my practice last year, in September 2024, by connecting to my Native American Muisca roots in the mountains of Guasca, Colombia, where many Muisca Native Americans live. While I was there, I was guided by a Sun Dance Elder, Alfonso, who also follows the Native American Lakota tradition, to a 4-day & 4-night Vision Quest. I sat alone on a mountain for four days and four nights, fasting food and water for a spiritual revelation. The Lakota People call this ritual “Hanblecheyapi,” which means “cry out for a dream.” I spent the last ten years finding myself in deeper ways. Cutting cords in my ancestry, breaking free from karmic chains through self-love and forgiveness, and facing my shadows. I knew I was ready to level up in my practice! I was grateful to have Vision Quest offered right in the palms of my hands in the very moment I was ready to ascend into my greater purpose! The Wellness program and animal farm I was teaching breathwork, meditation, and sound healing at closed its doors for business 3 days after I left for Vision Quest. I was heartbroken. I felt a strong connection to that land and felt grief when I left on the plane, but either way stepped into trust with the mindset that I’m about to fulfill the search of my dreams through this journey I was about to embark on. I had been preparing for this trip for two years and needed to fully surrender into this next season of my life with trust. While sitting on that mountain for those four days and four nights, I continued to have visions of the place I was working at before leaving for Colombia. I kept seeing myself walking through the Zen Garden, caring for the plants, feeding the fish, the animals and serving the community through full and new moon fire ritual ceremonies, sound journeys, and other healing modalities and events, such as music events, song circles, healing crystal jewelry workshops, weddings, tarot readings, reiki classes and privates, The visions stayed with me through the four days and nights on the mountain. I wasn’t sure if the message was for me to release the attachment or what it was! The only thing I knew was that the vision wouldn’t leave my sight! I continued to fast for the time spent on the mountain. My intentions for going up to that mountain were to leave all of my old stories I was carrying all these years there on the mountain, and let them die. On the fourth day, when the elder and supporters came to get me from the mountain, my body was so dense and weak that I was practically carried off the mountain. I immediately went into Inipi, before rest, which is a traditional Lakota sweat lodge, to finish my prayer with the purification of the sweat lodge, grandfather stones, tobacco, and sharing circle. All questers who came from the mountain shared their experience, we shared traditional songs, then closed our collective prayer. When I came back to Miami, I had no idea what I was going to do regarding financial stability because my main source of income was shut down right after I left for my trip. The only thing I could do was trust. A few weeks after I got back, a client of mine that I met through the previous owner of that land, who introduced me to her for private healing sessions, reached out through WhatsApp letting me know she had an opportunity for me. When I received the message, I was curious because I was already looking for work. I responded to her immediately! When she reached out a few days after that, she let me know that she coincidentally took over the payments of the property from the previous owner and wanted me to run the entire wellness program. I was speechless! Since given the opportunity, I have been able to continue holding fire ceremonies every New and Full Moon in the Zen Garden. I teach breath work, guided meditation, and sound healing in the Shala, which is also our yoga studio. And I am organizing creative events, workshops, live music festivals, and producing tarot/oracle and Usui Reiki certification courses! Since opening my wellness program ‘Wakan Creations” I have had the privilege to also collaborate with other medicine women, men and teachers from some of the oldest traditions from the Amazon Jungle to Native American culture to come share their ceremonial works with us while we build community through clearing our energy with mindful practices, rituals and ceremonies. I am looking forward to continuing to bridge gaps in the community with fearless, open-heartedness and a judge-free zone full of joy. love and healing.

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?

My best advice is to allow yourself to go through the journey. No resistance. Never shame yourself for any move you have made throughout your entire remembered existence to get to where you are.
Everything that we have done in this lifetime serves the greatest purpose of existence. We are a collective energy that has all asked for the call to the earth in this present moment to have this human experience. In my practice, it is believed that everything is perfect exactly as it is. Every moment has already happened before we show up in the physical form, so having any doubt, fear, or thoughts is all just distractions. Find flow, breathe through every moment with trust.
The three best skills I can recommend while alive on this planet are:
Connect in a very intimate way with your breath, move your body so your blood /internal water flow with less resistance, and always in the moment without fear. When we let go, walk outside barefoot, and connect to the animal kingdom. the insects & birds we become more free. Nature is our teacher.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I would say the book that impacted my life when I was 13 years old was “Go Ask Alice.”
I learned about my internal poetry and songwriting at 12 years old, and just a year later, I spent some time in isolation because I got into some trouble when I went on a retreat to North Carolina. When I got back, I was grounded for a few months and wasn’t allowed to leave my bedroom. After learning about my desire for writing, I would spend a lot of time at Borders Bookstore with my closest cousin, drinking coffee in the inside cafe’ right before the sudden isolation. Thankfully, I picked up the book “Go Ask Alice” just a month or two before I got into trouble. I read it in my bedroom from cover to cover multiple times in between composition books of short stories, rhymes, and poetry I wrote while spending all those days alone in the bedroom. I had no t.v, phone, or people around, so I had a lot of time to express myself through thoughts, feelings, and creativity.
What inspired me the most about the book was that it was the true story of a young girl’s diary. I resonated incredibly deeply with the character of the story, her freedom, her hustle, and her fearlessness was motivating. It was only a simple book of a young girls diary of life’s experiences but for me it was comforting & expressed bravery in this world no matter what life throws at you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lunaverdefreshmarket.com
• Instagram: @wakancreations_at_lunaverde
• Facebook: Wakan Creations at Luna Verde
• Youtube: @Wakan_Vers3
• Soundcloud: Wakan_Vers3
• Other: TikTok: @wakan_vers3