About Lorna Liana

Hi, my name is Lorna. On this site, I go by my show host name – Lorna Liana. A “liana” is a long-stemmed woody vine, a symbolic reference to my power plant of choice. This is my opportunity to help you understand the person behind this platform, who I am, why I started this business, and most importantly, why I am so passionate about sacred plant medicines.

About Me Professionally

I am a media strategist and online business coach to visionary entrepreneurs. For the past 6 years I built my business traveling the world as a digital nomad, living in Thailand, Bali, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Spain. Prior to becoming a location independent internet entrepreneur, I worked as an online marketer in San Francisco, specializing in social media, SEO, and community development through social web technology.

Currently, I am passionate about helping visionary leaders inspire a movement by attracting their tribe using Internet marketing launch strategies. I teach the Art of Tribe Building through virtual summits, Facebook advertising, and organic content marketing. My boutique agency provides “done for you” web design, development and online marketing services for social ventures, sustainable brands, healers, heart-based consultants, transformational coaches and new paradigm thought leaders.

About Me Personally

“I am Spiritual, But I Don’t Turn the Other Cheek in the Face of Injustice.

With Fierce Love, I Stand My Ground & I Own My Truth.

Honesty is Expected, Kindness is Given & Respect is Earned.

Then You Have Gained an Ally!”

I am a personal development junkie and 20-year practitioner of shamanism, with extensive training in Tibetan Bon Shamanism and experience exploring the ayahuasca traditions of the Amazon Basin. In 2004, I had a life-changing experience in the Brazilian Amazon, which has evolved into many long-term, return visits as a guest of the indigenous tribes of Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil over the past decade.

I have spent extended periods of time in the restricted indigenous territories of the Brazilian Amazon as a guest of the Huni Kui, Kuntanawa, Yawanawá, Puyanawa, and Ashaninka tribes. I began writing about my experiences, but as I did, I realized that the best stories were not about me, but about the people of the Amazon basin – the shamans, the indigenous leaders, activists and ordinary people whose struggles and wisdom have much to teach us about the nature, the human spirit, the unseen world, and the incredible power of our minds.

Vision

An environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling human presence on this planet (Pachamama Alliance)

Mission

To leverage emerging technologies to preserve indigenous traditions, so that ancient wisdom can benefit the modern world, and technology can empower indigenous people

Purpose

To catalyze a movement of awakened activism and entrepreneurship through the power of visionary medicines

Core Values

  • Freedom and Independence
  • Live Your Authentic Truth
  • Lead By Example
  • Honor Yourself
  • Clear Communication and Mutual Consent
  • Collaboration and Empowered Reciprocity
  • Respect and Personal Responsibility
  • Integrity and Divine Alignment
  • Follow Your Bliss and Take Inspired Action
  • Full-Body Ecstatic Yes

Why I Started EntheoNation

kayapo-lornaI consume sacred plant medicines on a regular basis as my way of praying and seeking insight. It was not so long ago that I found myself sitting for the Owner of a beautiful retreat center where I had been going for nearly 7 years to pray in Nature. After avoiding steadfastly avoiding the Owner for several years because I somehow believed that he was a gun-toting, right-wing Republican (and I was regularly tripping on his land), I unexpectedly found myself introduced to him during a special event at the center, the evening after I came down the hill from an all-day journey.

Over dinner, I shared that with him that I was preparing for an epic trip down to Brazil to experience the Yawanawá Festival in a month. He was immediately curious about my passion for the Amazon. I told him I would go there to spend time with shamans and drink ayahuasca. He immediately lit up, and said, “Why I just had Dennis McKenna on my psychedelic radio show!” So I found myself sitting for him in his daughter’s yurt the next day.

I felt this occasion to be a profound honor and highly synchronicitous. I had said my goodbyes to the meadow and the grove of oak trees where I had prayed for years, healing heartbreak, betrayal, and deep wounds, and receiving profound healing, grace, and redemption. Because of the gun shooting range that popped up in the meadow, and the “No Trespassing” signs that sprung up along the path, I no longer felt comfortable drinking there. So I said goodbye.I can’t help but think the spirits of the land orchestrated my meeting with the Owner. And here I was, sitting for him, and discovering that no, he was most definitely NOT a right-wing, conservative Republican.

Of the many profound messages and visions I received during that session, I received one that told me the next website I created, needed to be completely dedicated to helping people become clear channels for the Divine. That this was the only thing that really mattered in this world. It didn’t matter whether you were a burger flipper or a billionaire, becoming a clear channel for love was the Number #1 most important purpose of our human existence. If you could just help awaken people to their divine essence and remember what they have forgotten, that God is within, that would be your most important work on this planet.

When I returned home from I did some domain name searches on the love theme, but nothing quite felt right. It took a few more years for this site to fully birth itself. A couple more trips to the Amazon. Learning and mastering the art of podcasting. Meeting more visionary leaders, artists, and musicians. Falling madly in love. Experiencing the worst heartbreak ever. And then it all came together.

The Back Story – How It Really All Began

LornaLiana-FabianoKaxinawaIn 2004, I travelled to the Brazilian Amazon, hoping to connect with the indigenous shamans and experience the living tradition of ayahuasca, in a culture with an unbroken history of working with the sacred plant medicine.

When I arrived in the state of Acre, I didn’t speak a word of Portuguese or know a single soul. I had a list of names and email addresses, plus the 2nd chapter of my friend Robert Tindall’s then unpublished book, The Jaguar That Roams the Mind. I emailed every person on that list in Spanish, assuming that the Brazilians there must know some Spanish, being so close to the Peruvian border.

Little did I know that there are an impenetrable forest and mountain range separating the 2 countries. One person emailed me back, in Portuguese, saying, that he couldn’t understand my email. That was Fabiano Kaxinawá, the son of the cacique (chief) of the Kaxinawá Indigenous Territory of Upper Jordão, Sia Kaxinawá. He and his brothers invited me to their village to experience the Festival of the Royal Hawk (Harpy Eagle).

From that connection, I have enjoyed many more visits to the indigenous territories of Acre as a guest of the tribes, in particular, the Kaxinawás, who call themselves the Huni Kuin, or the True People. To go to the festival, I joined 2 documentary film teams to travel to Jordão, in 4 twin-propeller planes, and 3 boats 5 days by the river. It was a life-changing experience. But not in the way I expected.

How Ayahuasca Gave Me a Mission

I quit my job and decided to stay 3 more months in the Amazon. I drank a lot of ayahuasca, not only with the Indians but also with the different churches – the Santo Daime churches in and around Rio Branco, the Barquinha churches, the Forteleza of Luis Mendes.

I spend 2 months in Céu do Mapiá, a Santo Daime community founded by Padrinho Sebastião Mota de Melo and the disciples of Mestre Irineu Serra, the founder of the Santo Daime Church, located deep in the jungles of Western Amazonas, and at that time, only accessible via boat. It was a 6-hour bus ride from Rio Branco to Boca do Acre, followed by an overnight stay and then a 10-hour boat ride upriver, through submerged trees.

It was on one such boat ride that, wedged between sacks of concrete, rice and beans, that my travel companion Mark, a German man in his 70s, friend of Robert’s from the Bay Area and supporter of the Pachamama Alliance, pulls out his personal business card and presents it to me. On one side is the vision of the Pachamama Alliance – an environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually fulfilling human presence on this planet. On the other side, was his personal mission.

“What’s your personal mission,” he asked, with a twinkle in his eye.”Hmmm, what IS my mission?” I wondered to myself. I had no idea. But I had to come to Brazil on personal sabbatical after a decade of working in the nonprofit community on causes that I deeply cared about, which paid little but had great need. I had reached a state of burnout and needed the space to get clear on whether I wanted to continue with my nonprofit career.

I contemplated that question over the weeks and months and gradually, a message began to appear in my mind, a voice, that had a very clear mandate.

“Your mission is to leverage emerging technologies to preserve indigenous traditions so that ancient wisdom can benefit the modern world, and technology can empower indigenous people.”

It made no sense to me, as I was not technological in any way. The only thing I knew how to do online was sent an email. But I couldn’t shake the message. The mandate. It was coming from the forest all around me. Every day.

When I returned to San Francisco, I reported to duty. I set about teaching myself how to build websites. Then master search engine marketing. And social media. I became an Internet entrepreneur, a video blogger, and a podcaster.

And here is my best work to date. The culmination of everything I’ve made my mind up to master, to follow the mandate of the forest. A living example of how a visionary experience completely changed my life, gave me my chosen profession, gave me the freedom to travel and work from anywhere in the world, to choose who I work with, and what I work on.

And has resulted in experiences beyond my wildest dreams.

How Psychedelics Saved My Life

If I look at the overarching trajectory of my life, my passion for sacred plant medicines stems from the role that psychedelics have had in profoundly healing the intersectional trauma I’ve experienced in my life.

Each time I pray with plant medicines, I heal a little bit more of myself and am able to realign my perspectives and stories to experience more joy and freedom.

When I was growing up in both the United States and British colonial Hong Kong, I experienced so much racism and this caused me to struggle with depression and suicidal ideation from the age of 11 to my late 20s (nearly 20 years). I internalized so much racist messaging from both the individuals who directly gave it to me, to the racial biases around beauty and acceptance, that I hated myself and longed for plastic surgery so I could look Caucasian.

It took a lot of personal work and at a lot of ayahuasca drinking to profoundly heal this at a deep emotional level, that no amount of positive affirmations, chanting, or meditation on my divine nature could truly reach. However, no sacred plant medicine or psychedelic is a silver bullet.

Psychedelics can help reveal what needs to be healed and provide the emotional and spiritual container for you to heal these traumas, but the profound, lasting transformation is achieved through integration. And depending on the level of trauma, use of visionary medicines in tandem with therapeutic support from a professional can be incredibly effective.

For one, this kind of profound work can result in a direct experience of one’s true divine nature, and this can lead to lasting self-acceptance and self-love. For many people, healing our core wounds and achieving spiritual alignment then opens up new experiences – the lightness of being, profound joy, freedom, intuitive knowledge, self-confidence and authentic power. When we achieve balance and alignment in our body, mind, heart, and soul, it because easier to claim our soul’s purpose and manifest the life we want.If you want to hear more about my spiritual journey of self-healing and soul purpose discovery, I invite you to read these posts:

How Psychedelics Saved My Life, Part 1

How Psychedelics Saved My Life, Part 2

Ayahuasca & the Soul Quest Adventure of a Lifetime

How Sacred Plant Medicines Showed Me My Soul Purpose

The journey to discover your soul purpose and divine calling for this precious human life, one that sets you on a path of awakened abundance using your unique gifts, this journey is, for most people, a meandering path of focused intention that spans years, if not an entire lifetime.

I say “meandering path of focused intention” in that it’s rarely ever a straight line from point A to point B, but winds and curves as you focus your powerful intention on manifesting your grand vision for your life, and greater vision of the world, as you stretch and evolve to become the highest version of yourself in the process.

Discovering and manifesting your soul’s purpose is a journey of discovery and deep process of personal inquiry. It may appear as a flash of inspiration, and then later, certainty gives way to doubt. I like this part of what I’ve been doing, but not this other piece of it. Or, I think I’m done doing XYZ for now, maybe I will try something different using the skills and knowledge the last endeavor gave me?

Then you refine, shift course, and embark on a new path that curves away from the old road, and stretches towards a fresh, exciting horizon.That’s how it has been for me, the trajectory of my life from that time in the jungle, in 2004, an unbroken mission that has blossomed into a greater purpose that utilizes my best gifts, brings me to exciting locations, to meet and collaborate with my favorite kind of people, as my soul tribe of mission-aligned allies continues to expand around me.

And with the support of sacred plant medicines, I continue to explore my soul’s purpose and evolve my life to be in greater and greater alignment with my highest self. When working with sacred plant medicines for spiritual evolution, the formula is much the same, no matter which sacred plants you are working with.

  • Ask for guidance and receive clarity in your visions
  • Purge all that does not serve you
  • Seek cosmic alignment in all that you do
  • Bridge the mystic with the mundane
  • Raise your vibration to manifest faster
  • Take daily inspired action
  • Harness the flow

If you would like to know more about this methodology, you are invited to check out my online program Spiritual Evolution with Sacred Plant Medicines.

What’s EntheoNation’s Business Model?

EntheoNation is a for-profit, social enterprise that generates revenue from the sale of digital information products, affiliate marketing, and consulting. We are NOT a 501c3 nonprofit organization and do not intend to be. We are an independent publisher of psychedelic media and educational platform.

At EntheoNation, we provide information about the responsible use of psychedelics and sacred plant medicines for healing and spiritual evolution. We highlight the work of visionaries who have dedicated their lives to exploring the landscapes of non-ordinary realms of consciousness, scientists who are researching the intersection between molecules and transcendent experience, and indigenous leaders, shamans, and activists at the forefront of environmental defense.

“Why is EntheoNation a commercial website when your content is all about shamanism and spirituality?”

As of 2018, this platform currently costs $4000 a month to run (yep, that’s $48K a year, NOT including my time), and most of my expenses are staff salaries (yes, I pay my employees, consultants, and contractors, I DO NOT expect people to work for me for free) and the different software we use to keep everything running the way we want it to, alone, costs over $1000 a month.High-quality, well-researched content takes a tremendous amount of time to research and then write about for a general audience, in a way that integrates science, culture, and history.

The kinds of costs we incur around publishing comes from audio and video editing, graphic design, web development, research, and writing. EntheoNation produces video, audio podcasts, virtual summits, digital information products and online courses. Much of what we publish is free, some of it is premium, and much like buying a book, or DVD series, this digital content can be bought, though it is accessed through an online VIP members portal and downloaded to devices.

Haters Need Not Hang Out Here

Running the EntheoNation platform takes a tremendous amount of work from dedicated people, and we understand that we can’t please everyone. I occasionally get angry and insulting emails that I sell stuff on this website. The attitude behind this is that “spiritual content” should be free, and so should sacred plant medicines.

If you find it upsetting that a media company that publishes content about shamanism, spirituality and plant medicines promotes online courses and other products commercially, I invite you to read this post, which pretty much addresses every insulting message I’ve received:

We Need to Talk About Your Issues with Shamanism, Plant Medicines & Money