Weekly Pause Ancestral Beauty

You Are Not Your Thoughts:

A moment in the Ancestral Beauty Boutique

I am sitting in the Ancestral Beauty Boutique on a coarsely woven carpet, surrounded by scattered pens, paper, and small wreaths of leaves and flowers. It feels less like a structured workshop and more like a moment that simply unfolds.

In the center sits Stacy Gamboa. She leads the “Club de Mujeres Valientes” project and creates a space where women can rediscover themselves and choose a life with more clarity, courage, and joy.

She does not start with an explanation, but with a question about those moments when we want to do something and a voice immediately appears saying, “Don’t be ridiculous” or “Who do you think you are?”

She shares that she almost canceled this workshop because of that same voice. It told her to stop, to avoid it, to not take the risk. What if no one comes? What if she makes mistakes? “We actually have two voices,” she says. “And often we think our thoughts are who we are.”

The first task is simple but revealing: write down what we truly want, and then what our mind says in response. The second part comes much more easily. Then Stacy takes on that role. When she says the sentences out loud, they sound harsher than they did in our heads. “You wouldn’t speak to others like that,” she remarks.

In the end, one image remains: the “eagle perspective,” seeing yourself from above and noticing your thoughts without getting absorbed by them.

The workshop is just one of many that take place here. Each week brings new topics or activities, different people, and different perspectives together. It’s about trying something out, engaging in conversation, and getting to know yourself a little better in the process.