Raquel Lopes: Music, Spirituality, and Healing Transformation
Can you tell us about your background and how you became a drummer, musician, ceremony facilitator, shaman, healer, and eco warrior? (This question is a bit broad, I’m afraid it will need many paragraphs to unpack all that info, so I’ve briefly answered it). I was lucky to be born to an open minded and spiritually centered mother, who is a natural healer herself.
Where to start?!
My parents took me along to a ‘bonfire’ gathering when i was around 16, that is where i first encountered drumming, it was the beginning and the end, I’ve been drumming ever since. Being spiritually centered i always had a deep reverence and respect for nature, also by firmly following my heart (no matter what trouble it got me into) allowed me to have a voice in the face of injustice. I will always stand up for anyone or thing in need. My shamanic journey work has been going on for many years, having always had an interest in ‘the other side’ devouring any information which could give me a deeper understanding of my reality and world. In most recent year’s I’ve been doing shamanic journey work with and without the plant medicines for healing individuals and helping them move through their challenges and trauma. I will be finishing my studies this year with my teacher which i have been learning with for the past 5 years. The saying is really true, when the student is ready, the teacher appears.
How does music play a role in your spiritual practice and healing work?
That’s a great question, as it’s actually at the core of it in a way. My instruments and voice are tools to assist people when they are seeking and going through transformational healing. I am able to tune into the person or group at any given moment and then music or chanting will channel through me to assist them in their journey at that moment. Sometimes they need sad music to help them release, or happy music to lift them up after a difficult exploration. Sometimes it comes out as noisy and jarred to serve to shake things loose in their auric field and body. It assists them to go where they need to, internally, to uncover what they need to, to move forward in their lives. I also acknowledge that without an infused intention of unconditional love, the music is almost empty. It is my intention and presence that is the most important aspect of what i do.
Can you discuss your approach to ceremony facilitation and how it contributes to community building and personal growth?
The medicines i work with has been used for longer than we know by the ancients of all lands. It normally takes me a minimum of 3 days to brew the healing medicine, all the while being super conscious of what I’m thinking about while i work with it. I don’t allow my mind to drift in shallow waters, maintaining a high and aware vibration for the duration of the brewing. I sing songs and play music while i brew and before i start i open sacred space and do a prayer for the intention of that particular batch. Opening sacred space is basically calling in my spirit allies, both personal and universal archetypes like the arch angels or ascended masters. So the intention from the get go is for the highest good of all. It’s a hard thing to face your demons but i found that the more fearlessly you charge at your challenges, the higher the potential for real growth, healing, change and manifesting. A healing ceremony is no space for idle chit chat, so i hold a stern yet loving and often comical space. Once we have moved through the ceremony together the best is saved for last: the sharing circle. Here everyone shares what they wish too. After such a deep exploration you really feel connected to the group you journeyed with so it is really a community building tool as well. And if we achieve to face our ‘demons’ or skeletons in the closet, we come out almost reborn. It’s hard to fathom the ripples as when one raises their vibration, it urges others to meet the higher vibration so a lot will come up for healing in those closest to you.
Can you talk about your experiences as a mother and how it informs your work as a healer and eco warrior?
This i find very hard to balance, i chose to homeschool my 3 children, this means i don’t get a lot of time off. My work requires peace so i can study and practice journey work, which is hard to come by with a house full of lively souls. I recently went on a 2 year long (unplanned) trip in parts of the country, where we shared so many life changing experiences together, from building our own mud hut to living in nature, and i can see the difference in my children when looking at the average school going child. My way of life really allows them to think for themselves and have compassion and understanding unusual for their ages. My teacher once told me I’m breastfeeding the world, which is not a very good idea! So one really has to hone in on what is good for a person when they are journeying. Our first response when somebody appears to be struggling is normally to go console them. This i have learnt, i only do when spirit guides me to their side. They know I’m there for them but sometimes they need to be brave and face what they rather wouldn’t. So in a way i guess it’s made me a more efficient healer as doing something for somebody will never empower them, but at the same time holding a safe and loving and nurturing space o that the seekers can find their own truths and healing. The healer’s job is not to heal a person, but to help them remember how to heal themselves. From the eco warrior angle, i surely don’t want my children to grow up in the world that is normal for us now, so i try my utmost to teach them respect for ALL living beings, make them aware of their actions thoughts and words, and to take responsibility of all facets of their lives especially in terms of affecting the world around them. I’m raising warriors who are going to change the world and help make it a better place.
How do you balance your various careers and responsibilities as a designer, fire dancer, and musician?
I have a wildly different view on reality to most people. I don’t believe in work per se. I believe we need to follow our passions (our hearts), and that will lead us to the life we destined for ourselves before we chose to be born. So, i balance the ‘work’ by intuiting if it is the right place to invest my energy at that time. This means i don’t ‘work’ for money. My needs are always met and i live in abundance in so many ways (even though I’m broke half the time haha) the money is a by product of my energy i put in. I work for spirit, for love, in love by love through love, and because i only do what love, i don’t see it as work, but my soul path for this life.
Can you share any memorable experiences or challenges you have faced in your work?
Wow there have been so many I’m going to have to dig deep for the most profound ones… from drumming in sudwala caves, being on stage doing fire dancing during oskidos performance for the metro awards, there are so many highlights in this life i choose to lead. The best feedback though is when people come to me and tell me I’ve helped me through some rough patches, without even knowing. The challenges with the drumming and some of the other healing work is to break down people’s misconceptions, and their fears, of what it is, and what it isn’t. It takes a lot of time to help people feel safe so they can drop their walls. Then the real fun begins!
One particular client stands out which I’d like to share with you. She came to the ceremony looking beautiful and all made up. Within the first hour she washed off all her makeup as she wanted to feel more real. She cried in joy and pain and release, and saw through the shallowness of her then current aspirations. Please there is no judgement in my words, just how i observed her journey. She took off all her expensive gold jewelry and laid it at my feet, no longer wanted to be associated with the energy it held. I buried it as a gift to the land, in the center of the fire circle, as a sacrifice or gift to ensure that the land will always be there for that type of work. The transformation she underwent was extreme. She was an influencer with 20 000 Instagram fans. Her life was about her looks, status and wealth. Now she has let go of all those things that society punts, and is now serving to inspire her fans from a real place of growth and love.
How do you see the role of music and the arts in shaping the future of environmentalism and sustainability?
I’ve been hosting drumming circles for many years, and at its core a drumming circle is a community building event. It’s a ‘safe; space where all are welcomed with love and non-judgment. This allows people to really let go and be present, and that’s where the magic lies, when their guard drops their hearts open and they can feel, and grow, and heal. So these fields are intrinsically linked, because if we are able to assist people to open their hearts, to feel safe and deal with their pain, to express what’s inside without backlash, they will rise higher into higher levels of love and awareness. This i believe is the key to changing our reality, so simple yet so hard, to live through an open heart. If we do this we can only act in the highest good of all, thereby awareness is created and we will no longer condone that which we would rather ignore.
Can you discuss your philosophy on healing and spirituality, and how it informs your work?
I believe that earth is a playground for souls to learn create and explore. This means that we choose every facet of our lives and experiences. Much like a high school, we choose to major in the subjects that our soul struggles with and needs to transcend. From our traumas to our highlights, we chose it all before we came. We can’t grow when we are in a comfort zone. We need the contrast to push our souls to change and grow. So from this angle, it really gives me an expanded view on reality. There are no accidents, or coincidences, all is always in alignment.
How do you stay motivated and inspired in your work, especially in the face of environmental and social challenges?
I must admit it is hard to stand in the face of all the trauma we are collectively experiencing as a race and planet. All that happens is spirit. From this perspective it allows me to release guilt and the feeling of responsibility to change the world. I have come to learn and know that the only real change i can make is by being the best version i can be at any moment. So, i do what i can when i can. Be it protesting at a nature site that is threatened, or saving an insect stuck indoors doomed for death. It might be a smile for a teller who is having a bad day, or words of comfort to a stranger. I live my talk and do what i can in every way to serve my mother earth and her humans. Recycling, refusing plastic waste, and one day building an environmentally friendly home using things like compost loos and water harvesting to name a few. My motivation is the earth life we all dream of. Heaven on earth. All of us want peace at our core. We are more alike than we realize. So when i see people facing their shadows and growing through them, i know it’s one less point for the dark and another soul who has risen to the light. One by one we all come home and i believe we will eventually reach a critical mass where there are enough awakened souls that will cause a ripple across the planet, lifting us out of our darkness and to new levels of light and love. This is what keeps me going every day. That this might happen in my life time and that my children’s will lead lives we could only dream of from our current standpoint.
What advice do you have for individuals who are looking to make a positive impact in their communities and the world?
Find your light and shine it bright. The only way you can do this is by listening to your hearts voice. It’s always present but we have been conditioned to do the right thing by society’s standards and traditions, which might not always be good for the whole. Only you can know what is good for you and yours, and if you truly listen, through love, for self and others, we can’t make a wrong move. Be the love and change you wish to see in the world
