Mariah Gannessa - Reclaiming Reverence: Hapé, Healing, and the Ethics of Plant Medicine

Aug 18, 2025

Mariah Gannessa, founder of Four Visions and a dedicated plant medicine advocate, shares her transformative journey with the Inga tribe of Colombia. She discusses the ethics of cultural exchange versus appropriation in indigenous plant medicine. Mariah elaborates on the concept of sacred reciprocity, emphasizing how Four Visions reinvests in indigenous communities. The conversation also highlights the healing potential of traditional practices like Hapé, Mambé, and Ambil, fostering a profound respect for nature's interconnectedness and ancestral healing.

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ANECDOTE

The Moment She Committed To Apprenticeship

Mariah chose to begin a decade-long apprenticeship with Taita Juanito at age 18 in Colombia, which radically changed her life's direction.
That intimate commitment to study with the Ingano teacher opened a path she hadn't imagined and launched her spiritual and professional journey.

INSIGHT

Reciprocity Versus Resource Extraction

Mariah contrasts Western extraction-based views of nature with Indigenous reciprocity and relationship-based approaches.
She says shifting from 'what can nature do for me' to mutual exchange unlocks deeper codes for healing and belonging.

ANECDOTE

Four Visions Started As Gratitude Gifts

Four Visions began from Mariah's gratitude and by sharing Ingano ceremonial beadwork she brought back to California.
Early interest in those one-of-a-kind pieces revealed a broader demand and seeded her platform for indigenous partnerships.

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In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Mariah Gannessa, founder of Four Visions, a plant medicine platform rooted in sacred reciprocity and indigenous partnership.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-317/?ref=278

Mariah shares her decade-long apprenticeship with the Inga people of Colombia and her journey creating Four Visions as a reverent bridge between Amazonian healing traditions and modern seekers.

The conversation explores the Four Visions of the Yahé tradition, the nuances of cultural appropriation vs. cultural exchange, and the responsibilities of Western entrepreneurs engaging with indigenous medicines. Mariah also discusses how Four Visions reinvests in indigenous communities and why the concept of sacred reciprocity is central to her mission.

Join Paul F. Austin and Mariah Gannessa on August 21st at 10am PT / 1pm ET for Hapé 101 for Practitioners, Coaches & Guides, a free live webinar hosted through the Psychedelic Coaching Institute. Whether you're new to hapé or looking to deepen your practice, you'll gain practical, respectful guidance on working with this sacred Amazonian snuff—personally and professionally.

Mariah Gannessa has spent the last decade immersed in the healing cultures of the Amazon and has dedicated her life’s work to the plants and indigenous peoples of the rainforest. Her healing journey during her decade-long apprenticeship in study and service with the Inga tribe of Putumayo was a catalyst for her evolution as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and musician. Mariah acts as a bridge in the sharing of plant medicines with the world in order to support humanity’s healing. She is the founder of Four Visions, a global leader in supporting indigenous communities through direct commerce partnerships, donations, and sponsoring charitable initiatives. In partnership with her teacher, world-renowned healer and Ingano Botanist, Taita Juanito, she founded MAGIC Fund, spearheading projects to preserve the Amazonian peoples, their cultures, and lands. Her work in service is fully inspired by a vision to leave a legacy of a better Earth for future generations.

Highlights:

How the Four Visions of Yagé shape healing
Redefining sacred reciprocity in a globalized world
A Western entrepreneur’s path through plant medicine apprenticeship
Why cultural exchange is not always appropriation
The role of reverence in spiritual entrepreneurship
Bridging Amazonian wisdom with Western healing needs
Building a mission-driven e-commerce platform
Plant allies for the heart, grief, and dreaming
Remembering ancestral wisdom in a disoriented world
The medicine path as both business and spiritual devotion

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