Ileana Cortez

Holding a BA in Sociology and Community Relations from Michigan State University and a MA in Social Justice from Marygrove College in Michigan, educator and researcher of ancient cosmologies, an explorer of consciousness and sustainable ways of living.

“Ily” has been a practitioner of Buddhist meditation and ideology for about 17 years, participant of the Quan Am Temple community in Michigan.

She is a member of the “Tierra Corazón” Ecological Community in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico where she had the privilege to live during 2021 and 2022, and where she has participated for the past 5 years as a “Temazcal” (sweat lodge) fire keeper for the annual Vision Quest Ceremony.

Ily has been fortunate to learn directly from three great elders: Dr. William Martin Jr, Cree and adopted-Lakota Grandfather, with whom she learned the foundations of Native American traditions; Grandmother Lourdes from Chiapas, Mexico, who carries the medicine of the Thunders and continues to accompany her in her discovery of the Self and the Alchemy of the Elements in her, in Life; and Grandfather Roy Littlesun, who shares the Message of the Hopi around nourishing our blood and DNA, as well as refining consciousness through food and whom she’s been privileged to serve as interpreter throughout Mexico.

She became certified as an “End-of-Life Companion” by the Elizabeth Kubler Ross Foundation in Mexico, in 2019 and has volunteered for Hospice care in Lansing, Michigan.

For five years, she participated in and facilitated virtually the "Flower of Life" International Women's Circles, which included beautiful sisters from France, England, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, and the United States, a completely enriching and nourishing experience.

Ten years ago, Ily co-founded "Mother's Infusions" in the United States, a company dedicated to the production and alchemy of medicinal plants, providing individualized support in herbal health, and disseminating this knowledge through public education efforts both domestically and internationally, specifically around the Endocannabinoid system and Cannabis in general.

Most recently initiated in the Janzu Technique (meditation in heated water), as a practitioner of Water Dance (moving aquatic meditation) from the School of Aquatic Arts of Mexico, and member of the international community Colectivo Agua, dedicated to connecting through the element Mother Water.

Also a recent participant of the Sweetgrass Women’s Singers, Anishnaabe drum circle in Michigan whom she is so grateful for to have found upon her path, it has been a beacon of light during a particularly challenging time of her life.

She am the mother of three children: a 15-year-old son, a 12-year-old daughter, and a daughter in the stars for 13 years, and a Universal Mother of Humanity committed to sowing the seeds of Life on Earth.