Grace Alvarez Sesma
Connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of the Mexican observance Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) and release yourself from grief, anger, and painful interactions with relatives who have passed, to receive deeper heart-healing and peace — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
Did you know that your presence is so powerful that it can ripple through your whole lineage?
In Mexican tradition, our ancestors can be our most important guides and positive influences on the subtle planes. When we work consciously and actively with them, we send a healing wave of energy through our whole lineage and life.
The living traditions of the Mexican Day of the Dead bring focus to our relationship with ancestors. They weave remembrance rituals such as face painting, prayers, flowers, music, altars, and processionals into sacred places for this very reason...
... to help you grieve, ease pain, and heal trauma.
The Mexican people who generously share Mexican Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, show us how these life-giving rituals guide us to a deeper understanding and acceptance of death — which actually brings greater joy and celebration of our own lives.
In an unprecedented 7-module course from curandera Grace Alvarez Sesma, a leading figure in understanding the spiritual importance and practices of Mexican traditions, you’ll be immersed in Día de Muertos’ rituals, wisdom, and healing power as a path that leads to the sacred within you and your own ancestral roots.
If you’ve been intrigued by Día de Muertos, you’ll learn how its traditions can be reverently explored and celebrated by everyone as they ultimately teach us how to reclaim our own ancestral traditions as a path to healing and wholeness.
In understanding a tradition at its deepest levels, we can craft a relationship with our own ancestors in a way that most honors them and blesses our lineage — giving you peace and freedom from the past, and setting you up for healthier relationships and friendships for your future.
From an early age, Grace was urged to return to the ways of the Ancestors and Indigenous medicine during dreams with a group of Indigenous Grandmothers of various Native nations. The Grandmothers gave her teachings to help usher in a return to feminine leadership, and help restore balance on Mother Earth, including respect and protection of land, water, and holy places.
She has educated conventional healthcare providers on how to respectfully integrate curanderismo cultural healing traditions with Western medicine in a way that addresses the whole person.
As you journey through Grace's course into the living traditions of Día de Muertos to understand how this cultural practice can apply to your own lineage, you’ll experience a Soul-Mending Ceremony to help you reclaim the parts of yourself that have become fragmented...
... by letting go of trapped emotional energy that resides within you and dissolving connections with deceased loved ones that may be draining your energy.
In doing so, you’ll heal unhealthy connections to those who have passed and begin to rebuild these relationships in a way that uplifts your life — and that of future generations.
You’ll learn how to reverently celebrate Día de Muertos observances without appropriation, prayerfully experiencing its spiritual dimensions and those of your own ancestry...
... and how to move through life with a deeper understanding of the purpose of death.
You’ll gain a new perspective of the impact of trauma through the Mesoamerican view of the human body, and explore how Indigenous cultural practices can help you shift out of unhealthy mental and emotional patterns.
Grace also shares how Día de Muertos’ cultural icons, La Catrina and El Catrin, can be catalysts for you to live your life with greater connection and authenticity — and how death and your inner wisdom prompts you to align your heart, identity, lifeways, and spirit.
Are you ready to access the rich living traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living?
During this experiential course, you’ll:
- Discover and be guided by the ancestral wisdom of Día de Muertos — and learn how to reverently participate in Día de Muertos celebrations
- Experience a healing Soul-Mending Ceremony to let go of stuck emotional energy — and re-member the parts of yourself that have been fragmented as a result of conflict or trauma
- Rediscover ancestral connections as a path to healing — and those parts of you that have been hiding and hindering relationships
- Dissolve connections to deceased loved ones that may be draining your personal energy
- Discover the real meaning behind La Catrina and El Catrin — popularly used as the models for painting one’s face as a skull or skeleton during Día de Muertos
- Heal unhealthy connections to those who have passed
- Explore the Mesoamerican view of the human body — and how trauma affects your body, mind, and spirit
- Learn how to prayerfully experience the spiritual dimensions of Día de Muertos
- Learn about Indigenous cosmology and cultural practices that are embedded in Día de Muertos observances
- Explore how your presence influences sacred places — including where your loved ones are laid to rest
- Learn which purification herbs and foods to use for your Día de Muertos ofrenda (altar)
- Experience a meditation practice using the phases of the moon to support your healing
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Modules
In this 7-part transformational intensive, Grace guides you through the fundamental skills you’ll need to connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
This course features step-by-step teachings and experiential practices from Grace. Each session builds harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
Module 1 Engage the Living Traditions of the Mexican Day of the Dead
You and your ancestors will be welcomed into a circle with reflection and prayer during the opening module, and set the intention that will guide the course pláticas, or heart-to-heart talks.
You’ll explore the meaning and importance of Día de Muertos for mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing, and for healing ancestral-lineage and intergenerational wounds.
You’ll learn how the rituals and practices that are part of this observance can help you begin mending your relationship with someone who has died...
... and experience Día de Muertos as a vibrant, joyous, living tradition that continues to be revered and celebrated by Mexican, Chicanx, and Indigenous communities in Mexico and the United States.
You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of the spiritual dimensions of your ancestry from an Indigenous perspective, rather than the Western approach of interpreting spiritual phenomena as archetypical or symbolic.
You'll also be encouraged to begin a journal of the blessings and lessons of Día de Muertos, which you can track throughout the course.
As you explore the living traditions of Día de Muertos, you’ll:
- Reclaim ancestral traditions as a path to healing
- Unlearn colonized worldviews that have frayed your connection to your ancestors and how you view death and dying
- Be inspired to live your life guided by the legacy you wish to leave your descendants
- Learn how to prayerfully experience the spiritual dimensions of Día de Muertos
- Disengage from mental conversations with problematic ancestors that keep you from being fully present
- Learn about Indigenous cosmology and cultural practices that are embedded in Día de Muertos observances
Module 2 Honoring the Sacred
Rituals that transcend the mundane are central to worldwide observances that honor ancestors. Ceremonies, incense, prayers, and flowers are universally accepted as ways in which we can show respect and honor what is sacred to us.
In this module, you’ll learn why Día de Muertos is not Halloween, and how you can reverently participate in Día de Muertos celebrations to connect with your ancestors in a respectful way — one that honors the sacred in you and that of the Mexican people who generously share Día de Muertos with you.
You’ll also learn how your presence influences the energies of sacred places, including the campos santos, where your loved ones are laid to rest...
... and how Día de Muertos holds profound wisdom that can help guide your life choices.
Lastly, you’ll expand your understanding of Día de Muertos’ origins in Mesoamerica to today’s blending of Catholicism and Native Mexican philosophy.
This week, you’ll:
- Discover and be guided by the ancestral wisdom of Día de Muertos — and learn how to reverently participate in Día de Muertos celebrations
- Explore how your presence influences sacred places — including where your loved ones are laid to rest
- Learn about vibrant ancestral remembrance rituals from around the world
- Explore how you can become a good ally and a good ancestor
- Learn how to celebrate through appreciation, not appropriation
- Honor the sacred in you and that of the Mexican people who generously share Día de Muertos with you
Module 3 La Catrina - Being Your Authentic Self
During Día de Muertos, you see adults and children wearing fancy hats and clothes, and very white makeup applied to evoke the faces of skeletons.
This reflects the tradition of La Catrina and El Catrin, the female and male iconic representations of faces of death in Día de Muertos. Within the festive attire of La Catrina and El Catrin are lessons of social justice, cultural resistance, and the notion of death as the great equalizer.
In this module, you’ll discover what you may have in common with La Catrina and El Catrin, and when it is and isn’t appropriate to dress as them.
Grace also guides deeper reflection on how La Catrina and El Catrin can be catalysts for you to live your life with greater authenticity.
During the third module, you’ll:
- Discover the real meaning behind La Catrina and El Catrin — the skeletal woman and man dressed in fancy attire during Día de Muertos
- Explore when it is and isn’t appropriate to dress as La Catrina and El Catrin
- Learn how they embody lessons of social justice, cultural resistance, and the notion of death as the great equalizer
- Delve into how La Catrina and El Catrin can be catalysts for you to live your life with greater authenticity
Module 4 Healing Our Ancestors & Ourselves
The effects of colonization in the U.S. have contributed to a feeling of soul wounding and uncertainty for many — of susto, or soul fright. Many have lost their connection to ancestral practices, giving rise to a feeling of rootlessness.
Seeing Día de Muertos celebrations, you may question whether challenging relationships with your grandparents, parents, and other family members merit honoring them on Día de Muertos.
You may long to remember your culture and customs, but don’t know how to reclaim your ancestral practices and worry about misappropriating another culture.
Your journey of reclaiming your ancestral customs and heritage can be difficult as many of us carry more than one lineage... yet it can also be life-affirming and empowering.
The call you feel to remember your ancestors is one way that your inner wisdom prompts you to align your heart, identity, lifeways, and spirit.
Upon reflection, you may recognize that healing is needed — for yourself and those who come after you.
In this module, you will be invited to compassionately acknowledge those parts of yourself that have been impacted by the actions and decisions your dead beloveds made — decisions that may be making you feel less present and engaged in your day-to-day life, and with others.
As you reflect on how to heal your ancestors and yourself, you’ll:
- Discover ways to respectfully reclaim your original customs
- Rediscover those parts of you that have been hiding and hindering relationships — to align your heart, identity, lifeways, and spirit
- Heal connections to those who have passed
- Mend your ancestral lineage by compassionately acknowledging the parts of yourself that have been impacted by decisions your ancestors made
Module 5 Mending-Relationships Ceremony & the Mesoamerican View of the Human Body
In this module, with your permission, you'll be guided with loving-kindness in a Soul-Mending ceremony, a re-membering of the parts of yourself that have been fragmented as a result of harmful energetic ties to people, situations, grief, and loss.
You’ll learn how to set your intention for the ceremony in order to dissolve spiritual connections with deceased loved ones that keep harmful energy trapped within your energy field...
... which may be draining your energy and affecting your ability to have healthy relationships.
Grace shares an overview of the Mesoamerican understanding of the human body and how trauma affects your body, mind, and spirit.
You’ll also explore how the Ancestors are calling on us to do the work that’s needed to heal ourselves, our families, and our communities — through our daily actions and in our larger world.
You’ll discover how in ways big and small, they are nudging us toward transformation and joyous rebirths — and how reflecting, praying, releasing, mending, and resting are all part of your transformational journey on this Earthwalk.
During the fifth module, you’ll:
- Experience a healing Soul-Mending Ceremony to let go of trapped emotional energy — and re-member the parts of yourself that have been fragmented
- Learn how to set your intention for healing
- Learn about the Mesoamerican view of the human body — and how trauma affects your body, mind, and spirit
- Dissolve connections to deceased loved ones that may be draining your personal energy
- Discover the transformational power of reflecting, praying, releasing, mending, and resting
Module 6 Welcoming the Dead With an Ofrenda
As Día de Muertos draws near, it’s time to begin gathering all that you’ll need for the construction of your unique ofrenda, or altar.
In this module, you’ll learn the meaning of the various elements of an ofrenda — beginning with how your family altar is an invitation to your deceased loved ones to visit for a joyous family reunion!
You’ll explore how personal and community altars can be dedicated to the memory of persons you do not know personally, but wish to honor — or to a cause dear to your heart such as missing and murdered Indigenous women, Mother Earth, the oceans, or animal relatives.
Grace shares how cultural identity, family history, and commitment to preserving ancestral traditions in a respectful and humble manner guide the creation of your altar — and the items you place on it.
You’ll be guided on how to welcome your special guests with prayers, how to say farewell, and how to respectfully take down the altar until next year.
As you plan this very special party, your checklist includes your guests’ favorite delicacies, beautiful flowers, drinks, fragrant incense, and of course, music!
As you learn how to welcome your beloved dead, you’ll:
- Develop a timeline for your Día de Muertos celebration
- Learn which Día de Muertos days are for honoring babies and children who have died and which ones are for adults as well, including other days for lighting the way for those who died without family to remember them
- Allow your cultural identity and ancestral traditions to guide the creation of your Día de Muertos ofrenda
- Explore what the different levels of an altar mean and how that may fit with your spiritual or religious path
- Learn which purification herbs to use for your ofrenda, depending on your cultural heritage
- Gain an understanding of why specific items are used for Día de Muertos
- Learn which foods will honor your deceased loved ones
- Create your unique Día de Muertos family tradition
Module 7 Becoming a Good Ancestor
Being a good ancestor means planting seeds of good memories and actions today.
During the concluding module, you’ll explore how to include family, children, and friends in your Día de Muertos celebration so that your family stories are preserved and passed to the next generation with every altar that is created.
You’ll learn ways of helping preserve the beautiful soul of this tradition by actively supporting Mexican, Chicanx, and Indigenous artists, craftspeople, and families who are working to preserve the integrity of their traditions.
Grace also shares a meditation practice using the phases of the moon to continue the healing that she has shared with you during this course.
Bringing the circle to a close, you will link your breath, mind, and spirit in prayer and set your intentions for being a good ancestor and an ally for intercultural healing in your community.
During the final class, you’ll:
- Remember those who passed to inform how you engage with your children and family now
- Experience a meditation practice using the phases of the moon to support healing
- Create the next steps to an enduring family legacy
- Link your breath, mind, and spirit in prayer and set your intention to be a good ancestor and an ally for intercultural healing in your community
SPECIAL BONUS OFFER
In addition to Grace’s transformative 7-module course, you’ll receive this special bonus offering to complement the course and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Dia de Muertos Journal
PDF Workbook From Grace Alvarez Sesma
You’ll receive a beautiful journal to use during your time in this course with Grace. Inside, you’ll find questions and quotes to help you reflect, ponder, and doodle as you move through the seven modules. Write as much or as little as you like — about your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to what’s shared during each class. If you like to write freehand, you can print your journal out and write on hard copy. If you prefer to write using your computer, you can type directly in the blank pages. This is a great place to jot down ideas for creating your unique Día de Muertos altar and celebration, and for reflecting on personal, familial, and social traditions.
Releasing Stagnant Energies With Stone Cleansing
Video Teaching From Grace Alvarez Sesma
Learn a unique ritual from the Mexican curanderismo tradition that uses a stone to cleanse and release stagnant emotional energy from your body, mind, and spirit. Grace explains step by step how to mindfully perform this easy-to-do healing practice to help you release worries and stress. It’s also a gentle and powerful practice that’s safe to use with children.
European Traditions of Remembering the Dead
Video Dialogue With Grace Alvarez Sesma and Andras Corban-Arthen
Immerse yourself in Grace’s conversation with Andras Corban-Arthen — president of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions and founder of the EarthSpirit Community — as they discuss ancestral traditions of the original peoples of Europe and Mexico. With mutual respect, we can learn from one another’s culture about death as transformation; the importance of cultivating community, ceremonies, and Mother Earth; and living with rooted awareness of those who came before us and those who come after us.
What People Are Saying About Grace Alvarez Sesma…
Shift faculty and founder of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative
Certified BodyTalk practitioner and Reiki practitioner, Massachusetts
Denver, Colorado
Iowa
San Diego, California
POC Fungi Community
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Seven Pre-Recorded 90-Minute Modules
Experience a unique opportunity to learn from curandera Grace Alvarez Sesma from the comfort of your own home. Each session includes a streaming video and guides you to discover specific skills and abilities to connect with your ancestors through the rich traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance — and a new way of celebrating and honoring life, death, and living.
Seven Transcripts of Sessions
In addition to the high-quality videos and MP3 audios, you’ll also receive session transcriptions. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Exercises and Questions for Each Lesson
Between sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each lesson.
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Online Course, Turn Your Grief Into an Affirmation of Life
We feel honored that Grace Alvarez Sesma has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive online training. This is a unique opportunity to learn from a curandera whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and our world.
If you’re serious about connecting with your ancestors through the rich traditions of Día de Muertos to receive deeper heart-healing and guidance, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and our world to take this one-of-a-kind training.
Your Satisfaction Is 100% Guaranteed!
If you don’t absolutely LOVE Turn Your Grief Into an Affirmation of Life — or don’t feel that it meets your needs — please submit your refund request form 14 days from your date of purchase and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
More Praise for Grace Alvarez Sesma
Traditional birth attendant and student midwife
About Grace Alvarez Sesma
Grace Alvarez Sesma, born in Mexico of Yaqui descent, was called to the path of Curanderismo (a traditional Mexican Indigenous healing system) in childhood during which she was profoundly influenced by the work of one of her aunts, a curandera, and an uncle who was a well-known huesero(traditional Latin American healer specializing in treating bone, joint, and muscle issues through hands-on, ancestral techniques), as well as by her mother’s remedies that were part of her family’s daily life.
Beginning in early childhood, Grace was visited in dreams by Our Lady of Guadalupe and a group of Indigenous Grandmothers dressed in the traditional clothing of different Native tribes of the Americas, who urged her to return to Indigenous healing ways and help bring forth the call from Mother Earth for a return to Indigenous values and the protection of the land, water, and holy places.
Keeping the words of the ancestors in her heart, in 2013, she successfully launched an online social media campaign that helped stop The Walt Disney Company from trademarking the revered annual ancestral observance known as Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).
Today, Grace serves her community as a practitioner of Traditional Indigenous Medicine, a cultural educator, and a social justice advocate with over four decades of experience serving diverse communities across California and beyond. Her work centers on the preservation and application of Indigenous knowledge systems in contemporary settings, with a focus on healing, education, and cultural revitalization.
She serves on the Practitioners Council of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative and is also a member of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine BIPOC Committee, where she developed the Traditional Indigenous Medicine curriculum for its Fellowship Program, designed for professionals seeking to deepen their knowledge in integrative healthcare.
A recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, Grace is an alumna of the National Hispana Leadership Institute, 1993 Fellow, National Hispana Leadership Institute, in collaboration with Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and The Center for Creative Leadership.