The Energy Between Us: Understanding Mal de Ojo and Envidia

Have you ever felt mysteriously drained after someone stared at you too intensely? Or noticed a sudden headache after receiving excessive compliments? Your abuela might have called it "mal de ojo" – the evil eye – and she was tapping into ancient wisdom about energy transfer that modern science is only beginning to understand.

In this illuminating bonus episode, I respond to a listener's question about cultural energy practices and dive deep into the mystery of mal de ojo. This isn't about superstition; it's about energy misdirection that can affect your wellbeing. I share my childhood experience with a traditional egg cleansing (limpia con huevo) and explain why babies are particularly vulnerable to these energy imbalances. You'll discover practical protection methods including the significance behind those red bracelets, deer's eye seeds, crystal work, and the power of intentional prayer – regardless of your religious background.

We also untangle the crucial difference between envidia (envy) and jealousy – terms often used interchangeably but representing fundamentally different emotional states. Jealousy fears losing what you have, while envidia wants what someone else possesses. This distinction matters deeply for your healing journey. I guide you through self-reflection questions to transform these challenging emotions into catalysts for growth rather than sources of shame. The episode concludes with a guided energy cleansing meditation you can return to whenever you feel energetically compromised. Remember, spiritual hygiene is just as essential as physical cleanliness – it's about reclaiming your energetic sovereignty. Share your own protection practices or experiences with me at [e-mail], and let's continue building this healing community together.

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Episode Transcript

Dora (00:00):
Hola, mi gente linda, bienvenidos to Ay Mijita, the
podcast where we talk about allthose cositas we keep quiet en
nuestras familias, en lacomunidad and even dentro de
nosotros mismos.
I'm Dora Alicia Praxedis,intuitive healer, life coach,
and your compañera on thisjourney of healing,
self-discovery and embracing ourraíces.
Today I'm dropping a littlebonus episode because the

(00:23):
listener sent me a question thatme hizo pensar we need to talk
about this.
So we're diving into el mal deojo, the evil eye, y también
we're clearing up the differencebetween envidia and jealousy,
because although people usethose words like they're the
same, they're really not.
Así que let's get into it,shall we?
Hola, hola, and welcome to I,Ay Mijita, embracing your Roots.

(00:54):
I'm your host, Dora AliciaPraxedis, intuitive healer, life
coach, mamá, hija hermana yproud First Gen Mexicana doing
the deeper inner work to breakgenerational cycles and
reconnect with my true self.
This podcast is for you who'sever asked yourself why am I
like this?
Because deep down, you knowthere's more to your story than

(01:16):
just survival.
Here we dive into the messy,the magical, the medicine of
healing, from inner child workto energetic limpias, astrology
to ancestral wisdom, humandesign to hard boundaries.
I share my lived experiences,spiritual tools and teachable
moments, all with corazón yhonestidad.
So grab your cafecito tecito orthat bubbly drink you love and

(01:40):
let's get into today's episode,porque tu historia, tu voz y tu
healing matter.
Okay, let's start with el mal deojo.
If you grew up Latino, latine,mexicano, you probably heard
your mamá, tu abuelita or yourtías talk about this.
Right, it's the belief thatsomeone can harm you, not
necessarily physically butenergetically, just by looking

(02:02):
at you with envy, or evensometimes with too much
admiration.
For example, cuando alguiendice, ah, que lindo bebé.
But they don't touch the babyor they don't do the señal de la
cruz, people say that babycould get sick, crying
consolably, catch a fever,cositas like that.
Babies are believed to beespecially vulnerable because su

(02:24):
energía es más abierta.
And here's the thing mal de ojoisn't always malicious.
A veces it's admiration.
Someone sees you shining andenergetically, without realizing
it, they're sending you a zapof energy that tu cuerpo feels.
Have any of y'all ever feltsuddenly tired after someone
stares at you too hard, o queyou start feeling anxious, dizzy

(02:47):
or hasta with a headache afterbeing around certain people?
That could be energy.
Eso es lo que nuestrasabuelitas knew how to explain,
even if they didn't have thefancy words.
So remember, mal de ojo isn'tnecessarily brujería, it's just
energy misdirected.
Mal de ojo isn't necessarilybrujería, it's just energy
misdirected.
I remember once, cuando estabachiquita, I got so sick after a

(03:09):
party where everyone keptpinching my cheeks and saying,
ay, que bonita adora.
My mom did a limpia with thehuevo that night and I remember
how the egg came out withbubbles and some strings white
strings and después de eso Istarted feeling better.
Have you ever had an experiencelike that?
Dm me and tell me your story.

(03:32):
So ¿cómo nos protegemos del malde ojo?
First, the famous red bracelet,la pulserita roja.
You've seen it right.
Sometimes it has a little ojocharm, like a blue eye that's
meant to block or absorb badvibes.
Another one is el ojo de venado, the deer's eye seed.
People wear it on necklace or abracelet.
Se cree que it absorbs energyor bad intentions.

(03:54):
And of course, we've beentalking along last episode with
limpias.
A limpia can be done with ahuevo, con hierbas o cristales.
It's all about clearing yourenergy and starting fresh.
También, oración, prayer it'sone of the biggest things that I
use in my work, calling on yourguides, your ancestors.

(04:15):
You don't have to be religious,just intentional.
Spiritual hygiene is key, migente.
Think about how we bathe towash off dirt.
Limpias wash off energy.
It's pretty much the sameconcept I personally carry on me
on my wrist.
I love bracelets.
It's clear quartz and the rosequartz.

(04:37):
And I'm not going to lie.
Sometimes I carry othercrystals in my bolsa.
I put them in my bra.
Sometimes even it's like myenergetic shield, so when I feel
drained I hold it and I ask formy energy to come back to me,
and I'm very intentional withthis practice.
Do you carry something forprotection?
Click on the link.
Send a message below in my shownotes Déjame saber.

(05:00):
I'm very curious as to whatthings do you implement in your
vestuario or in your bolsa, orwhat things you use to clear
your energy.
Ahora let's talk about envidiaversus jealousy, because a
listener me preguntó ¿es lomismo la envidia que jealousy?
The short answer no.
Jealousy is the fear of losingsomething you already have, like

(05:24):
I'm jealous of my partnertalking to someone else.
Envidia is wanting what someoneelse has, like I wish I had her
job, su pareja, su casa, suglow up, you name it.
Envidia has a heavy vibe in ourculture porque nadie quiere
admitir que se siente.
We say Dios me libre de laenvidia.
But let's be honest.

(05:45):
Somos humans.
We all feel envidia sometimes.
The danger is when we let itfester Energetically.
Envy can create a cord betweenyou and the person you envy.
It's like you're sending yourenergy out towards them instead
of keeping it contigo mismo, andsometimes that's how mal de ojo
happens, even without meaningharm.

(06:06):
Let's give you an example.
You scroll through Instagramand you see someone announcing a
new business, una boda, unviaje, and you feel that sting.
That's envidia.
But you also have a choice.
Do you stay stuck in envy or doyou ask yourself what is this
showing me about my own desires?
Where do I want to be?

(06:27):
Is that something que añoro?
That's something I want.
That's the difference betweenstaying trapped or using it for
growth.
Now let's sit here for a minuteand reflect on this.
I want you to ask yourself whatam I secretly desiring?
That I'm afraid to admit, andyou can pause this and kind of
reflect on it.
Whose life do I compare mine toand why?

(06:51):
Like, of course, we know thatcomparison game right, it is the
thief of joy.
So sit with yourself and askand tap in and try to figure out
.
Why is this coming up for you?
What would it look like to givemyself permission to want more?
These are the kinds ofpreguntas that help free us, nos

(07:12):
liberan, and they pay offdividends later on.
So back to our listenerquestion ¿es lo mismo la envidia
que jealousy?
Nope, jealousy is fear oflosing something.
Yours Envidia is wanting whatbelongs to someone else.
It could be tu forma de ser,like how you are with others or

(07:34):
how you have your relationshipwith your family, your husband,
your wife, or it's somethingthat you have that someone else
wants, such as your house, yourkids.
Don't get me wrong.
Sometimes people kind ofglamorize and think, oh, the

(07:54):
other side of the fence is waygreener than my side of the
fence.
But at the end of the day youhave to keep your side of the
fence, you have to tend to it,and everybody all knows what's
going on in their house.
When you see someone's house,that's beautiful, let's say, or
they have a beautiful family orall that.
That's a true testimony of howmuch hard work that goes into it

(08:18):
.
I can tell you firsthand likemy husband loves to do stuff
around the house and that's justhis jam.
But there are times where hedoesn't do such an amazing job,
let's just say, and it wasbetter to hire a professional.
So you have to kind of go backand forth on certain things with
yourself, on how do you want tolive, how do you want to stay

(08:40):
true to yourself, right?
Do you want to live somebodyelse's life or do you want to
just tap into yourself andreally pause to think what do I
want to do today?
Como quiero vivir yo?
Like?
Maybe I want some of that.
I want to be nicer, I want tobe more accepting or more
patient, and you work on it.
You make that difference.
That's how you're going to movemountains.

(09:01):
You're going to have faith inyourself and trust yourself that
you're doing the right thingsat the right time, because for
me, everything is in divinetiming.
Sometimes we grow impatientbecause things are not going our
way, and just rest assured thateverything's happening for you,
and it's again like crackingyou open.
You never know what's aroundthe corner.

(09:23):
So just keep on at it.
And the key is don't shameyourself for feeling either one
jealousy or envy.
Instead, use those feelings asclues to ask yourself what am I
lacking?
What do I wish I could createfor myself?
How can I bring my energy backhome to me, to myself.

(09:45):
Eso, mi gente, es transmutarsombra en luz turning shadow
into light.
We are all light, that's mybelief.
But through circumstances wegrow these layers like an onion
that we have to peel and gothrough, and we even cry, like
when we're peeling the onion orcutting the onion.
So that's just somethingmetaphorically, to kind of

(10:07):
noodle on.
Gracias por hanging out conmigoen este bonus episodio.
I hope esto te dejo pensandoabout how we carry energy, how
we protect it and how to keepenvy from stealing our paz.
If you've got preguntas ortemas you want to talk about,
slide into my DMs or email me atdoradorapraxedescom.

(10:33):
I love hearing from you.
And don't forget embrace yourraíces, reclaim your esencia.
Nos vemos en el próximo episodio, cuídense.
Before I let you go, let's do aquick limpia en voz alta.
Okay, sit back, relax, getcomfy, close your eyes, take a

(10:55):
deep breath in, breathe out.
Imagine a golden light aroundyou Burning away envy, burning
away that mal de ojo or anycords tying to you to the other
person's energy.

(11:15):
Let it melt into that goldenlight, cascading from your top
of your head, down yourshoulders, down your back,
through those hips and thoselegs, down to your legs, your
calves, the foot, and downunderneath your feet Into the

(11:45):
ground, and repeat after meDevuelvo cualquier energía que
no es mía.
Me quedo con mi luz, me quedocon mi paz.
Así es y así será.

(12:07):
And you can stay here as longas you need, but if you're ready
to kind of come back to yourbody, it's así de simple, mi
gente, you can open your eyes,feel your toes and just be
grateful for this moment.
Sit here or lay down, figureout what's best for your body.

(12:31):
Alrighty, sending you much loveUntil next time.
Gracias por acompañarme, cariño.
I hope this episode offered youa moment of connection with your
story, your ancestors, or maybeeven a part of yourself you've
forgotten.
Remember, healing isn't linear.
Sometimes it's a whisper, aboundary, a quiet no mas.

(12:51):
Other times it's a breakthroughthat shifts everything.
Whatever it is for you today,honor it.
You're not alone on this path.
If this episode resonated,please share it with an hermana,
hermano, a prima, primo or acomadre who needs to hear it too
.
Leave a review, hit, subscribeand let's keep building this

(13:12):
healing comunidad together.
Till next time, keep embracingyour raices, reclaiming your
esencia and walking your path Padentro y pa afuera.