Meet the Indigo Travelers; Lifecoaches of Nana I Ke Kumu
The Indigo Travelers. Hermes, Imma Royal, and Theo Ward. In the 90’s the term ‘Indigo’s’ came to mean those who were thought to possess special, unusual, and sometimes supernatural traits or abilities.
Meet the Indigo Travelers
Indigo Travelers, Imma Royal, 47, and Theo Ward 79, make quite the pair.
Self-proclaimed spiritual partners, ex-lovers, and custodians of the ageless wisdom, these two have made The Dalles their home.
They have set down roots and opened up a non-profit, non-denominational, life coaching organization, Nana I Ke Kumu, in downtown The Dalles.
Nana I Ke Kumu seeks to connect seekers to their values, their breath, their spirit, and the tools they need to live happier, healthier, and more fully realized lives through coaching techniques that blend everything from modern psychology, business, sales, and marketing success trainings, to mysticism, yoga, and astrology.
The pair bring a combined knowledge that spans nearly four decades of study and experience to their life-coaching practice.
Imma Royal currently hosts free Zoom Yoga classes every Saturday at 8:30 AM.
And while their areas of expertise range widely, the two share a love of psychology, all things cerebral and the occult (hidden knowledge).
Imma Royal is a registered Yoga instructor with 15 years of experience in the mental health field and a master’s in social work.
“A lot of people do Yoga because they want to get fit,” said Royal, “But for me, Yoga is more than that. It is a spiritual practice. Yoga is about returning to the breath. Prana is our breath. It is our life force. It brings us awareness.”
At the age of 28, a near-death experience launched Royal’s spiritual journey into the occult. She found peace in Buddhism before meeting Theo and expanding into the study of astrology, and tarot.
The focus of her work is to bring trauma-informed care and attachment theory to her life coaching practices.
Royal’s ex-husband and spiritual partner in this life, Theo Ward, isn’t necessarily the kind of guy you’d imagine to be a spiritual guru and life coach.
The “saint that ain’t” served in the US military and grew up herding sheep on horseback on the largest family owned ranch in the United States.
Where he learned how to castrate sheep in the traditional way… with his teeth.
Theo Ward said it was his time growing up on the ranch helped him to get in sync with the seasons and the rhythms of life and death in nature.
Theo Ward served in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 2nd brigade.
How the two met was a matter of fate.
“There are no accidents,” said Royal. “I was going to this training, I wasn’t going to go, but circumstances had me end up there and when I got there I felt this almost physical kick telling me to sit next to him. Not long after that we got married.”
“I went seeking my spiritual partner,” said Ward, “And I found her.”
Although the two have separated romantically, they continue to own and operate their non-profit life coaching business together.
While Royal brings her own history in mental health to their work, Ward brings a different kind of mental health specialty to the table.
He is a master hypnotist and neuro-linguistic programmer.
He specializes in Timeline Technique.
Timeline technique involves the use of neuro-linguistic programming to get the client into a light trance state, so that they can navigate through their past on a subconscious level.
The timeline technique reprograms the subconscious to release negative emotions and experiences and positively reframe them without retraumatizing the client by causing them to relive or overly examine past experiences.
A graph from a timeline technique workbook.
“It is miraculous,” said Ward. “Psychiatrists do not like it because they wouldn't have a job if everyone used it.”
The client visualizes their timeline- usually as a road or path from above, stretching back to the very beginning of their life. From above they visualize the events that shaped them and remove barriers to their happiness.
Ward said that once someone goes through their timeline healing they usually know whether or not they want to go on a spiritual journey.
“That’s your choice,” said Ward, “We’re not selling a spiritual journey. We’re selling the first two phases that get you to a successful place in life.”
Ward is also a certified Huna (someone who has studied and teaches ancient Hawaiian wisdom including rituals and magic handed down from traditional medicine men) and has decade's worth of study invested into the spiritual occult.
“I studied for years with the Kāhunas* in Hawaii,” said Ward. Translated, Kāhuna means medicine man, priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, an expert in any profession.
This brings us to the name of their non-profit.
Nana I Ke Kumu, is ancient Hawaiian wisdom.
As a literal translation, it means “look to the source” although Royal and Ward have reinterpreted it as “return to the source.”
It is a phrase and teaching associated with breathing techniques, and ancient fundamental Hawaiian values, traditions, and practices that are associated with addressing modern-day family conflicts including drug addiction, abandonment, divorce, incarceration, and domestic violence. Much of the ancient knowledge was handed down by brave Hawaiian’s who vowed to protect their culture from disappearing after white colonizers made such practices (including the hula) illegal
“Up until 1986 it was illegal to be a practicing Kāhuna,” said Royal.
“Punishable by death until 1989,” said Ward, finishing Royal’s sentence.
“They were pretty much in hiding, in secret, and they hid the symbols in the hula dance,” said Royal.
“A‘ohe pau ke ‘ike ka hālau ho‘okahii. All knowledge is not taught at the same school. One can learn from many sources”
Their coaching draws on an eclectic blend of wisdom.
Their coaching techniques draw from many teachers across many cultures.
Some are spiritual teaching techniques, some are from marketing and sales training, and some utilize simple psychology.
“There’s no politics involved. You don’t have to prescribe to just one thing,” said Ward. “Here are all these open doors. And if you pass through, you’ll develop your own path.”
Practices they teach include ho’oponopono, “make things right twice” an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness, Buddhism, Taoism, the Qabalistic tree of life, Tarot, and Yoga.
They also tailor their life coaching based on their client's dominant learning style (visual, auditory, kinetic), 16 Personalities test, and Astrological natal charts.
Some selected texts from the Nana I Ke Kumu library.
But just so you know, the tarot you’ll find here isn’t of the fortune-telling variety.
Ward and Royal, follow the teachings of the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.) and organizations that use the tarot as meditation ‘keys’ that aid in spiritual enlightenment.
BOTA draws upon ancient Jewish mysticism from the Qabalah and blends it with modern teachings about meditation and psychology to harness the subconscious mind to manifest enlightenment and success.
“There’s nothing ‘un’ about the unconscious mind,” said Ward, “Your unconscious mind, the subconscious thinks in symbols, and it can be reprogrammed using symbols to achieve success and higher states of consciousness.”
In the Yoga studio. A poster featuring the BOTA Qabalistic Tree of Life, sits in a place of honor.
Their space in downtown The Dalles is as eclectic as their teachings.
Their studio is an art gallery, yoga studio, occult library, and life-coaching space all rolled into one.
It is home to an antique pottery and jade collection, crystals, Theo Ward’s photography, and bold and vibrantly colored flower paintings by Imma Royal that evoke an ‘opening to the light’.
“My work is inspired by the impressionism of Van Gogh to the abstract of O’Keefe,” said Royal.
Proceeds from the art gallery help to support the non-profit.
“We want this to be a community center. We imagined people could come and sit and read, practice yoga, and build community here,” said Royal. “Members get full access to our library and Yoga studio, as well as bi-monthly life coaching sessions.”
Membership starts at $30 a month.
What You Get
Bi-monthly one on one life coaching which includes: Timeline Technique, Values Elicitation, Huna, Astrology, Chakras and Tarot.
Receive personalized mantra
Once monthly group meetings
Learn your 16 personalities type with free printout
Free Astrograph Natal Report
Access to our full library
Free weekly Astro Yoga and Meditation classes
Free copy of the Tao Te Ching
What You’ll Learn
Find purpose and build a foundation for your spiritual path
Practice mindfulness in your life and find clarity
Understand how your values impact decisions
Apply the specific mindset to achieve success
Clear unwanted emotions that cause suffering
Learn to center your intention with a clear vision of success.
“Each person is unique. Their journey is unique. We offer simple tools. All it takes is earnest effort and commitment to your practice and you’ll see results,” said Royal.
Curious?
Get started with a free Values Elicitation to help you find your life’s purpose.
“Values are emotional or spiritual states of being that do not depend on others,” said Ward. “They are the one true driver to full success.”
Values, are states of being. If our values are a train driving us forward then the top value is the engine car of our life and determines where we’re going and at what speed.
“The words we say and think impact our success. For your top values, you have a word that is particularly meaningful to you. We have a special way of finding that word and because of that way, the word will be uniquely yours,” said Royal.
Royal said that most people know what things they value… but they don’t know which values are the real driver of their existence and how they pertain to a state of being and existing in the world.
“Many people can see dramatic improvements in their life just by identifying their top 10 values. It helps people create a foundation and find their sense of purpose,” said Royal.
“It’s the first thing we do with people. It helps them get their feet wet. And if they decide, after the values elicitation, that they want the full package... then we're here to help support them on their journey.”
Some wisdom from the new English version pocket edition of the Tao te Ching by Lao-tzu.
