Finding Light in Tulum: Tom Barnas’ Journey Into Spirit, Heritage & Healing

There’s something about Tulum that hits you before you even touch the sand. Maybe it’s the hum of the jungle, maybe it’s the charged air rolling in off the Caribbean, or maybe — as Tom Barnas describes it — it’s the place where your soul finally gets the memo to slow down.

For Barnas, Tulum wasn’t just another beach escape. It was a full-throttle spiritual reset. He talks about standing at the shoreline, letting the ocean wash away weeks, months, maybe years of noise — the kind of internal static you don’t realize you’re carrying until nature forces you to put the world on mute.

Then came the cenotes: those deep, mysterious freshwater pools carved into the earth like portals. Barnas dove in — literally and spiritually — describing the water as “a cleanse more emotional than physical,” the kind that pulls you back to yourself. The experience hit harder than he expected, stirring something ancestral, something old, something real.

And Chichen Itza? That wasn’t a sightseeing stop — it was a confrontation with history. Standing beneath the shadow of the ancient pyramids, Barnas felt a surge of connection to his heritage, a tug on the thread that ties us to the people who came before. It wasn’t academic. It was visceral.

Through it all, one theme kept calling back: manifestation. Intention. The belief that you can actively shape your future if you’re willing to quiet the chaos long enough to hear what you actually want. Barnas encourages listeners to chase their own version of that awakening — whether it’s on a Mexican shoreline, deep in a cenote, or right in their own living room.

Because the journey isn’t about the destination at all. It’s about giving yourself permission to reconnect with the parts of you that have been waiting to surface.

For more Stories From The 78, follow @tombarnas78 on Instagram and @storiesfromthe78 on TikTok.