Why I Created 21 EFFECTS

Many Paths. One Human Search.

By Wolfred Wanch, Founder of 21 EFFECTS

I grew up in Haiti, where spirituality was not something I encountered in only one place or one form.

I attended Catholic school during my elementary years and Baptist school during my high school years. Haitian Vodou was also present in the everyday life around me. Later, I studied with Jehovah’s Witnesses, lived among Seventh-day Adventists, and developed friendships with Muslims after moving to the United States.

Most of what I knew of Vodou in those early years came through observation, not through actively seeking to practice it. I cannot call myself a practitioner of the Vodou religion. But in Haiti, I did not need to practice it to encounter it. It was present in the rhythms of ordinary life, in the gestures of elders, in the ways people spoke about the living, the dead, the land, and the unseen.

I remember seeing elders pour a little coffee or another drink onto the ground as an offering to the lwa or in remembrance of the dead. I witnessed practices and expressions of respect connected to trees and rivers. I saw people throw water in front of their doorways in the morning, and I grew up aware of plants used in everyday life for remedies, good fortune, or protection. I did not always know the origin or precise meaning of every gesture. I observed them, sometimes directly and sometimes from the edges of daily life. They stayed with me because they made me curious about what people believed, remembered, feared, respected, and hoped for.

I also noticed echoes of a relationship with nature in what I learned about the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. I do not mean that Haitian Vodou and Indigenous Taíno traditions are the same; their histories and spiritual understandings are distinct. Rather, I recognized in both an attention to the natural world as more than a backdrop to human life. That resemblance deepened my desire to study traditions carefully instead of dismissing what I did not understand.

Each encounter gave me something to think about. I learned that people may pray differently, interpret sacred texts differently, and hold deeply different understandings of the divine. I also came to appreciate the sincerity with which many people search for guidance, meaning, and a life they can stand behind.

My curiosity reaches even further back. As a child, I was fascinated by what I learned of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the island of Hispaniola before European colonization. Their histories and relationships with the natural world made me ask questions about humanity’s connection to the Sun, Moon, water, earth, and the sacred. I remember observing farmers who timed planting according to phases of the Moon. Whether a practice comes from inherited culture, spiritual belief, or careful observation, I wanted to understand why it mattered to the people who lived by it.

Over time, I realized I did not need to erase the differences among traditions to learn from them. They are not interchangeable. Each has its own history, teachings, communities, and boundaries. Some beliefs speak to me; others invite questions. That is part of learning.

Personally, I believe in a Supreme Being—a conscious Creator and a divine intelligence present throughout creation. But 21 EFFECTS does not ask anyone to adopt my belief. It is a space for curiosity and serious self-examination, open to people of different faiths and to people who are still asking questions.

I believe prayer and contemplation have meaning when they influence how we live. It is easy to make promises. It is harder to keep them when the initial excitement fades. It is easy to seek peace. It is harder to take responsibility, apologize, change a habit, or return after a setback.

That is why I created 21 EFFECTS as a passion project.

It is not a church. It is not a new religion. It is not a shortcut to wealth or spiritual power. It is an invitation to explore wisdom—with sources and respect—and to do the quieter, more demanding work of becoming honest with ourselves.

The website can offer structure. It cannot do the work for us. We must bring our attention, discipline, humility, and willingness to change.

If you begin this journey, I hope you find something that helps you reflect more deeply, live more intentionally, and treat yourself and others with greater integrity. You do not have to agree with every idea you encounter here. I ask only that you approach it with sincerity and a willingness to learn.

Many paths to explore. A lifetime of wisdom to discover. The work begins within.

— Wolfred Wanch