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My Story





Travelling and seeing the world is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give yourself. Some of us travel because we feel the emptiness of the monotonous day in day out work routine.

For me it felt like I was constantly doing the same monotonous crap and nothing was ever really changing. Often it was like an empty routine that was killing me from the inside.


I wanted to feel alive again, to have a sense of meaning in my life again.




So in 2009 I packed my bags and I left my safe, boring, lifeless job in Canberra (Australia) and decided I was going to see the world before it was too late.

I flew to Egypt, spent 3 weeks there, then I travelled up through the Middle East and then into Europe.



flickr

In Europe I was having the time of my life - I was relaxing in the paradise of the Greek beaches, partying in Golden Sands (Bulgaria) and hanging out with professional American stoners in Amsterdam (I don't recommend it by the way). When I wasn't doing that, I was staying for free in 5 star hotels in rural Spain, eating the most delicious food and drinking amazing wine -  in exchange for having English conversations with locals.

I was having an awesome time.

Every day was an adventure - unplanned and new and I felt totally alive.

After about 6 months though, I noticed the "new" was feeling old. That feeling that I was trying to escape from was creeping back into my life.


 What is going on? I wondered. Things are new every day, I'm seeing and experiencing amazing things - why am I not happy? Why do I feel the same numb emptiness I felt when I was working and "living" in Canberra?

Maybe I just need to increase the dosage. So I decided to speed things up even more - travel faster, see things faster, get that rush of excitement back.

Didn't work.

Pretty soon I realised that I had created a new routine - the new routine was travel.


As you can imagine that pissed me off quiet a bit because it made me think that there was no escaping this feeling of boredom and numbness inside.

I realised that I was trying to run away from my inner world by filling it with outer distractions - and this meant while I was travelling I was not really in the moment, except in a superficial way. 

Sure I was standing next to the Pyramids of Giza, but instead of really feeling that moment, touching them, tuning into what I felt inside while I was next to these miraculous monuments, like most people there I found myself taking and posing for photos. Then I would think about the next thing to do.


Source: Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

I never really sat there and felt the place. I was too busy, stuck in my mind to really experience being there. Being present there.

To cut a long story short, I started reading a lot of old inner work books and looking around for teachers that could help me find that same sense of unconditional joy and curiosity I had as a child. 

Now as I'm travelling I have different priorities. Instead of ticking things off a list, I forget about photos and rushing. I go to one place, fully take my time to soak it in. I try to eat with locals and the entire time I do my best to not just experience the different culture but stay constantly connected to my inner self - what I am feeling and what I am experiencing. Thinking takes a back seat to present day reality. This has given me meaning.

I now travel with new eyes, I notice more, I experience way more and I can honestly say I feel far more alive. Instead of running from one tourist site to the next and mindlessly crossing it off the list as "done", now it feels more like a 3 dimensional experience - I am really there - and instead of relating to it from just concepts or ideas about it, I let myself really feel what it's like to be there.

I'm talking about being present in every moment. 

Travelling is amazing, but if you are not fully there in every moment, you are missing out on 90 percent of your experience.

Not really a "life" is it?

Below are some schools/resources that helped me out a lot and I can recommend.

I'd love to hear your experiences and also your thoughts on what I've just shared. If you feel like it, drop me a line through Facebook.
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INNER RESOURCES






- 10 day intensive retreat 
- Located in nearly every country in the world
- Pay whatever you can afford at the end of the retreat. No payment is also fine.






- A one off retreat 
- 8 days
- Locations in Germany, Greece, Australia and elsewhere.
       
                

                                      

Ridhwan School / Diamond Logos Academy
- Combines modern ego psychology with meditation and the Socratic approach to self understanding.
- Locations in Europe, Australia, USA

If you have any questions about the above either contact the schools directly or send me a message through the facebook page (see link below).

Enjoy!