Wow. I do NOT know where to start from. If you could only see what is happening inside my head.
OK let’s start from right now.
I’ve been in Cyprus for two days and I spent the first one at the beach, at a gorgeous little bay in Protaras, Sirena Bay (with a cute, bohemian restaurant at the top of a hill overlooking the sea) which felt like manna from heaven, like rain after a hot, humid day, like a hot cup of tea and chocolate digestives on a freezing cold, winter afternoon.
As you know, I spent August in Cambridge doing my CELTA course. One of the most challenging, intense, stressful but also rewarding, extraordinary experiences of my life so far.
I haven’t slept more than a few hours a night for a month, I cried many a times, my anxiety completely paralysed me more than once, I didn’t get to see Cambridge much, visit Grantchester or the Wren library or go punting (I’m definitely returning in Cambridge just to do all this) but it was all worth it, not only for getting the qualification and marked as ‘above standard’ (Who? Me! I never taught in my life!) but mostly for the friends I made from all over the world. My classmates, my students, my flatmates. I’ll write about it very soon to share my experience with others who are considering doing the CELTA. For now, I’m still trying to recover from it. I still dream of lesson plans, teaching, my classmates, my tutors.
On my last day in the UK, I visited my brother Andi and had an awesome day in London. It didn’t feel real what was happening. I have actually left Southampton for good, I finished my course and I’m on my way to Cyprus, with no fixed plan. What the hell.
I’m in Cyprus since Sunday and I feel completely lost. Should I try and get an English language teaching job and get experience right away, since I absolutely loved teaching, but leave in a month, or should I do what I originally planned, and have a few months of holiday, write, make videos, read books, try different things and then go? Should I go in Vietnam first or Costa Rica? Asia or Latin America? Or Europe?
No bloody idea. For now, I’ll leave all of this behind and enjoy a couple of weeks of holiday, a few days in Protaras and then Rhodes (vlogs coming very soon), get back into my yoga, give my mind time to rest and reset and then who knows.
To all my friends, in Southampton, Cambridge, Russia, Bangladesh, Spain, Italy and wherever else you might be, I miss you dearly already.
I sometimes wish making a decision was easy, so many options but then again how boring life would be if I didn’t have any.
Socialising over food is probably my favourite thing to do. If I could I’d do it all day, every day. No wonder is scientifically proven to have health benefits, physical and psychological.
It’s even better when I get to try a new place in town with one of my favourite friends, Lucy. Let me tell you a little bit about Lucy.
Lucy is sweet, caring, funny, we can talk about anything and she is always happy to try new places. We always run out of time every time we meet, because we lose track of it every single time.
Our schedules are already getting busier and we are not even in December yet but we finally made it, we always do. We always make time for the people we care about, it’s a universal human attribute I guess.
There’s a new-ish waffle restaurant in town, Pere Waffle that’s been on my list of new food places to try (still haven’t tried the new Lebanese one, Beity, where Kibbeh, the equivalent to Cypriot κουπες, ‘minced beef croquettes’, one of the my guilty pleasures I enjoy every time I go home features on the menu) and of course sweet Lucy loved the idea of giving it a go.
I love a waffle, but I never tend to finish it, last one I had was a couple of years ago at Sprinkles and it was too sweet, too big, too of everything.
I decided to go for a savoury, ‘papounet’ (stuffed) one, since I’ve never tried a savoury one before. No idea why. I’ve had savoury crepes and pancakes plenty of times before but never waffles. Bizarre.
I had the salmon, tzatziki and cream cheese one, the Atlantico, and it was delicious, much better than I expected. The waffle was light and soft, and the ingredients tasted fresh, the best sign of great food. Brownie points for the salad dressing. Most restaurants in the UK serve the salad plain, tasting of nothing, but a bit of vinaigrette makes a world of difference. And extra brownie points for the portion size. Not too small, not ridiculously large. Just perfect.
Lucy fancied something sweet so she went for Parisian, cheesecake in a waffle, heaven!
We enjoyed every bite whilst chatting about anything and everything, work, friendship, love life, fashion, our clumsiness, and we laughed, a lot.
I loved everything about Pere Waffle, cute, cosy space, friendly service and reasonable prices for such great food. I can’t wait to go again and try different fillings. And I can’t wait to see Lucy again!
2:30pm. I’m sitting on my bed listening to Oldies songs, daydreaming. Don’t Stop Believing just came on, reminding me of all the laughs we had learning to sing it at the Staff Choir with Dan years ago, it goes on and on and on and on…
Tomorrow this time I’ll be arriving in Bordeaux. The excitement will probably keep me awake most of the night but all worth it and my week off work wouldn’t have kicked off better.
Day one started with a lazy morning, delicious dinner at La Regata, and drinks with great company.
I was meeting a friend for dinner and I really fancied Spanish Tapas. My Spanish friend Santi as a fellow Mediterranean food lover recommended La Regata down at Town Quay, ‘If you want authentic Spanish food, that’s the place to go’.
I’m now in love with this place. Colourful, traditional and warm decor, the friendliest, most attentive service probably in Southampton, the waiters came over to check on us a couple of times as well as the manager, the lady at the reception even remembered my name (it’s all about the personal touch) and the food was delicious!
I struggle with choice, so deciding which tapas to have was not an easy task. But my food partner for the night and one of the lovely waitresses made it very easy.
We went for six tapas: Queso de Cabra (Grilled goats cheese on toast, topped with caramelized onions and balsamic dressing), Pollo al Chorizo (Chicken cooked with chorizo in a light tomato sauce), Cerdo Crujiente ( Slices of grilled crackling pork belly, served with a spiced apple sauce), Arroz Espanola (Saffron rice with meat and seafood), Gambas Regata (King prawns cooked with chorizo in garlic oil) and Albondigas (Beef meatballs in a tomato sauce).
And I tried their Sangria (my beer lover friend had a classic San Miguel, I think, don’t take my word for it).
All the tapas, not surprisingly were delicious. Flavoursome with just plenty of herbs and spices, as it should be, freshly prepared and very filling. And my sangria was just perfect.
We struggled to finish them, but that’s maybe because we both chatted too much.
I can’t believe I’d never been to La Regata before until yesterday. I genuinely can’t wait to visit again and try more of their scrumptious dishes. Needless to say, I’d definitely recommend it. Local, independent, authentic Spanish restaurant, friendly service and great atmosphere.
Words cannot describe how happy I am it’s finally the weekend.
March has probably been the busiest month so far in 2018 personally, socially and professionally.
Staying late at work planning the AS Away morning, putting together the programme for the day, ensuring the catering arrived on time and other event related issues you can imagine whilst trying to stay on top of everything else, urgent requests, ongoing projects and the list goes on was fun, I love a challenge, but exhausting.
In the evenings and the weekends I caught up with friends and had one of the best nights out leaving me with no time to actually catch up with myself, do my yoga, spend time on my guitar or even write on my blog.
Now I have a week off to catch up with everything, do the things I love and try new things.
Last week I went on an interview at a job at the University. I wasn’t sure whether to apply, it was a much more interesting job compared to what I do (though most of the peeps working in that team applied for it, meaning my chances were slim) but most importantly, although I still don’t know what my dream job is, I know what it isn’t. And this wasn’t.
I was surprised I was invited for an interview but I did my best to prepare in the little free time I had and I made new friends along the way across the University. Thank you Dan for all your help and our chats, it was a pleasure meeting you. And thank you Meredith, Caroline and Phil for giving me the opportunity, I’ve learned something new about a great University service, I didn’t know before.
I didn’t get the job in the end. I wasn’t surprised I didn’t get it, but I was surprised I was not disappointed. I felt relieved. I may not love my current job, although I always do my best, but it allows me mentally, physically and practically to do more of the things I love outside work. And although I don’t believe in ‘meant to be’ I have a feeling that something bigger and better is coming my way.
Since a couple of bad experiences I had recently (a job I really wanted I applied for and didn’t get it, went on a date after two years and it went terribly bad) without consciously realising my life attitude has dramatically changed. I give things a go and if not working, I move on and after a day or two, I’m back enjoying life to the full. Because it is too damn short.
My friend Chris told me recently ‘If someone a year ago had said that you would be smashing PBs for leg presses you ‘d have never believe them. Odd how life changes!’
Of course I wouldn’t. Who would have thought! A year ago I was struggling with depression. I didn’t want to leave the house. I felt lost and alone.
Life changes because I changed it.
A year later, I’m stronger and healthier, I’ve met incredible humans who I now call my friends, I’ve made beautiful memories, I tried new things and I’m now going on my first ever solo trip in two days!
And I couldn’t be more excited, albeit a bit scared. Which makes me feel even more excited.
On Thursday I had the chance to visit the beautiful, colourful, vibrant Below Bar studios again as a BA (Hons) Fine art student invited me for a chat and a browse around the Fine Art studio. A post on that coming soon but what inspired me most about Andy was his love of Art and what he does. It may have taken him 30 odd years, since life is never easy and he had to work from a young age providing for his family, but he is finally now chasing his dream of becoming an artist.
A shining, bright example that is never late to chase your dreams. Just remember to live life to the full and enjoy every moment you can in the meantime…
I may not know what I really want to do with my life yet, since I love more than one things, writing, food, mental health, events management, staff development, marketing, drawing, anything to do with people, music although If I could make a living writing about food whilst travelling I’d go right now, but I know it will never be late to chase my dreams.
I’m sitting at one of my favourite little cafes in Southampton, The Docks Coffee house with a hot cup of Americano and a delish fruit loaf served in cute, vintage cutlery.
I enjoy writing in random places, other than home but I don’t get much free time to do it. Last time it was way back in July, when I ventured to Mettricks on a warm, summery Sunday afternoon to write about Awakenings, one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read.
Back then I was terrified to go sit at a cafe on my own, I was still struggling with depression and I found it a little bit overwhelming, maybe because it was busy and loud, normal, everyday situations that could cause a panic attack when you are dealing with depression and anxiety.
But today I feel better than ever, I love sitting on this cosy comfy armchair writing and people watching.
Sunday blogs…
I don’t normally post on specific days, it all depends when I get the time and if I feel like it, but over the last couple of weeks I love reflecting back on each week, especially since the last month or so has been really busy I don’t get time to stop, wait a minute (terrible UpTown funk pun) and think of what happened every day. I try to break habits because I hate routine but I grew to love my Sunday posts and I hope to keep up with it.
Last week of February
On Sunday, after posting my last blog on Life, Death and Everything Between I made a delicious, healthy dinner to help me kick off the week on the right foot. Et voila (my new obsession: Courgette spaghetti).
Monday, not fun day
But the next morning I was just not feeling it. I felt drained emotionally and physically. Sad news and tiredness took its toll. One of those Mondays as I phrased it on the day
My momma Donna was already on the case, she knew how to cheer me up. She got me a cute little Happinness Journal so I can write what made me smile every day and remind myself to enjoy the little things and that life it’s still beautiful no matter what. Thank you Donna.
Tuesday- the first Snow
Tuesday was so busy I didn’t get to have my first cup of coffee until 10:30am, I was late for singing and the whole day felt like a blur. One of the very few things I remember was all the hugs, from Dan, Helen, Emma and other lovely humans and the snow blizzard which unfortunately only lasted for 10 minutes (who would have thought the University would be closed a few days later due to snowstorm). In the evening some colleagues (I loved all the food convos with Denise, Fraser and Chris, I had to mention it) and I went for a drink to say goodbye to our lovely colleague Peter who left Solent to go travelling. I love our kitchen chats, talking about travelling and photography. Peter if you are reading this, I hope you have an amazing time in Cape Verde and see you soon!
Wednesday- Glorious food and glorious show
Wednesday was a long long, busy day again but it turned into the most amazing evening I had in a while, A finger-licking three course meal at Soleto (including the most delicious Wild Mushroom Ravioli I’ve ever tasted, no exaggeration) a gorgeous little Italian opposite the Mayflower followed by Miss Saigon, one of the best shows I’ve seen at the Mayflower so far. More on that including lots of snaps here. (But here’s the dinner we had).
Thursday- Snow is falling… and some Gyros
On Thursday, Snowmageddon struck. I woke up to a white blanket covering everything. But our lunch plans with Jamie were to go ahead. We’ve been meaning to go for lunch for a long time and we were to try the Greek restaurant Lemoni, we wouldn’t let the snow ruin our plans.
I missed Greek food and I was seriously craving it for a while so I enjoyed my Gyro in Cypriot pitta to the point I’ve actually finished it. I rarely manage to but the cold and my cravings had something to do with it… We also shared a scrummy feta baked in Filo pastry sprinkled with honey and sesame seeds, Jamie loved it so much he wants to learn how to make it.
After lunch we were told we could go home. I could not believe it! I’ve been to Southampton for almost 8 years now, we were never sent home because of snow. It felt I was living somewhere in Siberia. It took me 20 minutes to walk back home because of inappropriate footwear, it’s a miracle how I didn’t fall on my face, but I weirdly enjoyed it. It felt like being in a fairytale.
I spent the rest of my afternoon catching up with my friends back home and I loved every minute.
What I didn’t expect was:
Friday Snowday… and being brave
Yes, the University was closed! So it was not safe to walk outside, it was freezing and I was to spend the day at home. Under other circumstances I wouldn’t mind at all. But because I couldn’t go out, I got cabin fever by the end of the day. The mind works in mysterious ways always wanting what it can’t have and undervaluing what it already has…
So what to do? I facetimed my little sis, I booked my ticket home in May (yeay) and then inspired by Donna’s gift I booked ticket and a gorgeous AirBnb in Bordeaux, MY FIRST EVER SOLO TRIP (double yeay!). I’m incredibly excited and a little scared but I cannot wait!
What I learned the last couple of weeks is that life is too short and I want to do more of the things I really want to but I’m scared of. And going on my first trip alone is the first step.
Saturday- Finally out
On Saturday I got up early for a change. I was desperate to get out of the house so I woke up at 9, did all the boring chores one must do to remain a semi-responsible adult and got out! I did my essentials shopping and I finally ordered new glasses, wait until you see ‘Smart looking Eleni’ with my fancy new reading glasses.
In the evening I did what I’ve been doing when I get some free time, binge watching Parks and Recreation, one of the best, funniest shows I’ve ever watched. Thank you to Jamie for recommending it and Sarah and Pat for all the fun we have talking about it.
Looking back, it’s been an incredible week.
Here’s to March, it’s looking good already…
Namaste
Eleni
PS. Happy birthday CHRIS!!!! Thank you for being an incredible friend and all round good egg x
After an interesting but challenging, busy day running around for most of it, I could not wait for my dinner and theatre evening.
I’ve been daydreaming for that first sip of wine for days… I’ve been looking forward to seeing Miss Saigon since we booked our tickets a month ago… I’ve been drooling thinking of the Ravioli from the first moment I saw that Insta Story weeks ago…
It’s all about the little things, I lost count how many times I’ve been told by friends, colleagues, even people I recently met that they love how I enjoy life and make the most of it. It’s true. And I looked forward to this evening more than words can describe.
First stop Soleto, a little Italian just opposite the Mayflower. I’ve never heard of this restaurant until a couple of weeks ago. During one of my long sessions on Instagram exploring, I came across this snap on the Southampton location Insta story of the most gorgeous looking ravioli I’ve ever seen. That’s one of the ways I discover all the little gems I often blog about. I googled the place, as one does and it had great reviews on TripAdvisor.
The gang trusts my instinct when it comes to food and they were all up for trying Soleto before the theatre. I’ve made a reservation a couple of days ago and the lovely manager on the phone after hearing my name asked where I was from as my name sounded Greek. I told her I was Greek Cypriot and she had a giggle before telling me that her husband, George/Yiorgos was Greek and he is the cook, he would be the one preparing our meals. It made my day. It reminded me of my dad, cooking delicious fish every night… I almost knew the food would be amazing.
And it was one of the best three course meals I had in a while. Everyone else agreed.
For a starter we shared the Baked Camembert with Garlic and Rosemary which came with Toasted Ciabatta and Chilli and Onion Chutney. Heavenly runny Camembert, with just the right amount of garlic and herbs, warm, crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, homemade ciabatta and delicious, spicy chutney. We loved it so much we ordered a second.
I usually struggle to choose a main, but this time I knew from the moment I’ve seen it on that story that I had to try the Wild Mushroom Ravioli. Oh my lord. Perfectly cooked ravioli beautifully laid in a creamy Leek and Pine nut Sauce, with of course grated Parmesan on top.
I could not decide what to have for pudding, I love a chocolate tart but the lovely manager recommended the Creme Brulee. It was the perfect pudding to finish off this incredible meal. Light and fluffy, not overly sweet.
All the dishes were beautifully presented which makes a difference. If it looks good, it rarely doesn’t taste good!
I’m not a big wine drinker but Dave’s recommendation of red hit the spot. Light, smokey, smooth, it was the perfect choice for our meal, especially on a bitterly cold, winter night.
And for all of that we only paid £35 each, tips included! I’d definitely pay more.
After dinner, warmed up, happy with full belly, we headed to the theatre to see Miss Saigon.
I do not want to reveal much in case you are about to go and see it but it was hands down one of the best shows I’ve seen at the Mayflower.
Incredible props and sets and beautiful, colourful, authentic costumes, for a moment you forget you are in Southampton and you are transferred to 1970’s Vietnam.
The music was amazing, well done to the brilliant orchestra and the maestro co-ordinating the musicians and the outstanding cast singing.
The whole cast was stunning, especially Kim and the Engineer, but everyone was incredible.
I cried in the end not just because of the tragic ending (as one would expect of an Opera adaptation) but because of the beauty of it all, the set, the music, the acting.
Some of my friends and colleagues I’ve talked to afterwards didn’t think it was that brilliant, as they compared it to the London production they’ve seen years ago but as a first-timer I absolutely loved it.
Needless to say I’d recommend it, it’s worth every single penny. And if you decide to go, pop to Soleto for dinner first. I’m going back at the first opportunity to taste more of their dishes.
Delicious food, great company and an amazing show, definitely a night to remember.
Thank you to Solent Staff Scene for the tickets and to the Mayflower for bringing such a great production to Southampton.
Sunday afternoon. I’m home alone, sitting on my bed enjoying the sunshine, listening to my music on Spotify. (obsessed with Ider, Does She Even Know) Pure bliss. I just came home from lunch and I feel it’s the perfect time to reflect on last week. What a better way to start the new week with a clear mind.
Before I take you through this week in Eleni’s world, I want to wish happy birthday to my amazing, sweet, honest, loving, caring dad. I’m not saying any more, otherwise I’ll start crying again. God this week I’ve cried so much it’s unbelievable, but here’s my Insta post, it sums up how lucky I am to have chef Costis as my father.
The week didn’t start well. I doubted myself, I felt inadequate, I felt I wasn’t enough and all of that because I let someone in and I was disappointed. I’ll post about it later, of course I will, I learned from it and that’s why I started this blog. To share what I learn and hopefully others can learn from my mistakes and experiences. I can’t say more right now because things are not clear in my head yet and I learned over the last two years that overreacting never helps. Emotional hijacking that is. When your emotions bypass your thinking, rational self and you are filled with anger, sadness and pain, that’s how humans are made of. It’s hard to master the art of emotional intelligence, but when you do, even a little bit, makes such a difference. More on that later.
What made my Monday better was writing on what I love about Solent. It’s all about the people, it really is. A reminder of how lucky I am to have loving, caring people in my life.
Tuesday
Tuesday was a little bit better than Monday. A heart-felt chat with one of my favourite humans, Dan and our singing session lifted my spirits.
Wednesday
Wednesday was just amazing. I had the best day with Lou and the rest of the Student Achievement team, with the highlight of probably my week, the visit at Below Bar and meeting incredible, talented, brilliant people, exactly what I needed to restore my faith to humanity.
Thursday
On Thursday I finally got to visit Shanghai 1814 and had a great lunch with my lovely ladies. Post coming soon, it’s already been written, there is so much I want to write about this week, I’m not sure when this will go out but coming soon.
Friday
Friday was the best. I woke up feeling homesick. I really wanted to be at home with my loved ones but the day turned better and better. After work I went for a drink, chat and lots of laughter with my UK mamma and her husband Darren and after that I’ve met 4 AMAZING ladies, local bloggers for dinner, drinks and brainstorming. The ideas kept flowing, I can’t even describe how excited I am for what’s to come. I’m not a professional blogger, I can’t stress that enough but I love writing and meeting like-minded individuals it truly is a blessing.
Saturday
Yesterday I needed a day for myself, to do the house chores, take care of my body and my spirit and also change the strings on my guitar, which I managed to do all by myself! So proud!
Sunday
The week ended with delicious lunch in the sunshine enjoying the seaviews with my gorgeous friend Sofy. It’s rare to meet people you just get along and get each other from day one and I’m so incredibly happy life brought us together. I learn so much from her, I can’t wait to do even more things together, so much to do and see, we came up with so many ideas today, I don’t know where to start from.
It’s now been a month I’ve been living with someone else. And I’m still struggling. I just can’t get used to it. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it. I don’t think it’s only because of me struggling to adjust. I’ll post about it this week, since tomorrow it’ll be the one month anniversary.
I’m immensely proud of myself and how much I matured and learned to deal with whatever life throws at me without letting depression and anxiety paralyse me. I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I poured my heart out and opened up about my struggles. It’s tough being honest, open, sensitive and vulnerable in this mad mad world but for me is the only way I can survive.
All throughout this week listening to Shebz sweet voice messages, the highlight of my day, Chris’s emotional support, thank you for making me laugh when I was sad and miserable and Donna’s care, thank you mamma Donna, kept me going.
A very busy week coming up, Pancake Day, the new Nuffield Theatre opening fireworks, and a couple of other things I can’t share yet. I’m hoping I’ll get the time to post about all of it.
Now, time for a yoga session with my favourite gal and a relaxing evening with music and my guitar to fight the Sunday blues.
We’ve got this.
The awesome in me bows to the awesome in you (love you Adriene).
Oh my what a day it has been. I cannot stop giggling today! And it’s all because of last night.
Apologies to anyone who might got annoyed by all my laughing and giggling today at work, I’ve heard someone sighing and I think it’s because of all the noise I made, especially in the kitchen.
And apologies in advance to anyone who practises and enjoys shamanism. I don’t mean to insult anything or anyone. This is just my experience.
So last night, Sheba and I signed up for Journey Circle – music, movement & ritual for inspiration & guidance, an introduction to shamanic practices.
We knew nothing about Shamanism and that’s why we signed up for it. Try something new and different.
So we had no idea what to expect. We found out on the day that we needed to take a pillow, a blanket, a blindfold, a notepad and a pen with us (It was fun walking in town with our blankies and pillows).
That really sparked our curiosity and we really had no idea what was about to happen!
We were there on time, for once, anxiously waiting for the instructor to set everything up and get started.
As we walked upstairs we could smell the incense, a rather pleasant smell. It reminded me of home, my mum’s Greek Christian Orthodox censer.
We took our shoes off and sat in a circle, some on chairs some on the floor.
After a brief introduction of who we were and why we were there (there was a mixture of newbies like us who wanted to try something different and regulars), the instructor asked us if we met our power animal. All the regulars have already met them.
I didn’t know what to think of that but I kept listening. The instructor gave as a brief intro on shamanism (you can find more on wiki here) and told us all about the shamanic tree (the image describes it better than I could ever do) and what was to follow.
She then went on to the initiation ceremony. She played an ancient drum, singing bowls (similar to the clip below), then a maracas type of instrument, saying a little prayer towards each direction (south, east, west, north). And that’s when I first struggled not to laugh. It doesn’t take much to make me laugh on a normal day so for me not to burst into laughing was VERY tough. The first DIIIIINGGG of the singing bowl really tickled me. I’m still laughing thinking about it now.
After that, we were to go into our first ‘journey’. She was to play the drum whilst, blindfolded, we went into our heart sanctuary (we were asked to imagine a place we feel safe and happy like a garden, a beach etc) and explore.
The more advanced ones were to connect with their power animal (still at this stage I was not sure what a power animal was).
So I thought I’ll give it a go. You never know!
On the first journey, my head kept nodding to the drum’s rhythm and I struggled to control it. The drum does put you into trance after a while. I immediately left my ‘sanctuary’ and I was in this jungle running. It reminded me a scene of Hunger Games. And I think that’s what it actually was. A memory rather than entering a spiritual world.
After the 7 minute journey, a wood stick was passed on and we were to share as much or as little we wanted on what we just experienced.
And that’s when I first thought this might not be for me.
The things others have seen, how can it be real? It was clear to me that they just let their imagination run wild.
A lady connected to her power animal which was a wolf and then the wolf ran away from her, this other lady kept seeing this hawk that was avoiding her, another one met a female dolphin and swam together in the river, someone else was flying above the sea on a seagull.
Anyway I thought OK I’ll try a bit harder the second time, although I already knew.
The second journey lasted about 10 minutes. The ones who saw an animal were to talk to them and find out if that was their power animal by asking questions and if the animal wouldn’t talk to see if it followed them on all directions, if it did it meant it was their power animal.
Apparently your power animal is your spirit guide that heals you and protects you.
The rest of us were to go back to our heart sanctuary and try and find an animal.
Well during my second journey, I spent a lot of time trying to remember the name of the beach I imagined and then random memories kept popping up. I completely lost it.
The stories of what others saw got wilder. The wolf from this lady’s journey apparently was seen to this other lady’s journey. A girl was so emotional she couldn’t speak. The lady who saw the dolphin was now sad because the dolphin told her it was dying but it hasn’t told anyone but her, and when it dies it wanted her to take care of her dolphin babies.
On the third and final journey three of the ladies sat next to each other because apparently they were journeying together as each other’s animals met on each other’s journey.
Those who found their power animal went back to ask more questions, find out what the animal wanted and let them heal them. The rest of us were asked to be more proactive, seek our power animal and shout in our heads things like ‘where are you my power animal?’.
Well at this point I stopped trying. During my last journey I was thinking of what to have for lunch the next day, I tried to remember what clothes I was wearing on Monday and other irrelevant thoughts.
And the stories got even crazier.
The woman who kept seeing this hawk now saw a crow which had semi-precious gem stones in its mouth and then she saw a suede glove (I tried REALLY hard not to laugh at this point). She asked the instructor what that meant and she was told she needed to go back and explore more and ask questions.
The three ladies who journeyed together kept staring at each other shocked and they didn’t want to share much about it, one of them just said that it felt like a trance within a trance. At some point one of them was cleaning the other’s ‘aura’ or invisible coat, or at least that what it seemed she was doing.
Another lady imagined she was driving and this animal (can’t remember what animal) sat on her steering wheel and she started talking to it and apparently it said ‘hello, how are you?’
The other lady who saw the dolphin was now sitting next to the river around a campfire having dinner with the whole dolphin family.
The closing ceremony was similar to the opening ceremony, the instructor praying on each direction shaking this ancient maracas instrument, thanking father sky and mother earth.
These are just some of the highlights, unfortunately I didn’t note anything down so I can’t remember all of it.
But you get the idea.
Sheba and I burst into laughing as soon as we walked out. We did well not to laugh for two hours.
I’m sceptical but I don’t think the reason it didn’t work for me was due to any barriers I might have. For me this was not about entering a spiritual world but it was letting my imagination take over and imagine I’m talking to an animal which is there to protect and heal me.
I had mixed feeling afterwards. Although we laughed a lot it was a bit sad too. I realised through all of this that these ladies there were seeking for answers and comfort. And I could see through what they imagined what really troubled them.
A newbie actually figured it out. She imagined a white horse in one of her journeys and she thought it was because her mum, who passed away (who she saw on her first journey but the instructor told her that the spirit guide is always an animal, as you are to connect with nature to enter this spiritual world, so you can’t connect to humans) used to love horses. And that’s what it was.
Well, they are not harming anyone and this is actually helping them so good for them.
It’s not for me though.
I was a bit disappointed there was no dancing as the name of the event implied but I’ve tried it and it actually made me giggle all day today, so I’m happy I went.
But next time I think I’ll try something less deep. Any ideas are welcome.
Lessons I learned after I turned 30 