Time and Opportunity Help us be Present and be Real

I have been blessed to spend 12 days at Sukhavati Ayurvedic Retreat on the beautiful island of Bali. I’ve been there many times before and totally enjoy the experience and gain wonderful health benefits from the deep cleansing. There is always an abundance of really interesting people to share the experience with and I go back to life, as I know it feeling invigorated and peaceful.

This trip, however, was different. This time for one reason or another there was less opportunity for social interaction, resulting in me spending more time alone. My health has always been excellent but this time, after a stressful period of my life, I had manifestations of that stress which meant my treatments were more intense so I couldn’t participate in general activities as much as usual so hence even more alone time.

Turns out this is what the universe had in store for me all along and this period was not only physically healing but emotionally, mentally and spiritually as well. During this alone time, I went within on a deeper level than usual. I  meditated a lot, up to 4 times a day, alongside my usual TM practice I did guided meditations that connected me more deeply with my higher self and spirit guides. I read inspirational books, one, in particular, it seems the universe was signalling me to read for a while now. It was there waiting for me in my room at the retreat, after being previously offered but I had never gotten around to reading it. The treatments themselves also culminate in a holistic whole mind, body and spirit cleaning so all these elements coming together were perfect timing for me. Sometimes everything aligns to allow you the time to engage in self-love and to accept the time and space to be open to re-discover your true self and what you are needing to move forward on your path.

All the messages I kept receiving were centred around a simple yet not necessarily easy premise, “Be present and be real’. If I’m honest, I have to admit that I had been doing a good job of distracting myself. I showed up when I needed to but my head had become skilled at distracting me from anything I didn't really want to deal with; painful things or boring mundane things or things that I just deemed ‘too hard’. It is when we are present and real with ourselves that we can face our reality in a very healing way. 

Now, after this period of healing, I feel far more centred within myself and ready and able to face the reality of life. My own intuition had already been telling me that I was distracting myself, the first step for change but I didn’t feel emotionally strong enough to make that change. I now feel so much more comfortable with myself, believe in my ability to deal with what arises and very importantly, to realise that this is life, I’m living, there are a series of challenges that happen – some fun and easy and others just the opposite! But to get to this point, time and opportunity were needed with myself alongside the acceptance of what I found. I don’t have all the answers but I do feel more able to keep asking them.

Find below a poem I wrote during my time away...