Hariharalaya Retreat Centre: Getting Comfortable Outside My Comfort Zone
It’s not my proudest moment when I say that I’m a city girl.
I don’t like dirt, but it’s something you can’t avoid forever (something you can’t avoid ever, actually) at Hariharalaya. Dirt is omnipresent, on the soles of my feet - people walk barefoot indoors and outdoors, underneath my fingernails, and the constant film of soil or sand or clay on my skin.
I’m not exactly the biggest fan of bugs either. Let me rephrase. I hate bugs, and the mere thought of some of them is enough to give me goose bumps.
Although I’ve explored yoga more in the Philippines 3 months before I left for my trip, and had 1 meditation session at White Space, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about being surrounded by what in my head would be hardcore hippie yogis, compounded by being away from home, and not knowing anyone, and not really having internet access.
Hariharalaya Retreat Centre - Siem Reap, Cambodia
Though words, pictures or videos cannot describe how at home, and at peace I found myself at Hariharalaya where I spent most of my first two weeks of travel, I try to capture a bit of that in this inspired video. And I can only hope that when I do visit them again (as I’m sure I will be back), that I will feel just as at home then. :)
View my blog post on Hariharalaya here.
Love and cosmic connections,
Jen
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My Map To Self-Discovery (Might Be The Map To Yours Too?)
I am only beginning to taste independent solo travel, and already I feel that the universe is speaking to me in a million ways to help me get my ideal life on track.
Over the course of the past 3 days, I’ve been crafting my new life / business plan (while shooting and editing my video for Hariharalaya), and it felt so good to finally share a bit of it to others during creative arts meditation with super-shaolin-Mr.-Miyagi yogi Yaz and my Finnish “mother” Hanne last night.
I created a “Discovery Mind Map” of my scattered thoughts, and now, the image I have in my head giving a speech of sorts when I’ve done what I now set out to do is becoming clearer and clearer in my mind.
Death & Despedidas: Pre-departure Week in Manila
The other morning, over my scrumptious vegan breakfast here at Hariharalaya, my “housemates” Joel & Nick briefly conversed about death, and how for some people, speaking about it is taboo, when in fact it is an idea we should embrace. Personally, I believe that the acknowledgment of death around the corner just helps us live our lives more fully.
Ready to Fly or Die
This may sound a bit melodramatic to more seasoned solo and/or long-term travelers, but in the last week prior to my departure for my 2.5-month solo trip around Asia, I really felt like I was preparing for my demise.
