Last week I went on a fabulous retreat in Umbria, Italy.
It was run by a very special lady, Amazon International Bestselling Author, Andrena Woodhams, with the promise of ‘Coming Home’.
The honest truth is, before I went, I was feeling out of sync with my essence. Even as a coach you can get to a point when your cup is empty.
So when she invited me, I was all ears.
She told me the theme of the retreat was about ‘Coming Home’.
The minute she uttered the words I was ‘in’.
One thing was clear to me: I wasn’t feeling ‘home’. Home in myself: my inner beliefs and wisdom, creativity, optimism, power.
My uncle had passed earlier in the month. My father had been with me for most of November. I was out of kilter.
I didn’t even ask any questions.
If she could claim she was going to take me back to my natural self and equilibrium, I was there.
The disconnect from myself was triggering faint signs of burnout.
The tell tell signs are when I start to lose pleasure in small tasks.…and when I am not taking pleasure from the small things. I was starting to lack the drive to aspire to the bigger pleasures, the dream and vision I have for my life.
I knew I needed to plug out, turn within, refill my cup so I could continue to give to others. The timing couldn’t have been better – a reset before the end of 2022.
Who’d say no to that?
Her approach was an unusual combination that in some ways seemed random but was anything but that. (this is me putting it into my laymen terms!). There were elements of shamanism. Tantra. Yoga. Massages and movements. Yoga. A diet of laughter and connectivity, with myself and with the other women there, all the while eating fresh fruit and vegetables, without gluten, dairy, and fat.
Our days began with large glasses of lemon water and celery juice followed by yoga. We then did meditations, hamams, saunas and massages, and connected to the wilds of mother nature through an excursion to Orvieto and Bagni San Flippo, a wild hot spring set in the middle of a forest. The 48 degree hyperthermal sulphurous – sulphate-calcium-magnesium waters were celebrated by the Romans as restorative medicinal cures.
The breathtaking Casale was in Orvieto Umbria, Italy, with the most incredible host, Gaia and her wonderful family. A recently renovated stunning Casale nestled amongst almost 50 hectares of private farming land where they produce olive oil amongst other produce. The fruit and vegetables were so rich in photosynthesis you could taste it!
It’s surrounded by valleys that look like the backdrops to renaissance paintings and the most charming town on Orvieto steeped in layers of history! (If anyone is looking for a venue for a wedding or party this is the place!)
The promise was – reset and recharge to start 2023 with more vitality and health.
It was just that AND so much more.
So, what is Coming Home?
”If you’re home with yourself then no-one else can squat.”
Andrena Woodhams
Coming ‘home’ is a subtle process of becoming consciously aware that we aren’t our bodies, but that we wear our bodies. She did this by allowing us to access that magical place within us all that is an altered sense of consciousness where we could sit comfortably somewhere between the concrete 3-dimensional world, nature and the spirit world of all creation.
Not only did I feel as if I was sitting in a more aligned position of my body. I could physically feel that I was aligning with myself again.
So, what have I learnt? It wasn’t so much learning, but becoming more of who I am. In no particular order:
We are not our bodies, but we wear our bodies. Inside each of us is a gateway where we connect to the universe, and that is the place she calls home. And it is home, because when we are there, it is the most wonderful feeling of peace and relaxatin.
When we are home, then the connection to our higher self, intuition, spirit guide, wisdom whatever you want to call it, becomes automatic. This place guides us effortlessly into making the right choices and staying in response, not reaction, awareness not judgement, surrender not resistance.
When we are home we become observers of our thoughts, not our thoughts. We release the need to dominate, influence and control all outcomes in our life with our brain. Try doing that for an hour, let alone a lifetime!
When the brain stops being in the driving seat, trying to be number 1, the need to force change and control diminishes. With it the exhaustion of constantly driving with force vanishes.
The brain tries to solve and fix problems but when you are ‘home’ and in your wisdom, all of that, and basically anything else that bothers us, just disappates.
As women we have the power to create and cultivate a relationship with our feminine essence. We are the masters of unity, and that is what the world is needing right now. With various tools, knowledge, and techniques, we can empower ourselves in a way that enhances the sense of connection we have with feminine and own self-mastery.
That without nurturing and nourishing the body, we can’t reach optimal performance. That giving the body the perfect nutrients and movement it needs gives you the horsepower you deserve to be in your potential. It’s the difference between a grand prix driver having a well-built car or not.
That anger needn’t be feared. It’s just an emotion driven by fear. It doesn’t need to be understood, nor is it necessary to take on another person’s unconscious anger. Ifsomeone is venting it on you, it’s not down to you to figure it out and fix it.
That when you are ‘home’ you can build the house. Not the other way around.
And when you’re ‘home’, as Andrena says, ‘no one can squat. Yes, boundaries become effortless.
It’s a subtle process. What you do for yourself today, is a gift to yourself for tomorrow. Patience pays.
Creativity comes from consciousness and when we are in our creativity, we not only have great ideas to bring bold change, we have ease to implement the simplest solutions with finesse.
The universe is a mysterious energy that governs all things and how we respond to it affects whether we elevate our consciousness or not.
When in consciousness we are an open book and we can pick up the pen to write the story of our life – despite the lack and fear that is engulfing the world around us this is still possible when we are ‘home.’ (actually I think the opposite – although this is in my course and we didn’t do this – I think we don’t write our lives, but that by surrendering into the path of our lives, (not what we think is what we need to do) life becomes easier. And we end up doing really what we want to do! We’ve done the hard work. All we really need to do is relax and surrender and trust – down – into ourselves – and everything else just takes care of itself.
Women are stepping into their power with radical responsibility. It truly is our time.
Woman is happiest when in her creativity, when she is manifesting her consciousness.
