Preamble

Today September 9, 2016 is a magical day. It is the 9th day of the 9th month of the year 9 (2 + 0 + 1 + 6=9). From an energy point of view, 9 resonates with completion and endings. It is  the end of a cycle. It means it’s time to release the old version of yourself and be ready to step into the new awakened essence of your true self. September will be a strong month of changes and transformation accordingly to what I have read.

Today is also a magical day because here I am, blowing my first candle with you guys celebrating my first year abroad and the first year of Ray of Nath with this 15th article. It is such a symbolic and rewarding moment. And I am grateful to share this passage with you.

On September 9, 2015, at the age of 37, I took my first one-way flight to Bali. I left alone with my backpack and landed two days later accompanied by a thousand emotions. My little voice, my heart, my head and my whole body guided me here. They wanted me to do this before but time never seemed right. I procrastinated until I was tired of ruminating the same thoughts over and over again instead of taking action. Now was the time to find out why this desire was still vibrating strongly after so many years. It was time to stop analyzing everything, to trust myself, to let go my doubts and to let the Universe guide me toward my life purpose.

A year later, I am more at peace with the unknown although many questions remain unanswered and of course new ones keep coming in. One of the challenge I have found with the nomadic life is to be constantly in a planning-decision-action mode. I don’t like to over plan but neither to be without any plans at all. Here’s what I was saying in my post on Laos.

To be alone on the road in a continually changing environment is not what I find the most difficult. This is an excellent exercise to learn about yourself, to adapt to change and to gain in confidence. No, the most difficult is to be in continual planning of the destinations, arrangements, visas, flights, transportation, itineraries and so on. An exciting job that always transports me in the future instead of living the present moment. With each entry date comes an exit date. Where to go?, for how long? … Always questions, always decisions to make. Enough to lose the reason why I travel.

I’m not yet able to tell you where I’ll be in two, four, six months or even a year from now. Neither when I will go back to Canada for a visit. However, what is clear is that my desire to live abroad is still there growing strongly in the depth of my soul.

The intense heat, insects, stray dogs, bats, administrative difficulties, ATM fees when the machines actually work with my card, visas, the language barrier, scams, nothing had yet discouraged me from pursuing this path.

But before I tell you about my professional plans for the future, let’s talk about the last year and how did I get the courage to realize my dream.

Inspired, inspiring, inspiration
During the last month I wrote to several people I have met on the road, former colleagues, childhood friends or acquaintances asking them if they would be interested to be part of the subscribers to my blog.  I was humbly surprised by your enthusiasm and to read that I was an inspiration for some of them. Just by my “act of courage” I inspired them. Just by sharing some pictures I made them dream. It confirmed me how we underestimate ourselves and how our words and actions can impact others.

I was really touched by your beautiful words. Then I asked myself, what could I write to continue to inspire you? But mostly how can I help to lighten up the sparkle inside of you that will guide you to act on your dreams?

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Howard Thurman

What is it to be inspiring? Why do we need to be inspired? Beyond making us dream, it also makes us question our own existence. We would like to change something in our life to be truly happy but we are afraid to do so. Changes can be quite scary. Especially when fears and self-doubts come in. A key to eliminating our fears in order to move forward is to understand where they come from.

Spirituality with a big “S”
Spirituality plays an important role in my life and meditation has become essential in my daily routine. It was in 2011 during a yoga class which ended with a short meditation that I wanted to learn more about this moment of well-being. The following year, I went to Thailand to discover a tiny bit of Asia and to learn about Buddhism. I did a short vipassana retreat at the Doi Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai. Very strict and demanding, these retreats are held in complete silence (silence of body, speech and mind), your last meal is served before noon and you basically meditate all-day. A monk life.

Since that trip, meditation has become part of my daily morning ritual. I talked about it in the previous article, meditation allows us to reduce our negative thoughts by replacing them with beneficial intentions. To calm the emotional turmoil by taking control over our thoughts instead of letting them control us.

What I want in my life? If you have not set yourself the goal of your life, what do you do then? It would be useful that the Universe provides you an immense clue, or a giant compass that shows you the direction to take. In fact, the compass is there. To find it, you only need to look within yourself and discover the purest desire of your soul, its dream for your life. Sit in silence. When you discover this desire and understand its essential nature, you have an inextinguishable flame. The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence by Deepak Chopra.

This book is one of my sacred books. I have it with me since my trip to Mexico in 2014. That’s when I decided that my dream of going abroad would become a reality the following year. I keep reading it and each time I find answers that guide me.

Spirituality, Buddhist and Hindu teachings and meditation helped me to solidify my faith and confidence in this project. It was definitely an important part that helped me to take action.

Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come. Rumi

 

Let’s talk logistics

“What would you say to someone who has a dream and who dare not to do it? What are your recommendations? “asked a friend.

I would say dare, stop doubting and to fully trust yourself.
BELIEVE IT AND ACHIEVE IT!

6 key elements that greatly helped me to stay focus on my goal until the end

1. Set a deadline 

• your finance: any debts? how much can you put aside every month? how much do you think you would need?
• your work – holidays? sabbatical? resignation? Look at your annual calendar to determine when would be the best time to leave, for you and for the company.
• Other factors to consider. In my case, plane tickets were more expensive during the summer, so September became my logic deadline.

sildenafil 25mg Individuals that suffer from stress, depression, or other psychological conditions are not able to achieve an erection for longer and it also stimulates the whole sexual experience. However many things may hinder this sexuality purchase sildenafil online or sexual potency among males. Many users call this pill as love pill as it may lead to flimsy male reproductive organ or can cause cardiac stroke and viagra tadalafil other complications. Sometimes the inability to gain an erection with response to smell, touch, visual and auditory stimuli, which trigger the pathways in the brain and strengthen existing ones. viagra purchase no prescription

2. Set a timetable
A timetable helps you to switch from dreaming to be in the reality. It gives you a sense of control on your future. By dissecting the project step by step, you will feel less overwhelmed by the immensity of the task at hand. I had a table with concrete actions to do for every month for a year. The first six months were focused on research and planning, while the last six months were very concrete with tasks like the termination of the lease, inventory of what to sell or donate, handing in my resignation, choose my last day of work, purchase my one-way ticket, get vaccinated, etc. Each step was terrifying and rewarding at the same time. The more the months were flying by, the more I felt my inner flame was growing. Gradually I was telling myself, I’m actually doing this! I am moving abroad! Pinch me!

3. Discipline and determination
It’s a good step to have determined your deadline and produced a cute timetable but you must be determined to give it some time on a regular basis. What worked for me was to identify in my agenda which days I would work on my timetable during the week so I keep my discipline.

4. Having a mentor and surround yourself with trusted people
The feeling of being supported alleviates stress and doubts. I had a mentor, a spiritual guide and a naturopath who helped me tremendously to open my wings and fly. My closest friends were very supportive and excited for me. Talking about the project made it more concrete and it removed the sense of carrying a heavy secret that I was alone to bear. But please, do not wait to have the support of everyone around you before engaging yourself in the process or doing it. You are the only one that needs to believe in it.

5. Inspirational and useful readings
Stuck up on inspiring and useful readings! It will help you to get you moving and to structure your project. Read blogs from people who realized a dream similar to yours and ask them questions.

6. Vision board
A vision board is an excellent tool to illustrate the future you wish to create. Assemble pictures, keywords, inspirational quotes and objects that represent the experience, feelings, possessions you want to attract into your life and put them in your board. Consider including a picture of yourself. Keep it simple and clear to focus on. Look at it before going to bed and first thing in the morning. Believe strongly it’s already taking place and be grateful for the good things already present in your life.

Mine was besides my meditation altar. Every day I was looking at it and saying thank you to the universe for its support and guidance for my future move abroad. I believed in my project so strongly that nothing and nobody could had prevented me from taking that one-way flight to Asia.

What I learned from my first year living and traveling in Asia 

• Love can take time. A first impression of a country is not always fair.

• Everything is so much easier on site than trying to plan remotely.

• Things are uncomplicated with a smile and two or three polite words in the local language.

• Traveling long term is demanding on all levels.

• With the nomadic life comes a lot of planning and decision making. It is sometimes heavy to carry when traveling solo.

• April is the worst month to travel in Southeast Asia. The heat is unbearable!

• It is the airline company that has the responsibility to check at the time of your registration if you fulfill the country’s entry rules of where you are going to.  All travellers must be able to prove its way out of the country within the period granted by the visa. In other words, if you have a one-way ticket in hand, it’s at the check-in counter you might be questioned. The airline agent has the right to require you to buy an outward ticket before taking your flight.

• To have three cards (debit/credit) is not too much. All have been fraudulently skimmed over the year. Depending on your bank, and your situation, a new card can be sent to you abroad.

• Staying a while in one place allows you to meet locals more easily. A woman traveling alone attracts attention of local men and the company of foreign women traveling solo.

• The nomadic life naturally flows through my veins. I like to travel slowly. I am also sedentary. Those both ends are my balance.

• I want to live in a small city surrounded by nature where there is a community life.

• My self-confidence and my abilities to make choices have significantly improved.

• To leave for the unknown one year ago was one of the best decision I have taken so far.

• And so much more!

Pivotal Moments
During the past year, I lived a lot of pivotal moments and they were all the trigger to an article. You can read all of my past articles categorized by country under the tab “Ray of Thoughts”. When I looked at the order of the countries I visited, I realized that each country prepared me for the next. And this is true on a traveler’s and personal point of view.

Bali brought me peace and a feeling of being at home.

And a rich spirituality

Cambodia showed me the chaos, poverty and heartbreaking stories of their past. It is also in this country than I did two meditation retreats.

Sri Lanka made me live several emotions. It is a photogenic country. Even though I felt challenged as a solo female traveler, the country managed to seduce me with its train, local food, beaches and Adam’s Peak.

I deeply felt in love with Myanmar. The energy over there definitely vibrated with mine. I intend to go back.

Laos was a haven of peace

There is only one time that I felt far away from Canada and it was when my dear Grandmother passed away. On that day, I wrote with such an intensity a tribute that still makes me cry every time I read it. Since then, I truly feel her guidance on this magnificent journey.

What’s next!?
Ohhh not that question again! It is so much easier for me to respond: “I don’t know yet” than sitting down and thinking about it.

So what’s next. Well, I am starting to write down my professional goals for the upcoming year and act upon it! I can already tell you that I want to share more, I want to write more and I want to publish more on a regular basis on my blog and elsewhere.

I feel there is a potential in my writings, my experience and my knowledge that I want to awaken and radiate. I want to combine my strengths and passions in my next professional path. Let see how those intentions will turn out!

365 times thank you!
Readers from the beginning and the new ones, I send you a big THANK YOU! Thanks for reading me, following me and encouraging me. You inspire me to push myself to go deeper in my thoughts. Beyond my choice of words, it has always been my heart that spoke to you.

During the first year my new life abroad was mostly an inner journey. Through this blog, I was able to pull myself out which helped me to be more aware of what I was living.

Let me dedicate this special article to you dear readers with all of my gratitude. Thank you for having made time to read me. Thank you for opening your heart to listen what I had to share with you on this special day.

May I renew my commitments to myself and the courage to pursue my dreams. May I be released from the fear that self-doubt creates at least for long enough to remember that I have the choices I do. May I remember to honour all that my intuition sends my way. May I make use of my many talents this year because they were meant to be shared with the world!  Chani Nicolas

Happiness and serenity
Nathalie