Ayahuasca whispered it to me on an early January morning in Amazonia. I was facing a sumptuous fire next to a calm swamp filled with sleeping ducks swirling across the water. Various unknow exotic insects were playing their own inner songs creating a symphony of mysterious tones dominated by hidden frogs in heat in the early hours of fresh tropical moisture. Occasionally, the finca roosters would compete on the Alpha male trophy in being the loudest welcoming a fresh new day. A new beginning onto a beautiful calm and natural ritual of life energy was setting off. Once more. Endlessly again.
Hearing my heart speak brought me into tears, and I suspended myself down facing the ground and sobbing of the simple yet often unattained knowledge that the power of love is simply inside us. And it’s easily triggered with the right attitude and openness. Next to me were other sisters and brothers exploring their inner depths of soul finding and emotional intimacy. Some of them assigned themselves to keep the fireplace going. They would occasionally lie down next to it being captivated by their own creation and breathing life and inspiration through the closeness to the flames. We were all connecting to our souls, to nature, to the simplicity and beauty of life. To calmness, to serenity; to accepting and embracing simply being.
Fast-forwarding ten days later. We find ourselves in the chilled forests nights of Antioquia. Only 90 minutes away from the vibrant city of Medellin. A beautiful maloca was built on a sacred design style by a few visionary architects who understood their own healing mission in life; their own transformative journey brought in similar hearted persons creating a wonderful eco-community – Ambi. The night is dark, an occasional rain shower thunders in, the fire is grandiose, the air is fresh, the music simply divine. We lose the sense of time, and enter once again a deep journey of learning, of self-understanding, of refining our mission in life. I look up at the Maloca design patterns, and I am amazed. Astonished about the perfection of style, I hear the resonance of the guitar connecting with the surroundings, I feel the flute inspiring my emotional well-being, and out of this connectedness I feel I am coming home. To my own heart, always in connection to nature, and to the people around us, to our extended community.
Crossing further in time, I am surrounded now by mango, avocado, and banana trees in the Sierra Nevada forest. A sacred land which the indigenous Kogui consider it “the heart of the world”. We are literally one hour away from both crystalline Caribbean beaches, and from the snow peaked highest Andean mountainous range in Latin America. We walk through hidden woods pathways, jump in the water of cascade creeks, and connect with an inspiring permaculture community run by local women entrepreneurs. We share meals heartfully cooked, learn about bioconstructions, medicinal plants, essential oils, and share stories and inside knowledge. We establish friendships and connect further.
The trip ends, and I leave inspired. Present. Calm. Fully embodied. I feel ready to return onto my own surroundings and to inspire a fresh breath of love onto the close persons around me. Ready to blow deep oxygen inside my whole being. I feel my mission fully lighted and clear.
Consequently, I envision my own future. Never by myself but always together. Together with my heart. Onto close connection with those near by me. Aligned with nature, aligned with my inner intuition. Ready to help others. I feel that nature is healing, and I sense that I am in fact nature myself and taking care of my body and heart is closely aligned with loving and trusting mother earth. I sense a deep altruism, and I feel called to go on further.
Disclaimer: This is not a luxury trip. This is a deep transformational journey that supports your heart connecting to your mission and vision in life. While helping rural communities in Colombia grow further. And connecting to the fellow beings embarking onto a similar Soul Dreamers journey.
Our upcoming and first full retreats:
Guarne, Antioquia, Ambi Community: 4th – 11th June.
Putumayo, Amazonia, Indigenous Community: 9th – 16th July.
More info on each coming soon.
NB: Join the early bird guest list, and our newsletter at info@ecomanka.net .
NNB: All photos are copyrighted by either Soul Dreamers, Ambi Comunidad or by the retreaters participating in the experience.