Travel

70 Rhythm of Our Lives

March 6, 2024 By Shauna

Hello and welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman. I am so excited to be back with a New season of A Journey to Awareness Podcast.

When I finished the last series of podcasts, I found myself searching for what I wanted to talk about, and share with you, and even experience for myself differently than before, in the last year and a half I have had so many experiences that have shown me something that I would like to call….the rhythm of my life. So I decided to call this season’s podcasts just that. The Rhythm of our Lives. We are going to explore all the things that change our rhythms. Like friendships, breakups, moves, new jobs, losses, births and of course family. So I hope you come with me as we explore the ever changing song that is you.

SHOWNOTES:

I have spent the last year on my own journey to awareness. World travels, new opportunities, new people in my life, the loss of my father, betrayal and deep love.

I have had one new learning after another! Then I started to feel it all in my body…in my soul.

Like a song.

I realized that there are times in my life my rhythm was very fast, often staccato just like a song. If I took a moment and checked in with my body I could feel it. I could feel a beat. And then something would happen and it would change. I found that I was experiencing life like a song! So I looked back at the last year and a half and I thought. OK maybe it wasn’t one song, maybe it was a full album! Have you ever noticed that when artists go through a break up, they produce an entirely different kind of music then when they are madly in love? And why is it that music tells our stories in so many ways?

I started to think about that and all of a sudden I got this epiphany that my entire life is actually an album of one song after another. I was music! Each time in my life had a different rhythm, different lyrics, sometimes the music coming from inside me felt louder and brassier, other times I could feel my body, my mind and my spirit in a soft flow.

When I think of the rhythm and music that is me, there were times, when I felt like a fast dance song, that kept building and building and building into an incredible frenzy! Those times happened a lot when I was young. Heart pumping love affairs, new jobs that made me a nervous wreck with anticipation, excitement and very often fear.

And then there were other times where I found myself living the life of a jazz song, easy and smooth and melodic, sometimes sleepy and relaxing. This is the grace and joy of getting older. We know how to sit and listen to our own rhythm versus being guided by things outside of us. Or if they are outside of us we have created a life where our journey has taught us the tools to not become a frenzied mess.

And then there were those times where my life was experiencing adventure, travel, new cultures, the unknown. On my travels i would keep my heart and eyes wide open and i kept a consciousness and a willingness to change my rhythm as I traveled. A spontaneity. I found that my rhythm was in tune with whatever culture I was in. Island ease on a South Pacific beach, or classical as my body felt like the melody of a Bach song roaming the streets of Europe.

In the last year I have traveled to the Caribbean and felt the sun and sand melt away the everyday rhythms I usually feel in my body. Then I went on a spiritual retreat to Teotihuacan with my soul sister and studied ancient Toltec philosophy while walking the pyramids and challenging my thinking, my beliefs, my identity.

I love this quote by Toltec Master Don Miguel Ruiz because it was so much my experience on that trip in his Toltec world.

Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time.

On this trip, in the world of the Toltecs, when my awareness was being challenged, my current thoughts, beliefs and my reality, I found myself feeling the rhythm of drums beating heavy in my body, yet none were there. It was if my current thoughts, beliefs and my reality were being beaten like a drum out of me. The next moment when I came to some sense of peace around my new awareness the beating stopped. And soon a beautiful gentle rhythm took over in my body and my soul. One that actually felt the most genuine and peaceful I had ever experienced.

Then on this life changing trip we ended the week with a fire walk. And my rhythm went from gentle peace to wild staccato to the most expanding feeling I have ever known. Like my body was a jazz band walking the streets of New Orleans.

So I began to wonder is it a rhythm-like feeling within my body or a vibration? It wasn’t as if this new epiphany was writing songs in my head. It wasn’t about lyrics. It was about an energy that I could feel vibrate through my whole body. Sometimes it was a peaceful energy. Sometimes it was an exciting energy. And then I began to wonder which comes first? Is this vibration and energy that my body is feeling what is creating within me a desire to go on an adventure? Or is it the thought process of going on an adventure that’s creating this incredibly different energy and vibration in my body? Most importantly if I listen closely what are my rhythms telling me?

Then after much contemplation I wondered does it really even matter?

When I talk about a journey to awareness, one of the tools to awareness is knowing what you’re feeling, thinking, believing in the moment. So I thought to myself that my own journey to awareness today, just today, was going to be trying to tune into my rhythm.

So if you are willing, I want you to take a minute and see if you can feel your rhythm. Feel the energy moving through you. Close your eyes and take a nice big exhale now take another breath in and exhale. Now see if you can feel your rhythm.

Is your heart beating fast?

Is your mind able to quiet itself?

What does your body feel like? I will throw some rhythms out and see if any feel like you.

Breathe in. Out.

Is your life and rhythm right now a heavy rock song?

A rap song?

R and B perhaps?

Is it the Caribbean island beat of a reggae song?

Is it the gentleness of a Hawaiian or South Pacific rhythm?

Is it the easy going vibe of 70s yacht rock?

Is it in a classical rhythm and mood?

Is it a smooth jazz song?

Is it the simplicity of a country song?

Is it the ease of a rat pack song?

Take a moment as I get quiet and I want you to feel the rhythm of your body right now.

Great, open your eyes.

If you like to journal, take a few moments today and reflect on your life. Reflect on the different times and experiences and how your rhythm changed. Then I want you to ask yourself a very profound question. Is it time to reset your rhythm because your energy is stuck on one from your past?

For instance, during times of loss our rhythm and vibration is so very heavy. Often people who have a hard time healing from the loss carry that rhythm in their souls for a very long time. Often their life changes and lifts them into new experiences yet they cannot shake the heavy sad rhythm. Or, for some, they find a comfort in returning to the heavy sad beat, almost fearful to let go of it.

Other times someone may be trying to stay in an upbeat rhythm when their life is asking them to slow down that beat. Honor the change and sit with it a while.

It’s as if in both of these situations your mind, your thoughts, are causing this massive glitch by trying to be both rhythms at once.

This is when self awareness comes in. Is it time to let go of one rhythm so you can find peace, or healing, or joy?

Is it time to change the radio channel in your soul?

I love this quote by Edward Hirsch because it helps us realize that we can actually let our rhythms guide us out of what we think is where we are supposed to be.

“Rhythm is sound in motion. It is related to the pulse, the heartbeat, the way we breathe. It rises and falls. It takes us into ourselves; it takes us out of ourselves.”

It takes us out of ourselves. We each have the power with true self awareness to listen to the beat of our souls. And with that same self awareness we have the power to change it!

Beautiful souls, welcome back to A Journey to Awareness. And as I welcome you back I also welcome myself back!

Please be kind to yourselves. Drink lots of water, surround yourself with loving beings and listen to amazing music that touches your soul! Thank you for letting me into your lives this week and I look forward to welcoming you back again, next time.

69 Unlock The Golden Handcuffs To Your Dreams

June 18, 2022 By Shauna

Hello and welcome to a Journey to Awareness, I’m Shauna Hoffman

Oh, so many journeys to delve into today! Journeys that take us on adventures around the world. And journeys that take us to the deepest parts of our psyche and soul. And sometimes they go together! Today I am going to dig into the idea of The Golden Handcuffs! If you have never heard that saying before it was originally used by companies that kept giving perks and financial incentives to their employees in order to keep them from quitting or going elsewhere. Get it? Golden Handcuffs? Well in the world of psychotherapy we have come to use that saying to show that sometimes we stay in relationships way too long because we don’t want to give up the lifestyle we have at the time. Or we don’t go after our passions because the job we are in has us so quote-unquote “secure” that we push our dreams aside in order to keep the money status quo.

SHOWNOTES:

But the golden handcuffs are truly handcuffs that are tying you down and keeping you from your happiness! Ok, I won’t sugarcoat that sometimes the fear of living a different lifestyle…less than what we are living now, can be really frightening. But the unhappiness that goes along with that really great pool, or driving that sports car, or wearing those designer clothes cannot heal a lonely heart. It can’t quiet that haunting feeling, or guilt when you are pushing aside the messages from your soul that there is something else and it is waiting for you! Something that feels more right than the current not-so-right. Something that represents you to the deepest part of your being. So in the end it comes down to deciding… what’s important in life!

On the other side of the coin, when we’re secure in our finances, The Golden handcuffs also come into play in the way we spend our money. Or our fears around spending our money. What can we afford? What money are we willing to part with in order to go after our dreams? Can we unlock the handcuffs to stretch our finances to fulfill a dream? Can we change jobs in order to fulfill our souls versus our bank accounts? Can we take that one very special trip we’ve always dreamed of?

My husband and I recently kicked out a Galapagos cruise website, cruisingtotheglapgos.com …because we have a dream of sailing to these magical islands filled with the most extraordinary wildlife. Have you ever heard of a place where the wildlife have no fear of humans? It happens on The Galapagos. They come right up to you, or casually walk right by you! You can swim with the penguins or surf with the seals. It’s like no experience anywhere in the world. But on the other hand, it is really expensive. I have taken over 200 cruises all around the world and nothing has called to me more than this cruise. And there it was. The bank account Golden handcuffs. Do we dig into our savings and splurge on our biggest dream vacation ever? Or do we let it sit in the bank and collect interest until someday when we may need it?

Maybe it’s the golden handcuffs. Or is it fear around lack? Fear around the unknown what ifs? What if we have a house emergency or a medical emergency?

We talked it all through and then we had a change in perception! It didn’t take us long to realize that life is too short, the world is changing, and we don’t know what our futures will bring us, especially after the Covid hell we have all just gone through. But if I let go of fear, and look at what my true passions and dreams are then why the hell would I not book this trip? And What if the what-ifs are actually a huge financial windfall or success? What if can go both ways!

And there ya have it. The golden handcuffs are really just the word fear wrapped up in shiny gold. And it most often keeps us from choosing our own happiness. I love to have my clients really think about how money affects their lives. Obviously, we need it to survive. So many people have struggled in the last year and so many are still struggling.

So how does that affect the way they look at money?

Have you ever thought about what money is? I have! It’s really just another form of energy exchange!

Think about it… someone creates a handmade chair. They use their creative energy and physical energy to design and build it. Then they sell it and get paid for it. Money is the exchange for their energy!

Then the chair maker takes that money and goes to the farmers market and buys fruit. Fruit that was grown with the energy of the farmer. So the chair maker exchanges the energy he received in the form of money and gives it to the farmer…

Then the farmer buys a dress for his little girl… he exchanges that energy he received in the form of money and he gives it to the dressmaker. And it goes on and on from there! All that energy has just been shared around the world. All that money is is the energy of thousands and thousands of people around our planet.

Now the big stuff….
I like to ask my clients to look at the Golden Handcuffs in a different way. What if the golden handcuffs are not about how much money we have or make… but what if it is about the way we perceive money. And what if the way we perceive money is wrapped around what we believe we deserve in life?

There are so many books on this topic. When I did some of my own internal work around money and what I believe I deserve I was fascinated by what I learned. There is a great book, written years ago called The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder. She talks about the concept of the Vacuum Law of Prosperity. She says that if you want greater good in your life, greater prosperity, and greater happiness then you have to form a vacuum to receive it. You have to get rid of what you don’t want to make room for what you do want. It is the same concept in Feng Shui. In other words, you have to empty a space for the universe to fill it. Or better yet, for you to fill it!

Let me say this. I am not suggesting that you spend your money without thinking about how much you can spend without putting yourself in debt. Or irrationally making decisions. I am asking you to make sure that you give your dreams and happiness as much weight as you give your bank account.

Let me say that again…

I am asking you to make sure that give your dreams and happiness as much weight as you give your bank account.

When I did that for myself I thought about every vacation or trip I have taken and the experience that I have had. Traveling I have lived and learned so much more than I ever could have at home. I have been challenged to let go of my pre-conceived ideas about people, cultures, and the world. When I think of the things in life that have had lasting impacts on me, memories that touch me deeply, they are invariably from an adventure I’ve been on.

And so it is! That’s all it took for me to realize I am booking my Galapagos cruise.

I have talked about many of my adventures on my podcasts… walking the streets of Budapest with my Hungarian mom, finally visiting and meeting the Cuban people, my 50th birthday hiking the trails the Incas did to Machu Picchu, and seeing the Southern cross along the way! Riding a camel in Egypt as I stare at the pyramids! Wineries in Italy, the ruins in Greece, horseback riding in Mexico. How they taught me to love and respect other cultures.How I learned so much about myself on every one of them.

How can I ever put a dollar amount on how those trips touched my soul? I can’t. I know that they cost me money. Do I remember how much? No! But do I absolutely know how each of them changed my life? Yes!

So I am going for it. The golden handcuffs will not stop me from walking with giant tortoises on The Galapagos and seeing the dance of the blue-footed booby!. After all, I truly believe that the vacuum I create will be filled with more joy than I can possibly imagine! And the energy I receive back from the energy I put out will be shared all around the world.

So what are your golden handcuffs?

What have you wanted in life that money has kept you from?
What changes have you avoided because you have not wanted to unlock the golden handcuffs?

And most importantly what do you deserve in your life?

I am excited to share that I have a women’s retreat with an amazing therapist and life Coach, Molly Lyda this October. And what is the name of it? “It’s my turn”. A three-night Journey to awareness lovefest to honor all that you deserve and love about yourself! It is all about claiming your right to happiness! Check it out on my blueoceanretreats.com website.

So now it’s your turn. Take some long walks and think about this episode and what it means to you! Journal! Look up at the stars and let your own dreams come to life. You don’t need a shooting star to wish on. You can do it for yourself! Unlock the golden handcuffs, stretch your arms out to the universe and live life to your absolute fullest!!

To all of the amazing souls listening today, thank you for letting me into your lives this week and I look forward to popping back in again next time.

67 A Worldly Adventure Called Choice

February 19, 2022 By Shauna

Hello and Welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman.

Thanks for joining me today on this deep dive into why I hate the word, “Habits”. And most importantly that I have learned that travel is the best way to rethink the way we live our lives, the choices we make and the “HABITS” we have created. It all started because I downloaded this cool app that was supposed to help me set up goals to change my habits. I started it a month before I took a trip to Canada. I had been dedicated to this app trying to get me to change my habits. Then all of a sudden here I was on my trip, waking up in a different bed, looking at a different view and it didn’t’ take me long to realize I felt like I was being nagged to death by an app! Oh, it’s a really pretty app with really great audio content and opportunities for changes in your thinking. Lots of it… but when I didn’t do what they wanted me to do it made me feel bad. And here I was on vacation and guilt was the last thing I wanted traveling with me. Fair enough, I was the only one putting guilt on myself! But it was time to dump the app.

I realized that there was one thing better than an app to change my habits. Travel. I realized that travel and change in your environment force you to relinquish certain habits just long enough for you to rethink their worth in your life! Whether it’s the food that you eat every morning that is not right there in your hotel room, or cruise ship cabin, or whether it is that morning ritual of reading your emails before you get out of bed yet here you are out to sea and you have no internet! When you travel habits have no choice but to be challenged!

And when we challenge a thought process or lifestyle choice we give ourselves the opportunity to morph! To grow! To expand! To live, and to breathe in ways we have never breathed before. It’s funny because at first, it is a bit uncomfortable. “Wait! Canada doesn’t have my favorite coffee? Can I really start my day without it?”

Uh… yeah! And how glorious it is to experience something new if we open our consciousness to change and choice! Ahhhhh the word “choice”!

All habits, negative habits or positive habits are truly just choices! Today I choose to do the app. Today I choose to drink water. Today I choose to do my yoga. Today I choose to binge-watch TV and do nothing. Today I choose to try a new coffee and sit on a balcony in Canada and read a book and not look at my emails or texts or social media and just breath!

And with that statement, my life changed! I realized that I hated the word Habits and I loved the word choices!

Let’s break down first what habits are. They are those behaviors that we repeat so much that they no longer involve conscious thought. In other words, they are behaviors that we engage in by HABIT! But the truth is it started with Choice! I had to choose to take part in that behavior first! There was a conscious THOUGHT that spurred my behavior.

Now, think about these two statements and see which will empower you more. I will get into the habit of drinking water today. Or “I choose to drink water all day today.” Bam! That is so empowering! No guilt! Choice!

OK- I do think there is something to the idea that once our choices become a lifestyle for us then they become a subconscious choice versus a conscious one. We no longer have to think about something we want to do. We no longer have to consciously choose to do it or not. Our subconscious takes over the motivation and then the behavior. But it all started with conscious choice.

And then one day you find yourself in a new place, a houseboat, or a cruise ship cabin, or a friend’s fold-out couch, and all of a sudden your subconscious choices are blaring right in front of you because you can’t participate in them, and you can’t count on them. And at THAT moment you either adapt or you have an anxiety attack! HA!

It’s the moment that you choose to adapt and look at this situation differently that your whole world has the opportunity to change!

Lifestyle is exactly what travel challenges you to go beyond.

But what happens when you are back home? Your old habits are screaming to take over again. And there it is. You can choose to go back to the same rituals or you can bring all the new behaviors and thought processes and experiences you learned while away back home with you. And this is when my favorite words come in. Self-awareness!

In order to make positive choices in our lives, we have to be self-aware. We have to be able to check in with our minds, bodies, and souls to see what we need. We need to ask ourselves if I felt better, or happier, or healthier when I was away than when I’m home? And if so what new CHOICES do I want to embrace and claim for my new lifestyle now that I am back? When you open your eyes in the morning and reach for your phone you need to ask yourself am I about to lose the joy and self-awareness that I gained on my last adventure? Or am I going to go back to the lifestyle I had before I learned what truly makes me happy? Because the answer is…..yep, I’m going to say it…you have a Choice!

Change, whether it’s travel or a new coffee in the morning gives us the opportunities to turn off remote control in our lives and live in the moment. And at that moment I promise you that life will feel more genuine, more creative, happier, and more fulfilling.

We can make the choices that either empower our lives, help us stay healthy, surround us with positive relationships, release our creativity and most importantly bring us happiness, or we can go back to remote control.

Take a nice easy breath and think about this. What choices can you make to honor your true self just today? What choices can you make to show yourself that you are worthy of self-love? What pieces of your past do you want to leave outside the door the next time you walk back in? And then ask yourself, what new coffee do you want to try tomorrow?

Here is a lovely quote by John Maxwell. Life is a matter of choices. And every choice you make makes YOU.

Oh, my adventurers on the journey to you, thank you for letting me into your lives this week and I look forward to popping back in again next time.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED:

• A Journey to Awareness Podcast: https://www.workingonme.com/podcast
• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com

WHEN DOES IT AIR:
February 19, 2022

63 A Journey to Awareness on the Streets of Havana

July 10, 2021 By Shauna

Hello and Welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman,

Thank you for joining me again on this podcast as I share my journeys to self on my own journeys around the world! This next adventure was one that took me on a self-awareness experience that I did not know I needed.

I always thought of myself as a world traveler, lover of all things cultural and different. I never saw myself as a tourist. I always saw myself as the type of person that soaked up everything different about the culture I visited. But most importantly, I soaked up the faces and lives of the people in the places I went. The locals. I would eat off the vendor’s carts on the streets, talk to the children, look into the eyes of the elders as I learn of the love of their homeland. My world of expansion and self-awareness was always drawn to different experiences and in meeting those who live in the countries I visit.

Have you ever traveled somewhere and felt this strange feeling like you’ve been there before? This feeling like, oh. I’m home! Or just had an amazing connection to the culture or the people, or the sounds and smells? For me this place is Cuba. The cities, the tiny towns and villages, the culture, the people, and mostly the hope. It was only perfect that my first visit to Cuba was one of the best learning lessons in all of my travels. Let me share with you this article I wrote for the Huffington Post in 2017.

It was titled “How I went to Cuba and almost missed it.”

There it was. Havana. I was about to step foot on the forbidden island. The hidden gem of the Caribbean. The island of controversy and music, art, and cigars. The land of classic cars that’s the dream of every car collector in the US. The day had come. I could finally travel legally to Cuba. Having been in the cruise industry for years, I had dreamed of docking in the port of Havana. Cruise after cruise, we would sail by the island on our way to the typical tourist ports of Jamaica or the Bahamas when the Captain would announce from the loudspeaker “Now on the port side is the island of Cuba.” Passengers would flock to the decks to see the only thing we were allowed to see. There on the horizon was the outline of a country caught in the past but begging to be recognized and loved by Americans.

People to People Cultural Exchange! President Obama set it into motion. US citizens were allowed to go to Cuba as long as we were engaged in meeting the Cuban people and learning of their culture. So, my husband and I jumped on the first cruise ship allowed to travel from Miami to Cuba. Fathom Adonia. We wanted to see as much as we could in the 7 days we had. Ship was the way to go. And Fathom had planned it right. In accordance with all of the regulations, Fathom had arranged tours for us that met all of the PTP requirements. We read all about it for weeks. We dreamed of what it would be like to walk the streets of Havana. We swore we would not be tourists. After all, we always travel like the locals. We eat on the streets of third-world countries and talk to the natives in our broken attempts at their languages. Cuba would be no different. But I have a confession. After the initial tears of realizing we were about to dock in Havana, I was like every tourist I was not supposed to be. As the Havanese were waving to us from the dock, my camera was locked on the old Chevys whizzing by in bright pink and turquoise, as they cruised along the Malecon. I could hear the music emanating from the dock and all I thought about was dancing in the streets of Cuba. The first-day excursion took us through art galleries and churches, memorials, and grave sights. We saw the streets of Cuba. I was overwhelmed by Old Havana. It was beautiful.

Finally, the tour ended, we jumped back on the ship, cleaned up, and were ready for our free time in Havana. Yep, we could go off on our own in this mystical city and explore.

Having made a reservation at a Paladar, a privately owned restaurant versus a Government-owned restaurant, we headed back into Old Havana. The sun was setting and the mood was romantic. The Paladar was only 4 blocks from the ship. It was exquisite. When we arrived the gentleman at the front rang a bell to let them know we were coming. As we ascended the stairs, the most beautiful music was playing. My senses were on high alert! All I could dream of was real Cuban food and a real Mojito in the real Cuba.

We were seated at a charming table near the wide-open patio doors with wrought iron railings. I felt like I was in Tuscany or Paris. It was enchanting and exciting. The waiter took our order and the anticipation grew. Lobster in a pineapple brandy sauce called out to us. And of course the mojito. I was in Cuba. It was all I had dreamed it would be. Then it happened.

After the young waiter brought us our drinks, he stopped for a moment at our table. Then as gentle as a man can speak he asked us in his broken English, “Are you from the US?” We said, “yes” not really thinking much about it. What happened next has changed me forever. He touched his heart and broke into the sweetest smile. Then he slowly said, “We are so glad you are here.”
I almost burst into tears. How had I missed it, as I walked through their city, looking into the faces of the Cuban people? How did I become the tourist that searches for Cuban cigars and takes pictures of old cars? How had I not gazed into the eyes of the Cuban people? That moment changed me. I still cry when I think about it.

Next, I scoured the room looking at everyone’s faces. I noticed that all the waiters were looking at us with the coyest smiles. The Americans were here! I would gently catch their eyes and smile back. It is not like they have not seen Americans before. But for the first time they were seeing us with hope. And for the first time, I saw them. I saw the faces of the Cuban people. I then realized the opportunity we have all been given. Not to go there and change them. But to go there and see beyond cigars and cars and into their hearts. And maybe, just maybe, they would change us.

I wrote that article for the Huff Post right after President Obama opened travel to Cuba for US citizens in what was supposed to be People To People exchanges. Well, it took me a moment to make sure that was what I was there for! A People to people experience!

A lot has changed since then. And I have changed. I talk so much about self-awareness and that it starts with becoming inner-focused versus outer-focused. It’s funny, I had been so conscious of the enormous privilege it was to step foot on this gorgeous island. And to be one of the first Americans to do so legally in over 50 years! I knew about the politics that got us there in history and the politics that was true at that moment. My heart and my soul was so passionate about finally being there. I cried as we pulled into the channel in Havana. I cried, even more, when I saw everyone waving the American flag in one hand and a Cuban flag in another.

So what happened?

How did I turn from this socially conscious world traveler into someone who was a typical tourist the minute I stepped foot on the island? I have thought a lot about this. And all I can think of is that I was caught up in the moment. The stuff! The outward experience. I was not seeing the people because I was not in touch with my genuine self. I was not looking within at my own motivations or the soul experience I wanted to have. I was outside of myself LOOKING for the things that represented Cuba to me. The things I had dreamt of. The only things I knew because I had yet to look into the eyes of the Cubans themselves.

I am not mad at myself for this. It was a perfect moment of growth for me. A Course In Miracles says there is the Ego and the Soul. I was definitely living in a moment of ego… self-gratification! “I want a Mojito and to dance to Cuban Music!” There is a book called 2150 AD where they describe two ways of being in the world One is the Macroworld which means you live your life looking at how you are part of the bigger picture… of humanity. And then there is the Microworld. You guessed it. When your thinking and life revolve around the micro or small-minded self. Well, my thinking at that moment was definitely small-minded Micro thinking!

But my world and perception changed once that beautiful Cuban Man gently welcomed my husband and me into his country.

I am so in love with the Cuban People.

I have been back many times now. The restaurant I spoke of in the article is named Los Mercaderes. I have become friends with the amazing owner Yamil. I have learned of the farm-to-table life of the Cubans. How he helps the farmers and they supply him with the most amazing foods for his delectable dishes. I have been in touch through these very difficult times. Food is now a difficult scenario in Cuba. And Covid has not helped. But the Cuban people help each other.

I went back for the 500th anniversary of Havana. It was a sight that would never take place in the US. Hundreds upon hundreds of people lining their capital building awaiting any glimpse of the festivities. And not one person pushed or shoved to get in front of anyone else. It was the calmest most cordial event I had ever been at. It was as if the Cubans were living in a Macro world and sharing this unbelievable experience with each other. No one was out for themselves. This time… I joined them in their Macro world. This time I was aware of the people, the humanity, and myself as I stood with them, not as a tourist but as an American friend.

I have made beautiful friends there. I am blessed. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to learn from them and share in their world. And I am grateful for my own desire to look within. To acknowledge when I am not coming from my soul. And to learn how to self-correct.

This journey to awareness is a lifelong adventure. When we put ourselves in new and unknown worlds we are always challenged to redefine ourselves. If we allow it. If we allow ourselves to NOT be tourists of our own lives living in the micro-world.

Now let’s be clear! I love me a yummy mojito listening to amazing Cuban music and eating plantains on the top of a Havana rooftop! But I hope to do it again surrounded by my beautiful Cuban friends. Because there is where I have found true happiness.

Ernest Hemingway spent much of his life living in Cuba. So I thought it was perfect to leave you with a Hemingway quote. It’s one that I love to embrace when I think about travel and all that it gives us on our own journey to self-awareness.

“Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual”.

To all of my listeners, May you be surrounded by new experiences that challenge your thinking, awaken your spirit and surround you with new cultures and people to help you on your own travels to becoming amazing humans.

Thank you for letting me into your lives this week. And I look forward to popping in again next time.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED…

• A Journey to Awareness Podcast: All Episodes

• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com

WHEN DOES IT AIR…
JULY 10, 2021

62 Lessons On The Inca Trail

June 19, 2021 By Shauna

Hello and Welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman

Did you ever realize how much you learn about yourself, your values, your dreams, your heart when you venture far away from home? Or have you ever escaped your everyday world just for a day in search of a missing piece of yourself, your sanity, or your soul? When I truly look at my own growth I realize that I have found more of myself in my world travels than I ever thought was possible. I was really thinking about this podcast and where I wanted to go with it in this new season. And it didn’t take me long to discover that I had named this podcast a Journey To Awareness for a reason. It’s on so many journeys I have taken that I have found out who I am and what is important in my life. It’s amazing how much you can learn about yourself when you leave behind all that is comfortable and known to you, all the things that define you. Your home, your job, your car. your favorite foods, the clothes you wear, the people that surround you.

So I am hoping you will indulge me this season as I take you on some of my journeys around the world to share the awareness that I have been blessed with on these amazing sojourns to magnificent places. In my old age, I have been lucky enough to have traveled to 37 countries, met the people, experienced their cultures. I have learned to leave behind my judgments and expectations in order to indulge in this thing I love about travel called the unknown. Travel pushes our limits of what we know as our reality if we let it. And what we learn about ourselves along the way is astounding… Sometimes whether you want those lessons or not. But hey…ain’t that life anyway?

So my very first adventure I want to take you on is the one I took when I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for my 50th birthday. I had this amazing friend, soul sister named Joni who had been the one to open my eyes to all things spiritual and metaphysical. One by one she handed me books to spark my thinking and open my soul. We used to sit for hours and dream of where we wanted to go in life. The one spiritual place that kept calling our name was the Inca trail hike to Machu Picchu in Peru. If you don’t know the story of this magical place, it was a trail that the Inca Tribe created out of granite to carry all the materials to build their temple city, Machu Picchu. All the way back in the 1400s. But it has been hidden from most of the outside world until it was discovered in 1911.

If you do any research into spiritual places around the planet you will read that Machu Picchu is considered one of the most spiritually aligning places to travel to. They say it opens and resonates all of the chakras. They even believe it stimulates the immune system and brings the body into balance. To the Inca’s all of the environment is Sacred. Pachamama, which they call Mother earth, has always cared for them, so it was their responsibility to care for her. It is listed as one of the NEW 7 Wonders of the Modern World.

Well, what better place to go on the big 5-0 than Peru to climb the Inca Steps and visit this spectacular place and reach into my soul on an amazing journey? I wanted a mind, body soul experience… and boy did I get it.

Actually, the idea for this particular trip came from a friend of ours. I call her Doc Liza, She called out of the blue and said wanna go hike the Inca trail? I had no idea what I wanted to do for the big 50 and just like that it was decided! How she knew that was on my spiritual bucket list…I will never know. But obviously, the universe knew! And we were off! Liza, who really is a doctor, brought her 17-year-old nephew along, too. Liza is a big hiker and mountain climber. She was ready for this trek. It was going to be a 4-day hike where we carried all of our own packs. We had hired this great company appropriately called Pachamama to do this as a private tour for us. We didn’t want to be hiking with 20 people and be at the behest of their pace. So birthday splurge it was! Private guide, private sherpas, and private chefs. 6 of them and the 4 of us.

Though Liza was very ready for a high-altitude mountain hike, My hubby, Bert, and me… not so much. In our brilliance… we thought we trained for it here in California. HA! We live at about 1000 feet. The Inca Trail takes you up to about 14,000 feet. Yup, we are talking altitude sickness! And on one day alone you hike from 10,000 ft to 14,000 ft. And these are steps! Not hiking on a trail! And the steps are uneven and made of granite. So let me break that down for you. And you’ll see how unprepared we were! A step is one and a half feet. That means that one day we walked up 2700 stairs. Now let’s break it down more! 10 steps is a flight of stairs. In that one day, it was as if we had walked up 270 flights of stairs! Seriously! We were soooooooo unprepared! And again…In the altitude that our bodies were sooooo not ready for!

Then this happened. On our first night on the trail, Liza’s 17-year-old nephew got pulmonary edema, fluid in the lungs from the altitude. We had thought for sure he was the one who would fly through this hike, young strong. But it was the opposite. In order to make sure he didn’t get worse, Doc Liza and her nephew had to go back down the mountain. Their hike was over. We were all so sad. We had planned this for months. But I gotta tell you, traveling with a Doctor as a friend can surely save a life! And the good news is they met us at the end of the trip at Machu Picchu after their own 3-day journey to awareness.

Now it was 6 of the Pachama team and just me and Bert. If I wasn’t so totally exhausted at the end of the day I could have appreciated the spoiling! They even brought a Birthday cake for me all the way up the muntain!

OK, I wanted a mind-body, soul experience and I got it. How the hell was I to keep going when my body was aching and exhausted? The answer was mind over body.

There is a great quote that says it all.

Your body can stand almost anything. It’s your mind that you have to convince.

So it became amind game I played with myself. For those of you who hike mountains you know that you come to these curves ahead of you,

switchbacks, where you are sure you are at the top of the mountain! Then you get there, round the bend feeling victorious only to see that the climb actually goes on and on higher and higher!

So the next piece of advice I gave myself is what I preach and preach and preach on my podcasts and to my clients… stay in the moment.

I realized that I could not look ahead of me with expectations. I had to stay in the moment, one step at a time. Well, how the hell was I to do that when all I saw were more stairs? Mind over body-mind over body-mind over body. I had to occupy my mind with thoughts that had nothing to do with the exhaustion I felt. I had to see the beauty all around me. After all, that is why I was there.

In therapy, we call that Stop thought! You stop the negative or scary thought and replace it with a better thought!

I had an idea. I started to name every step I took for someone I knew, picturing them in my mind. I started with the people I loved…ha! Well as we climbed higher and higher and those switchbacks came one after the other, the list turned into every person I had known since childhood! But there was something so spiritual about that. It was like every person I knew was on that trail with me, walking my journey by my side.

And my walking stick!

I had bought this beautiful blue carved wood walking stick in one of the villages before we started. That walking stick became another limb to me. It was beautiful and strong and I was grateful for it every step of the way. And for every step I took, I looked at all that magnificence surrounding me. Then I would try to take a deep breath as I thought about all of the Incas who had traveled this path hundreds of years ago. And I thought of each friend or family member that was now on that trail by my side.

Breathe Shauna breathe…

Well, that wasn’t easy! We know that breath is one way we connect to our bodies. We breathe through pain, or sadness, or anxiety. We take nice big sighs when we are happy and content. Now here I was trying to breathe when my oxygen was getting less and less in the altitude and my head was swimming. And when you can’t breathe deeply you tend to breathe shallower or hold your breath. Well, none of that was gonna work because I had miles yet to go and breath was the only way to get there. Suddenly my journey to self became about breath… and life.

I love this quote by Thich Nhat Hanh. It describes my lesson on the trail perfectly

Breathing in I calm my body.

Breathing out I smile, dwelling in the present moment.

The only moment.

And then all of a sudden this happened. We were at a beautiful valley when our guide said “Look all the way up to that mountain peak. That’s where we are going. It’s called Dead Women’s Pass.”

Seriously. Seriously? I swear I looked at him, with my mouth agape wondering how many people have died trying to get there! But he just laughed!

Dead woman’s pass was named because, when seen from the valley below where we were, its crests resemble the form of a woman’s body lying down and facing up to the sky. Ok, well that made me feel a LITTLE better!

Then I looked even closer to the peaks and I saw a deer standing there and silhouetted by the sun. Our guide saw it too. He was shocked. He said deer were very rare on these mountains. And all of a sudden I got tears in my eyes. Joni. What I didn’t share earlier is that my friend Joni who was my spiritual partner on my soul searching journey, who had dreamt of hiking this trail one day, had left this earth ten years earlier. She never made it here.

Or so I thought. With all of my being, I knew that deer was a sign from Joni. You see, my nickname for her was “Doe Eyes”! She had the biggest brown eyes. She always looked like a baby deer. And her yard was filled with delicate deer sculptures. Doe Eyes.

Mind Body Spirit. Here was the beginning of the soul part of my journey. It was like Joni was standing up on that pass telling me I can do it! Believing in me and more than that…calling me up the mountain to finally share our dream of hiking the Inca Trail together.

All of a sudden I felt like I could fly up those steps! Mind-body…. soul. I was going to meet Joni on Dead Woman’s Pass!

How appropriate!

There are so many parts of this journey to self I could share with you. Waking up on the last morning in time to see the sun rise over Machu Picchu took my breath away. To share it with my husband was a memory that has bonded us forever. To have seen and felt Joni on that trail broke away all the questions of the “here and the after” for me and gave me so much peace. The struggle to overcome so much physical stress from exhaustion to not being able to breathe only helped me to learn that truly my mind can overcome my body if I try. And the unbelievable satisfaction of achieving what at moments felt truly unachievable reminds me that whenever I think I can’t do something…I actually can!

Doc Liza and her nephew met us in Machu Picchu. They had gone back to stay in another mystical village, Urubamba, which sits in what is known as the Sacred Valley. And once again we shared this dream. Then we stayed overnight n a town outside of Machu Picchu called Aguas Calientes. Doc Liza had arranged for me to have a massage before we got there! She knew I would need it. Always a healer that woman!

Once again, I had the most spiritual moment as the Inca music was playing and the massage therapist soothed my muscles. I swear for a moment I left my body. Maybe it was the exhaustion finally being healed. Or maybe as the Incas say… my chakras were opened and being aligned! Whatever it was, I will never really know. But I can still feel it in my soul today.

My own journey to my journey to awareness.

Machu Picchu itself was more than I could imagine. It’s mystical and magical and filled with the stories of a culture now gone. To get there on the same steps that the Incas took gave me a feeling of one with a people I would never have known if I didn’t literally walk in their footsteps.

And my beautiful blue carved walking stick is mounted with pride above my window at home. Whenever I wonder if I can achieve something or not I just look up at that beautiful stick and I know the answer. Of course, I can.

This quote says it all.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

If you ever have the chance to see Machu Picchu whether by the Inca Trail or by the new train that now takes visitors there. Do it! And say hi to Doe Eyes for me while you’re there!

So to my podcast family, I Thank you for traveling on this journey with me. I hope you come back and listen to more of my “journeys on my own journey to self-awareness”! And please, share this episode with anyone you feel would enjoy it.

Now be good to yourself, drink lotsa water, eat nourishing foods, challenge yourself to do what you think is impossible! Let your mind body and soul be one. And venture out of your known to experience the unknown!

Thank you for letting me into your life this week and I look forward to popping back in again next time.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED…

• A Journey to Awareness Podcast: All Episodes

• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com

WHEN DOES IT AIR… JUNE 19, 2021

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