A Day in the Life

Some of you have asked me to share more about what I am doing, not just what I am learning.  Yes, some of you have figured out that, even though you can't leave comments, you can reply to the email and I will get it.  And, despite my earlier words, I love getting your feedback.  Your insights and comments are so kind and encouraging and show me perspectives that I have not considered.  So please feel free to respond. 

Let me see if I can paint a picture of a typical day. 

Lesvos is an amazing island.  It is the third largest island in Greece and sits directly across the Aegean from Turkey.  It is hilly and does have a few mountains, the tallest of which is 4,000 ft.  Not big by Colorado standards, but the mountains stand out.  The airport is in Mitilini, which is the capital of Lesvos.  Molyvos, the village closest to the retreat center,  is about an hour drive from the airport.  There are many islands in Greece that you could drive around in one day.  Lesvos is not one of them.  The drive from the airport to Molyvos is about an hour and driving over the mountain passes reminds me of Colorado.  Winding roads through pine forests. 

Milelja (pronounced Mill-lay-lee-yah and means "Little Apple") is the name of the retreat center where we are staying.   The castle of Molyvos sits on the top of the largest hill and the town is built beneath the castle and around the hill.    Milelia is on the adjacent hill and my balcony looks out at the castle, which is beautifully lit at night and dominates the skyline.  Detlef and Gisa, the owners of Milelja, emigrated from Germany 40 years ago and have built an amazing resort with a beautiful, octagonal building that serves as the yoga center. This is where I spend most of my days.  Their daughter, Anna, who grew up here, has a beautiful spa on the property and during some of my free time, I will be getting a massage and a facial.  It's not all work and no play….

There are 6 of us in the class.  Three teachers and three students.  The organizers were planning on more students, but apparently it is very hard for most people to take a month out of their life to participate in this type of adventure.  I completely understand.  It is a gentle reminder for me as to how lucky I am to have made this happen.  It is not easy being gone for a month.  I do miss my home, my family, my dog, my routine.  I am very aware that this is a rare opportunity to spend time with myself - relishing the good and powering through the challenging - and that I cannot lose sight of the gift this time presents. 

The days are long. We start at 7:30 in the morning and end at 7:30 in the evening.  If we end on time.  The day is filled with many in-depth conversations and we do get off track.  The topics are simple but complicated with many layers to dissect.  We start each day with Tea and Tarot.  We gather for tea (we have been making a variety with different Ayurvedic herbs) and then draw our own Tarot cards to see what the day holds.  I have had Tarot readings, but don't really know much about how Tarot works.  Some would say it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  You are "told" how the day will go. Would it have gone that way anyway? Or am I making it happen?   I see it simply as a way to bring awareness to what energy might or might not be flowing throughout the day. 

After Tarot, we study Asana (postures), Pranayama (breathing), Mudra (hand movements) and Mantra (chanting).  In short, we have a yoga class while dissecting what each part means and how each part contributes to the whole.  We have "brunch" at 10:30 and then go back to the classroom to study Ayurveda, sacred geometry, and philosophy before breaking at 2:30 for personal time to read, go into town, sit by the pool, whatever we need.  We meet again at 4:30 for more sacred geometry and study of The Kybalion (hermetic philosophy), leave for dinner at 5:30 and from 6:30 to 7:30, we practice mantra, mudra and pranayama (see above).  Last night we practiced chanting the Sanskrit alphabet.  The sounds of which all relate back to sacred geometry and philosophy and music and health and healing and, well, everything. 

There is an amazing synergy in all we are learning. Not in the way the curriculum has been designed but in learning the ways that nature and philosophy and geometry, numbers and music (yes geometry is musical) have intersected for thousands of years.  The instructors introduce the material and then describe how the same themes and beliefs have shown up throughout time in Mayan, Egyptian, Peruvian, Native American, Indian, Celtic and many other cultures.  We then dissect how they are showing up, or not showing up, for us in today's world.  How and why we have become so separate from each other and what that means for our future.  And how that separateness has harmed us in the past and caused the demise of certain cultures.  As a society we typically do not discuss the spiritual side of math, science, nature, etc.  Yet it is around us daily and has shaped so much of who we are as human beings. 

At 7:30 ish I go back to my room to read and study.  It's a lot. Not physically exhausting, but mentally, I am tapped out.  And I have another two and half weeks of study.  My brain might explode.🥰  It will definitely take a couple of weeks/months/years to digest after I get home. I do love that the learning is truly infinite.  There is always something new to learn, a new perspective to pursue.  That learning will go on long after my time here and that we are never too old to learn.

Weekends, we only study in the mornings and I am excited that I have two more weekends to explore more of the island.  Next week, we are taking a day trip to Turkey.  On another we are going the home of the woman who runs the spa here to see where she grows the several thousand rose bushes needed to make the serums and moisturizers she uses for facials. Now I am off to greet the many cats and the mother and baby fox, who routinely come to stare in the window when we are chanting, and start another day.  It will all be over way too soon. 

Have an amazing day!