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Retreat – Transform You in Bali – May 2019

May Bali Retreat –  WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

What fun did we have at the Transform You Retreat in Bali!  7 days of relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-setting our plans for the future.

So what did we do?  ‘A Lot’  is the short answer, but let me go through the Retreat highlights.

Everyone arrived at the Retreat venue on Saturday 18th on schedule and were escorted to their room to freshen up, unpack and relax a little before our first get together and Welcome Ceremony.  The OO’s and ahhh’s as the ladies walked into their rooms was gratifying as one can never tell how the retreat venue will ‘rate’ to the guests but everyone was very happy with their room, location, and inclusions.Retreat Bali 2019

After our Welcome Ceremony, the Management and staff invited to attend a special Balinese Blessing Ceremony to ensure we had a safe and happy visit to the Resort.   It was very special as we were linked and blessed.   I will remember this ceremony for many years to come.  It was so unexpected and very beautiful.  It will be an inclusion in every Retreat package in the future at this venue.  The ceremony set the standard for the exceptional service that we had from each and every member of the Alam Sari team.

Each day of our retreat started with peaceful meditation or laughter yoga, followed by a delicious breakfast.  Fueled for the day, we had our retreat workshop, which over the week included, hypnosis, exercises, and tasks to reset our thinking.  Over the years, we build habits around everything we do.  Planning is no different.  Eventually, we do things, automatically, almost by remote.  So it is the same process, we don’t even think about, and even if we didn’t achieve goals last year, we set them the same way this year.  The retreat workshops are designed to change the way we think, and thereby change the results we are getting.

 Retreat Highlights

Pyramids of Chi.

This was an amazing experience.   The timing of this Retreat meant we were lucky enough to be visiting the Pyramids during Full moon, so the package was upgraded to include the Full Moon Ritual.  Amazing!  We started with a short introduction to the process, so we knew what to expect.  Then we were ‘smoked’ to cleanse our energy and spirit!  We formed a circle around a huge open  fire pit,

Spiritual Sound Healing Experience

the spirits, birds, and animals of the 4 directions were called in to join us!  (An amazing Shamanic experience) we burnt our sabotages and let them go plus offered our dreams and wishes to the spirits to bring us guidance on… as part of the fire ceremony.

Then it was into the Pyramids for Sound Healing.  If you have never experienced this, you should, it is amazing.  You will resonate to one or many of the sounds.  Everyone agreed…. the whole experience was life changing!  Beautiful, emotional, time stopping!  Just very hard to describe!      Afterward, we were treated to a fantastic vegetarian meal of musleman curry, rice, dessert, and a sweet drink.

All in all, a wonderful night out and confirmed The Pyramids of Chi as a definite inclusion in any retreat hosted in Bali!

Karsa Spa Pampering Package

Included in the Retreat package was 2 – 3 hours of pampering.  I choose for the group a ‘special’ Buddha Package that included a 60-minute massage, a Chakra Healing and a facial.  Wow and more Wow!   The staff at the Karsa Spa were brilliant.  Relaxation +  and topped off with the Chakra Healing – everyone was in blissful land ……

Cultural Excursions

We visited an elementary school as we had brought with us donations of rubber balls, reading books, pencils, paints, crayons, etc for the kids to use at the school.  The kids loved the balls.   The teachers loved the art equipment and reading books.   We loved the joy on the faces as we sat and chatted to them.    It is an inclusion in each Life Change Retreat to give back to the communities that we visit in some way.  So, this visit definitely ‘ticked’ my boxes for the contribution!

Monkey Forest

Great place to visit, in fact, I would say, a must do, in Ubud.  We saw small (tiny) baby monkey’s, grumpy old monkeys and every type of monkey in between.  They tried to steal the bags, water, and phones off unsuspecting tourists, but fortunately, we had our wits about us and escaped in tack.   It was a lovely place to visit.

Tirta Empul Temple

On our tour around we came across the Tirta Empul Templand where, if you wish, you can take part in a purification ceremony. Tirta Empul Temple Lorraine and Vanessa decided this would be a great challenge.   The water is freezing cold and you have to be for about 45 minutes.  The ceremony included changing into bright green robes, creating a blessing, giving blessing to the temple.  What a wonderful experience this was for the two ladies.

I am going to include this as part of the next Bali Retreat.  They came out with smiles, ear to ear, very reflective and very happy that they took the plunge and trusted their intuition and just went for it.  Those of us who watched from the sidelines were quite envious!

 

Markets – Shopping and Eating,

Every retreat must have shopping included!  and Ubud is an amazing place to shop.  You have choices of markets, boutiques and very exclusive outlets to venture into and save yourself some serious money.   We spent time in the markets – everyone filled their souvenir lists; we visited silver factories; batik factory and lots of specialty shops.   Bracelets, essential oils, pottery, buddha’s, yoga equipment and really anything you can imagine they sell somewhere.   Shop till you drop …….. so we did and the ladies certainly got their fill!

The restaurants are amazing and whether you want local Balinese food or international cuisine you will find your choice in Ubud.  Alam Sari kept us very satisfied with a very extensively breakfast, generous and tasty lunches (different taste every day) and we ventured out at night!

The Shaman

The Shaman was a Retreat optional extra!  All the ladies decided “Why not?” and what an experience for them all!

The stories left us in awe and laughing at his antics so no recap of our adventures will ever be complete without mentioning the Shaman. Such a character.   If you have seen the Pirates of the Carribean you have ‘met’ the Shaman!  He was amazing.   Look for the Video I have uploaded of him sharing a ‘laugh’ with Vanessa, the Laughter Yoga Lady.

Transform You Retreat Summary

We had fun and laughed so loud.  The Balinese culture – the dancers, the Shaman, the staff, the kids, all were memorable moments!  The friendships built added so much value to us all and the enjoyment of our retreat.  We arrived as strangers and left as family, knowing that we would keep in touch and meet up again regularly.

Check out the Testimonials on the Review Page.         For More information on Retreat Bali 2020 Click here

 

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Where Are You Going?

The biggest temptation in life is to settle for too little – Thomas Merton

Are you moving through life without a clear direction? Are you letting events and other people’s needs take priority over what you want to do?  Do you have a plan, or are your days being filled with ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’?

Is Life Passing You By?

Twelve months ago, I found myself complaining that ‘life seemed to be passing me by!’  I was bored, frustrated and totally unfulfilled!  I’d had a health scare which had been a big wake-up call and suddenly I was looking at life differently.

I would wake up in the morning and my calendar would be fill.  It was filled with:  picking kids up from school, banking, shopping, doing this and doing that… but none of it was my plan.  My husband would tell me to ‘take the day off and do something just for me!’  But, that was my biggest problem!  I had spent so long working and doing for others, helping, solving problems and ‘just being there’ for everyone else, I had forgotten what I enjoyed doing!   Can you relate to that?

Plan for Your Life

As a coach I knew that your best chance of having the life that you want is to know precisely where you are going. This applies to every area of your life: your health, finances, social life and anything else that is important to you.  Some of us plan this intuitively but very few of us sit down and really plan it and have a clear idea of exactly where we want to go.

Most of us will spend more time on planning a holiday than we will on planning our lives and where we want to be in 5 years’ time.    We may have paying our home off planned, but that is called mortgage repayments!   We may have our Superannuation planned, but that is compulsory planning via the Government program!  I know many small business owners who have never contributed on their own behalf into their Superannuation.  There are other areas like career, education, having children, where most of us don’t plan what we want and where we want to be at different times in our lives, we just keep hoping that over time we will ‘get a lucky break’ and things will be ‘sweet!’

When we do not spend time on planning our lives we are like a yacht without a rudder, we have little control, and we pretty much must go where the wind blows.  We are at the mercy of the elements, other people, circumstances etc. Goals Dream & Achieve

Do You Know What You Want?

Many people are doing things they have to do in their lives because they have no choice, they live lives of quiet desperation. They know what they don’t want but have no clue what they do want.   This is where I was.

Deep down, we know what we would love to do, but often we can’t see a way that its possible, so we push the thought into the background, trying to hide the idea even from ourselves.   We disregard our most inspiring dreams and goals and settle for whatever seems reasonable or whatever comes our way.

This is the position I found myself in 12 months ago.  My lack of planning was in the ‘spiritual’ area of my life!   What makes my heart sing?

When you are doing what you love and have a plan of how you are going to do it, you never need motivation or inspiration.  You can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning and you live a life of purpose.

To get myself back on track, I sat down and asked myself the following questions?  I encourage you to do the same, in each of the 7 areas of your life – Spiritual, Career, Finances, Social, Health, Family, Vocation –  take some time by yourself to ask yourself the following:

  1. What do you want?
  2. Why do you want it?

Notice I have not said ‘how you are going to get it’  Once you are crystal clear on what you want and why you want it,  the how’s will appear.  The ‘how’ is the easy part!

It took me a couple of months to figure what I really wanted to be doing… but now on I am on track!  Here’s a little clue to where to start looking….. ‘When I was a teenager, I wanted to travel and show people the world – most of my life I have been a ‘coach’  …. Now, I am running Life Change Retreats and Journeys’  I have combined my two passions into my dream job!  It is what I was born to do!

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Sri Lanka – Bali 50 years ago!

Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean a short flight from India.  The main export is tea.  But Sri Lanka is more than just tea.  Sri Lanka is Bali 50 years ago…. But with far more archaeological importance than you could ever imagine!

UNESCO Heritage Sites

Sri Lanka is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage sites and it houses more archaeological wonders than most tourists ever expect.  It is a small country where both Hinduism and Islam have both had a huge influence.  There are mosques and temple complexes found everywhere throughout the country, however it is Buddhism that really underpins the Sri Lankan Culture.

Sigiriya

No journey to Sri Lanka would be complete without a trip to the 1600 year old Sigiriya Citadel Rock, a 200 metres high mountain of rock standing large and tall over the plains of Dambulla.  The summit can be reached by visitors by climbing 1200 steep, well-worn steps and twisting ladders to the first plateau where we catch our first real ‘breath-taking’ view of the surrounding countryside.  It is amazing.  Those with some strength left, it is up another 200 steps or so to the summit and the ancient citadel and elaborate Buddhist city of Alakamanda,  and home of a former royal palace, dating back to the 10th Century.  There are only ruins remaining but use your imagination to picture the magnificent structure, some 7 stories high, housing some 1000 chambers and inhabited by the Kings family, servants and palace aides.

Simple Sri Lanka

The climb to the summit is not for the fainthearted but it is worth every ‘out of breathe’ step.  You pass murals and frescoes of nymphs and Buddha statues of Gal Vihara and the ancient relic shrine of Hatadage.  #One wall is so highly polished, yes even after all these centuries, that it still reflects sunlight to light up a frescoes you would otherwise not see.

The trip down Sigiriya is quicker but the views and artifacts you pass by are just as fascinating.

History

Sri Lanka is a tropical Island with two main climate zones.  There is a wet zone, covering the south-east quarter and a dry zone covering the rest of the country.  The island contains no natural lakes except a few small flood plain lakes but has hundred of man made reservoirs.  The earliest of these built over 2500 years ago, the more recent… 800 years ago.  How forward thinking were the Sri Lankan people.  They still today have no issues with water.  The irrigation canals and drains to move water from the mountains to the plains pre-date Christ and most were built in 6 to 3 BC!   Just imagine that…. Triangular drainage canals, that still work to this day, built BC.

During  the period 1984 to 1986 three lakes were built, mainly for hydroelectric purposes.  These were Lakes Kotmalé, Victoria and Randenigala and were built by impounding the River Mahaweli and were deliberately constructed at different elevations.  The water is collected and then moved to where it is needed for farming purposes (and to generate electricity) via drainage canals similar to those constructed centuries earlier.    It is amazing system and the Gardens below Sigiriya shows them canals and drainage systems in operation.

People

The people are friendly and welcoming.  The food delightful, nothing like Indian which was a surprise.   You will see kids playing cricket everywhere, fishermen on poles and bargaining in the markets.  It is vibrant, colorful and your senses will be overpowered by the smells and sights.  It is delightful!  Amazingly, not too crowded, which was a surprise.

When people told me that Sri Lanka was how Bali was, before tourists, I was skeptical… but they are right.  You move back in time in a good way, when you visit Sri Lanka.

No matter where you go in Sri Lanka you will constantly be reminded, there is way more than ‘tea’  to see here.

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Pyramids Of Chi – Bali

Take a moment to read a little about David Coates (Suntara) playing at the Pyramids of Chi, Ubud Bali.  This is one of the amazing excursions we have planned for your Retreat.  We are booked in already but, knowing David is running workshops and playing at the Pyramids we are now working to arrange to be there to partake in his performance.   Check it out here.

Voice Liberation with Daniel Coates “Suntara”

Pyramids of Chi, Bali
THIS SATURDAY, join us at the Sun Pyramid for a life altering workshop with Daniel, VOICE LIBERATION.

Are you scared to use your voice for singing or just for speaking up in life?

In this workshop, we dive deep to clear the blocks that are stopping you from using your voice to it’s full potential.

Daniel Coates (Suntara) holds a safe and lighthearted space for you to express your voice. We will use vocal toning and a series of fun and exhilarating processes to expand and open your voice. You will be pleasantly surprised at the sound that will be coming through you by the end of the workshop.

In this exciting one-day workshop you will:

– Learn the secrets to freeing your voice that no singing teacher will every tell you.

– Improve your voice dramatically without years of practice using a simple technique that you can do anywhere.

– Move forward with your life by clearing obstacles using sound.

– Discover how to use your voice to heal yourself and others.

https://pyramidsofchi.com/…/voice-liberation…/var/ri-2.l-L1/

Click on the link to see Suntara chanting at Angkor Wat

Daniel Coates (Suntara) is passionate about helping others free their authentic voice. In 2006 Daniel experienced a profound and life changing healing with an Opera Singing Shaman in Oxford, England which showed him the power of sound for healing and gave him the keys to unlock vocal freedom. Since then Daniel has been working with his voice and sound constantly discovering new ways to use the voice including channeling sound, tuvan/tibetan throat singing, ethereal chanting and singing for healing.

Testimonials

“Brilliant! I would highly recommend a session with this amazing healer” – Trish Rock, Healer, Canberra, Australia

“Daniel helped shift the shackles of things that had stopped me doing what I needed to do to be content and fulfilled in my life here and now. I can never repay him for that. If you are thinking of seeing Daniel just do it!” – Allison Morris, Hypnotherapist, Sydney Australia

“Daniel channels the love of the Divine through his beautiful sound healing. Transformational and much needed work for our people & our earth. Thank you Daniel, for listening to your hearts calling….” – Prem Williams – Sacred Earth Music

“This evening was life altering for me. Little did I realize walking into it that in the most natural and nurturing way, I would be addressing the root of my insecurities of expression & childhood blockages of worthiness and not feeling heard. I left empowered with a new found memory of my child-like, playful confidence.. and the practical tools to keep nurturing these shifts.” – Teagan Hillyard, Producer/Dj, Reno, Nevada

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