Traveling for pleasure and passion is a wonderful way to reconnect to the spirit. New environments have a tendency to put you more in touch with the present moment. When I took time to travel after I left Wall Street, I backpacked through Asia and it was deeply centering. It felt like a shamanic soul retrieval, picking up lost pieces of myself along the way. I felt whole and energized again. Traveling, I discovered, was good medicine.
New, natural environments are often conducive for learning new skills like meditation. One of the places in the world I found most inspiring for meditation is Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. I happened upon this unique island when I was in Vancouver in 2011. A friend had randomly invited me to a going away party, and the woman said she was moving to “Salt Spring Island.” Even though I had no idea where the island was, as soon as I heard the 3 words, I knew I was going there too.
A few weeks later, I packed my car and took a one-way ferry to the island. I stayed in a simple cottage on the lake. I spent days in solitude. There was no internet, no phone. My days consisted of writing, meditation and preparing simple meals. Even though it was tough at times, I felt rejuvenated after 4 months of retreat. All the pain in my body left and I experienced great peace and newfound creativity.
The island proved to be an idyllic paradise perfect for spiritual practice. I’ve been coming back ever since.
People often come to Salt Spring for healing and retreat. Now this relatively unknown island is on the map, listed by the NY Times last year as the top 52 places to travel to. After coming here for over 5 years, I was inspired to create my first e-course here, combining my love of travel, nature, and meditation into a complete virtual e-retreat.
Salt Spring Island Retreat | Meditation for Relaxation 21 Day Online course
Salt Spring is a special place. It was my intention to make this e-retreat course as immersive as possible with high-definition nature video, calming meditation music and over 4 hours of relaxation content. Studies have shown that simply looking at nature photos can calm the brain and help you work better.
Meditation for Relaxation is a simple, yet structured course to help you find deep calm in 21 days. You can travel, you can relax and just let go listening. For a free guided meditation from the course, click this link, or consider forwarding it to someone who may benefit.
Take time to find your peace in nature. And if not, you can bring nature to you. Care to join me on a meditation journey?
XO, Sura
