When you’re traveling, you have the opportunity to slow your life down. You’re out of your routine and likely seeing new things. It’s exciting and you’re exposed to life in a new way. This gives you an excellent opportunity to be more mindful while you’re traveling. When you’re out in the world on your own, you will automatically see new things within yourself. Some of them will be good while others are the more shadow side of yourself.
We will often avoid that part. The parts we see as bad, the shadow side. The truth is, we all have that side and you have to accept this part of you to be a whole person. Your shadow is the more creative part of you, getting you out of a jam more than the light side. This is an important part of you that has great strength. Take the time to really see all the facets of yourself. This is one of the big benefits of travel. Embrace it.
Being More Mindful
When you’re in a new place, you will want to practice being mindful. For instance, see what their cultural beliefs and traditions are. If you don’t know anything about the country you’re visiting, you could do something insulting without realizing it. When in Thailand, you should never expose your feet higher than someone’s head. You should never touch a child’s head (like we would in the West). You shouldn’t go into a temple wearing ripped short shorts. These are all really insulting to the people of the Thai culture.
It’s important to be kind to the place you visit. Leaving no footprints is the best rule of thumb. Better yet, leaving it better than when you arrived. Maybe that means doing some kind of charity work in the places you visit. It could also be a just general kindness to people even if they’re begging you for money or trying to rip you off. When you find your feeling agitated in a moment of stress or unknowing, take a breath and just try to deal with things head on.
Mindfulness to find yourself is also important. Taking the time to really look at things will allow you to enjoy your experience so much more. Instead of taking a bunch of selfies, really look at what is surrounding you. Maybe it’s a sunset, maybe it’s the taste of a meal you’ve never tried before, or perhaps making conversation with the person from Iceland at the next table. Being mindful during your travels will allow you to really live. Isn’t that why you got on that plane in the first place?
If you’re not sure how to settle your mind down, you may want to do some guided meditation on your travels. Staying mindful during your trip is important to get you where you’re going. It’s a good way to practice your mindfulness because everything is out of the ordinary.
Being Truthful With Yourself
When you’re true to you, this will reflect on the kind of people you attract into your life. In your day to day living, there are friends you’ve had forever probably. You may be bound together because you work at the same place or for other reasons. When you travel, you connect with others and they are more a window to your soul. To the person that you are present. When you know who you are, you will be rewarded by others who do as well. This makes for incredible connections and a knowing between one another that doesn’t need to be spoken.
It can lead to romantic love or at the very least, an unconditional love. Great conversations will take place. Scenarios like your new friend knowing about a secret waterfall and wanting to take you there are much more plausible. When you are truthful to yourself, you can be yourself to others. You can stand behind the person you portray to the world with confidence. This confidence is attractive too so even if you’ve gone off on your own, you’ll always have a new group of friends to hang out with.
The benefits of being honest while you’re traveling outweigh trying to hide yourself from the world. You will find that you are under a microscope when you’re out there on your own. Be honest, be yourself, and the world will celebrate. Your days will be full of new adventures and you’ll know exactly what you want to do and where you want to go.
Ways to help you break through and find your truth is to take in a yoga retreat, maybe in a spiritual place like India. Yoga classes and other spiritual practices help you to connect with your inner self. Your intuition and the source of who you truly are waiting for you to discover it. You just sometimes need the tools to find your samskaras (emotional scars). If you don’t know who you really are when you go traveling, you have plenty of opportunities to find out.
