My next adventure ✈️
What’s something that is inspiring you right now?
Hello from Guatemala, 2022!
I’m inspired by ADVENTURE!
Recently I’ve felt a new call and I’m choosing to answer it. My next adventure is to Bali!
And it’s happening very soon - for the month of August. I’ll be going for 4-6 weeks to a beautiful place called Ubud, which translates as “medicine” in Bhasa, the language of Indonesia.
I’m really excited about this journey and I have a lot of reasons for going. Ironically, one of those initial reasons was a big disappointment.
I was in Bali 3 years ago, and it was an incredibly difficult yet important moment in my life (the dark times are like that).
Going through dark times in Bali, 2019. Photo by Kate Midlane
I was coming out of a Dark Night of the Soul in Thailand, leaving an incredibly toxic co-dependent relationship, and starting to do the work to get honest about my part in what happened.
It was finally time that things got bad enough that I became willing to face and own my addictive behavior and patterns and start walking the path of sobriety. This was what the Bali 2019 chapter was all about for me - getting into the amazing and supportive Recovery community there and just finally getting honest about all the things I had spent a lifetime hiding from.
It was a time of big transformation and I had it all written down in the pages of six journals I brought on my travels….
One of the journals from Bali, 2019. Photo by Kate Midlane
At the time of departure, my bags were too heavy so I left the journals with a trusted friend who lived in Bali with the intention of coming back to get them...but then the pandemic hit and I wasn’t able to go back as soon as I had expected.
Sadly, life had other plans and the journals were accidentally trashed.
Initially, I was really bummed about it. Of course I was!
I was attached to those journals and all the reflections, lessons, and transformations they documented, as well as the plan in my mind to go back to get them.
First, I had to decide whether I would hold on and suffer over it, or if I would let go. Thankfully, thanks to all the readings of the Anthony de Mello book (last month’s book recommendation) I did. I accepted the loss, and I moved on.
Soon after I made my peace with the loss, a new idea arrived: to use this energy as a catalyst to propel me forward instead of an anchor to hold me down. That’s why I’ve decided to go back to Bali and write a new story instead of staying focused on what I lost.
Bali 2019, Photo by Kate Midlane
Instead of obsessing over and trying to hold onto old energy, I’m choosing to let go and move forward into something new. A new adventure to Bali!
What are you up to this month?
This is a big month for me.
I’m making preparations for my trip to Bali (including having some custom hummingbird bracelets made which I’ll sell at the end of July to help cover my travel expenses), we’re starting work on the land, and I’m also taking an 11-day pranayama course at Las Pyramides that’s really powerful.
Now, this pranayama course is key, so listen up.
It’s a class all about harnessing and expanding your life force “prana” energy using the breath. It’s a simple but powerful system for transformation. I would go as far as to call it an “advanced spiritual technology” that works like a big karmic cleanse that moves out the old energy and makes way for the new in a profound and significant way.
I took this course about a year and a half ago and it was a turning point for me - afterward, I came out with a lot of new clarity about what I needed to change and new energy of motivation to actually make those needed changes.
That was when I started on the ayurvedic diet, started meditating and doing yoga every day, broke up with my ex, got sober (again), and just made all of these important positive changes.
The energy stirred up and activated during this pranayama breathwork course was the catalyst for all those significant changes.
I was in a lot of darkness when I went in last time, and that was a lot of what was cleared out.
This time, I’ve already done the work to clean and make peace with so much of my darkness, so now with all of this new space within me I can only imagine what adventure the energy will take me on this time.
I’m really excited that this is the energy I will ride to Bali.
What’s the latest news on your land?
As I mentioned, we are starting the work on the land this month! It’s so exciting!
Thanks to Ashley and Dijan I have a team of local workers that feels aligned with my values and mission to live in harmony with the earth.
The team is comprised of Vicente, who is the main man in charge (pictured here), and his two sons, Friste and Felipe. Another young man, Juan, the son of Miguel who works at Karuna, will also be joining us part-time. You can meet them and see the work site in its starting state in this video here.
We’ve been on a slow but steady journey to walk the path that feels right and I’m grateful to finally be at the point where the shovels are going into the ground.
And that’s what we’re starting with - earthworks.
That means digging out rocks, leveling the ground and creating walls and terraces where we’ll be building, and then working on the foundation of the house.
Luckily my trip to Bali is perfectly timed so that I’ll be away when they’re doing this less exciting work. By the time I come back in September, we’ll be ready to start putting up the walls of the structure. OMG!
I think one of the best parts about this trip will be coming home.
What is something you recommend right now?
SPICES: The Big 3 - Coriander, Cumin, & Fennel
I mentioned a big change for me came after I took the pranayama class last time, specifically I started seeing an ayurvedic practitioner who helped me adjust my diet to what is best for my unique body type and constitution.
This was the start of my practice of adding herbs and spices into my diet, which has really helped me heal my gut and just feel better, stronger, and more nourished over time.
People see my spice collection now and they wish they knew and had what I do.
So if that’s you, here’s where I started: with coriander, cumin, and fennel.
Just those three. That’s it.
In fact, those three together make an amazing tea that helps you rehabilitate your gut health (and it can help you lose weight too). It’s actually an ancient ayurvedic formula that has been suggested throughout history to help with digestive issues, bloating, nausea, improving mental clarity, and other soothing benefits.
You can combine these seeds together as a tea, and/or start bringing them into your cooking for lots of great flavor and health benefits. Give it a try! It’s a great place to start. You can click on the button below to visit my Erica’s Favs page where I link to the ones I recommend buying (as well as some other fun stuff on that page I highly recommend).
Earn a free flight
I really wish someone had told me about this years ago. There are ways to get FREE flights around the world using miles. How do you get those miles? You can earn miles from flying with airlines, but an easier, faster way to get miles is to use this credit card. I just signed up for it and I’m putting all my expenses for the Bali trip on it. But don’t be fooled - the point is not to carry a balance and accumulate debt (just miles).
My plan is to only spend what I can afford and then pay it off in full each month. That way I get the miles, but not the debt.
Check it out and if you’re about to make some large purchases to meet the qualifications to earn the miles, put them on this card, and next thing you know you could be flying to Italy, Thailand, Bali, or Guatemala for freeeeeeeeeee!
THIS MONTH’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION:
“The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing”
Another thing I recommend this month is a book that I’ve been reading called “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing” by Marie Kondo.
Wow. I think every human needs to read this book. I love how she draws all these connections between our physical space and our mental and emotional space, and how “putting our house in order” can have a drastic effect on our life. I enjoy the practice she teaches of how to surround yourself with only the things that spark joy within you, and to go through a process of letting go of the rest. What would our homes and our lives be like if we practiced that every day?
What personal message do you have?
You are exactly where you’re meant to be, even if you don’t like where you are.
And that’s because, as Marie Kondo mentions in her sweet little book, everything serves its’ purpose.
Even if you bought something and then never wore it, as you bravely choose to discard it, you can bow in gratitude to this item because it showed you what you don’t want.
And that’s good information to have, no?
That t-shirt that seemed like a good idea at the time, but then you never actually felt called to wear - well, it helped you gain more perspective on what actually does spark joy within you.
So as you step forward on your next adventure in this next chapter of your life, may your joy be your guide.
May you have the courage to do an inventory of what you are carrying and be willing to let go of what does not spark joy within you.
And I don’t just mean t-shirts.
I also mean relationships, habits, ways of earning a living, etc.
Because within your heart there is a compass and it’s always leading you towards your highest path.
But sadly, we’ve been taught not to listen to it.
We’ve been trained to be a good girl or boy and do what other people want. We’ve been taught to sacrifice the voice of our own truth in the name of making other people happy and making them like and approve of us.
When other people’s approval is your compass, you are sure to end up in the quicksand of anxiety and discontentment - it’s just a matter of time.
When you follow the compass of your own joy - of your truth, of what feeeeeels right - then you will get somewhere completely different, and someplace far better.
Sure, if you decide to start heeding the direction of your own compass you will probably have to forge a mountain range of other people being upset with you for no longer prioritizing their needs and emotions over your own.
If you’ve gone so deep into that land of people-pleasing, finding your way out might be like Lewis and Clark forging new paths through the wilderness - with all the associated obstacles, beasts, and unexpected twists and turns.
But keep with it, keep going, keep listening to what feels right for you, according to that subtle voice within your heart.
Take the time to find your path, even if you get some bruises in the brambles of other people’s discontent along the way.
Remember, your job is not to take care of people who should and can take care of themselves (exceptions can be made to this rule, like actual children, for example).
When you do, you are enabling them to stay small and incapable of taking care of themselves in the world, dependent on you like a little baby. Is that what you want for them? Or do you want to support the people in your life to be standing in their own strength and power?
If you want to empower yourself and others, then go. Listen and heed the call to your own adventure, whatever that may be for you (and maybe that’s starting a business, moving to a new city, deciding once and for all to get sober, etc).
Summon your courage and strength and get through the temporary brambles of the wilderness - and, before you know it, you’ll be seeing the first rays of light on the sunny shores of your joy in this precious human life.
Photos of Erica
I went into my archives to find some photos from when I was in Bali in 2019. These images were shot in three sessions - in April, June and July 2019. Can you see my progression from darkness to light? I can. Thank you Kate Midlane and Bre Martel for taking these shots. I may not have my journals from that time, but at least I have these.
Last thing!
If you want to support my land project and have more direct contact with me, then consider joining my new subscriber group on Facebook for $10/mo.
The "High Vibe Tribe" is a community of amazing souls who follow my videos and here we're learning ways to live our best life, together.
Every 2 weeks we do a zoom call meetup, which is a great chance to meet me (and each other), ask me any questions, and just generally get to know each other better. I hope to see you there! 😃 ❤️ 🚀
Monkey on my back in Bali in 2019
BTW - The last time I was in Bali I had an experience with a monkey on my back. It taught me a really valuable life lesson. I shared that in a video and it went viral(ish - 344K views?). You can see it here:
