The Process of BE-ing Inspired in Bali

From Taiwan, I made my way to Bali as there was somewhere specific I needed to be (that was actually planned!!) Before leaving Canada, I decided I was going to stay longer after my travels with DawnO. So I booked myself on a retreat which luckily had 1 last spot left (just waiting for me!) But, this wasn’t my “usual” yoga and/or meditation retreat. This was a retreat that I didn’t actually have confidence that I had the skills that might be required, but I had an interest in the topic and decided to simply jump in.

But first . . . I had to get there on time! So, I gave myself a few days of cushion for flights and headed to Bali.

B-Rod and I had been to Bali several years ago and found an area we really liked, but this was mostly after we had experienced the busy areas and got out of them as fast as we could! I only had a few days before the retreat, didn’t have time to do that again, so I made my way to a place that I had heard described as a “quieter” area. I’m guessing it was simply considered this compared to the other areas that surrounded it! It took me a bit to finally wrap my head around just accepting that I’d be in a heavy tourist area for the next few days and accepting all that comes along with that.

Sanur

I spent my time in Sanur wandering aimlessly and exploring the narrow pathways that took me out of the busy streets,

renting a bike and cycling back and forth along the 7km beach bike path,

sitting by the water (pool and beach) to read and people watch,

watching a cultural show at the mall (that I actually quite enjoyed)

admiring the sacredness and intricate details of so many of the buildings and life in general in this area,

and having a mixture of simple yet delicious food from local warungs, as well as more “fancy” (and also delicious!) food in cool colonial style buildings.

Eventually it was time to head to the retreat.

Mount Batukaru

This retreat was held at the Bali Mountain Retreat on Mount Batukaru. It is run 100% by people who live in the villages in the area, has THE most ✨magical✨ energy and was a place where it was so very easy to connect to and immerse in nature.

It was very different from where I had just come from, and I appreciated the quiet, calm and incredibly nurturing vibe of the whole place. I felt lucky to be so well taken care of.

My room had the most amazing deck with the best views!

One of the largest geckos I’ve ever seen ended up sharing space with us in the room I was in. He/She would make loud, random noises at various times throughout the night. It always made me laugh, and I now know FOR SURE that I’d take a gigantic gecko living above me over a squirrel scampering in my ceiling any day!!!

A few of us went for walks outside of the property a couple of times, and a highlight was getting up extra early to take a hike to a small mountain temple. I always love that time of day and it was so nice to be in nature as the world woke up and seeing the changing colours as the darkness transformed to daylight.

Part of this retreat involved cultural traditions and ceremonies and I appreciated how the process was always explained and our questions answered (as best as they could be!) We had a blessing from a local priest and his wife to start our journey,

and a fire ceremony to release and purge at the end.

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So . . . what was the focus of this retreat and why was I worried I wouldn’t have the skills required (I’m sure it totally sounds like my jam so far!)? 😆

The Art of Process

This was a culture AND art retreat led by Stephanie June Ellis who developed The Art of Process Technique using mandalas and sacred geometry. For this particular retreat we were focused on the lotus flower.

I used a compass for the first time in YEARS, experimented with watercolours for possibly the first time as an adult, wrapped my head around tracing paper for patterns, had some internal freak outs during free hand drawing activities. I also discovered my concentration face makes me look angry. 😆

I won’t lie . . . . I was nervous heading into this retreat. AND, there was a lot of internal work it forced me to do, particularly around the beginning of the week, as I bumped up against numerous thoughts and stories about not being creative, not being good enough, not being an artist and not belonging because of this, wanting validation that I was “doing a good job” and resisting the urge to compare what I created with others. BUT, so many things came together during this week to help move through that. First, Stephanie is such a patient, encouraging, wonderful teacher and person that she made things either feel easy or was quick to help out when any one of us needed that. It also helped that the group that ended up being created with the women who attended was so supportive and easily gave space and freedom for everyone to be wherever they were on their path. I think it was also key that the first person I met (we were picked up and shared a car to the centre on the first day) shared how in her view, creating art was all about having fun, experimenting and in the end it’s just a piece of paper with some lines. Her voice came to my mind any time I started to feel frustrated or bump up against those stories.

By the end of the week, I was absolutely inspired by the people around me and the all the wonderful creations they made.

On our last full day together, we took a field trip into Ubud for a bit of exploring as well as to take a natural dye Batik class. It was quite interesting to learn about the process, see the colours change so quickly before our eyes, and very cool to see how different and unique everyone’s creations were.

I was asked a few times how I found this retreat and what brought me there. To be honest, I don’t really know or remember. It may have been as simple as I googled “retreat in April” and I liked the idea of doing something different and exploring something new. What I DO know is that one of the biggest things/lessons/contemplations I’m taking from this whole experience is this – sometimes (most times?!) the process is enough.

Oh, and also . . . . a compass can create ✨magic✨ but always have an eraser close by!

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**** we shared many pictures amongst the group and Stephanie took pictures while we worked, so know that not all of these snapshots were taken by me.