Bali’s Soulful Highlights on a Silver Platter

This year I had the chance to spend a week at a festival that allowed me to experience about all soulful highlights of Bali in one week. Filled with food for the soul. Inspiration, international workshop leaders, a beautiful and colorful tribe, lush nature, yoga, healing, dance, music and much more, this week showed me what Bali still had in store. As the effects still linger, I wanted to wholeheartedly share and spread some Bali magic!

The occasion? The BaliSpirit Festival, held each year around March in Ubud, Bali.
The reason? Sweet and soulful people from all over the world sharing their love for life, music, yoga, healing, dance, the earth, and of course, good vibes.

1. Choice:

“We may not have control over every situation, but we always have the choice of what perspective we are going to take”
–Sheena Sarles (workshop leader)

The only challenge was to choose from the schedule of nearly 60 workshops with tempting themes such as ‘Thai Yoga Massage’, ‘Reggae Dancehall’, ‘Yoga and Writing’ and many more. Of course I wanted to do them all. Time for the first lesson: Drop the fomo (fear of missing out) and surrender to Spirit. We were at the Bali -Spirit- Festival after all.

Of course the first day I failed miserably and ended up exhausted. The moment I remembered that our body is the guide that connects us to the spirit inside, I ran into a friend who randomly reminded me to respect my body and remember to relax. Coincidence?

In the words of workshop leader Tariq Amawi: ‘a coincidence means two incidences traveling along time and space, meeting each other’. This was confirmed throughout the festival. Following those ‘coincidences’ would lead to a synchronistic flow of meeting the right people at the right moment, towards the next right step.

2. Creation: 

“The only way you can find your own happiness is to have a life designed by you, rather than defined by others”
–Tariq Amawi (workshop leader)

After finding my flow and learning some lessons related to rest and trust, it was time to move on. Following Spirit’s steps, my next workshops revolved around the theme: creation. Specifically: creating a life you love. An attractive theme among soulful travelers and digital nomads.

One of the workshop leaders had us answer a set of questions to create clarity around our dreams. That part was fun. Free-flow writing about questions such as ‘what do you most care about’ or ‘what makes you smile’ was uplifting. The atmosphere of the room was charged with a creative vibe. But when it was time to share our writings with a neighbor, sharing your innermost thoughts with someone you’ve barely met before is… vulnerable. But it created instant connection.

How beautiful it is to watch someone share their deepest dream with you, seeing the spark in their eyes and the smile on their face as they speak. How heartwarming it is to be held while sharing your own deepest desires. Gratitude.

Another aspect of ‘creation’ was of course the law of attraction, a part of many workshops. My main takeaway was the reminder that it all starts inside, by keeping our vibration high, preferably at ‘love or above’. The next theme, connection, plays an important part in that.

3. Connection:

“We start out with intimacy with oneself, which leads up to intimacy with one another, and ends with pure intimacy with light and the world”
–Leah Santa Cruz (workshop leader)

The theme of Connection wove a perfect pattern throughout the festival. Apart from sharing our dreams, there were plenty of possibilities to deeply connect with the other participants.

One memorable moment of connection was a kundalini yoga/ dance class led by Sophie Sofree about ‘The Beauty of Grace’, where we shared our most recent moments of grace with a neighbour. So simple, so sweet. A perfect practice to continue back home. Another moment was during the ‘Alchemy of Love’ workshop by Silvia Mordini, during which she invited us to share our deepest fear with our neighbor. Ironically, in my case this was the fear of truly connecting. The moment I expressed it though, there was true connection, right away. Bliss.

The third memorable moment of connection came with a challenge. When workshop leader Rick Smith of ‘Inner Authority’ asked a couple of volunteers on stage for an experiment, I soon found myself standing in front of an audience. We ‘only’ had to show up as we were. Not as simple as it sounds, but after some coaching cues, I found myself looking into loving eyes, heart open wide, soul fed. What an experience. ‘All we have to do is be’ indeed, in order to create true connection. Or as the workshop leader explained:

‘Being in front of a group consciously, with kindness, can massively accelerate our moving through unconscious patterns’ –Rick Smith (workshop leader)

In order to authentically connect with others though, we first need a stable connection with ourselves. For me it’s still quite a challenge to create and cultivate that connection. Moving beyond tempting distractions to that inner temple we so rarely allow ourselves to abide in.

Thankfully, the festival offered many modalities of movement and music, stillness and sound to sink into that inner silence, sometimes through sensations of pain. Remembering that as we trust and keep moving and breathing through the layers, our pain can provide inspiration and insight, move us through darkness to light, and even become a portal to pleasure.

Which brings us back to where we began, Surrendering to Spirit, or in the words of workshop leader Rebecca Pflaum: “Trusting the light that shines within”. 

As our inner light ignited in many of us after an amazing week.
How would we make sure to keep it shining?
Choice, Creation, Connection…
Continuously.

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