(I started writing this last night and was so relaxed after my afternoon of indulgence that I laid down on the bed and fell asleep just after 8:pm)
(Friday’s post)
To start off with I must say that I had a great sleep. I woke up early headed out on the balcony almost immediately to see if the ocean was still turquoise. Well… because it was so early it was hard to tell nonetheless my gut instinct said it was still magnificent.
Shortly after I got up I posted my blog. I wanted to write while everything was still fresh and the excitement was still pulsing through my veins.
Tonight as I sit here I realize that the past 24 hours have been so fantastic that it is less than likely to become a thing of the past so quickly. However, after the day that I had today I have to say it was another pretty amazing day of stepping out of my so called comfort zone. (Hmmm, comfort zones. That will be another blog for another day however this one is clearly about mind set.
I decided pretty early that I would get on my bathing suit and head to the beach since I hadn’t been yet. If it looks that glorious from a distance than it has to be pretty amazing to boot.
Now I’m no barbie and I have to say that I was walking around my hotel room doing everything possible to delay going to the beach. The self image thing was playing loud and clear for me. Although I know that I’m more than what people see from the outside, my intellect was alive and well. Now the good news is that the inside of who I am was ‘awake, live and well’ also. So I finally put my sunscreen on, let it soak in for 15 minutes and then put on my bathing suite and cover up and headed down to the beach.
I tell you that I needed to muster up a lot of courage to go out there and lay beside ‘thonged’ tanned women. Me…I showed up in a one peice and fish belly white skin and…the main thing is…I Showed Up.
While the young man was setting up my lounge chair, I scooted down to the water right away. I just needed to know how warm it was. Well, it was very very warm much like a warm bath. I was on a mission to play and explore so my next thing to do was to lay in the sun (under an umbrella of course). I made sure that my face was out of the sun but I did want to get at least a little colour on my arms and legs.
I laid there and took some pictures, closed my eyes and relaxed a bit. I tell you I couldn’t keep them closed for too long. I wanted to keep them open and see all I could see.
As I observed the coming and goings of people, I realized that I didn’t feel so conscious about my body anymore. So once again I mustered up my courage and took off my cover up and exposed my body to the world. Hmmm, no one ran screaming so I guess I fit in.
After laying in the sun for about an hour, I decided to go back in the ocean and this time, all the way in. I have to say that the 80 degree water felt cooling. In no time at all I was up to my neck and enjoying every minute of the water. I looked at the magnificent buildings from the water and was amazed to see them tower so close to the water. Amazing. I decided that the beach scene wasn’t for me. Too hot to say the least. It must have been about 95 degrees or higher by time I came in.
When I got back to my room I changed and then pondered, “now what shall I experience?”
(side bar) The reason why I arrived a few days before the retreat is based on one of my past experiences. I move through an experience, I learn from it and get to choose differently should the opportunity present itself again.
In 2008 I was in Hawaii for a program. Although we started later in the morning and finished earlier in the day, my heart longed to be outside playing and exploring however it really wasn’t an option seeing how I didn’t allow for enough time. So I learned from that experience and in April this year when I was presented with an opportunity to be in a program in California, I planned for a week away even though I only needed to be there for 3 days. This time I need to be here for about three and a half days and I’m still here for a week. How do I get to experience new things if I don’t allow for enough time to play. How do I live an abundant life with minimalistic thinking? Simple. I can’t.
(now back to yesterday’s discoveries)
I had been eying this spa package called, ‘Deliberate Indulgence.’ Well needless to say the name had already peaked my curiosity. It was a 4 hour session and I kept asking myself, ‘can I actually allow myself to be pampered for that long?’ It may sound funny to some of you however this is a really new concept for me. Hmmm…Deliberate Indulgence. Wait a minute, that’s what I’ve been doing since I arrived. Deliberately choosing to engage things that I had never experienced before. There was only one thing to do…Call and see if I could get myself booked in. It was a little after 2:pm and the spa closes at 7 so there was a good chance that it would be too short notice to get in.
When I called down, Alina answered the phone. She seemed so excited that I was interested in the Deliberate Indulgence package. While we were speaking, there was some kind of interference on the line so she opted to call me back. Sure enough when she called back, there was still something going on with the phone. Long story short, she looked into it and when I came back to my room at the end of the night, I had a new phone.O.K. back on track.
Welcome to my holodeck where all my dreams come true.
Ahhh yess….I went down at 2:40 to start off with a steam sauna before starting my experience. When I walked in Alina asked me, “Are you the special Lady?” I smiled and said, “I am.” Four hours of pampering tells a person that you must be special and…indeed I AM.
I met three of the most amazing women who pampered me for the next few hours. Janiene started me off with a Champagne Bath followed by a Turkish Salt Scrub, then a cuvee of grape seed oil massage, followed by a caviar facial (which is to die for) and then, I enjoyed a glass of champagne and fresh fruit. Oh yes, can’t forget that I had a scalp massage as well. Janiene did all of it except the massage which Lorraine did and was such an amazing experience.
I came back to my room a little after 7:pm. I sat down and attempted to blog however I could barely keep my eyes open. So I was in bed a little after 8:pm and didn’t wake up until a little before 8 this morning.
So I tell you now that I am changing my mindset because of the experiences that I’m allowing myself to have. If I don’t experience all of these amazing things, how will I know what I want more of in my life? How good am I willing to have it? Am I willing to be seen for who I am? It took great courage for me to be seen in my bathing suit because of the ‘old’ mindset that I had. Now that no longer exists for me. So being visible to everyone is going to be easier for me than it has been in the past. I’ve been creating some pretty amazing things that people don’t even know about yet. Why? Cause maybe up until now I haven’t been ready to be ’seen’ for who I am. With all my warts and imperfections…this is who I am.
Huge hugs to all and I’ll be sharing how today has unfolded later on tonight…or maybe tomorrow morning. Hmmm, make that tonight.
Amy