Living Your Intention
hammock reflection


Welcome to Living Your Intention! 
Hinda

 

I am often asked, "Of all the places you've traveled, which one is your favorite?" It's like asking what my favorite flower is. My favorite flower is whatever is in bloom. At that moment in time, I am captivated by it. When asked about the places I have traveled, a similar response would be accurate, too. But usually, four favorite experiences come to mind.

  

Living for a week in a renovated traditional countryside cottage in Provence was a memorable time.  Our cottage was located in a vineyard and it was there I soaked up the magical light of the region. Much to my surprise, the impressionists had NOT taken artistic license! I took hundreds of photos of the grapes just outside our front door, attempting to capture the transformation of their beauty as that incomparable light shifted every few minutes. To this day, I return to the memory of that place when I want to escape from everyday life and just breathe.

 

My first trip to China also stands out. I could have never imagined I could or would relate to this country, much less fall madly in love with it. The energy of the ancient melding with the energy of the modern was palpable and transformational for me.

 

fjordAnother meaningful place is South Africa's Cape Point, an hour's drive from Cape Town. It was there I witnessed the magnificent force of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans converging. And then there was cruising the grandeur of the magnificent Fjords in Norway. I still consider both of these among the most intensely beautiful and powerful sights I've ever seen.

 

These places, along with so many other poignant experiences and inspiring sights have filled me with awe and inspiration. Mostly, I anticipated they would. However, I began to relate to my past travels in a totally different light after a friend recently shared a most compelling travel article. 

 

"Where Heaven and Earth Kiss"  written by Eric Weinerreferences the term, "thin places." A thin place has been defined by travel blogger Mindie Burgoyne as "a place that draws you into itself, and transports you into the presence of a world beyond this world. You are moved into the presence of a mysterious power. There, all things you perceive through your senses are charged, electrified, illuminated with the presence of that power." Weiner elaborates on the concept by saying, "A thin place is where the sublime bends low."

 

I can certainly relate to my senses being charged and illuminated in the presence of breathtaking beauty. However, the distinction is that "thin places" connect us to something beyond ourselves - or perhaps to something deep within ourselves. When in the presence of thin places, we "perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers, glimpses of the divine. . ." or what Weiner refers to as the "Infinite Whatever." In these thin places, the distance between Heaven and Earth collapses.

 

It got me thinking about whether I've actually experienced "thin places where Heaven and Earth Kiss."

 

Hinda    

 

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

Martin Buber

 

The Transformative Magic of Thin Places

 

Travel takes many forms. Not always is it intended to inspire or even relax. Rarely is it mystical. However, I am of the mind that any travel, for any reason, has the potential for new insights.
 
"The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see."

 

Reading Eric Weiner's intriguing article, I knew instantly of three places where I was deeply impacted by an unseen, unexpected energy that was transforming.

 

My first experience was in the early 80's while traveling in Israel. During our visit local friends took us to Jaffa, one of the world's oldest cities. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, Jaffa's harbor has been in use since the Bronze Age. Its history is filled with a series of conquests through the millennia.
 
jaffaWe visited our friend's art studio, which was in an ancient building overlooking the port of Jaffa. After our visit, I walked to the water's edge. It was there I had an unusual experience. I felt the energy of this ancient place touch something deep inside of me that rang with familiarity. "I have lived here before," was the message which came through loud and clear. I had never before thought of sensing an experience as a connection to a past life. It took me totally by surprise. The feeling was profound, yet I felt completely at ease with what I had just experienced. Of course, I mentioned it to no one at the time, lest they look askance and question my sanity. Today I would have no reluctance to share the experience in the moment. Nor, 30 years later, has the memory of that experience diminished!

 

"Thin places captivate our imagination; we gain connection and become part of something larger than we can perceive." 
Eric Weiner 
 
tibetIt wasn't until 20 years after my trip to Jaffa that I had my next experience with a "thin place." In 2002 I traveled for the first time to Tibet. Located on the "roof of the world," Tibet has an average altitude of over 13,200 feet and is situated on a massive plateau between two Himalaya ridges. I was astonished by my response to this place. While there is breathtaking scenery, spiritual awareness, spectacular vistas, and huge tracts of emptiness, it is not an easy place in which to live or visit: the terrain is severe and the air thin, requiring tourists to use oxygen to avoid altitude sickness. The weather can be extreme. But the people are cheerful, devout and serene. The sounds of constantly twirling prayer wheels along with the hum of chanted mantras took up residence in my being. Tibet's energy enveloped me.  

 

The group I traveled with could have left me in Tibet; I would have been happy and content making a life there! What was that about? At the time, I had no words for it. I still don't.

 

"In truth, however, once you've been in a thin place and allowed your spirit to absorb that which transcends the senses, all need for definition ceases. Our spirits learn differently than our minds."
 
Amazingly, I had the good fortune to return to Tibet four years later. This time Tom and I were married in this sacred place. Perhaps, in some mysterious, divine way, that culminating event I could never have imagined had been calling me long before.

 

"There is an indefinable, mysterious power that pervades everything.  I feel it, though I do not see it.  It is this unseen power that makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses.  It transcends the senses." Mahatma Ghandi 
 
white jade buddhaMy most recent experience with a thin place also came unexpectedly. It happened in Shanghai in 2008. Our group visited the White Jade Buddha Temple. Built in 1882, it is one of the three famous temples in Shanghai. While viewing the exquisite sitting Buddha, carved from a single piece of white jade, I found myself transformed. I couldn't move. It was as if my feet were weighted to the spot. People began to move on, but I found myself mesmerized. The beautiful energy and serenity of this statue absorbed me. There were no thoughts, only an experience of undefined feelings. Again, I can think of no logical explanation for why I was so captivated by this statue. It certainly went beyond a feeling of awe. Sometimes we just don't understand, we can only accept.
 
"A thin place is not necessarily a tranquil place, or a fun one, or even a beautiful one, though it may be all of those things. Thin places may relax us, but they also transform us - or, more accurately, unmask us. In thin places, we become our more essential selves." - Weiner
 
Thin places, according to Weiner, are often sacred ones - St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul - but they needn't be, at least not conventionally so. For one dear friend who has traveled extensively, Minnesota's North Shore is, hands down, her thin place. For another friend, it's Denali in Alaska.

 

Thin places captivate our imagination; we gain connection and become part of something larger than we can perceive. "You don't plan a trip to a thin place," Weiner goes on to say. "You stumble upon one. To some extent, thinness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Travel to thin places doesn't necessarily lead to anything as grandiose as a 'spiritual breakthrough,' whatever that means, but it does disorient. It confuses. We lose our bearings, and find new ones. Or not. Either way, we are jolted out of old ways of seeing the world, and therein lies the transformative magic of travel." 

 

 

  

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."  
Henry Miller

 

 
Continue the Journey with DreamTrips
 
Trips that Inspire
 

bottle school kidsGuatemala Voluntour - May 23-29 For years, Guatemala has been a contrast of natural beauty and socioeconomic disparity. Its diverse population has a long history and rich culture, but poverty is prevalent in all regions of the country. Since 2010, the Manifest Foundation has aligned with Hug It Forward to make a difference in Guatemala and improve the quality of life for children and families in need. By working with communities to build schools out of discarded plastic bottles, an endeavor that costs just $10,000 per two-classroom school, the Manifest Foundation and its incredible volunteers have helped to create environments for children to receive an education. This is your opportunity to take a Voluntour and help build a Bottle School for children in San Martin Jilotepque, located in the department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. This trip will close May 8th. Click here for detailed information.

  

temple of magicianYucatan, Mexico June 27-July 1 $249.99/pp 5-Day/4-Night Tour Bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula is an exception to the norm, a region of such visual contrast that it lives up to its reputation of being one of the most beautiful and interesting places on earth. The Yucatan oasis not only boasts monuments from the cradle of Mayan culture like the archeological gems found at Chichen Itza and Ek' Balam, it also showcases incredible cenotes (subterranean circular ponds) and a beach region of such renown, it has captivated the interest of vacation-goers worldwide. The Yucatan can corral your spirit with its sun and surf, shopping, dining and sightseeing amid incredible MesoAmerican temples and pyramids. This is the ultimate summer tour, a wake-dream full of relaxation, partying, discovery and extravagance, something you'll marvel over and put on the mantel piece of your memories for years to come. The trip will close by May 11th.

  

shanghaiShanghai, China Aug 3-6 $199.99/pp 4 Day/3 Night Stay includes private, round-trip transfers with guide, daily breakfast, night city tour on arrival evening including People's Square, tour of Old Town and Yu Yuan Business City, private guide service with sightseeing tours and entrance fees. Jiu Long Hotel Jin Jiang is the ideal Shanghai address for anyone yearning to discover the city's cultural and historic treasures. It is adjacent to the latest entertainment hub in this vibrant city, the "1933 Old Mill Fun," which is a conversion of heritage industrial and abattoir buildings into a mecca for art lovers, shoppers and connoisseurs. Inside and out, at every turn, the city's magnificence is never too far away. There's no better place from which to experience it all but at Jiu Long Hotel Jin Jiang. You are welcomed with a hospitality that reflects the city. Rich, warm, and spirited.

  

kenyan childrenKenya Voluntour Sept 27-Oct 4 Just a few miles from Nairobi's center, Kibera is the second largest slum in Kenya. Families in this region have dealt with abject poverty and limited resources all their lives, but you wouldn't know it from their spirit! When you get here, you'll not only learn about local customs and traditions, you'll also come to understand that the heart of Kibera's people is unfettered by circumstance. This is your chance to experience what it means to sacrifice your time and energy to a community in need. On this remarkable Manifest Foundation voluntour, you'll help refurbish classrooms at the Grace Community School and Orphanage, and build a sustainable fresh water solution to provide clean water and a means of income for children in the region. Then, after your hard work and commitment, you'll spend four days on a breathtaking safari in Massai Mara. The entire Kibera DreamTrip will leave you feeling humbled and blessed for what you have, not to mention grateful for embracing the opportunity to have your own life enriched, while you enrich the lives of children and families in need. Click here for detailed information.

  

 

Classics of Turkey Oct 5-15 11-Day/10-Night Tour - The exotic charm of Turkey draws from regional and historical influences that demarcate its past and showcase its passion. Home of legendary uprisings, iconic and fallen empires, and heroes that have shaped the very landscape of the east, Turkey is a country of conquest that has made its mark on the social consciousness of the world. Beyond the scope of the battlefield, this is also a land of decadence and spirituality, where Roman and Byzantine basilicas mingle with breathtaking Ottoman mosques which now reside within cities that boast incomparable nightlife, vast bazaars, hip cuisine and remarkable entertainment. The treasures of this country are bountiful, and on the tour of this Mediterranean gem, you'll find so much more than a shining artifact insulated by gorgeous seas; you'll find contemporary, cutting-edge cities, each offering a unique perspective that culminates into an experience that can only be had in Turkey. See the Grand Bazaar, the amazing ruins of Ephesus, sightsee in Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia and Kusadasi with first class accommodations. Click here for detailed information. 

 
  
Thank you so much for your interest in Living Your Intention!
I welcome your feedback, and look forward to hearing from you!  Please know that I am grateful for your presence. 

Many blessings,  

Hinda Abrahamson

 

"A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimensions." 

 Oliver Wendell Holmes

In This Issue
The Transformative Magic of Thin Places
Continue the Journey with DreamTrips
Win a DreamTrip!
Shop Online!
pooh and piglet

"What day is it?" asked Pooh.
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh. 
  

Travel and Transformation

geography of bliss 

 "If you're looking for a definitive answer to the book's premise, i.e., that happiness is about place, you might be disappointed. If, however, you are game for a journey about exploring that concept, Eric Weiner's book is for you. At once intelligent and witty, 

The Geography of Bliss takes the reader to unfamiliar places to meet strangely familiar people. That's because the essence of what makes us happy (or unhappy) is basically the same everywhere. . . 

It's a book that will make you think and laugh on the same page. And, it might just make you happy." - Symbiosis, an Amazon Reviewer 

 

life is a trip  

 "From irreverence, reverence. That's the magic of Judith Fein's writing. Her unconventional view of the world and her grand sense of curiosity open doors to new adventures and understanding. allowing us to look deeply in the differences that keep the world fascinating and the similarities that keep us unified. Life is a Trip is a journal of the heart, soul and mind and we are much the better for it." -Catharine M. Hamm, travel editor, Los Angeles Times.

  

man seeks god 

  

"I came to Eric Weiner's MAN SEEKS GOD. . . [and] found an affable, candid, deeply thoughtful, sometimes ironic and funny soul, with whom I shared certain similarities. ...Whereas some people spend a lifetime searching for their god, Mr. Weiner's whirlwind speed-dating of deities is a thing to behold. I came to admire Mr. Weiner's tenacity and verve, trotting off to places I'll likely never go." 

(Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

  

 

 Happy Earth Day
April 22nd!
 mother earth
 
1. Recycle
2. Freecycle
3. Reuse. Reuse. Reuse.
4. Wallet activism. 
5. Park it.
6. Junk it.
7. Go paperless
8. Live life locally
9. Say Y-E-S to CFL's
10. Spread the word
 

Win a DreamTrip!

New Weekly Drawing! One winner each week!

caribbean cruise 

WIN THIS MEGA-CRUISE!

Eight-day, seven-night, all-inclusive aboard NCL's Pearl, departs Nov. 4, 2012

DreamTrip includes:

- Accommodations in an ocean-view balcony stateroom

- $1,000 in Rovia Bucks to put toward travel expenses to Miami embarkation

- Traditional fine dining, endless buffets and custom-order action stations

- Entertainment by Second City comedy troupe and Broadway-style shows

- Fantastic ports of call in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Mexico

 

Click here to enter, provide your contact info and watch video to be eligible to win!

 


colorful dragon
Shop Online!
In China, the Dragon is the sign of the emperor, as well as a symbol of power and wealth. In honor of 2012, the Year of the Dragon, visit my online store:  

Order Chinese Dragon cards, stamps, stickers, address labels, and apparel!

 

Passionate about 

Feng Shui

 

Certified in Western Feng Shui, Traditional Compass Feng Shui and Fashion Feng Shui, Hinda is a founding member and President of the Feng Shui Institute.

 

 For residential and business consultations, speaking engagements, or customizing a workshop for your group, contact Hinda at (952) 938-0894 or email:

Hinda Abrahamson 

 

Passionate 

about Travel

 

yellow suitcase 

create memories - discover yourself - escape - refresh - rejuvenate - enjoy 

"You see the world differently

 when you see the world." 

Click here to register for Free Preferred Customer status!

  

Like us on Facebook  View our profile on LinkedIn 

  

 DreamTrips

 

To become a DreamTrips member, click here and look for the "sign up" tab at the top of the web page. For info about becoming a Luxury DreamTrips member, click  here.

 

All DreamTrips are backed by the DreamPrice Promise!

   Intention  
yin yang

The purpose of this newsletter is two-fold: to share ways to incorporate the art of Feng Shui in daily life and to share travel experiences and opportunities you can access.

Each of these, in its own way, can

support mindfulness and intentionality

as we navigate life's journey.

 

I hope you encounter a new idea, a new resource or a new viewpoint. Perhaps some small insight will answer an unspoken question, provide a helpful tip, motivate or inspire you,

or simply give you a moment to escape from the day's demands.  

 

 Email Archive

Click date to view

 November 2010

 December 2010

 January 2011

 February 2011

 March 2011

 April 2011

 May 2011

 June 2011

 July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011 

December 2011 

January 2012 

February 2012

March 2012