How I got invited on the most epic yoga & meditation retreat in Mykonos, Greece, my biggest takeaways, and my personal thoughts on the Law of Attraction.

Back in May I was invited to attend & help organize a yoga & meditation retreat on the Greek island of Mykonos. This was such a surreal experience for me being invited on this trip because it had always been my dream to travel to Greece. In fact, as I was reading through my old travel blogs last week I stumbled upon my very first post from 2015 where I talked about my study abroad trip to Spain and my top destinations I hoped to visit while in Europe. Greece was #1. Unfortunately I didn’t make it there while I was studying abroad, but that made this invitation feel even more special and like a major manifestation win for me.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It all started when I decided to apply for a marketing/events position with a company called Mindspo. I had followed the founders, Rochelle Fox and Chris Soll, on Instagram for awhile and I saw them post about needing an intern. I loved their message and the way they used their influence online to spread awareness about the powerful effects of a daily yoga and meditation practice. I knew I would LOVE to work for them and incorporate my personal passions into my everyday job. But the position was unpaid, and at the time I was teaching English full time and working hard on my side business, so I didn’t know if taking on a third job was really the right move.

Oddly enough, it was my side business that inspired me to take the leap and apply for the unpaid internship. I thought, if I can bring in enough money in residual income on the side, maybe in a few months time I’ll be able to quit teaching and just focus on the Mindspo position and my side biz. I didn’t really believe that would ever be my reality, until I actually went to Mykonos and learned more about my own ability to manifest. And as it turns out, I’m currently living out that exact scenario just 3 months later. I imagined it in my mind and then turned it into my reality.  

Not only did I doubt that I would get the position (they have over 160k followers collectively so I assumed there would be lots of applicants) but I definitely didn't think they’d invite me on the most epic all expenses paid 10-day trip to Mykonos. That happened about 3 minutes into our first ever Skype conversation and I was so excited and blown away I didn't even try to act nonchalant about it. When Rochelle asked me if I would be “interested” in coming on the retreat and helping demonstrate yoga flows, organize schedules, guest arrivals, catering etc. I thought I should say something like, "Yes, I would love that. Let me talk to my boss about the dates and get back to you." but my immediate thought was, "Brb quitting my job and packing my suitcase.” I didn't actually quit my job (not right then at least) or pack my suitcase a month in advance, but I was pretty excited about the whole thing to say the least. 

When the day came to actually get on a plane and head to Greece alone I was feeling all the good vibes and looking forward to finally seeing this beautiful place I'd always dreamed of traveling to. I had never met the people who were now considered my “bosses”, not to mention any of the resort staff I was going to be working with, or any of the retreat guests I was going to be sharing the experience with – but somehow I felt completely calm and confident in the fact that everything was going to turn out just fine.

ARRIVING IN GREECE

We stayed at a beautiful resort overlooking Paradise Beach called Votsalaki. It’s a place that was close to Chris & Rochelle’s hearts because it was one of the destinations on their first ever Europe trip (coming from Australia it’s a long way to travel). They became friends with the owner and resort staff at Votsalaki and went back nearly once every year after that, so it was a place that felt like a second home to them. When I arrived I immediately got the same feeling. It's a family-owned resort and their love and pride for what they do is tied into every last detail of the place. The staff was so friendly and kind and was always bringing out new homemade treats and drink creations for us to test out for the menu. We usually ended the nights hanging out with them around the bar having late night chats or dancing around the pool deck to crazy Greek music. (Yes, they smashed a plate for us)

My role on the retreat encompassed a variety of tasks, but mostly I was there to help keep everything organized, coordinate with resort staff, and make sure all the guests were informed and accommodated.  I wanted to be professional in this role but I also wanted to fully immerse myself in the retreat activities to learn more about myself and grow and expand alongside the other guests. I made it a goal of mine before leaving Madrid to be my absolute authentic self with everyone I met and make an effort to connect on a deeper level with the people who traveled across the world to share this experience with us. I wanted to be vulnerable, raw, open, and honest with everyone I met so that no time was wasted in getting to know each other fully and sharing our stories and our hearts.

FROM COMPLETE STRANGERS TO SUPPORT SYSTEM

My heart is so full reflecting back on the people I met there, the impressions they made on my life, and the friendships and support system we've created. We are so vastly different as individuals but there was something in all of us that just clicked and made it feel like we'd already known each other for years. They're all little rays of light popping up on my Instagram feed and in our group chat everyday with messages of motivation and positivity. They're my cheerleaders, always giving that first like or comment, supporting my work and encouraging my dreams. Sometimes even more so than people I’ve known forever. I think that’s because of the unique experience we had, where we shared our lives’ biggest hopes, dreams, and fears all within a few days of meeting one another. Maybe that’s made us more emotionally invested in each others' success and happiness because we know exactly what each person is striving for, and everything it has taken for them to get this far in their journey. I’m so grateful to have met such an epic group of individuals from all over the world who I can now call friends. 

I’ve always heard people talk about the importance of connecting with “like-minded individuals” and honestly before this trip I didn’t really know what the hell that meant. But I get it now. When you insert yourself into a group of people who are all willing to step out of their comfort zones, who are committed to becoming better versions of themselves, open to new concepts, ideas, experiences, and ways of thinking the energy is infectious. The positive vibes that are generated in a group like that bounce from one person to the next and you just get this feeling of being understood, seen, and being completely in control of creating exactly what you want for your life.

BE MINDFUL: YOU'RE ALWAYS MANIFESTING

On the retreat we practiced yoga and meditation daily, learned new techniques, tested the limits of our minds, and uncovered some of our deepest fears and emotions through journaling. We learned about the Law of Attraction, the power of visualization, and how to start manifesting the life of your dreams.

I want to share with you one of the biggest lessons I took away from the Manifestation Master Class, which was that we are all constantly manifesting. It’s not something that you can just decide to do one day. You’ve already been doing it your whole life whether you realize it or not. The law of attraction is similar to the law of gravity in that it is ALWAYS working, even if you don’t believe it’s real. If you don’t believe in gravity it doesn’t mean you’re going to start floating while all the true believers remain safely on the ground. In the same way, whatever your beliefs are about the law of attraction don’t really matter; your thoughts and the things you choose to focus on most are being attracted into your life regardless.  The law of attraction is a constant force in the universe, and it’s not something we can just start, stop or pause.

There are tons of people manifesting amazing things in their lives without even realizing how they’re doing it. And the same goes for people manifesting really shitty things. So this is how I like to think about the law of attraction and how I like to show people that it truly is always at work, whether you’re utilizing it on purpose or not. I’m going to give you examples of two types of people that you probably know or have met in your life before. These types of people are all around us, and they are both a perfect example of someone who is manifesting their reality without even knowing it.

1.     The Victim

This is the person who seems to be having a string of bad luck, just one shitty situation after another - failures, set-backs, heartbreaks, screw-ups, the whole shebang.

People like this usually say things like, “I just can’t catch a break.” “This would happen to me” “I hate my life” “With my bad luck I’m not even surprised” Little do they know that these thoughts and comments are what is attracting the next bad thing into their life. You attract what you fear. And more importantly you attract what you focus on most often, so if you’re constantly down in the dumps about life, thinking about how things will never get better…then chances are, they won’t.

2.     The Lucky Bastard

This is the person who always seems to have random amazing things happening to them. They get out of a speeding ticket, ace an exam they forgot to study for, get bumped up from economy to first class, find money in the street, or get a dream job offer out of nowhere.

People like this usually say things like, “I’m not worried about it” “Everything will be fine” “Things always work out in the end” “I don’t know, I guess I’m just lucky” “I didn’t even expect that to happen!”

Neither the victim nor the lucky bastard is aware that his thoughts and overall mindset is what’s controlling the outcome of his life – but regardless of their awareness that is what’s happening. And it’s happening in your life right now too…your inner world is creating your outer world. The reality that you currently live in is a construction of your own past thoughts, feelings, and habits. 

So, the more in-tune you can become with your thoughts and emotions the more you can control the happiness, experiences, finances, and lifestyle that you’re able to manifest. That’s why learning to meditate is so powerful, because it’s the precursor to being able to manifest exactly what you want in your life.

And there are very few things cooler than that.