Attractive Images: Finding your way with dreams

Prepare yourself there are a lot of “I”s in this post. Hang on in there though it is a pretty good story. I alluded to the fact in the last post that I never really thought I would live in Nepal; what I did not say was that I dreamed of it constantly. From the days when I first started climbing and even before I was drawn to mountain literature. The stories are all human and involve great courage and endurance, there is a gritty realism where bad things happen and the protagonists have to deal with them. Inevitably there is an exploration of relationships, what makes a good partner, a fine leader and how we define ourselves by the landscapes we choose to visit. The word-smithing is often beautiful too and conjures incredible images. With these filling my mind I was drawn to the Himalayas like a pregnant woman to ice cream.

When I made the decision to spend time in Nepal I wrote so many letters and really had only one response. One line stood out in the missive, “What do you know about Permaculture? If you know nothing about Permaculture you are no use to us!” So off I went on a quest. I started to learn about Permaculture in the UK and when I found out it had its origins in Australia I chose to go there to study. Following courses and a stay with the founder, I travelled though South East Asia, doing voluntary work along the way until I arrived in Nepal.

Arriving with a tourist visa I was expecting a three month stay so I decided to embrace where I was and did all I could to engage with situations and people. In the first week in the office I involved myself with writing newsletters, designing programs and farms and even helped a random stranger with their resume. The following week I attended the first national workshop of regenerative agriculture, I also presented my work groups findings. Even better I was able to tour farms and communities in various settings. After nine weeks I started to wonder if I was going to be able to perpetuate my stay. When I went to my boss asking for ideas I was not really expecting much; I asked anyway. Bhadri’s response was rather surprising. The resume I had written had gained its owner the new title of Acting Director of Imigrations. We went to him, cap in hand, asking if I could change my visa from tourist to non tourist – being typically Nepali he did not want to lift his head above the parapet and was not willing to help unless I had a letter from a government official. I was crestfallen. Bhadri however smiled and told me that I knew someone in government. I laughed until he told me that the quiet gentleman in my work group at the workshop was actually the secretary of the ministry of agriculture. A quick visit there and I was able to return to the Department of Immigration armed with an official letter with a government seal.

All of a sudden I was able to live in Nepal indefinitely, I could buy property and cross country flights cost nothing. Again, I am not sure how this all happened and I never did meet anyone else who managed to pull this stunt off. All I know is that I had wanted to spend an extended time in that wonderful country since I could remember and somehow it became possible. The only solution I have aligns with the law of attraction. By creating a strong enough image you can make it happen.

My time in Nepal was amazing. What are you going to attract?

Creating your roadmap: dreams and futures

A couple of years ago I was reflecting on the places that I have lived and trying to figure out if there was any reason why I had been attracted to those places in particular. At the time, there really seemed to be no pattern. Each of the places seemed unlikely for different reasons. I never really wanted to spend an extended time in Australia because my mother had emigrated there in her twenties and I did not want to follow in her footsteps. Nepal always seemed to be a hard country to gain a visa for. The States was the place of movies rather than somewhere I was going to end up living even if Colorado has the perfect climate and incredible mountains. Alaska, now there is a far flung frontier, what does anyone want to do moving there?

During our sojourn in Alaska; which really is an incredible place, I wrestled with why. One day it suddenly struck me. On the wall of my room at school I had placed posters and a few pictures from magazines. In particular there were four large images of climbers and guess where the climbs were; Australia, Nepal, Colorado and Alaska. Now I have never done any of those routes but something must have resonated. A seed must have been sowed and nurtured which led to my following through and all this was done at a sub conscious level.

My conclusion is that dreams really are powerful. Creating images of where you want to go is far more productive than looking at roadblocks.

What do you want to do and how are you going to create the images that will take you there?