en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/1629288 Comments by Katerina http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-28#IDComment200724792 Hello fellow travellers! SoS is coming to an end and I have to be away from today till October the 4th (unless I find internet access where I am going..). I 'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you here for the great insights and the ideas and the inspiration! I can't start to describe how much I enjoyed (again!) these 4 months! Many thanks also to all people at Silva who made this beautiful trip possible. "Special thanks" to Natalia who was so vigilantly and effectively watching over us! :))) I wish you all an awesome winter, doing better and better all the time! I hope we can stay in touch either here or in facebook or in whaterver other way. Love and blessings to all! K. Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:57:40 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-28#IDComment200724792 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-28#IDComment200721470 Exactly! :)) Hi Ali! Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:46:10 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-28#IDComment200721470 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-23#IDComment198703564 Τhat's exactly how I feel, Ali, and what I tried to describe in my post. I work hard not to judge. I "allow" so much that sometimes I put myself, if not in danger, in an awkward position. If I get angry (I'm not a saint, as you said), I get over it (sooner or later :) through meditation, getting in the other person's shoes and ultimately forgiveness. I prefer going to bed at night counting my blessings rather then the things/people that hurt me in any way. I have seen e.g. at work, people meaning to wrong me but I "allowed" them do their thing. Ιf I must win a battle, I do it by being good myself, not by undermining or hurting the others. They are what they are and I am what I am. I can manage. BUT there are some life threatening situations where I feel I MUST take a clear stance against and even fight for it. Nothing inside me allows me to allow in those cases. Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:55:19 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-23#IDComment198703564 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-23#IDComment197647653 +1000 to Ali! :) Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:10:35 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-23#IDComment197647653 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment197644293 So very very true... What a great reminder...! Thank you! Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:02:55 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment197644293 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment197638592 Big big hugs and love from me too, Αli! You were always on my mind on that day. Thank you sooo much for the inspiration! The way I felt at those moments has been recorded as one of the most powerful points of reference I had so far. And your name is solidly tied to it! :)) Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:51:38 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment197638592 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment197623349 Τhank you, Mahboob! Doing my best! :) Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:22:54 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment197623349 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196780427 That's exactly how I felt when I read today's declaration, Karen. So very glad to be here and to have started on this wonderful journey! May it be very very long and rich :) Love to you and to All! Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:51:47 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196780427 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196776907 Parts of it left me speechless too, Natalia! I think the key here is that I "allowed" to receive. Not only I believed in the possibility but I also felt deeply that I "deserved" what I wished for, that it was the only "right" thing to happen. And this "allowing" is, I think, that creates this feeling of being an integral part of all. Whenever I felt this way for something, it manifested. And these "successes" just validate my suspicion that where I mainly have to work on is "allowing", thoroughly examining what I want to manifest (what, how, WHY, what if..) and prove to myself (and then to the universe) that I deserve it. Have a great day! :) Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:42:44 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196776907 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196420644 Thank you Zikry! I 'm glad you liked it! The video is awesome! You know, it seems easier to give up when in trouble. But the truth is that if you have prepared yourself and mindfully brought yourself to the start of a race (i.e. you have worked so hard to prepare you body AND your mind), in your mind there is no other ending to the story but to finish no matter what.. Giving up is never an option because you have ruled it out during your spiritual training. Wed, 21 Sep 2011 22:10:41 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196420644 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196415970 Thank you Forestsage! I could have been if the 52 minutes were 25 and the kilometres 42 instead of 30! :))) But the good thing with long distance running is that you always feel like a champion because you always outdo what you think that is you (body and mind). Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:59:24 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196415970 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196329899 (cont..) And then I sent an SOS signal to all of you, my Silva family. I explained the situation and asked you to help if you can hear me. I was indescribably excited. I was practically crying looking above and saying “thank you! Thank you! Now gimme more!!” Someone seemed to listen. The rain was getting heavier but with interludes of drizzle. “Is this good enough for you?” I cried to my friend. She said it was good and promising but still not enough. A woman who was around for hours watching the efforts to put the fire off, went home and returned with an umbrella! “I brought it for luck” she told me. Why to me? Why not to anyone else? All the others were her neighbors! I was a perfect stranger to her. And believe me she was by no means a Silva graduate! :) I tapped her on the back and told her I am 100% WITH her! In the meantime my friend answered my calls. Now more people were in the game with me. What a wonderful feeling! To belong and to be powerful! I kept reporting on the weather conditions both to my sister and my friend. By that time it was seriously raining but the fire seemed invincible. We needed more rain for more time. Messages kept coming that we are all still trying! And then I heard from a fireman’s CB that at the north there was so much rain that some streets were flooded! I conveyed the message to all involved. We kept up the good work. In a few minutes I was soaking wet, exactly like in my visualization. We were safe. We went into the house, cried, sent gratitude towards all directions and, over a nice dinner and wine, had a long discussion about belief. J (I hope you’ll forgive me for taking up so much space today here but as you understand, if I say I’m excited it’s just a lame understatement..) Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:39:03 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196329899 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196329732 So here is the more impressive part I promised: After the race I planned to stay one more day in the area hosted by a very dear friend. On Monday afternoon as we were having coffee and chatting and feeling very relaxed, we realized that we had been hearing sirens for some time.. And I’m not talking greek mythology this time.. We looked out of the window just to see huge flames and tons of black smoke coming from a small pinewood across the road.. It was definitely an arson because we were told that, at that moment, about 25 fires like this were spread in the wider area! So the fire brigade was overwhelmed… They did their best, we tried to help as much as possible with our own poor means.. Unfortunately, it was also windy. A crazy wind changing direction all the time… People were desperate.. I was panicked in the beginning. But I was still under the influence of my “shining” self of the day before. A very clear image of the wood area with the tall pines in the centre burned but all the bushes in the perimeter intact popped in my mind out of nowhere. A calm certainty that everything would be alright. In the meanwhile, the wind kept changing directions, fortunately preferring the opposite direction. But the moments it was blowing toward the house, an absolutely terrifying heat embraced us. Things looked very gloomy with only two fire engines on the spot. I don’t know why, but I looked up. It was sunny and beautiful. There was a forecast for rain but that was only for the night or the next morning. But there were some clouds around… How I wished they were more and heavier… I wished.. As I was wishing, a clear picture of the heavy rain in the area came automatically to my mind. Rain everywhere, happy people and me soaking wet but laughing in front of the half burned pines.. But it was sunny.. I kept occupying myself carrying buckets of water back and forth.. I still felt calm and had that image of the trees burned and the bushes around intact. And that crazy wish.. A sudden chill made look up again. The sun was now almost covered by clouds. Grey heavy clouds. “Look!” I said to my friend “there is hope!”. She looked tired and discouraged and told me that those were not rain clouds. Something was growing inside. It sounds silly but I felt determined to “pull” more clouds over us. I didn’t even have to close my eyes. I felt confident. I felt I had to. I kept looking at the sky feeling that I pull clouds…!! About 15 min after, the sky was full of clouds. Heavy grey clouds everywhere. No sign of the sun! I showed them to my friend again. “Alright, there is forecast for rain late at night but there is no chance to rain now. These clouds are not enough..” she insisted. Instead of feeling disappointed I felt even more determined. I kept visualizing the heavy rain falling, me soaking wet, everybody happy.. I even smelled rain. And tiny drops on my hands.. “It IS going to rain! Very very soon!” I said to my friend who was still focusing on what would have been better or worse if only... Still I must have planted a tiny seed of belief in her because a few minutes later she came (having on the most strange face :) and asked me if I felt any raindrops on me.. Because she had! It was drizzling.. I was ecstatic! But my friend was still pessimistic. “This is by mo means enough! It evaporates the minute it touches the burning tree. And there’s no way it gets heavier!”. A truck driver standing next to us, whose enthusiasm I also tried to provoke, was of the same opinion. I was not a person anymore. I was my desire. And I ‘ve never felt more a droplet, part of a might ocean, sharing it’s main properties. I was in a sort of trance. Eyes open but not “human”. I repeated to my self “you are energy. You are part of all this. It can protect you if you ask.”. I looked to the sky and felt as if I was looking to a parent. “Go! Go! Gimme more! Pleeeease!” I kept saying!. And the rain little by little kept getting heavier. But not heavy enough. I remembered a friend of mine who has a bunch of friends, all Silva graduates, and they send an SMS to each other whenever there is a health case to be helped or any other serious problem to be solved. I tried to reach her but she was not answering. I called my sister. I asked for help. “The clouds are here” I told her, “let’s make them rain!”. (to be continued) Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:38:28 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196329732 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196267510 (cont..) The next day I run my best race ever! Up to the 20th K I was flying. EnJoying every minute. Somewhere between the 18th and the 20th K I felt a pain at the abdominal area. I tried to ignore it but unsuccessfully. Although at the moment I felt strong enough to keep running at a good pace, the pain wouldn’t let me. I started walking, placed my hand on the pain area, defocused my vision and repeated “it’s gone” a few times. It was gone. I started running again. The pain returned. Insisting on running, turned my eyes a little upward, visualized my shining self and repeated whispering with determination “it’s gone!” several times. Each time I said that I felt less and less of the pain. The less I felt, the more determined I was that I can stop it. Eventually it was gone. After the 25th K, I began to feel rather tired. It was the first time I had such a fast race for so long.. My whole body wanted to stop. I looked at my watch and knew that if I kept at that pace I could finish in less than 3 hours. But it was marginal. If I started walking then, the target would be lost. I remembered how fervently I wanted to “shine”. For 5K (that is about half an hour) I kept saying almost loudly to myself “let you light shine, girl! It’s your time!”. I was too tired and focused on my “mantra” to understand it then, but people running with me told me afterwards that I had a huge smile on my face from time to time, despite of the fatigue and with no apparent reason.. About 2K before the finish I realized that I was due to finish in much less than 3 hours. I literally blurred and automatically looked above and said a heartfelt “THANK YOU!”. And started sprinting like hell. I heard my name! I was finishing. 2:52… Thank you… But that wasn’t nearly all! The most impressive part was still to come! Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:32:48 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196267510 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196267073 Hi my precious Silva friends! Back again and eager to share with you all the exciting things that happened these past days. I don’t know if you felt it but I sent you signals twice. Sunday noon (greek time :) I sent out a huuuge “thank you” and a blinding smile of appreciation and gratitude for all the inspiration and positive energy you sent me! Almost 24 hours later I sent you all an SOS message, as I was dealing with a rather dangerous situation. Let me take it from the beginning, though.. The race was 30K around a lake and most of the greek runners use it as serious test of their training for the ultimate running event in Greece, i.e. the Athens Classic Marathon held yearly in November. The route of the Lake Run is beautiful and relatively easy (because it’s rather flat) and therefore it’s an event everyone looks forward to. So was I, for three years now. But each time something happened and my participation was canceled. I know it’s only a stupid, useless, counterproductive thought but it kept popping up: “this race never works for you!”. And I had to find a way to quiet it down. Plus, this year, for the first time I’m not interested just in finishing the Athens Marathon, but I’m training very hard in order to achieve a quantum performance leap: finish in 3h 59’, i.e. half an hour earlier than my personal record. This rather big target coupled by the tension sometimes caused by the hard training it demands, seemed to make me a little nervous about the outcome of this important test. That was the time when I wrote here about it. That was the time when Ali’s suggestion created a powerful image in my mind (me running with a huge smile on my face, literally shining, letting out all the “light” of my will and desire and of the new potential created by my hard training). With this image I tried to replace every gloomy thought that kept popping up. That was also the time when Mahboob’s suggestion prompt me each time I felt my stomach tight and my neck stiff and my head pounding, to name it excitement about my participation to the race, rather than nervousness about the outcome. And it worked! It really worked! So, on Saturday morning I set off for Ioannina, the place where the lake is. I had an almost 3,5 hours trip which I spent mostly at level. Approaching Ioannina I was feeling calm and strong and excited and confident and..and..and.. A series of events however, in the next 15 or so minutes managed to spoil this beautiful mood and I found myself walking alone in the unknown city feeling miserable and sorry for myself. The queen of self-pity again! I sat by the lake and let my mind off the negative thoughts for a minute noticing how peaceful and beautiful the scenery was, I even took some pictures of it and the clouds reflecting in the water and a duckling trying to attract my attention with its cute tricks…(Yeah! That was the first step of being “mindful” again!). Then I realized that all this unhappiness stemmed from 1. letting myself be overwhelmed again by the stupid thought about how this specific race seems not to be in “agreement” with me, and 2. the fact I was critising my self for the way I felt, for this mood setback. I focused on the beauty and peacefulness of the scenery. It was as if it was inviting me to stop feeling so “turbulent” and focus only on my purpose. Which was to let my “light” shine and be one with the light, joy and balance of this place. Ali’s beautiful picture of my “shining” self prevailed again! Not only had I stopped crying but I was smiling. I felt eager to run, breathing in all this bliss and prove to myself that I can do it in less than 3 hours. I admitted to myself that I had slipped for a moment or two but, that’s OK, I’m still learning! I felt the tension in knobs sliding into the lake, swimming playfully with the duckling.. And I named a few remaining knobs “excitement” due to my anticipation to shine. (to be continued..) Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:31:29 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-21#IDComment196267073 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-20#IDComment196134825 Ηe he! Who knows John! Could be! :)) I got back yesterday (tuesday) and the day was more than full with all the things I left behind plus I was very very tired (physically) because of the race and the trip and the excitement and all.. That's why I failed to "report" yesterday. But very exciting things happened these past days and I definitely want to share them with you, guys! Hopefully I'll be able to post them on today's page (21st). Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:43:33 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-20#IDComment196134825 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194218149 Go! Go! Go, John!!! :) Blessings to you too! Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:43:11 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194218149 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194217573 Τhank you Mahboob! Wise and inspiring as always! Yes! I'll do that! EnJoy whatever you do this w/e too! :) Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:41:17 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194217573 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194213845 Τhank you Gabi!!! :) Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:28:03 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194213845 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194213309 Τhank you, Lquest! In the meantime, if you experience any strange phenomena it may be me curving the time-space continuum with my speed! :))) Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:26:09 +0000 http://library.mindvalley.com/my-library/671/program/month-4/day-15#IDComment194213309