Mindvalley's "Barcelona Experiment"

Last weekend I watched a documentary made by the team behind online learning platform Mindvalley. Mindvalley's curriculum is dedicated to personal growth and transformation in all areas of life - in a cutting-edge and exciting kind of way. Since watching the film I've been wanting to write about it, because I loved it, but I've been struggling. I think I wanted to write some sort of review, but that wasn't happening, so I'm just going to write and see what comes up!

So. The documentary was called "Barcelona Experiment". (The absence of the word "The" at the beginning is ever so slightly irritating, haha.) It was about the pilot scheme of Mindvalley University, aka Mindvalley U - basically, 300 people of all ages and from all over the world came together in Barcelona for one whole month in the summer of 2017, to learn about things you don't learn in school.

...Things like consciousness and self-awareness. Lifestyle design. How the mind works, and changing your mindset. Learning how to learn. Meditation, mindfulness and yoga (there are reasons why these practices have been around for over two thousand years). Nutrition. How to communicate well. Productivity. Exercise techniques. Creativity. Emotional intelligence. The importance of good habits. Energy work. Self-love and feeling like you are enough. Etc. Things that can help you become the best version of yourself, and live a life that is good for you, the rest of humanity and our planet.

Mindvalley's founder, Vishen Lakhiani, is passionate about education being lifelong, and that the prevailing educational system is outdated and largely redundant. So he brought together a tribe of passionate teachers, thinkers, visionaries, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, philanthropists, seekers, parents and children, to learn from, with and about each other, in a month of talks, workshops, seminars, social and community events, cultural learning, and connecting.

The film begins with an onscreen quote of Sir Ken Robinson's: "Education is modeled on the interest of industrialisation and the image of it." (If you haven't seen his legendary 2006 TED Talk "Do schools kill creativity?", click that link and go watch it. Like, asap.) Basically, our current education system is based on the interests and needs of the age of the Industrial Revolution, and has barely changed in over 200 years. It's like a factory. It's about linear paths to becoming something like an engineer or a doctor or a secretary. We're told to learn specific information and then go out an work for someone else for the rest of our lives.

People get into large amounts of debt by going to university and, most of the time, don't remember what they 'learned'. Many end up having to go into jobs that are nothing to do with what they studied and certainly nothing to do with what they love, and feel totally unprepared for the world of work. In many cases, formal education is no longer useful. As someone in the documentary said, "The world is rapidly changing and classrooms aren't keeping up." Instead, what people really take away from university are friendships, connections, experiences, and a sense of community.

What Vishen and his team wanted to do was explore a new model of education - one where it's less of a system and more about those topics listed above, community and connection, and helping people figure out what value they want to bring to the world and how to do it. At one point he gives an example of someone wanting to be a doctor. They might think they want to be a doctor, but actually what they really want is to be a healer. You don't have to be a doctor to heal. For a lot of young people in education, there isn't even space to have a conversation about figuring out what you want to do. There's an expectation to figure something out, do something, do anything.

I think the thing I loved best about the project was that kids and teenagers were fully included. They're the future. They're the ones who will inherit the world we're creating. So let them learn - really learn - the knowledge, skills and awareness that'll mean they can have a say in that world, too. At Mindvalley U, children and teens between the ages of 5 and 17 spent their days together, rather than separated in year groups like at school, learning things like mindfulness, yoga, energy work, how the mind works, empowerment, self-confidence, intuition, etc. The focus was on the personal: how they connect to themselves and each other, how they show up in the world, and helping them know they are whole, complete and enough just as they are.

Vishen Lakhiani's hope was that Mindvalley U would be a dynamic city campus - an annual event, held for one month each year, in a different city each time. Barcelona was more successful than they had ever imagined, so Mindvalley U 2018 begins in just a couple of weeks in Tallinn, Estonia - this time with 1000 people.

So the question I'm asking myself now is - what value do I want to bring to the world? The answer that's coming out right now as I type is that I want to show that it's possible to break free. Possible to live a life that you love, that you have created. Possible to change your mindset, re-programme your brain so that you can move past the barriers and self-limiting beliefs you've grown up with. To live not only with purpose but on purpose. That the "life" most people have is just a societal construct, it doesn't have to be that way - it's only the norm because people believe it can't change. I want to have a life that I love, that satisfies my soul, and I want to take the people I care about with me, I want them to be able to do the same. Life is short and precious. I especially want my nephew and little cousins to see - they're all between two and five. Who knows what the world will look like when they're at university age?

I have absolutely no idea how on earth I'm going to do any of that just yet. I know I have a lot of inner work to do. But I do know that I fully intend to apply for Mindvalley U 2019, wherever in the world that may be.


---
Currently reading: How to Be A Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living - Massimo Pigliucci (non-fiction: philosophy)
Currently listening to: Renegades - X Ambassadors

The Two Wolves

I have a little story for you. A Cherokee one.

A man is sitting with his grandson and says -

"There is a terrible battle going on.

This battle is between two wolves.

One wolf is that of fear, anger, envy, sadness, arrogance, regret, self-pity, guilt, and all negative thoughts.

The other wolf is that of love, joy, peace, kindness, courage, compassion, faith, truth and all positive thoughts.

This fight is going on inside me, inside you, inside every single person."

The grandson thinks about this for a minute, then asks -

"Which wolf wins?"

The grandfather smiles and says -

"Whichever one you feed."

:) x

I need to learn to poach eggs properly.

Dinner last night consisted of British asparagus, British plum tomatoes, sourdough bread with Brussels pate, and a couple of poached eggs.

Simple and wonderful :) Almost.

I say almost, because I've never cooked asparagus before and it was a bit underdone, but better undercooked than overcooked!

The eggs, however, were worse... I've never learned to poach eggs well. Lately, for convenience, I've been doing it in a microwave using a mug (half-fill a microwaveable mug with cold water, crack in an egg and put it in the microwave). It gets the job done but not well by any means. A poached egg done well can be a thing of joy. I think any half-decent cook would be horrified at my recent technique, and I feel I cannot be allowed to call myself a foodie or an aspiring cook if I do not, soon, learn how to poach an egg for goodness sake.

It'll be the first thing crossed off my micromastery list. What that is and what else is on it will be a blog post soon!

Dinner was followed by some British strawberries and half a square of 75% dark chocolate with salted caramel, as I curled up in bed to watch a film about food and blogging!


---
Currently reading: Still 'Helen of Troy'
Currently listening to: Follow Your Fire - Kodaline

Day trip to Guernsey, 19th May 2018

So on Saturday I took a day trip to Guernsey! :)

I don't know why it took so long for it to occur to me that I could just catch a ferry somewhere for a weekend, or even a day. I'm sure I've looked at flights before to places in France, Ireland and Scotland, but never thought of the ferries. Maybe it was because of a subconscious knowledge that they take a long time, so it's less time spent at the destination. I saw the film and read the book of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society a few weeks ago (love them both), but it wasn't until last Monday at work when I got a booking form through from someone in Guernsey, that I thought "Oh! Of course!". I looked up ferries on the spot.

It was an early start; the ferry was due to depart Poole at 7:30am on Saturday and check-in closes 40 minutes beforehand, so I stayed at my dad's in Christchurch on Friday and he kindly drove me to the ferry port at 6am. What absolutely glorious weather it was! It couldn't have been more perfect. It was quiet and misty and fresh but mild, and the blue sky above promised a sunny, warm day. I love early mornings like that.

I spent the three-hour crossing mostly gazing out the window. I love watching the sea, and other water, love how you can see it has different 'textures', if you like. In some areas the surface is just covered in patches of different patterns, like patchwork - some of it looks like it's shivering, covered in tiny little waves and ripples, some of it looks like it's being rained on or sand's been thrown over it, and some of it looks as smooth and unblemished as a satin sheet.

Goodness was it windy up on deck though! :D

Sadly you only get four hours on shore - although, taking into account the time it takes to get off the boat and the time you need to be back there before departure, it's more like three to three and a half. A while ago I probably would have not gone, thinking that spending £40 for less than four hours somewhere was a bit extravagant, even though I'd have wanted to go. But I'm getting better at that, at letting myself spend money on things I know I'm going to love. I don't spend money on lots of other things - I don't drink or smoke or drive or like coffee or have kids or a mortgage or a membership to anything, I rarely buy clothes and don't go to the cinema regularly. But travel and good food - those are things that I love, and life is short and meant for living. Several hours at sea and a few hours on a pretty island 30 miles off the coast of France, is a much better way to spend a day than sat at home in a city wondering what to do.

I actually found that I really appreciated the chance to be unplugged for a couple of hours when the ferry went out of phone signal range (i.e. there was no data for internet connection). On one hand, I quite enjoyed taking photos and uploading them to Facebook pretty much straight away so my friends and family could see my day as it was happening - rather than days or weeks later which is what usually happens when I go on trips. Being able to do that is great. On the other hand, once I couldn't use my data it was so nice to not be able to do that, to not have that option, to not feel like I have to use technology because it's there. To have that extra disconnect from daily life, to just be present in and enjoy what was going on immediately around me. I didn't even read or listen to music, I just gazed out the window and wrote a letter to a friend.

The dilemma was what to do with such a short time ashore - see some of the island, or eat lots of good food?! After booking the ticket earlier in the week I looked up places that served good French food and places that served good seafood, looked at the menus, picked one of each place (Le Petit Bistro/Cafe and The Catch), and made a list of dishes at each I liked the sound of. It got me so excited that I was thinking I would spend the whole time just eating at those two places, and go back and see the island another time. ...But then it was such gorgeous weather! It would be criminal to not go outside and see the island, and especially the wide, white sandy beaches, on such a day as that.

But neither of those things happened, in the end. After getting off the ferry in St Peter Port, while queuing up to get into the little terminal building, I struck up a conversation (!!!) with the guy stood behind me, who seemed to be on his own too. Needless to say it took me several minutes to work up the courage to do it, but six months ago I would not have done that at all. (My recent personal development journey is something I'll write about another time.) He was a day-tripper too, and we ended up spending most of the rest of the day together. Turned out he's a pastry chef who loves good food as much as I do :) After getting out of the terminal we carried on chatting and wandered along to Castle Cornet, a castle on what was a little tidal island, now part of the breakwater, on the edge of the harbour. The water is so clear there! A wonderful change from what one's used to here. A little further along the coastline we came to Clarence Battery, a remaining part of an 18th-century clifftop fort, and decided to split off and do our own thing but would see each other back on the ferry. As I left I heard the noon-day cannon firing from Castle Cornet - cool!

Sadly, being noon, there were only two hours before I needed to be back at the ferry terminal, so there wasn't enough time to walk back into town and get a bus across or around the island and have lunch. So I started off along the woodland/clifftop path to Fermain Beach, a little stony beach to the south that can only be reached on foot. It was so lovely - quiet, with great views over the beautiful blue sea, flowers and grasses growing on the clifftops and along verges, wonderfully warm and sunny, and deliciously cool in the shade of the trees that were vibrant in the fullness and freshness of the new leaves. There's a sort of heaviness to plants in summer, so I prefer spring.

After walking for about ten minutes, though, I started to worry that there wouldn't be enough time to even get to that beach and back, so I turned round and headed back towards town. If I couldn't see more of the island I would have at least some of the food on my list! When nearly there I met my earlier companion again as he was heading towards a seafood restaurant we'd passed, and when I said I was going into town to get some lunch he asked to join me - he'd been into town but couldn't decide what to get. So we went to The Catch, and enjoyed a very-yummy-indeed lunch. I had grilled sea bass with toasted almonds and French beans, with a side of asparagus with Hollandaise sauce - which was apparently a very good one.

The almonds were a bit superfluous, but... fresh fish and fresh, seasonal vegetables - great ingredients cooked simply and well - my favourite type of food. Just. Yay. Happy smiley hum :)

We finished lunch with ten minutes to spare before we had to be at the ferry terminal, but thankfully it was literally across the road. Back in the ferry port at Poole, we said we'd keep in touch and went our separate ways, me off to the Quay. It wasn't even 6pm yet and Poole Quay is much nicer than Southampton, especially on a warm sunny evening, I didn't want to go home yet, I wanted the great day to last a bit longer. After wandering to the other end and back I went into the Old Town to find the French restaurant I'd been recommended, The Guildhall Tavern. I had two starters instead of a main - baked snails with garlic and herb butter, and sauteed squid with samphire and chillies and a bit of salad - and tarte tatin for dessert. All great. So even though I didn't get to go to Le Petit Bistro in St Peter Port, I did get to have a couple of things from that list in the end :)

However, despite all the wonderful, amazing, fresh, well-made tasty food I had at lunch and dinner, the two things I savoured most, that brought the biggest smiles to my face, were the slice of fruit cake from the ferry's on-board cafe - it was the best fruit cake I've ever had - and the complimentary basket of bread and proper butter at the restaurant in Poole. The latter especially may sound daft to a lot of you, but, again, for me, sometimes the simplest things bring me the most joy.

So, the day didn't turn out as I expected, as I didn't get to see any of the island or even the town, but I wouldn't change it, I'm glad I struck up that conversation. Both of us ended up spending the day enjoying the company of someone who appreciated the beautiful weather, landscape, nature and food as much as we each did ourselves - especially the food. The island and the food won't be going anywhere, but that opportunity wouldn't have come again.

I'm now just trying to decide which weekend to go back :)

--
Currently reading: Helen of Troy - Margaret George (fiction)
Currently listening to: Wild Heart - Bleachers

Starting writing again

Hello!

It's been almost five years since I went to Canada in July 2013, and I haven't written a single blog post since coming back the following February. I've wanted to, but not known what to write about.

Well, no. The only thing I could think of was - my life. My thoughts and feelings, experiences, etc. A sort of online diary. What stopped me doing that was not knowing what, how much, would be appropriate to put out there. I guess I still don't, but I do want to start writing again, and for people to get to know me, so I'm just going to do it. I'm going to write about a day trip I took this weekend and that'll be a start.

Another thing is that, while I enjoyed it, writing was exhausting. I spent hours and hours writing and editing posts, staying up till the early hours. That hasn't changed - I'm editing this after finishing the post that will come after this one, about Guernsey, and that one took around five and a half hours. It's 4am, I've just heard the first early blackbirds, the sky is starting to lighten and I have to get up in three and a half hours for work. I'll feel the effects, but I chose to stay up and write it because I knew that once I go back to daily life, I wouldn't be able to write it as easily, the memory wouldn't be as fresh, I wouldn't be as motivated to switch on my laptop at home after sitting in front of a computer screen at work all day.

I can't and don't want to carrying on doing that, though, I'll need to find other ways so I don't stay up so late. I guess it's just practice, maybe. Anyway, for now, this and the following one are both done, and I'm publishing a blog post for the first time in 4.5 years! I hope you enjoy reading them :)

Laura xx