I don’t know about you, but historically, packing to go travelling for me has always felt like a very time-consuming thing, and the mere thought of it would create a lot of stress and anxiety. I always admired those who could effortlessly glide through airports with all their belongings conveniently located in a little carry-on and one personal item.

I’ve always tended to overpack. My mom is infamous for overpacking. I remember leaving for family vacations, and my dad would utter, “do you think we have enough stuff?” as he crammed another suitcase into the vehicle. But we always had everything we could ever need, and we never went without. My mom would always say, “it’s better to have it if you don’t need it than not to have it when you do need it.”  I also remember my parents as the least calm people when it came to travelling; we always got where we needed to go and had a great time once we were there, but getting to and from was almost always a stressful event. It’s interesting how our minds pick up these habits.

I used to lug around a massive 120-litre pack in my twenties. And that luggage faired well and has been to Europe, South America and Asia. But struggling to haul around a heavy, sweaty, dingy backpack on planes, trains, and automobiles is not exactly my version of leisure anymore. Airport security would always hassle me about the number of liquids I had, and I would get charged extra because my luggage was too heavy. So naturally, I was always the one dashing across the airport, trying to make my flight with only minutes to spare.

I was slightly concerned as I’d heard that the airports had been jam-packed over the summer with COVID restrictions easing. I watched news stories about understaffed airports struggling to accommodate the influx of travellers. Some clients even told me about losing their checked luggage and delayed, cancelled or rescheduled flights. So I decided to air on the side of caution and do my best to avoid that hassle.

So I said to my adult self, “this time is going to be different. I’m turning 35, and I will be that person who casually strolls through the airport, calm and without a worry, with my carry-on that has everything I need and no more”. I premeditated for a week on how I would pull off this miracle. I retired my old backpack and purchased new carry-on luggage. I pulled my outfits and then narrowed them down to the absolute essentials. I whittled down my ridiculous 17-step skin and hair care routine into tiny TFSA-approved bottles and planned to leave for the airport and be nearly 4 hours early. Me being me, I ended up only being two hours before. But I felt calm knowing I would have more than enough time and board the plane without breaking a sweat.

So a week’s worth of preparation paid off. I successfully packed my carry-on and made it to Bali without any stress. I think this was the most leisurely trip I’ve ever had. For the first time, I went through security without a hitch, and because I got to the airport early, they bumped my seats, so I had whole rows to myself the entire way there. I had a couple of layovers in Vancouver and Taipei and found a yoga space to unwind, I skipped the airplane food and brought some healthy snacks, and protein shakes. I probably drank way too much coffee but necessary for thirty-three hours of travel, and ultimately I arrived at my destination feeling better than ever.

The moral of this story is whatever you think will manifest. So choose to occupy your mind with thoughts and expectations of the best, fill your mind with concepts of peace, harmony, health and goodwill, and that is exactly how life will unfold.

To stay calm, I use neurolinguistic programming and mantras or positive affirmations. Our minds learn through repetition, so as I packed, I repeated, “packing has been stressful in the past, and travelling can be challenging, but…
insert reframe: I trust the universe is conspiring for me and transform the negative belief into a positive:  I am cool, calm and collected.”

“Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass.” Think, and so it shall be.

So while I am here embracing the calm serenity of the ocean in Bali, I will also be preparing a fantastic workshop for you!

Just Breathe is a workshop designed to equip those suffering from chronic pain with tools that are powerfully effective yet easy to use. So consider this your cordial invitation to join me on an immersive breathe work journey. You will learn to keep calm by utilizing your inherent breathing ability and unlocking your brain’s power to produce pain-killing feel-good hormones. You will develop a new perspective on pain and transform any fear and anxiety it causes using neurolinguistic programming and meditation. I am so excited to be offering this workshop; I genuinely believe this is invaluable knowledge, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Sending you all the calming vibes from Bali,

Noelle