Travel

Psychedelics, Life Decisions and The Other Side of The Rabbit Hole Part III: The Journey

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It is nightfall now, the group has just descended from the mountain where we sat, talked, joked and meditated. We sit in silence, huddled in a circle surrounding the fire, anxiously awaiting the instructions of Maestro Adonias our Shaman.

Without warning the Shaman speaks, he tells us to not be afraid, to trust in the medicine, trust in him and you will be fine, that we may confront our fears, our deepest problems, even death but we are safe. We are all starving, weary, but ready. We introduce ourselves formally to the group along with our intentions for the night. We eagerly follow the Shaman over to a table supporting a bottle of a thick dark brown liquid.

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Psychedelics, Life Decisions and The Other Side of The Rabbit Hole Part II: The Diet

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No sex. No masturbation. No Alcohol. No drugs of any kind (even coffee). No salt. No sugar. No chili. No dairy. No pork. No red meat.

For the past week this has been my life, more or less, in preparation for the Ayahuasca ceremony tomorrow night.

This week has been tough to say the least it was my final week of exams whilst on exchange. Many of the friends I have made over my last 6 months in Colombia are heading home. My family is pressuring me to come up with a return date for next year, to attend a wedding. And to top it off I have all but ended a relationship with a girl I have been in love with for over two years.

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Psychedelics, Life Decisions and The Other Side of The Rabbit Hole

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Last Tuesday I had a truly profound LSD experience with my friend in Bogota. Two days later I am still riding the afterglow of the experience. It came on rather slowly and we laughed and talked to our other friends about girlfriends, love and “let’s see” decisions and were just thankful for the life we are living right now.

We were lucky enough to be offered an Ayahuasca ceremony earlier in the week with a highly respected and recommended shaman from Peru who is currently working in Colombia. We will start the diet next week and have the ceremony Saturday the 31st of May. Naturally our conversation turned to this ceremony.

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A Responsibility to Awe

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This is a video from the shots of awe series by performance philosopher Jason Silva, a man with a sincerely optimistic view of humanity. The theme of this episode is Awe and the importance of what it means to be inspired. To me the responsibility to awe underlines what it means to be human and that is to move, explore, experience and grow

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Awaken from a Dream in the Caribbean

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Back in Bogota once again and not long left now, roughly six weeks, until I head to New York City for a completely different Adventure. I am absolutely exhausted from my trip to the Caribbean but i’ve got another story to tell and I am happy. Once again I am amazed at this planets’ ability to continue to teach me about it, its people, and myself.

In my last update I mentioned my excitement about my trip to Providencia Island, it did not disappoint and it may of clawed its way into my top 5 favourite places I have visited. The island has a rich history of English colonisation, piracy and in more recent history the emergence of a Rastafarian culture.

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Living the Story of My Life in the Caribbean

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It is good to be moving again, to be traveling and experiencing another part of this beautiful Earth. My adventure has taken me to San Andrés, a small Colombian island in the Caribbean not far from the coast of Nicaragua.

An absolutely beautiful island surrounded by the Caribbean Ocean, San Andrés is a mix of seven different shades of blue like something out of a fairy tale. I have spent my days exploring the smaller islands, snorkelling in the surrounding reefs and taking in the sun on the crystal clear beaches.

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Return to Medellin

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In an effort to escape Bogota’s cold, rainy weather I decided to yet again return to Medellin for the long weekend. After living in Bogota for the past few months it really felt like a regular holiday. I threw a few changes of clothes, my toothbrush, phone charger and my thoughts journal in a bag, I closed my front door, jumped in a cab and headed off for a regular sunny holiday.

The sun is shining, the temperature is already perfect. I step off the plane and just stand there taking in the fresh air and sun’s rays. I am glad to be back.

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Ecuador in a Heartbeat

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1800373_10153841346665154_790549201_nIt is 12am and I am sitting in Bogotá international airport. My flight for Ecuador, Quito leaves in five hours. A flight that normally would take an hour and half but will take me fifteen hours via Panama City. A flight that was booked exactly twenty four hours ago, after a decision made twenty five hours ago and after a conversation had twenty five hours and fifteen minutes ago. I have only just moved in to my apartment in Bogotá two days ago, my Spanish lessons start tomorrow, I was settling in nicely making many new friends getting to know my house mates and now I am gone for ten days. So what the hell am I doing? The truth, I have no freaking idea I guess I’ll have ten days to figure it out… 

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Experience shared

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Making new friends and missing the ones not with me, I have been having the time of my life sharing this human experience with others. One friend in particular made me so happy and proud for the people I have met and shared a connection in this world. Today is the launch of my friends new blog “Adventuring Home” (check it out here) a blog she has spent months preparing and a lifetime gathering her positive outlook on spirituality, life and well-being. I cannot wait to join the rest of the world in sharing in her message.

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The 9-5 Paradigm and Revolution in Bogotá

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Almost completely settled in Bogotá and with my share apartment sorted out, I finally have a new home for the next five months, a base from which to explore Colombia. Bogotá is a very politically active city and there seems to be revolution in the air, with images of hammers and sickles, Che Guevaras, anarchists symbols, various other political slogans and “la paz de los pueblos” (peace for the people) graffitied on every second wall. Tent cities stand as a permanent protest outside the presidential palace and coffee shops are full of revolutionaries plotting and talking of change.

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Adventuring into the alone

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I have just returned to Bogota after a weekend in Medellín to celebrate Australia Day. I don’t necessarily believe in glorification of imaginary lines but I do appreciate the borderless sharing of experience that occurs when people agree to celebrate together; a big party is not too bad either. This would also be the last time I would see my friends I have been traveling with for so long. The beauty of Medellín and the fiestas that followed were a fitting end to our adventures together.

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Ciudad Perdida and the journey to happiness in the Colombian jungles.

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Since my last post I have been constantly moving, my life has been a flurry of dodgy bus rides, apartment searching, study organising and off-course Jungle trekking. I am finally in Bogota, and though exhausted in body my soul feels refreshed. My latest adventure started one morning in Cartagena when a group of us decided to drop everything and go straight to the Colombian Jungle in search of the illusive Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City).

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Sailing the Caribbean from Panama to Colombia

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I have been debating over writing this post down because to do so, I would have to admit to myself that I was not dreaming. That the last few days actually happened and that now I can only revisit them in memory. That familiar bittersweet feeling of experiencing something truly great, that is both inspiring and life changing, ahh the boat…

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From Mexico to Antigua to Panama goodbye Central America, for now.

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I am sore, I am tired, and I am beaten. The last few days have been rough traveling from Palenque, Mexico to now arriving in Panama City. The first leg of the journey was a 6am bus trip to the Guatemalan border, a short boat trip, and another long bus until we eventually arrived in Flores, Guatemala 10 hours later.

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Mushroom guide through Mayan ruins

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Teotihuacan

A lot has happened and a lot has been learnt since my last post. It is a new year for one Feliz años Nuevo! And one that I’ll certainly never forget although my normal attitude of ‘leaving things to the last minute and they will work’ at this busy time of the year failed me. With hopes of going all over the country dashed by booked out hostels and buses I spent the New Year in Mexico City but was still able to see the absolutely stunning pyramids in Teotihuacan.

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Life as a paradox

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Everything has been happening so fast from meeting incredible people to discovering Mexico city the most alive city I have had the pleasure of seeing. I have been so greedy for new experience in this city of organised chaos I haven’t had time to properly update my blog for fear of missing something.

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A Citizen of the World

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Now only days before I disembark on an adventure that is certain to be the greatest time of my life so far. I feel as if I have been stuck in a limbo between wanting to squeeze every ounce of experience and fun out of each remaining second I have in this beautiful country; whilst also feeling like I could explode from the emotional cocktail of excitement, fear and sadness I feel towards my next journey. It is as if I am finally experiencing life at the right speed, each day is distinct and never too short or long.

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Normality does not exist

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This is something i wrote a little while ago, but i think it’s particularly relevant this week when the Australian high court has decided to overturn an equality of marriage law passed only a few months ago in the Australian capital.

“Accordingly, the ACT Act cannot operate concurrently with the Federal Act.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/high-court-strikes-down-act-gay-marriage-law/story-fn59niix-1226781474406

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Solace in Martial Arts

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Exactly two week remain until my adventure begins when i’ll have my bags packed my white belt folded away and will be ready to take on an adventure of a life time. I have been finalising a lot of things for my trip,  trying to take in as much as i can in my last few days of training. Unfortunately I have been plagued by injury  with a sprained ankle and a missing toe nail after one of my Muay Thai sessions last week. Sorry if the image below makes you a bit uneasy.

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Understanding comes before humility

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Just under four weeks before I leave Australia and trying to get as much packed into them as I can, catching up with friends, saying goodbye to friends and visiting some of my favourite places in Australia. The nerves are starting to build as I work my way through the list of things I need to see and get done before I leave. But I am still excited as ever.

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Welcome to Blogging

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I am about to embark on a major adventure across oceans and continents i’m nervous, excited and i think i am ready. I’ll be travelling back to South America the continent i fell in love with earlier this year and this time I have the time and commitment to truly experience both it and the rest of the Americas. I’ll be starting in Mexico on Christmas day (I know that’s central) and sailing to Colombia where ill spend the first six months of the year living and studying in Bogota. After that the world, or perhaps in the more immediate future the Americas are my oyster.

I hope to share with anyone who cares to follow stories, philosophy and perhaps even a bit of poetry, as well as martial arts around the world. I’ve got many ideas and no real plan so it will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Anyway my names Peter and i hope you enjoy i’ll just finish with something i wrote earlier this year whilst traveling a revelation and a reminder to always be happy. This is my Journey!Image

We are all addicted to happiness of some kind. I’m Addicted to the pure kind, the one pure happiness that is infectious to all it touches. The denunciation of selfishness and the realisation that life is good.

happy travels, happy life, happy journey.