Alchemy is Real: Part 1

It was November 2023 and I had come through a selection and interview process for one of 9 places on the Spiritual Directorship Program by the Institute for Intuitive Intelligence. I received the news that I had been granted a place and so, together with 8 other soul-sisters from around the world, we ventured into the vast unknown. What was known is that the 2 pre-requisites were a thesis and a spiritual retreat in India. The thesis for me posed no problem. The thought of having to attend a retreat in India caused the butterflies in my stomach to fly chaotically out of formation. I have not travelled internationally for 12 years and what is more, how was I going to be able to pay for all of this?

Let me give some perspective…

In November 2023 I was living at my parent’s place as I was coming out of the tail end of bankruptcy and starting to build financial independence. My parents are aged and needed support and so I had rent-free living in exchange.

On my 50th birthday, I said “For my 60th, I will be celebrating on a tropical island.” And that was that. My dream is coming true and the journey to get here is what has been the gift. The alchemy comes from applying consistent discipline – or as Vishen Lakhiani from Mindvalley says – blissipline. It is about doing the work on all levels = physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and letting go and letting God. Did I doubt? A million times. Did I lose faith and trust? More times than I can count. Were there sleepless nights filled with stress? Many. Did I ever stop believing that it was somehow possible? Nope.

What I learned is that I have to keep stepping out of my own way and let the magic do the work. Because the key thing to being an alchemist is to believe in the magic of the unknown. To be present really is a present, a gift. And it is one I intend to keep giving to myself in every moment, in every breath.

The magic has unfolded. I have my tickets and new luggage – my suitcases are tired from being on a gypsy road trip for 8+ years since having to give up my home. Funds dropped into my account from a financial gift and friends have offered me their home and car for 2 months in Mauritius in exchange for looking after 4 cats while they are away. So I not only spend my birthday on a tropical island, I get to enjoy Christmas and New Year there too! Its more abundant magic than I could ever have conceived of and it has come together so easily.

Today in 4 weeks I am on a flight from Cape Town to Chennai via Dubai. I will share what I have learned in the next 3 posts which will be done at weekly intervals until the day I depart. It is part of my countdown to what I know is an experience of a lifetime which has been worked towards for the past 10 years, even when all I could do was find a way to survive another day. And I also know that this is now the beginning of the new life I have been imagining and creating within over so many years.

Welcome to the journey of true alchemy!