bringe dein bewusst s e i n  in die himalaya räume

die nächsten reisen sind ausgeschrieben:

upper mustang – das buddhistische hochland an der grenze zu tibet  |  29 sept – 16 okt 2018

rolwaling – mystisches hochtal zwischen himmel & erde  |  10 – 27 märz 2019

der himalaya ist der sitz der götter, geburtsort der grossen meister, wo buddhismus, hinduismus und animismus verschmelzen. der höchste punkt der erde – da wo sie sich mit dem himmel verbindet.

in der höhe wird der himmel blauer, die luft klarer, das licht stärker, die grenze zum himmel durchlässiger. da oben öffnen sich unsere geistigen kanäle. und wir erinnern uns, woher wir kommen, weshalb wir hier sind und wohin wir gehen.

die reise im aussen wird eine reise zu dir selber. transformation und kräftigung im innen ermöglicht heilsame entwicklung auch im aussen: in der natur, in der kultur, bei den menschen, die hier leben und diese räume hüten, in ihrer kargheit, schönheit und ihrer unbeschreiblich grossen kraft.

wir wandern pro tag zwischen 3 bis 6 stunden, starten in der wärme des hügellandes und erreichen windig-kalte klarblaue höhen von bis zu 5500 m.ü.M. wir lassen uns dabei begleiten und unterstützen, von der ungestümen leichtigkeit und freude des windes, dem feuer der sonne und der sterne, dem gesang des wassers, der magnetischen kraft der erde, in ihren grenzenlosen dimensionen. ruhetage laden uns dazu ein, zu sein, aufzunehmen, auszuruhen, dem nachzugehen was wir individuell brauchen, damit es uns gut geht.

mehr infos

du bist herzlich eingeladen, wenn du den ruf spürst. wir freuen uns auf dich.

bringe dein bewusstes  s e i n  in die himalaya räume

am 26. mai referiere ich bei YONAMO zürich.

ich spreche über die hinter-gründe des mindwalks, meine intention und ausrichtung und unsere pläne für die nächsten trekking-reisen. mit einer schönen auswahl an himalaya bildern von meinen bisherigen reisen, richte ich mein referat an alle diejenigen, die sich interessieren, inspirieren lassen und gerne mehr erfahren möchten.

an beiden tagen bin ich auch an meinem aussteller-stand präsent, und lade dich herzlich ein, vorbeizuschauen: dort erwarten dich weitere infos, fotos, kleine himalaya-köstlichkeiten und die gelegenheit, mit mir direkt über die mindwalks zu sprechen – und warum ich mehr bewusstsein in die himalaya räume bringen möchte.

die YONAMO messe ist ein fest für YOga, NAturkosmetik und MOre. neben inspirierenden ausstellern und einem vielseitigen yoga-programm finden auch vorträge zu themen wie natürliche ernährung, naturkosmetik und ayurveda statt. für die kulinarische abrundung ist mit einem abwechslungsreichen, biologischen angebot gesorgt. auch die kleinen kommen mit kinder-yoga und -meditation sowie spiel und viel spass auf Ihre kosten.

bei der anmeldung kannst du dir gleich auch einen platz bei den referaten, die dich interessieren, sichern.

ich freue mich sehr, wenn du auch dabeibist.

herzlich

monika

mindwalk march 5 – 25, 2018

walking our minds, we returned well – enriched, transformed, deeply fulfilled

arriving, individually and together as a group, in the colorful life of kathmandu valley, with its sacred buddhist and hindu heritage

ascending to the sacred peak of kalinchowk, to pay respect to goddess kali, fierce mother goddess who kills demons, removing the illusion of ego, liberating the soul to its true nature

experiencing the power of pristine nature, as we move up through virgin jungle forest of rolwaling valley. below us, glacial waters thunder down in turquoise beauty, giving us a sense of the greatness of landscapes they are born in, which await us higher up the valley

majestic himalayas. the sacred twin-peaks of gauri shankar guard the entrance to the valley, further up, the giant mountain tsobje looks down upon our every step

silent soothing snowfall on restful afternoons – awaiting us with glittering sunshine-blessed mornings, touching our souls with deep bliss

clarity in the transparent blue air of high altitudes, where our minds clarify and our spirits take off to meet the infinite space…..a space where the boundary between earth and sky dissolves, to transport us into a mystical state of dimensionless connection with all that was, is, and will be

vast untouched mountain landscapes awakening in us humility, awe, and a deep and divine sense of truly being

ageless power of sacred sites, touched by winds silently rustling through prayerflags

valuing simplicity. experiencing the comfort of most simple accomodation, providing nothing more – but also nothing less – than our bodies and souls truly need: a warm welcome of our hosts who generously nourish us with delicious yet simple food, and provide us with a clean & dry place to rest

the outer journey to the high valley of na became an inner journey to the depths of who we are

the experience of what it means to transcend our inner boundaries. to move beyond our comfort zones, reaching spaces of great clarity, insight, personal transformation – und ultimately, inner peace.

we will continue to walk…

closing the circle…we head back down to kathmandu. where we relish the aliveness and abundance of the valley, and connect with like-minded people at the himalayan consensus summit 2018.

…preparations for our next mindwalk are under way

details coming soon

photo collection by: thanh d. dang, monika schaffner, urban schnetzer and samuel zahner

bringing exclusive awareness to the himalayas

bringing conscious, global-minded people into the sacred himalayan spaces. people who seek to heighten their awareness on their own inner spaces as well as the outside spaces they travel, and who are ready to bring this awareness out into the world.

promotion trekking tour 5 – 25 march 2018

kathmandu valley – rolwaling himal – himalayan consensus summit

download tour details   for many years now I have travelled the himalayan spaces on my personal path. this november, I visited the everest region, an area well-known and precious to me, to feel into the energies and to observe what is needed for of this well-travelled, powerful himalayan space to move towards a wholesome future. of my many experiences, I realized this: it is time to open up this scope and invite my friends, fellow like-minded people, to join me in bringing awareness into these himalayan spaces. together with a soul-friend with shared intentions complementing my own, sujeev shakya, we initiated this new space of working. offering exclusive high-end travel & trekking tours with a truly holistic attitude, I wish to bring global-minded people with influence, material-worldly and energetic-spiritual influence, into sacred himalayan spaces. conscious people who seek to heighten their awareness on their own inner spaces as well as the outside spaces they travel, and who are ready to bring this awareness out into the world. in march 5 – 25 2018, we will take you on our first mindwalk. leading us from kathmandu valley towards the east to kalinchowk, the sacred mountain of godess kali, and up to the hidden buddhist valley of rolwaling, we close the circle in kathmandu with the privilege of taking part in the himalayan consensus summit 2018 – a multi-stakeholder event with the aim to design sustainable alternative solutions to the current challenges the himalayan spaces are facing. if you feel the impulse, an inner „yes“ to join us, please connect with me.

ein gespräch über die spur, die zu connecting spaces geführt hat

ich freue mich sehr, meine berufliche geschichte in diesem schönen buch zu teilen. zusammen mit christian mulle reflektieren wir über die notwendigkeit, uns aus den angst- und machtbasierten hierarchischen strukturen zu lösen, die unsere individuelle gestaltungs-, wirkungs- und entwicklungskraft einengen, um hin zu einem offeneren, ganzheitlichen, freude-orientierten verständnis des zusammenlebens und wirkens zu finden.

wilde heile welt: dem beruflichen lebensfaden auf der spur

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dieses gespräch inmitten der wilden, blühenden bergnatur des maderanertals war einer der spuren, die zu connecting spaces geführt hat.

danke, christian, für diese einladung!

revaluating mount everest

further up-valley the fearsome glacial imja lake, a place I felt not meant to be for the tiny living being I am, amidst majestic 8000+ mountains and the mighty glaciers pouring down from them in a way it takes my breath away.

my route crossed two of these great glacial flows – what a humbling sensation to find myself in the midst of this powerful mass of ice, rock, water & energy, moving slowly but perceviably down the valley. the path leading randomly between shifting ice blocks, water holes, rolling masses of gravel, moraines dropping hundreds of meters, the dynamics gradually eating their edges away.

enjoying a tranquil solitary early morning uphill hike in majestic landscape on the way to kongma-la, the surprise awaiting me just before the pass: a lake of utter calm & depth – inviting me to sit, still, and simply take in what it is it wishes to tell me. a moment when time & space stands still, holds its breath so the human being listening can take it in and let it arrive deep down – there is a richness of age-old wisdom sitting in these mountain spaces. offering to us human beings to listen, realize, draw from & comprehend.

the crossing of the pass anounced to me a shift of energies, turning to a new chapter. from the loving warm slopes of chukung valley where it felt to me like being held in the comfort & safety of a mother’s embrace – to the cool, sharp, concentrated male energy of the khumbu valley, where performance & achievement counts in pursuit of high aims. the valley in which I would join the never-ceasing in- & outflux of trekkers of all ages, cultures & attitudes, on the world’s most popular hiker’s route: the highway to everest base camp.

I would have liked to avoid this part, this dreaded pocket of the masses driven by the inner urge to see the basecamp of the highest mountain in the world – for many this would be the hardest physical challenge they take on themselves in their lives. I would have liked to – as many sensitive trekkers meanwhile choose to do – instead divert my route directly towards the next pass. but a part of me needed to see, experience, wanted to know what this is all about: peak season on the trekking route to everest.

it was the most challenging experience on my body and soul. not the physical challenge (I still hold the speed record up to 5500 m asl. kalapatar ;-D), but the challenge of sharing such basic infrastructure with so many people, in a place no human being is naturally meant to be. too high the air already here, too limited the natural resources available, too heavy the pressure of what we leave behind when we go back down. it was a hard fight for a single free room with a window I could open for the little oxygen I would get, it was crowed dinning halls warmly heated by a yak-dung fire, sharing space with people I would not choose to do so in other circumstances, it was headaches, nausea, and a wonderfully cooked dal bhat with fresh veggies brought up on the back of a porter or yak from all the way down the valley – which eventually, sadly, landed in the drain due to my nausea at the overpowering lack of air & space I felt in this crowded space.

I was relieved to get up at 4:30 am to join the caterpillar of headlights crawling their way up to mt. kalapatar for the famous sunrise. I took an alternative path I had noticed the day before – and on this solitary route enjoyed the calm, quiet, magic beauty of the dawning light, with its mysterious, incomprehensible mélange of pastel colors, the first dip of sunlight on the mountain tips, the gradual awakening of this high valley. chomolungma in her solid, massive, eternal state of simply being, holding the powerful centerpoint of this space. not enduring, judging,… simply being witness. to the craziness & delusion of these hundreds of beings coming in and out of her space every day, for years, for decades – some only to see her, many to conquer her, some to leave their lives somewhere in the cold wind on her highest heights.

as the sun finally pierced its first rays over the back of nuptse face, welcoming me with a hint of warmth in the freezing cold, I reflected on this craze – while a few hundred meters to my left, on the official peak, hundreds of fellow-sunrisers were busy taking their adventure-posed-souvenir-pictures, exchanging with each other where they came from and where they go, which countries they had already been to, who they might know in common and how they were longing for a hot shower and a crunchy pizza, talking about anything else but this moment they had come so far to experience.

mt. everest – who ever came up with this dry, colonial name for a mountain who holds with such magnificent, breath-taking solidity the center of the earth? chomolungma, she is called in the local tibeto-sherpa language: great mother goddess.

sitting there opposite her and feeling the energy coming from that solid mass of rock, with its decorative red geological layer blazing through the top few hundred meters of her face, I felt this knowing and understood why. it is about a divine & powerful place, where eternal mountain spirits & highest elevations meet. the center of the earth, a power not to be expressed in words. it is a potent space of clarity & inspiration, held by the stillness, the calm, the magic in the air.

I deeply honor performance and I know of own experience the ambition of reaching heights & challenging goals. but it hurts to see this ignorance in a place so obviously & tangibly imbued with energy. the perceived trampling around unconsciously, loudly, awkwardly on its sacred space, oblivious to its power & significance. all for the sake of personal adventure, phyiscal achievement and for ticking off a box on the „must-see-in-this-lifetime“ list of world targets.

I met wonderful people on my way, sharing my concerns and understanding my troubled feelings. on my way down from the last pass of my journey, I came to the generous valley of thame, where houses have obviously not only been built to accomodate tourists but truly as a base for living, farming and taking part in this sacred heritage.

I reached an old monastery settled in a magic forest of ancient rhododendron trees. sensing the mountain spirits among the trees and high on the rocky outcrops, they told me of the ageless nature of this power. a power which endures all human endeavours, their struggles for the good, their reaching of high goals, whatever these may be and from whichever motivation they spring. it felt as if these spirits are asking me to come back – to bring my friends & like-minded to this unique himalayan space. and together with them to multiply this sense of awareness, appreciation and awe.

taking a last look on the mountains before I headed down into the colorful abundance of the lower valley I felt this: these mountains appreciate being valued.