Spagna - In Nature We Trust - testimonianze attività locali
Two participants from Spain, Alba and Isabel, were so inspired by Mindful dinner during the Youth exchange, so they have decided to repeat this experience with their families. That how they are describing their experience and feelings:
“When I returned to Spain, I felt very strange. Back to stress, noise, the city ... I thought it would be very difficult, but I went to the mountain to think alone. I tried to focus on my senses and let the thoughts go by without paying attention. I felt calm and relaxed and for a moment I forgot that I had returned to Spain. The knowledge of mindfulness has changed my way of seeing life. Now I see things more calmly, I do not let negative thoughts dominate me. I try to meditate several days a week and I talk to everyone about how I feel. When I was with my family, I decided to make the mindfulness dinner. We all meet the family and have dinner with candles. At the beginning it was very difficult because everyone laughed. Here we talk a lot during dinner and watch television. After a while everyone concentrated on their food in silence and enjoyed a quiet dinner without talking. I felt very good for having taught them a little bit of mindfulness. We've talked and we're going to have a dinner like that every week. I hope I can teach you more things. Thank you so much for everything.” - Alba -
“When I returned to Spain, I felt very strange. Back to stress, noise, the city ... I thought it would be very difficult, but I went to the mountain to think alone. I tried to focus on my senses and let the thoughts go by without paying attention. I felt calm and relaxed and for a moment I forgot that I had returned to Spain. The knowledge of mindfulness has changed my way of seeing life. Now I see things more calmly, I do not let negative thoughts dominate me. I try to meditate several days a week and I talk to everyone about how I feel. When I was with my family, I decided to make the mindfulness dinner. We all meet the family and have dinner with candles. At the beginning it was very difficult because everyone laughed. Here we talk a lot during dinner and watch television. After a while everyone concentrated on their food in silence and enjoyed a quiet dinner without talking. I felt very good for having taught them a little bit of mindfulness. We've talked and we're going to have a dinner like that every week. I hope I can teach you more things. Thank you so much for everything.” - Alba -
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OPENING THE EYES IN THE MINDFULNESS WORLD
"Hi, mi name is Isa and I going to tell you my amazing story with the mindfulness. When I arrived to Villa Diana, I didn´t know explain clear which is the meaning of mindfulness but after few hours I understood what was it for me. Mindfulness consist of living the moment, all the time there are plenty of distractions which don´t allow be focus only in the action that we are doing. The next step for me was learned to silence my mind, I was so much difficult as I couldn´t stop to think but I only needed practice for get it. How it change my week? I connected with the nature, with the participants who became to be friends, with the place, with the food, and with myself. I felt too much feelings and I lived this week with intensity. Finally I needed to do something similar in my home for transmit all of this to my family because it changes my perception about the life. And….What could I do with them? I decided to do a mindful dinner. For couple of minutes they didn´t stop laughing because it was unusual for them. Afterward they felt the tasty, the texture and the smell of the food. The dinner was transformed in the most special and sensory.” Isabel
Patricia has organised mindful activities for her friends in Madrid:
“The experience was super nice, even though at first my friends were not used to this kind of activities, they really enjoyed it and found it extremely interesting, asking me for more activities. I chose Unconscious painting (one of the activities the Spanish team did). Using recycled paper we drew six figures (circle, triangle, S, a straight line, square and a cross). I did not tell them anything previously but they had to draw the first thing it came to their mind, and give it two adjectives to describe it. Once they finished, I read the meaning of each figure and we share the results (not everybody), being conscious that it was very accurate.” Patricia
"Hi, mi name is Isa and I going to tell you my amazing story with the mindfulness. When I arrived to Villa Diana, I didn´t know explain clear which is the meaning of mindfulness but after few hours I understood what was it for me. Mindfulness consist of living the moment, all the time there are plenty of distractions which don´t allow be focus only in the action that we are doing. The next step for me was learned to silence my mind, I was so much difficult as I couldn´t stop to think but I only needed practice for get it. How it change my week? I connected with the nature, with the participants who became to be friends, with the place, with the food, and with myself. I felt too much feelings and I lived this week with intensity. Finally I needed to do something similar in my home for transmit all of this to my family because it changes my perception about the life. And….What could I do with them? I decided to do a mindful dinner. For couple of minutes they didn´t stop laughing because it was unusual for them. Afterward they felt the tasty, the texture and the smell of the food. The dinner was transformed in the most special and sensory.” Isabel
Patricia has organised mindful activities for her friends in Madrid:
“The experience was super nice, even though at first my friends were not used to this kind of activities, they really enjoyed it and found it extremely interesting, asking me for more activities. I chose Unconscious painting (one of the activities the Spanish team did). Using recycled paper we drew six figures (circle, triangle, S, a straight line, square and a cross). I did not tell them anything previously but they had to draw the first thing it came to their mind, and give it two adjectives to describe it. Once they finished, I read the meaning of each figure and we share the results (not everybody), being conscious that it was very accurate.” Patricia
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Yosu has organised the workshop he prepared in Madrid for some friends.
“I did a little bit of a mix of activities: first we shared a moment of reflexion and talked about what mindfulness is and what nature means in our lives. Then I suggested them to do two of the activities we did in the project during the "Awakening the senses" workshop, and they loved them!! :) Then we did a meditation and I introduced them to intuitive painting, which they also saw as a very deep and mindful activity. I want to thank you and congratulate you for all the work and enthusiasm. In the moment I got back home and started processing the experience, somehow adding it to my previous life-experiences, I started becoming more and more aware of how this project influenced me, helped me see certain things in a different way (calmer and more opened way) and also my life and how I want my experience in this world to be like.” Yosu
“I did a little bit of a mix of activities: first we shared a moment of reflexion and talked about what mindfulness is and what nature means in our lives. Then I suggested them to do two of the activities we did in the project during the "Awakening the senses" workshop, and they loved them!! :) Then we did a meditation and I introduced them to intuitive painting, which they also saw as a very deep and mindful activity. I want to thank you and congratulate you for all the work and enthusiasm. In the moment I got back home and started processing the experience, somehow adding it to my previous life-experiences, I started becoming more and more aware of how this project influenced me, helped me see certain things in a different way (calmer and more opened way) and also my life and how I want my experience in this world to be like.” Yosu
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Rakel has shared her experience in the article written after the Youth exchange:
“ONE MONTH AGO....
Exactly it was one month ago when I came back from the Youth Exchange “In Nature We Trust” in Italy with Vulcanimamente. It was so much lived in a week for that I wanted to take my time to write this article to share my experience in the best way possible and to transmit other what I lived and encourage to participate because it was not just another exchange more, it was unique.
I start with those first sensations when we arrived. The place was wonderful, we were many, completely unknown, some more talkative, others less... However, in 48 hours we became a big family and it was the same situation which made this. It was so easy and fast.
And speaking of family, especially I have to talk about my group of Spaniards because I never happened before, but this time it was something special, we didn’t know each other before. Nevertheless, we connected, we connected so much that we are brothers, brothers from night to morning, from different places, unknown, different... But we understand each other. We had to prepare the common activity, we were new to the mindfulness, we speak the same language, the same bad English :P... I do not know why, I do not know which one of all the reasons or why but we became inseparable, maybe we were too much join, even a bit apart from the rest, but then one day came, in which we all expressed our feelings and were clear with each other, and we realized that we had to relate more and from then we were still together but we shared, we listened, we laugh, we talk with everyone more and then this family came out with many cousins of different cultures, ways of thinking, acting, ideas ... so this just helped us to keep learning, growing...!
Regarding the environment was a wonderful place to be a week remembered for life, the owner of the accommodation, the cooks, the other volunteers and especially the organization took care that we all arrived, that we felt comfortable, at peace, free, relaxed ... There are many adjectives that can be said but it is very difficult to express what it felt, even now I am feeling it just by remembering it, I do not know how to transmit you how I opened the mind, how I feel relax, great…
Last but not least important, I will talk about the activities, when you get to this type of exchange you do not know very well what it will be, if you are going to be all day in the mountains, in the countryside or meditating...
And the truth is that It was perfectly organized, we did a little of everything, each one also participated in their own way, we contribute what we could, we organized activities, we participle in the others activities, and overall the activities gave us perspective that stopped us a bit to realize the reality that we surrounds. Because we do not realize it but we need it, there is a lot that we are not aware that we should take into account and it was very easy to do so.
I am currently immersed in the life of stress, hard work, of timeless ... However, in my head, if there has been a small change, taking things slowly, not stressing yourself, observing our surroundings, people, nature ... When I practiced there the activities I wondered if then I would actually act like this in my normal life, and I do not know how but unconsciously in my head nowadays I observe, breathe, I feel every event moment and I think this is thanks to that little week that was a turning point in many of us.
So for all this THANK YOU!! And if you are reading this because you are not sure whether to sign up, do not think about it ... It will be worth it, I’m sure! Express yourself, as you want as you feel it! Live the moment!”
Rakel Colás Gorricho
“ONE MONTH AGO....
Exactly it was one month ago when I came back from the Youth Exchange “In Nature We Trust” in Italy with Vulcanimamente. It was so much lived in a week for that I wanted to take my time to write this article to share my experience in the best way possible and to transmit other what I lived and encourage to participate because it was not just another exchange more, it was unique.
I start with those first sensations when we arrived. The place was wonderful, we were many, completely unknown, some more talkative, others less... However, in 48 hours we became a big family and it was the same situation which made this. It was so easy and fast.
And speaking of family, especially I have to talk about my group of Spaniards because I never happened before, but this time it was something special, we didn’t know each other before. Nevertheless, we connected, we connected so much that we are brothers, brothers from night to morning, from different places, unknown, different... But we understand each other. We had to prepare the common activity, we were new to the mindfulness, we speak the same language, the same bad English :P... I do not know why, I do not know which one of all the reasons or why but we became inseparable, maybe we were too much join, even a bit apart from the rest, but then one day came, in which we all expressed our feelings and were clear with each other, and we realized that we had to relate more and from then we were still together but we shared, we listened, we laugh, we talk with everyone more and then this family came out with many cousins of different cultures, ways of thinking, acting, ideas ... so this just helped us to keep learning, growing...!
Regarding the environment was a wonderful place to be a week remembered for life, the owner of the accommodation, the cooks, the other volunteers and especially the organization took care that we all arrived, that we felt comfortable, at peace, free, relaxed ... There are many adjectives that can be said but it is very difficult to express what it felt, even now I am feeling it just by remembering it, I do not know how to transmit you how I opened the mind, how I feel relax, great…
Last but not least important, I will talk about the activities, when you get to this type of exchange you do not know very well what it will be, if you are going to be all day in the mountains, in the countryside or meditating...
And the truth is that It was perfectly organized, we did a little of everything, each one also participated in their own way, we contribute what we could, we organized activities, we participle in the others activities, and overall the activities gave us perspective that stopped us a bit to realize the reality that we surrounds. Because we do not realize it but we need it, there is a lot that we are not aware that we should take into account and it was very easy to do so.
I am currently immersed in the life of stress, hard work, of timeless ... However, in my head, if there has been a small change, taking things slowly, not stressing yourself, observing our surroundings, people, nature ... When I practiced there the activities I wondered if then I would actually act like this in my normal life, and I do not know how but unconsciously in my head nowadays I observe, breathe, I feel every event moment and I think this is thanks to that little week that was a turning point in many of us.
So for all this THANK YOU!! And if you are reading this because you are not sure whether to sign up, do not think about it ... It will be worth it, I’m sure! Express yourself, as you want as you feel it! Live the moment!”
Rakel Colás Gorricho
