After having my Italian dream coming true, I got more confident that finding a way to living the dreams is possible. Even more so, as I happen to come across more and more articles and Ted talks armed with years of experiments and studies that support that claim.  It seems that the secret pass-way to get there, is revealed by taking few steps first:  The first is allowing ourselves to live with the unknown.  Then, get on with daydreaming and fantasizing, as I did before moving to Italy.  The last is taking an actual step, breaking through the difficulty of resisting procrastination. At this time I’d like to share the findings from those Ted lectures that can inspire us along with some practical tools. The first talk deals with “How to program the thoughts to success”  Carrie is an entrepreneur who started a successful business but couldn’t stop herself from getting caught up in a succession of negative thoughts that had successfully sabotaged her career. It was only until she noticed that she was the one who brought her own suffering when things started to shift for her.  What did she do? For starts, she began to confront herself by asking essential questions, which led her to crucial findings of herself. The concept of asking few questions may sound easy…:  “So all I need is to ask some questions to reach my fulfillment and epiphany? To live my dream? “  Well, no.  First, these are not just some questions, rather these are questions that force us to face ourselves deeply. It requires that we will reach our true essence and hear what the heart tells us, instead of our brain or our environment.  “Alright” you may say now. “Let’s say I am focused enough to hear my true voice, what’s next?” After distilling the essence of the real work, comes a part of some guided imagination.  But one step at a time: are you ready to dive into the set of questions you may need to ask yourself- if you wish to live up your dreams?  These starters of questions are your bridges to hear the deeper essence of you: “What, Why, Who “ 1. What do I want to achieve? What does the finish line look like? It is important to see how it looks like, and how does it feel 2. On the second stage comes the...

There are times when dreams come true. We all been there, right? I wonder, is there a way to get those times in our lives a bit more frequently? When I have turned 16, I went on a family trip to Italy and fell in love right away.  The language was like music to my ears, the taste buds were consistently jumping out of joy, throwing signals of happiness to my brain. The eyes didn’t tire of Roman columns and ancient fountains. All these and more knocked me out with the magic of the country in the form of a boot.  After only 7 days in this continent, a new desire began to form in me— “A day will come and I will live here.” Fast-forward to age 22: while wrapping up a trip to South America and across the United States, I came to realize that my time to live my fantasy and move to Italy had finally come. The truth is, my journey to Italy began long before it became reality. I would daydream of spreading red and white plaid table cloth upon a wooden table, at a local Italian restaurant. I have vividly seen myself there in my thoughts and my imagination. I’d see myself walking in the inspiring streets with their overflowing art and amazing food. I could see myself feeling joy and gratitude while speaking my favorite language to new friends. Planning wasn’t only in my mind. The thoughts were shared with everyone on my way, hoping to find a thread for connection of someone who’s living in Italy and could help with a soft landing.  The reactions were often accompanied by a skeptical smirk: “Moving to Italy? On your own?! What will you make a living off?” These comments have never made me doubt that I’m going for an act that might look strange to many. Side to side with the expressed doubts, there were some uplifting encouragements, till I finally found the person with the thread I was looking for.  Rome was a top priority as it was where I fell in love with Italy, but I couldn’t afford to be picky, especially when an offer came to stay with a friend’s family in Milan. Without any delay, I purchased a one-way ticket.  With a shaky Italian, a small suitcase, and a lot of faith, I have landed.  Only three days went...

I began writing this post in English, but soon enough, I found myself going in directions I didn’t aim for, and so I’m trying again, this time in Hebrew.  (So here is the translation into English) In my native language sentences have a different tone, and I can go into descriptions at a different depth. I found I can be “at home” through language. Who needs a plane ticket and the headache of airports and two weeks’ quarantine when I can be teleported by using an associative tool that sends me to Israel straight away while I sit in my temporary living room in Costa Rica? And it’s not just the language. The best way to feel “at home” is actually through flavors: delicious pita bread, tahini, vegetable salad, and tuna … all remind me of dinners in the kitchen with my housemate. The same kitchen I managed to cram with electric appliances and jars. Against all physical laws the light succeeded in permeating the kitchen space to leave it roomy and bright after all. I notice now how I miss the same kitchen whose floor is not covered with small, biting ants, or the largest red kind (though you’d imagine those would be nasty- that’s the type that won’t do any harm), or the silver-blue beetles climbing over my feet in the villa in Santa Teresa. As Einstein once said: “Everything in life is relative.” I miss the atmosphere in the streets, the sea which was a few steps from almost every corner of the city, the weather, the atmosphere, the tasty food. Despite longing for my home in Israel, today it is clear to me that Israel is simply one dimension of home. But as the wise have already said: a home is not a block of stones and cement, nor a geographical location on the globe. A home is where the heart is.  And my home? It is with the person I love. But to tell the truth, until I got to know my significant other, most of the time I had no urgent need for a life partner. I felt I could fulfill all my needs and even appreciate my quality time with myself. As an “independent and strong” woman who came out into the world in search of self-fulfillment, seeking to create a meaningful life and a meaningful career for herself, one could say...

It has been one month since embarking on a journey, most of which is unknown to me and is revealed while I’m on the move. A month during which I attended three unusual gatherings, each preparing me a little more for the next one, establishing a new pillar in my perception of the world and myself. Before I continue, a quick catch-up for those who are just starting to follow: I recently resigned from my job of the past five years, knowing there is another path waiting for me. I heard an inner voice calling asking me to express myself in the most refined way while doing good in the outside world, knowing that through this I will find fulfillment, satisfaction, growth, and meaning. I began the journey that was first devoted to deepening my life experience, exploring my own and others’ perceptions, and learning different methods while attending festivals and workshops around the world. For starters, I began to expand my knowledge and consciousness and discovered things I didn’t know I didn’t know.   I’d like to share impressions that seem meaningful to me at this moment, though in every moment I find myself sinking into different thoughts, and maybe later on those are the ones to be catching the spotlight. So where should I start ..? With the act of “labeling”, or calling things by their names- I can find a way to share those ideas.  So here we go: “Connecting ” is a dominant word in the last month’s experience. Connecting with self, through new discoveries and self-observation. Connecting with others, through direct eye contact or during, enabling conversations and through listening.     Connecting with nature. Feeling appreciation of its presence, beauty, and power. I mentioned the “Discovery” I’ve experienced in the past few weeks, in which I would like to linger: For example, the discovery that there is a weight on my shoulders without me knowing. The kind of weight calls me to stand to my and others’ expectations for me, to deliver the goods. From the moment I came to see that those expectations create tension and unrealistic pressure on me- I was also given the opportunity to neutralize  themto be comfortable with simply being me. It was also a discovery of masks, and a discovery of feelings that even I didn’t know I had because I never gave them space. “Giving space...