Everywhere you go .. your dark internal voice follows..

Living life on your own terms , following your dream , giving up ‘normal society ‘ is everything I wished for . Manifesting on steroids and then examining your values and then suddenly you’re on a tropical island eyeballing turtles .

I come from a long line of family who live bravely and differently to the ‘normal’ ways . Grandparents who travelled to Australia on a ship and others who built everything by hand and never took out a loan . I lived on a houseboat for a few years when it was a rare thing to see other boats on the water .

Deciding to travel parts of the world on our own little boat was a long time discussion point for Sean and I. We both love adventure and experiencing the wonders of planet earth.

An average day is quite cruisey. No alarms to wake up . I sleep really well unless we are on passage. Minimal chores to do . Although basic chores are very time consuming .. such as emptying the bin and getting clean dry linen . We both try to swim and clean a bit of the hull most days .. the boat gets ‘hairy’ with sea algae very quickly .

Today’s discussion is about low mood . We’re both pretty happy most of the time and express how grateful we are to be living this extraordinary life . A new tropical, warm island every few days . No stressful job to attend, no traffic, no worries at all really . The problem is that we are so used to having problems our subconscious practically creates things to fulfil the usual patterns the brain is used to . Understanding these patterns helps once you are aware of them but because it’s subconscious it still just happens . We’re both prone to a bit of low grade depression . When it starts creeping up I’m ready to tackle it . Usually I’d go for a walk in the vineyard or the forest with our adorable dog . But she’s dead now and it’s a big deal to find a walk that’s not too hot and easy to get to . So my first line of defence is out !

Next is hanging out with friends and family .. well that’s out too ! I do love listening and messaging them but phone calls aren’t my thing . I send Mum/Dad messages most days , and interact with our 3 daughters most weeks . I also have friends that I message, my online women’s groups and some sailor friends. So I’m not lonely at all . And Sean is good at giving me hugs and kisses all the time , he’s great at that. I’m not as good , I need a lot of alone time to feel strong and clear .

Music is helpful . Spotify is the best invention for mood changing in the world I think ! Binaural beats are a life changer .. look it up .. is free and easy. It does however require you to wear both earphones at once . I can’t do that very often as my nervous system only relaxes when it knows I can hear an emergency should there be one. But night time after checking my circumstances .. binaural beats .. amazing !

Exercise is a no brainer .. so swimming and yoga and workouts for small areas are all great !

We don’t stock much junk food as will power is not our best skill . I’m good at planning to be healthy which means not buying anything unhealthy . We do try the ice cream at most islands if they have it .. it always cheers me up. If we have any chocolate I will eat it all . I’m find supplements make a difference … the list is huge but three I have on board are organic cacao , ashwaganda and maca powder . Food and supplements change the brain ..it’s science . Removing wheat helps me too.

Other lines of defence include escapism … reading books particularly hard copy .. my brain likes real books .Netflix works sometimes too.

I also have lots and lots of mini mantras that are like weapons to any misery that tries to seduce my mindset into being miserable .. I practice these every day without meaning to and they pop up when required . The ho’oponopono prayer is one . Three words work well and I’ve had “happy , relaxed and focused “ for as long as I can remember .

When I was driving a car my mantra was “ kind calm and protected “ but I needed to add ..”protecting” because I was killing lots of small birds and animals in the car . So bizzare but it worked .. no more animals harmed because of my car .

Never underestimate a series of long calm Ohmmm’s or the Lord’s Prayer either . Internally these mantras are designed to be spoken .. you could do them out loud I suppose but society doesn’t really embrace talking to yourself out loud . I have quite the collection but I won’t share them all.

Mindfulness is a winner when there’s beauty all around .. ocean sea sky .. any nature will help pull you out of the low mood . And smell .. I have organic incense and a safe sink to keep the boat smelling great . The ocean air is therapy no doubting that .

It’s important to mention that it’s also ok to not be ok for a while . Feeling sad is human and a really good way to feel happier at the happy times . After all isn’t that why we are here and alive …, to feel everything, to see and do and be as much as gives you joy ? After my near death experience I believe this even more . Kindness and nature are my religions . Purpose is ever changing but right now, it’s to be true and authentic and to help others to be their most joyful compassionate self also . That’s why I run retreats, to be the facilitator of fun and truth .

It does feel at times, a selfish lifestyle but then I remind myself that we both worked damn hard for quite a while . And if more people could live their dream life .. would the planet be happier ? So therefore we are setting a good example right ? Normal people can leave the normal lifestyle if they set their mind to it .

I’m not planning on living like this forever ( Omgosh so many people do !) but for now .. we’re having the time of our lives . Even if a bit of sadness creeps in it’s still totally and utterly magical .. please plan to follow your dreams if you can .

It’s a big wide beautiful world with magic and mystery and love and fun and beauty and compassion and joy everywhere .

Keep looking and you will find it … I know this much .

Thanks for reading .. let me know if this is helpful to you or if there’s something you suggest that works for you .

Oceans of love

Niomi Reardon