Welcome to the Mindful Travel Blog!

-
Why Mindfulness + Travel?
Traditionally, travel was seen as part of leisure and relaxation. But travel has become increasingly stressful. Travelers must deal with airport security, the Coronavirus, travel advisories, Internet scams, and uncomfortable travel. 

What if ...?
Mindfulness shows much promise in helping with our modern, stressful life. You see it on many magazine covers. You could dismiss it as a fad.   But, ...
   What if mindfulness is an important key to lowering the stress of travel? 
   What if mindfulness can help you fully use ALL your senses to appreciate travel?
   What if mindfulness is a key to increasing your enjoyment of travel?
   What if ... mindfulness can help you get more out of your travel experience?
   What if ... you have nothing to lose?

 Wellness Travel Niche
Wellness is an increasingly popular travel niche, and often includes Yoga or Mindfulness. Although some travel agents and consultants might have experience with meditation, many do not. Having significant expertise in travel as well as mindfulness, I will offer mindful strategies for travel. I will help the traveler appreciate their experience more deeply. And I will help travel consultants work with clients who value mindful experiences. 

 Sometimes I'll be blogging about travel issues. Other times I will write about ways to be more mindful. Being mindful is not simply experiencing travel more deeply through your senses. When you encounter stresses and upsets in travel, mindfulness can help you set them aside more quickly.

 About Me
I am a retired educator and World Traveler. I have practiced various forms of meditation for over 45 years, and have been trained specifically to teach Zen Meditation as well as Mindfulness (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: MBSR). I have taught mindfulness and meditation not just in Zen Center settings, but as part of Corporate Wellness programs, Teacher Resilience training, and assistance for students suffering from anxiety.

I have practiced mindfulness and meditation as I traveled. I have meditated in cramped cruise ship cabins on the Rhine, Danube, Yangtse, Seine, Alaska Inland Passage, and the waters around Tahiti. I have meditated overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice; and within palatial hotels in Prague, Vienna, Istanbul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. I have meditated under Sequoia trees in the mountains, Joshua trees in the desert, and under umbrellas on sandy beaches. 

 This is my first public blog. I have journaled and documented privately about my travels -- throughout many trips in Europe, China, Alaska, Hawaii, and Tahiti. As I shared my journaling and travel descriptions, I got rave reviews. Travel Agents encouraged me to do more travel writing! (Previously, I have written and published training articles and learning experience designs. I've also done editorial peer reviews of business training books.)

Editorial Schedule
I will be posting throughout the year with a mix of seasonal travel topics as well as hot topics in the News. The posts will be original posts, guest posts, curated or topical news, articles, and polls.

Offerings
Occasionally I will feature helpful products or books. From time to time I will post travel and mindful opportunities. For example, I’ll be featured on a France Barge Cruise in Provence, September 13-20, 2020! Get the scoop on the 2020 France Mindfulness Cruise here.

Feedback
I welcome ALL comments and feedback. I encourage guest postings by readers, travel Consultants, and other bloggers.  
My email is normgus@gmail.com. See the website: https://sites.google.com/view/mindfultraveler/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deeply Appreciate your Travel Experiences

-
Image
How do you d eeply Appreciate your travel? Short answer: E xperience it with Mindful Clarity . Travel exposes you to new scenery and ideas. T une in with the help of mindfulness! Fully use your senses Appreciate things directly Be aware of your preconceived notions and biases Be open to the unexpected Distractions How do mental distractions dilute your experience? If you're worrying about missing a connection, or stewing about a closed attraction, you're probably missing something interesting. You're certainly not having a fun experience! What do you do when you realize you're stressing? It might be good to stop, sit and breathe, be mindful, and calm down. (Even if the situation is disrupting your visit or spoiling your plans, most of us don't problem-solve very well when stressed.) Many times my wife will become tired while trudging around a foreign city.  I usually have lots of places I'd like to see.  It would be easy for me to be ...
Read more

Travel Fast or Slow?

-
Image
Go Fast, See Much; or Go Slow, See Deeply? The title brings up another basic difference of travel philosophy.  I'm sure it also causes some disagreement and complaints between travelers.  What does this have to do with Mindfulness?  You can travel at break-neck speed, but there's a lot you'll miss. If your travel is as frenetic as your normal life, it won't be very relaxing. 1. See as Much as Possible One "Travel Camp" says: "I'm never going to come this way again, so I could see as much as I possibly can." That does have some validity. There are must-see sights that are absolutely non-negotiable -- you'd regret missing them. Depending on your own personal or work situation, you may not have lots of free time to travel. In addition, your health or age may not allow numerous opportunities for travel. (Now in the time of Covid-19, people may consider the possibility that they might not be able to re-visit countries if the miss certain...
Read more

How mindfulness improves your observational skills

-
Image
Find your Deep Connection to Nature It's easy to view an entire country 6 miles high from the airplane window, but you miss so many details. If you're traveling by train or bus or automobile, you see many more details, yet you still miss many things.   You first have to stop moving, and get out of whatever vehicle you're in. Then you're actually able to appreciate the place. How mindfulness improves your observational skills Mindfulness invites us to stop, to pause, and to let go of our normal thinking patterns. How does that help us appreciate nature? Mindfulness asks us to physically stop and remain still. That makes us begin to pay better attention to the present moment. We pay attention to the present moment instead of riding our thoughts, fantasies and narratives, like some amusement ride.  See my website for more about mindfulness . When we intentionally stop during our travels, we can observe and appreciate more details. Our Thoughts When we inten...
Read more