The Journey to Ultimate Happiness: How this Self-Discovery Workshop in Peru Changed My Life
About 5 years ago, at 25, I was feeling very lost in my direction and purpose in life. I had comfortable savings, I had travelled the world and done cool things, but I felt like I was looking for more. I’ve always been an extroverted, mostly confident and entertaining person to my friends and family, but there was this deep confusion and uncertainty inside of me as to who I really was, felt like I was wearing inauthentic masks of myself in different situations, and had a constant anxiety around what I “should” be doing or looking for in life.
It was a gift that I came across Tierra Mitica exactly when I did. I remember talking to my friend Ali about it at a coffee shop in Langley, Canada how I’d felt a bit lost, wanted to do a bit of soul searching and find some sort of amazing retreat that could help me sort it all out. It turned out she had another good friend who found that exact place I seemed to be wanting to find, and Boy did Tierra Mitica blow any expectations I had out of the water - it was not what I expected (or was ready for) at all…
about tierra mitica
Mikis and the Amazing Tierra Miticans that have helped change my life forever
Tierra Mitica is a Happiness Research Centre based in Tarapoto, Peru, and also a vibrant community of enthusiastic and dedicated researchers that specialise in monthly transformational workshops that help individuals develop “the tools and practices to eliminate the blocks that stop us from experiencing true, ingrained, continuous happiness, open heart, inspiration and direction in our lives: such as depression, lack of self worth, shame, guilt, insecurity, victimhood, powerlessness, lack of motivation, bipolarism, PTSD, numbness of feelings, inability to maintain fulfilling, passionate relationships, lack of clarity and much more” - I’m sure a lot of us can relate to at least one of these in this day and age.
Mikis Hasson is the Founder of Tierra Mitica and like no other man I’ve met in my life. Born in Greece, he has lived an incredibly interesting and inspiring journey of a life, from millionaire business man to a transformational healer and shaman in the amazon jungle, from struggling with suicidal depression to now celebrating that he’s found the key to happiness and is one of the happiest and most content men you’ll ever meet. Now his passion and purpose in life is to share his wisdom, research and philosophy with us, so we can all do the same in our own lives - which then birthed the first Mythic Voyage and Choice OS Workshops.
Who I was before I completed my first Choice OS Workshop
Like many of us, I struggled with body image issues and low self esteem, which I actually never realised before how much it affected me in all areas of my life. From dating, to the kind of clothes I would choose to wear or not wear, choosing to only wear a one piece but not a bikini at the beach with my friends to hide more of my body.
What I’d choose to eat at restaurants when around others (salads and other things I thought would make me seem ‘healthy’) - there was SO MUCH unnecessary guilt and shame I was carrying around with me every day, and was on my mind with every choice I made - no wonder I was emotionally exhausted and so lost. I was so far away from all the things I truly desired and never allowed myself to say yes and enjoy them - and for what? Why do we do this to ourselves?
I used to be quite shy and insecure, cared way too much of what other people thought of me and was terrified of being judged or unliked. I was a chronic people pleaser which meant I didn't prioritise what I wanted, and always self sacrificed for others. Back then I believed the ‘right thing’ to do was to be small and not take up too much space, to always let others have the last ‘slice of cake’, to take the shift at work that no one was putting their hand up to take - to be the ‘good girl’ that everyone would like and approve of - not knowing that this was killing me on the inside and terrible symbolism to myself that everyone and everyTHING outside of me is more deserving.
I also didn't believe I was beautiful or believed I would find my prince charming because of that. So growing up I was a bit of a tomboy, and was uncomfortable with my own femininity and had a lot of guy friends as I thought I felt more comfortable with them, and felt intimidated by girls that knew how to…girl?
To say these beliefs of mine all shifted or changed for the better would be the understatement of the century. I came out my workshop, and after a few months of integrating some tools I was absolutely f***ing flying…but before I go there let me share a bit about what the workshop was and what happened…
my 3 biggest life-changing takeaways
The Choice OS Workshop is a 15 day holistic, heavy duty and transformational experience where, after exposing and unlearning my negative beliefs and blocks, I then learnt some incredible philosophical principles like that I could choose who I wanted to be and how to feel, think and react, instead of being defined by my upbringing, parents and social environment, life experiences and my previous choices - an opportunity to be able to reinvent myself… ultimate freedom!
Here are some of my biggest takeaways (and this was very hard to narrow down to just 3 ):
to STOP TRYING TO BE “GOOD”.
We live in a world where people are pressured everywhere, in every way, to be ‘good’, to put other people before themselves, to be ‘good person’ who says and does the ‘right thing’ all the time - and its exhausting, unnecessary and quite frankly I’m done with it. I’ve entered a new chapter of my life where I want to be proud, I want to be selfish and prioritise my own happiness, wants and needs first, I’m practicing not giving a F**K what other people think of me or whether I’m liked and I’m telling you, it’s the most liberating thing I’m still learning to absolutely thrive in. Highly recommend, 10/10.
that we are all individually responsible for own happiness, and that includes getting in the way of it too.
This blew my mind on learning about it so thoroughly, becoming aware of all the sneaky ways I stop myself from going for everything that I want. Whether its excuses, not feeling good or smart enough etc. Happiness really is a choice. Theres people without much money and they live the simplest and happiest lives. Theres people with all the money that are miserable. We can twist the truth to ourselves and others to make things sound unattainable or create problems that really aren’t there to stay in our comfort zones - when in actual fact, most things have very easy and simple solutions, and all we need to do is say “YES”, make those choices that may not be easy, but make us proud of ourselves for choosing it, and to start every morning remembering that happiness is our priority in life.
That trust is actually a choice.
This pillar of happiness changed my life in one of the biggest ways, the concept that trust is a choice. Of course it requires some due diligence in some situations, but fundamentally seeing trust as a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it has been one of the biggest gifts I’ve taken away from the workshop. I used to be a bit of a nervous wreck when it came to not trusting myself and my decisions, to not trust that plans or anything to do with the future was going to work out which caused me to be a control freak, to not trust other people fully in dating or new friendships - always feeling like eventually the 2nd shoe will drop at any second. I was causing my nervous system to go totally our of wack with this mindset. And then I found the active choice of trust and one of my favourite quotes from Mikis:
“Trusting ourselves brings us power, trusting humanity as a whole and the people we meet brings us love, trusting what is brings us happiness, trusting our choices brings us pride and self-love.” - Mikis Hasson
Now days you can ask any one that knows me what I’m like - I’m GLOWING. I’ve created incredible relationships with my family full of love, honesty and total acceptance. I’ve met my Prince Charming of a boyfriend, Oli, and am in a beautiful, loving relationship full of growth, adventure, silliness and possibilities. I’ve built an incredible sisterhood of best girlfriends around the world who love me as I am, are strong, supportive, beautiful and inspiring that join me on my journey of embracing femininity. My confidence and love for myself has been booming year by year, healing my relationship with food, health and my body as a natural result, and as I make daily choices to trust, to show up as my most authentic self and not be afraid who sees me or what people think, and now even have my own business as a Health & Happiness Coach where I teach others how to live their healthiest and happiest lives through nutrition, movement and lifestyle practices.
So yes, I think I’m killing it and I’m super proud of where I’ve come from, but its most definitely still a journey. These are no way things I have mastered yet or gotten over completely but it’s not about my position, but all about my direction - and that feels good.
Bottom Line
I cannot recommend this workshop enough, people. It educated me, opened my heart and my eyes, then gave me the tools to take back into my everyday life to be able to navigate the world we live in, to celebrate my life and choose happiness daily and to have clear reference points and reminders as to what life is all about: to be happy and enjoy this one life we have as best as possible.
If you’re reading this and its resonates with you, or you’ve felt lost, confused or feel you need help with direction or need help solving small or big problems with your life - then this is your sign and calling to go for it! Invest in yourself because you deserve it, and you deserve everything you want in life. I believe that now because of this workshop, me continuing to do the work and prioritising myself and my happiness, that all my dreams are coming true because of it.
If you’re interested in learning more or contacting Tierra Mitica directly - here are their details:
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