Have you ever left your home in the morning, turned out of your driveway in the direction you always do, and found yourself halfway down the block before you realized you were not going where you go everyday? Routine and habit work their way into our brains to the point where we stop paying attention. While a certain amount of routine is necessary, it can be numbing to our creativity and sense of aliveness. We need a break in the pattern of our lives to appreciate its artfulness.

Breaking the pattern is what gives a creative piece its spice, its playfulness, its character. It’s the element that causes us to respond more fully to what we are seeing and hearing. Imagine the black leaf on a field of pure white snow; the irregular rhythms in a salsa song, the pauses in a dramatic speech. Because traveling alters the pattern of our lives it has this same “break in the pattern” effect; our senses are enlivened and we tend to respond more creatively.

Our brains love new sensations, new smells, and new thoughts. It is the way we keep growing as human beings. This is what makes travel transformational. It is one of the most pleasurable and easiest ways to accomplish bringing forth unknown resources within us. When you participate in a seminar or retreat as part of your travel experience the opportunity for personal growth and creative response is heightened even more.

In the unknown of traveling or in the unknown of learning something new, we discover intimate aspects of ourselves from which fresh expression can flow. This “break in the pattern” gives our lives vitality and new meaning, and allows us to see and experience ourselves outside our habitual responses. From this place, creativity and inspiration naturally arise and we return home transformed.

Lani Simpson attended the first SpeakingQuest retreat in 1999. She is a health care professional, writer, and teacher. You can link to her website at the end of this article to find out more about the Heat is On Seminars and ECOLANI Chemical free sun protection.

My experience with Doreen and Katherine in Molokai was life changing and I truly mean life changing. I decided to go as a last ditch effort to rid myself from a lifelong fear of public speaking. You know the kind – it is the kind of fear worse than death. I knew I had to be in the public eye to teach but had recently quit because while I appeared competent in front of the room, I was not present. My stomach was in knots and I dreaded questions for fear I might not know the answer.

My fear was so pervasive that social events were also difficult. I wanted to speak at a friend’s 40th birthday party but remained silent because I was so uncomfortable just contemplating adding my voice.

Molokai seemed a safe place for me to explore the source of my fear. For the first four days I cried every time I was in front of the room. It was not a requisite to spill your guts, so to speak, but for me that was what I needed to do. Finally, I found relief in allowing my eyes to rest with one person at a time and I began to heal as others simply listened to me. Wow, this was different. I could speak with no interruptions as my words appeared. NO PLANNING! No slides, no presentation and no props. Just me, and the just me that emerged was funny, deep, thoughtful and worth listening to. I gained self-respect, and I liked who I was. In fact, I discovered that the fear dissolved when I felt connected.

With deep gratitude I share this story and wish to thank both of you for providing an exquisitely beautiful, safe, and non-judgmental place to explore and grow.

That was May 1999 and today I teach three seminars a month on women’s health to laypeople and health care providers. I absolutely love my time in front of the room and I have found power in the silence between spoken words. I feel connected, relaxed, and passionate – what a gift.

Study with the Masters of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, learn the dances and songs that give life to the land, explore Hawaiian language and culture.

The Aloha Music Camp is an immersion into the culture and music of Hawai`i. No matter if you are a longtime student of slack key guitar, a kama`aina wishing to get back to your roots, or simply someone who loves the islands and wants experience them from the Hawaiian point of view, we greet you with a lei and a smile. Welcome to our `ohana.