The Art of Being: What The Jungle Taught Me

When I first came across Lunita while searching for a location for my next retreat, my reaction was pretty immediate: the jungle? Not this girl.

Take it 20ish years back, I first learned about the concept of retreats through a local yoga studio I was attending. I checked out their retreat … in the jungle … that was an immediate disqualification.

20ish years later ... Lunita kept popping back up in my search. Their website was unique. It captured spirit. Tradition. High vibes. Quietness. Energy.

Something about it kept pulling me in, even though logically it wasn't what I thought I was looking for.

I scheduled a conversation with Nico, one of the owners. We immediately connected. Somewhere in that conversation, the theme for my next retreat naturally emerged: The Art of Being. It felt perfect for the place and for what most of my clientele can benefit from.

The retreat didn't unfold quite as planned. For some people, the dates didn't work. Others weren't particularly excited about the lack of air conditioning or sleeping in the jungle. Eventually, it came down to me and one of my besties, who had planned to attend the retreat.

Me: "I don't know why, but I know I'm supposed to go to this place.”

After discussing if this would be a private retreat for her, she asked a brilliant question: would you like to make this a private retreat for yourself too?

And just like that, The Art of Being at Lunita became something I would experience for myself.

Welcome to the Jungle

Getting there was easy. A direct flight to Cancun, a pickup at the airport, a 45-minute drive into the jungle...

We each had a private casita. Simple, spacious and filled with natural light. A fan. No air conditioning. Sliding doors that remained open with netting between me and life thriving on the other side.

My feelings about insects?

Before we retreated to our casitas on the first evening, our chef provided some guidance.

Prior to getting in bed, shake up all the bedding to ensure no bugs are in it.
If you need to use the restroom at night, turn the light on and shake up your shoes. Do that every time you put your shoes on.

Oh boy ….

Yeah. Night one was interesting. 😂 The jungle becomes very alive when it's pitch black and you're lying in bed listening to leaves rustling outside your open door.

What was that?
Is something out there?
Was that leaf moving five minutes ago?

I was super close to marching to my friend’s casita in the middle of the night. Being with her felt like I would have proper protection from wild life. But then I had to walk in the pitch dark outside. Had to weigh my options. 

Apparently surrender has limits. Prime opportunity to continue learning to let go and trust.

A smart friend offered a perspective – isn’t it amazing how used we are to traffic noise, accidents, city noise …. yet … the sound of nature at night can be so uncomfortable. Yup, conditioning right there.

Meanwhile, Back in Atlanta ....

My husband and I operate just a little differently. I tend to follow intuition, curiosity and the occasional inexplicable pull toward a place in the Mexican jungle. He is an engineer and tends to prefer ... information and logic. 😂

Our text exchange my first night went something like this:

Him: How big is the resort?
Me: It's not a resort. It's a retreat center. They have 8 little casitas.
Him: Is it safe?
Me: Yes. We have a chef and a manager on site. It's super beautiful and calm. It's just in the jungle.
Him: How many other people?
Me: Just the two of us.
Him: Baby, how do you find places like this?
Me: Intentionally. 😂
Him: Please keep in contact morning, midday and before bed.

Apparently, while I was practicing surrender in the jungle, my husband was practicing patience and surrender having a wife who books intuitively guided adventures in the jungle.

During The Day

During the day, the tranquil environment and ambience made it very clear why I was so drawn to this place - Lunita is beautiful.

The property is created around the jungle rather than clearing it away. Trees and lush vegetation surround winding paths of little white stones. There are beautiful details tucked throughout the property, a pool that we had to ourselves, and everywhere you went there was the sound of life around you.

Birds.
Wind.
Leaves.
Sunshine.
Yes, creatures I preferred hearing rather than meeting personally.

And there was space.

Space between meals.
Space between experiences.
Space to journal.
Space to sit.
Space to have a conversation without looking at the clock.
Space to do absolutely nothing.

One super cool place to chill was on the hammocks over the pool. In the evening, with the lights reflecting on the water and the quietness of the jungle, it was heavenly. And ... mostly quiet. As it got darker, the bats would start flying over the pool.

One evening, I was standing there reflecting and talking while my friend was done with the bugs and bats for the night. 

“Wait... are you going to leave me here?” I asked. 

“If you don't hurry up, I am absolutely leaving you here to fend off the bugs and bats yourself.” 😂

That surely got me to shut up and get moving along.

We laughed so hard. And truly, what a gift it was to experience all of this together with her. To share the conversations, the sacred ceremonies, the meals, the quiet, the ridiculous moments, the reflections, the laughter, and yes, the bats and bugs. There is something special about experiencing something extraordinary with someone you love. It becomes part of your shared history, a collection of moments and memories that will forever belong to the two of you. 

And somehow, in the middle of this experience, we even managed to have our regular coffee date during our beach day in town. Same two girls. Same coffee ritual. Slightly different backdrop. 

I will forever be grateful that when I said, “I don't know why, but I know I'm supposed to go to this place,” she trusted me enough to say: “Let's go.” 

...

And somewhere in all of that - the nature, the experiences, the laughter, the quiet, I noticed something else. For someone who has spent the past 10 years intentionally practicing presence and learning how to regulate herself, I was surprised by how much quieter I became.

My mind was quieter.
My breath felt deeper.
My energy was lighter.

I was simply ... being.

Then I Met a Shaman

This was my first experience working with a shaman or participating in shamanic ceremonies of any kind. I came to it with curiosity, openness and child-like excitement about learning and experiencing.

The shaman was in his mid-sixties and had this incredible combination of vitality, calm, wisdom, and presence. We participated in a blessing ceremony and a four-elements ceremony. He cleansed each of us with copal.

As he was cleansing each of us, something happened that I smile about ... The day had been overcast and a little windy …. otherwise quiet. As he began the cleansing...

Thunder.
Big thunder.

Then he stopped.

Another cleansing.
Thunder.
Lots of thunder. 

There was no thunder the rest of the day. He told us we had strong guides looking after us. You can make of that whatever you want. If you were there, you would know there was something about the timing of those thunders that was pretty darn cool.

The shaman spoke about the four elements - earth, air, water and fire – and how each of them is present within us and needs to be honored and balanced. The ceremony included a layout in 4 directions with each one representing an element.

I was on the west and holding the fire. We practiced tribal dances honoring the elements. He talked about movement. 
Dance.
Energy.
Gratitude.
Intention.
Being our own best doctor.

We danced. We participated in ceremony. We ate lunch together. The shaman shared pieces of his story and how, after living what he described as a fairly conventional life into his thirties, he eventually devoted himself to the traditions he had begun learning from his father. I don’t know about you – to me this was such a time of wow and privilege – to get the opportunity to hear wisdom from this man.

Later in the day, we each had a private session with the shaman. He told me I have a lot of fire and am very strong. I sat with that information post session and wasn’t sure what he meant. I messaged him.

He explained the symbolism behind what had happened during the ceremony. He hadn’t planned handing the fire to me; he said that in the moment, he simply followed his heart. In his tradition, fire represents masculine energy and is positioned in the west, the direction associated with the feminine. Women traditionally serve as guardians and keepers of the fire, bringing feminine and masculine energy together to create equilibrium.

Hold onto that thought because it is amazing how the puzzle pieces come together … when we stay open and curious.

I asked the shaman what he thought I should continue practicing in my everyday life. His answer was remarkably simple: intention and gratitude. I smiled. These are already foundational to how I live and what I teach.

Isn’t it amazing how sometimes we travel thousands of miles only to be reminded of something we already know in the depth of our being? And I don’t know about you, but for me, there is something incredibly special about being in the presence of elders and holders of wisdom. I simply want to sit, listen, learn, and soak it all in - their stories, their traditions, the way they see and experience life. Yes, I also want to ask 500 questions all at the same time.

What fascinates me is how much of what they share is actually so simple. So much of it is universal wisdom and common sense: move your body, honor nature, live with intention and in harmony, practice gratitude, pay attention to your energy, celebrate being alive.

And yet, somehow, in our modern world, we’ve become so disconnected from many of these basic ways of being. Maybe that’s part of why I’m so drawn to these experiences – they invite me to live life more profoundly.

An Experience I Couldn't Wait to Try

Of all the experiences we had planned, temazcal was the one I was most curious about. I hadn’t even heard of temazcal prior to discovering Lunita. The minute I read about it, it was added to the retreat agenda.

It certainly did not disappoint. We entered a small, enclosed structure and sat on towels on the ground. Heated stones were brought inside. Water and herbs were poured over them. The entrance was closed. It was pitch dark and HOT. We sat in the darkness while the shaman chanted and guided us through intention, reflection, cleansing and renewal.

At some point, time became irrelevant. I have no idea how long we were in there. I just know we emerged absolutely drenched - and then jumped straight into the pool. I was incredibly re-energized, lighter and grounded, calmer. Glorious feeling.

A Different Kind of Power

Another experience took us to a private cenote with a local healer who Nico described as "a spirit of the jungle." The minute you meet her, you understand why. Exuberance, warmth, high vibrations, feminine energy and presence that you could feel immediately.

I expected a cenote. What I didn't expect was the extraordinary property surrounding the cenote - tucked into the jungle with beautiful pathways, hammocks, swings, places to rest and a beautiful altar she created especially for our ceremony.

We worked with water (the cenote), the body, and womb energy – creative, intuitive energy, energy of emotional storage. I shared with her what the shaman had told me about my fire. We had a beautiful conversation around it, and it felt so personal to me. She offered another perspective: fire can destroy; fire can also create.

That stayed with me. Because I know I was in the process of letting another layer of an old identity burn away. Not because there is anything wrong with who I had been. I have simply outgrown parts of her as I am clearing space for new creation and my next evolution.

Over the last ten years, one of the biggest changes in my own life has been my relationship with my feminine energy.

I spent much of my earlier life pushing.
Achieving.
Controlling.
Doing.
Producing.
Moving to the next thing.

My work with my body and mind has opened me to experiencing life entirely differently.

Softness.
Openness.
Nourishing.
Allowing.
Trusting.
Not rushing.
Receiving.
Gentleness.
Femininity.

I used to be so much into my masculine energy. And the past 10 years have brought me to balancing the masculine and feminine. We all carry masculine and feminine energy, regardless of whether we're male or female. For me, the work hasn't been about rejecting the part of me that gets things done. I love that part of me. It's been about learning to balance it with softness, receptivity, intuition, nurturing and trust.

After the womb energetic experience, I felt softer.
More sensual.
More deeply connected to and embodying my feminine power.
Present.
Receptive.
Deeply connected to my senses and to myself.
There is incredible power in that softness …

Surrendering to What Unfolds

There was another lesson running underneath the entire experience. Surrender.

When the original retreat began taking a different direction, there was a moment when I could have decided it wasn't working. Instead, I allowed myself to see where it was going. And what emerged was something I wouldn’t have planned.

New opportunities grew from it. New offerings emerged. And I got something I hadn't anticipated when I first conceived The Art of Being: I got to receive.

Instead of creating the experience for everyone else, someone curated it for me.
Someone else arranged for the ceremonies.
Someone else guided.
Someone else worked on my body.
Someone else held the space.

My job was to show up.

For someone accustomed to being the one doing the holding, that's bigger than it sounds.

And somewhere in all that space, the messages became increasingly clear.

Continue trusting.
Continue following your intuition.
Stay gentle.
Open to receiving.
Surrender to the way things naturally evolve.
Savor the magic of life.

And then There Were the Spiders

I wish I could tell you that several days in the jungle have turned me into a completely enlightened human who has become one with all living creatures. Work in progress … even though I do have to say I am very aware I stayed totally cool as I watched a chipmunk prance around me in the yard as I am writing this blog.

I was daily monitoring the spider situation in my casita. 😂 Strangely, I kept encountering the same kind of spider as a visitor.

Then, right before my photoshoot... one had the audacity to get on my dress hanging on a hanger. Did I mention the property manager, Jonny, is a rock star when it got to guiding uninvited guests out of our rooms. He took most of them out with his bare hands. 

Later, because apparently I can't encounter anything without researching it, I started reading about symbolism associated with spiders. One idea immediately caught my attention - weaving, creating something from within.

Identity.
Creation.
The next chapter.

Maybe it was simply a spider who happened to have excellent taste in dresses. Yet, considering everything that had been unfolding and I had been reflecting on - surrender, identity, trusting myself, letting go of more shoulds, creating what's next - the metaphor isn’t exactly lost on me. 

Heading Back to the ATL

By the time we were heading home, my friend had two very simple requests for reentry into civilization: no bugs and maximum AC. 😂 

I texted my husband, who was picking us up from the airport:
Me: See you tomorrow, bebe. G requests AC to the max.
Him: Whatever she asks for, she gets. Poor girl, you torture her. Did you take her to a place with no AC?

When he picked us up, one of his first questions to her was: “Are you okay?”

As if I had just brought the poor woman home from six days of jungle captivity. 😂

Between the bats, the bugs and the lack of AC, she announced that she's picking the destination next time. Fair enough.

Experiencing It First

I originally created The Art of Being as an experience I would lead for others. Instead, I had the opportunity to experience it myself first. And that now feels exactly right.

I came home calmer.
Clearer.
More present.
More inspired.
More trusting of myself.
Highly elevated.
More grounded.

And perhaps most importantly, reminded that surrender is simply releasing our grip on what something is supposed to look like long enough to discover what it can become. That right there summarizes my entire rebellious journey ... this retreat wasn't what I originally envisioned. It became something I didn’t have the capacity to envision.

And perhaps that's The Art of Being. Saying ‘yes’ to yourself, creating enough space and quiet to hear yourself and trusting what you hear. 

Even if it leads you into the Mexican jungle …
with no air conditioning...
and spiders who apparently have opinions about your wardrobe.

What are you guided to surrender to right now?

Choose to trust your heart,
M

P.S. Two weeks after the retreat as I am putting the final finishes on this blog, I am reflecting on my morning. I had an appointment. After it, I went to a local coffee house, ordered a coffee and a scone, and sat outside savoring the sunshine and my treat. No phone. No laptop. No networking. No one else. Just me. The sun warmth. The breeze. Present. Grounded. Grateful. Being.

I sat beautifully aware of how far this girl has gone. Ten years ago, this same moment without productivity would have generated guilt, stress and anxiety. My identity was wrapped around achievement and external validation. Today, I can sit in the sunshine with a coffee and a scone, doing absolutely nothing, and feel immensely grateful and free. 

It is incredible how differently life can be experienced when we choose to say ‘yes’ to ourselves.

Why do I share this P.S. with you? Because I want you to know it's possible.

P.P.S. Interested in coming to Lunita with me next time around? Let me know. I have a solid feeling there will be a next time. 😉🌿