I left my comfort zone to lose myself in myself.

One of the biggest challenges I face in life, for me and I believe to be true for most people, is to mindfully exist in the present moment. I am so distracted by what has happened, or what is about to be, that I often forget where I am. The irony of this, is that the past was once the present, and the future is about to become the moment we are in, which makes me realize that we are constantly chasing the present without acknowledging while it is always here, we are often not.

Imagine for a moment that you are surrounded by everyone you want to be around, having every conversation you’d ever want to be having, and just being in your element, no judgement, no conditions, no place to be. Perhaps you’d find yourself realizing that there is no reason to be distracted by anything else and that there is nothing more peaceful than that. To fall into the awareness of feeling exactly who you are.

This is Maderas Village

This past month I travelled to Nicaragua on a quest to shed some more layers of my old self, stepping way out of my comfort zone and pushing limits and boundaries that tormented my ego. The first half of my trip was a week at a Fitness Retreat created by Fit Escapes, hosted at a beautiful surf camp called Rise Up Surf in a small town called Chinandega. It was a week of amazing food, magical encounters, kick-ass fitness routines and just complete disconnection and release from a very challenging time in my life.

After the retreat ended a few of us moved on to a place called Maderas Village in San Juan Del Sur, we stayed at their sister location Bay House just up the street. I had no idea what to expect when I got here, and was pretty surprised to show up and see rows of people on their Macbooks working away in the middle of the jungle. There was a contagious sense of purpose in the air and I was immediately inspired to dive into the vision that had ignited from a conversation with a new friend just days before.

I immediately felt that this was a community of people who weren’t just seeking a destination, it was an extension of their lives and to be here, meant integrating and connecting, but also allowing oneself the opportunity to being secluded and self reflective. The interesting thing I realized which I feel is the fundamental foundation of this place, is that the conversation never seems to end. With all the time you could possibly want on your hands, it’s your choice to spend that time with your thoughts, or engaged in dialogue with others, or yourself. It becomes an endless conversation on self discovery, travel, adventure, life experiences, all the while discovering how we are flowing with the universe through the stories we tell.

You get to drop in to who you actually are.

Rather than going to a place to escape life and drown oneself in mind-altering substances, we come to Maderas to immerse ourselves in ourselves and when we leave, we more often than not, leave with a purpose.

It is ritualistic to share stories over the communal dinner tables, celebrating, eating healthy food and forgetting that anything outside the jungle actually matters. For a minute your family of strangers feels more meaningful than the people with whom you’ve shared your life.

It’s because we all know that when you are in Maderas, you have committed to being the person you so desire to be, the person that likely gets ignored in the reality of day-to-day existence. The longer you stay the more of that person evolves and the more we train our minds how to exist in a space where time feels less linear. The past is faint and the future is your canvas, only to be painted by the connections created with every meaningful word, and energetic synergies established at this magical retreat.

Maderas Village is made up of cottages and casitas which provide the luxury of comfort with the outdoor jungle vibe. Imagine living in your own personal treehouse that overlooks the ocean or the lush forest. They have an onsite recording studio which hosts many talented artists and a magnificent yoga studio, that takes you on a transcendent journey as you listen to the sounds of the jungle while you practice your flow.

The opportunity to surf, horseback ride, sail on a catamaran or “get lit” in the city on Sunday Funday is available to anyone who wants to experience it. Personally my favorite excursion was the lay in the hammock and read, write, and contemplate life.

I met writers, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, all walks of life, all coming with a different perspective, but all shared a similar vision; to let go, release the baggage, take a load off and breathe. I even had an incredible massage, with one of the partners, Jesus, who used sound therapy that vibrated throughout my entire body as I soared right out of it.

With the desire to know more about how this magnificent place came to be, I sat down with one of the founders of Maderas Village, Matthew Dickinson (Dickie) and he told me his story why he fell in love with creating the Maderas vision with his co-founders.

At a young age of 16 he found himself in Japan, outside his comfort zone, in a foreign country committed to living there for a year with a group of like minded kids his age. As he began to foster connections and build relationships with his new found community, they shared an appreciation and empathy that happiness was fleeting. There would always be something driving them to pursue and that this journey called life, was more profound than the mythical destination one would call happy.

It was then that he truly started to understand the tortured longing for something greater; that though he didn’t quite fit in with the inner workings of society, he wasn’t alone. The spark was ignited and this was the experience that steered his course, he knew that his path had a greater purpose; to connect people in this way for as long as he could. Lucky for Dickie, he realized that many people shared this unified connectivity of existential discovery, people who are inspired to go somewhere and be who they are, the ones who are driven by the fire to constantly be creators.

“Those are people we are so fortunate to host here; people who are longing for something more, who live for passion. People who put everything on the line to truly pursue what they feel in their heart.” - Matt Dickinson

My gratitude and awe of this recent experience continues to grow as the seeds planted in Nicaragua blossom into a forest of opportunity. When I decided to embark on this trip, I didn’t know what to expect, all I knew was that I was saying yes, when I normally would have said no; and my ego fought me every step of the way. But I stuck to my heart’s story and my vision and my desire to transform and discover my deeper sense of self.

I did that.

Nicaragua, Fit Escapes and Maderas Village all gifted me with miracles, insights and direction, and I know the key to receiving was to let go and step into my true purpose, inspired by my soul’s desire to leave conformity and challenge everything that I have been attached to.

“It’s impossible to deny the natural energy that’s in the ground here, there is something weird about this place that just allows things to come together in really interesting ways, that drives coincidences that are fathomable from happening.” - Matthew Dickinson