On secondment in Sydney back in 2004 I had a game-changing conversation with my female manger, “Where are you going for your holiday, L?” “Canada!” “How exciting, who are you going with?” “Just me.” I must have looked shocked because she followed up with, “Don’t be afraid to travel by yourself. You’re good company.”

That six month work assignment was my first experience of living abroad, and I’d never been on holiday alone before. A few weeks later, on holiday in Cairns with friends I met in Sydney, I had a chance to do a micro-mini solo adventure when no one else was free to sail to Green Island with me. I had a lovely day out and was blown away by the possibilities.

I leveled-up a bit too quickly with a solo multi day trip to Delhi and Agra months later, post a work trip to Mumbai. I loved the Taj Mahal and the exotic food (no Delhi belly, iron tummy from growing up in Manila maybe?) and my confidence grew, despite a scary taxi ride one evening (driver picks up another man en route to my hotel, then drives past it, letting me out eventually when I start yelling to pedestrians at a red light).

A decade later my favorite solo adventures include Moscow, New York, Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, Venice, Prague, Paris (yes, even in the world’s most romantic cities you can be alone but not lonely). Some of the things I’ve learnt along the way are applicable not just to travel but life in general.

1. Pattern recognition – In Moscow I was determined to use the subway to see as much of the gorgeous art and architecture in that subterranean wonderland as I could. But I don’t know how to read Cyrillic, and there were no English signs (maybe there are now, this was years ago). I memorized how written station names looked, seeing letters as shapes and patterns, I also counted out X number of stops. At crossroads in my life I’ve done the same, looking back on the past and reflecting on patterns of behavior to decode a repeatable model for success and to break unhealthy cycles, to move from unconscious to conscious incompetence.

2. We can.. if… – In my company we talk about courageous creativity and one of my favorite principles is this. Thinking laterally about what would make the impossible possible made some of my early trips financially viable. The first time I went to NYC I couldn’t afford to stay in Manhattan or even Brooklyn, so I stayed in Queens and took the train in and out daily for adventures. The hotel was clean and safe though not Instagram-worthy, I spent what I saved on the experiences I really wanted to have.

3. Say yes, have a go – This catchphrase is from my current manager, and it led me to go camping at festivals in the UK for the first time last summer, after living in the UK for 6 years. The crazy locals who hijacked my holiday in Rome and Cince Terre taught me about enjoying not just hidden wine bars and osterias, but also life. I keep safe (including buying my own drinks and not accepting offers to be walked home at night by too-friendly men) but within reason try out new things, even if unplanned (hello, last minute day trip to the Danube from Vienna).

4. Alone but not lonely – Venice is gorgeous in the shimmering sunshine and also on a still, moon-lit night. It was probably the worst place to go by myself with a bruised heart, but focusing on art, photography and food absolutely lifted my spirits. I remember walking to the residential area beyond crowded Piazza San Marco, sitting on a bench by an empty local park and feeling peace. When the chips are down, amplifying things that bring me joy gets me through. Mom says, “An empty mind is the devil’s workshop.” Other friends have gotten into running, cooking, kitesurfing, tennis during tough periods in their lives.

I have amazing memories of adventures shared with friends and family, but going solo is a fantastic way to build life skills. I hope to see you out there on the road sometime! Remember, not all who journey are lost.

How else can one learn compassion but by paying attention to ones needs? How else can one understand the needs of others than by trying to be in their shoes?

I recall vividly that Jean Netario Cruz told me that until the medical doctors are in pain themselves they wont bother with her magnesium.

But I can’t believe my doctor friends have not been in pain. I would rather believe they have been using pharmaceuticals all these years which have worked for them so why bother to try something different.

An old doctor, a friend, told me he would not prescribe anything not tested by Harvard researchers!!!

I was given a chance to understand the pharmaceutically-driven doctors last Nov 29. I twisted my left foot while attending to my plants before going to mass. I sprayed magnesium on my foot right away. I could not apply magnesium again during the 3 hrs or more I was in the mall. When I finally stood up to walk to the car, the pain was almost unbearable.

I cried a bit before I drank medicine to make the pain bearable. It took 6 tablets over 2 days to restore my left foot to normalcy. I felt I had violated my own program to stay away from mainstream tablets. If only I had been prudent enough to bring magnesium with me to the mall.

According to Neale Walsch : ” We are each of us, a manifestation of God’s energy and how we use the energy determines how we experience the life that we live.”

Walsch continues: “We create our own reality.”

“This happens as God : “… placing in the hands of intelligent beings everywhere, the same mechanisms, the same tools, the same instruments and powers of creation, then giving all of those life forms free will to determine how they wish to use their divine ability both individually and collectively in the manifestation of their experience.”

Awesome. But what puzzles me is the use of the term “Those life forms”. I grew up believing that only human beings have free will, not animals ,not plants!

“Put in simple language, humanity (and all of life) is God’s expressing and experiencing itself. Human beings are the individuation of divinity in particular form.”

To me the above paragraphs are the 21st century interpretation of what I learned from the Catholic Catechism that we are made to the image and likeness of God.

I repeat what I learned from Esther Hicks that as long as there are still people empowering negative thoughts and fears, peace cannot manifest. My contribution to peace is that a la Ho’oponopono I will clean my negative memories- erroneous programming in my subconscious. I will continue to believe in the divinity of humanity as proclaimed by Fr. Dari Dioquino and Mary Jean Netario Cruz. I am daily inspired by Neale Walsh, Tato Malay, George Sison, Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer etc. I pray more of the clergy will take seriously that “we are made to the image and likeness of God.”