How To Manifest Your Travel Dreams!

How To Manifest Your Travel Dreams!
With Khemara Sical & Samia Bano

Feeling stuck? Need new solutions and perspectives to help you create positive change?

Listen now to this interview with Khemara Sical, #EmpowermentCoach, Facilitator & #TravelDesigner, to learn how to design travel experiences that fulfill your #wanderlust even as they empower and inspire you to #liveyourbestlife!

In this episode, you'll:

-- Delve into the concept of #transformationaltravel or #travelwithpurpose and learn how your every journey can be an opportunity for healing and self-discovery.

-- Learn how to #manifest your #TravelDreams by aligning your travel plans with your personal goals and desires.

-- Uncover the benefits of #SoloRetreats and how traveling alone can provide clarity, peace, and a deeper connection with yourself.

-- Discover practical #traveltips and strategies for #familytravel and #travelonabudget while staying mindful and present throughout your journey.

-- And much more!

Learn more and connect with Khemara at:

https://www.empoweredtraveler.com

https://www.facebook.com/khemara.sical

https://www.instagram.com/Khemara.sical

To Book your Free HAPPINESS 101 EXPLORATION CALL with Samia, click: https://my.timetrade.com/book/JX9XJ

#traveltipsandtricks #MindfulTravel #traveltipswithkids #traveltipsandhacks #intentionaltravel #BudgetTravelTips #EmpowermentThroughTravel #liveyourdreams #MomAdventurer #HappinessThroughTravel #HealingJourney #healingjourneys

Here's the audio version of this episode:

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Full Video Transcript

SAMIA: Hello, Salaam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna, Privet, Mabuhay, and Dzień Dobry! I'm very, very happy and excited to be here today, and I'm sure you will be so happy you're joining us because we have a very special guest with us, and it's Khemara Sical, and she is an Empowerment Coach and Facilitator. So before I say anything more, I want to welcome you. Welcome, Khemara…

KHEMARA: Hi. Thank you, Samia. It's such a pleasure to be here.

SAMIA: Yes. So happy to have you with us. And please tell us more about who you are and what you do?

KHEMARA: Yes. Thank you so much. My name is Khemara Sical, as you mentioned, I'm an Empowerment Coach and Facilitator. I'm also a Travel Designer. Basically, I'm a Boston-based mom that fits in travel any chance I get, any chance that I can evolve it, revolve it, around my children and my business. I help women also reclaim their worth and see opportunities of empowerment in their everyday life. I started this work off years ago, actually, before I left corporate because of a need to, you know, to be happier, to become more fulfilled. And I'm seeing how this has evolved in my life. So, you know, again, my role has changed in so many ways, in so many different aspects, but I'm really excited to be here to talk more about it.

SAMIA: Yes. And it's so cool that as a mom, you are still making this happen for you and helping others to do it. Because I have nieces and nephews of varying ages, and I have seen the struggles that my brothers and sisters have gone through with young children in terms of even just getting out of the house and, you know, really feeling a sense of constraint in their ability to move and travel. And even though, you know, at least I know some of them, before they had kids, they were, you know, the type that were, like, always traveling and loved to travel… and then after they had their kids, they really felt a sense of constraint around it. So tell me more about, you know, what are some of the challenges that you see people dealing with when it comes to this issue of traveling?

KHEMARA: To be completely honest with you, I'm a late bloomer when it came to traveling, and I received my... I've traveled in the states and I traveled US territories because I'm based in Boston. When I once I got my passport and I've got it, I'm probably going to date myself right now… when I was 33, it was because of a need... My husband was traveling for a wedding, and so we brought the whole family. He's bringing the whole family for this wedding, his cousin's wedding, so we couldn't miss it. That opened so many doors to so many different things for me... Opportunity to see the world differently... And, of course, like you mentioned, as a mom, as a career woman, business owner, with everything else that you have to take care of, how do you even make time for this, right? So there comes with it a lot of challenges, the challenges of one, the time constraints. How do you fit in? I knew, for instance, it was not going to work with my corporate schedule. I knew it… because back then I just knew, like, I'm not... It was, it was something that fulfilled me when I was doing, like, traveling, and... But it wasn't something that… I was not doing enough of because of my time constraints. So, one, I had to figure out a way to provide, you know, without having to be incorporated. The other challenge, of course, is, you know, like, your schedules with your children. How do you make time for this? I see travel as a way of someone taking care of themselves, having this option to take care of themselves through the travel. So when my husband and I first started, when we were dating, anytime I was sad… so he's sort of someone who opened his eyes… open… helped me open my eyes to travel. Anytime I was sad or feeling a little depressed or anything like that, something comes up… Oh, would you like to go away? Oh, do you want to go here? So I'm like, yeah, of course I want to do that. I want to do that. I want to do that. We were young back then. We were in our twenties. So that's sort of like, like, wow, like, I can just travel for a bit, not forget about my problems, but come back and feel better because I had a chance to take my mind off of things. So I feel like travel becomes this healing journey that I'm so passionate about to help other people plan more travels around their healing.

SAMIA: Yeah, I love that idea of traveling can become a healing journey. It's interesting, you know, like, as a Happiness Expert, when you think about, okay, what does it take for someone to be happy, especially if you are, let's say, living in a circumstance that is tough, in an environment that is tough, can you still be happy? And there is a lot of research that shows that, yes, even in tough circumstances or in a tough environment, you can be happy. However, it does take a lot of, let's say, building up your happiness muscle in terms of learning how to be happy, how to choose to be happy. You have to really gain higher and higher levels of mastery in your own practice to be able to deal with the impact of the challenging situations and environment in a way that you can still choose to be happy and so forth. And it's, you know, not everyone has that skill. Not everyone has learned how to do it. And so for a lot of people, it's just really, really hard. It's not fun and easy at all to try and be happy when you're in a very challenging situation or a negative environment of another kind, you know… And so from that perspective, especially for people who are really struggling where they're at, oftentimes, traveling can become a great way to sort of help create some kind of a break in the cycle, as it were, and, you know, begin to… begin that journey of healing in a much more fun and easy way.

KHEMARA: Absolutely. And I think, like you mentioned, with the happiness, giving yourself that permission to be happy.

SAMIA: Yeah.

KHEMARA: Once you give that permission for yourself to be happy, you again attract more happiness, right. And because we're... We get high on happiness. I'm not gonna lie. When you're happy, it's also contagious. Again, people talk about energy, and, like, when you're a happy person, vibrant person, you attract more of this abundance to you. So I think it really starts off with, like, giving yourself that permission… to want to be happy.

SAMIA: Yes, yes. And I know for so many people, traveling is something that they so much desire, so much want to do. And so then if you're in a situation where you feel like you can't and you don't give yourself the permission to do what is necessary to make the travel happen, or you don't see a pathway through which you can make it happen, then it's, like, really sad, you know.

KHEMARA: Yeah. And I think that's one of the biggest challenges when it comes to wanting to travel is the cost that's associated with it, and it's not accessible to everyone, right. The feeling of it not being accessible to everyone… When I was younger, I didn't feel like travel was accessible to me, but somehow I was able to manifest it, and you wouldn't even believe what I've been able to manifest at, like, almost next to nothing. Travel almost next to nothing. So, for instance, there was one time I took my daughter, who was young at that time, and my husband.. we saved up for a trip to Disney, and Disney's never cheap. When we checked out at our hotel, our hotel was completely paid for. And I thought that it was my husband's God sister who lives in Florida that paid for us. And I also had a, had a friend that worked for that hotel. She worked in the Boston branch. She showed, she checked… She said, oh, somebody paid cash for your hotel room, your hotel stay. It wasn't like, that expensive, the hotel room. But at the same time, I was like, oh, my gosh, I manifested this. I manifested a way for myself to travel… and I don't travel… I've gone to many beautiful, amazing places, but when I tell people how much I pay for it, or how I plan for it, they're like, what? That's all you paid for? Yeah, I did my research. That's all I paid for it...It's really crazy. You can use points... If you have a credit card, you can use points, you can plan for it… but, you know, allow yourself to envision what your travel looks like and really, really plan for it. If you want it, you can have it. I always believe in… if you want something, you'll get it. And that's what I believe in… manifesting it, putting it to action. Maybe it's, you know, maybe it's less Starbucks visits to the coffee shop or something like that, right. Like, where can you save money so that you can save towards traveling? And no one says that when, you know, I've never heard anyone coming back from a place where they travel to and saying that they regret planning for this travel. I haven't had that yet. So allowing yourself to envision where it is that you would like to go and what your intentions are for going there, I think that's going to be really important. It's always the intention that drives the results.

SAMIA: That's such a great point. That's such a great point. It's like, I hear you say two really important things in that share that I would love to lift up again. One is the idea of, like, do what you can to start… for example, if you think... If you think that money is a constraint, like, you don't have enough, well, what can you do to save more? Start with that. And the other thing, in the example that you gave about manifesting the trip to Disney, in terms of the hotel being paid… you don't always know, when it comes to things manifesting in your life how the help will come, where it'll come from. You didn't know that someone was going to pay for your hotel, right? And so but… so it's like, on the one hand, you know, you have this intention that you have said and you are, you know, manifesting at a level and at the same time without any... without being like, oh, someone must pay... Like, you didn't… You weren't like, oh, someone has to pay for my hotel in order for me to do this. So you just did what you could, and the universe did its magic and did what it could to help you out in a different way. That's so cool…

KHEMARA: Yeah, it is really cool, actually. I always say this to people. People fear the cost sometimes. So, for instance, people fear the costs associated with travel. What is the opposite of fear? I always ask people… what is the opposite of fear? It's faith. Having faith that this will all work out, and that actually goes for everything that you want in life as well to be happy, having that faith that it will work out. And my faith has been pretty strong when it comes to that, because I'm like, when I was, you know, like, I told you, I was a late bloomer when it comes to traveling… when I realized that this is what I want more of, I started to manifest more of it into my life. And so I've been to many more countries than my husband has. And he's like, you've been everywhere. I'm like, no, I haven't been everywhere. But putting that intention behind what you want and then creating it… Creating and putting into your daily life. Like, I'll meditate on it. I'll see where… I'll envision where I want to travel next, where, you know, what's calling me or those type of things. Yeah, putting the intention, I think, is really important.

SAMIA: Yes, yes. And, like, really intention, both in terms of want to travel. But, like, where do you want to travel? Why do you want to travel? I mean, especially if you're thinking about traveling as a healing journey, I can see how that would be really, really important. Tell me more about this aspect of, you know, like when you set an intention to travel somewhere and you think about why you want to travel…. Like, what… I mean, are you just making stuff up, or is there, like, some kind of other reflective process that you go through to kind of figure out what it is that you really need or want?

KHEMARA: So, actually, this is a very relevant question for my current situation right now. My husband and I's anniversary is in June… so it's June 4th… and, you know, it's hard to travel when the kids are still in school. And with just many things going on with his schedule, my schedule…. June, my daughter's graduating… her prom. Like, there's so much back to back to back… Two years ago, there was a resort that I looked at that just opened up. It's in Punta Cana. And two years ago, when I looked at this resort, it was like, the price was really high. But I'm like, I really want to go. It's a brand new resort in Punta Cana, and I want to go there because I, you know, like, husband and wife should make time for each other, right. I want us to go this on an anniversary trip. This is a very romantic hotel. And when I booked the trip for our 20th-year anniversary in June, I actually booked three places before it worked out to this other place in Punta Cana called Sanctuary Capkana. And I didn't know back then… I was actually really sad... We were informed that the graduation date for my son, who's in kindergarten, a moving up ceremony was on the 18 June when we were about to travel. I have to cancel that trip. We reschedule that trip two… twice before that. Something freed up the last week of June. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is the perfect time to travel. And just… we also had, like, this complimentary, like, voucher for one of the airlines that came in… perfect time. Booked it …so cheap. Like, it was like, I couldn't believe, like, having that time to travel because something freed up or something made time in my life that I had to be there for. Like, I couldn't miss my son's graduation. And it worked out... And I was able to manifest from two years ago this resort that I wanted to spend time with my husband at. And it was just a gorgeous, gorgeous luxury resort that I found …places where I was able to pay for it, you know... So it was just awesome. It was just awesome how they work that way, you know?

SAMIA: Yeah, yeah. That is so cool. So what do you do when you travel? Like, how do you make sure, like, when you travel to somewhere… and in terms of, like, really making it a healing journey, what do you do in the context of the traveling that makes it so much more healing?

KHEMARA: When I step off of the plane onto that destination, I instantly, for myself, my worried, busy mind is no longer worried and busy… because you're like, wow, the weather, the views, the food, everything, it becomes so much... There's so much mindfulness in that journey. When you're there, you're having a cup of coffee overlooking the mountains, or you're having a cup of coffee and kids are playing in the front… That's all I need... where things quiet down. There's no need for an itinerary. Sometimes it's nice to have one, but sometimes, like, you know what? Let's just go with the flow and see where the flow takes us. Those are one of my favorite travels… because it's taken us to so many amazing things and destination and to meet so many different people. And people travel with different intention. They travel because food and wine experiences. They travel because of wellness, because they want an adventure. They just need a vacation. They have PTO time, whatever those intentions are. I feel like travel fulfills a lot of it when you're there. And to be honest, it could be like a little week in a way, where it's the next town over. But as long as you're making that time to completely release all the stress that we have as part of our daily lives, as part of our daily routines, we have that stress… But travel makes us slow down, and that's what I love about it. And that's what I do when I'm there. I sometimes meditate. I wake up in the morning, meditate to catch the sunrise. Sometimes I don't wake up early enough to catch sunrise here in Boston… but when I'm away, I make an effort to catch a sunrise or have a coffee or have a tea while just looking at the sunrise. And I love that.

SAMIA: Yeah, yeah. So again, it comes back to intentionality, but also mindfulness. That is so, so critical… because if you are not mindful, if you continue to worry about things, you know, whatever it was that you were dealing with at home, then how is it going to be any different no matter where you are? So it's really about that mindfulness and that, you know, like, really allowing yourself to take a break and do something different from your normal routine.

KHEMARA: Absolutely.

SAMIA: That is so wonderful. That is so wonderful. So do you travel with people in terms of the work that you do? How does that work? How can people travel with you? Or, you know, I mean, what kind of…. And if you do travel in the context of the work that you do, what do you do in that context? Just tell me more…

KHEMARA: I'm starting to actually more… create more retreats for people. And these are solo retreats for people. I don't have to travel with them, but I am... You know, there's sessions where we can do a couple sessions before the travel to make sure you're ready for the travel. And when you're there, there's going to be some journaling prompts that you could be doing on your own. And then we'll meet, like a session after so it's all created for you. So I am the Travel Designer, the Travel Concierge, and I'm also your coach... So when I'm doing this is, you know, like there could be for some reason someone wants to be more of, like they want to be more in their leadership role. So what do we do to create that? And everything is customized. I look at the months that you're able to travel, I look at your budget, I look at everything. I work with an aggregator, so I'm able to pull in so many different places that I will give you the best, the best rate… that if you were to book yourself, it'll be a little bit more expensive because I look at some of the dates that you're able to travel and I said, if you're flexible, we can do it this timeframe. If you're not, we can stick with this. But here's some other options. I always give you the option… And then there's like, you know, some sessions are included with like the coaching packages and things like that. So everyone has a different intention when it comes to traveling. And one of my favorite things to do is to create that solo retreat where again, that word retreat, it's from resting. It's how... it's an option for you to take care of yourself. And a lot of women, we don't prioritize our self-care, and I want to encourage and inspire more women to do so because when they do so, they're able to perform better at work. They're able to have a clarity in what they want to do in their life. They're able to navigate life's challenging transitions. They're able to be there for their family and be there for themselves. And so it always starts with that self care and travel is just one way to take care of yourself.

SAMIA: Yeah, I love that. This is such a cool idea. I mean, I never actually heard anyone else do what you just described doing in terms of coaching people and being like a Travel Designer. That's... I mean, that… I mean, I've of course, heard of people taking retreats in group contexts where, you know, someone organizes a retreat, you show up there. I've done maybe one or two such things myself… but obviously with that, there's a lot of limitations that get placed in terms of when you can do it and where you're going and how much it's going to cost you because all of that is determined by someone else. But in this way, you can, like, really customize things for your own needs and have somebody guiding you and supporting you through the whole process. That is so cool. That is so cool…

KHEMARA: Thank you. You know how some people open, like, 17 web browsers to research one thing? I do it for you. You don't have to open 17 web browsers. I just need to know what you want and then I create it for you…

SAMIA: Yeah. That is so cool. And, you know, I bet because you are also adding that coaching element, there's this… you know, so much of what ends up preventing our travel sometimes it's just these mindset blocks that we have where we're like… oh, no, here's this obstacle my way. Here's that obstacle in my way... And sometimes you're not feeling empowered enough... Like, you need some extra support and help, especially if it's… If you're new to starting out this kind of a journey where you're like, okay, I'm going to prioritize myself. I'm going to take care of myself, make time for myself. I'm going to travel... If it's like you're, if you're still new to this, you definitely will need extra help and support to make it happen with more fun and ease. I mean, you could still make it happen on your own, but we are all about how do you make it more fun and easy. And for sure, to make it more fun and easy, it's great to have that kind of help and support where you have, like, Khemara, and you just help them bust through all of those mindset challenges…

KHEMARA: Yeah, absolutely. And it's also something that I find fun in doing… and some people may not find fun in doing is the planning process of it, but I love it. My husband says, how do you work with 21 browsers open and, like, how do you still stay clear and focused? I'm like, well, because this is what I'm meant to do. And so I enjoy it. I have fun doing it. I'm like, oh, my God, this would be perfect for her. This would be perfect for her on this day... Or like, I see that and I'm able to read that for people.

SAMIA: Yes. No. You know, it is a skill, I think… and maybe also like a personality thing where… I know, like, for me also, I have a researcher side and so I can really get into researching something. And I think what helps me, even if I have a lot of data, but what really helps me to stay focused and clear is having clear intentions and clear ideas about what it is that I'm, like, trying to accomplish through the research. Like, if my research goal is clear… and once I have the criteria that… I'm clear on, the criteria, I need to filter through different information... then it's like something just clicks and you're like, "Ah, there's no confusion". You're just looking through the data, and you find the things that fit your criteria, help you meet that intention or goal that you have, and voila... And it's actually, I find it really fun. And it's one of the times when I'm in flow, like, I lose sense of time. I'm like, whoa, where did the time go?

KHEMARA: Absolutely. Whatever… And I love how you said that, like, the clear, like, being clear... Having that clarity… I also believe that whatever makes you happy and that you're passionate about, it keeps you going... It keeps you going. And so it doesn't look, it doesn't sound like work. So for me, when you were telling me that, I see how you light up, it doesn't sound like work to you. For me, when I do travel designing, it's not work… because I'm like, I'm also, like, vicariously, like, oh, my God, this will be so good for my next travel when I'm, like, looking at someone else's travel, where they want to go. But when you said clear… having that trip clarity, the clarity about where it is you want to go, I feel like that's so important. And when people come to me, they don't really know. They'll look, they'll ask… like, so I want to do this and this and this, but I want to do it this way, and then I want to do it this month. Where's the best place to go? Like, that's the question. I'm like, oh, okay, let me look that up for you. Let me put a proposal for you…

SAMIA: Yeah. That is so cool. That is so cool. Yes, so we are back to intention, and with that intention, having clarity of intention. Ah, yes, yes. And, oh, my gosh... Yeah, that is really cool. So in terms of, you know, helping people plan these trips for themselves and then sort of going back to the idea of traveling can become a healing journey… you mentioned some of the things that you might suggest to someone, like journaling and doing coaching calls with them before and after… Is there any other guidance that you give people that they can be more mindful, more present, and, like, truly leave behind whatever it is that might be in their… part of their normal daily life and stresses? So, you know, when they step off that plane, like you said, truly they're in a different mindset, not just physically in a different place.

KHEMARA: Again, it's, once you're there, we’ll prepare for it, we’ll prepare for some of the things that you could be, you know, when you're stepping off a plane, like, more mindful of, like, are you. There's people that's there. There's a different culture. Like, what do you see around you? We get into also some meditations that you could be doing on the plane and in some meditations that you could be doing… some simple ones, some simple breath work, some somatic exercises, journaling, like you said, just some writing and some activities that actually just won't feel like you are having to do homework. And that's going to be really important, right. If you feel like you're having to do homework, you won't do it. But I get to know you first on a consult, on a call that is about 90 minutes to see, like, what you're comfortable with. And so it's going to be very different for everyone... My husband won't meditate. Like, he will just not meditate. So for him, meditation won't work. But mindfulness, some small mindfulness activity may. But I get to understand you on our first call to see what you're comfortable with.

SAMIA: Yes. And I'm realizing that even just going through this process with you from an… when you get on the calls and you're planning and everything, actually, all of that is part of the process of creating the intention, the clarity, and even helping to set you up to be in that more mindful state as you even…. I mean, not just when you get there and you're there, but even going through this whole process with you, Khemara, it's actually helping to build up that mindfulness for them and helping them set up… and setting them up for success so that when they're there, it's not like, oh, you know… there's like, already been a context built and some work done to help make that happen for you. That is so beautiful... Yeah.

KHEMARA: Thank you.

SAMIA: Oh, gosh. Is there anything else coming up for you that you would really love to share with our listeners about this whole idea of traveling being a healing journey?

KHEMARA: The other thing that I… How my healing journey started was I was so closed up, and this was years and years and years ago… and I didn't realize sometimes when you're going through life, you didn't real... You don't see some of the… You're blind, right? You're blinded by a lot of things that are going on. So for me, it was being blinded of, like, like, there's stress. And I just call it… I had the mindset of, like, stress was an everyday thing because I was working in corporate, and I didn't realize that I was… I didn't realize I was stressed, but I saw it on my skin. I had breakouts and everything like that. When I was a week into one of my travels… was actually a month in Guatemala for my husband's cousin's wedding… My... I come back and my skin was completely cleared. I was less stressed. I was seeing things… Like, I was learning about different culture I never even had, like, this exposure to because I was, like, traveling like a native. Like, we were able to, like, rent a car. And then this person took us, like, everywhere around the area, just seeing how they live, seeing what they eat, partying with them… like, some music that they had on, and it was just so beautiful... And, you know, just being in nature and being in, like, somewhere completely different. I came back with, like, wow, I want to do more of this. And someone actually mentioned, like, your skin looks so much clearer. Like, what did you do? I'm like, I went away. I just went away... I don't know how else to say it. Like, I just went away. So that was actually, to me, we didn't think that we need healing or we need to work on ourselves until we actually go through it.

SAMIA: You are so right. Most of us, we are so normalized in our experience of stress… You don't even realize how much stress that we are carrying or that we are stressed. And you just feel like that's just how life is, and you just accept it until you get to take that break and truly experience something different. You're so right about that.

KHEMARA: Yeah. Changes your perspective on everything. And then also that stress shows up in so many different ways. For me, it showed up on my skin. For some people it showed up, you know, shows up in sometimes, like, sickness. You know, the ability to, like, not recover from sickness quicker, quick... quicker. And it just shows up in, like, different, different areas… like lack of sleep, you know, sometimes also, like, weight gain or… Or, like, weight loss. Like, so many different ways. It shows up in our physical reality.

SAMIA: True, true, true. You know, I do energy healing work as well, among other things. And this is actually a known principle that… in energy healing work, that, you know, when you look at yourself as the energy being, you recognize how everything that you are is so interconnected and so interdependent. So your physical health is so intertwined with your mental health, emotional health, spiritual health, that absolutely, like, you know, it shows up as disease in your body, also, when you're mentally stressed or, you know, things like that. And that, you know, when we're doing energy healing, our primary goal with our client is actually to help the client relax… to just physically relax as much as they can… because as an energy healer, I realized that especially, like, if I'm taking a spiritual perspective on the issue… I don't believe that I, Samia, I'm actually doing any healing. Not at all, because ultimately, all healing is self healing like you heal yourself. All I'm doing is helping create that condition that allows your body, your mind, your heart to heal itself. And the most important aspect of that condition that allows the healing to take place is that you be relaxed.

KHEMARA: Yeah. It's that mind, body, spirit connection, right…

SAMIA: Yeah.

KHEMARA: And talking about energy healing, or talking about energy… as energetic beings, I feel sometimes we are not really meant to be stagnant. We're always in some type of movement. And guess what? Travel is a type of movement and migration. And even ancient wisdom, historically, all our ancestors, they have migrated. They immigrated, they move, they travel as part of that. We're never meant to stay stagnant. And even in our spiritual evolution, we're never meant to stay stagnant. So how does that show up in our physical world? That's one of the reasons why I say traveling becomes a healing journey, because we're evolving. There's, like you said, sometimes we don't know that we are, that there's a need to heal until we're there.

SAMIA: Yes. That is such an excellent point that you're bringing in terms of travel being a form of movement. You actually just made me think about the value of pilgrimage… how in so many traditions, including the Muslim tradition, and I'm a Muslim… you know, there's this value for pilgrimage. You go somewhere else... And, you know, I mean, it's like, why? Why do you need to go somewhere else? Because it's like, you know, God is everywhere. God's in everything. Then why do I need to go to this other place to somehow encounter God? But it's really about, I think, a lot of what we've been talking about where, you know, there's… you’re creating some movement, you're getting some change in the energy patterns… You're breaking this stillness because you're not meant to be... I mean, there are times when it's important for us to practice stillness in certain contexts and situations, but we're not meant to stay still forever, especially if it's, like turning into stagnation. That is not at all how we are meant to be… huh.

KHEMARA: Yeah. And thank you for bringing that up.

SAMIA: ..thank you for bringing that... Yeah.

KHEMARA: ..No, thank you for bringing up about the stillness, right. There is a need for stillness. Sometimes we are... Even though when we're still, we are still moving forward.

SAMIA: Yeah…

KHEMARA: So the concept of being still also helps propel us. But then there's also the concept of moving that helps us be still, right. So it's the yin and the yang. It's interchangeable…

SAMIA: Ah. You have to tell me more about this... Okay. Wait, so stillness that helps us move forward... And wait. And the other... Wait, was the other?.

KHEMARA: So it's…

SAMIA: Yes.

KHEMARA: …you are moving forward even when you're still. So stillness, like, say, if I'm practicing mindfulness, I'm moving forward as I'm having clarity about my next action, right, for instance. And then the other part of it is moving but actually also being still. I'm traveling and I'm going somewhere, but I'm actually, when I'm there, I'm still... I'm able to take in more. So it's a… It goes together.

SAMIA: Yeah. That is so beautiful. I never actually thought about it quite like that, but now that you mention it, it makes so much sense… that it's so beautiful... That is so beautiful. Huh. Oh, my gosh. Okay. You know, this is a question that's just popping into my mind, relating back to something that you mentioned much earlier on… the idea of fear holding us back. And what's the opposite of fear? And you said, faith... I would love to hear a little more of your thoughts on this idea, because for sure, you know, I agree with you… The fear is, certainly in my experience, and with so many of the clients that I work with, it's the number one hurdle. Like, a lot of times people don't realize it, but whatever it is, they think it's holding them back… If you dig deeper, deeper, deeper underneath that, there is fear... And so I do see fear as one of the primary challenges that we need to learn to deal with effectively if you're going to make change fun and easy. So when you talk about faith being the opposite of fear, tell me more about the faith part. How do you think about faith? What you have faith in, you know, that allows you to counteract the fear? How do you cultivate that faith? Just whatever you would like to share with us…

KHEMARA: Faith was something I did not have, right. So you always… I feel as energetic beings, we always start off as someone that were not meant to be. So we start off from me... I needed to work on my faith, but I didn't know that I needed to work on my faith until you come… there's a come to your knee moment where you're praying or where you're like, okay, this is it. And then realizing that it works out. Faith is always the thing that helps you move forward, because if you don't have the faith to do something, to take the risk, to create something in your life, to make your life better, to heal… you have this fear of doing it, the fear of newness, the fear of the unknown. But with the unknown, you have the faith that even though you're blinded, you don't see it, it's still going to work out... So for me was one of the jumping… The moments for me was taking a leap of faith from my corporate job so that I can do more of this. It's been four years and I haven't turned back yet to corporate, so... But back then, it was the scariest thing in my whole life because I felt like financially it was one of the most important things. I was not ready. But I did it. I did it because my faith was so strong. This is when I was, you know, worked on my faith. My faith was so strong. And I realized, wow, four years and I still haven't, I still haven't looked back. This was the most rewarding thing for me. And it just worked out. Having… and also that incident where I found out I couldn't travel on those dates and have to change it… I was like, you know what? This is working for me. There's a reason why this is happening. Having the faith that it's working for me. And then guess what? I was able to book a better trip to a place that I wanted to go to from two years ago, that I try to manifest and it just happened now. It just, faith is just, I feel like having faith is just going to propel you because you're not going to know why you want it or not going to know why you're doing... you're being called to do these things, but you're, you still have that sort of like believing in your mission, in your goals and your intentions and believing that it will happen for you.

SAMIA: Yeah.

KHEMARA: …And you can't see it, obviously, right?

SAMIA: Yes. Yes. Oh, that is so wonderful. Thank you for sharing that.

KHEMARA: You're so welcome.

SAMIA: You know, I can keep chatting with you for a much, much longer time, and I'm keeping an eye on the clock for us, and it'd probably be good if we wrap up around now, do you have any last words to share, anything about how people can find you?

KHEMARA: Yeah, my last word is, you know, travel fearlessly... Travel fiercely and travel fearlessly. And if you don't think that you can get there, especially for women who are looking for solo travel, right, especially… There's a lot of fear. Safety is obviously number one. If you don't think you can do it, give yourself permission first to want to do it. If you realize that you want to do it and then go from there. You never can see things up front until you're actually on that journey of doing... Then everything comes to you. But you have to make that decision first... How people can find me… I'm under khemarasical.com and also empowertraveler.com.

SAMIA: I love it. I love it. So my last reminder to our audience will be to just make sure you check our show notes because we will be dropping Khemara's links in there so you can connect with her whenever you're ready for some help and support, to do some traveling and make the traveling your healing. So until we connect next time, I wish you lots and lots of peace and joy... :)

KHEMARA: Thank you, Samia. It's been a pleasure... :)