Harmonizing Travel and Connection: The Conscious Nomad Lifestyle

Hey Nomads, welcome to Digital Nomad Stories, the podcast. My name is Anna Claessen and, together with my co-host, kendra Hasse, we interview digital nomads. Why? Because we want to share stories of how they did it. We talk about remote work, online business, location and dependency, freelancing, travel and, of course, the digital nomad lifestyle. Do you want to know more about us and access all previous episodes? Visit digitalnomadsdoriesco. Alright, let's go into today's episode.

Welcome to Digital Nomads Stories, the podcast. My name is Kendra and I'm your host today. Today, I'm joined by Nico. He is the founder of the Conscious Nomads around the world and the Conscious Tribe. He's also a listed coach and a retreat leader and I'm super interested about his entire story, how he was there, what he's doing, so I'm really happy to have you here, nico, welcome.

Thank you, happy to be on the show.

Great. So maybe let's start directly with now. First, where are you currently? Where are you?

Currently I'm in Cuenca, Ecuador. I've been here for roughly three months and it's actually something that I didn't plan. I was just passing through, but my partner and I we just visited the city and we're like, wow, it's really nice here, let's stay for a bit. And that's part of the beauty of the digital nomad lifestyle. You can kind of take these decisions quite spontaneously and decide where you want to be whenever you want to. And we're here in Cuenca, Ecuador, and we'll be here for another one or two months.

Great, thank you. And how did your story start? Since when are you a nomad?

Okay. So I would say maybe I could divide the story into two chapters. The first, I'd say, about 10 years of my nomadic life. I've been semi-nomadic. I'm originally from Germany and as soon as I finished high school I left. I was away. I went to Peru for a year to do a social service, like a volunteering thing, and ever since then I knew that I wanted to travel a lot and to have a different lifestyle and just see the world and explore. So that was 16 years ago. I'm now 34. And then for the next few years, I would say, I was semi-nomadic. What I mean by that is that I wasn't constantly moving around, but I always had a home base somewhere. But I basically used every excuse I had to travel. I think we often think that to be a nomad we have to give up everything and make this radical decision and leave everything behind, but actually you can be kind of nomadic but still keep a home base. So that's what I did for those first 10 years. In those 10 years I think I was never in one place for more than two years. I did a lot of exchange semesters in university and internships in different places and all kinds of different experiences that always allowed me to be in a different part of the world and to get to know a different part of the world. And then the second chapter, so to speak, has been for the last five years, in which I would say I'm fully nomadic because I don't have a home base. I haven't had a home base for like five years and in those last five years I only really became like a full digital nomad in the last three or four years, meaning that my main source of income has been online. Before that you could say I was an analog nomad, because I would as many people do as well. When we're talking about nomadism, there's not only digital nomads, but there's also analog nomads People who work in the physical and the real world for a certain period of time, save some money and then go on and travel. So I did a lot of that as well, and then since about three or four years, my main source of income has been online.

Great. I'm curious what do you like more the seminomating with a home base or really not having a home base? What are the benefits of both of that? Because I hear a lot of our listeners sometimes reach out to me asking would you recommend to have a home base, Would you not recommend to have a home base? And as you look both of it, what is like your tips here, or your opinion?

That's a great question and it's a very relevant question for someone who's either a nomad or is considering the nomad lifestyle. And first of all, I'm curious with regards to your audience do you know whether most of your listeners are already nomadic, or is it more people who are interested in becoming nomadic?

I would say both Like a lot of people who are searching for tips, but also some who are already nomad.

So Okay, okay, cool. Okay. So to answer your question, the truth is it's nice to be fully nomadic for a while. I've been enjoying it. It has a lot of pros the flexibility, the independence, the financial aspect of it, even Because when you don't have a home base where you're paying rent and you don't have any fixed cost, you're super flexible and you can actually live on a much lower budget. So you know, I've had months last year where I've lived on $500 a month because I don't need to pay rent anywhere. So that's great. On the other hand, the truth is also that it gets tiring not to have a home base. Like it's just super nice to be able to have a place where you can leave your stuff, like, for example, I'm a musician, I love instruments, I would love to have, like more instruments and to have a place where I can just leave my instruments, maybe have a little home studio, things like that. So that's something that's not possible or available to me right now. So the truth is, for the last year or so, I've started to keep my eyes open for a possible home base. So I'm actually I have the intention to pick a place and establish my home base there, because I miss those things. I miss having a place where I can always return to, where I can leave my stuff, etc. So as a tip for maybe new nomads, I would say just do whatever feels right for you right now. Some people really love the idea of leaving everything behind and of selling all their stuff and not having a home base, as I did, and that's great, but it won't be great forever. Or there are also many people who, from the get-go, they don't want that radicalness or that kind of yeah, that radical step. They do want to be nomadic, they do want to travel around and all that, but maybe they're not comfortable leaving their home base. So if those people can keep a home base, that's probably better for them. I don't think it's really sustainable for most people not to have a home base for many years, and I'm learning that right now and, yeah, that's why I'm currently open to finding a place where I can establish my home base. But it's also hard. I'm very picky and it's really hard for me, after having been nomadic for such a long time, to actually decide on a place, because you've seen so many places. you know the pros and cons, you know what you're looking for and wow, there are a few places in the world that meet all the other requirements.

Well, that's like I can fully resonate with it, because it's the same for me. I'm currently fully nomadic, without a home base, and it's funny that you say that it helps you to save money because you're not paying rent. It's true, but I also feel sometimes it's even more expensive. If you want to have a nice place where you feel good and it's not just the hostel room, you know, then, as the Airbnb prices are so high, you might also sometimes end up it's paying way more than having your end. So it also depends a little bit on what you're searching.

Absolutely, absolutely, and it really depends on what kind of lifestyle you want. I think, yeah, there are those nomads who want more, like the adventure, and maybe they're okay with volunteering for accommodation so they don't pay any rent, which is cool. I've done that a lot. I love that. It's a great way to start being nomadic, even though you don't have any money saved right Like anyone can do it. But if you want a certain level of comfort, maybe a level of comfort that you're used to from your home country and I think that's true for people who've been nomadic for longer, for a longer time then it's often more expensive. That's absolutely true.

Yeah, because I added the same. You know, I volunteered for accommodation, but in some point you're like okay, I cannot, we know now how our. Because, as I also say, like then, if we are fully nomadic without a home base, we have a little bit of home within us and there maybe it's nice to have some time for yourself as well, and for me it's like having my morning routine, you know, like in a nice space where I feel well and everything.

So, yeah, I hear you so much and just this quick comment on that. I mean, personally I'm a very sensitive person and that's something I very much realized being nomadic. Maybe you could even say I'm a highly sensitive person, which just means I'm very sensitive to to noise, to energy, to people, to crowds, to cities, to stimuli in general. And as a sensitive person, you have to be aware of that fact, that you're sensible and you have to take that into consideration all the time. In my case, that means I have to buy myself a certain level of comfort and shelter from all the stimuli and from the world wherever I go. So that's also something to keep in mind, like what level of comfort and quiet and whatever do you need and what does it take to pay for that?

Exactly and what I also liked like your comment about in some point where you're so much nomadic, it's hard to get back to your home base because you're so picky about the place. You know so many beautiful places in the world and you want to combine the benefits of all of them, and then there's like I don't know, like how is it for you, for me, Carolius, Okay, I would like to have my home base, from where I can be like then semi-nomadic and go, but I have like so many like requirements and it's like then it's like, okay, maybe I should visit there, this is the place, or maybe there, or maybe there. So it's funny.

Exactly.

It's beautiful to have this freedom, but I feel inside, but it's also like we also and this is something we learn as digital nomads to deal with this freedom, to enjoy that flexibility. So it's not turning into anxiety.

Exactly To be okay with uncertainty. I think that's one of the main things that I've been learning being a nomad, because being nomadic is constant uncertainty, and uncertainty is fucking uncomfortable, like let's face it, it's not nice to know exactly what's going to happen If you're going to make friends where you are, if you're going to be able to make a living, if you're going to like the place or whatever like. There's so many factors. Basically, you're starting fresh all the time and, as you say, like that, that can be very anxiety inducing, because we want certainty, we need a certain level of certainty. But learning to be okay and to be in the uncertainty, I think, is one of the greatest things we can learn in life in general, because it makes us so much more resilient, because life is uncertain, there's always uncertainty, there's always going to be uncertainty and through this lifestyle, we're constantly putting ourselves in situations where we are in the middle of uncertainty. So I think that's one of the benefits of this lifestyle.

I love this point and I would love to add to it, to this resilience factor, that it also brings us closer to our authentic self, to our essence, because where we have the certainty and the stability is like with us who we are. So then all those uncertainty always helps us to understand a little bit more. But who am I authentically? What is really my values in life? What is important for me or not? How do I deal with these unseen situations?

Absolutely. You're constantly reevaluating yourself.

I just want to say that being a digital nomad or a nomad, an analog nomad, whatever, is really like your in-constant personal development.

I would say Absolutely, and yeah, it has many benefits on the personal development side, but it also has dangers. Let's not forget about that, because there are many challenges in nomadic life and there's also the danger to fall into isolation. I think many digital nomads have that tendency or that danger that they're constantly doing everything by themselves. And we are social beings right, we need community, we need connection so much. But as a digital nomad it can be very lonely, it can be fun as well. You're often meeting new people and all that, but it's hard to form deep bonds, deep connection to other people. It's hard to maintain those bonds and that's something that, without noticing at the beginning, you can fall into and then after a few years you're suddenly in a situation where you don't have any deep bonds, you don't have any real friends, you don't have any real connection and roots, and so it can be very isolating. So that's something that we need to be aware of. Just to balance out the positives and the personal development that happens through nomadism, there's also quite a few dangers and things to keep in mind.

Yeah, thanks for weighing it up. There's lonely sector, right that sometimes there's fear, like lonely being, like so on with a lot of people, which is a danger. What are you doing when you're facing the situations of isolation that you feel okay and missing, like now, a true, real connection with a real friend? What are you doing in the situations when you're facing them?

That's a great question. So by now I know myself quite well, right, and I try to create my life and my lifestyle in a way where those situations don't happen too much. That means choosing the places I go to very carefully. That means, I guess, constantly making sure and that sometimes is making an effort that I have community, and sometimes that's not possible in the physical world because maybe I'm in a place where there's no one I resonate with or there's no group that I resonate with. So at least we have online communities, right, and we have the possibility to communicate with friends who are wherever in the world and reach out to them, stay in touch with them. But because I'm so aware of this, one of the projects that I'm involved in and that I've set up over the last year, and particularly over the last few months, is the Conscious Nomads Tribe, which is basically a platform for people who are nomadic and want to connect both in the real world, offline and online. So what we do for example, every week we have a men's circle and a women's circle and once a month we have a mixed circle and, for those who don't know, a circle basically is just a space where we can come together and share whatever is on our mind, on our hearts, whatever we're going through, whatever is alive in us right now. So it's a very valuable and beautiful space where we can have authentic connection without worrying about having to put on a mask or a facade and appear like cool or successful or none of that. So it's just a space where we come together to share and to be ourselves and to listen to each other and to be listened to. So that's particularly because I'm aware of this need in the nomad world for connection right. So it's creating those spaces and I started a couple of years ago just creating the things that I need, that I'm looking for, for example, in the sense of retreats. I do co-living retreats in a way where I've been looking for in the world and I haven't been able to find this kind of retreat. In the case of the retreats that I'm organizing at the moment, it's like a mix between a holistic retreat and a co-living with a conscious element with alcohol and drug-free environment and co-working spaces and yoga and workshops and all that. So the way I deal with it to come back to your question is basically I create the offers and the situations and the lifestyle that allow me, for the most part, not to fall into those moments of loneliness.

Well, that's beautiful, thanks for sharing it, and it's like that we take responsibility in the end, for our life. And it's funny that you say it because I also said the other day to a friend as I was running Woman's Circle in Medellin Best friends I made in Medellin are thanks to the Woman's Circle I organized. So it's true and beautiful that you do it also online. I really need to join one of your circles.

Yes, please.

Yeah, and I'm also interested in the retreat, so maybe you can talk a little bit about it, because it's exactly what I was looking for when I started my digital nomad journey, because I thought I want to build my own business and for this I need time, I need space, but at the same time, I don't want to be alone. When you go to any hostel, there's party all the time and you have this fear of missing out. You need to go to all the events. So there's a retreat for this where you can, several days, really be focused but, at the same time, enjoy all this. Event ceremonies, have like-minded people around you would have been exactly that what I needed. So do you already? Have you told me you have a next retreat already set up, right?

Yes, the next retreat is happening here in Ecuador in April and basically, yeah, as you said, the idea behind the retreat is to create a co-living experience, which is nothing new in the world of digital nomads. Right, there are tons of co-living spaces, but what's different about this one? The idea behind this one is it's called conscious, creative co-living. What that means is basically you have the standard co-living spaces where there's usually a lot of alcohol and a lot of partying and also a lot of like hustle culture, which maybe you could say it's a little bit toxic, without wanting to judge, but that's something that I don't resonate with personally. So I wanted to create like the sweet spot between a co-living where, yes, you have a co-working space, you have good internet, you have enough time every day to work on your projects, on your business or to work remotely, and, on the other hand, a holistic retreat which is more like the traditional. If you think of a yoga retreat, they're usually short and very packed with activities like yoga, meditation, workshops all day, every day. So both of these are not ideal for me, because the holistic retreat usually it's too short to make really meaningful connections and to integrate and you don't really have time to work on your own stuff. You don't have time to do other things, and it's a very intense experience and the co-living as I said before, it's not intentional enough for me. So I'm creating like the sweet spot in the middle, where it's longer than your usually holistic retreat it's two weeks long so you can really make connections, you can really get to know other people and form bonds. We have every day certain activities. We have yoga every day, we have a Spanish class every day because we're in Ecuador, and we also have a workshop or a ceremony every evening. So there's enough kind of activities to keep you inspired and to keep you entertained, so to speak. But there's also the whole rest of the day, the whole middle of the day, several hours. It's all free and you can use the co-working spaces, you can work on your business or do whatever you want. You can go for a hike or whatever. So that's kind of like the sweet spot for me and that's what I had been looking for being a digital nomad in the past and what I had never been able to find.

Yeah, that looks beautiful, that looks great. And when you're saying like there are ceremonies every evening, so just to get a little bit of an idea of the feeling, what can I expect Like, what kind of ceremonies are you going to have?

So it's not a ceremony every day, it's an evening activity every day. It can be a ceremony, which I will explain in a minute, or it can be a workshop, like we have workshops on business, on online business, conscious business. We have workshops on movement, different movement practice like contact, improvisation. We might have a men's circle or a women's circle or maybe a mixed circle. And when I say ceremonies, we will have a cacao ceremony, we will have a temazcal ceremony, which, for those who don't know, it's like a sweat lodge, like a traditional sweat lodge ceremony from the Americas, and it can be an ecstatic dance ceremony. So there's different kinds of ceremonies. Some people might think ceremony is like plant medicine. We don't do plant medicines, like ayahuasca, in this retreat. So it's all ceremonies where we just come together in an intentional way to create some sort of group experience.

Great sounds amazing. I don't have any questions because I feel like you explained it really well, thank you. And so you feel like in your everyday life, as a normal, exactly what you are there, bringing into the retreat, this combination of like co-living or being with other normals also with locals and including like the holistic lifestyle, giving time for yourself Is it something you would say you manage to do in your everyday life as a digital normal?

That's a very good question, so whether I in my everyday life get to have the balance between the holistic things and the, let's say, the work and the business like. What exactly is the question?

Exactly Like to get like kind of an inspiration on how, because, as we said, as a digital normal, you know we have all this freedom to create the life we want and we are searching for these connections for those born with like-minded people, and we have it like in the retreat, in a snippet of two weeks where it's possible. And now, when we are like inspired in the retreat, how do we go on afterwards? So what do you? say this is also something we can also use for example, the retreat to make it a habit to understand also what holistic activities that we like, so we can integrate them in our everyday life.

Gotcha, Absolutely, and I think the main thing is this can be a community experience, can be a very healing and transformational experience in general, whether that is like a retreat, like a co-living, or whether it's like you go to an ashram, like a yoga ashram, or whether you go volunteering somewhere. But really experiencing community is something that I would say, unfortunately, the majority of people in our society these days almost never, or maybe never, get to experience in their life, even though we are absolutely social beings and we need community and community is the backbone of our well-being. So just having a community experience in a supportive, loving community can be a very hard opening and healing experience which will have consequences in your life afterwards. Right, they might not manifest immediately, but having that experience like seeing, feeling, that is big. For me it was big. The first time I experienced. It changed my life completely. So that's one thing simply trusting in the process and in the knowing that arises through such an experience. And then, of course, you can get to know certain practices like, for example, a ceremony. Many people have never been to any kind of ceremony whatsoever, right, so you get to experience a ceremony and then you suddenly your eyes are open for this kind of thing. And then, wherever you are, you will see a kakau ceremony this weekend or a mascar ceremony or whatever right Ecstatic dance, and suddenly you see that these things are almost everywhere, like even if you're not in a digital nomad hotspot or in a huge city, like even here in Cuenca, which is like a middle-sized city in Ecuador, there are such offerings and then you can seek those experiences right. And then you can seek the community aspect wherever you are, and what form. That may be right. That can be different for everyone, and everyone has also different needs in terms of how much interaction, how much community do I need?

Great, and here it's like a nice point like I want to talk still about the Facebook group you're having, because I feel that it's called conscious nomads around the world, and that's exactly one space where we can find the community right, where we can make this meaningful connections with people all around the world and we can even share the information if we know in some place all these events are going on. Maybe, like for our listeners who would like to connect more into this digital nomad conscious world, what would you tell? them Like. What is really the benefit of joining the Facebook group? Why can we really recommend joining this Facebook group?

Well, the Facebook group is another example of something I created because I felt like something that should be there, like that should be out there, because there are tons of Facebook groups for digital nomads. You know probably hundreds of groups for digital nomads with hundreds of thousands of members, and I am in those groups and I get value from those. But there was not really a Facebook group for conscious nomads, which is, I feel like it's becoming a thing Like right, you have the digital nomads who we all know the lifestyle, we've seen it, we've maybe lived it. But there's a growing number of people who are living the nomad lifestyle, but they're looking for deeper meaning or for a deeper connection or for a different kind of nomad lifestyle, which is not the typical, I don't know pub crawls and co-livings and whatever the isolated lifestyle. It's for people who also want to work on themselves, who also want to explore their inner world and who also are looking for community and connection that go beyond the small talk of the digital nomad world. So I started this group called Conscious Nomads around the world, just because I had the desire to connect with similar minded people and, without putting much effort into it, the Facebook group grew really fast within a year, from zero to now, I think, over 6,000 members. So that shows me that this is a niche, so to speak, right. It shows me that this is a world that exists and that is growing and that it is good to create offerings for as well. And, yeah, through that Facebook group, I've met many people, I've received a lot of valuable information and I've given a lot of information as well on the places that I've visited and on the online offerings that we do and all that. So, yeah, that's the intention behind the Facebook group just to provide another space of connection for similar minded people and to exchange valuable information. Wait.

Thank you for sharing this and I think this is like a nice closing the circle to what you just said, like being a normal, just being in constant uncertainty, like we are uncomfortable and then we exactly have, like these groups who help us, you know, who help us to understand us better, to navigate a little bit of uncertainty.

Yeah, we need some form of peer group, some form of reference to the world. And those are just tools, you know. They're not perfect, they're still in the digital world and it's not the same as being physically in the same room with someone or with a group of people, but it's better than nothing and it's giving a lot of value and it can lead to meaningful experiences in the real world as well.

Great One. Last question, because it's also something you said in the beginning and we have like some episodes already about it, because it's also a topic in the digital normative of the dating. So you said that you're with your partner and Quinta. Maybe you can share, because sometimes it's like hard to maintain relationships. If you're not both, like normally, it gets difficult to find a partner. Maybe you want to share a little bit about your experience. So how is it for you being like a nomad and finding first a partner and then sustaining the relationship?

Yeah, that's a great question and I think the first thing I will say is that many nomads, if they're honest with themselves, 100% brutally honest with themselves they might find that they are in this nomadic lifestyle because they have an avoidant attachment style, which means that they might deep down, fear, actual deep attachment and commitment. This is certainly true for myself. I come from this background of having an avoidant attachment style and I think that's not the main reason for me being nomadic, not by any means, but it has certainly contributed to and enabled my nomadic lifestyle, because it's basically almost impossible to find a partner or, like I don't want to say it's impossible, it's not, I will tell you in a second how but it's hard, it's a lot harder and it's very easy to stay within flings and platonic things and less committed forms of relating to other people, to jobs, to places, etc. So that's one thing I want to say and it's really valuable to look at that and to evaluate my reasons for having this and pursuing this lifestyle. Having said that, I was single for a few years, being nomadic by choice, because I came out of a long relationship and I wanted to. And, again, the nomadic lifestyle is perfect for singles, but of course, I then also had the desire, and I was also already very aware of my avoidant attachment style and had started to work on it and started to work through it. So about a year and a half ago I felt, okay, I'm ready for a partner and I'm setting the intention to be open to a partner. And then, you know, it's just a matter of going to those communities, going to those places and those events that you resonate with, and also, the quicker you move around, the less likely it is that you will find a partner. I like to think of myself as a slow mat, so I like to spend three to six months at least in a place every time, because it is important for me to make meaningful connections and relationships. And yeah, sometime last year I was in Medellin, colombia, and I was at an ecstatic dance, which is one of my favorite formats, where you know you're able to connect to other people and it's like a conscious kind of event. So I constantly keep going to these things just because I like them, just because that's the stuff that I personally like, and that's where I met my partner, and maybe it was just, you know, luck that she was also able to work remotely and all that. She was also excited about traveling and all that. So it was really easy Like it was basically effortless to just say, yeah, okay, from now on we're traveling together, right. But I think the important factor was that I was constantly connecting to or going to gatherings and events, et cetera, with things that I resonate with, and obviously, if other people resonate with the same kind of things, then we're vibrating on a similar frequency and we attract each other, right. I think that's how it works.

Great yeah. So there are like so many beautiful stories, so it's maybe also a nice story, like for a formal understanding, like frustrated, like you know it's possible, you know Like you can find your partner being a nomad and can find your nomadic partner if you wish. Thank you for sharing.

Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

Anything I should have asked now, before we finish, anything you still would like to share, anything I was saying. Anything you would like to talk about still, or we go out.

Thanks for asking. No, I think. Just maybe a word of encouragement for the listeners who are maybe really tempted by the nomadic lifestyle but haven't made that step yet. In my case, like, don't ever think that money is a limiting factor, like in my case, I started nomadding without any money and there are many ways to do that and it will be worth it. Like to take that step because you cannot really win or lose, you can just gain a lot of valuable experience. So whoever is like no, maybe has that dream or has had that dream for a while but hasn't made that step, it's just an encouragement to try it out. And you can always come back, you know you can always. Nothing has to be forever, but I would definitely recommend stepping outside of that comfort zone and exploring different experiences, different environments and all that.

Beautiful Thank you, and exactly like love for what, you can always come back. I always ask myself what's the world that can happen. You know, in the end you can always take again a decision to go back Exactly. And I also realized, with the money in the end, when we are like in tune with our way, in tune with what we really should do with our region, with our soul, with our essence, the universe co-quades with us. There was always like a way money finds us or we find a way to sustain ourselves.

Yeah, I think so too, so thanks for bringing it out.

To push here and listen that way.

Absolutely.

Or other way to go on.

Yeah, I don't want to push anyone, but I can encourage people.

Exactly, and if someone would like to talk about you more, we will put your Instagram and the show notes, also the link for Facebook group and also if someone is interested in the retreat, they can also find information and the show notes and link.

Perfect. Thanks for having me.

Great.

There are many challenges in nomadic life and there's also the danger to fall into isolation. I think many digital nomads have that tendency or that danger that they're constantly doing everything by themselves. And we are social beings right, we need community, we need connection so much. But as a digital nomad it can be very lonely. It can be fun as well, you know, you're often meeting new people and all that. But it's hard to form deep bonds, deep connection to other people. It's hard to maintain those bonds, and that's something that you know. Without noticing. At the beginning you can fall into, and then after a few years you're suddenly in a situation where you don't have any deep bonds, you don't have any real friends, you don't have any real connection and roots, and so it can be very isolating. So that's something that we need to be aware of. Just to balance out you know the positives and the personal development that happens through nomadism there's also quite a few dangers and things to keep in mind.

Yeah, thanks for weighing it up. There's no only sector, right that sometimes there's lots of lonely being like so on with a lot of people, which is a stain. Just what are you doing when you're facing the situations of isolation that you feel, okay, I'm missing, like now, a true, real connection with a real friend, and what are you doing? What are you doing in the situations when you're facing them?

That's a great question. So by now I know myself quite well, right, and I try to create my life and my lifestyle in a way where those situations don't happen too much. That means choosing the places I go to very carefully.

Okay.

It means, I guess, constantly making sure and that sometimes is making an effort that I have community, and sometimes that's not possible in the physical world, because maybe I'm in a place where there's no one I resonate with or there's no group that I resonate with. So at least we have online communities, right, and we have the possibility to communicate with friends who are wherever in the world and reach out to them, stay in touch with them. But because I'm so aware of this, one of the projects that I am involved in and that I've set up over the last year, and particularly over the last few months, is the Conscious Nomads Tribe, which is basically a platform for people who are nomadic and want to connect both in the real world, offline and online. So what we do for example, every week we have a men's circle and a women's circle, and once a month we have a mixed circle and, for those who don't know, a circle basically is just a space where we can come together and share whatever is on our mind, on our hearts, whatever we're going through, whatever is alive in us right now. So it's a very valuable and beautiful space where we can have authentic connection without worrying about having to put on a mask or a facade and appear like cool or successful or none of that. So it's just a space where we come together to share and to be ourselves and to listen to each other and to be listened to. So that's particularly because I'm aware of this need in the nomad world for connection, right. So it's creating those spaces and I started a couple of years ago just creating the things that I need, that I'm looking for, for example, in the sense of retreats. I do co-living retreats in a way where I've been looking for in the world and I haven't been able to find this kind of retreat. In the case of the retreats that I'm organizing at the moment, it's like a mix between a holistic retreat and a co-living with a conscious element with alcohol and drug-free environment and co-working spaces and yoga and workshops and all that. So the way I deal with it to come back to your question is basically I create the offers and the situations and the lifestyle that allow me, for the most part, not to fall into those moments of loneliness.

Well, that's beautiful. Thanks for sharing it. It's like that a retake was responsibility in the end for our life. And it's funny that you say it because I also said the other day to a friend as I was running a woman's circle in Medellin Best friends I made in Medellin are thanks to the woman's circle I organized. So it's true and beautiful that you do it also online. I really need to join one of your circles.

Yes, please.

I'm also interested in the retreat, so maybe you can talk a little bit about it, because it's exactly what I was looking for when I started my digital norm journey, because I thought I want to build my own business and for this I need time, I need space, but at the same time, I don't want to be alone. You know, when you go, maybe, to any hostel, there's patio all the time and you have this fear of missing out. You need to go to all the events. So, like there's a retreat for this where you can, several days, really be focused but, at the same time, enjoy all this. Events, ceremonies, have like-minded people around you would have been exactly that, what I needed. So do you already have? You have an A? You told me you have an extra retreat already set up, right?

Yes, the next retreat is happening here in Ecuador in April and basically, yeah, as you said, the idea behind the retreat is to create a co-living experience, which is nothing new in the world of digital nomads. Right, there are tons of co-living spaces, but what's different about this one? The idea behind this one is it's called conscious, creative co-living. What that means is basically you have the standard co-living spaces which, well, there's usually a lot of alcohol and a lot of partying and also a lot of like hustle culture which, no, maybe you could say it's a little bit toxic, without wanting to judge, but that's something that I don't resonate with personally. So I wanted to create like the sweet spot between a co-living where, yes, you have a co-working space, you have good internet, you have enough time every day to work on your projects, on your business or to work remotely, and, on the other hand, a holistic retreat which is more like the traditional. If you think of a yoga retreat, they're usually short and very packed with activities, with, like yoga meditation workshops all day, every day. So both of these are not ideal for me, because the holistic retreat usually it's too short to make really meaningful connections and to integrate and you don't really have time to work on your own stuff, you don't have time to do other things, and it's a very intense experience and the co-living as I said before, it's not intentional enough for me. So I'm creating like the sweet spot in the middle, where it's longer than your usually holistic retreat it's two weeks long so you can really make connections, you can really get to know other people and form bonds. We have every day certain activities. We have yoga every day, we have a Spanish class every day because we're in Ecuador, and we also have a workshop or a ceremony every evening. So there's enough kind of activities to keep you inspired and to keep you entertained, so to speak. But there's also the whole rest of the day, the whole middle of the day, several hours. It's all free and you can use the co-working spaces, you can work on your business or do whatever you want. You can go for a hike or whatever. So that's kind of like the sweet spot for me and that's what I had been looking for being a digital nomad in the past and what I had never been able to find.

Yeah, that looks beautiful, that looks great. And when you're saying like, they're like ceremonies every evening, so just like to get a little bit an idea of the feeling, what can I expect? Like what? Kind of ceremonies are you going to have?

So it's not a ceremony every day, it's an evening activity every day. It can be a ceremony, which I will explain in a minute, or it can be a workshop, like we have workshops on business, on online business, conscious business. We have workshops on movement, different movement practice like contact, improvisation. We might have a men's circle or a women's circle or maybe a mixed circle. And when I say ceremonies, we will have a cacao ceremony, we will have a temazcal ceremony, which, for those who don't know, it's like a sweat lodge, like a traditional sweat lodge ceremony from the Americas, and it can be an ecstatic dance ceremony. So there's different kinds of ceremonies. Some people might think ceremony is like plant medicine. We don't do plant medicines, like ayahuasca, in this retreat. So it's all ceremonies where we just come together in an intentional way to create some sort of group experience.

Great Sounds amazing. I don't have any questions because I feel like you explained it really well. And so you feel like in your everyday life, as a normal, exactly what you are there, bringing into the retreat, this combination of like co-living or being with other normal also who's local, and including like the holistic lifestyle, giving time for yourself is it something you would say you manage to do in your everyday life as a digital nomad?

That's a very good question, so whether I in my everyday life get to have the balance between the holistic things and the work and the business. What exactly is the question?

Exactly To get kind of an inspiration on how, because, as we said, as a digital nomad, we have all this freedom to create the life we want and we are searching for these connections, for the spawns, with like-minded people and we have it like in the retreat, and a snippet of two weeks where it's possible. And now, when we are like inspired in the retreat, how do we go on afterwards? So would you say this is also something we can also use for example, the retreat to make it a little bit of habit to understand also what holistic activities that we like, so we can integrate them in our everyday life.

Gotcha, absolutely, absolutely, and I think the main thing is this can be a community experience, can be a very healing and transformational experience in general, whether that is like a retreat, like a co-living, or whether it's like you go to an ashram, like a yoga ashram, or whether you go volunteering somewhere. But really experiencing community is something that I would say, unfortunately, the majority of people in our society these days almost never, or maybe never, get to experience in their life, even though we are absolutely social beings and we need community and community is the backbone of our well-being. So just having a community experience in a supportive, loving community can be a very hard opening and healing experience which will have consequences in your life afterwards. Right, they might not manifest immediately, but having that experience, like seeing, feeling, that is big. For me, it was big. The first time I experienced. It changed my life completely. So that's one thing simply trusting in the process and in the knowing that arises through such an experience. And then, of course, you can get to know certain practices Like, for example, a ceremony. Many people have never been to any kind of ceremony whatsoever, right, so you get to experience a ceremony and then you suddenly your eyes are open for this kind of thing. And then, wherever you are, you will see a kakao ceremony this weekend, or temaskar ceremony or whatever right Ecstatic dance, and suddenly you see that these things are almost everywhere, like even if you're not in a digital nomad hotspot or in a huge city, like even here in Crenca, which is like a middle-sized city in Ecuador, there are such offerings and then you can seek those experiences right. And then you can seek the community aspect wherever you are, and what form. That may be right. That can be different for everyone, and everyone has also different needs in terms of how much interaction, how much community do I need?

Great, and here it's like a nice point like I want to talk still about the Facebook group you are having, because I feel that it's called conscious nomads around the world and that's exactly one space where we can find a community right, where we can make this meaningful connections with people all around the world and we can even share the information if we know in some place all these events are going on. We like for our listeners who would like to connect more into this digital nomad conscious world, what would you tell? them. What is really the benefit of joining the Facebook group? Why can we really recommend joining this Facebook group?

Well, the Facebook group is another example of something I created because I felt like something that should be there, like that should be out there, because there are tons of Facebook groups for digital nomads. There are hundreds of groups for digital nomads with hundreds of thousands of members, and I am in those groups and I get value from those, but there was not really a Facebook group for conscious nomads, which is, I feel like it's becoming a thing Like right, you have the digital nomads who you know. We all know the lifestyle, we've seen it, we've maybe lived it. There's a growing number of people who are living the nomad lifestyle, but they're looking for a deeper meaning or for a deeper connection or for a different kind of nomad lifestyle, which is not the typical, I don't know pop crawls and co-livings and whatever the isolated lifestyle. It's for people who also want to work on themselves, who also want to explore their inner world and who also are looking for community and connection that go beyond the small talk of the digital nomad world. So I started this group called Conscious Nomads Around the World, just because I had the desire to connect with similar-minded people and, without putting much effort into it, the Facebook group grew really fast within a year, from zero to now, I think, over 6,000 members. So that shows me that this is a niche, so to speak, right. It shows me that this is a world that exists and that is growing and that, yeah, that it is good to create offerings for as well. And, yeah, through that Facebook group, I've met many people, I've received a lot of valuable information and I've given a lot of information as well on the places that I've visited and on the online offerings that we do and all that. So, yeah, that's the intention behind the Facebook group just to provide another space of connection for similar-minded people and to exchange valuable information.

Wait. Thank you for sharing this and I think this is like a nice closing the circle to what you just said, like being a nomad is being in constant uncertainty, like we are uncomfortable, and then we exactly have, like these groups who help us, you know, who help us to understand us better, to navigate, a little bit of uncertainty.

Yeah, we need some form of peer group, some form of reference to the world. And those are just tools, you know. They're not perfect, they're still in the digital world and it's not the same as being physically in the same room with someone or with a group of people, but it's better than nothing and it's giving a lot of value and it can lead to meaningful experiences in the real world as well.

Great One. Last question, because it's also something you said in the beginning and we have like some episodes already about it, because it's also a topic in the digital normative of the dating. So you said that you're with your partner in Quinta. Maybe you can share, because sometimes it's like hard to maintain relationships. If you're not both, like normally, it gets difficult to find a partner. Maybe you want to share a little bit about your experience. So how is it for you being like a nomad and finding first a partner and then sustaining the relationship?

Yeah, that's a great question and I think the first thing I will say is that many nomads, if they're honest with themselves, 100% brutally honest with themselves, they might find that they are in this nomadic lifestyle because they have an avoidant attachment style, which means that they might deep down, fear, actual deep attachment and commitment. This is certainly true for myself. I come from this background of having an avoidant attachment style and I think that's not the main reason for me being nomadic, not by any means, but it has certainly contributed to and enabled my nomadic lifestyle, because it's basically almost impossible to find a partner, or, like I don't want to say it's impossible, it's not. I found a partner I will tell you in a second how but it's hard, it's a lot harder and it's very easy to stay within like flings and platonic things and less committed forms of relating to other people, to jobs, to places, et cetera. So that's one thing I want to say and it's really valuable to look at that and to evaluate my reasons for having this and pursuing this lifestyle. Having said that, I was single for a few years, being nomadic by choice, because I came out of a long relationship and I wanted to. And again, the nomadic lifestyle is perfect for singles. But of course, I then also had the desire, and I was also already very aware of my avoidant attachment style and had started to work on it and started to work through it. So about a year and a half ago I felt, okay, I'm ready for a partner and I'm setting the intention to be open to a partner. And then you know, it's just a matter of going to those communities, going to those places and those events that you resonate with, and also, the quicker you move around, the less likely it is that you will find a partner. I like to think of myself as a slow mat, so I like to spend three to six months at least in a place every time, because it is important for me to make meaningful connections and relationships. And yeah, sometime last year I was in Medellin, colombia, and I was at an ecstatic dance, which is one of my favorite formats, where you know you're able to connect to other people and it's like a conscious kind of event. So I constantly keep going to these things just because I like them, just because that's the stuff that I personally like, and that's where I met my partner, and maybe it was just, you know, luck that she was also able to work remotely and all that. She was also excited about traveling and all that. So it was really easy, like it was basically effortless, to just say, yeah, okay, from now on we're traveling together. But I think the important factor was that I was constantly connecting to or going to like gatherings and events, et cetera, with things that I resonate with, and obviously, if other people resonate with the same kind of things, then we're vibrating on a similar frequency and we attract each other. Right. I think that's how it works.

Great yeah. So there are like so many beautiful stories, so it's maybe also a nice story, like for, for listeners are like frustrated, like no, it's possible, you know, like you can find your partner being a nomad and can find your nomadic partner if you wish. Thank you for sharing.

Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

Anything I should have asked now, before we finish, anything you still would like to share, anything I was saying. Anything you would like to talk about still, or we go out.

Thanks for asking. No, I think. Just maybe a word of encouragement for the, for the listeners who who are maybe really tempted by the nomadic lifestyle but haven't made that step yet In my case, like, don't ever think that money is a limiting factor, Like in my case, I started nomadding without any money and there are many ways to do that and it will be worth it. Like to take that step because you cannot really win or lose, you can just gain a lot of valuable experience. So so whoever is like no, maybe has that dream or has had that dream for a while but hasn't made that step, it's just an encouragement to to try it out and you can always come back. You know you can always. Nothing has to be forever, but I would definitely recommend stepping outside of that comfort zone and and exploring different, different experiences, different environments.

Beautiful. Thank you, and exactly like that, what you can always come back. I always ask myself, what's the world that can happen. You know like in the end you can always take again a decision.

Exactly, you go back Exactly.

And we're not always organized with the money in the end, when we are like in tune with our way, in tune what we really should do with our region, with our soul, with our essence, universe co-quades with us. There was always like a way money finds us or we find a way to sustain ourselves. Yeah, I think so too, so thanks for bringing it out, to push you out and listen that way.

Absolutely.

Or other to the one yeah.

I don't want to push anyone, but I can encourage people.

And if someone would like to talk about you more, we will put your Instagram and the show notes, also the link for Facebook group and also, if someone is interested in the week, they can also find information in the show notes and link.

Perfect. Thank you very much for having me Great.

And that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening. I appreciate it very, very much. I would appreciate it even more if you could leave a review on Apple podcasts for me. That way, more people can find this podcast, more people can hear the inspiring stories that we're sharing, and the more people we can impact for the better. So, thank you so much If you are going to leave a review. I really appreciate you and I will see you in the next episode.