Live Conversation on Mindfulness with Diego Dosal

I had the pleasure to have an Instagram live conversation about mindfulness with Diego Dosal. He is the founder of Zunya an upcoming regenerative conscious living concept in Costa Rica. Zunya is a future home for the development of cultural and environmentally conscious projects and a nest of creativity. 

In our conversation, we talked about Diegos project in Costa Rica, our own journey, different mindfulness tools, advice for mindfulness, and books that inspired us. 

Diego: How is your quarantine experience so far?  

Marina: I enjoy the quarantine, it has given me the space to be more creative and I think especially now, it is important to become more mindful. It is beautiful to see that everything is going digital, people are sharing more of themselves and their gifts. 

In everything situation, we have the choice to make us feel better through different techniques like journaling, meditation, or anything that helps us to feel more balanced. 

We have the choice if we want to give in to our fears. Fear shouldn’t control us, many things are uncertain at the moment, but it's important to sit with yourself and ask yourself questions like “How do I feel?”, “Why do I feel like this?” Or “What does it makes me feel?”… and consciously choose to see the good even though it seems hard sometimes.  

Diego: Corona is pushing us to find that inner peace without looking for it in the outside world, which is not possible. The quarantine is a chance to ask yourself deeper questions! 

In a way, it is an invitation of mother earth to show us that this was not the way, we are given the opportunity to realise that there is much more to life than we know and that it can be taken away from us in a second… If our freedom is taken away then what do we do? Where do we find contentment if it is not within?

Marina: Share a bit Diego what you are building in Costa Rica? How did you come to the idea to build it?

Diego: Do you know the saying It’s been a very crazy journey?... and its been exactly like that.

It’s important to share that you don’t become aware from one second to another.

I was completely shattered and broken through my journey and my life. I broke into many pieces six years ago, I started to ask myself many questions, started to read books, learnt about different philosophy.

I realised that these philosophies are all interconnected, they were just trying to explain their reality according to the time and place in history. 

If you analyse them I would say that 80% of them are trying to explain the same truth, which is beautiful. 

I started to continue this journey and created the Burning man community “Humano”. The Intention of building the project was always the same: „How do I reach out to the people who can make a difference in this world?“... I was already at that point, trying to align and create a sustainable way of living. 

The more I was aligning and surrendering to the daily challenges of life and being deeply grateful for everything that is happening... even when we got expelled from burning man which was a massive scandal. 

I came to the realisation that it was an opportunity to create something that could be more permanent and sustainable.

Beautiful mother earth

Two weeks after they announced that we got expelled from BM last year in January, the land in Costa Rica manifested. 

I was looking for six years and I started researching Costa Rica.

The government is putting a lot of effort to make Costa Rica a pioneering country related to sustainability and the environment. 98% of the energy they produce is sustainable and they don’t have an army, there are only two country’s in the world, who don’t have an army, its Costa Rica, and Switzerland. 

They have a lot of nature and 30% is protected land. I felt it is the right place, they invest in nature and we lost our connection to nature.... this is how the project started.

We are trying to reach out to people that are deepening on their path and came to the realisation that there is much more to life than just trying to accumulate financial and material wealth.

It’s time to develop our gifts and share them with as many people as possible in order to empower each other to become the best version of ourselves.

If you wake up every day and say thank you to god, the universe, nature, or even if you don’t believe in anything…  thank you to be alive and if you are willing to be the best version of yourself no matter what happens… I think that is when you start to embark on a beautiful journey.

Marina: Yes, I agree we can’t control our circumstances, but we can choose how we react to them. We have the power to choose our thoughts and become mindful of our self-talk.

For example, I had a live yoga online class and I had negative self-talk like „It’s the worth class you have ever taught, your language is bad…“. I got conscious about my inner talk and transformed them into empowering thoughts like “I am good enough” and “I am doing a great job”.

In the end, my feedback was great... It's crazy how your inner voice can disempower us!

Diego: Of course… I think it is important to understand that we all have this voice in our head and it is not just one, it’s more than a few! One of these voices is the critic or the inner child and they are all trying to fight for the attention. 

There are many tools like you where saying yoga, journaling, meditation, reading, being in silences, fasting… that we can use in order to try to lower down these voices.

You have the ability to control these voices which takes a lot of strength and you can use these tools to find inner peace. 

I think the invitation which we are all having right now is to go within!

There is a book called “The way of the warrior”, he is saying that the war to end all wars is the war for the human heart and that can only be fought within.

If you are able to find the inner peace within, you will automatically become a better human being, you want to take care of yourself, others, and nature. We all came here to serve when you give you receive more than you could have imagined. 

Diego: How did you start with your practices? Since when are you going deeper?

Marina: I was always fascinated by spirituality, philosophy, religion, and mysticism.

I really went deeper two years ago when I went to a retreat on Bali. It completely changed my life in a positive way, but it was also me putting in the work afterward. I stopped watching Tv, I started to meditate daily, did kundalini yoga, and read many books.

I realised for myself as well that most of the books have a similar message. The Bhagavad Gita (I read “The Bhagavad Gita” translated by Eknath Easwaran) had a huge impact on me, if you read this book you don’t really need to read all the other books.

I also saw the similarities of the Hindu teachings and other religions like Judaism, which is beautiful to see. 

Diego: Would you say this one is the one that changed your perspective?

Marina: A lot… “The Untethered Soul” and “The Surrender Experiment” both by Michael A. Singer changed my perspective the most. It's important to read one book at a time, I believe books are coming to you when you need them. 

I am reading currently “The Autobiography of Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda, which is great as well.

Diego: If I would recommend books in order it would be: 

Book 1: “The surrender experiment” by Michael A.Singer

Book 2: “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle 

Book 3: “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle 

Book 4: “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A.Singer 

I think the combination of these books could become the sparkle to embark on a mindful journey. The responsibility of each one is to find this alchemy in a combination of those practices that we need in order to become more mindful. Find your own tools, to find out our inner purpose. 

Marina: I agree every person needs to find their own way, but we can inspire each other to do better. 

Regarding the books, you have to digest the information. I realised for myself, when I read too many books in a short time, that I actually just need to meditate and ask myself “What’s true for me?”.

You can read many books, but until you don’t use the information and apply them to your life, it’s just something you read.

Diego: What are your daily practices/routines that are helping you to align yourself?

Marina: The morning is my favourite part of the day, I enjoy the silence and alone time, it helps me to get ready for the day.

When I wake up my phone stays on flight mode! I start my day with journaling, meditation and kundalini yoga, which usually takes about an hour. I also like to listen to affirmations, I try to feed my subconscious with something good. 

Later on, I have breakfast and I am usually doing some yoga or work out. 

In the evening, I mediated as well and sometimes I do some kundalini yoga. 

Zunya in the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica

Marina: You just came back from a trip to the jungle. How was your experience? 

Diego: I went into the jungle just by myself, it was the most profound experience I have done so far its called “vision quest”.

You go by yourself, you have a tent, a yoga mat, a meditation pillow, a candle and a lighter. They will bring you to a completely isolated place in the middle of the tropical rainforest and you fast for 96 hours.

It was probably the most profound, the most terrifying and the most life-changing experiences, I have ever done and it was just this weekend.

You hallucinate, you face all your fears, your insecurities and all your doubts. There is a moment, where you are in a way broken and you can’t hold it anymore where you have a realisation what they call “the vision”. 

I had a beautiful one, I just wanted to continue aligning myself with the process in that I am in order to be more aligned with the universe, so that we can continue manifesting everything that is happening right now. 

It was mind blowing, you are just by yourself! It is crazy that you have the power to be able to tap into these energies without the use of anything else, it was really beautiful.

What we are trying to create here is a space for as many people who are willing to do the work to be able to have a sanctuary or refuges to recharge themselves, connect with nature and share their gifts. 

Diego: What would be your three advices on mindfulness?

Marina: My first advice would be to create a morning routine, your morning determines your whole day!

Start your day without your phone, your messages or Instagram shouldn’t be the first things that you read in the morning. Do something that makes you feel good and set you up to have a good day. Give gratitude, write down things you are grateful for.

My second advice would be to mediated - Mediation is key. 

Mediation teaches you to see that life is still great, even when the circumstances are not the best right now. 

I always try to remind myself, that “Life is happening for me not to me”. Everything is an invitation to learn and grow. 

My last advice would be to start yoga, there are plenty of videos on YouTube, I personally like he channel boho beautiful. 

What are your three advices on mindfulness Diego?

Diego: Definitely no cell phone in the morning, my own personal practice is that I try to invest the first three hours of the day in myself.

I shower with cold water, it requires the sacrifice, I would say you have to do one sacrifice per day.

Start with a mediation just sit down in stillness, it doesn’t matter if it is 5 or 10 minutes, if you start to enjoy it you can extend it. 

I start my mediation with gratitude,I do yoga and read in the morning 

I am trying to enjoy these three hours as much as I can, if I nurture myself than I am able to give and to help more.

Every moment throughout the day, I practice to be grateful, there are no good or bad things, there are only lessons!

Ask yourself questions like “Why is this happening to me? What is the lesson?”and try to be grateful for it. 

I put an alarm three times per day that reminds me to be grateful for whatever that is happening time. 

I hope you enjoyed our conversation and it inspired you to deepen your own path. Enjoy the ride!

Love and Accept Yourself

I recently had an experience that challenged me and triggered my insecurities, I saw pictures of myself from a photoshoot which made me feel uncomfortable, because I didn’t like them... honestly I felt ugly. 

I got angry at myself, I questioned myself, I questioned my beauty and my self-worth. 

It was one of those moments, when I would rather run away and ignore my feelings instead of facing my emotions. 

As I realised this reaction, I sat down to meditate, to observe what was going on inside of me. I told myself that these emotions came up for a reason and it was an opportunity for me to learn and grow. Through this simple change in perspective, I started to feel grateful for the situation, it showed a part of me that needs healing.

Modeling has cultivated a lot of self-doubt and insecurities in me and has caused me to question myself a lot, especially my physical appearance. As a Model, I have had to get used to being criticised, judged and rejected on a daily bases. 

I am grateful for the chance to work as a model, it has opened many doors for me, but it has also been a constant mental challenge. 

We all know that we shouldn’t take things personally; however, if you are criticised regularly, there will come a point when you start to question yourself. 

I have seen many beautiful people (inside and out), doubting themselves, their potential or their self-worth. We may see a beautiful person and ask ourselves, ”how can they not like themselves?” In the end, how we look on the outside has little to do with how we feel on the inside.

So, instead of letting my emotions control me, I decided to take my power back and simply look at it and I asked myself “why do I feel this way? Where is it coming from? Do I believe it is true? What is it teaching me?”

Somewhere close to Jerusalem

Israel is my happy place, I feel always good there! I remember this moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything, I was just present

Every emotion that comes up is here to teach us something and to get a deeper understanding of ourselves. 

 I believe that “self-love” is about being honest with ourselves, look at our fears, emotions or insecurities, try to see what they’re teaching us and observe them with compassion and love.

In my case, it was to learn to accept and love myself as I am and to be aware of the voice that is saying “what’s wrong with me.”

In my yoga teacher training, we talked about writing down ”three things we did great today”, instead of ”what we did wrong.” I find that it is a beautiful concept, most of the time, we are just looking for our flaws and mistakes (in ourselves and others).

In order to rise above our fears and insecurities, we have to change our perspective and direct our focus towards the positive. I know it’s easier said than done to “focus on the positive,” but if we practice doing so, with openness and acceptance, we will find the good even in the hardest situation.

We can’t control the circumstances we are in, but we do have the power to change how we think and feel about them. It is not easy to face our fears, self-doubts or insecurities, but it is important to work through them and not ignore these feelings. It is about taking care of the world inside of us, which we will never be able to escape from.

I came to the realisation that I can’t let modeling define me or my self-worth. In the past, I have given it too much importance and power of me; now, it is a process of letting go and redirecting my focus. I have the power to choose what I belief, which in the end creates my reality. 

We identify with the things we do, but that’s not who we are. Our self-worth shouldn’t be defined by our profession, wealth or relationships, because we are something way beyond that.

Instead of letting ourselves be defined by something or someone, we should thrive to do and be better every day. Invest in the things we love, invest in our growth and become more conscious about our life. 

Life is a process of becoming a better human to give and serve more. We are all here for a reason!

This was my personal experience, which I felt sharing. We all have different problems and go through different struggles, through it all, may we all try to love and accept ourselves the way we are.