an

enriching

past

Rather than as a resume, I like to share my background as what it is: a combination of enriching experiences which some have turned into short stories:

My bachelor studies in International Relations gave me the first hint about how my future was going to look like: International! other than that, I am grateful for this period as it has opened doors at a later stage but if you’d ask me now, I’d have chosen Phycology as my university degree – which I will start some time in the future though : )

Ethiopia summer 2010: Volunteering in a local school with kids from 3 years old to teenagers of 17 years old. Eye-opening, Heart-warming, Heart-breaking. Main take aways: the human heart is infinite / colonialism and white supremacy are rotten at their core, and both belong to the worst diseases there are.

I speak Chinese mandarin as a result of a great aventure where I lived in Beijing for over 2 and a half years. In this time, besides being fully immersed in the study of this language I am passionate about, I worked as an English teacher having 1:1 home clases, as well as group clases in private and public schools, being gifted with having to adapt to the biggest age range I’ve ever experienced! from 2 years old to 63 years old students. I also worked as a group facilitator of cultural exchange events. Towards the end of my stay in this country where I truly felt home, travels in rural China have shown me the most stunning nature and gifted me with memorable fun moments trying to communicate and connect with local elders.

Working in Corporate & Startup settings in Switzerland for over a year in the field of human resources and office management supported me to gain communication & organisational skills which I have benefited greatly from.

The time-period that has marked me the most has certainly been when I went on a deep self-inquiry & self-discovery journey for almost a year, where spirituality was my closest companion. I travelled to different countries of southeast Asia, highlighting my first Vipassana Meditation Silent Retreat in Malaysia and my travels across Myanmar where I was warmly hosted by several buddhist monks and nuns as well as embraced by the kindest people and amusing landscape. I also did some volunteering work during this journey, mainly in Bali, Indonesia and Cebu & Malapascua Islands in the Philippines. Where meeting two inspirational local change-makers was a great gift, we felt very aligned and they welcomed me as part of their already initiated project where they mostly focus on community capacity building and upcycling plastics – The Green Tribe – which has been on hold for some time but that we wish to resume when the timing is right.

My time living in Australia was very meaningful too. First experience with juggling two part-time jobs and also first time living in a car (totoya hiace converted into a beautiful van by my dear partner) ! how nice is to have a house which you can move around and learn how to live with very few things!

Starting a daily meditation practice and bit by bit understanding through direct experience the subtle messages my father gave me as a kid “when something hurts, look at it, do not fight it, it shall pass too” have certainly been transformational. A healing journey. Vipassana meditation has opened the door to touch the suffering within myself that I wasn’t aware of and simultaneously has shown me what a path to liberation can look like. Loving-kindness meditation joined my path to teach me to hold the truth of the moment with an accepting heart. The power of these practices inspired me to enrol in a mindfulness meditation teacher training that supports me to heal and attain true freedom as well as to extend these teachings to support others to embark on their own journey.

Choosing my master’s degree consciously and patiently, showed me again how valuable is to pause and tune in with myself to make decisions that have the potential to shift the course of my life. This time was a beautiful and transformational journey bringing together leadership and sustainability that reassured my role within the systems change I’ve always wanted to contribute to, what I used to call “change the world for the better”: facilitate inner & outer transformation towards a life-sustaining way of being and doing.

Coming in contact with Deep Ecology and the notion of Ecological Self and becoming a Work That Reconnects Facilitator have supported me to deepen my re-connection to life, nature and its beings and to cherish the upbringing my parents gave me, close to the soil and to the sea without loosing sight of the stars.

Regular 1:1 peer coaching on mainly the practice of self-compassion with a dear friend and now project companion has shown me the power of vulnerability, of peer accountability and the importante of co-sharing stories of “success & failure” for one’s own healing and growth.

Trying out entrepreneurship and jumping on the co-creation of a concept and a team around something I truly believe to have the potential for deep personal and systemic transformation: a leadership approach that puts love at the center, has been very empowering. Supporting my self-confidence and having many meaningful learnings about team dynamics and co-creative processes.

Following my intuition to go to certain places has gifted me with meeting the right people at the right time. And also, as human design points me to, my projector nature waits for the invitations, and I have indeed been open to listen and to embrace those invitations that speak to my heart.

Formal and informal education that has enriched my toolkit up to now:

Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. The Awareness Training Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Ongoing

The Power of Awareness. online course. Sounds True. 2022

The Work That Reconnects Facilitator Development Program. online program. The Work that Reconnects Network. 2021

Mindfulness is a source of happiness. online course. Eurasia Learning Institute for Happiness and Wellbeing. 2021

Theory-U practitioner. online course. Presencing Institute. 2020

Flow Game Host training. Denmark. 2020

Master’s degree, Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability. BTH, Sweden. 2020

Chinese language. Beijing Language and Culture University, China. 2015

Bachelor’s degree, International Relations. UCM, Spain. 2013

To be continued ···