Italy Vacation Journey: Visualize Your Dream Trip

We'll immerse deeply in this Italy Vacation Journey, visualizing an adventure for the ages across Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Napoli, and more. We'll partake in a wide array of unpredictable activities, carrying vivid memories and vacation vibes back with us, refreshed for the week ahead.

Transcript

Hey it's Cyrus,

Welcome to this Italian vacation visualization.

Maybe it's winter where you are right now or you can't get away from the work that you have to do,

But that doesn't mean that we can't take a short Italian vacation.

One that'll leave us feeling totally refreshed and carrying that post-vacation buzz back into our day and our lives.

I highly recommend plugging in your favorite headphones or connecting to a speaker now so you get the full immersive experience for this journey we're about to go on.

And now beginning by sitting or laying down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.

Take a long slow deep breath in through the nose and hold it for a few moments.

And now slowly exhaling through your mouth.

Once again breathing in slowly through the nose into the diaphragm holding at the top,

Feeling your body as you hold your breath.

And exhaling slowly through the mouth following the flow of breath as it escapes the mouth.

And one more breath like that in through the nose,

Nice and deep into the belly,

Holding at the top.

And exhaling super slowly out through your mouth.

Feeling that relaxed chill vibe in your body,

That clear mind.

We're already getting in the plane in our minds to go to Italy right now but we want to prepare by remembering that one of the most beautiful things about Italy is how slowed down their culture is.

So with that breath having invigorated your system allow yourself to slow down in your mind as you start to relax the tongue to the floor of your mouth,

The jaw and facial muscles releasing gently,

The neck and shoulders softening,

The arms and hands releasing all tension,

The stomach and chest opening,

Softening gently and effortlessly with the breath.

The back releasing into the support,

The pelvic floor releasing and the legs and feet unclenching any tension.

Taking a deep breath into the whole body and releasing any remaining tension that you notice,

Staying awake and alert in your mind as the whole body effortlessly releases and relaxes.

And let's start to savor the anticipation of our coming Italian vacation by feeling the whole body head to toe.

Going deeper into the present moment as you feel all the sensations head to toe with the breath letting everything else fade into the background.

Letting go of our grasp on thoughts,

Concerns,

Problems leaving that all on the other side of the departure gate as we go deeper into the body and the breath for just a few more moments.

And now just feeling that good feeling of stretching your legs after a long plane ride,

Getting off in a new country,

Hearing the spoken word of the Italian language starting to surround you,

Your ears perking up,

Hopefully you brushed up on your Duolingo enough to get by.

Feeling the invigoration of the fresh air on your skin and in your nostrils,

Your body already starting to relax more deeply in anticipation of sliding into vacation mode.

But before we get too relaxed,

We're gonna put on some hiking boots to get some blood flow going in our first stop,

The magical Cinque Terre.

Seeing and feeling yourself hiking along a magical cliffside trail.

The golden sun setting and shimmering over the sparkling turquoise water beneath you.

The colorful pastel buildings of the town below you jutting out over the water cascading towards the waves merging seamlessly as far as the eye can see.

The delectable smell of seafood freshly caught by the local fishermen wafting up,

Stirring the whispers of your appetite for many a memorable meal to come.

And remembering joyfully that you went all out for this vacation,

There are no limits,

So you're hiking all the way to Lake Como where you're getting in your private speedboat.

And of course you know how to operate that speedboat,

At least kind of,

So seeing yourself start to rip along full speed.

The salt air in your hair,

The ocean spray against your face as you go full tilts like a cigarette smuggler outrunning the Italian Coast Guard.

Slowing the boat down now to a cool cruising speed as you start to take in and appreciate the aristocratic beauty and history of the Italian Vigas that dot the shoreline.

Embracing the inner royalty of your Italian king or queen as you coast through the smooth waters of Lake Como on your boats.

And now driving your speedboat all the way to Napoli and parking it,

Hopping off,

Wearing your short shorts and your tank tops,

Revealing yourself as a tourist but not caring as you amble along the cobblestone streets.

Taking in the mix of modern and ancient architecture,

Perhaps sparking your creativity as these disjointed architectural elements collide in your consciousness,

Creating new possibilities.

Suddenly realizing you're in the birthplace of pizza and deciding to stop for an authentic Neapolitan pizza.

Your stomach grumbling with anticipation as you watch that stone-fired oven roasting that spherical source of joy as you decide to simply kick your feet back and people watch for a moment.

And as you relax and observe,

Perhaps you notice and appreciate the care and quality and slowness with which the Italians do whatever they do.

An effortless reflection of their culture.

And maybe you decide consciously to absorb some of that slowness and attention to detail and quality into your spirits in this moment.

As you reach down and pick up the handcrafted glass on your table and take a sip of sparkling water,

Feeling the bubbles on your tongue,

Their effervescence evocative of the quiet aliveness in this moment.

And now the pizza appears in front of you,

An authentic pizza,

Margarita in the home of pizza itself.

Taking your time to marvel at its construction and simply appreciate it before you take an undistracted bite.

Sinking your teeth into it and tasting the subtle notes of the San Marzano tomato sauce on your taste buds.

The mozzarella di Bufala cheese melting in your mouth.

This precious feeling of indelible satiety as you finish the pizza pie one bite at a time,

Feeling not too full and yet not left hungry as you polish it off with a satisfying piece of tiramisu and perhaps a digestif or espresso,

Whatever you choose.

And now checking your pocket watch you see that you're just in time to hop back in your speedboat and make your way to Verona for a very special evening appointment.

And now that night has fallen putting the speedboat on cruise control as you change out of your flip-flops and your short shorts and your tank top and into your tuxedo or evening gown and the finest shoes of your choice,

Handcrafted by an Italian cobbler,

Perhaps Daniel Day-Lewis.

And disembarking from your speedboat,

Which at this point perhaps you've named since it so affectionately shuttled you between disparate Italian locations.

You make your way confidently into the crowd outside Verona's Roman arena,

Looking absolutely fabulous and glamorous as you take your seat inside for the Opera.

Sitting with dignity and excitement as you gaze around at the massive amphitheater,

Hearing the rousing chatter of 20,

000 opera goers all here in anticipation of the same thing.

The lights suddenly go down and the production begins its Aida,

The famous Italian opera set in ancient Egypt,

A story of love and betrayal set against the backdrop of war.

And you're instantly transported to another place and time,

An expedition within a vacation,

A vacation-ception.

Live elephants and horses and camels grace the stage.

Real water flows as if it were the Nile.

The costumes shimmer radiantly all the way to the back row.

And even though you may not be able to understand the language,

You feel the emotion of the performers.

As they execute these timeless numbers from this century-old production,

Their guttural intonations reverberating through your nervous system as you sit in rapt in awe of this art elevating you to another plane of awareness.

And as the show comes to an end and you trickle out in a daze at the magnificence that you just witnessed,

You decide to retire to your hotel,

Or you simply sprawl across your massive bed and allow your mind to wander with the possibilities of what you could do on your last day in Italy tomorrow.

Perhaps you could tour some cathedrals.

Maybe see the Colosseum in Rome.

Or maybe go for a relaxing gondola ride through Venice.

And as your mind drifts and dances and dreams amongst all the wondrous possibilities,

Before you know it,

The last day is here.

And it seems you've decided to simply go for a bike ride through the Tuscan countryside.

Enough speed boats and water for now,

You think.

So you simply get on your bike,

Which you've constructed by hand from scratch in true Italian spirit,

And start riding.

And it comes just as easy to you as riding a bike,

Because it is.

And as you pedal through the countryside,

You feel the warm breeze saturating every pore.

Feeling your bike lead the way as you coast and maneuver effortlessly through the unpaved roads and lanes,

The Strade Bianche of Tuscany.

Winding through the orchards and past poppy fields and farms.

Taking in ancient ruins and countryside restaurants,

Where perhaps you stop for a light lunch.

Continuing along the ever so slightly,

Blissfully bumpy trail,

Blue cloudy skies above and nothing but rolling green hills into the distance.

Saying your final arrivederci to Italia,

As you ever so reluctantly get back on the plane to your life.

But this time,

Infused with the soul of the Italian people,

Culture,

Architecture,

History,

Arts,

And of course,

The food.

Feeling it all soaring through your stomach,

Your mind,

Your spirit,

Every cell of your body radiating with this relaxed,

Open beauty and quality.

As you visualize yourself moving through your day to day life,

Consciously holding this ineffable energy in your awareness and your body.

Seeing and feeling yourself now in this moment like it's real,

Carrying that carefree spirit and that love for life with you through every situation,

Conversation,

And moment of waking and dreaming life.

Seeing and feeling yourself carrying that care into every moment,

Doing one thing at a time,

Savoring the craftsmanship of your actions and the quality of your attention.

Seeing how everything you do and every moment is an end unto itself,

Is complete and whole when you bring this Italian spirit to bear in your experience.

And carrying that powerful,

Delicate energy back with you as you open your eyes,

Slowly start to move and very gradually,

Slowly transition back into your day.

Please share this experience with anyone you think might need it or enjoy it.

Feel free to comment,

Like,

Make a donation,

Ask a question,

And I hope you have an amazing day full of Italian spirit.

Buona Fortuna,

Mi amico.

Reviews

Amo cosi tanto l italia!!

What a dope immersion, Cyrus! It felt like I was really there! 🇮🇹

What a lovely journey you took me on. The special audio enhancements provided fascinating context to the meditation. I won't give it away, but there was a certain vintage tone that caught my attention. Highly reccomend.