Ambr Talks

Ever been to an ecstatic dance?

What even is an ecstatic dance?

PS... it was AMAZING!

For more info and other dances in Greece: https://ecstaticdance.gr/calendar/ecstatic-dance-w-live-music-contact-impro-class/?occurrence=2022-12-04

https://ecstaticdance.gr/

Dive into a little afternoon spent with 2 of my Couchsurfers here in Athens. We're sitting on my carpet, eating baklava and drinking tea, and went with the topic of all 3 of us being from divorced parents. Of course, that's not where we ended up - check the timestamps for the topics.

That day was also the second day of Emmanuel’s full time traveler’s life; one of the healthiest 30 year old men i've met in my life so far. 

I hope you enjoy this episode and get as much as I did out of it!

Timestamps:

Intro

00:55 Intro Victoria

1:07 Intro Emmanuel

3:25 How split parents has influenced us

7:00 How traveling makes you grow up faster

8:00 Victoria’s parents divorce

14:10 Dominant independent women

15:50 Definition of ‘dominant’

19:30 Can two people be independent and have a relationship/Ideal model

24:07 Feeling whole and complete within yourself FIRST before entering a relationship

27:46 A partner “for life”?

29:00 Do children need to be raised by two parents?

37:00 What if your father died?

47:33 Trying to see the parents’ points of views

49:50 People who enjoy fighting (conflict)

01:01:20 Relationship with a step-parent

01:06:30 The Hostel Story (Ema)

01:12:40 The female/male sensitivity in Couchsurfing

01:20:53 Closing questions & words of advice

Erasmus + Projects: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects

Follow Emmanuel's adventures: https://www.instagram.com/emanuele_perati/

This is a bit of a different type of episode.. one of my recent Couchsurfers straight up asked me a very deep question from the moment she got to my place, and I just knew it was going to be a conversation to record… and share.

So here it is, I am about to publicly share my full life story (this is part 1- it’s long). This is a big step for me in coming to terms with my past, and moving into a new cycle of life. I am truly letting go of the past, and I hope that someone hears something that they resonate with, and that will help them.

Check out the timestamps for a brief idea of what my life has looked life so far.

** Trust me guys, if I can go through that and still come out on the other side, so can you. Believe in yourself. Use your past and your hardships and turn them into life lessons to build, grow, evolve, and thrive.

Timestamps:

Intro

1:20 “Chris how did you become an alcoholic”

1 of the factors: genetic

What is addiction

6:06 High functioning addicts

2nd factor: environment

3rd factor: childhood and trauma

9:30 entering pre-teenage hood on unstable foundations

9:58 my brother

12:58 the pain I felt at 9-10

13:34 moving to bangkok at 13 (and some stories I never told before)

20:15 attachment style

21:35 my mum

22:39 moving back to Singapore

22:55 drugs in Bangkok at 14

24:30 moving to Paris from Singapore at 18

31:00 going back to Asia after uni (moving to Vietnam, the night that led me to rehab)

39:28 going to rehab for 3 months in Chiang Mai (the full story)

59:56 my dad’s death & the start of my recovery at 21

It ends a little abruptly… but stay tuned for part 2!

In this episode, one of my youngest Couchsurfers so far, and I talk about bucket lists, traveling, life, planning and goals. We have the craziest story.. I thought she looked familiar when I first saw her.

Welcome to episode 10 :)

Intro Helene

6:20 Bucket lists

12:53 Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

14:37 What do you enjoy doing?

16:45 Going with the flow

19:20 The Camino de Santiago

20:47 Idea of not having the phone for 30 days

24:28 Break from theoretical studying

29:00 You can always break a commitment.. if you discover that it’s not the best fit for you and not adding value to your life.

32:32 Learning to let go and let life unfold

38:05 Scratching the surface of minimalism

42:33 “The more you have, the more you don’t have” (wow.. super profound moment Chris)

44:00 The impact of environment and society on us (and being Europe)

53:11 What is confidence

1:03:10 Closing thoughts and questions

I get real vulnerable in this episode.. If you're ready to hear me cry - hear the good, the bad and the ugly, then listen on.

I recap on the past birth year - celebrating my 27th birthday in Estonia, after the whole Mexico/Central America trip until today (living in Athens), the lessons i've learnt, the things i've accomplished, and a few tips if you're 27.

The one big tip I have for you right now though: do these check ins with yourself every year, not only in the New Year, but for your birth year too. 

28 will be big for me - I can feel it! How much have you levelled up since your last year?

In this episode, one of my Couchsurfers, Reda, and I discuss his few months volunteering at the Polish border.

Intro 1:57

2:20 Volunteering at the Polish border

3:49 Reserving a full hostel… but that still wasn’t close to enough

5:15 Harsh weather conditions

7:10 A typical day there

8:07 How to stay strong in order to help someone else

9:45 God’s mission

11:55 The real definition of appreciation

14:00 The biggest thing(s) that affected Reda at the border

16:40 Mental health after the volunteering

19:10 Why he eventually left the border

21:05 Self discovery, and how the media works

24:05 What can YOU do to help, now?

27:40 The benefits of volunteering

28: Final thoughts/advice

31:00 How everything, for humans, becomes “normal” after a while

32:33 How to remind yourself of what’s normal or not

34:28 Help as YOU can

35:00 Final thoughts/closing

Be sure to check him out at www.instagram.com/reda.traveller

and stay tuned for more episodes!

Intro 

1:37 Halid intro

6:37 Halid’s story

12:45 Entering recovery

14:33 The key: acceptance

16:45 Processing fears

19:08 Lightbulb moments

20:00 “I thought I was the center of the universe”

22:21 Art as the ultimate therapy - “it should have no boundaries”

27:59 Every story (piece of art) has a different message

32:00 If you’re lost too… (tips)

33:30 Closing

33:45 Huge personal revelations… another (painful) breakthrough

Discover’s Halid artwork (Surrealism and cubism):

IG: @halid_underscore

www.halidartworld.com

In this very special episode, I interview my first ever Couchsurfer (meaning the first person I've hosted) who also quit everything to travel.. the only difference is that he's doing it by motorbike and started his journey with a 30h boat ride from Cyprus to Athens! 

Timestamps:

Intro

4:33 Costas - growing up in Cyprus/Scotland/Leeds

7:34 The rat race… “this is not for you” vs the crisis

10:40 The big breakdown

14:11 That decision to.. CHANGE.

18:19 You can’t know unless you take that leap of faith

22:00 Everyone has their own shit/feeling of not being a burden

27:15 “Do you actually listen to your body”?

35:50 Social media during travels

41:11 “Who does 30h on a boat”?!

44:00 You don’t need a lot of money to travel

48:35 It’s never too late (age wise) to quit everything and travel

54:32 Have faith & get out of your comfort zone

56:45 Upcoming goal/objective for the trip

1:03:02 Closing questions

In this fifth episode, Brock and I discuss how daily non-negotiable habits will change your life. You want results? You got to work for it, and daily habits are the blueprint that will take you from Idea --> Results.

Timestamps

Intro

2:03 Wes Watson as one of our role models

2:30 Brock & Wes

3:13 Quitting drinking through non negotiable habits motivation

4:35 How to find the balance with these habits

5:45 In hard times, do you push through the habits, or adapt?

6:53 Non negotiable habits to grow or a coping mechanism to life?

8:05 Brock’s non negotiable habits (2 years + streak)

11:05 How can YOU start implementing daily non negotiable habits?

14:03 Habit stacking

15:13 Hesitation about getting back to non negotiable habits

17:27 Daily habits as a guide to life

19:55 Doing daily habits WILL get you what you want - no doubt

23:53 NOT adapting habits to FEELINGS (but on how you want to feel AFTER the habit)

25:20 You can only reap benefits from daily habits.. if you balance them out well. JK DISCIPLINE = FREEDOM

Closing

29:08 Best/Worst advice Brock ever got

Book mentioned: Atomic Habits - James Clear

Welcome back! 

In this shorter episode my guest Mina, owner of MyFrenchPA/entrepreneur/single mother/friend/woman/child of God, and I embark on a totally impromptu discussion on... time, and living in the present moment.

Do you agree with her 3 tips on how to live in the present? Have you ever applied any of those methods? Are you mindf*cked as well now after listening and need to Google "time" like I did?