This is Life

A cat falls through the roof, turning “Christmas Day expectations” into dust, debris, and laughter.

The altitude rhythm at 3,700 metres: everything reduces to the essentials: warmth, water, food, rest.

No gas, locked food trunk, missing keys and the choice to walk anyway.

The steady pace of the Himalayas: one step at a time, listening to breath and body.

A clear winter day walk through Chhyongur village, hanging bridge, prayer flags, and wide open silence.

Meeting a disoriented trekker separated from his friends after descending from Thorong La.

Arrival at Muktinath, a sacred place of liberation (moksha): gratitude, prayer, and remembering what “letting go” really means.

A powerful memory from 2011: being told “No Christians allowed” and the deeper teaching that freedom can’t depend on being “let in.”

Returning to the gompa and sitting again in the Milarepa cave, tracing the thread of devotion, silence, and the inner pilgrimage.

The closing invitation: release the pressure for the day to be perfect and notice the gifts beyond expectation.

“Let it be what it is.”

When you notice yourself tightening against reality, pause and ask:

• What am I expecting this moment/day to be?
• What happens if I stop insisting it should be different?

Then return to basics:

What do I need right now?

If you don’t know, start with: water, warmth, food, rest and let clarity arrive in its own time.

Mustang, Nepal: a remote, high-altitude mountain region in the Himalayas

Muktinath Temple is a pilgrimage site associated with liberation and letting go

The temple is known for its 108 sacred water spouts

Milarepa cave at the gompa (and the thread of returning)

Borghild shares how she begins settling into a rhythm and the unexpected things that still need dealing with in this stripped-back gompa life.

If this episode resonates, gave you a breath of relief or a new perspective, please leave a review, follow the show on your favourite platform and share it with someone who might need it.

Host Website: Explore my work and resources

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A set of keys in Kathmandu. A simple invitation. And suddenly, the next step arranges itself.

In this first episode of The Himalayan Diary, I share how I arrived at a remote gompa in Mustang, Nepal and the sequence of small, clear steps that carried me there: from Kathmandu, to Pokhara, to an unplanned day that brought clarity, and then a remarkably smooth journey north into the Himalayas; arriving on Christmas Eve, alone, at around 3,700 metres.

This series is recorded from my solo retreat at Rinpoche’s gompa: a shift in pace, rhythm, and attention; and an entry into a very simple way of living.

A moment in Kathmandu that changes the direction of the journey... the keys, and the choice

A foggy morning in Pokhara that clears, both outside and inside.

An unexpected trail day: asking, accepting, and letting myself be guided.

Arrival and the first reality of settling in: damaged roof, cold, and the basics.

Returning to essentials: warmth, water, food, rest, and light.

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Journal Companion

Where in my life is there a “keys" moment... a small exchange that changes direction?

What becomes simple when I stop negotiating and take one clear step?

What helps the fog lift for me? Just enough to see the next step?

Where am I being invited to accept help, guidance, or support... even in a small way?

If I ask myself, What do I need now? What’s essential? What can wait?

What’s the honest answer today?

Write a short list:

• Essential (1–3 things)
• Can wait
• Already works
• Then choose one “essential” action you can do in the next 24 hours.

Mentioned in this episode:

Peace Stupa and Shiva Statue in Pokhara

Khenpo Konchok Tashi Rinpoche

In the next episode:

I’ll share what happened on Christmas day… when I sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, watching the morning sun spill through the windows… and what it felt like to spend a whole day alone, without feeling lonely.

If this episode resonates, please follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need it.

Host Website: Explore my work and resources

For inspiration: Follow me on Instagram & TikTok

Everyday altitude: how city pressure impacts the nervous system.

Rhythm as recovery: why healing can come through repetition not retreat.

Boudha as an anchor: the power of familiarity and regulation.

Signal → Step → Support: a clear framework for following aligned energy.

Trail running as meditation: presence, endurance, and trust.

Emotional acclimatisation: the “aftershock” of guilt and the courage to speak up.

Listening as protection: letting the body lead even when the mind second guesses.

A gentle “no”: respecting your energy, and saying no without shame.

• What’s the signal (ease, tension, readiness, dread, curiosity)?
• What’s one step you can take without overcommitting?
• What support would make that step feel resourced?

• Boudha Stupa, Kathmandu
• Pulchowki Peak (2765m)
• Shivapuri Peak (2730m)
• Trailmandu
• Manaslu Circuit Trek (Episodes 4–6)

We begin The Himalayan Diary. A new series unfolding from Borghild’s solo mountain retreat in Mustang, easing into solitude, altitude, and a rhythm entirely her own.

If this episode resonates, please follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need it.

Host Website: Explore my work and resources

For inspiration: Follow me on Instagram & TikTok

In this episode, I explore what I call Everyday Altitude, not as thin air, but as constant input and pressure that can leave the nervous system “on call” without us noticing.

I share a mountains lesson about the body’s intelligence, the Genius Body, and how we can trust it in the city too. I’ll guide you through one practical tool I call: One signal. One step. One support, to help you listen, reset and come back to calm, even when life moves fast.

The emotional contrast of re-entry: comfort and relief… and the loss of mountain rhythm.

Everyday Altitude: daily pressure, constant input, and a nervous system that stays activated for too long.

The Genius Body: how the body becomes the map at altitude: priorities, limits, natural boundaries.

Why city-altitude is tricky: no one tells us to slow down, acclimatise, or rest.

One Signal • One Step • One Support — a simple way to listen and respond.

A short guided reset: the 90-Second Downshift (Connect • Focus • Flow in everyday life).

One week later: readiness returns and the first trail run to Pulchowki as the next grounded step.

A clearer way to recognise your early altitude signs in daily life, before burnout or overwhelm.

A reminder that the body often tells the truth before the mind catches up

A simple rhythm to return to when life feels like “too much”:

One signal • one step • one support

A short reset you can repeat anytime: exhale longer, come back, choose one step, let it be supported

One question to carry with you: What is my body asking for right now?

One Signal • One Step • One Support:

• Name one body signal
• Choose one small step that supports you
• And anchor it with one support (a place, a person, or a practice)

so you actually follow through.

What’s one signal my body is giving me today?

And what’s one step I can take to honour it?

We explore the peaks of Kathmandu, trail running, readiness, and what it means to move forward with a new edge with strength and presence.

If this episode resonated, please follow the show on your favourite platform, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need it.

Explore my work and resources

For inspiration: Follow me on Instagram & TikTok

For updates and inspiration: Follow me on Facebook

This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.

Welcome back to the trail.

In this second part of the Manaslu Circuit trek in the Himalays of Nepal, we move into higher altitude, deeper simplicity and wisdom, where the body takes the lead and the mountains make everything basic: warmth, breath, water, food, and rest.

We continue from Samagaun to Samdo, up to Dharamsala, across Larkya La Pass (5,106m), and down to Bhimtang and finally the last descent to Tilije and Dharapani, before the jeep ride to Besisahar and the long bus ride back to Kathmandu.

In the first part of the Manaslu Circuit trek , we explored Boundaries & Belonging. In this episode, we meet the teachings of altitude and attention: what trusting the body looks like when it’s freezing, when appetite disappears, when fatigue is real and joy arrives anyway.

Day 7: Samagaun (3,560 metres) to Samdo (near the Tibetan border)

Leaving the resting place of Samagaun and walking into a higher, wilder simplicity of thin air, wide landscape, and that sense of being a guest in the mountains.

Day 8: Samdo (3,860 metres) to Dharamsala (4,460m)

A step closer to the pass: less “village life,” more high-camp reality. The body starts speaking louder now, and everything becomes practical: pacing, warmth, hydration, and the basics.

Day 9: Daramshala to Larkya La Pass (5,106m) to Bhimtang (3,720m)

The long summit day: 02:45 wake up, crossing the pass, the prayer flags, the wide white world and then the descent, where I get a boost of energy and move into a focused and practical flow... the body knows.

Day 10: Bhimtang to Tilije (2,300 metres) to Dharapani, then jepp to Besisahar

The rollercoaster of coming down: energy returns, the joy of trail-running, and the “end of trek” turns into a lesson in flexibility and acceptance.

Day 11: Besisahar and bus back to Kathmandu: re-entry

Celebration, traffic, horns, dust and a city life that feels unreal after thin air and silence. But, the rhythm stays in the body: one step, one breath.

What do I need right now?

If you don’t know, start with the basics… and let clarity come in its own time.

Just because guilt shows up doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong—it can be an old pattern trying to keep you safe.

My trekking agency: Nepal High Trek

You’re welcome to contact me for any practical tips for the Manaslu Circuit Trek.

We’ll explore what these mountain teachings look like in ordinary life, when everything is supposed to be normal… but it isn’t.

If this episode resonates, please follow the show, leave a review, or share with a friend who might need to hear it. Every step matters. Every listener counts.

Explore my work and resources

For inspiration: Follow me on Instagram & TikTok

For updates and inspiration: Follow me on Facebook

This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.

This extended episode (just over 60 minutes) takes you deep into the mountains of Nepal on the Manaslu Circuit Trek, through steep ridges, river gorges, Tibetan villages, and toward a turquoise glacier lake.

This is part one of a two-part series. Along the way, we explore two powerful themes: boundaries and belonging. Not as abstract concepts, but as real, embodied experiences.

From the jeep ride out of Kathmandu to long days on foot, the trek reveals where our boundaries lie: physically, mentally, and emotionally. And how belonging can appear in small, unexpected ways: in a guide’s presence, a prayer flag, or a shared moment with a stranger on the trail.

This is an invitation to walk with me, one step at a time, through the edges, insights, and lessons the mountains offer.

A final walk around Boudhanath stupa, a sacred pause before stepping into the larger mandala of the mountains.

Finding rhythm along the Budhi Gandaki River. The body settles, the mind begins to listen and a spontaneous promise (Everest Marathon 2026?) floats into the air.

A harder day: nausea, no appetite, and a growing tension between discomfort and self-trust. The mantra “one step at a time” becomes essential.

Boundaries of the Body vs. Stories of the Mind:

When do we honour the signal to slow down? And what happens when we feel we have to choose between self-care and fitting in?

Trekking as sangha and walking with others who are also pushing through. The comfort of shared effort, and the reminder: we’re never alone in our struggles.

The terrain turns Tibetan. Temples, mani walls, and snowy peaks mark the shift. Cold sets in, and clarity emerges: knowing what’s truly ours to carry and when to let go.

If you’re in your own version of a challenging time…grief, illness, a relationship break-up, or change you never chose, this is the practice I keep coming back to.

Step back one pace. Give yourself space to breathe. Even if it’s just going into another room, onto the balcony, or away from the screen for a moment. Feel your feet on the ground. Let your exhale lengthen. Look around and name what’s real:

I’m here. This is what’s happening. This is what I’m feeling.

Then choose a grounded step and ask:

What would help me through the next hour?

Not the next year. Just the next hour.

And then, do that one thing.

A high-altitude side trail leads to Pungyen Monastery, cradled in a dramatic amphitheatre of glaciers and peaks beneath Manaslu. A place that feels more like a hermitage than a destination.

It’s not grand, it’s grounding. The trail demands presence, not performance. Each breath and step is a reminder: you're not conquering the mountain, you're being held by it.

The next day in Samagaun offers rare stillness. No push. No summit. Just space. We wander to Birendra Lake, a milky turquoise glacier pool rimmed with cairns and quiet blessings.

It’s a day of recovery and reflection, and a powerful reminder that courage also means knowing when to pause.

To say no to proving, pushing, or producing.

To take off the backpack, physically, mentally and emotionally, and remember: You belong in the resting, too.

Are you really here?

What’s going on in your body?

Can you keep moving when it’s not easy?

What pace is actually kind to my body and my nervous system?

What is life asking of me right now: A push or a pause?

My trekking agency: Nepal High Trek

You are welcome to contact me for any practical tips for the Manaslu Circuit Trek.

we continue on the Manaslu Circuit… moving higher, colder and closer to the Tibetan border and Larke La Pass. And we’ll explore what altitude and cold do to the body and mind when life gets more basic and survival mode starts to kick in.

If this episode resonated, please follow the show, leave a review, or share with a friend who might need to hear it. Every step matters. Every listener counts.

Explore my work and resources

For inspiration: Follow me on Instagram & TikTok

For updates and inspiration: Follow me in Facebook

Note: This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.

After we make a decision, or feel a chapter ending, there’s often a strange, wobbly space that opens up: the in-between. In this episode, I share why that feeling is normal, why uncertainty can feel overwhelming, and how to meet it without spiraling.

I’ll guide you through my simple self-awareness rhythm: Connect • Focus • Flow™ to help you come back to calm, clarity, and trust when doubt, fear, or guilt show up. Along the way, I weave in short stories from my life (Australia, Hawaii, Bergen—and my dad) to show how intuition often speaks in ordinary, grounded ways, and how to tell the difference between intuition and impulse.

This episode is recorded in Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Trust rarely arrives as a leap; it grows by taking one real step you can stand in tomorrow.

Why the in-between can feel shaky (and why it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong).

How to calm your nervous system when uncertainty takes over.

A clear way to tell intuition vs. impulse.

Naming what’s here (fear, doubt, guilt, the “guarantee” voice) takes the edge off and brings you back to the present.

You don’t need a perfect plan—just a next step that honours what matters.

Have a place that settles you. Go there when you’re in the in-between.

• Body: Right now my body says…
• Two forces: What draws me forward? What story tries to hold me back?
• One step: Today I’ll honour this by…
• Save a screenshot and use it once in the next 24 hours.

Where am I in the “in-between” right now and what feels uncomfortable about it?

A moment my body knew before my mind agreed was…

If my intuition had a quiet voice, what might it be saying?

Right now, what feels complete—even if I’m hesitant to admit it?

One way I can make uncertainty safer this week is… (sleep, time outside, an honest conversation, a kind boundary, an hour off screens).

What am I calling “uncertainty” that might simply be “newness”?

If doubt/fear/guilt could speak, what would they demand—and what would I answer back?

The Pause: From Overwhelm to Presence (coming soon)

In the next episode, we’ll explore Boundaries and Belonging. I’ll share what the 12 day Manaslu Circuit Trek taught me how pace is a boundary, rest is self-respect, and how real belonging starts when you don’t leave yourself behind.

If this episode resonated, please follow the show on your favourite app, leave a review, or share with a friend who might need to hear it. Every step matters. Every listener counts.

Explore my work and resources

For inspiration: Follow me on Instagram and TikTok

For updates and inspiration: Follow me on Facebook

Note: This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.

When we realise something has to change, guilt, fear, and self-doubt often show up. In this episode I share how I work with those reactions on the Camino and in everyday life. This is a simple self-awareness rhythm, I use with clients and myself called, Connect • Focus • Flow™.

You’ll leave with practical journaling prompts and one doable next step.

Why change can stall even after the first yes.

The difference between caring for others and complying with an old role.

How fear, doubt, and guilt try to keep things familiar and what actually helps.

A quick reality check that calms the what-ifs.

A 3-step practice to move without abandoning yourself: Connect • Focus • Flow™.

Connect. Feel your feet on the ground or the chair. Take one slow breath in… and a longer breath out.

Focus. Name what’s here: fear / doubt / guilt / needing certainty.

Ask, Am I safe right now?

Flow. Choose one small step you can stand in today: one call, one message, one boundary, or one pause.

• What do I need right now? What matters today?
• Where am I caring, and where am I simply keeping the peace?
• What evidence do I have today that I can take the next step?
• A sentence to carry this week: The step I can actually take is…

The Pause: From Overwhelm to Presence (coming soon)

In the next episode, we’ll explore what comes after the first yes—trusting the in-between when an old role loosens and uncertainty plays on our mind.

Follow This Is Life on your favourite platform or app, subscribe and share it with someone who needs it.

Website: https://borghildbo.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/borghildbo

Note: This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.

The moment of choice when everything in you says move and the mind answers, but I don’t know how.

What breaking free really means beyond job changes or geography.

The first step. You don’t need the whole map, just the next step.

How small movements can become a way of living, not just a one-off decision.

Borghild introduces you to the three-step self-awareness practice Connect • Focus • Flow™ to help you come back to calm, clarity and confidence when life feels uncertain.

Waiting for a perfect plan keeps us stuck; movement invites movement.

Awareness itself is movement. It softens the grip of shoulds and if's and reveals options.

Small steps work because the body relaxes, the mind quiets, and trust begins to return.

Freedom begins the moment we admit something has to shift and we act on it.

You'll also be guided through a grounded practice and reflection you can bring into your own everyday life.

Walking Into It: A Pilgrimage Through Foreign Lands to Inner Worlds — available at www.borghildbo.com and on Amazon.

In the next episode, Answering the Call: Guilt, Fear & Self-Doubt, we’ll explore what often shows up after the first step; the second thoughts, guilt, self doubt, and how to keep walking when they appear.

Note: This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.

Welcome to This Is Life: An introspective podcast about breaking free one step at a time. This short introduction shares why I created the show, who it’s for, and what to expect.

I blend psychology, reflection and lived adventure to help you meet life's turning points with more clarity, confidence and trust.

Next: Listen to Episode 1 — Breaking Free: The Beginning of the Journey.

Website: https://borghildbo.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/borghildbo

Note: This podcast is for education and personal growth; it is not therapy or a substitute for professional care.