At the cutting edge ...

Our guest speaker this week is Yannis Andricopoulos, Ph D. Yannis is co-founder of Skyros, the leading alternative holiday, and author of several books including his trilogy In Bed with Madness, The Greek Inheritance and The Future of the Past (Imprint Academic).

Here Yannis reflects on how Skyros is at the cutting edge of modern holidays...

It’s often the plainest of details that take over our lives, blinding us to the larger picture which simply fades from view.

I’m talking here from personal experience. I live by the sea, which has always been my dream, but absorbed in my everyday work, I don’t even notice it! Part of my world are the robins and red squirrels that play in the garden, yet often I don’t see them because I’m preoccupied with one issue or another! And for years I have been in a great relationship but often I fail to appreciate it because I’m consumed by the day’s ups and downs.

The reasons for my failures always seem to make good sense. You can’t really miss the day’s deadlines, can you? If you do, the roof comes down! But in the process and without even realising it, your life is determined by all these details, destined to be forgotten and the beauty of the larger picture is as hidden as the sun on a rainy day.

The same has been happening to my relationship with Skyros. I focus, for example, on the films David Babsky is making with some Skyros facilitators, the re-making of the Skyros facebook page, the Skyros video film Nick Cohen is finalising, the request of an Australian journalist for information on our salsa courses in Cuba, the BBC’s Nick Easen asking about the situation in Greece, the partial renovation of the Atsitsa building and so on.

What, as a result, do I miss? Not the beauty of the Skyros vision which is in my blood, but the importance of this vision in the contemporary world. The latter was thankfully brought home to me recently by a few journalists. It was a sudden occurrence so swift that I felt as stunned as Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, when he was hit on the head by a tile thrown at him from a rooftop by a woman!

One of these journalists was Kate Birch, editor of the UAE magazine Acquarius. She wrote: "The 'fly and flop' holiday is so passé… These days smart women are taking edu-vacations, where learning - not lounging - is the name of the game". The prime example she used to illustrate her story was the "world-renowned" Skyros Writers’ Lab.

Then it was the London Evening Standard’s Jasmine Gardner. She wrote: "Holidaymakers with money are shunning hotel ostentation in favour of more simple, unique experiences. They are moving from gold taps to simple pleasures, from more choices to curated ones, from money-no-object to value, from conspicuous to considered. In a world of über-choice people want what they can't buy so easily - experience".

But, of course, this is exactly what Skyros is and always has been!

And then The Guardian emphasised the importance of values-led businesses and the difficulties they face in the current economic climate. The issue was how those entities that generate social value can be supported without losing, as a result, sight of their values if, of course, and when they are taken over by multinationals with an eye to the right opportunity.

All the above are the criteria by which a contemporary cutting edge enterprise is judged. And all these criteria are easily met by Skyros. For Skyros is an educational holiday which, apart from various skill-development courses it offers, cultivates and stimulates the desire for something more substantial: to be rather than have, create rather than consume and grow rather than just exist. In the pursuit of this goal, it advocates a simple way of life away from conspicuous consumption and ostentatious living and upholds the virtues of the human spirit as opposed to those of our materialistic, consumer, technocratic culture.

Skyros has no gurus to preach the ‘truth’ and does not intend to provide answers. But by questioning and challenging our culture’s assumptions, it helps people to get in touch with their gut feelings and do what they need to do to lead a happy and fulfilling life.

Is this all news to me? Of course not! But involved on a daily basis with the nitty-gritty of the enterprise, I had overlooked the fact that Skyros is once again at the cutting edge of the current thinking and, as it happens, the holiday world. It is in vogue again as it has been for years since the very beginning, back in 1979, the time it opened the path to what is now known as educational holidays which inspired hundreds of other holiday ventures and influenced the thinking of even multinational holiday operators.

Skyros, The Guardian wrote, is still the leader – ‘the first and still the best’. I can, somehow, see it better now that I can see the whole forest again, the sky, the ground, the sea on the side and the mix of all the details that create the very unique experience that is Skyros. Rather than bits, I can hear again the whole symphony. And the big picture isn’t just the endpoint, the arrival at the dream; it’s also the launchpad for future developments.

Wow, I never thought I would say one day "Do you want to be trendy? Then take a Skyros holiday"!

Skyros runs holidays in Greece this season from July. For a copy of your brochure call 01983 865566, or email the team at holidays@skyros.com.

Alternatively, for more information about Skyros, including how it all began, visit www.Skyros.com.

Skyros - a holiday to take home with you.

Our Guest Speaker this week is Jenny Denton. Jenny went on her first Skyros holiday in 2007, where she got a taste of the Skyros community way of living - in which everyone has a part to play.

Here Jenny shares the story of how, on her return from Skyros, she set up a local community group which now has over 100 members and continues to go from strength to strength.

The Skyros Holidays brochure talks about offering a transformative experience and a taste of community whose function depends on the participants and the staff. The fantastic thing about my visit to Skyros was that not only did it transform my own life, but also undoubtedly the lives of so many of the people who live in my local area. People repeatedly tell me how the ideas and initiatives that I brought back with me have touched their lives and those of their families.


I came to Atsitsa for the first time in 2007 and then again the following year. During my second visit I took the opportunity at Demos (the morning community meeting where thoughts and news are shared) to tell everyone about how I had taken the Skyros spirit home to my own street and started to develop a local group – the Wheeldon Avenue Group – now the Six Streets Group….


The Six Streets Group

Six Streets is a not-for-profit, non-political and non-religious community group. It exists to increase neighbourliness and friendship. It began with the 'Wheeldon Avenue Group', started in 2007 when one resident (me!) had the simple idea of posting letters through every door in my street asking if anyone would be interested in getting together over some communal activities. And many were, with several people saying that they had always wanted to do something like that but never had.  They hadn’t been to Skyros!

Over the last four years, the community group has grown and transformed – it now even boasts its own website and forum. It includes book groups and walking groups, street sales and community picnics; plus funds have also been raised so that events such as Christmas and Halloween parties can take place, along with a newsletter to keep people in touch.


An important theme throughout its development has been the way people have been able to help each other out - from babysitting or sharing DIY tips, to lifts to the station or sharing a veg patch. Something that I wrote in my letter to me on both years I was at Skyros (Skyros participants are encouraged to write to themselves explaining how they feel at that moment, so they can read back at a later date) was that I had learned that you must not judge people and that everyone has something to offer. This is something that is central to the Six Streets Group and has proved true over and over again.

This Christmas we held an annual Christmas party with about 100 residents! At the beginning of December 2011 we launched our first living Advent Calendar with 28 households unveiling a display in their front window on an allocated date.  Plus 2012 looks to hold just as much excitement, with a highlight being the Six Streets Group latest initiative – an Art’s Trail.

The Six Streets’ aim is to build a spirit of community, bringing people in the area together to develop a sense of neighbourliness, shared community and reduced isolation. I cannot encourage other Skyros participants enough, to think about doing something similar!


With thanks to Skyros for the inspiration,
Jenny Denton


Jenny is a brilliant example of how Skyros Holidays can have a positive effect on your life. We are all at The Skyros Holidays office, truly inspired by Jenny's motivation and enthusiasm, and privelledged to have played a role in such an inspiring community.


Skyros Holidays will be running holidays in Greece from 21 July - 21 September, and weekend workshops at The Grange by the Sea throughout the year. See www.skyros.com for more.

Skyros photography and painting facilitator Kel Portman to appear on BBC's 'Countryfile.'

View Sunday 4th March! Skyros Holiday's photography and painting facilitator Kel Portman will soon be seen chatting to 'Countryfile' presenter Ellie Harrison, as together they draw the beautiful rolling hills of Gloucestershire.

Kel has led photography and art classes on Skyros island in Greece as well as Cambodia and Thailand. Kel is formerly a senior lecturer in printmaking, photography and digital arts. His teaching process is based on working with the individual and helping to expand creativity through projects and exercises with feedback and encouragement. He works with other artists, groups and communities on projects initiated by his landart collective 'Walking the Land'. These aim to raise awareness of the value of our landscape. Kel's images are exhibited widely in the UK and abroad.

"We wanted to get Ellie (the Countryfile presenter) fully involved with what we do, rather than just talking" said Kel. "One of the techniques we use to help develop artist's processes is to get them to draw by really looking at the subject, rather than at the drawing. Something of a shock for Ellie, but she worked hard at it, producing a really nice drawing."

While enjoying the walk and views, Ellie was introduced to several Walking the Land artists and encouraged to experience different ways of creatively responding to the environment, using drawing, photography and of course walking.

Walking the Land artists regularly take to the Cotswold Hills in order to both enjoy the outdoors and to make artwork, drawings and photographs of this lovely areas. Each share a passion for the landscape, using artworks to bring landscape and environmental issues to a wider public audience.

Kel has worked with Skyros for the past 14 years where he regularly teaches painting and photography. His next Skyros session will be out to Cambodia in early 2013 where together with Michael Eales he will co-lead the Cambodian Adventure Tour. The journey starts in Phnom Penh, Battambang and then on to the World Heritage sites at Ankor Watt where Kel will guide you through the process of making drawings, paintings and taking photos at the amazing temple complex at Angkor Wat, in street markets and out in the lush jungle. See www.skyros.com.

Love Your Body, Love Your Life

Our guest speaker this week is Katrina Love Senn. Yogini, teacher, author, and lover of food, travel & style, she spends all her time inspiring others to love their bodies so that they too can create a life that they love.

Katrina teaches with Skyros Holidays in Greece and this Spring she is running her course 'Love Your Body, Love Your Life at Skyros offshoot, The Grange in the Isle of Wight.


My journey to self love began from a place of self loathing, apathy and despair. I had just had a physical break down, I was 60 pounds overweight and I was totally disconnected from what I really wanted from my life.
This place of discomfort, as gut wrenching as it was, was my starting point....

My life looks very different today
I am happy to say that my life today, looks very different to the way it once was.
I have successfully healed the addictions that were destroying my life. I lost all the excess weight I was carrying and have kept it off for over 12 years now. I left a myriad of meaningless work experiences behind me and now do work that I love. I have co-created a healthy and loving relationship with the man I adore. I have created absolute freedom in my life so that I can spend most of my time building my business, pursuing my creative interests and travelling the world.

So how did I manage to so radically turn my life around? I think one of the most important abilities that I have cultivated, was learning how to love myself. Not in an egotistical sense, but from a place of deep compassion, appreciation and kindness.
Interestingly, through my work it is now one of the main areas that I help other women to master for themselves.

In this article I am going to share 3 simple ideas that made a huge difference to my life and that can radically assist you on your path to building self-love.

1. Loving yourself begins with your thoughts.
Bring your attention to your thoughts. Are they supportive or are they critical?
The kinder and more loving your thoughts, the higher your self esteem levels will be. The more negative and fearful your thoughts, the lower your self-esteem will be.
If you are like most people, self-love is not something that you were taught at school or something that you can just absorb from your culture.
It can be helpful to examine and release any negative cultural and social conditioning in your life.
As you do this, you will be creating space for new and more helpful thoughts to emerge. You will leave behind the restriction of pain and instead step into the realm of possibility of courage, dreams and freedom.

2. Stop comparing yourself to others
Comparing yourself to others is one of the biggest challenges to developing, practicing and embodying self-love. When you compare yourself to others, you overlook your own unique skills and attributes.
If you find yourself doing this in your own life, realize that you can change how you feel by changing your thinking.
Replace your comparison thoughts, with different ones. Instead of comparing yourself to others, embrace yourself, your strengths and your passions. Put your energy into becoming even better and doing more of what you truly enjoy!
Focus on who you are, as well as your unique skills, what you enjoy doing and what you already do well.

3. Show gratitude and appreciation to your challenges
Your challenges are asking you to pay attention in your life. They are demanding that you do something different, so be grateful to them. The faster you can appreciate your challenges, the faster you can move forward to living the life you really dream of.
Instead of fighting your challenges, try embracing them with gratitude instead. Let them remind you to step deeper into self-love.
As C.S. Lewis eloquently says, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Your challenges actually bring a seed of opportunity to grow into who you are capable of becoming. Let your challenges be your doorway to self love. Remember that it is only when the wind blows that trees really begin to build up their strength.
Your challenges are what will catapult you to seeking a new way of being in life.

You can learn to love yourself.
Self-love is a stance that you must take for yourself. Usually transformation and change happen when you are sick of the suffering, discomfort and pain that come from ‘not loving’ yourself.
When you begin to deeply love yourself, then you give yourself permission to start creating and living your dream life right now.

****

If you would like to learn more about cultivating the art of self-love, Katrina is running her course “Love Your Body, Love Your Life” at The Grange on the Isle of Wight in the UK. It is a weekend course from the March 16th -18th 2012. Places tend to sell out on Katrina's course so reserve your place as soon as possible by calling Jenni on 01983 867644. See www.skyros.com

A place of tranquility and healing.......

A Skyros Holidays facilitator for many years, Kate Daniels writes here about her experience of life on Skyros island in Greece. Kate combines a background in theatre and jazz singing with being a family therapist, consultant and teacher at the Tavistock Institute.

Kate will be running her course 'Walk Tall, Feel Fabulous' at The Grange in the Isle of Wight from 18 to 20 May.

It is 2.30 in the afternoon. I am having a late lunch outside a bar in Linaria – the tiny port of Skyros island in Greece. I am alone. A beautiful and gracious young waiter has brought me my meal and disappeared. I have cut a lemon and squeezed the juice over my fish. Tomatoes soak plump and shiny in green virgin olive oil.

Everything has closed for the afternoon. Nothing stirs. The square is gleaming white in the sunshine. The sea shimmers. The stillness is almost palpable. If I reach out I can touch it, but I don’t want to move. My very breath will unsettle the air. If I close my eyes I can perhaps click a shutter and capture this peace...



Far away, somewhere, I know there is drama and crisis. Somewhere I know it feels as though the world has gone mad. The centre cannot hold... Not here. Here it feels safe. This ancient island is enduring and timeless. The azure sea enfolds its shores protecting it from human squalls on the mainland and beyond.



Day follows day in a happy routine indifferent to the blustering of the world.

Tomorrow old Stamatis will lead his donkey to the olive grove. Elderly ladies in black skirts will sweep and wash their steps as they do every morning while the kittens chase soapy bubbles among the cobbles of the lanes.



Vasso will emerge from the kitchen with great platters of food which we will devour, gossiping idly in the shade of the grapevine.



In the evening, we will sit on the terrace with a glass of wine and watch the sun settle over the hills. Christos will open his bar to serve glasses of golden Greek liqueur, and we will dance under the stars.
 


The slow, gentle rhythm of life on Skyros Island will continue and I, who have travelled from the chaos of a London airport, will step to its pace.



So too my fellow travellers, those Skyros Centre participants who have come here to shed the demands of their worlds beyond the Aegean, to play and learn, swim and lie in the sun, laugh, relax and make friends. Feel nurtured.



Skyros is such a place of tranquillity and healing in the midst of all the raging storms around us. Come and see.



Kate Daniels

Skyros Holidays, 'the first and still the best' alternative holiday (The Guardian) offers holidays with a wide range of courses including yoga, writing, life skills, windsurfing, sailing, art, music and much more. Do as much or as little as you want. Relax and enjoy the good food and great company.