It happens all the time in heaven,

And someday

It will begin to happen

Again on earth -

That men and women 

Often will get down on their knees

With tears in their eyes,

Will sincerely speak, saying,

My dear,

How can I be more loving to you;

How can I be more kind?


Hafez ( excerpt)

 

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

Beloved friends! Happy month of May  & Happy Full Moon!

Thank you so much for being alive, for being part of my life's journey in so many ways!

Greece is slowly stepping out of the quarantine but still, no one knows what this new reality will be like. What I hear from many is the struggle of the inner war between the mind and the heart.

The mind is afraid, wants to act, to predict, to go back to the "normal" past or project in a "normal " future. The heart wants to open, to trust, to love.

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

Ma is the first word we say. Ma-Ma is recognized from almost every human being in the world as the name we give to our first shelter. Our mother.

{Ma-Ma is a primordial mantra that I use in my teachings and connects us with Mother Love.}

Becoming a mom, 17 years ago was and is the greatest gift of my life. No matter the difficulties, the struggles, the work it needs to be a mother I would never change it as it taught me first of all to love my own mother unconditionally and to give her only gratitude. For she gave me life. 

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

There is an ancient breath breathing inside you.

She is longing to teach you how unique you are.

She carries gifts that can heal your wounds so you can lift the veil of your limited thoughts and remember your authentic myth.

It’s not about finding the meaning of life.
It’s about experiencing life as a sacred being in every breath you take.

Fully present. Fully loving. Fully forgiving. Fully grate-full.

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and tell me.

Can you feel your life is sacred?

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

My beloved friends and soul family,
I am safe with my son at home.
I pray, trust and hope that you are safe too.
Going straight to the point here.

I am here to support in any way I can
in this time of self-growth and radical collective changes.

I am an artist, a teacher, and a healer and
here is what I offer to you,
 with my deepest gratitude for our connection,
so you can keep a healthy body a calm mind and an uplifted spirit

All my group and private offerings are by donation
or free to those that are in need.

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
A time of subtraction A time of less is more The soul sings when the night falls The heart dances on a silent day
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

In every elder woman, I see my grandmother. Who’s the name I carry and it means mission.

Who was an intuitive healer at a small Greek village and taught me how to heal body and soul. Who was an artist of life, creating all kinds of artifacts. Who was singing and dancing every day just because she was alive and she inherited this gift to me.

Who was a true embodiment of Mother Earth feeding and nourishing her 9 children and 16 grandchildren. 

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
Dearest friends!   ༄ Happy New Year ༄ Blessings for a new decade full of Forgiveness, Gratitude, Love, Health, Abundance in all levels and most of all Blessings for a deep remembrance of our oneness with Spirit.
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
In case you want to receive inspiration on how to pray to the Full Moon, you can see two short videos I have created for you!
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
New Moon always has very potent energy for new beginnings, so let's create a small ritual, to invoke abundant love to come our way and focus on manifesting transformation. The purpose of this New Moon Ritual is to inspire you!  I encourage you to be creative and perform it as your heart desires!
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
These are my deepest self journeys at this time of my life, my dear beautiful friends. When I decide to write to you my heart beats faster as I am preparing to share my true presence with you. Working with so many people from around the world, giving my self fully to each and everyone in every retreat, performance or workshop, makes me realize that most of us face the same concern.
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
Creativity is an amazing tool to find happiness. It involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way. The way we "see" obstacles creates our reality - can be stagnant or playful and creative. Sometimes, what appears to be an obstacle is an opportunity to build something beautiful and new. 
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

 

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
What a beautiful Dream we can create from the gift of life that has been given to us! Keep evolving, keep seeing the dream you want to see of yourself and of all the web of life around you, keep embracing and softening your shadows and let the love and light come in more and more every day.
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
I started keeping day and night dream journals in my early 20's and later on, evolving as a spiritual artist and transformational retreat leader, I had the privilege to create performances, workshops, and retreats in the most significant Ancient Greek Theaters, Temples and Power Sites developing the physical and mental practices that would make their transformational powers available. Visiting a spiritual or energy site is not enough for us humans, to receive the healing or the answers we seek so here are some of my personal guidelines on how to approach and benefit from the sacred sites!
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

༄  Dear soulful friends, February is here and the birds start singing at dawn the awakening of Spring. It is also the month of my birthday,
( I am on the 8th)  so I thank you for being with me in the Happiness Retreats, or workshops or performances, or reading my words here!


༄  Tonight the beautiful New Moon on Aquarius is coming full of positive vibes, a great opportunity to set up new intentions 

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat
Dear soulful friends, Happy new year full of love, full of beautiful journeys to the world (and to the self) and full of Dreams! Every great Dream begins with a Dreamer! When we silent the mind and we open the eyes of the soul, we become Dreamers of Dreams where creativity and intuition are in perfect balance and we can create our life as we dream it.
Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄

Dear soulful friends, dear ones that we meet in the precious Happiness Retreats and the ones that we meet here once in a while.
I have been silent in the last two months, not sending news, thoughts, and insights as I was in a very dark and intimate period of my life. Nothing significant on the physical plane, all is well with my work, family, and health.

But 
What was going on inside me, on the soul level was a huge clearance of old patterns and mindsets that caused me a lot of mistrust and suffering.

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄
I think that I shall never see 
A poem lovely as a tree. 
A tree that looks at God all day, 
And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 
Poems are made by fools like me, 
But only God can make a tree.

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat

The Total Lunar Eclipse + Full Moon as seen from the Temple of Apollo Epicurius, Peloponnese, Greece.
photo Maria Toultsa

༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄ ༄

Dance into the light

Embrace your shadows tenderly tight 

Day and Night will both unite 

Under the infinite Awe of Light 

 

For this is the most perfect day

The time to rise up  and play 

With all there is and all it comes 

It’s  precious as the moon and stars 

Apostolia Papadamaki
Founder of The Happiness Retreat