Combining science and spirituality in an amazing week in Germany

We are in a powerful and transformative time, celestially. This weekend marked four important energetic events – it was the end of the Hindu holiday Pitr Paksha, a time of healing ancestral wounds; it was the New Moon in Libra; it was a solar eclipse; AND, today begins the nine days of Navaratri, which is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the feminine divine. As a teacher of mine shared with me yesterday, right now is an incredible opportunity to recalibrate your life. Embrace the cleansing power of shedding self-limiting beliefs and outdated attitudes. Remember that your personal growth contributes to the collective healing process.

I woke up this morning with a drive and motivation to re-start my blog posts. I have always planned to do so. It is so important for me to write and to share my stories with those who resonate with them. But I have been focused on an intense inward spiritual journey for the last few years, and while I have had moments of inspiration and outward focus, especially at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, in which I blogged regularly, over the last year, I have been much more internally focused.

But I am feeling inspiration again to share. Last week was particularly magical for me. I was invited to give a talk on my research at a scientific conference in Frauenchiemsee. It is this tiny little island in Lake Chiemsee in Germany (south of Munich). The island is so small that you can walk around the whole thing in about fifteen minutes. The conference was held in a monastery run by nuns that was built in the 8th century. Most of the conference site did not have wifi connection. There were just fifty of us, all science researchers in the field of microtubules in neurons. We were there from Sunday to Thursday.

It was incredible.

This was the first time I had been invited to give a talk on my research at a conference since COVID, since I left BC for BU, since my whole outlook on my life changed. I used to travel and give talks all the time. Too much, one might say. And so I retreated from the world for the last few years. And I wasn’t sure when or how I would get back out there. This was the perfect way to do it.

It was so stunningly beautiful and serene and relaxing but also engaging and rejuvenating. All the participants were kind and thoughtful and warm and welcoming. I had such a great time thinking about science with them. The view of the lake outside my window was gorgeous. I saw beautiful sunrises and sunsets on the lake every day. And the week also came at a time when being away from my home and taking some space for myself was exactly what I needed.

One morning, another colleague and I even woke up at 6AM and joined the nuns to listen in on their morning religious service. It was all in German, but the singing was beautiful.

I came back home late this past Thursday evening feeling grounded and enthusiastic and centered again. I’m feeling so positive about life right now. I look forward to sharing more in the coming months.