Riding through sandstorms with daily delicacies, hips swinging, laughing, dancing, drumming and singing, being touched by breathtaking landscapes, warmth of heart and experiencing magical nights in the new moon of a very special time.

That was our desert time. A journey called: longing for origin. What happens when a caravan of 11 women, 5 nomads and 10 dromedaries makes its way through the desert?

Adventure! We still don't know where this journey is going. We have images in our heads, ideas of what could come our way and on this journey we quickly learn that things always turn out differently than we think. And that's just as well! In the desert we experience how powerful nature is and that one can humbly submit to its given timing.
Then the ego gets loud here and there.

Whether it's the sandstorms instead of the bright blue "imagined" postcard sky, my own health that suddenly gets in the way, the schedules that I can't keep, my own impatience, etc. My leadership is intuitive and wholehearted .

Together with my partner, a wise desert and human leader, who recognizes and sees almost every problem a person faces, he supports my women's work as a man in the background in a loving and intelligent way. And thanks to the exuberant and almost childlike joie de vivre of the nomads, this is the best learning ever for our mirror neurons! We become like children again, dancing and playing by the fire, and we laugh more than we have in ages. The hearts are opened, the inner voice is loud and finds space to be heard. In addition to joy, tears are allowed to flow, old triggers are allowed to surface and we come into contact with our compassionate side and support each other in our feminine power. A caravan of love.

And what could be better for a fulfilling life than to immerse yourself in the joy of life?

Wonderful, exhilarating, vibrant Marrakech

I'm in Marrakech a few days early and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the medina.

An explosion of vibrancy, colorful goods arranged without any system, lots of nice conversations on the streets, and charming attempts by the vendors to sell. And yes, I buy! It's nice that once you've bought or "given" something. The next day, a chair with tea is ready for me and I can relax. I eat my first pastilla , I happily get lost in the labyrinth of the medina and I am happy to have the way explained to me or to be accompanied to the next destination.
Because I have a really bad sense of direction. My group of women, who I promptly lead through Marrakech in the wrong direction on the way from the riad to the bus, immediately feel this. But my inner compass is well aligned for that!

At the end, one participant thanked me for my “chaotic creative leadership” and what a “cool dude” I was. Yes, it doesn't bother me much anymore and I'm still learning a lot about myself here. The old ego is sometimes still pretty loud. Awareness and presence in the silence of the desert landscape support all these processes and what is still sore and wants to be looked at becomes visible.

That's where healing begins. This is what we who are drawn to the desert also all want, consciously or unconsciously. We want to heal. But now it's time to get out of the hustle and bustle!
The next morning we sit in a comfortable bus and off we go!

YALLA!

8 hours drive over the Atlas are ahead of us!

Arrive in the small desert town of M'hamid.

In the middle of this small town there is a house in the heart of the city, a riad that feels like home.
Omar the owner always seems to attract the right people and I've made quite a few acquaintances with both travelers and locals there since then.

It was also always my refuge when my soul needed warmth. So I made a very clear decision to go to this place. Contrary to embellished tourist places. For me, authenticity and cordiality are the most important enablers! This house is warm, small, magical and fine. A very tasty couscous from Moroccan cuisine awaits us.
The first plan to go to the shop afterwards is immediately ruined, because after the meal Omar gets the bolts of fabric from the neighboring trader and cuts the cloths specially for each individual on site and teaches the ladies how to wrap a turban.

At the end of the journey, of course, everyone can wrap their turban!

The desert journey begins!

We walk down the street through the place that feels like something out of a western movie.

Dusty streets, rubbish swirling in the air (unfortunately, during a sandstorm, it spreads quickly over the entire street). Hardly anyone is on the road. After a 15-minute walk we are at the square with the dromedaries and the other nomads. So gradually the excitement increases. We watch the packing of the dromedaries and set off. We take turns riding. So gradually we leave civilization. A dog follows us, a couple of cats look tired from their corners. Today is divided into two parts:
First we come to a nice place for lunch and rest.
From then on, what is conjured up every day from the kitchen tent is actually a gourmet meal. Personally, I have never eaten so tasty in the desert. They are culinary delights in a class and prepared with so much love!

Rested after lunch, everyone is saddled back onto the dromedaries and headed deeper into the desert for a few hours.
The first day is where we walk the most. I already have the impression that the still very nice weather is changing. And when I asked if that would happen, I got the answer: Inshallah. Which means something like: God willing. (For me that usually means: let's hope it's in God's hands). And thats how it is! We humans can only adapt and the quicker we get along with it, the easier our life will be. The fact that nature is mightier than our small will is so noticeable in the desert. We learn to be humble as human beings.

The weather changes and we get our first lesson

In the evening, after walking two stages, we arrive quite tired.
I'm glad that it still gives me some time to stretch out and stretch out together with part of the group.
The other part lies exhausted somewhere between the dunes and enjoys the evening atmosphere.

Then it's really, really fast!

The sun goes down and it gets dark quickly.
Everyone needs a tent quickly and has to choose their sleeping place. Apparently there are not enough tents? At least that's what I hear from a participant from afar. I don't think so, but I give up my single tent and get up and go into the big tent. And wait a minute.
Don't interfere with me. I hadn't even noticed the whole new situation outside: An upcoming sandstorm made it difficult to set up the tents and one tent even blew away! “Our men” help to find a place and to set it up.
It's their job. And that's also why I don't get involved at all and try not to take responsibility. The former organizer Nora is allowed to leave the field to others (the men). Little by little, everyone comes into the big tent, where we wait for our food, sheltered from the sandstorm, and begin our round of introductions. It's such a strong wind outside that it's all the more surprising that the food is unbeatable once again. So I don't think I have to do that again from now on. Because this applies to all the food here in the desert! Prepared even in the sandstorm! How? This is inexplicable to us. And it is so delicious that even almost all vegetarians enjoy eating meat as an exception.

The caravan moves on happily

The morning mood in the desert is cold and the warming rays of sunshine that open the day make us look forward to the new day with joy. The storm is over and a covered breakfast carpet with coffee, tea, bread, cheese, jam and honey is waiting outside. The sun shines pleasantly. But not for long. Because when we leave, we can get to know the moody side of the desert again. The sandstorm is getting stronger and a few women are having trouble walking today and cannot walk because they are ill. With the hip, with the knee and with a cold. In step with the dromedaries and cloth-covered faces we move on. I'm running behind and have to be careful not to lose touch with the group. I make little films. Suddenly I don't see the caravan anymore. They have disappeared on the horizon in the sand fog. Then I see Mustafa light up with his red cloth.

There is always someone waiting for you.

I wish everyone to experience such a sandstorm once.

He humbles us. I love this feeling and the changing colors. The coming together. “Wearing through the storm” together. This is travel. The path is always a symbol for life. It is like it is. Not every day is a sunny day. And sometimes you just have to go through something, leave your comfort zone and endure something. Whereby a 7 meter long cloth is already quite helpful for sand storms. Just as life goes on, our caravan moves on to the next place, where everything is unpacked and later packed again.

This time we come to a place and are lucky enough to see a herd of camels roaming the countryside with their young.
So many big and small impressions that touch your heart! Suddenly I see a nomad dressed in bright pink walking by with a couple of dromedaries.
This picture is so awesome!

I like that! A man unexpectedly appears out of nowhere who enjoys colorful clothing and his walk tells me how much he enjoys it! That looks gorgeous! We women could learn that by observing: enjoying the swing of our hips while walking, the joy of walking through life colorfully and visibly. Simply enjoy. Every moment. With my lessons I wait for my dear women until they return from the herd to practice dance into femininity with them.
We stand in a circle and practice cymbal circles, eight circles, shimmys and the pleasurable erection of a queen. With beautiful music out of the box. The nomads sit a little further away in a circle and watch us.
And again the dromedaries with tripping steps are added to our women's circle. I have to laugh so much. The animals and us. Anyway, we all have a lot of fun!

Forget your imaginations and don't ask what's next!

It is in us that we like to have ideas, think up programs and of course like to have them implemented and fulfilled. And if this doesn't happen, then we immediately feel that we're lacking, which says: I hadn't imagined it that way! Why don't I get what I imagined?

That's what I love about the desert!
Because the desert constantly shows us that things are different than we think!

This is where I really get my strength! I am endowed with Sicilian roots that can handle it very well. Improvising has always been one of my strengths and my drive. Everything according to plan is boring.

The surprise of the unexpected brings life. I start with an idea and let myself be guided without wanting or having to stick to anything!
Of course I have a lot of training and over 30 years of experience as a theater woman, dancer, teacher and organizer of festivals, concerts and plays. Of course you need a plan! I use programs of all kinds on the fly.
But in the desert I let myself be guided and take what comes and feel what suits me.

Nature guides us and not us, nature!

My way of leading seems haphazard to the obvious. My fellow travelers were really good at getting involved because they felt it was the right thing to do.

Instead of morning yoga there was dancing along the way. Instead of announced silence, there was suddenly music on the way. In the evening Maddo tells me why he had the impulse to turn up the music. He spoke about his observations and experiences. About the fact that most people are afraid of silence and after a while their thoughts revolve around the negative. He saw this happen to some and gave us the ultimate desert sound of Tinariwen. I laughed out loud sitting on my dromedary! Because it was THE day I asked the group to be in silence with themselves until lunch...

• Again, it turns out differently than you think!
• And that's just as well!
• Go with what is.
• And dance at every opportunity!
  

I've heard of groups that try to stubbornly stick to a plan they've brought with them and ignore the outside world.
In times past, I sometimes felt the feeling of impatience from participants. But I just let it happen and don't interfere.
People have to confront their own dissatisfaction
in order to be able to figure it out on their own.
Only that will bring change. It doesn't need any words or requests, from anyone!

Ultimately, it's also about growing with challenges, and these are different for everyone!
They can come from within or be triggered by external circumstances.

Allowing yourself to be in the moment increases with practice.
And when that is there, then there is also a lot different there. Then suddenly ideas come out of nowhere. Then there might be suppressed topics that have been wanting to be looked at for so long.

It goes on and on, step by step, like in life, even if we sometimes don't recognize the way, we can learn to trust.

What we women can learn again

We run to gyms to tighten our stomachs and harden our cores.
But there are much more pleasurable methods to strengthen your core.
We want to keep the same weight for life by hook or by crook, stress ourselves out with it
and noticeably lose the fun with our body.

Femininity is also relaxation.
Men like relaxed women. And they like women who recognize their own worth.

Women who know their uniqueness and take their place as queens. Women who are not dogmatic and who can sometimes feast with relish. This is beauty! This is how beauty works. In our womb lies all the life that we give birth to, all the creative power, everything that receives, gives and nourishes.

In the desert, I consciously accompany women in these ancient teachings of body work and in the primal dance of femininity.
An invitation to enjoy the body in a sensual way, to make friends with the scathing self-evaluations that only lead us to feel constantly unfulfilled.
The way to get there is through inner feeling, with dance helping enormously. I like to challenge my wives to wear lipstick and nice clothes while dancing in the middle of the desert.
To make yourself beautiful and to express your own appreciation.

That “does” something to you! With music we support feelings.

We fill our breasts and pelvis with life and consciousness, and shake ourselves free. Accept and enjoy everything that wobbles. We learn to talk to the body and express ourselves with it instead of forcing it into shapes. Dancing is all a woman needs to release the energies trapped in the body.
It is the elemental power and spirituality of women.
And that's what we're doing here in the desert. We ground ourselves and create a new self-confidence for our femininity.

I know it sounds pretty strange when I claim that
in a Muslim country of all places, women come into their female power.

Why am I saying this?

We create a field that we have so forgotten in our world. At home we are mothers, wives, businesswomen and, with additional optimization mania, we juggle exhaustedly between doing, doing, giving and the demands placed on ourselves by the perfect woman.

But what is womanhood anyway? What do we do and what not?

• We have lost some of the magic of our femininity.
• We keep trying to do everything, to control, and are no longer able to receive.
• We run into yoga studios and stand in the "warrior", hold the "stance" here again and increasingly stiffen the pelvis.
• We no longer feel our sensuality, have forgotten how to play and flirt with our breasts and hips.
• There is hardly a trace left of reception and devotion.
• We have forgotten how important it is that women need to be themselves from time to time
  in order to strengthen their power and to connect and trust.
  
  Yes, but…
  Yes, there is machismo in Morocco, there is so much disturbing, and everything you hear and a lot you don't know.
  I was able to experience all facets there firsthand, so that today I can move quite well between lies and fraud, honest-minded people and open hearts.

A man from the desert said to a man from the West:
You have forgotten that woman is the source of all beings.
In woman we honor the beginning of the world, the primeval mother of all life

Ameokal Alhavi

Here we women are lovingly cared for by the young nomads.

It's how I imagine the relationship between a man and a woman:
the man holds and protects the woman.
The woman is like the water in the bowl.
Her emotions are sometimes playful, sometimes impulsive, etc. She is allowed to feel safe and carried.
Man is so strong and can hold woman in her emotions.
He honors her and appreciates being a woman with the knowledge that it is the woman who gave birth to him.

It is the feeling of this natural order between man and woman that we experience here.

In the culture of the nomads, the man is often on the move and the women are on their own.
The men also have their own world, their own coming together.
Just like women have.
I find that empowering for both sexes.
This way they can get together better afterwards.
My desert journeys open exactly this exchange.

This field is thirsty and needs a lot of strengthening!

Again and again I am so touched to feel how strong and unique our common field was
under the protection of these men.

Dusk breaks and the magic of the night awakens!

At a certain point we have to choose our sleeping places.

The sun goes down fast here in Africa. Every woman has her small tent or sleeps in the big tent. The best place to sleep is in the open air. But that too must be decided before the stars rise in the sky. This pre-evening ritual reminds me of a story from a book by Carlos Castaneda. There the protégé is asked by shamans to find his place. That has so much symbolic power. FIND HIS PLACE. Every day anew. The nomads set up their small cooking tent and first make tea for us.
Farther away they set up the place for nightly gatherings.

When I get to the square, tears well up in my eyes from emotion!
Everything is done with so much love! A fire is surrounded by large red carpets and lanterns have been made from the plastic bottle waste,
transforming the square into a magical field.
The sense of dignity, beauty and detail in the desert is unique to me.
We sit by the fire and let the conversation run free.
Embers emerge from the fire. The bread is baked in it for the evening and for the next morning.

After the gourmet meal, there will be drumming and singing and clapping to the beat.
Everything that is there, from canisters to clinking glasses, serves as a drum.
We gradually fall into a trance-like state that leaves no room for gloomy thoughts.

It increases, we slide together and the music and the rhythms of Africa have cast a spell over us. In the course of the evenings, the last dam bursts on the 4th night.
We are no longer spectators, but right in the middle. We laugh so much.
So much heart opening, so much love for all of us, our WE. No matter what color of skin, what language we speak, understanding is always the laughing heart, music, dance, singing and fun games.

I have to leave the group for a moment because I'm crying.
Crying because I almost can't stand this love. I will already miss our little desert group!

I think this trip is really priceless!
There are so many layers in it. No amount of talking to a therapist will help you feel life that way again!
So much vitality is kindled, so much joie de vivre, maybe even new visions.
We were also so fortunate to experience this desert date of March 21, 2023, where we
spent the turning point in human history in the new moon on the star-drenched desert night.

What magic! The astrologer Silke Schäfer describes this time of humanity as follows:

As you appear at this time, your gifts will awaken and empower others as well.
You know it when you feel: We are many.
Use your gifts. The gifts of dance, song, humor, joy, love.
By tending your garden, you create the powerful surge of change. You will transcend all boundaries of duality and division and
give birth to the miracle of unity and peace on Earth.

Silke Schaefer

The farewell and letting go of this time happens in stages

First stop is again in Mhamid with Omar.
There we have lunch, pack our bags and go to a hammam in the village.
I don't want to describe this now... hahaha ! And yet it was one of the most impressive experiences we had together with the group at the end.
It's our little secret and I know it always cracks us up when we think about it! The experience was so surprisingly wonderful!

The journey continues for 2.5 hours to Agdz, where we spend the night in a beautiful oasis.
You become so much more aware of the beauty.
All women have changed to a greater or lesser extent.
Some really shine! Walking through the desert together in a caravan creates a bond.
We will always keep this adventure in our hearts!

The next day, the last stage goes to Marrakech.
There is still a bit of shopping there. It's Ramadan and the shops are suddenly closed in the evening.

I will miss this lively hustle and bustle!
And the merriment on the streets, the conversations with strangers.
Of course also our group of women and the desert people.

Back in Germany, the heart cold hits you in the face.
At the train station, I notice all the more how much unfriendliness and dissatisfaction prevails here.
I feel what it must be like when a foreigner enters our country.

Our rich Germany. The question is: what constitutes wealth?

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