Walking my path. Stepping up to the plate. Leaving Crete.
- Ami Ji Schmid
- Jan 15
- 5 min read
The long title is due to this blog being long overdo. I apologize for that. First, my bruised ego stood in the way. Then, my insistent muse took over (my life). I am not complaining. Together, they were like my humbling lover (softening fertile ground and planting seeds) and my midwife (helping grow and push new life out, into the world). Still, it's been a while since my last blog. We (my ego, muse, and I) are now having a more balanced relationship, and I can answer the question on lots of peoples' minds... the question that has been rolling off peoples' tongues since November 11 (when the retreat ended)... the question I've been asked for these two-and-a-half months while I've remained in Crete (since the two-week retreat ended). And even now, the question asked while I'm in Turkey.
How was the retreat? This is a very good question. I have pondered my answer deeply and widely. What most helped me find clarity was creating a little recording of myself trying to answer this question. Here, I share with you the recording:
As you heard, I'll be teaching a seminar in the Netherlands the first week of July (2026) at the EPA (European Psychosynthesis Association) summer school. I am (beyond the proper expression of words) excited about this. It is a great honor that I was chosen as one of the four seminar leaders. Before your mind goes to thinking I must be well known and sought after, I will assure you that I wanted this so badly, I begged for it.
Growing up, my dad told me that when you want something, you need to... apply and reapply, tell the employer that you want this job, that this job needs to be yours, that it is yours... essentially, make it yours. So I did. I applied. I wrote follow-up emails. I answered questions and asked them to ask me more questions. I let them know that I was the right person for this job because I wanted it so much. And I got it.
I tell you this because many people (especially woman) think we need to know everything before we can step in and step up. Some (mostly men) take jobs they aren't fully qualified for, thinking they'll grow into the job - that they'll learn as they go. Many though (mostly women) will not even apply for a job they feel is above them. I am finding that my dad's advice is solid. As long as I have the basic requirements, and my passion is high, I can (at least try to) step in... and step up to a job.
People use the expression "step up to the plate." It's a baseball reference. Step up to the plate literally means, you can't (even try to) hit the ball until you step up to the (batter's) plate. Figuratively, it means stepping up to responsibility.
Gandhi said to be the change you want to see in the world. I am responsible for doing my part in creating the world's reality. First, I need to know what my part is. That's the "basic requirement." Then, I need to bring my part into the world. Passion (to bring myself into the world) is what fuels the will to help me step up to the plate. In psychosynthesis, we talk about the four parts of the will: the strong will (I commit to this), the good will (this is the right thing to do), the skillful will (I must know or learn certain things to follow this through), and the transpersonal or spirit-driven will (the Call to Self). All four aspects of the will are needed - all are equally important to follow through while walking our path to bringing ourselves into the world.
First, I must know my part. I just wrote a submission to the AAP (Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis) quarterly journal about that very subject. Want to read it? It's right here:
If you read that, you now know that I have recently completed writing two books and am in the process of writing a third... as part of an eBook series called Collective Heart Daily Wisdom: What we need to know (and practice) to become a compassionate world (the Daily Wisdom series, for short). Writing this eBook series is the second path I'm paving (or rather, gently yet firmly walking along) - the first path being teaching at the EPA summer school. Walking these two paths is me stepping up to the plate and bringing "my part" into the world.
If you want to know more about the eBook series, check out The Compassionate Revolution bookstore here: https://www.thecompassionaterevolution.org/category/e-book
While in Crete, I did more than write. This blog is a bit cumbersome now, and I've left Crete. Instead of asking you to read more (about my post-retreat time in Crete), I've put together this video for y'all. In the video, there are a couple of long clips, like a walk through the extraordinary (Saturday) open market (the clip drops you off at the Mediterranean Sea) in Chania, and the live Christmas song (performed by four Cretan boys in a butcher shop) in Kalyves. So, yeah, the video is long. I suggest you make some popcorn and hot cocoa and have a relaxing (and hopefully entertaining) sit while watching this one.
If you watched the video all the way through, you may have caught me saying I checked out (more) possible retreat venues. I know I said I'm not going to create my own retreats again. I hadn't made up my mind while staying open to the idea of another retreat in Crete next year. Now, I have made up my mind. That will not happen! Still, there are truly amazing retreat sites that individuals have created, and I'm honored to have seen a few more of them.
Also, (hopefully it goes without saying that) some of the best moments I had on Crete were not captured on film. Use your imagination to fill in the moments between camera clicks :) or, when I'm back home (after April 1) let's have tea and catch up.
One "moment" I thoroughly enjoyed (that didn't make it onto the video) was meeting a new friend, Michelle, and attending her art-astrology workshop. I made a(nother) little video about what I learned from Michelle, if you'd like to watch it...
Another event deserving at least this quick mention is that I was introduced to EES (Energy Enhancement System) and did a 2-hour session. I may talk more about this at some point. I will for sure check out where the closest EES is to Brattleboro when I'm back. And I for sure want to spend more time in Chania at the center I only spent 2-hours at. For now, you may want to read up on EES through the embedded link.
Ima stop here (before I end up writing a few more days worth of blog :). Next, I'll catch you up to where I currently am, cat-sitting for the cuddliest kitty I've met yet, in Antalya, Turkey!
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