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Joshua Canter is the founder of True Nature Education and True Nature Travels, pioneering the global travel and adventure culture, service, and educational travel industry for over a decade. He shares how he strives to connect the world through travel in this episode of Motivational Mondays.
Joshua felt isolated and disconnected as a teen, and always found himself hiking in the mountains. He left LA after high school and went to college in Oregon, where he found solace in the rivers and mountains. When he slowed down and focused on the environment around him, he remembered to keep an open heart, open mind, and live in the present.
In 2003, True Nature purchased its first property in Costa Rica. In 2004, Joshua led a college course on sustainable community development, where he learned how to facilitate programs while tending to his land. Then, it began to expand to courses on environmental sustainability, yoga, meditation, communication, and more.
The mission of True Nature is to create transformative experiences, allowing travelers to see the world through a lens of their own. The goal is to open the eyes, mind, and heart to one’s true self through experiential learning, service learning, adventure, and mindfulness.
The root of True Nature is an immersive experience that encourages people to look outside the box of their everyday life and realize that the world is limitless—and so are they. These experiences help plant the seeds of their dreams.
Joshua was introduced to mindfulness as a teacher when his grandmother gifted him a book called Be Here Now. Joshua was fascinated by the idea of just being. Our culture is so focused on planning for the future, crossing tasks off a list, and judging the past.
The basis of mindfulness meditation is focusing on one’s breathing. It brings you back to the present and allows you to open all of your senses. It’s about slowing down, grounding, and disconnecting from devices to reconnect with ourselves.
Mindfulness is also a compassion-based practice. Studies show that when you practice mindfulness, it opens a part of the mind that connects with the heart. Learn more about how Joshua strives to connect humanity through travel in this episode.
Listen to the bonus episode to learn what events helped Joshua know his business could be a success and his favorite True Nature stories.
Resources:
Read Be Here Now by Ram Dass
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