How does one walk to the Moon? Part 3

Okay folks, here it is, the secret of how Little Tessa walks to the moon. Are you ready? You better brace yourself, there's some real life magic right here.

Stop 3: Bali

I have never been to Bali, but I wanted to for many years. The peace and calm that emanates from the island was very attractive to the tense and unrelaxed twenty-something Tessa. I felt I could learn a lot from these balanced and harmonious Indonesian people who spend much time offering flowers and other beautiful things as a sign of gratitude for life and living. And I'd read Eat, Pray, Love many times.

Little Tessa finds her way across the world to the beautiful island of Bali in time for their full moon ceremony, Purnama

I used to consider myself a sort of hippy, an identity I no longer choose but at the time it felt like I was taking a superior stance. I was chasing some kind of ‘higher power’ or something sacred that was outside of myself, but in reality I felt incomplete as I was.

In The Girl Who Walked to the Moon, Little Tessa goes to Indonesia and discovers that SHE is holy, and whole. She is complete, like the full moon, just as she is, with all her faults and foibles and darker parts. Humans are sacred, exactly as we are.

The lotus is a beautiful flower that grows from muddy waters, a real light in the dark

I want my children to grow up knowing that there is nothing WRONG with them. That there is so much beauty in our imperfections. And that our dark sides are what make us complete. We can learn to love ALL of ourselves.

So I don’t need to go to Bali, Little Tessa did the job for me in the book. I don’t need to look outside of myself for what I need to be happy. I have my Little Tessa inside of me that reminds me I am whole and brilliant just as I am. So no more hankering for a hippy harmony holiday in Indonesia.

But I love surfing and I hear they’ve got some great waves.

Where next Little Tessa?

How does one walk to the Moon? Part 2

So I bet you're wondering how on earth Little Tessa walks to the Moon? Well here's the second piece of the puzzle, found buried in the depths of the Amazon jungle. Magic.

Stop 2: Peru

When I grew up and left home I forgot about my plan for an exciting life. I grew to mistrusted myself and the world and turned from a confident young mountain adventurer into an anxious and indecisive twenty-something. Sound familiar? At my lowest and most directionless point I needed medication and therapy to cope with my worries that didn't really exist. Not cool at all.

Luckily my Little Tessa, who was hanging on to my dreams for me, shouted out for help and bought me to the Amazon jungle in Peru to kick this fear in the butt once and for all, hooray! I came to Tierra Mitica, an amazing happiness research centre and jungle community of the most mythic, open-hearted people I have ever met. They learned much of what they know from the Shipibo – a traditional Peruvian jungle tribe.

Little Tessa in blue with her jungle family

The Shipibo work with the Ayahuasca plant for its medicinal properties. They hold ceremonies for people to heal all sorts of ailments, physical, mental and emotional. These happen under the full moon for the light it provides and the special energy it creates. Tierra Mitica no longer work with the ayahuasca plant, but they do use the wisdom of the Grandma Ayahuasca (it’s spirit) to help people learn about themselves and how they can be happy, powerful beings.

Little Tessa's Grandma believes that she can do anything she chooses

In The Girl Who Walked to the Moon, the Shipibo help Little Tessa to fight an imaginary snake (made from her very own pigtail plait), and in doing so she discovers her true power. And that she no longer needs to be scared. Yeeha! The snake doesn't completely disappear, but is a friendly reminder to Little Tessa that it is she who chooses to be powerful every day.

"The vision has shown what she needed to see, the great strength and power in the space-girl to be"

I visit Peru and Tierra Mitica almost every year and I can’t recommend anything more for your own happiness. I have learned that I have the power to love myself truly, and to give myself the exciting life I’ve always dreamed of. This is where The Happy Book Company was envisioned, and so represents a very important stopping point on my own journey to the Moon.

Little Tessa creating magic in Peru

How does one walk to the Moon? Part 1

So I bet you’ve been thinking to yourself all day: how on earth does little Tessa WALK to the moon? Well wonder no longer my friend, here is how I have walked my way to the launchpad of my dreams, starting in the USA.

Stop 1: North America

When I was 4 I went on a plane for the first time to the USA. I remember being so excited that I asked Mum if we were there yet when we got off the terminal transfer train at Heathrow. Mum was less excited. We went skiing in Colorado as a super loving family of 4: Me, Mum, Dad and my older sister Sarah. It was the most fantastic adventure.

Little Tessa loves adventuring and exploring new places - in blue coats

We skidded into Fort Whippersnapper like James Bond agents on skis, and ran round in the snow hunting for fools gold. We whooshed through yurts and warmed our mitts drinking hot chocolate in Native American style teepees. We bought warm cinnamon cookies from a shack at the bottom of the piste and ate blueberry muffins in the morning (cake for breakfast!) After a fun-packed day on the mountain we made paper projects out of the maps and stickers we’d found whilst watching cartoons on Nickelodeon. I was so inspired creating books based on our explorations of the day and imagining what great adventures we would have tomorrow.

Little Tessa adventures to the desert in North America to discover what the Natives can teach her about the moon

As the birth-place of my desire to dream of exploration and adventure, the USA had to be the first stop on Little Tessa's walk to the Moon. Here Little Tessa meets the Navajo, Native Americans who encourage her to dream huge dreams for her life. Under the moon they create a magical place for her to decide with strong intention that she will make them come true, taking her first steps towards lift-off.