7 Tips for Buying Meaningful Travel Treasures!

There is a sense of freedom, curiosity and playfulness when journeying to distant places — new synapses are triggered, epiphanies emerge and our hearts expand.

Bringing home special mementos from places that have profound impacts on our lives us is vital to keeping the energy of these important voyages alive.

Your travel mementos can support what you want to manifest in your life. Whether it’s a painting discovered in a Guatemalan art gallery, seashells gathered on a New Zealand coastline, textiles acquired in a remote Indian village or the smallest relic or sculpture purchased for posterity, you can display them in your home and gain increased happiness and well-being.

Each memento contains the energy imprint of the country, which includes the energy of the artisan who designed it and the memory of how you were feeling while traveling on your journey. Four years ago, I was invited to Morocco to offer a feng shui seminar and visit a girlfriend who was living there. After I gave my feng shui seminar, I was delighted when a participant offered me a vintage Moroccan wedding blanket. 

These wool blankets can take a year for a family to hand sew, and because they are traditionally offered for a daughter’s nuptials, I have placed this blanket in our bedroom to serve its original intention. It’s especially meaningful to us since I met my husband in Morocco. Before we married, each time I looked at it, I envisioned our life together. When you display travel mementos with purpose, it helps you to remain open to the positive changes that can happen in life.

7 Recommendations for Buying Travel Keepsakes:  

1) Create an intention for your voyage. This means not only earmarking a guidebook for the best museums or restaurants, but also envisioning what you want to experience and explore and bring home, spiritually, from the trip.

2) Forego the typical touristy knickknacks. Instead, choose items that arise from special moments during your stay. I bought colorful perfume bottles (pictured, right) because they reminded me of a concert I attended in Tangier. The performers sprinkled rose water on the audience using these types of bottles. 

3) Buy from local craftsman and artisans. Supporting their creativity and offering a fare price is good karma. Also, it’s better to own hand-made objects such as woven baskets and rugs. They contain life force energy, as opposed to machine-made objects.

4) Look for stones and shells which contain nature’s healing energy.

5) Put yourself in a position to be offered special mementos in exchange for your generosity. (My Moroccan wedding blanket is a perfect example!)

6) Choose items you absolutely love. Don’t buy something because you think you “should.”

7) Look for colorful textiles like pillow covers, place mats and small wall-hangings that are easy and light for packing.

Remember what you want to manifest in your life, and find mementos that represent your passions and desires. Bring home treasures that inspire you, not ones that will contribute to your clutter. Sending positive travel energy your way!