Since you migrated, do you feel a constant anxiety towards the future or a great sense of nostalgia? Then, the book “The Power of Now” has a message for you.
In this blog, I’ll share why, when you migrate, you might feel like a fish out of water — and how this book can help you deal with nostalgia, migration grief, and the reconstruction of your identity.
When I was 23, I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle for the first time. Every page drew me in and taught me the importance of living in the present. Six years later, I picked it up again. This time, its message felt completely different.
This book is designed for those ready to change. Its meaning will shift depending on the stage of life you’re in.
And for me, that stage is called: migration.
Table of Contents
🌍 Migration and Living Between Emotional Extremes
Almost two years ago, I migrated to the Netherlands. Since then, the experience has felt like an emotional rollercoaster that never stops.
Does that sound familiar?
This back-and-forth is part of a natural process many migrants go through. It’s called culture shock, and it often shows up in four stages. You can read more about them here.
The day you think things are finally improving, an emotional wave hits you and drags you back into discomfort. It feels like a love-hate relationship.
For me, visiting my home country for the first time since migrating — and then returning to the Netherlands — was the trigger for my first migration crisis.
One of the most difficult parts was nostalgia. My mind kept replaying questions and imagined scenarios:
- Would I be happier if I had stayed in Colombia?
- Why did I leave if I had everything there?
- Why do I feel more like “me” in my home country?
Living in the constant idealization of the past was disconnecting me from my essence.
1. What Happens to Our Identity When We Migrate?
A person’s identity is made up of many elements — personality, environment, language, beliefs, and relationships. All of these interact to form a unique image of who you are.
But when you migrate, everything changes.
Your external context no longer reflects who you were. And your mind no longer recognizes itself.
The streets look different. So do the customs. Even language — the safe place where you once expressed yourself — no longer feels like home.
So your identity becomes disoriented.
In this new context, your mind can’t find itself when the world no longer reflects who you are.
Once, during a conversation with my brother, he asked me if I’d feel better returning to Colombia.
I replied —Maybe someday… but right now, I’m exactly where I need to be.
In this process of self-discovery, I realized that my constant nostalgia was the greatest obstacle in my journey.
Reading The Power of Now has helped me de-romanticize migration. I’ve learned that the body does not go where the soul doesn’t belong.
We arrive in a new country with a purpose: to evolve.
2. The Pain Body According to Tolle (and How It Activates During Migration)
In The Power of Now, Tolle describes the pain body as a negative energy field that inhabits the body and mind. It activates when something triggers old emotional wounds, making the brain associate present situations with past pain.
When you migrate, your deepest fears and unresolved wounds surface.
The pain body can be triggered by a comment, a silence, a look, or anything that touches a childhood wound.
For example, if you lacked validation or support as a child, even a small critique as an adult can awaken that pain.
And the worst part? We tend to normalize it:
“It’s not that bad.”
“Other people have it worse.”
But those thoughts only keep the wound open.
Yes, it’s human to compare — but your pain is valid and important, just like anyone else’s.
There’s no reason to minimize it.
The pain body feeds on fear, nostalgia, and anger. If you don’t become aware of it, it might fuse with your identity — or at least, make you believe it’s part of you.
3. How to Apply The Power of Now to the Migration Process
Maybe, like me, you come from a culture where emotions are suppressed.
We grew up hearing things like:
- “Be strong.”
- “Don’t cry like a girl.”
- “Don’t be so sensitive.”
We were taught that feeling is weakness.
But Eckhart Tolle teaches something different.
To release pain, you must observe it with presence.
Not resist it. Not suppress it. Just be there — conscious and still — without identifying with it.
That shadow projected by your ego only survives if you believe you are that pain.
But you’re not your nostalgia. You’re not your fear. You are the observer.
🌀 A Grounding Practice to Release Nostalgia
I want this blog to be more than just a reflection — that’s why I’m sharing a simple, practical tool to help you navigate emotional overwhelm.
📝 Conscious Presence Exercise:
- Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Find a calm, peaceful space.
- Feel the emotion. Where is it in your body?
Does it feel like pressure? Heat? Heaviness? - Don’t think about it. Just observe. Breathe.
- It’s normal for thoughts to arise — let them go without attaching to them.
- If you’d like, try gentle somatic movement.
Tip: My friend and coach [Sara Chalarca] shares body-based practices for emotional release and energy flow.
This practice helps you recognize and dissolve the pain body.
As a migrant, I know what it’s like to feel disconnected. Sometimes you wonder, “Was life better back home?”
But more important than where you are is how you choose to live this stage.
If you choose to act from awareness — instead of nostalgia — you’ll realize those emotions don’t define you.
They’re just passing through.
If you choose to see the beauty in the present, the weight becomes lighter.
🧡 Has something like this ever happened to you?
Tell me in the comments or share this blog with someone who might need it.
And if you want to explore conscious migration and tools for emotional healing, follow me on Instagram: @ikbenjuliana04
