Finding your bliss.

Eoin Finn is not just your average surfer, nature lover and conservationist. He is committed to helping people tune into themselves while they learn more about others and the natural world we all share.

Like many of us, Eoin Finn grew up playing in the woods and swimming in Canada’s icy waters. From his contentment with nature came a respect for the environment and a passion to share this appreciation with others.  

Now Finn inspires others to love and preserve their surroundings around the world.  “My inspiration is nature, especially the ocean,” he says. “I couldn’t teach without it. I want people to feel at least one one-hundredth of the magic I feel beside the ocean.”

After several years of surfing the globe, Finn made his home in Santa Cruz, California – a definite surf mecca. “As a surfer, I can see firsthand the issues that our oceans are facing,” he says. “Now that I’m a father, I think more about our future generations. I can’t sit back and do nothing.”

Finn runs a variety of retreats around the world in places like Bali, New Zealand, Australia, Texas, California, Toronto, Ottawa and Costa Rica. This winter he’s running a restoration retreat where the focus will be on restoring the body and the ocean.  

“I’m asking people to roll up their sleeves and transplant coral in exchange for some great yoga, community building and the experience of a lifetime!”

The week is lined up with beachside yoga, nightly dinners, dancing and coral transplanting for divers and beachcombers. Finn will also share his life philosophy through something called blissology.

“Blissology is the realization that we do not end at our own skin but are intimately connected to community and nature,” he says. “It is about understanding this not just with the mind but feeling it in our hearts as well.”

Finn practices connection with the environment and with each other. Many of us are familiar with the term “being present” as a thought process. But Finn challenges his learners to go deeper: “Most people think of this as a state of mind, but upon deeper inspection it refers to a neurophysiological state. One where the breath is relaxed and calm, stresses in the body soften and our mind is aware of the sensations in the body.”

He believes blissology is simple but life changing. The Commit to Bliss challenge is a four-week program that involves six habits: yoga, meditation, nature appreciation, food awareness, gratitude and a wild card. He incorporates these six pillars into many of his retreats.  

Finn’s retreats and blissology practices began with his love for nature and have grown to provide an intrinsic value that he wishes to share around the world. A self-admitted big kid still enjoying his wild playground, he’s bent on sharing what he’s learned and preserving his playground for the people he loves.

Eoin Finn has studied Eastern and Western philosophy in Canada and France. He’s been a student of yoga and meditation since 1988. To learn more about his Eco-Restoration and other bliss projects visit www.blissology.com.

More inspiration: So you’ve decided to find your inner bliss…how about this article on taking a wellness vacation!