Sunday, August 25, 2013

The Northeast is Calling

When was the last time you were in New York? Have you ever been? For me it was last January,  which is interesting because I don't usually go to New York in January. I don't like it. It's too cold. I made an exception this time because it was my teenage cousin's birthday, and she and her parents were going to be there visiting and celebrating. It was a family thing. I love family things.

 
Waiting for a table in a cute spot in Brooklyn
for Sunday Brunch with my uncle and siblings.
 
I can't believe it has been 7 months since I last saw these guys! I used to make it a priority to travel to New York every 3-4 months religiously. I love being around my young nephews and enjoy watching them grow. I guess the travel bug bit me and I started going other places instead... but I was missing them!

My sister, my best friend, and now my business partner.
 
My sister came down from New York to visit last week with my mom and my nephews. It was so nice to see them. I cried some tears of joy when I hugged my sister. That's how I know I'm turning into my mom... just kidding! It was actually quite beautiful feeling that kind of emotion. It felt like a true blessing.
 
Vanessa, my younger but taller sister, did not just come for fun. She came to work. She came to get things done! We had decided to team up. She was going to help me design my blog, and make it look nice. I write. That's what I do. She does websites and design. So that's what she will do. It's a match made in heaven :)
 

Working lunch at a Mexican Food Truck
in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

It was really great to spend time with my sister. I always learn so much when I'm around her. This time was no different. She has taken on a really healthy lifestyle, and she is looking better than ever! She has inspired me to have more integrity when it comes to eating right and being well. No more eating cupcakes when no one is looking.
 
 
 
Having integrity means waking up when you say you are going to wake up. It means no snoozing. It means going to that Bikram Yoga class even though you didn't drink enough water today, just because you said you would be there. Having integrity means no "cheating" on your "diet". I put it in quotations because having integrity means having a healthy lifestyle, and not just forcing you to deprive yourself of certain "guilty" pleasures. That means choosing not to eat the cupcake, not because it has too many calories, but because it is made with processed sugars and food coloring, and the calories are empty.
 
I definitely don't plan on letting another 7 months go by without seeing my family. My youngest brother has a birthday in NY next month, but after that, what will I do? The Northeast has been calling my name for a long time. I love being near my family and I think the time has come to leave the Sunshine State, at least for some time. Enough time to make me strong enough to survive a real winter, not just a weekend of 30 degree weather. I'm considering making the move, just not sure to what city. I'm not sure about NYC just yet.
 
I want to live someplace where I don't need to
get into my car to take my dog to the dog park.

I appreciate you and your readership, and I am open to receiving your thoughts and opinions. Do you know of any city or neighborhood I should consider living? Maybe something urban and hip? Where would you like to live?

I am really excited about the projects Vanessa and I are taking on. I'm excited about how much I will grow personally (and in turn, how much YOU will grow) and about how much better my blog is going to look and feel! (By the way, we will be moving over to WordPress, so stay tuned for more information about how to find the new and improved Timeless Travels blog once we do!)

Stay awesome!


Friday, August 9, 2013

Journey Through the Nervous Mind


What exactly goes through our minds when we are nervous? Why does our mind take over and stress us out? I mean, that's what it does, right?

The mind has the power to make you believe whatever it wants. That is some power!

The mind can create a reality for you to experience, and it can tell you whether it's a good one, or a bad one. Sometimes, when you think it's a bad one, you start to act differently. Your breathing changes and your face starts to feel heavy. You can't smile.

I witnessed a nervous mind today. It was the mind of a young lady. It was written all over her face. She was uncomfortable.

It was my job to coach her; to tell her the words she needed to hear to break away from the fearful control her mind had of her at the moment. I could see from her eyes gazing out into space, with no expression on her face, that she was far, far away from the reality I was experiencing.

I asked her what she was thinking about that kept her from experiencing what was really happening. I told her that if she forgot about all the things that were running through her mind, and just brought herself to where her physical body was, that she could experience truth and thus joy and inner peace.

Those weren't my exact words, but you get the picture.

I can't tell you how amazing it was to watch a smile start to peek out. She started to realize that she had control over what she was experiencing. Her face changed!

It's incredible how saying the right words to someone can totally alter their reality, in any way; positively or negatively.

Think about the words you have been using lately with the people around you. Are they loving words? Are they empowering words? Are they encouraging and inspiring?

Now that you know you that you have the power to change someone's reality, whose life are you going to change, and how?

Words are powerful.. Remember that.


Saturday, August 3, 2013

Late Night Strolls Through Suburbia


Have you ever decided to take a walk in a suburban neighborhood late at night and realized you should have gone before sundown and avoided walking into the spider webs?  That's such an icky feeling, knowing there is a web on you and not being able to see it or get it off of you. You frantically start rubbing your arms and face just to make sure if there was anything there, it's off now. You get a little upset, perhaps that you didn't see it coming, and you are glad when you are past it and no longer feel it on your skin. That is, until you walk into another spider web.

It was getting a little out of hand for me the other night. I must have walked into 10 different spider webs. Easily. Until finally, I became conscious enough to look for them.

This is when the "light bulb" turned on.  Suddenly, I felt awake. I felt so aware, of everything around me. I had decided to start paying attention to the spider webs, so that I wouldn't walk into them and get agitated anymore. As soon as I started paying attention, I became mindful. I saw every spider web that had been spun in my path and walked under or around it. It was amazing.

If you are not fully aware and present,
you could miss something.
Then, something strange happened. Thoughts started to creep into my mind. I started thinking about how much further I was going to walk before I turned around, and then about what I was going to do when I got home, about whether I should wash my hair tonight or tomorrow.

All of a sudden, I realized I had stopped paying attention, and was no longer looking for the spider webs. As soon as that realization came to play, I stopped dead in my tracks. There, in front of me, about two inches from my nose, was a creepy black spider on a huge web. That was so close!

It was such perfect timing, I got lucky having returned to the state of presence, where I could be aware, right at the moment where one more step forward would have meant a spider on my face. Wow! Needless to say, I was mindful the rest of the way, and the walk in my neighborhood became a journey into a higher consciousness. It was like a walking meditation.

Have you ever experienced that? You should try it. The next time you take a walk (hopefully by day) take it mindfully. Notice the colors of the flowers and vegetation around you, notice any scents or aromas in the air you are breathing, listen to the birds in the trees and the dogs in the yards, feel the warmth of the sun on your face, open up your senses.

You can miss things if you are not present. So keep your oil burning and your lamps lit. It will give light to that which is around you at the present moment, which is the reality and truth of the now. The eternal and timeless gift of the present. Be here now, and enjoy it.