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.

Scarves in the Summer

When you think of summer, what kind of wardrobe comes to mind? I'm sure it's a relative question, depending on where you live, but it's certainly not jackets and scarves. Personally, I think shorts, tank tops and flip flops are appropriate.

I spent the last 5 days in the Windy City. I had never been to Chicago before, but I had heard that they have some pretty brutal winters there. I am not a fan of freezing cold weather, but I wasn't worried because hey, it's summer.

Apparently, temperatures had been in the 90s in recent weeks, and I don't know what happened, but temperature dropped the days I was there. I had to go shopping and bought myself a jacket. It was crazy! People were wearing scarves! And it was the middle of the summer!

It was a nice change, though, a truly welcome break from the heat and humidity of Miami.

The famous BEAN and me in my new jean jacket.

I was in Chicago because, as some of you may know, I am following my heart.

My heart took me to Chicago because it was the host city of one of the largest blogger conferences there is: BlogHer. My heart (and my good friend JennyLee of JLPR) told me this was an event I HAD to attend.

I started doing some research and found out that BlogHer is a network of women bloggers and I immediately registered to go to the 2013 conference in Chicago, which was less than 2 months away. As I mentally prepared for this conference, I decided to start a company and registered Forever Timeless Consulting with intentions of somehow helping people around the world using my words, my voice, and my ears. I know I have a purpose, and I'm going to learn as much as I can to be able to reach as many people as I can to make a difference in this world. Will you help me?

My dream is for the world to become forever timeless, to be conscious and aware of the reality of this present moment, and to let go of attachments to things of the past or anxieties of the future. I want for people to connect at a deeper level with their own hearts and their true self. I want people to find their gifts, their passions, and share them with the world. That is, after all, what I believe the purpose of life is.



They put a picture of me listening to an interview with
the US Secretary of Health on the big screen!

So now, after having attended an intense, hard core series of blogging workshops over the past weekend, I feel more equipped mentally. I am a little more educated on the business of blogging. One thing I learned, is that I must focus on quality content. That is what I have committed to giving you, and you will be receiving it more often than before. So you can expect to read a lot more from me, and pretty soon (when I get over the fear) you will start seeing me too, as I have also learned that video is a must. Yikes!

One thing I ask of you is, please, give me some feedback. I want to know if I am providing you with quality stuff! Tell me what you like, what you don't like, what you love and what you hate. I want to take this journey through life with you. I want to learn with you and grow with you. So please, let me know you are there :)

The Traveling Spirit

The spirit has a different feel to it, when it's traveling, doesn't it?

It's a light feeling, a free one.

The feel of exploration and curiosity. That expansive feeling knowing every step that you take is into the unknown, the unexplored, the un-manifested... well, by you anyway.

I love that feeling.

As I grow, I am learning that life is travel. Life is not about the destination, it's the journey. Life is not about the person you are going to become, it's about becoming the person you want to be.

Where will your path lead you?

Who do we really want to be? I believe we can only desire to be free to be ourselves.

It's so easy to do that when you are in the unknown, once you let go of the fear. It's easier when you travel because you are surrounded by people who don't know you, who have not judged you, who are probably curious about you. It's easy to make friends, people love to connect.

Why can't we feel so free all the time? Why can't we be curious and excited about all of life?

I think it goes back to being a kid again. Looking at everything like it's a brand new experience and with such wonder. Learning something new everyday.

Life is a journey. It's up to you whether you want to live it like you are on vacation, or like you are on a mission. I prefer to live like I'm on a mission; to live life with intention. Living life with a purpose gives you a feeling of great joy, it fills you up with energy, it motivates and inspires you.

My spirit is exploring, it's discovering, it's loving life. My spirit is forever traveling. Forever traveling in the present moment, in timeless travels, learning, growing, evolving, discovering, exploring.

So where is your journey leading? Where are your life travels taking you? What have you learned along the way that you could pass along and teach to someone whose life path crosses yours?

Life is awesome. Let's see where it takes us tomorrow! Bon Voyage!

T is for...

TEN YEARS!! That's how long I've been blogging!

I decided recently to look up my first online journal on a site called blurty the other day, and I noticed my first entry was dated 2003! I read through some of the entries, and it looks like it was a combination of a diary and a dream journal. It had A LOT of crazy dreams!

The blog you are reading now (formerly known as Live Out Loud) has been around since 2009. I went back and read some of those too, and I realized how much I have grown, matured, and evolved, even as a writer, in the past few years. It's funny how I thought that when I turned 22 I was a little older, a little wiser,  and how strange to read an article about looking back at the original blog and how I thought that I was so lost back then, and that now I had all the answers. Ha. The best was reading about Super Paola, I even decided to buy the domain!

I decided to take this opportunity, being that it is the 50th article on this blog and the first since it's recent name change, to salute you, the readers. I know most of you are new, but some of you have been keeping up with me for years, and I appreciate that.

T is also for Turning Point. I believe I have, and my blog has, reached a turning point. The Live Out Loud chapters of my life are over. Living out loud is now a way of life, and I don't have to try to be expressive, it's who I am now. I no longer am inhibited by my own vulnerability.

I have always said one day I will write a book that will be a compilation of my blogs. I realize the time to write and compile this book is now. So please stay tuned! But as far as the blog, as you have probably noticed, it has become a timeless travel blog. I call it timeless because when you travel and you are totally immersed in the experience you are having, then there is no time; no future to worry about, no past to be upset about, just the pure joy of the present gift given to you to fully express who you are as you explore what's around you. Timeless is also the wisdom that you gain while you journey through life, no matter where in the world you are. That is what I will write about. Timelessness is also the world's best kept anti-aging beauty secret. I'll write about that too. T is for Timeless and T is for Travels.

After reading blogs from years past, I am more confident in my path. My purpose is to inspire people and help heal the world. I know I can do that with my words, with my Inspirational Messages and Uplifting Stories from Around the World. I just need a little help. Please :)

I have placed a little widget on the column to the right where you can enter your email to follow this blog. Then, every time you read an article that really resonates with you, or really touches you, or maybe reminds you of someone, share it. There's a widget for that too!

I'm excited for this new chapter in my life. The Traveling Thirties. That could be the book 10 years from now!

My Mask First

I just recently returned home from an evolutionary trip to Costa Rica. I say evolutionary because I don't feel like it changed me. I feel like it allowed me to evolve.

It really was an extraordinary experience. I went for a women's retreat lead by the beautiful and amazing Jennifer Grace and the charming and radiant Michelle Alva. I didn't know what it would be like, only that there would be yoga and meditation daily. I went with no expectations, only with hopes of coming back a new woman. I knew exactly what I wanted out of it. I wanted the empowering feeling of being comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to come back glowing. I wanted to walk with my head held high and with full confidence in my creativity. I wanted to come back knowing and believing that I was capable of creating anything I want to experience.

Those were my intentions. To feel unafraid to express who I really am, and to do it without an ounce of doubt in my being.

Jumping for Joy at the Poas Volcano

 

Well, I did... but I sure learned a lot in the process.

You see, this was the first time that I travelled abroad by myself. I arrived in Costa Rica a few days before the retreat, and was able to do many of the fun and adventurous things there is to do in Costa Rica; from taking on the white water rapids of the Pacuare River, to surrendering to the power of the giant waves of the Pacific Ocean, to relaxing and rejuvenating in the natural hot springs, and admiring and the sight of a real life active volcano! I did this of course as a tourist, but also as a human being experiencing life and sharing life with other human beings whom I had never met before. I enjoyed meeting people and making friends.

People are such a big part of our life experience. People can be our teachers and they can be our students; we always have something to learn or something to teach. I wanted to learn as much as I could.

It's amusing how life works. It's like it already knows the lessons you need to learn, and it puts people in your path that can teach you.

One of the most interesting people I met in Costa Rica was a healer at the Pura Vida yoga retreat and spa where I stayed with the rest of the lovely ladies in my group. He is a warm and tender guy named Tim. He is originally from Australia, but has lived and travelled all around the world. He wants nothing more than to help people. He is the type of person whose heart can be seen and felt by those he is around.

Among other things, Tim is a Shamanic Sound Healer, and I was lucky enough to have been treated by him for a 90 minute session of gong, drums and energetic ceremony that allowed me to release some emotion and have a renewed sense of wellbeing and lightness. I had the opportunity to speak with him over lunch one day at the retreat, and this conversation gave me better understanding of what it means to "put your own mask on first". You can't help others until you have helped yourself.

Tim left his hometown of Melbourne at the age of 21 to New York and studied "self psychology" at the Option Institute. He knew he had to help himself first. He studied modalities for his own inner healing work, self-knowledge, and consciousness. He then went on to study massage in Thailand and continued his journey in healing arts in places like India, Mexico and Guatemala before ending up in Costa Rica, where he initially went as a tourist at the age of 23. A month into his trip he found the yoga retreat and was able to get work there because of his ability to lead a drum circle. He had been in bands as a teenager. He loves music. He had also been exposed to yoga very early in life by his mother, and had been practicing yoga since the age of 8. He created his own style of yoga called Shaman's Heart Yoga. He has been in Costa Rica 11 years now, and his goal is to teach people and get them certified to teach his yoga style in Costa Rica and the U.S. He is now traveling the US by car realizing his dreams.

I realized while speaking with Tim that as much as we all might want to help others, we really need to help ourselves first. He certainly did that. He freed himself of whatever it was that held him back. He left his home country to find himself. He found compassion for himself and now has compassion for others. He has set himself free in doing this. This was so inspiring!

Tim says that the world is full of infinite possibilities. I believe him. He says to follow your heart, and I am doing that.

I am more motivated than ever to help myself, to put myself on a pedestal for once. I'm inspired to love myself as much as I love the world around me. To devote more time and attention to my own well-being. After all, how can I change the world, if I can't even change myself?

We all find encouragement and influence in others. Who have you met that has changed your life or your philosophy on life? Who has crossed your path and illuminated your way? What have you learned from those you have encountered? Who will you meet next and what will they teach you?

This is something we can always have an open mind about. Instead of judging each other and resisting each other, let's open our hearts and our minds to our fellow human beings that share this wonderful home we call Earth. Allow the messages to be heard by your heart, not just your ears, and don't let them stay with you. Share them.

Happy trails my friends, happy trails.