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This year 8 Good Things will be a bi-weekly newsletter. Also please let me know if there is something you would like to share with those reading these mailings. Content falls into three buckets. One is travel and exploration. The second is happiness and conscious living. The third is about storytelling and the entertainment industry.

Make sure to scroll all the way down to see my upcoming expeditions and programs.

1) 5 Advances That Will Change Air Travel. “Planes [that] produce less CO2 by improving engines, enhancing aerodynamics, and using lighter material.” This article is part of an Urban Expedition series published by National Geographic. There are another two parts. Super interesting stuff.

2) 10 Airports You’ll Actually Love. Two of the ten are in the U.S. Denver International is the first airport featured in this article. Seattle-Tacoma is number eight. Seoul Incheon comes in tenth. Fantastic designs!

3) These 9 Airplanes Transformed Flight Over the Last Century. Cool aviation history with a throw to the future. Even NASA is getting into the commercial end of flight with its New Aviation Horizons project.

4) You Are Not Your Thoughts. I wrote this article for LightWorkers.com; a bit of mindfulness insight for you. Hope you find it useful. The title is one of the most profound realizations I have experienced so far sitting on the cushion. It liberated my world.

5) Goal Visualization. As we are still in the first month of the year, I thought this would be a good one to share. I am actually applying a similar method mentioned in the article to cleaning out my garage. I set aside this month to once and for all organize my boxes and get rid of stuff I do not need, use, nor want. Candidly, I have been resisting this task because it feels emotionally daunting. Much of what I have to do is go through memorabilia from shows I have produced throughout the years, things that belonged to my sister who passed away almost six years ago; that goes for my dad too, who left us three months after my sister. Whew, it is hard. The only way I can tackle this job is to do it in bite-size chunks. I give myself about an hour or so at a time. It helps, I am making headway and feeling lighter inside for it.

6) Charity Miles App. I have mentioned this one before. It is my favorite training app because your miles are actually going towards helping great nonprofits. Most of my miles have gone in support of Stand Up To Cancer. As of this writing, I have logged a total of 1,702 Charity Miles. The reason I am sharing this app again is for their latest features, which include tracking your training miles daily, monthly, and yearly. Also, they now have inspiring stories from fellow Charity Milers that you can listen to on their podcast. They have really come a long way since they started several years ago.

7) Oscar Predictions in All 24 Academy Categories. Some of my favorite picks this year: The Post, the screening was made even better by the Q&A afterward with Spielberg. Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman was fantastic as was the cinematography and film editing. Molly’s Game is exceptionally well-written, then again the writer is Aaron Sorkin. Adored Coco, so rich in color. Jane about Jane Goodall, wonderfully edited and was so impressed with the archival footage. I wanted to love Bladerunner 2049, too darn slow! And long! Read the industry picks here.

8) Chasing the Lost City. I love a good story. I love a good adventure. I love a good adventure story. Watch this TEDxPasadena talk from a fellow Explorers Club member, Steve Elkins. His real-life adventure searching for a lost city in Honduras was so amazing that author Douglas Preston turned it into the New York Times AND Wall Street Journal bestseller The Lost City of the Monkey God. I mentioned this book earlier in 2017. Steve’s talk was recently presented in November.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
~ Helen Keller
first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelors of arts degree

Sojourn Expeditions

Photographic Safari and Mindfulness Workshops
Kenya, March 3rd – 8th, 2018
Botswana, March 21st – March 28th, 2018

Breakfast with hippos floating around in the background, simply idyllic, and there is so much more to experience. This is a FANTASTIC adventure! I recently took a guest to Kenya, and it was indeed a transformative experience. If Africa is on your travel list, I urge to go and go full out. Great Plains Conservation’s Wild Studio was started by award-winning National Geographic filmmakers Beverly and Dereck Joubert. Whether you are a pro or an amateur, you will have the extraordinary experience of photographing lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo. Best part is that there will always be a veteran wildlife photographer there to give you tips on getting great shots. Leave with an amazing portfolio of your wildlife adventure. Africa has long been my favorite place in the world, and I love sharing it with others. Please join the Wild Studio Team and me on a uniquely curated safari that will tap into your true inner-photographer.

Greek Islands, May 25th – June 2nd, 2018 | Memorial Day Weekend
If you romanticize sailing and hiking the islands in the Aegean, then come along with me. Explore, meditate, do restorative yoga, eat great food, dance. Find your inner Zorba. Opa!

Sojourn Programs

Happiness: The Art of Life Balance
I am committed to helping those who sit in the overwhelm, continually feeling out of time, and always stressed. As a longtime TV producer, I have been there many times over and have spent the last eleven years studying what to do about it. My promise is to get you out of the crazy and into the happy. To do that, I have put together a program that can fit into anyone’s schedule and can be joined anytime. For a complimentary consultation, please contact me.

Private Teaching
Offering personalized sessions for individuals and small groups in Mind-Body Centering (includes Restorative Yoga), Mindfulness Meditation, Primordial Sound Meditation, and Prayer of the Heart Meditation. Available in-person or on Skype.

Happy Weekend! Love,
Maria and Team Sojourn
Learn More About Us | +800-869-0538

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