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8 Good Things is a curated newsletter of inspirational and informational articles, videos, and quotes sent twice a month by Maria Baltazzi, PhD, MFA.

Please make sure to scroll all the way down to see my upcoming trips and programs.

Inquire About Travel Destinations

1NASA’s Orbit Pavilion. If you live in Los Angeles and love cool sounds from space, pay a visit to the Orbit Pavilion at The Huntington. When you go into their garden, you will see a huge silver installation shaped like a snail. NASA designed it to capture the sound of nineteen satellites as they pass above our Earth. It is a fantastic place to meditate as well.

2Indian Safaris Have Brought Bactrian Camels Back from the Brink of Extinction. These camels were once used along the Silk Road. However, when they were no longer needed, their population started to dwindle. That is until 2003 when a town started camel safaris. While there are some conflict issues around these safaris in India, people are working to resolve them. I think it is fantastic that Bactrian Camel numbers are increasing. By the way, if you are interested in doing a camel safari in Kenya, click here.

Inquire About Happiness Mentoring

35-Hour Rule: If You’re Not Spending 5 Hours Per Week Learning, You’re Being Irresponsible. “Learning is the single best investment of our time that we can make.” The most successful people in the world today spend time learning every day; Warren Buffet, Bill Gates to name a couple.

4This One Ingredient Will Increase Your Success and Happiness at Work. That one ingredient is friendship.

58 Effective and Creative Ways to Learn a New Language as an Adult. I grew up in a home with parents who were trilingual: Greek, French, and English. Greek being their first language. As a kid, I also remember my father teaching himself to be fluent in Russian by studying a few words every day for five minutes. While the gift of speaking multiple languages escaped me, I am always impressed by those who can speak more than just their mother tongue. This article offers some great ideas for learning another language. Maybe I will try one or two myself.

6Did You Know That These 15 Celebs Are Fluent in More Than One Language? Wow, Viggo Mortensen knows Danish, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, and Swedish. As a follow up to the previous article, thought this one was just a fun, quick read.

Inquire About Media Partnerships

7The Best Documentaries of 2018. Filmmakers are saying there has never been a better time to make documentaries. I agree. I am definitely a fan of the recent documentary scene. The visual creativity, the narrative originality, in my humble opinion, has become more and more compelling.

815 TV and Film Locations to Visit in Scotland. I had no idea that so many shows were shot in the land of rolling green hills and castles, including one of my favorites, The Crown.

” Thoughtful

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow know what you truly want to become.”
~ Steve Jobs

Sojourn Experiences

Phoenix, Sedona, Scottsdale | December 29th – December 31st
Bring in the New Year with two-time Grammy-nominated Songwriter Jim Brickman. I am joining Jim on his Fan Trip. I met Jim when I was producing a pilot for ABC. We used one of his songs in the opening of our show, from there we became friends. My role on the trip is to guide people in setting intentions for the coming year. Jim’s role is to entertain everyone with his beautiful music. We will spend three days touring and planning for 2019 by day, and enjoying great food and music at night.

The Holy Land | December 13th – 23rd, 2018
***SOLD OUT***WAITLIST ONLY***
This holiday season I have put together an extraordinary trip to the Holy Land with the Very Reverend Father John Bakas of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles.

Photographic Safari and Mindfulness Workshops
Kenya | Botswana | Inquire About Dates

I took this photo on the last morning of a trip to Africa this past November — my favorite place in the world. Great Plains Conservation’s Wild Studio was started by award-winning National Geographic filmmakers Beverly and Dereck Joubert. This is an experience that I put together. It combines learning the secrets of great wildlife photography from a Wild Studio pro along with my Mindfulness teaching. Please join us on a uniquely curated safari that will tap into your true inner-photographer. This adventure can be shared with a group of friends or done as a solo sojourn.

Sojourn Programs

Happiness: The Art of Life Balance | Fall Special
As a longtime television producer, stress was my middle. I have spent more than a decade studying what to do about it. Now, I work with professionals, especially those in the media, to help them get out of the crazy and into the happy (and yes, I still produce TV shows). I have put together a program that can fit into anyone’s schedule and can be joined anytime.
40% off my program. Use promo code: OWA40

By Appointment
Offering private sessions in Mindfulness, Primordial Sound Meditation, Contemplative Prayer Meditation, and Restorative Yoga. Available in-person, or on Skype and FaceTime.

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

Special thanks to Astrid Martin, article and video content research, and Michael Tobias, editorial review and formatting, for their ongoing contributions to 8 Good Things.

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