hotel-xenia
  • Home
  • Team
Let's Chat
Menu
Dealing with Challenging Emotions During Challenging Times
image

To keep getting 8 Good Things, please add explorer@sojourn-intl.com to your email contacts.

Hello Sojourners!

I hope this edition of 8 Good Things finds you safe, healthy, and in good spirits. These last couple of weeks have been a Holy time for those celebrating Passover and Easter. This weekend is Easter, or Pascha, for those of the Eastern Orthodox faith. I am sure, for most, it was the first time sharing their worship and holiday meal in a virtual world, yet with hearts still connected in spirit. Through these days of “staying safer at home,” the outpouring of kindness, appreciation, and generosity has been heartwarming, comforting, and perhaps a vision of a post-COVID-19 world we could all aspire to live and thrive in. I, for one, would love to exist in a gentler, more consciously awake world. In this edition, my team and I tried to find items that would uplift you. We also saught to give you some unique and special ways to armchair travel the world. From our hearts to yours, I hope you enjoy this read.

8 Good Things is a curated newsletter of inspirational and informational articles, videos, and quotes. If my thoughts about an article or video interest you, please click the ‘source’ button (e.g., NEW YORKER) to learn more. If you come across a story you would like me to consider sharing, please send it to explorer@sojourn-intl.com. This newsletter comes out once every three weeks.

Invite Friends
Sign Up for 8 Good Things
Inquire About Travel Destinations
Email Email Email
image

1 Close to Home: Here Are 5 Inspiring No-travel Experiences. Transformative adventures you can have without leaving your home. Livestream California poppies in bloom, do a virtual space tour of Orion Nebula with NASA, or hangout via a live cam with some elephant seals along the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

2On April 22nd, Earth Day Goes Digital. This very day marks fifty years of celebrating our planet. There will be twenty-four hours of virtual activities. It is indeed a perfect day for a global hug.

EARTH DAY ORG

3This Guide Takes You On A Virtual Cherry Blossom Tour Around The World. A unique and enjoyable way to see the cherry blossoms in distant lands. Note: use either Firefox or Chrome as your browser, not Safari.

ELITE DAILY

4All the Museum Exhibits, Symphonies, and Operas You Can Enjoy From Home. “If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.” The meaning of this saying is that if things are not going your way, then you adjust to the way things are – at least for the moment. In this case, while we cannot go to public venues to experience various events and tours, we can now bring them into our homes. Go online to check out Van Gogh paintings at the museum in Amsterdam. Virtually swim with jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Spend an evening on OperaVision watching the Royal Swedish Opera perform Madama Butterfly. Or, the one I like, going on an Instagram safari in South Africa’s Sabi Sands reserve.

CONDE NAST TRAVELER

Inquire About Being Happy
Email Email Email
image

5Dealing with Challenging Emotions During Challenging Times. The powerful mindfulness practice of RAIN explained. An article I recently wrote about this acronym for healing. R is for recognizing your feelings. A is for allowing them. I is for investigating your feelings. N is for nurturing them. I learned this practice from my teacher, Tara Brach.

MEDIUM

6 How to Be More Optimistic. I am a great believer in the power of a positive mindset, which you can create. Here are four ways you can do this. One, visualize your best possible self. Two, accept the inevitability of disappointment. Three, argue against yourself. Four, put things in perspective.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Inquire About Media Partnerships
Email Email Email
image

7 Okavango: River of Dreams. From award-winning filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, a stunning documentary series about the wildlife around the famed Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa. I was granted permission to share the first two episodes with you. Hopefully, after watching, you will be inspired to donate to the Great Plains Foundation, which was created by the Jouberts. Their organization is and continues to be very active on the ground, working with local communities as well as doing anti-poaching patrols to protect wildlife areas in Botswana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Your support, especially during this time, would be hugely appreciated and will benefit the foundation’s initiatives. You can learn more at greatplainsfoundation.com. Enjoy these episodes! Part 1 code: OKA2020pt1  |  Part 2 code: OKA2020PT2

PART 1
PART 2

8The Mindfulness Movement Film. Just released on April 10th, from Executive Producers Deepak Chopra, Jewel, and my friend, Rob Beemer, a feature documentary that looks at the growing number of people around the world who believe mindfulness is the key to creating a healthier, happier world. Mindfulness is a practice, a tool for the mind, that anyone can use to make the moments of their lives more meaningful, more compassionate, and more aware. The film features interviews with Deepak Chopra, Jewel, Dan Harris, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, Daniel Goleman, and other leaders of this movement.

ORDER FILM
TRAILER

” Thoughtful

“It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” ~ Ram Dass

The Art and Science of Happiness in Action Finding Silver Linings

First, think of five things that make your life feel worthwhile – this will help shift your brain toward a positive state. Second, think of the last time you were frustrated or upset. In a few sentences, describe this moment. Third, write three positive things about this moment. Example, you got a parking ticket. One, this teaches you to be more mindful of where you park. Two, you got a ticket instead getting towed. Three, a year from now, this will not matter. These shifts in thinking done over time, do add up to a happier mind. Why this works: Consciously looking at the bright side of challenging situations helps you to see life’s upside. Doing this boosts your sense of self-worth. It motivates you to go after your goals. Do this often enough, it will become your habit, increasing your overall enjoyment of life. Time Required: 10 minutes Frequency: 1x daily for three weeks

GREATER GOOD UCBERKELY

Levity

Coronavirus: Life Imitates Art as People Recreate Masterpieces at Home. Take the #gettymuseumchallenge! As we shelter-in-place, to help pass the time, the Getty in Los Angeles is encouraging folks to recreate iconic masterpieces with found bits at home and post them on social media.

SKYNEWS

Upcoming Sojourn Experience | December 12 – 22, 2020

image

11-Day Pilgrimage to Istanbul with Loyola Marymount University Lecturer of Modern Greek Studies V. Rev Father John S. Bakas, the Dean of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Los Angeles This trip includes luxury accommodations, most meals, all transfers, expertly guided sightseeing tours, entry fees, and domestic flights. Visit: Istanbul, Izmir, and Cappadocia

Pilgrimage DETAILS

Words from Past Pilgrims

“If you’ve got the chance to travel with Maria, TAKE IT! Every detail is expertly executed, the food will be superb, and you’ll be well informed at every destination!”

“I feel truly blessed to have taken the journey with you at the helm Fr. John — for always lifting us up, encouraging us to be our best.”

“Inspirational, mystical, spiritual, powerful, peaceful, magical, and full of love and blessings.”

“A trip of a lifetime! A dream come true! Thank you! The best experience — new friends, fond memories.”

LEARN MORE HERE

Sojourn Programs

image

What unprecedented times we are living. The dichotomy of sheltering-in-place and social distancing — which I prefer to call social honoring — alongside the outpour of desire for virtual connectivity, is bringing up many kinds of diverging feelings. From isolation and loneliness to love and gratitude to everything in-between. We are afraid for our health, for our jobs and careers, for our economy. Yet have hope that it will all be better one day. We pray that the day when we can go back to work, meet at a bar or restaurant, see a concert, get on a plane, and simply just hug one another again will happen sooner than later. And this is where I hope I can be of some help.

Part of The Sojourn Experience’s mission is to help our community cultivate a healthier mind, body, and spirit. While we are all staying a social honoring distance apart, I would like to share some free offerings to support your at-home self-care.

First is a downloadable PDF guide and recording to my Love, Gratitude meditation practice. Two things we can all use a lot of right now, and always.

Second, you can enroll for free in my Happiness: Art of Life Balance six-module course.

Sign Up

Happy Weekend! Maria and Team Sojourn Learn More

image

Maria Baltazzi PhD, Conscious-Centered Living | MFA, Film


Emmy-winning TV Producer, Certified Happiness Trainer, Transformational Travel Ambassador

About The Sojourn Experience is a conscious-centered company with a portfolio of three entities. Sojourn Explorers curates transformational experiences to extraordinary places around the globe. Part of the money for each trip goes to nonprofit organizations that we believe in. Through Picture Happiness: Take a Shot, Maria helps professionals uplevel the quality of their thoughts and habits. She designs Happiness programs and workshops as well as leads retreats. Finally, Sojourn looks to create media partnerships with writers, producers, and directors to get their projects sold to production companies and various platforms.

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.

Share 8 Good Things

Email Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Contact Us

How can we serve you on your journey?

Did a friend send you this newsletter?

Sign up for 8 Good Things.

Join

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. For more information, please visit our Privacy Policy.

Unsubscribe Sojourn, Inc. 7095 Hollywood Blvd 843 Los Angeles, California 90028-8912 United States

Once a month, we bring you eight big ideas to help you live better.

8 Good Things is a newsletter of insightful, inspirational articles, videos, and reflections you will not find elsewhere in one place that is simple and easy to digest delivered to your inbox as our gift.

  • Hidden
  • Before opting into our newsletter, please take some time to review our Privacy Policy.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Forgiving Is For Living
A Grateful Life is A Happy Life
Your Best Health Insurance Plan
The Science of Love
Living a Meaningful 2022
Merry, Merry! May Good Things Come to You
Thanksgiving Reflections
Go for a Walk
See More

Erin F.

“Your opening comments... ‘Let there be a pandemic of compassion, love, and gratitude’ made me a bit emotional and hopeful this morning.”

Jim B.

“I can’t think of a better time for your
8 Good Things.”

Anthony H.

“Maria Baltazzi is one of life’s angels, who is exceedingly generous with her wisdom and insight. Do yourself a favor and sign up for her newsletter.”

Arctic Quest

Slide 1

Reach the Unreachable

Slide 2

WILD AT HEART

Slide 3

QUALITY IN EVERY SENSE

Thirty-six hours that will change your life. This is no overstatement. Be among the first to land at our magnetic north in a modern airship that uses innovative technology that combines the best of fixed-wing airplanes, helicopters, and static helium lift. What is old is new and even better, and more sustainable than jets or vehicles.

Photos provided by Design Q
View North Pole
© 2022 The Sojourn Experience
  • 8 Good Things
  • Sojourn Explorers
  • Sojourn Wholebeing
  • Sojourn Media Group
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT