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Oprah Winfrey Talks with Thich Nhat Hanh
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8 Good Things is a curated newsletter of inspirational, motivational, and informational articles, videos, and quotes sent twice a month by Maria Baltazzi, PhD, MFA.

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1Hitting the Open Road to Find My Way Home. In a podcast about first-person mindfulness experiences, NPR host of Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me, Pete Sagal, shares the solo motorcycle journey that helped him navigate a tough divorce. He took to the road to find quiet on the saddle of a roaring bike. In doing so, he discovered something called rolling mindfulness. This type of mindfulness is the ability to let thoughts move freely inside one’s helmet while being acutely aware of the ever-present dangers of being on a bike. How? By focusing your attention on your hands and feet. Ultimately, Pete realized that his mind and body working together without conscious-thought created a moving ‘Zen temple.’ This mind-body connection allowed the space for his thoughts about a challenging time in his life. “As it turns out, after a day of silence and constant motion, I have a lot to say.”

The telling of Pete’s journey reminds me of the 70s classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig. If you have not experienced this book, I highly recommend it. Pete’s podcast and Robert’s book are fantastic reflections on how travel can help you to see things in a different light.

MEDITATIVE STORY
PIRSIG

2The World’s 50 Best Restaurants of 2019: The Full Winners List. This Conde Nast Traveller article is for you globe-trotting foodies. I am listing a companion Wall Street Journal article as well, The Pleasures of Eating Alone. At times, we find ourselves traveling alone. I often do, and the most frequent question I get asked is, “Do you mind eating by yourself?” The answer is, “No, I enjoy it.” It seems others are finding this to be the case as well.

CONDE NAST TRAVELLER
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Inquire About Happiness Mentoring

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3Oprah Winfrey Talks with Thich Nhat Hanh Excerpt—Powerful. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks about meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the desire to become a monk, solving world problems with compassion, and the power of mindfulness. There has been over four million, four-hundred and ninety views of this enlightening talk since May of 2013. Today, at ninety-three years of age, Thich Nhat Hanh still inspires millions of people throughout the world from all different cultures. “In the ash of suffering, a Phoenix can be born…”

SuperSoul Sunday

4My Life Without Sugar. Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson shares her personal experience of removing sugar from her diet. What started as an experiment, ended up being a life-altering lifestyle change where she felt “calmer, happier, more even-keeled.” I am sharing this opinion article because, over the last several months, I have given up refined sugar. While I am not as strict as Olivia, I am avoiding the obvious things, like desserts, candy, sugary drinks. I have even started making my own granola with honey instead of cane sugar. I am also eating a more plant-based diet. I can tell you, there is a notable difference in the feel and shape of my body. I do not feel as bloated or puffy, which is fantastic. If you are thinking about giving up sugar, this article is a good start to your journey.

THE GUARDIAN

5Stanford Psychology Expert: This Is the No. 1 Work Skill of the Future—But Most Fail to Realize It. What is it? Focus. The second is attention. In a technology-filled society where emails, social media, and 24/7 newsfeeds overwhelm us, focus and attention are harder to achieve. These two skills, available to all of us, can impact your creativity and ability to flourish. More and more jobs require creative and unique problem-solving, which you are pressed to do if you cannot focus your attention. Key distractors: email, group chats, meetings, your phone, coworkers. The suggestion is to control these instead of them controlling you.

CNBC MAKE IT

6The Average Worker Spends 51 Percent of Each Workday on These 3 Unnecessary Tasks. This article supports the previous one. Increase your efficiency by cutting out unnecessary emails, meetings, and lengthy commute times. Did you know that useless emails and meetings take up a combined thirty-nine percent of your work time? Here is what you can do about it.

INC

7New Evidence for the Strange Geometry of Thought. Swedish philosopher and cognitive scientist Peter Gärdenfors offers a unique perspective on the geometry of our thoughts—the use of cognitive space. How our brain represents concepts and objects in relation to each other. Why does this matter? It helps us to take old knowledge about things like family and friends to inform us how to act in a new situation. Also, “…humans are able to do things that today’s powerful computers can’t do—like learn language quickly and generalize from particulars with ease…because we, unlike our computers, represent information in geometrical space.” The article is dense, though a worthwhile read if you are interested in brain research and its future impact for us. What Gärdenfors and his colleagues are doing could help solve the causes of diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as uses in artificial intelligence.

NAUTILUS

Inquire About Media Partnerships

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8Life lessons from 100-Year-Olds. A documentary short about three British centenarians sharing their lives and pearls of wisdom on living a long life. One of them is to live a happy life because when everything is in harmony, it is the best remedy for illness. Since 2016, over fifteen million, one-hundred and eighty people have watched this sweet and inspiring video. I especially love the last three minutes and the final secret to a long life, “Keep right on until the end of the road!”

One more centenarian story, though from our side of the pond. Born in 1915, one hundred and three-year-old Carl Lofgren is the oldest living Eagle Scout in Minnesota. He has five children and was married to his wife for sixty years! Carl is the father of a colleague of mine, who shared this KARE 11 TV news clip about him. It seems part of the secret to Carl’s long life is also deciding to keep going forward.

LIFEHUNTERS
KARE 11 TV

” Thoughtful

“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.”
~ Will Rogers
Early Film Cowboy Actor and Humorist

Sojourn Experiences | Inquire About Dates

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For years, I have been producing large and small-scale television shows around the world. Today, I also use my producing skills to curate tailor-made adventures.

The Cradle of Mankind | North Tanzania, Africa
11 Days | From $7,365 per person for 4 guests

View Tanzania

Unforgettable Africa | Kenya
In partnership with Nomadic Africa, private luxury safaris

12 Days | From $18,735 per person for 8 guests

View Kenya

Machu Picchu, Peru | Salkantay Horseback Ride
In partnership with Peru EcoCamps, luxury geodesic domes

9 Days | From $5,975 per person for 2 guests

View Peru

*Pricing varies based on the number of guests and time of year.

Sojourn Programs

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Insight Timer App | Silent Wisdom Meditations
As many of you know, I teach meditation. I have been a long-time fan of the practice. Why? It is scientifically proven to reduce stress, control anxiety, promote emotional health, enhance self-awareness, lengthen attention span, reduce age-related memory loss, generate kindness, help to fight addictions, improve sleep, help control pain, decrease blood pressure; and you can meditate anywhere! Meditation is about as close as one can get to a wellness silver bullet. Recently, I started recording meditations for Insight Timer. I hope you enjoy these free guided sessions. Please follow me on the Insight Timer app.

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

Learn More

Happy Weekend!
Maria and Team Sojourn
Learn More | +800-869-0538

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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.

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