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Here is this week’s 8 Good Things. This newsletter is my year-long weekly gift containing everything from articles to books to quotes to videos that are meant to be helpful, inspirational, aspirational, informational, and just fun to read! Make sure to scroll all the way down to see our upcoming expeditions, programs, and nonprofit causes we support!

1) The world’s greenest cruise ship will have sails. Enter the “ecoship.” Read more.

2) Travel trends: what 2017 taught us. Transformation travel is where it is at! Great news, this what my trips are all about, experiential adventures that are transformative.

3) Thought Trains You Do Not Have to Ride. An article by me. “Thoughts are like trains. You can ride along with them to a final destination, or stop them from negatively impacting your day.” Find out what I mean by this.

4) Google’s Chief Business Officer Talks About His Wake-Up Call. “The key is to understand that beyond a certain point, more does not equal better.” Think rest and recovery, similar to the way top athletes use high-intensity interval training. It is an effective way to stay in balance with your life, functioning at your peak performance level, while present to what is important in any given moment.

5) People Who Sleep Late Are Actually Smarter And More Creative. My feeling has always been to listen to your body. Sleep if you need it, no matter what the clock says. Seems science is backing me up on this one.

6) AlterNet’s 2017 Ethical Holiday Shopping Guide: 16 Gifts Under $100. There are some great gift ideas here. Love number seven, for the fashionista: Hope Made Pima Cotton Maxi Scarf, and number thirteen, Patagonia’s Fair Trade Fleece Vest.

7) What makes something go viral? BuzzFeed’s Publisher Dao Nguyen shares how her team developed a system to understand how people use content to connect and create culture.

8) The 25 best holiday movies since “Home Alone.” Though I will always love “It’s a Wonderful Life,” saw it again not long ago at a rooftop screening in Hollywood. There was even snow, well, fake snow…

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
~ Marcel Proust

Sojourn Expeditions

In partnership with
Great Plains Conservation’s Wild Studio

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

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 look forward to sharing it with you. 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, energizing breathwork, eat great food, dance. Find your inner Zorba. Opa!

Sojourn Programs

Happiness: The Art of Life Balance (Beta)
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.

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

Sojourn Cares

Operation Puerto Rico Holiday Gift-Lift | In partnership with Spirit Airlines
Giving a shout out on behalf of my friend, Lara Richardson, and the Operation PR Care-Lift Team. They are raising funds to purchase gifts, toys, books and holiday items for the people of Puerto Rico. Also, will be throwing a children’s holiday party in Aguadilla. Please donate.

Camino de Santiago Fundraiser | UCLA Neurosurgery
Last September, I did a sojourn along the Camino de Santiago. I did the last 100kms of the French Way as a fundraiser in support of UCLA Neurosurgery and the groundbreaking research they are doing.

Whether you can donate $10 or $100, it all counts. All funds are distributed through the Network For Good and the UCLA Foundation.

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

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