Tejomaya Wellness

My schedule has been a bit hectic for the past several days but I hope your holidays were (and still are) a lot bright! Since this is a busy time for me, my posts may be few and far between as the year winds down and the new one begins. I need to bring the focus back to my school work and make sure I’m setting myself up for success in 2015, but I’ll be back before you know it with more content than you can shake a stick at! In the meantime, be blessed, be happy and be healthy!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

I have a confession to make. I haven’t been meditating. I’ll spare you the details, but last week got too packed with activities and tiny emergencies and I put it aside to handle other tasks. It was the worst thing I possibly could have done.

Instead of having the peace I needed to get through a far too busy week, I was frazzled to the max and ended up making little mistakes here and there that forced me to spend more time on my tasks. Instead of going to my happy place, in front of a beautiful mountain stream, I went to a very unhappy place: Stress City. I totally did it to myself and it was totally preventable.

It left me wondering, how do we find time to meditate when there is no time? First of all, once I realized my error, I had no choice but to make the time just before I went to sleep. Turns out, it’s really a perfect time if you can be counted on to be consistent. There are so many great videos out there that you can set to play on your phone and just lay back and get your relaxation on. The other thing that’s been helping me is to take a moment to observe my breath several times a day when it crosses my mind. You can find a solid minute when you take a restroom break, when your eyes go crossed from staring at your spreadsheet or any time you’re waiting in line for something. It’s best if you can work in two 20 minute sessions, but several small sessions are way better than none at all. Do what you can, just make sure you do something!

I’m back on my regular schedule of mornings and evenings and I’m already feeling much more in control of my other daily activities. It’s amazing how fast it happened, too. Almost as fast as the change in my stress levels when I began my practice a year ago.

I want to hear from you! Has life ever gotten you out of the meditation habit? Were you able to overcome it? What helped get you back on track? Leave me a comment and we’ll keep each other accountable.

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

Mark Cuban gave me a pep talk today. Yes, THAT Mark Cuban, the billionaire investor. No, not in person. I’ve never actually met the man and honestly know very little about him other than what I’ve briefly seen on ABC’s Shark Tank.

During my morning tea and reading, I came across this article in Elite Daily, which I was just drawn to for reasons that I could not explain. We both have success on our minds, but that’s where I thought the comparisons between us tapered off. As I poured over the article, it was amazing how the lessons he’s learned on the way to his success seemed totally translatable to anyone in any station in life. After getting inspired by what he had to share, I have to say, I’m kinda a fan.

The one quote that really stuck with me was “Every No gets me closer to a Yes.” Whoa! Did you get a little chill, too? It doesn’t take failure out of the equation. Instead, it makes it a critical part of the process and allows you to accept it in a way that doesn’t defeat you, but propels you forward. I don’t know about you, but after a kinda crummy week and one crushing blow to my ego, I really needed to hear this.

The Beatles are arguably the most recognized and successful bands in the history of, well, ever. Most of you have heard about how they experienced multiple rejections from record labels while they were starting out. Someone actually told The Fab Four no! Guess what, someone is going to tell you no, too. You cannot let that stop you.

Maybe a no means re-vamping your idea and maybe it means sticking to your gutsy guns and finding another opportunity to hear a yes. Your intuition will guide you here. Trust it.

Seriously, did you let Mark’s powerful words sink in? The only true failure you are going to experience on your passionate path is if you quit. You will never know how close you are to your big breakthrough if you do. Some of the blows I’ve been dealt produced positive outcomes as soon as the next day. If I’d given up at the first sign of trouble, I wouldn’t have gotten my miracle.

The other thing I want you to try to be open to this week is gaining knowledge from a source that seems foreign to you. Inspiration comes from all over. You may catch it in a biography of a person you know little about, in a TV show you’ve never watched, or in a song that’s not your preferred genre. Just keep your eyes and ears open and try to witness it, instead of judge. You’ll be surprised at the lengths God and the Universe will go to to get your attention when other avenues have failed.

I’d love to hear about where your nuggets of truth came from this week! Leave me a comment about what you learned and who or what you learned it from. Let’s share our life lessons!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

We made it through another Black Friday and Cyber Monday is drawing to a close, but did you know that tomorrow is Giving Tuesday? I’m pretty jazzed about it, truth be told. I was just feeling big-time bummed about being so consumer driven as a society that major retailers opened on Thanksgiving Day instead of giving their underpaid employees a day off to be with their families. I’ll get off my soapbox now, because there’s giving to be done!   First of all, since you probably have to buy presents for your friends and family anyway, why not look for gifts that give back? There are tons of companies that team up with charities during the holiday season that mean you get to support a cause that’s close to your heart. There are also a lot of charities that have special items designed for exactly this purpose. Here are a few that I really like:

1. The Giving Keys

My sister gifted me a necklace from The Giving Keys for Christmas last year, and I am just crazy about the cool way they are helping the homeless. There is something here for both men and women. Check them out: http://www.thegivingkeys.com/

2. Sacred Arrow

I’m an aromatherapy junkie and I love the idea of being able to carry my blended scent with me in such a pretty and unique way. Sacred Arrow gifts Frankincense oil, the same gift given to Christ at his birth , to patients battling cancer. Even if religion isn’t your cup of tea, there are still amazing studies showing the many health benefits of Frankincense. Again, there is something for everyone. Give their page a looksee: http://www.sacredarrowjewelry.com/

3. Tea Tibet

Speaking of tea, you can help Tibet by drinking it. No, I’m totally not kidding! Every cent earned from the sales of these tasty teas goes toward providing education, food, shelter and medical care to children living in Tibet. Their Peace Tea is the bomb, you guys. It’s full of all kinds of anti-inflammatory goodness that is wonderful this time of year. Drink up: http://www.teatibet.org/

You have other options when it comes to giving, though. You can pay for the coffee of the person behind you in line at Starbucks tomorrow. You can take those clothes you’ve been meaning to get rid of to Goodwill or your local homeless shelter. You can drop off a donation of non-perishables to the nearest food pantry.

If money is a concern for you and you don’t have anything to donate, consider just donating your time. Animal shelters needs dog walkers. Soup kitchens need line workers. Rape and suicide hotlines need caring people to answer their phones. Don’t think because you don’t have cash to give that you don’t have something amazing to offer, because you absolutely do!

These are just a handful of ideas, but hopefully they have sparked your creativity and helped you make a plan to get into the true spirit of the holidays. I would love to hear about how you plan to give back. Leave a comment below and let’s chat!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

On November 11^th, 1994, the world lost one of the most powerful voices of my generation. 20 years later, on World AIDS Day, I want to take a moment to honor the life and legacy of Pedro Zamora. It’s a name many of you probably haven’t heard in a while, but hopefully one that you remember. Though I never had the chance to meet Pedro in person, he came into my home once a week via the third season of MTV’s reality series, The Real World, and profoundly changed my life, my mind and ultimately my heart.

The show’s premise was simple. A group of twentysomethings from various races, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds were put in a posh space and agreed to have the whole thing taped. They fought. They made up. Sometimes they even made out. It was, at least in its first several seasons, leaps and bounds better than the Toddlers and Tiaras and Keeping Up with the Kardashians that we know today.

The San Francisco season deeply affected me. It was the first time in my life I had ever seen an openly gay person on television that wasn’t fictionalized in some negative way. It was also the first experience I’d ever had with someone who was HIV Positive. I saw Pedro as a man who was funny, warm, articulate and a great friend. So much so, I felt like he was my friend, or at least my peer. I actively cheered him on, celebrated his commitment to his partner Sean and prayed would be around long enough for a cure to be found. I was heartbroken when, just after the season ended, so did his journey.

The decision to let Pedro tell his story and honestly portray a person living with HIV was really revolutionary for MTV. It meant that kids who didn’t have the luxury of being exposed to different types of people could learn about an illness that, up until then, had been largely swept under the rug. I’d argue that because of this move and Pedro’s tireless efforts to educate, having an open dialogue about AIDS is now considered the norm. What a difference 20 years makes, huh?

Below are some links, educational and charitable, that will allow you to be a part of Pedro’s legacy and World AIDS Day. With tolerance, compassion and education, hopefully we can see an end to this terrible disease in our lifetime. Please also feel free to comment with your memories of Pedro. I’d love to hear how his story has impacted you.

World AIDS Day Website:

http://www.worldaidsday.org/

(RED) Website:

http://www.red.org/en/

Elton John AIDS Foundation Website:

http://ejaf.org/

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer