Angels in Tanzania

My name is Nathalia Castellanos, also well know as “Jenn”. I have recently had the pleasure in gaining the opportunity to travel to Tanzania in hopes to change the lives of young children with unfortunate circumstances. This volunteer trip will be a month-long journey from June to July of this year, and I will be helping the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters to help children with need.

The Capuchin Tertiary Sisters is an organization where the children attending the Fray Luis Amigo school – founded by the organization – located in Tanzania, Africa, are provided with daily meals, education, and school supplies to become successful individuals.  However, with the high demand in this program and the minimal resources available, many of these children in need are unable to attend.

This is when I created the #angelsintanzania movement to join forces with all of you in order to give back to these children in need and provide donations of necessary school supplies. Through the Facebook and Instagram accounts under ‘Angels in Tanzania’, you can contact me for donation pick-ups. With your consent, there will also be an opportunity to send a letter to the child who will receive your donations with a picture of you and your donation. In return, I will be able to post a picture of the child who has received your generous gifts through one of these social media platforms to show our gratitude. All donations are appreciated and count towards giving a child a better future.

The objective of this movement is not only to give back to those in need, but also to spread awareness on the lack of education and resources in Tanzania. Lastly, please remember to #angelsintanzania to help pass along the message with your family, friends, and acquaintances.

Thank you on behalf of myself, The Capuchin Tertiary Sisters, and the Fray Luis Amigo school for children.

Let's Meditate!!

There are so many myths about how to meditate, what a daily meditation practice means, and what the overall experience of meditation should be. Here's the thing, Meditation is for everyone, and it's different for everyone. There is no right or wrong way of doing it, and meditation can help you increase your focus, reduce stress, and prevent common health ailments. Here are the 20 basic tips to get your practice to the next level:

1)Make it a formal practice. You will only get to the next level in meditation by setting aside specific time (preferably two times a day) to be still.

2)Start with the breath. Breathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, focuses the mind and is an ideal way to begin practice.



3)Stretch first. Stretching loosens the muscles and tendons allowing you to sit (or lie) more comfortably. Additionally, stretching starts the process of “going inward” and brings added attention to the body.

4)Meditate with Purpose. Beginners must understand that meditation is an ACTIVE process. The art of focusing your attention to a single point is hard work, and you have to be purposefully engaged!

5)Notice frustration creep up on you. This is very common for beginners as we think “hey, what am I doing here” or “why can’t I just quiet my damn mind already”. When this happens, really focus in on your breath and let the frustrated feelings go.

6)Experiment. Although many of us think of effective meditation as a Yogi sitting cross-legged beneath a Bonzi tree, beginners should be more experimental and try different types of meditation. Try sitting, lying, eyes open, eyes closed, etc.

7)Feel your body parts. A great practice for beginning meditators is to take notice of the body when a meditative state starts to take hold. Once the mind quiets, put all your attention to the feet and then slowly move your way up the body (include your internal organs). This is very healthy and an indicator that you are on the right path.

8)Pick a specific room in your home to meditate. Make sure it is not the same room where you do work, exercise, or sleep. Place candles and other spiritual paraphernalia in the room to help you feel at ease.

9)Read a book (or two) on meditation. Preferably an instructional guide AND one that describes the benefits of deep meditative states. This will get you motivated. John Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are is terrific for beginners.

10)Commit for the long haul. Meditation is a life-long practice, and you will benefit most by NOT examining the results of your daily practice. Just do the best you can every day, and then let it go!

11)Generate moments of awareness during the day. Finding your breath and “being present” while not in formal practice is a wonderful way to evolve your meditation habits.

12)Make sure you will not be disturbed. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is not insuring peaceful practice conditions. If you have it in the back of your mind that the phone might ring, your kids might wake, or your coffee pot might whistle than you will not be able to attain a state of deep relaxation.

13)Notice small adjustments. For beginning meditators, the slightest physical movements can transform a meditative practice from one of frustration to one of renewal. These adjustments may be barely noticeable to an observer, but they can mean everything for your practice.

14)Use a candle. Meditating with eyes closed can be challenging for a beginner. Lighting a candle and using it as your point of focus allows you to strengthen your attention with a visual cue. This can be very powerful.

15)Do NOT Stress. This may be the most important tip for beginners, and the hardest to implement. No matter what happens during your meditation practice, do not stress about it. This includes being nervous before meditating and angry afterwards. Meditation is what it is, and just do the best you can at the time.

16)Do it together. Meditating with a partner or loved one can have many wonderful benefits, and can improve your practice. However, it is necessary to make sure that you set agreed-upon ground rules before you begin!

17)Meditate early in the morning. Without a doubt, early morning is an ideal
time to practice: it is quieter, your mind is not filled with the usual clutter, and there is less chance you will be disturbed. Make it a habit to get up half an hour earlier to meditate.

18)Be Grateful at the end. Once your practice is through, spend 2-3 minutes feeling appreciative of the opportunity to practice and your mind’s ability to focus.

21)Notice when your interest in meditation begins to wane. Meditation is
hard work, and you will inevitably come to a point where it seemingly does not fit into the picture anymore. Chances are that losing the ability to focus on meditation is parallel with your inability to focus in other areas of your life!

Apps for Savvy Gals and Guys!!

Once, every few months, we’ll start deleting all those apps we rarely use. The clutter on our phones starts to seriously get to us and we need to get rid of any space-wasters. Of course, this is followed up by plenty of new apps we want to try out. It’s a vicious cycle. Of all those downloads, there are a few keepers we’ll hold on to. Here are 7 savvy apps you should know.

1.GOODGUIDE

Use the GoodGuide to app to instantly find safe, healthy, green and social responsible products base on scientific ratings. It will help you access products information in a quickly and easy way, the app includes ratings for over 200,000 products and the companies that manufacture them, including pet food, babies and kids, hair care, makeup, food, skin care, household, bath, soap, shower, oral care and more.

2. GOVEGAN! w/Sarah Kramer

The Go Vegan! with Sarah Kramer app for the iPhone and iPad includes 50 delectable animal-free recipes from Sarah’s various cookbooks plus 10 brand new ones, along with original videos and audio tips from Sarah, an emailable shopping list, and a whole lot more. Now there’s no more excuses – get cooking!

3. EVERNOTE FOOD

You probably already use Evernote to store all those random memos and webpages you want to remember, well with Evernote Food 2.0, you can do the same for your entire gustatory life. Now available for the iPad, the free app is ideal for finding restaurants, storing recipes, and saving shots of the things you’ve devoured. Since a good portion of our Evernote was already food-related, this one’s a no-brainer.

4. EVEREST

What’s your “Everest?” Learning another language? Getting to the gym daily? Eating your weight in bacon? With this app, you can finally start working towards your life goals. Think of it as a social network for people who get things done. Share your goals, get tips on how to break each down into steps, and track your progress towards a more productive life.

5. CARROT

Simply having a to-do list does not guarantee you’ll get anything done. In fact, most of our to-do lists start with “Make a To-Do List,” just so we can cross something off. With CARROT, your to-do list becomes a game, and you get more done because of it. Whether you accomplish your tasks and CARROT rewards you, or you upset it is totally up to you and your productivity.

6. HASSLE ME

If you’re the forgetful type and Carrot didn’t work, Hassle Me will literally hassle you to get stuff done, from finishing up your work to picking up something for dinner. It’s quick, with a simple layout and you are able to customize the amount of times per day it will hassle you.  A handy notification will also pop up in the live tile, alerting you of any outstanding to-dos, meaning a quick glance will all but remind you.

7. BEATS MUSIC

Beats might be a newcomer in this category, but the headphone company knows a thing or two about making music look and sound great. That experience carries over to Beats Music, a streaming app with a strikingly sleek interface and a song library that will satisfy even nitpicky audiophiles. Beats is built to help you find the perfect music for any mood, and hardcore music buffs will find plenty to love in the app's wealth of curated playlists from top producers and music publications, such as Dr. Dre and XXL Magazine.

Cheap or Free things to do in Toronto

Winter can be pricey in Toronto so here is the list with all the best free and cheap things to do in the city.

  

1. Go tobogganing

It’s a Canadian winter tradition, and best of all, it’s totally free. You can use a shiny new sled from Toys R Us, Walmart or even an old laundry basket or garbage can lid and head down a slope.

2. Hit an ice rink

There are plenty of ice rinks in Toronto (this is a hockey town, after all) and public skates are usually free (some adult only skates are $3).

3. Visit museums during discounted hours

There’s plenty of ways to get culture in the city, and many of our museums offer free or discounted hours. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) offers discount admission on Friday’s from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is free Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., excluding special ticketed exhibitions.

4. Admire the sculptures at Ice Fest

If you’d like to admire a different kind of art, head to Bloor-Yorkville’s annual ice sculpture festival. The weekend long event has elaborate ice designs on display as well as an ice carving contest, street performers and more. ]

5. See a free show from the Canadian Opera Company

From September until June, the COC hosts a series of free shows at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. The concerts and dance performances take place Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon, with some shows on Wednesdays at noon or 5:30 p.m. It’s a good way to stay warm for an hour, all while enjoying a show. Admission is first come, first served.

6. Shop at a farmer’s market

A rare summer-time tradition can be applied to the colder months. St Lawrence Market’s farmer’s market is open year-round – indoors, of course. Peruse the aisles and buy some seasonal produce or just people-watch and enjoy the smells.

7. Take in a movie

There are several theatres around town that offer cheaper movies: CineStarz in Mississauga, Rainbow Cinemas and the Lightbox has a free screen that plays experimental films. Cost: $4 to $5.

8. TIFF in the Park

Every Wednesday at sunset beginning in July, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the Toronto Entertainment District BIA present free outdoor screenings of classic screen musicals at David Pecaut Square, at King and John streets, (formerly Metro Square).