Queens...

Jewels, The Queens Girl, You know, The Girl From Queens

Up until last month, I swore I lived in NYC for the first two years or so of my life.  As it turns out I was born in a NYC hospital in the neighborhood lovingly coined, "Hell's Kitchen," and I lived in Long Island City, Queens at that time.

One day last month I took my mom to Long Island City, Queens for a quick ride around it was then that she pointed out where on Vernon Boulevard we lived when I was an infant. It was truly a surprise to me but as I turned the corner I saw these smokestacks, my friends.  I have always been drawn to these smokestacks. I mean ever since I was a kid riding around sitting on the jump seat of my dad's Checker Cab I could remember seeing those stacks. It wasn't until last year that I noticed there are four, three large ones and one little one. Nevertheless, the family of smokestacks always brings me HOME to Queens.

I live and loved in Woodside, Jackson Heights, College Point, Flushing, and did lots of growing and living in Corona. 

Yep, I am a Queens Girl, through and through. No matter where you are you can always get on the 7 train and take a tour of Queens, NY, I truly believe you will be glad you did.

Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
BeLove...

Namastè.
In possibility,
Organic JeWeLs

Presence

Sharing is caring.

These past few weeks, as the holiday season nears, I've had so many thoughts running around my mind...

This season will be our five year old's sixth holiday season we are a very spiritual bunch of folks, and me, I've taken Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, He's always been my boy! 

Nevertheless, we celebrate Christmas and for the last three years we celebrated the Festival of Lights, I've attempted to celebrate Three Kings day

with my son but it gets a little lost with me not being able to find Hay for the Camels 

This year I sent my family a message asking them to be more mindful cause we just give too many store purchased gifts. We spend too much money and the true meaning of the holidays is kind of getting lost on our son. I asked everyone to set up dates with him. If they want to give a small trinket as foreshadowing the date, that's totally cool but why not plan a special moment...who said, I won't remember what you gave me but I will always remember how you made me feel?

I know time is busy responsibilities, but isn't nurturing a relationship a responsibility?

Why not give the gift of health and presence? Go to a health food mart, Trader Joe's for example and pick up 20 dollars of healthy eats, set up a lunch or dinner date with a loved one and bring the groceries as you cook them up together. I don't know about you but many of my nearest and dearest memories with my earliest Red Tent is when I was sitting at the kitchen table with my Abuelita and cousins, mom, and aunts cooking and chatting away.

It takes a whole lot to plan a special moment these days but how amazingly precious and priceless is it to share such a beautiful CONNECTED Experience?

I invite you to go on research on line, and find inexpensive ways to explore NY with a loved one and give the gift of PRESENCE.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS?

WHAT HOLIDAY DO YOU CELEBRATE?

(I sometimes enjoy celebrating Festivus ;) )

What are your thoughts on gift giving?  

What do you consider a gift? A present?

Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
BeLove...

Namastè.
In possibility,
Organic JeWeLs

Let Go, Let God

Week two of kindergarten started this morning and perhaps it's crisp September breeze, I'm not sure, but I just can't seem to shake this melancholy.  

Last week, day one, I was able to walk my baby into the school and watch as he walked with his new teachers to their new classroom. Day two I was told to just drop him off at the door and he will be taken care of.  It's a great school, I'm at ease with his being taken care of and getting the education he needs but not being able to hold his hand it tugged at my heart strings.  Day three I was totally fine when I kept reminding myself to breathe deep and let love.  

Today is day four and as I pulled up to the curb I smiled and said, "You are so grown up, not a baby anymore, but I know you know, you will ALWAYS be my baby!" I wasn't thinking about that, it was just a deep sentiment that rose to the surface.  I helped him out of the car and I started to walk with him and said, "Okay, you have to go in from here, I love you. Bye." He grabbed my hand and shook his head no gently.  

Just like me wanting to nurture him and see him to safety by holding his hand, he too wanted the assurance of his mom.  I hugged him walked a little further, kissed him, told him to have a beautiful day.  As he walked in he stopped to confirm where he had to go, I snapped a quick picture with my cell phone, from outside and I walked away with a heavy heart and so proud of my little boy.

For me, it's such a delicate dance the one I have to partake in.  You know, the dance of coaching, nurturing, mothering, teaching, and LETTING GO.  As I drove away in my car I had thought and I prayed that he will always want me to hold his hand and that he will always be confident and strong enough to go alone.

Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
BeLove...

Namastè.
In possibility,
Organic JeWeLs

Time For Momma To Get Grounded In Love

Wayne Dyer just shared this on a very popular social media platform:
I was telling my personal assistant here on Maui, Dee Garnes, about the idea expressed in the poem by William Wordsworth, 'our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting, heaven lies about us in our infancy.' We talked about how the ones who know the most about God, are those who have just recently been wrapped in the arms of the divine, our infants and toddlers. This is what Dee sent to me regarding a conversation she had with her young son Marcus, a little boy I treasure and love since I am with him everyday.

A few weeks ago, my 18-month old, Marcus, and I sat down for dinner. I started our meal with our usual prayer, "Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you, God, for everything”. As we began eating, I stared at him in wonder. He is so beautiful! So freaking perfect! I love this little guy so much! Without thinking, I blurted: "Where did you come from?!” Marcus sat his fork down, looked up, and raised both arms to the sky. So then I asked: "What is God like?” He dropped his arms, looked directly at me and said: “light.”

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I don't know about you Mommas but I feel like this, "I stared at him in wonder. He is so beautiful! So freaking perfect! I love this little guy so much!" Every single day. 

Love & Light.

I'm so grateful to my source, to my son, to the universe, to God, to Love, to my partner, to gratitude even, for giving me the opportunity to live my life with this little being.

Sometimes, okay, often times, I loose my patience and get loud, often times I loose my patience and I threaten, I will remember the grace that allowed us to be in each other's lives and I will remember and honor his being. My little boy is only a human being who is extraordinary and full of love and light. I will continue to love, celebrate, coach, honor, enjoy, and adore this little person with reckless and calculated abandonment.

Parenting can be quite challenging at times; being a parent can be difficult, so I will choose to be grounded in Love at all moments. I will be compassionate with myself and with my child, at all times. FOCUS, REMEMBER, BREATHE, LOVE.

I know I am a wonderful mom 95% of the time but that five percent can really cause emotional damage if I don't pay attention. When we know better we do better, I know better. 

#Parenting #Love #Life #Light

What is your parenting style? What do you do when you think you have no more patience? Where do you spend quality time with your child? How do you coach your child when they are not listening?  I appreciate and look forward to your feedback.

NOTE: I had this inspiration after reading Dr. Dyer's Post and I shared it with my mommy group, then my friends, of course I had to blog it. Sharing is Caring!

Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
BeLove...

Namastè.
In possibility,
Organic JeWeLs

You Can't Attract What You Don't Have

Good. Bad. Indifferent.
It doesn't matter if you don't have it, you can't attract it.
That's just a universal truth.

I just finished a meditation on this notion.

• Whole attracts Whole
• Love attracts Love

Rumi said, "What you Seek is Seeking you.

What are you seeking? What is Your Essential Truth?

If you are clear that we all attract that which we are, what are you attracting?

Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
Namastè.
In possibility,
Organic Jewels 

Velcro Pants...Velcro Dreams

For several years of my life I worked with a community based organization (CBO) employed with a whole bunch of wonderful human beings.  I started working with this group in my late twenties and retired from there in my late thirties. The transformations and transitions I experienced while working there were immeasurable yet blatantly obvious.  For starters when I got to the agency I was a single woman and by the time I stopped working there I was already a mother to five amazing human beings.  The lessons I lived and learned there are ingrained, some would say holistically, in my heart, mind, and soul.

Last night I was having a conversation with my brilliant 16 year old niece.  We discussed brainstorming and I tried to drive home the notion of having limitless ideas.  It was great for me to revisit a conversation I had several times in my career at the aforementioned CBO.  I remember, quite vividly, a meeting where we discussed the notion of having velcro pants.  I don't recall the specifics but in general it was the concept of thinking immensely and experiencing the abundance created by that rational. The Velcro Pants conversation was based on some research conducted by some other organization and a professional and personal development workshop on Innovation.  

This week I participated in The Fourth Annual Proud To Be Latina Empowerment Conference, created by Yesi Murill-Gual, one of the speakers #PTBL, Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz, Founder of JJR Marketing, 
introduced a Strategies for Growth workshop and in it she shared some practical tools.  Wouldn't you know one of her tools was the Anatomy of a Goal.  She recommended making your Goals S.M.A.R.T.  Working with the cbo I was introduced to the S.M.A.R.T. acronym and was so excited to make it one of my practices and to teach it to my students.  Ask anyone who worked with me in this arena and they will tell you my most favorite lesson of all times is "Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals."  I didn't really hear what the letters stood for in Ms. Camacho-Ruiz's share but for me and the cbo the S.M.A.R.T. acronym stands for  Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Timely.

Like I told my niece last night, "if you put on your velcro pants and use your S.M.A.R.T. Goals while working on your velcro dreams you will attain most anything!"

Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
Namastè.
In possibility,
Julie Jewels

What did you say?!?

"Those are bad words, she knows those are bad words because from time to time her mother says similar words and tells her those are bad words."
~Brianne McDonald
10 Types of Moms that Suck

I just started reading the article in the link above and the line I highlighted inspired some thought for me. There have been so many times I have caught myself telling my five year old a word is bad.  I say caught myself because I don't consciously believe words are bad.  I find there are really great words and good words and no words are bad.

I have attempted to explain to my extremely verbal child that we should think before

we speak and acknowledge that with speech comes responsibility.  I attempt to live by Speak with and from Integrity.  It's not always easy, especially if I let my emotions get a hold of me and I forget to pause.

I explain to him how language is so powerful. I drive home the notion that there is a sort of mysticism when you are able to create a tapestry of color and light with only words...it's not alchemy, it's MAGIC.

Nevertheless, I hope I can teach and coach my son to thrive. grow, and love in all healthy ways. Also, I pray he remembers Words are worlds, worlds are created by our words and I hope he remembers all words are either good or great. :)


Love transcends all things.  Trust in the wonder and power of your dreams.

Thank you for reading and Sharing.

Sharing is caring!
Love exists and Life is a miracle, treat it all as such.
Namastè.
In possibility,
Julie Jewels