Another passion of mine...

Is absolutely amazing the way I surprise and discover myself everyday. Today, I discovered (or re-discovered) I like the stationery near my house. Some places in Doha make me feel absolutely connected with myself: Virgin Megastore (at Villagio Mall which unfortunatelly is closed due the fire it suffered killing people - I'm still shocked I must say), Jarir Bookshop and now Stationery Shop. 

Some places fascinate me or I feel myself enchanted in those places, where I can relax, take my time to explore books, music and check all the simple details of life in a new book, a new pen or post-its - my lovely post-its! Yes, life is absolutely wonderful, we just need to STOP and FEEL!

Is it easy? Not everytime or not at the first sight (our brain is most of the time busy being negative or feeding an ego), but believe me, it worth it! It worth to feel umconfortable, set the ego free, set yourself actually free to enjoy the simple things of life! Even if it starts with a simple post-it that you are going to use to read books and learn arabic - something you were wishing for soooo long!

 

Do like the butterfly... spread your beauty by flying away.

Respect yourself, love all your cells and heart.

Go, live and love.

Photo by my lenses and heart, taken in Indonesia :)

Flying can bring interesting, emotional, sad and happy situations into our daily routine

Receiving a kiss from an old lady full of love where I could feel an autentic way of gratitude, honesty, humanity filled my heart another day, as well as, an emotional life story who someone shared with me.

Sometimes we don't know the impact we have in other's lives doing something so small and so big at the same time. These two situations made me realized that I really do things for the others without expecting nothing in return. I just do it with an open heart because, fortunatelly, my parents and life taught me how to be human in the chaos and to put myself in other's shoes. My heart was immerse in love when the lady thank me with a gentle kiss and my heart felt emotional (and the tears almost rolled in my face) when someone shared his story with me and appreciated what I did.

Flying is a tiring life that most of us don't even realize it. The most positive part is to touch other's hearts and feel the human kind in such small things of life. More than destinations, funny or horrible situations, rudeness and kindness, what I keep for myself are the values, the humanity and the simple treasures of life. Like LOVE. True Love.

This a public announcement:

If you want to test your nerves with sexual harassment you must come to Doha!

There are days that is almost impossible. It is too much that you end up like me saying a lot of bad words in your language or just like today looking directly to the hunter and say "seriously?" (translation: are you really trying to hunt me instead of driving?????)

The importance of being... in the present!

Every time I get sick I always analize my life to see where I was making any mistake. I believe that when we get sick is because we were running too fast or paying less attention to ourselves.

So, it was with me. Of course eating a salad that it turns out to be spoiled was one of the reasons to get sick but everytime this happens I allow my body, mind and soul to relax to recover fully... and I analize how much attention I was paying to myself or not. The brightest part of being sick is to re-connect with yourself. There's no way to escape it. You may not even recognize it but you re-connect with yourself automatically because you have to give attention to yourself. You feel the pain, all the umconfortable symptoms etc and you have to slow down and say to yourself "ok, let's heal, let's stop and recover. I give myself all the time to recover. I'm here for you (body)". When you say so, or when I say so, I release part of my anxiety of being good within 2 minutes. When I stop and say "ok, I admit I was rushing too much lately, I'm sorry. Let's take time to heal and recover" actually I'm saying "you (body) worth all the time of the world. You are the physical part of me who supports me and gives me everything I need to experience the physical world. You are a temple and so I give you the attention because I love you, you are perfect because you are Universe's Creation".

So, yes, I was sick yesterday and one of my friends came to help me. The pain on my body was too much to even stand up. So, we spoke, she made me company and cooked for me something light and plain to eat. Today I'm much much better. I believe I surrounded myself by love and because I rested a lot it made me recover faster. Though, I'm still introducing food slowly into my body. Everything is plain and light for now. And some minutes ago I was listening music and feeling grateful for everything in my life. For a healthy body recovering from food poisoning, for the will of reconnecting with myself more than ever and for the beautiful and blessed moments to come!

What Doha taugh me so far:

- To grow up! To do, to be, to laugh with myself;

- Things won't be like you want but how they have to be.
 
- To organize my time, my agenda and prioritize what is important.

- To recognize what really makes sense to my heart.

- To be with myself and enjoy it so badly!

- To (really) select my friends and feel blessed for it.

- To be stronger in my values and feel them so strong within my guts! (I never knew they were so strong till I face all the bullshits I did).

- To see clearly what I want and how living intensely everyday and every feeling can change the way you dance and express yourself truely!

- Things are always different when you live in a different country, when you immerse in a new culture and ways of thinking but this is what makes you lift up! and understand we are all one. We all seek for love and peace and try to do our best in everything. Just forgive and let it go.

- To be more human with others.

- Opening the heart to our energy will attract what is for us, people, situations, etc.

- Listening to the heart is the best way to live your OWN life and not with others expect from you.

- To see how much I simply LOVE my family, pets, true friends - miss them a LOT everyday!

- Real LOVE... how it moves our life completely, beautifully, deeply. The only way to live within our hearts.

Detachment

Today I was speaking with a friend about detachment. I had the opportunity to analize my life lately and I realized I am detaching myself from some friends. I was feeling really bad about it. I like them, they are nice people but somehow it makes me bad to stay in their company. I feel like I have to be another person or just half of the person I am... and I am so intense and rich! After the most amazing experience of awakening in Egypt some weeks ago I naturally started to detach myself from some people and I didn't realize it till someone asked me why I was so quiet lately.
I realized then, besides enjoying these people as nice persons they are, somehow they don't make me good. I really like these friends but I can not accept to be less than I am. I have to respect myself and ignore the social meetings which will afect my essence.
I struggled with this feeling for some weeks but I decided to let go. I have to think about myself first and without hurting anybody I naturally detached myself from bad energies I was dealing with. I like these people and I will always send them good energies but I should not go out with them just because they expect me to go. I will go out with them only when my heart is saying "go" and now my heart is saying "stay with yourself".

I do not intend to hurt anybody and specially myself.
I am just detaching from what/who doesn't make me good. It took a lot of time to see it. I felt really bad but I respect my feelings and I choose myself and my heart.

A beautiful text that we all should read:
(in portuguese)

http://wagnerdeluca.blogspot.com/2012/04/reformar-o-eu.html

Some time ago I felt a strong need to go to Egypt. I didn't know why or what should I do there but I felt a very strong need to go. It was stronger than me that feeling!

I asked my best friend for guidance and she read the cards for me. Yes, I had to go. Something would change for me and that trip was the turning point.

Some days before travelling everything was booked and prepared but I was so tired that I was asking myself "ok, I'm going there because......?". Well, I didn't have an asnwer in my mind but my heart knew it somehow.

So, I went to Cairo first before getting another flight to my destination. At the airport I met one of my colleagues from work and it made me feel so happy to see a familiar face next to me! We exchanged our numbers and keep in touch as we think the same way about living/working and enjoying life here.

Full of excitement and tiredness I waited for the next flight... and I arrived to my destination!

The last day I decided to walk a bit and photograph one mosque that was being built, I remembered passing by bus and saying to myself "I have to come to photograph this mosque".
So, I went and I meet someone next to the mosque that I thought to be another seller trying to convince me that his shop was different from the others. I went, don't know why, maybe because I can't say NO.
What happened inside that shop was, far from my imagination, where I would receive something magic for my soul. I found the reason why I went to Sharm el Sheik and why I was in that shop talking about perfumes, oils and papyrus.
The person I met is an angel with human body. We talked, he read my soul and the palm of my hand, I cried and he healed me. I gained a guru from an expected place in my life. I felt a light coming into me saying "this is why you came here". At that time I understood. I went to Egypt to be healed. Now, I'm light, I feel and I live in the present moment.

Thank you Universe for this present. I thank myself for allowing me to follow my heart which has ALWAYS the answers! If I hadn't follow my heart I wouldn't be so happy and who I am today.
Thank you LIFE.
Thank you Universe.
Thank you Walid.

There is one place on earth I truely admire, LOVE and RESPECT: EGYPT!

Where everything begins....

Where, actually, my life began and made/makes sense!

Establishing limits

I confess, I have a problem establishing limits. I seriously don't like that. For me, everybody should understand my limits naturally and respect my space before my mouth saying something. This is what I would like to have but unfortunatelly/fortunatelly is not like that. I understand that we are all diferent and due our differences people can not guess exactly my limits and I understand that.

Though, this has been a struggle for me since I'm sharing the house with someone I did not choose to live with.

After struggling about whys and hows I thought to myself that imposing limits is also about choosing either with who I speak and share my thoughts and with who I do not.

After my discovery I felt a little bit better about the situation as I said to myself it was enough. I allowed someone to try to destroy my kindness and it was almost impossible to believe I have allowed so. When I said enough I was actually saying to myself I deserve happiness and good people surrounding me. Why shoud I put myself in a place where someone can hurt me or be rude with me? I have done it again but now I know.

The most positive aspect of travelling non-stop is the opportunity you have to meet special friends of your life who live in another part of the world.

Here I share with you, my introduction to Japonese food in... Brazil!!

Thank you, Marina, for this wonderful lunch and afternoon with you! Crossing fingers for the next time! :)

I was planning to write here before but I've been suffering from lack of time, jet lag and having problems with internet connection all over the world!

As usual, I've been super busy. Till here, there's no news about myself. Who knows me, knows I'm always doing something or planning something to do. The good news is I've started to plan the next East Fest Lisbon - Portugal 2013 with my dearest friend and dancer Cris Aysel. We both feel so much joy in planning everything from our hearts! Despite the crisis we both believe everything will work out better than ever!

 At the beginning of the month I also gained an amazing friend in my life who supports me in everything I do and help me to have faith and move forward with my dreams. The best part, I must admit, is that he is not trying to buy me either my soul to get something in return (as I've seen so many times in this country or... in these men!). In a short period of time we feel like pure brothers and I'm sure God sent him to be my friend. It wasn't just a coincidence. It was meant to be. For the first time I can truly trust a MAN to be my friend in this country. Finally!

In the another hand someone I thought to be my friend showed me his interests about me. There is nothing wrong about being interested about a person but I confess I cried once I got home. I felt like, showing his interest towards me was like forcing myself to change into someone I am not! It was completely weird and the situation made me feel really bad. Once again, trusting someone (MALE gender) to be your friend here is a challenge!

To add, another friend, is showing everytime to be very stressed and not supportive about me. I do believe she cares for me a lot as I also care about her, but sometimes, you want to help someone and you do not help at all when you try to assert something as the "right thing to do".
And about this I just need to say "there is no right or wrong in life". I learned with life.
You are you and no one can change you! You are the master of your life, as I am the master of my life & I declare I live by the heart and no one as the power to change me as I did not give permission for it!


Apart from some normal stresses of life I've been also planning some journeys to do, have been looking for books like crazy (I can't control myself when I see a bookshop) and I also have enjoying the wonderful presence of my real friends just to relax/chill out and speak things from the heart.
Oh yes, I'm very blessed about the people who sorrounds me with whom I can speak about God and LOVE!

The rest that doesn't suit me anymore, I'll deal with... asking for God's guidance every day and night.
I release all the things that don't make me good/are useless in the present moment.
Amen.

How everything started...

Yesterday and today I'm thinking about how everything started for me, some months before coming do Doha. I remember the girls I met in my interview, 2 of them I had the privilege to met in Doha again and are the best portuguese friends I could have here.


I remember being seated with one girl in a hotel in the North of the country waiting for the final interview when she said "I think we all will pass this interview". In her words I could feel somehow that she was right, that we really would pass this final test and the probability of coming to Qatar was huge! I felt excited and nervous at the same time. I knew this would change my life forever. All my habits, routines, mind, ideas... but I guess, never my heart and those I love.

So, she was right. And so I came do Doha. During the 3 months since I got the call and I got into the airplane I had to manage a lot of emotions. It was hard to say bye and dive into a new world alone.
I came without knowing anybody, and today, after 10 months here I feel I can move easily. Of course I still struggle with some daily things but we will always struggle with something in our daily life.
Tough I feel my experience here is not going to last many years I feel this is my place now to grow and learn about myself deeply. I feel I'm preparing myself to the BIG step of my life: decide where to live, what to do and fight for my love.
I truely believe Doha was/is meant for me now. Its strong and heavy energy is helping me (in some kind of painful way sometimes) to break the ties I had with the past so I can be free from within and smile whitin my soul!

This journey has been a wonderful experience, full of lessons... and thank God, I got to know real friends!

Have I mentioned lately how WONDERFUL & BEAUTIFUL life is?

Life is ALL of that!

Maybe is the Spring coming, maybe is the re-connection I am doing with myself & the Divine Source. 

If you want the Universe to help you, you have to help yourself first! That's what I am doing :)