It was 6am at the Toronto airport and I was exhausted from a weekend with friends and was attempting to board my flight to return to Boston. I had a direct flight so I knew I could get through 3 hours and find my bed soon enough to finish the well needed slumber I was desperate for. NOPE….the Universe had another plan for me that day! I approached the counter with my boarding pass in hand, and was surprisingly requested to stand to the side and not board the plane. A good 45 minutes later I was still standing there with no more information, but had quickly been joined by a Harvard student Bowen, and this very friendly man, Dr. Blaise Aguierre, and might I say quite chipper for being bumped from a flight and bright eyed for 6am!

Blaise cheerfully chattered on his beautiful South African accent about how he was “so excited for what the Universe could bring us today!” I sadly was still in victim mode, but the very long day brought us a 2 hour wait for the customer service desk to even open, more delays, duplicate flights, and even a suggestion from Blaise to drive to Boston and have an adventure! Blaise remained calm and happy, or now I would say “mindful” throughout the whole ordeal. He even decided to videotape the adventure and miraculous solutions that came our way!

NOW THIS VIDEO BELOW THIS PARAGRAPH IS QUITE EMBARRASSING BUT NECESSARY for the story to show the personal JOURNEY I had from "victimhood" to "MINDFULNESS MAGIC" this day turned into! I am exhausted as it was 6AM BUT NO EXCUSES....I was in victim mode! It is so cool that Doc Blaise stays open to possibilities can day can bring, even when bumped from a flight! He even suggested renting a car and we all drive to Boston on an adventure which in turn would of gotten us home quicker in hindsight!

As the travel “fiasco” or now I say “opportunity”went on, I decided I needed to mirror him and practice what I preach! I needed to figure out a way to be “present” and “open to possibilities” myself, so I took out my Deepak and Oprah meditation on my phone. Blaise looked at me and eloquently in his beautiful accent said “Is that Oprah and Deepak on your phone?” He then proceeded to share a photo with me of HIM and OPRAH! I was like…”WHO ARE YOU?”

I then said to him out of the blue...“You are so positive you remind me of the DOG WHISPERER!” By the way I never watch that show and was even surprised it came out of my mouth! He belly laughed and then shared with me that he was in a documentary called “Mindfulness the Movie: BE HAPPY NOW! alongside Deepak Chopra, Thich Nhát Hanh, Sharon and Oliver Stone, and you guessed it…Cesar Milan the DOG WHISPERER!

Needless to say, we spent the day running for flights, however magically had good timing, miraculous solutions, and while he showed me the TRUE way to approach the day MINDFULLY! In fact, my spilling bags and suitcase actually HELPED us catch a flight! I overpacked yet again...in fact I am the unofficial President of Over Packers Anonymous, but for once it paid off!

Short version is, we arrived in a connecting airport with zero time to spare, and when we arrived at the gate late they told us our seats once again had been given away. However, we were informed of another flight across the airport (after we had already RUN to this gate) that may have seats. I turned around, and YUP my bag exploded into a yard sale all over the floor. SOOOOO I told Blaise and Bowen to RUN and try and catch the alternative flight (our 3rd try of the day) while I cleaned up my debacle on the floor. While they were sprinting away from me, a lovely flight attendant approached me and said, "you know ..I may be able to finagle some seats for you after-all!" TO THIS DAY...Blaise tells everyone, if it wasn't for Erika horrible packing skills we would have never got home! I texted the boys to inform them get back immediately, and we all made it home to Boston together! Our main goal was to actually get Bowen to an interview at Harvard as we were willing to take other flights, but it all worked out in the end of a long day of TRAINS, TRAMS and MINDFULNESS! Doc Blaise documented the whole thing and mentioned how staying in the present moment, open to possibilities kept our energy going in the right direction! Mindfulness can be miraculous magic if you "go with the flow!"

I am CLEARLY a changed e woman in this NEXT video! I GET IT NOW!

As mindful as I thought I was, meeting Blaise had a tremendous impact. His mentorship and friendship over the past 5 years has helped me to cultivate my own TRUE Mindfulness practice and share its benefits with those around me. One of my favorite quotes I share often is, “Mindfulness isn’t hard, you just need to remember to do it!”

I highly recommend starting a gratitude journal that OPRAH suggests! I personally use the "THANKFUL app" and have my students journey through the "365 Gratitude Journal" and I also love SMILING MIND as well! There are many options for you and your students so check them out for sure!.

I have spent the 6 years since meeting DOC building and sharing my own Mindfulness practice and cultivating it with creativity! I LOVE sharing as much as m=possible about the power of Mindfulness and find my path full of opportunities to do just that! I am forever honored and grateful for these opportunities. I hope to find you all at an event or even help to host one for you someday! This is my way to give back! I pray our paths cross for collaboration someday soon!

Thank you for reading my story! THANK YOU UNIVERSE for bringing me BLAISE and BOWEN to show me the "hands on" lesson and journey to true Mindfulness! I also learned a tough lesson to NEVER wear horizontal striped when you travel....as you NEVER know when you will be filmed! I wish you all a MINDFULLY BEAUTIFUL day and beyond!

NAMASTE!

MUCH LOVE TO ALL!

Erika

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaIDn6QtKko9Zcdv0A-7A6Dy-hPfrU0Ww

Cheek out #MyBreathingBubble with FREE templates, demos and lesson plans! MORE being added soon so you and your students can create your very won PERSONALIZED BREATHING BUBBLES! They make wonderful gifts too! MY STUDENTS LOVE THEM and honestly use them daily to help in their own Mindful healing!