April 2024 Favorites

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I hope you enjoy my scrapbook vibe of a blog. There is so much here. I can’t wait to share. I have included some of my photos from my adventures throughout the apocalyptic month. It was a fun one!

The month started with an eclipse that brought all business to a (sanctioned) stop. People at work finally found a socially acceptable reason to stop working and not hide it. The eclipse. People busted out their paper glasses (which were probably repurposed 3-D glasses) and hoped to be in the “path of totality” (which sounds so fatal to me for some reason). I was distracted actually doing work, not watching the eclipse or tempting further blindness. I have way too many contacts at this prescription to be playing these games. Though I am pretty sure no one gets blind because almost everyone looks at it directly, and they are still with sight. (What they are doing with that sight is another question).

Following the planned eclipse was our NYC earthquake + aftershocks. This was more fun than the eclipse because everyone felt it, and there were no fake-dumb-money-grab glasses involved to experience it. (There was also the element of surprise!) I was in the middle of a call when it happened. About an hour later, we got the emergency alert on the phones. Ha. Never depend on those. For anything. It was too late and the instructions were flat out wrong (beyond questionable).

You know what else rocked my world? Seeing Jordan B. Peterson. That was incredible. It was a gift. I wrote about the JBP talk here (if you missed it). I sat next to a much older man who shared with me that his wife was not happy he was there. She did not “approve” of Dr. Peterson. “At least I am not gambling, doing drugs or at a strip club. I am here because I want to be a better man, father and husband,” he told me. I nodded as he explained himself earnestly. I could see the sincerity in his eyes. “I am glad you made it, and I am glad I am here, too. This will be good, ” I assured the stranger.

Speaking of growth, it is a season of transition for me. I am adjusting to a new chapter in life. I am also adjusting to a career pivot. This also means I have had to create passwords and new systems. I ran into a security question drop down menu that was so wild, I took a photo. I literally don’t know the answer to 90% of these on a good day. God help me. Why is this so complicated?

I read some incredible books this month. My favorite was Dilettante, by Dana Brown. Reading the book reminded me that I must eat at The Odeon. (There are so many good quotes this month. Some are from Dana Brown. Don’t sleep on the quotes below. They truly stayed with me and lingered throughout the month. So excited to share!) I am currently reading a book on the Kennedys that has left me shook. The chaos.

Aristotle Onassis’ first wife Tina slept with (and later married) her sister Eugenia’s husband, Stavros Niarchos (whose heir later dated Paris Hilton– me connecting the pieces in the book to the people I do know…).

Onassis slept with both Jackie Kennedy (while she was still married to JFK) and her sister Lee Radziwill (he dated Lee before Jackie). Lee, not to be outdone, was sleeping with JFK while he was married to her sister Jackie. And JFK had his fun with Marilyn Monroe, and then passed her onto Bobby Kennedy who was with her the day she died (many questions about this…). What a disaster. It’s like a giant incestuous, murderous family. They don’t teach you this in history. Had I known this web in high school, I would have written a different essay for the JFK Profiles in Courage competition. Morality was truly just an illusion.

Another great book I read was Power Source, all about releasing emotions held in the pelvic floor. It was fascinating (and a must-read for men and women). I am sure there was a lot the Kennedys and Onassis clan could have “released” in that pelvic floor. (Collective exhale).

This month, when not reading, I attended the Greek Independence Day Parade and then my A and I went to Tiffany’s. It was so lovely. I saw the most gorgeous place settings that would make Mrs. Alice swoon.

They had this fun area dedicated to my birthday twin, Audrey.

Speaking of birthdays– (those who know me, know I have theories on birthday months), this month and the next (known as Taurus season in new age circles or LA) holds several notable people’s birthdays. I would say those who have birthdays in these few weeks are a feisty bunch. There is my father, Kourtney Kardashian Barker, Ed Mylett, Penelope Cruz, Melania Trump, Candace Owens, Lilly Ghalichi, Garance Doré, Beth Kempton, Adele…

Speaking of Melania Trump, while at Tiffany’s, we saw Trump’s motorcade arrive. Fifth Avenue has been impossible due to his presence for the trial(s).

Sometimes, we can’t help inconveniencing folks. I, for one, ate breakfast on the train several times this month. I was that person. I didn’t care. My little matcha mornings wrecked me when I had caffeine.

One of my pilates platforms was up for renewal. When this happens, I decide whether to let it lapse and replace with something that will motivate me more or whether I have used the platform and it is working. I get bored easily with workouts, so to stay motivated, I need and keep variety.

This one platform was not my favorite, so I decided to let it lapse and not renew. I tried one platform for potential replacement (which I won’t name out of respect), and it was interesting. The form videos were cool (at-home workouts are always tricky when it comes to form), but the length and vibe were not it.

See, that’s the thing, there are so many factors– music, no music, audio, setting (is it a nice environment?), length, variety, challenges (I love challenges), is breath work included?, and general vibe. People have an energy to them. Some people make me anxious or they seem lost. Some are militant. Others seem relaxed or have humor. Melissa Wood Tepperberg is one I keep renewing because she is so sweet and love her vibe.

I know this will sound weird, but mentioning in case helpful– something else I look for in this fitness influencer age is how healthy are these peoples’ hormones? The founder and lead in my old platform I let lapse was constantly complaining of bad periods and hormonal acne and such. Her body was ripped (to her credit), but I feel pretty confident that the hardcore workouts were part of that disjointed hormone struggle. I have seen it before. How we move our body affects all of that. Trust your gut and your mind-body connection. I won’t lie that when I prioritized workouts from this platform, I had worse pain. This was also why I decided to let it lapse. The movement has to jibe with the body.

I canceled the app I was testing after the trial. Then, I decided to try a platform that is well-branded and British. It’s like the pilates pretty girl club (my words for it). Her energy is totally different. I like it so far. I think this will be the new workout platform with MWH. The lesson here is ‘Yes, you should be in the pilates pretty girl club. Don’t settle for some janky platform with bad lighting or a workout that will leave you and your hormones shaking for two weeks.’ Biohacking is about smarter not harder.

Life is too short for bad workouts. Also, life is too short to not have foamy drinks. I tried the Anima Mundi herbal powders this month. I mix them with a plant milk. They have been on my radar for a while, but after Melissa Wood went to The Alchemist’s Kitchen and raved about the happiness latte, I knew it was time to try the herbal mixes (clearly influenced). They are yummy. Also, today, I went and visited the kitchen. It was lovely.

While I am not into the new agey aspect of some items in the shop, I do believe that herbs have healing properties and help us. It has been fun making yummy foamy drinks that calm and nourish. I will keep experimenting.

All right. Let me end my month recap here. I hope you enjoy the favorites below. Thank you for sticking around and for loving learning, curiosity and growth alongside me. This month’s top post was Becoming Fascinating, which was my post about Henry Mercer. I loved writing and sharing this one, so I am delighted you all loved it just as much.

If you have more dirt on the Kennedys or Onassis clan, hit me up. Camelot never existed.

Quotes

“Focus is how you knit the hours of the day together. With focus, the day becomes a beautiful tapestry. Without focus, you end up holding a bundle of loose string.” James Clear

“Without faith, I’m frantically trying to control what is not my business to control, and fix what is not in my power to fix… Without faith, I’m wasting time.” Marianne Williamson

“But the future does not have to resemble the past, no matter how many times it has before.” Vivek Ramaswamy

“There is another level with your name on it.” Unknown

“To imagine that something can be intellectual and sensual, pleasurable and painful, real and unreal, good and bad, masculine and feminine is too chaotic and disturbing for us.” Robert Greene on nuance (from Mastery)

“And maybe to deny evil is to be blind to our power, because we have the power to do good and evil. And when we deny that power, we justify our actions.” Erwin Raphael McManus

“If nothing saves us from death, may love at least save us from life.” Pablo Neruda

“The buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity.” A. Edward Newton

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places, but still there is so much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps greater.” J.R.R. Tolkien

“Don’t let your situation define you. Overcome your situation and define yourself.” Jon Gordon

“I am invited to play life at a higher level– to be strong where I have been weak, to be healed where I have acted from my wounds, to give love where before I withheld it.” Marianne Williamson

“I am here for every hurt and heartbreak because I am here for every joy.” John Stamos

“Wonder is the very engine of life.” Erling Kagge

“In order to think, you have to risk being offensive.” Jordan B. Peterson

“Absence, the highest form of presence.” James Joyce

“Our skeptical, cynical attitudes can actually cut us off from so many interesting questions, and from reality itself.” Robert Greene

“Language, and writing… it’s what makes us human, for better or for worse. Stories and narratives, have a way of taking hold and not letting go. Which is why the truth is so important. But narratives take hold whether they are true or not. Journalism is our guardrail. It’s our story, the official record of humanity. When it’s called into question, attacked or practiced in bad faith, then the truth becomes subjective, and as a result, everything falls apart.” Dana Brown, Dilettante

“Don’t think about why you question, simply don’t stop questioning. Don’t worry about what you can’t answer, and don’t try to explain what you can’t know. Curiosity is its own reason. Aren’t you in awe when you contemplate the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure behind reality? And this is the miracle of the human mind– to use its constructions, concepts, and formulas as tools to explain what man sees, feels and touches. Try to comprehend a little more each day. Have holy curiosity.” Albert Einstein

“In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day or to celebrate each special day.” Rasheed Ogunlaru

“The only things guaranteed in life are birth and death, and everything in between should be a celebration. Honor your past, live in the present, and don’t be afraid of the future. And for f***’s sake, have fun along the way.” Dana Brown

“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.” C.S. Lewis

“Hope is rarely rooted in reality. Hope is rooted in something that does not exist.” Erwin Raphael McManus

“The city may suffer in the short term, and be fundamentally changed, but will somehow be okay because it’s New York. And New York never turns its back on you. I can’t wait to see what these kids do with the place.” Dana Brown

“People can help you in many ways throughout life, but there are two things nobody can give you: curiosity and drive. They must be self-supplied.

If you are not interested and curious, all the information in the world can be at your fingertips, but it will be relatively useless. If you are not motivated and driven, whatever connections or opportunities are available to you will be rendered inert.

Now, you won’t feel curious and driven about every area of life, and that’s fine. But it really pays to find something that lights you up. This is one of the primary quests of life: to find the thing that ignites your curiosity and drive.

There are many recipes for success. There is no single way to win. But nearly all recipes include two ingredients: curiosity and drive.” James Clear

“The American experiment was always a test of whether a diverse group of people could govern themselves and be free, and many of us have decided the results are in and the answer is no. […] the decline of an empire is nothing to mourn. The decline of a nation is a different matter.” Vivek Ramaswamy

“You can only create beauty with hope.” Erwin Raphael McManus

“The way we breathe is the way we live. Breathe deep.” Power Source, pg. 107, Lauren Roxburgh

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” Ernest Hemingway

“You cannot wait for it to get quiet. Not in New York, nor anywhere else. You must create your own silence.” Erling Kagge

“Don’t change perceptions– change reality.” Erwin Raphael McManus

“Life really does begin at forty. Up until then, you are just doing research.” Carl Jung

“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Mary Oliver

“If we want the world to get better… we have to stop asking if it is offensive and instead ask if it is true.” Andy Frisella

“A beautiful life is not stumbled upon, it is built. It is chosen. It is nurtured over the years. A beautiful life is made from the heart, not the head. It is not one we can rationalize our way into, it’s one that must be felt. A beautiful life is not one that is immediately comfortable, but one grown through the acknowledgement of what is worth being uncomfortable for. It is not one that is easy, it is one that is worth it.” Unknown

“No matter what’s happening in the world, have your tea, make your list, plan your food preparation, read to your children, wash the clothes, do something creative for everyone and be a light for your home.” Lydia Sherman

“Experience is not what happens to you, it’s how you interpret what happens to you.” Aldous Huxley

Stuff

We Have Lost Faith in the Institution of the Presidency by David Marks

Aggie Lal’s Biohacking Program: Higher Self Academy

I am currently binging the Dr. John Delony Show. Here is a sample taste (some of the calls are wild…)

This compilation:

This interview (Tulsi is gold!)

This Ed Mylett Podcast:

A fun episode. Forever a fan of Elena and Lauryn:

People Who Intrigue Me

Bryony Deery

Aggie Lal

May is my month. I am so excited to start the new month and grow in so many ways. I’ll keep you all updated on the Kennedys (kidding, but sort of not).

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