Author: Andrea Mai

WHAT I LEARNED FROM PRINCE

Sorry I’ve been away fora bit. I’ve been on a crazy awesome journey where I met Prince, His Royal Badness. A huge lesson that I think we;re missing in the spiritual community is EMBODIMENT. We get so caught up nurturing our spirituality that we forget that we need to face the real world. The physical being, the temple that keeps us here on Earth. I had been so busy in my own inner world that I forget to pay attention to what’s outside of me. One thing among followers of The Secret and Law of Attraction that I think is really missing in the guidance is that it’s not enough to just feel it or believe it. You must EMBODY it. You must take your emotions and desires into your physical being and that is when magic happens. Take inspired action. Don’t sit around waiting. It really doesn’t work that way. We’re not in a place where thinking it into existence occurs easily. It must be met with action to drive it forward. Life is a SHOW for us to PLAY our our DREAMS. Live your life like it’s a movie you want to watch. What are you waiting for? You only get to be in THIS life once.

Photography is one of the most powerful ways to move your forward to becoming the person you wish to be. Because it helps you to EMBODY our DREAMS. Playing out the role you desire and capturing it for yourself to see reinforces your desired self-image. I’d love to create your VISION with you. I’m in Toronto, but I can travel to where you are. Contact me here.

P/S There really is life after you leave this world!

May 18, 2016
WHAT I’M FEELING TONIGHT

Some thoughts I’m having tonight… In the last couple of weeks, I’ve decided to live my life completely in the moment and follow where the wind takes me. I’ve spent much time developing my business life and chasing results that are out of my control. I’ve decided to focus solely on the art itself. It’s why I started it to begin with. The purpose of my work is expression of myself and something that greater than me. Something calls me to do it because there is a need for it in the world. Which is why I’m here. I’m living spontaneously. I do a shoot because I feel like it. I write a story because there;s something to say. You can’t tell me when to create. Because it’s not me who is creating. I can only do my best work when I’m in the flow. I’m just the vessel for inspiration (in spirit) to be expressed. Anything less is a waste of time. I no longer question my urges anymore. Because I realized these are God-given soul desires that have to be listened to. Everything else will take care of itself because it’s divinely ordained timing.

May 13, 2016
LIFE PURPOSE, CREATIVITY, AND PRINCE

It’s been so busy, that I forgot to post. Well, actually I knew, but couldn’t get around to doing it. I’ve been busy reviving my other website. For those of you who don’t know, I’m also a Numerology practitioner. I’ve been working with clients doing readings for the past three years. I’ve decided to make that area of business more passive, so that I can focus more on creating more art and writing. Readings do take a lot of energy from me as much as I enjoy doing them. There;s other work I need to explore.

I’m so excited to launch my new website, focusing on Life Purpose Numerology. It’s really taken Numerology to help me break free from my creativity rut and burn out. I used to be very attached to the results of my work, and it hurt me creatively. I now work intuitively, which gives me endless sources of inspiration and energy to do the work. I recently listened to a story from David Icke about the passing of Prince. He said that he had the chance to meet him and he could sense the energy around him, how limitless he was. Prince embodied the music, which made him prolific in his work. I feel similarly about my photography work. The truth is everyone can tap into this energy if they are in tune with their intuition. Both creativity and intuition are one in the same. But as a society we try to make creativity something academic and rigid. We judge the work and the creator. And as creators, we judge ourselves accordingly.

Prince certainly fulfilled his Life Purpose in his lifetime. I would like to help anyone out there who wishes to follow their purpose. Part of being able to find and follow your purpose is knowing yourself really well, and understanding the complexities of who you are. I’ve created a series of reports, called Your Life Purpose Report to help you using the powerful tool of Numerology. If you’d like to explore this further, head on over to my other website (decorated with my photographs!).

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April 28, 2016
STATIONERY LOVE: PERSONAL EMBOSSER

I’m excited to share something that I’ve been wanting to get for a very long time. It’s a personalized embosser. I’m a lover of classy-looking stationery and this is it! I was over the moon about finding a vendor that does fully customized plates. When I placed my order, they sent an email asking me to submit my design. I was expecting that they would ask me to select a design from a catalog that they would personalize for me. But no, they said I could put my own logo and choose my own font for the design. I received the order in about a week’s time. It came with a case for storage. This is a hand-held version, which is great for saving space. I read a lot of reviews before buying and was concerned, but it turned out that there was nothing to worry about. The plates can be changed, which is really cool if I want more plates with other designs. My first attempts at using it was a failure because I didn’t install the plates properly, so it might account for some of the complaints I read on Amazon. It works brilliantly. I plan to use it for my packaging and sales documents. Some people use it for wedding invitations and napkins, which would totally work. I can also imagine using it on gift tags and stickers. It’s a really great gift for stationary lovers or the person who has everything. I made my order through Amazon, but if you’d like to check out this supplier, it’s a company called Imprue.

April 17, 2016
KNOW THYSELF AND STICK WITH IT

The other day, a friend and I were chatting about how much easier things get when you know yourself and you stick with what works. The conversation had stared about shoes and the fact that some of us need more support on our feet than others. I personally, cannot stand a shoe with too much structure. Simple ballet flats with less support is more comfortable for me than that with lots of support. My friend then mentioned that she had gotten a fashion consultation for what clothes work best for her. She said it made her shopping so much easier because she simply avoided the things she knew didn’t work for her and sought out the clothes that did.

I think in both career and business, it’s best to take some time to get to know yourself better and to figure out what solutions work best accordingly. There’s no sense in trying to force something to work when it just isn’t ideal for you. Working like this is working in resistance to who you are, rather than working to your strengths.

For instance, I learned of a typing system called Wealth Dynamics. It’s an archetypal system to figure out what methods of wealth generating is suitable based on your personality. I discovered that I am the Creator type, and that part of my challenge is learning to delegate tasks to others so that I can do more of the actual creative work. This made me realize how much I need to enlist the help of others to promote and sell my work. I’m currently in the process of creating systems in place to help me with this. But one aspect had bee missing until now: People who will help me generate buzz. This is why I have created an affiliate program for selling my work. Affiliate members will receive 20% commission on sales for helping me to reach customers. Interestingly, in the Wealth Dynamics profiles, the people whom I think are likely to do well with referral sales are the Supporter and Stars. Supporters love to connect with people and they are great at netowrking. And the Star is great at being an influence on others.

If you want to find out more about Wealth Dynamics, click here. I recommend finding out what type you are and working with it. Are you good at connecting with people, list building and generating web traffic? Maybe you’d like to join my affiliate program. I offer a great commission rate compared to other affiliate programs, and all you have to do is help me get the word out there about my work. To apply as an affiliate, go here.

April 10, 2016
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT USING ESSENTIAL OILS
Years ago, I worked in cosmetic retail and that was when I was introduced to aromatherapy. I was sent on a trip to Germany for product training where I learned about the many uses of essential oils.

Aromatherapy has the benefit of reaching past the blood-brain barrier to make an impact on your health and well being. It’s not just the scent that is working its magic, but the tiny molecules we absorb through inhalation that make a difference. Not only can it be used to enhance your mood, but it can also be used cosmetically to treat skin and address health issues.

But before you run out to buy oils and start using them, here are some basics you should know about using essential oils.
- Some oils are photo-sensitive; direct application of them on your skin can cause irritation when it gets exposed to sunlight. This is especially true with citrus oils.
- Some oils are safe to use directly on the skin without dilution. But many are not. Essential oils are extremely potent, so dilution for safe-use is necessary to avoid skin irritation.
- The maximum ratio you should use is 3% essential oil to carrier oil. A carrier oil can be sweet almond oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and many more. To calculate the amount of essential oil to use, note that every 10 drops of oil is approximately 1 ml, so for 3%, use 30 drops in 97 ml of carrier oil. Do not try to dilute essential oils in water. If you have an accident and the essential oil is causing a burning sensation on your skin, apply carrier oils to the affected area immediately.
- Refer to an aromatherapy reference book or website to check for contraindications. Although essential oils are natural, they can interfere with medication and sone oils should be avoid for specific reasons, such as pregnancy.
- Essential oils have different levels of evaporating rates, resulting in what perfumers call Notes (top, middle and base notes). For example, top notes such as lemon, it’s aromatic fragrance will not last long on its own as a perfume or home fragrance. So it is necessary to anchor the top note oil with middle and base notes.
I really enjoy aromatherapy, as I have a large collection of essential oils. But I often come across unsafe practices of its use. I hope this will help you to get into aromatherapy and make the most of it. Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions I could answer for you.

Another way you can enhance your mood at home is having beautiful artwork on your walls. Check out my photography prints here.
April 3, 2016
IT’S OK TO LIKE FLOWERS

Alain de Botton is a contemporary philosopher that recently released a book called Art As Therapy. He says that Art has many roles to play our everyday lives and it has seven distinct purposes. One of them is to help us remember things, because as humans, we are forgetful. Art acts as a reminder for us. One of the most popular postcards sold in museum gift shops is Claude Monet’s Waterlilies. Apparently, this is disturbing to sophisticated art tastemakers. Flowers are viewed as frou-frou, not serious by the art world. According to Botton, the popularity of such artworks is an indicator that people look for art to remind them of hope. Hanging beautiful artwork on your walls can brighten your mood when things don’t feel so great. Flowers, though seemingly frivolous is what offers hope and inspiration in a not-so-nice world.

Botton also talks about how Art is used to bottle something, a feeling, a thought, a concept. I definitely feel like I am bottling the essence of flowers in my photography. Flowers are so fleeting, just like life’s beautiful moments.

If you would like to learn more about Art As Therapy, check out Alain De Botton’s video on it.

March 27, 2016
THE BEGINNING OF SPRING

I’m so excited that the official beginning of Spring is here! Finally, the flowers come back in bloom. I expect to be going out on shoots more often. I’ve started putting up my limited edition works for sale in the Shop. I’d like to raise funds for travel to do more shoots elsewhere. Hopefully some gardens in Europe. Fingers crossed!

Here are some photos from a recent visit to Allan Gardens in Toronto. The Easter show is starting, so I’ll be there again soon to see what new blooms they’ve planted.

March 20, 2016
COLOR INSPIRATION: SPRING PALETTE

Whether you are a graphic designer, interior decorator, or fashion designer, choosing colors can seem like an arbitrary process. However, it doesn’t have to be. Choosing colors through inspirational images can take the guesswork out of whether or not the chosen color combinations are going to be harmonious. These color charts created from my Spring photography collection shows you how you can select colors directly from an image to create your color palette. Kudos to Lauren Wager, I was inspired by her blog, Color Collective.

I am excited to announce that I have released an ebook full of color scheme palettes created from my photographs. The ebook includes the color codes for RGB, HEX and Pantone, so that you can recreate the exact color schemes. I hope this will help those of you out there to feel inspired when you’re working with color for your next design project.Details here.

or more color inspiration, check out my new ebook here.

March 13, 2016
LUSH GREEN PARADISE

I love that in the winter time, I can down those cold weather sorrows in warmth and sunlight at a conservatory. Here’s my collection of photos from a recent visit To Allan Gardens in Toronto.

March 6, 2016