My Favorite Nature Documentaries / Good Causes PART 6

 

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE NATURE & WILDLIFE DOCS

1. Serengeti 

Narrated by Lupita Nyong'o

Discovery Channel 

2019

2. Snow Chick: A Penguin's Tale

Narrated by Kate Winslet

BBC Earth

2015

Summar from IMDb: A chronicle of the birth and development of one penguin chick, born late and smaller than any of its fellow toddlers.

3. African Hunders

Narrated by Gillian Burke

IMDb

2017

My favorite stories had to do with Misfit, the lion cub.

4. My Octopus Teacher

Netflix

2020

You'll never think about Octopuses in the same way ever again. 

I bought this magnet from the hospital gift shop while my mom was a patient because it reminded me of My Octopus Teacher.

Octopus Magnet

Photo by Chrys Fey

5. Our Great National Parks

Narrated by Barrack Obama

Netflix

2022

World Elephant Day / Good Causes PART 5

Today is the 11th anniversary of World Elephant Day.

Are you an elephant lover?

Here are ways to support Elephants around the world.

ACTION STEPS:

1. First, pledge to support a world that protects elephants, wildlife, and their habitats. You can make your pledge here at WorldElephantDay.org.

2. Sign this petition to protect elephants from the selfish and dangerous ivory trade. These Countries Want to Reopen the Ivory Trade and Put Elephants at Risk.

3. Watch The Ivory Game on Netflix.

4. Symbolically Adopt an African elephant (adult or calf) for $60 through WorldWildlife.org (WWF). When you symbolically adopt an African elephant, you get a free gift.

5. Sponsor a Tusker. In partnership with Tsavo Trust, International Elephant Foundation lets you sponsor an elephant. You can donate once or monthly, as low as $10, $20, $40, $100, or a custom amount.

From their website: "The Sponsor-An-Elephant program has been championing the Iconic Female Tuskers and we are proud to add the boys, both Big Tuskers and Emerging Tuskers (those younger males whose tusks aren’t quite large enough to be Big Tuskers, yet), into the program! Together they represent a vision of what African elephants were before widespread poaching and what could be possible again if we are victorious against poaching."

This is Dida. I was called to sponsor her.

She has a beautiful and powerful energy.

6. Track an elephant with an Elephant Tracking Bracelet from Fahlo. You receive an elephant's name and picture, facts about the elephant such as their story, and access to track the elephant on their expedition. This makes a great gift for an elephant lover. (They have tracking bracelets for sea turtles, sharks, polar bears, and penguins, too.)

From their website: "A portion of all proceeds are donated to Save the Elephants in Kenya, who specializes in elephants research and works to protect wild elephants. Your purchase will help fight ivory poaching, and secure a future for elephants in a rapidly changing world."

DONATE:

7. WWF - "Protecting elephants from poachers is an urgent task—one of the dozens of conservation crises facing us today."

8. African Wildlife Foundation - "Don’t let Africa’s wildlife become history. Join the fight to save these majestic creatures before it’s too late."

9. International Elephant Foundation - "Thanks to our many generous friends and supporters, we’re moving forward with a vision that promotes elephant conservation, scientific investigation and education."

10. Save The Elephants - "Elephants are among the most intelligent creatures on the planet and have complex emotions. Their lives are being lost to the ivory trade, accelerating habitat and range destruction. You can help put a stop to this and ensure Africa’s elephants are protected for generations to come."

BONUS:

Are you a teacher? Do you work with teachers? Do you have kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews/godkids? Kids and classrooms can help elephants, too!

QUESTIONS: Do you or someone you know love elephants? (Pass this post on to any elephant/animal lovers you know.) Did you do any of the action steps above? Are you sponsoring a Tusker?

Good Causes:

Causes and Donations - Books, Animals, and People / PART 1

Good Causes to Support / PART 2

I Donated My Hair / Good Causes PART 3

Stand Up To Cancer, Protect Trans Youth, Stand With Ukraine / PART 4

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Money Mindset Book Recommendations + WEALTH DATES

Money is everywhere. 💰

The device you’re using to read this blog post? Money. 

The electricity in your home, powering your computer and other appliances? Money. 

The chair/couch you’re sitting on? Money.

The food you eat? Money.

The air conditioning or heat in your home, the gas, the water? Money, money, money.

The vehicle you use to get to where you want to go, the gas in the tank, or any other mode of transportation you use (buses, trains, ride sharing, bicycle)? Money, money, money.

I could go on and on.

Money IS everywhere, and yet, most of us don’t have a good relationship with it, going as far back as our childhoods (how our parents reacted to money). Our relationship/trauma with money can even be generational. Most of us hate money because of how it makes us feel, which stems from our money story.

We feel guilty for having money.

We feel shame for wanting money.

We feel insecure when we don’t have money.

We feel scared when we use money.

Again, I could go on and on.

It’s time to change ALL of this.

January of this year I was called to devote the year to abundance and transformation. Part of that involved learning about money mindset and fixing my mindset around money.

In February of 2022, America had its Pluto Return (when Pluto returns to the exact degree and sign it was in at the moment the United States was born...during the signing of the Declaration of Independence).

When this happens to a country, big shit happens (not immediately but over time and in fact, had already started well before the return as Pluto moved into this position).

For America, Pluto’s Return is in Capricorn, a sign that signifies money, so fixing one’s money mindset is extremely important to do, like, NOW. Read more.

To fix my money mindset, I read books such as the ones I recommend in this post; watched IGTVs by Gina Frances and Amy Rushworth; and listened to The Amy Rushworth Show, a podcast on Spotify. Amy is amazing. She’s an unapologetic life coach and 7 figure CEO. For those who resonate with her, they can learn a lot, as I did and continue to do.

NOTE: Both Gina and Amy cater primarily to womb holders and people who identify as women with their content. Amy also teaches other life coaches, but the information she shares can still be applied by other entrepreneurs and business women.

My Favorite IGTVs from Amy Rushworth:

Manifesting Techniques That ACTUALLY Work Part 1

Manifesting Techniques That ACTUALLY Work Part 2 

(The first two are the very first two that I ever watched which changed everything for me.)

Plateau to OVERFLOW in Biz, Brand, Money, & Leadership

Ancestral Blueprints Around Money & Manifesting

(The Ancestral Blueprints one is so good. If you watch just one of the IGTVs, make it that one.)

And my favorite The Amy Rushworth Show Podcast Episodes:

Confidence Through Big Life Changes

I first heard about devoting a day to money and abundance through Gina Frances, an embodiment facilitator/menstrual business coach. 

You can check out this IGTV from Gina, which kicked off her Money Monday feature that she did for a short time on Instagram. In this IGTV she talks about what she did for her Money Mondays. Now, she does her money practices on Thursday, which is ruled by Jupiter and is associated with abundance, career, luck, money, and wealth.

What is a Wealth Date?

A day devoted to money and abundance and YOU!

(Which you don’t have to call a "Wealth Date," or “Money Monday,” or even “Money Day,” but getting comfortable with a phrase like this could be a part of your healing process around money and making money FUN.)

On Thursdays, I spend time being grateful, manifesting, and connecting to money.

You can choose the day that feels right for you, whether that's Monday, Thursday, or Saturday.

How Wealth Dates can look for me:

Affirmations For Writers / Books for Writers

 

I follow Kelly DePuy on Instagram, and when I found out that she published a book of affirmations for writers, to guide and nurture them, hence the subtitle, I was intrigued. I got a copy for myself and knew I'd talk about it here for my Books For Writers feature.

While I was reading her book, I was thinking about all the writers I know and how the affirmations I was reading would be perfect for them and could help them.

Like this one:

Screenshot from Kelly DePuy’s book.

In her book, Kelly DePuy talks in-depth about negative self-talk and limiting beliefs (more than I do in this post). She also gives great information on how to make your own affirmations based on your needs. 

Even if you don't want to write your own affirmations you will surely find amazing positive statements that Kelly shares. Say them aloud, whisper them, write them down, and come back to them again and again, especially when you need a boost or notice you're doing down a dark hole of negative thinking.

Affirmations for Writers

by Kelly Depuy

BUY @ BOOKSHOP

AMAZON

BLURB: 

What if someone said to you, “You are worthy of every dream in your tender heart.”

Feel’s good, doesn’t it? But what if that someone was you? What if YOU were your biggest supporter?

Imagine a writing life where you foster and nourish your creative self with powerful, positive, and heart-centered affirmations. Imagine showing up at the page ready to write, full of passion and hope, and leaving doubt behind.

You’d be more prolific and less burnt out, and you’d learn to face challenges with tenacity and grit. Your life would completely transform.

In Affirmations for Writers, you’ll discover:

- Over 100 affirmations tailored for writers and creatives

- What affirmations are and why they’re powerful

- How to use affirmations to conquer self-doubt, limiting beliefs, and imposter syndrome

- How to create unique and powerful affirmations to reach your goals

After reading this book, you’ll have everything you need to start your affirmation practice, and your mindset around writing will stop getting in the way of your creative success.

***

Affirmations have been a big part of my abundance work and mindset shifts this year.

Some people, when they hear the word "affirmations," are skeptical. They may roll their eyes and dismiss them as silly or trendy, and may think/say, "they're not for me."

Let me start by saying this: Affirmations are for EVERYONE!

You can use affirmations to attract abundance, meet a goal, or bring a dream to reality.

You can also use affirmations to correct your mindset and what you believe about yourself.

So how do affirmations work?

Our minds are programmed with limiting beliefs from our childhood and society, as well as negative self-talk from our inner critics, based on our past experiences.

Dozens, even hundreds, of times a day our minds can be engaged with negative self-talk about ourselves that we don't even notice. By using affirmations, we can become aware of that negative self-talk and correct them.

We can go from "Writing is hard" to "Writing comes to me easily and effortlessly."

Or "I suck at writing" to "There's no writer like me."

If someone told you as a child that you're stupid or ugly or [fill-in-the-blank], you could carry that scar your whole life, believing that false narrative and even perpetuating it with negative self-talk like, "I'm so ugly. I'm so fat. I hate my body."

The things we tell ourselves (be it positive or negative, high vibe or low vibe) we put out into the Universe. We make them real. We give them power. We attract it. We bring more of it into our lives.

Affirmations help us to rewrite those false narratives.

But what if it doesn't work?

Knowing Your Human Design Can Change Your Life, How You Work, and How You Sell

What is Human Design?

It’s similar to your birth chart (which shows where planets were at the time of your birth and how that impacts who you are), but on a different scale. It reveals how different we all are.

Human Design Types:

Projector

Reflector

Manifestor

Generator

Manifesting-Generator

You can find out what your Human Design is by going to https://www.myhumandesign.com/get-your-chart/ and filling in your time, date, and place of birth. That’s it!

So what’s my Human Design?

I’m a Projector.

An Emotional Projector to be exact, which means I need to tune in to my emotions more often and use my emotions to help me make decisions.

To find out what you are specifically, look at the Authority category when you have your Human Design summary.

Mine says: Emotional Solar Plexus, meaning my solar plexus is my authority.

NOTE: This post isn’t meant to teach you everything about Human Design. You can learn more about your Authority by reading your summary and doing extra research by Googling “Solar Plexus Authority.” Of course, substitute the words “solar plexus” for whatever your Authority is.

The first word there for the Authority will indicate what you are. For instance, it may say “mental.”

I’m a Projector. My Authority is Emotional Solar Plexus. Thus, I’m an Emotional Projector.

In a nutshell, Projectors are the visionaries and can see things that others can’t clearly see. They are natural guides, leaders, and teachers.

Now that you know what your Human Design is, I’ll continue. (If you don’t know yet, go find out and then return to this post.)

This whacky chart is like one you’ll receive when you 

find out what your Human Design is. Don’t worry

you don’t have to understand it. This one is mine.

Life Lessons for Projectors

I’m Rejecting Your Projection:

If you’re a Projector, something that will most likely happen is that people will project things on to you.

Projecting is a psychological term. This is when someone projects their own unconscious faults and flaws—anything they may have hidden from themselves or can’t admit to having or haven’t faced and accepted about themselves yet—on to you.

Humans project all the time. That’s our nature. But for Projectors it happens a lot more because we act like mirrors, letting people see things about themselves that they may or may not like. Instead of them understanding what they’re seeing is a reflection of themselves and their own faults, they falsely project it on to us.

This could happen when someone claims you’re judgmental when all they do is judge others. Or they say you’re manipulative when they manipulate others all the time, including you. And so on.

One thing Projectors have to learn and accept is that other people’s projections of us have nothing to do with us but everything to do with them.

Say it with me fellow Projectors: Other people’s projectors of me have nothing to do with me but everything to do with them. It’s not a me problem. It’s a them problem.

Other people’s perceptions of Projectors, regardless of how they created that perception (from what other people told them about you or snippets they see on social media or through limited contact), are not who you really are. That goes for everyone, but especially Projectors.

Meet Thistle the Fairy in Human Form + Giveaway

Last year, I cosplayed as Thistle Greenbud from my mom’s middle grade chapter books Bad Fairy and Bad Fairy Strikes Again. I bought a black wig, put on a black frilly dress I’d worn for Halloween once, topped it with a dark red T-shirt, clipped a flower to the fake hair, and trained my voice so I spoke as I imagined a fairy would speak. Thus, Thistle was born. Or, more accurately, Thistle became human-sized.

I was looking for ways to help my mom market her books, to attract more readers, to stand out. Honestly, while it did stand out in terms of a unique way to promote a book, it didn’t garner the result I was hoping for; we didn’t see an increase in book sales. Not all ideas work in the way you imagine.

Still, I had fun.

Uh-oh! Thistle is human-sized!

What trouble will Thistle get into now?

After I shared images of myself as Thistle, I created short videos that I turned into reels on Instagram. A lot of people don’t like videos on Instagram because it started as a photos-only platform, but everything evolves and evolution is a good thing. Reels can be a creative and fun way to promote a book, which is 100% acceptable to do on Instagram or any other social media platform. Reels/videos can also be used in informative and educational ways, as well as a way to connect to followers more than through immobile images and captions, no matter how long they are.

So, I recorded myself as Thistle.

Here’s the first reel I shared to my mom’s Instagram account:

NOTE: When you click the play button, the video will be small because it’s a reel, not a full-sized video. You can watch the full-sized reel by clicking the “View on Instagram” links below each short clip.

Thistle’s Cry For Help:

0:12 seconds 

View on Instagram 

After the initial video explaining how Thistle got to be as big as a human, I created short clips to introduce her, share fairy secrets, talk about fantasy creatures mentioned in the books, and highlight some fairy slang.

Thistle Reveals Fairy Secrets:

0:21 seconds

View on Instagram

Thistle Greenbud:

0:22 seconds

View on Instagram

Facts About Thistle:

0:18 seconds

View on Instagram

What’s A Batty-Eye?

0:19 seconds

View on Instagram 

What Does Okum-Sokum Mean?

0:09 seconds

View on Instagram 

The above reels/videos are the ones that I think are good introductions to Thistle and are a couple of my personal favorites, but I also want to share the most-viewed reels on Instagram because it’s usually not the images and videos we think will do well that get a lot of interaction. From the ones above, Facts About Thistle (currently 1,090 views) and What’s A Batty-Eye (currently 1,509 views) are among the most-viewed on Instagram, but here’s more:

What Do You Call A Group Of Fairies?

0:11 seconds

View on Instagram

Currently 1,064 views

What Are Brownie Fairies?

0:17 seconds

View on Instagram

Currently 1,395 views

What Are Flower Fairies?

0:28 seconds

View on Instagram

Currently 1,380 views

What Are Goblins?

0:14 seconds 

View on Instagram 

Currently 1,365 views

What Are Boggarts?

0:14 seconds 

View on Instagram

Currently 1,347 views

What’s A Pixie?

0:13 seconds

View on Instagram

Currently 1,079 views

I’ve been VERY slowly posting all the Thistle reels I made for my mom to my TikTok, because it is perfectly acceptable to post videos from Instagram to TikTok and vice versa, and it’s not only acceptable but considerate to cross-promote the same content across your social media for the followers who aren’t everywhere and who would otherwise miss it if you only shared it in one place.

So far, it’s interesting to see the differences between these two platforms. I’ve noticed the videos that did well on Instagram don’t do as well on TikTok, but also the ones that do well on TikTok hadn’t done as well on Instagram.

For Instance, What Do You Call A Group Of Fairies? on Instagram has over a thousand views. Meanwhile, on TikTok (posted much later), it has 236 views.

Also, one titled The Fairy Realm has 151 views on Instagram but has 1,300+ views on TikTok. I notice the same for my own reels and TikTok videos (the ones where I’m not cosplaying as Thistle).

This demonstrates why it’s a good idea to share the same content widely, just as you’d have your books wide (which means having your books available on multiple book sites so your readers can purchase them from sites according to their device and purchasing preferences).

TikTok is still foreign to me, but I do like to make videos (be it reels or TikToks) from time to time.

If you’d like to see ALL of the Thistle reels I did for my mom, check out her IG reels here.

June 7 - 24

PRIZES: Signed paperback copies of Bad Fairy and Bad Fairy Strikes Again (middle grade chapter books) by my mom Elaine Kaye, pink flower headband, pink fuzzy fashion scrunchie, “Be Kind” rainbow cosmetic/pencil bag.

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QUESTION: Do you believe in fairies? 🧚‍♀️ 🧚‍♂️ 🧚 

P.S. Thistle may come back in human form this year. Follow my mom (Elaine Kaye) on Instagram to see it when/if it happens!

LGBTQIA+ Book Recommendations for Pride Month

June is Pride Month for the LGBTQIA+ community, and believe me, we need it. Yes, “we.” I am the A in the acronym, which stands for asexual (not ally, a common misconception that erases asexual people). With heterosexuality celebrated every day of every year for the past two thousand years or more, those of us on the LGBTQ+ spectrum need and deserve a month to be proud of who we are, love ourselves for who we are, celebrate ourselves for who we are, and to be unapologetic about it.

We need this month.

We need community.

We need true allies.

We need books!

Books written by LGBTQ+ authors and/or with LGBTQ+ characters are the most challenged and banned books EVER. That’s not an exaggeration. LGBTQ+ content dominates each year’s list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books curated by the American Library Association, along with books about racism and books about BIPOC people. In 2019, 8 of the 10 titles that made the list had LGBTQ+ content or characters in them. In 2020, the word/phrase most used in censorship reports was “LGBTQIA+.” This is only getting worse, but it won’t stop kids or readers from reading whatever the hell they want to read!

I support the LGBTQIA+ community.

I support LGBTQIA+ authors.

I support LGBTQIA+ books.

Let’s celebrate the freedom to love our way and the freedom to read!

This post is packed with LGBTQIA+ book recommendations for you to add to your TBR list, read, review, recommend to others, gift to loved ones, share with young readers, donate to Little Free Libraries, and request at your local library.

There’s so many books that I didn’t have space for blurbs or short descriptions. I organized the titles into groups based on where they fall on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and used Bookshop’s widgets that you can scroll through. Then you click on the covers of the titles that catch your eye and read more about them on Bookshop.

***This is not an exhaustive list but rather a starting point.***

Enjoy!

First, I have to shout out this great non-fiction book:

Rainbow Revolutions: Power, Pride, and Protest in the Fight For Queer Rights

Buy @ BookShop

My Review: This book is fabulous. This is a history of queer rights that was needed and is needed. I learned knew things and expanded my knowledge on others. There’s so much here that’s not readily known, and for a reason, because it was history that had been buried on purpose or it was taboo to discuss.

For instance, we all know about Hitler’s terrifying reign in which Jewish people, Polish people, people of color, people with disabilities, and queer people were targeted. While the fact that queer people were targeted is mentioned (most of the time), it’s never really discussed. Like how 5,000-15,000 men were sent to concentration camps for being gay, and when the war ended and the camps closed, they weren’t often freed but sent straight to prison for being (or assumed) gay. They are “forgotten victims of the Nazis.” 

This book covers a lot including the Stonewall Riots, the AIDS crisis, voguing, the rainbow flag, Pride marches, the LGBTQ+ acronym, prominent figures, and more.

LGBTQIA+ BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: