Maria Aragon: The Law of Attraction at work on a 10-year old kid!

Posted February 21st, 2011 by Jhet van Ruyven

Today I woke up truly grateful for another beautiful sunny day from where I live  - White Rock, British Columbia (BC), Canada. After receiving an unexpected recognition from the mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson, the night before in an “Who’s Who in BC” event organized by Dahong Filipino, a Filipino-Canadian Community Directory,  I still carry that wonderful feeling as I look on the breathtaking view of the vast ocean from my porch.  I can’t help but reminisce the past, on how my childhood dreams began as a child vendor in a tiny rural village in the Philippines. From poverty, I’m now living that childhood dream, and way beyond my imagination.

Jhet van Ruyven with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson

After posting some photos taken during the awards night, the “Maria Aragon” story caught my attention. I felt goose bumps as I watched her YouTube videos, one of which was her conversation with the pop superstar Lady Gaga herself.  I was moved to tears!  Year’s ago when all I had was a dream of better life, somebody believed in me and saw my potentials. I met a priest who recommended me to a school managed by nuns, and helped me get a college degree. That magic moment was the start of my journey which I aptly call “The Tale of Juliet”.

Maria Aragon talks to Lady Gaga over the radio

Maria Aragon, is a ten-year old born in Canada with Filipino-Canadian parents with the gift of an incredible voice. As young as she is, she has a dream to pursue her passion to sing. And the universe conspired – who would ever thought that Lady Gaga would view her video “Born This Way” shortly after its release? She took it further by endorsing it on her Twitter account, saying “Can’t stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future.” Already at close to eight million views, here is the video that made it all happen:

Lady Gaga acted on her intuition, perhaps moved by her spiritual self to inspire Maria even more. Her phone conversation with the child may have not cost her a penny but for young Maria, it was priceless. She believed in Maria, and only time can tell what would happen next. What is sure for now is that she has invited the wonder kid to her concert in Toronto, Canada.

Thank you Lady Gaga for writing great songs, planting inspiration, and sharing your gifts to the world. This is for sure another history on the making for you and Maria.  Who knows? Maria may walk the similar path of David Foster and Oprah-managed Charice!

More about Maria

In her 5 year old YouTube channel, Maria explains how it all started. “My sister made this channel to put up a very very old video of my dad and my brother making sound effects of dogs and other animals. Years later I’m using this channel to share to everyone my gift of music and the talent that God gave me. I sing, I giggle, I laugh…I love to entertain. ”

She said that she has no music sheets, but only ” figured the chords out myself and it’s all by ear.”  Her influences are Jessie J, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Yiruma, Michael Giacchino, and Lady Gaga.

She further states, “I love to sing, obviously. I also like to paint and draw and go to school everyday but I hate the weekends, but not Saturdays. I’m very interested in writing stories about life. I love my friends and family. I appreciate God and all of his children!  I love music that settles in the beginning but then BAM! Stuff makes you nod, and gets you dancing. I love Michael Jackson so much. What’s weird is that I never officially sang one of his songs. I was into music when I saw Beyonce. She’s cool. And if you want to know, my first CD or tape was Barney of Raffi. I forget which was first, but yeah. Music is me. So me.”

What’s Maria’s secret? I believe there is really no big secret once we set our mind to something.  How law of attraction works is all clear with Maria.  Then the next law kicks in which is the power of “law of creation” at work. Would you agree with me that Maria applies these universal principles which put her dreams to a great start?

  1. Maria has a “dream”
  2. Maria “believes” in her dream
  3. Maria has a “vision”
  4. Maria has “clarity” on what she wants
  5. Maria “acted” on her vision
  6. Maria is “grateful” and she acknowledges her God-given talent.
  7. Maria has “mentors” and “supporters”
  8. Maria took the leap of faith
  9. Maria spent five years recording her songs, she was relentless!
  10. Maria attracted the Law of Attraction

Let Maria and Lady Gaga’s story inspire you today.  I do believe that everything is in divine order and divinely orchestrated. What is meant to be, will be for young Maria, for Lady Gaga, and for each and every one of us. One’s “little acts of kindness” have a ripple effect that can change other people’s lives. This is what makes life worth living – when we know we make a difference in the life of others. In essence, when we share what we have it makes a meaningful and purposeful life journey. We are connected and we are all in one journey, together.

Do you have long forgotten dreams? What are you doing today to make a difference in the life of others?  Are you a dream believer and a dream supporter?

Believe in the power of your dreams they do come true when you believe.

I appreciate your own comments.

Jhet aka Juliet van Ruyven

Living in a life of gratitude, abundance and purpose

Posted in Leaders and Role Models, Magical Moments, Mentoring and Coaching, Success Secrets 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Seven Reasons to Go Skydiving

Posted February 16th, 2011 by Jhet van Ruyven

First there was my bucket list. I just returned from the doctor’s clinic where I was told of a shocking news: there is “cancer” brewing in my body.  That evening, the movie “The Bucket List” which stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman was on. The two great actors portrayed terminally ill men on a road trip with a list of things to fulfill. Now that I have this “health opportunity”, I told myself it would be nice to make my own bucket list.

Instead of succumbing to surgery and chemical infusions right away, I went to Optimum Health Institute in San Diego, California – a holistic healing center that promotes body, mind and spiritual wellness.  There, I met a few new friends who invited me to go on outdoor adventures. During the course of our conversations, I mentioned skydiving not knowing we were in the vicinity of a skydiving school, Parachute Center. And four weeks after my diagnosis, there I was making a freefall at 13,000 feet high!

Check out my AWESOME skydiving adventure video below:

3,960 meters above ground, 60 seconds of freefall at 270km/hour, four minutes descent with a parachute, it was indeed a dive of faith! As one website puts it “Skydiving is probably the most dangerous and toughest of all the extreme sports. What began as a weird imagination of the inquisitive minds in search of human’s ability to fly, is today an established form of recreation and also extremely satisfying experience for the adventurous”.

This happened in 2008 and I am blessed that I am still well today. So what will make you go for the jump? Here are seven reasons why:

1. Skydiving is a leap of faith, literally.

After a  nerve wracking wait and a few minutes of lessons, I went to the plane. All I do is to take a leap of faith and jump. It is good to trust your instructor and find one who will make you feel at ease. Chris, my 6-foot tandem skydiver said it was his 13th jump for the day, so I felt he sure can get me through this.

2. Skydiving beats all amusement park rides.

I can’t even contain myself from screaming on top of my lungs. It was pure joy and bliss. Imagine you are in a roller coaster, but it’s three times the adrenalin rush!

3. Skydiving can teach you to overcome your fear.

I fear heights, I fear jumping, I even fear high slides, and did I say I fear roller coasters? Was I afraid at the time I jumped? Yes I was! I was afraid, but I jumped anyway! Skydiving taught me one important lesson, and that is to do the things that I am afraid of.

4. Skydiving makes you feel truly alive.

The pilot will not wait for you to change your mind. You got to jump when it’s your turn to jump. When it was finally my turn, note that I was the only amateur female skydiver, the most petite and the cutest too (hahaha), my only choice was to go through the open door. And when I did, I felt the gust of wind, the strong breeze – I was one with the clouds. The sun above me, the ground so small below,  I never felt so alive.

5. Skydiving relives your childhood wanna-be.

We all wanted to fly like Superman. Once I was up in the air freely floating, I felt like a child playing super hero – but this time truly flying! I was soaring across the clouds, on top of the horizon, the trees, the buildings, watching cars moving below.

6. Skydiving makes you a conqueror.

With every core of my being, every inch of my body awaken and floating up in the air, I experienced a bird’s eye view of the world. I was flying like a majestic eagle, on top of the world singing my heart away with a deep sense of gratitude. I am proud to have conquered my fear and accomplish such a great feat.

My instructor thank me in fact for making one of the most empowering and enjoyable jump for him because I was singing all the way down. Typically Jhet.

7. Skydiving reminds how precious life is.

My daughter told me there were fatalities in skydiving. I know that there is a chance for things to go wrong. But after that “smooth” touch down and giving my tandem a big thank you hug, I am reminded that I was just given a second life. That experience made me want to live better.

As a word of caution, skydiving is not for everyone. If you have a heart condition, it is best to wait until your doctor says so. There are also weight limitations. You may want to check it out with a skydiving school.

Would I do it again? Sure, when opportunity arise. Better yet and hopefully with my two daughters when they are ready.

What would you do today if you were brave? Skydive? I appreciate your answers and comment.

Posted in Jhet's Life Journey, Magical Moments No Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,
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