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"Step with care and great tact, and remember life'

"Step with care and great tact, and remember life's a great balancing act." -Dr. Seuss #beijing #china #acrobats #performance #bicycle

Following the success of my Emotional Intelligence

Following the success of my Emotional Intelligence For Creatives workshop through Launchpad Learning via Artscape Daniels Launchpad, Mindfulness And Sales is a course on the intersection of mindfulness and sales, viewing sales as a creative process for helping and inspiring others, introspection, and personal development, while growing a business. The first Mindfulness And Sales class will be Intro To Mindfulness And Sales, taking place next Wednesday, September 9th, at 4:00 PM, the second class will be Sales As A Creative Process, and it will be taking place Wednesday, September 16th, at 4:00 PM, and the third class will be The Sales State of Mind, taking place on Wednesday, September 23rd, at 4:00 PM. More classes will be added to this series later this year, and this course will also be discussing a number of myths and preconceived notions related to sales and mindfulness (and how they relate to one another). I am grateful to Artscape for facilitating a variety of enlightening and practical educational opportunities to creatives, in Toronto and globally, and this series is ideal for entrepreneurs, artists, intrapreneurs, and leaders of all kinds. I will be teaching through Zoom, registration for the previously-mentioned classes and many others is available through the link via @launchpadtoronto's bio, and I look forward to seeing you next week! #art #entrepreneurship #sales #introspection #mindfulness

My first article for The Toronto Star was publishe

My first article for The Toronto Star was published this morning. I wrote it, I photographed myself at the meditation studio Hoame for the piece, and I was fortunate to have it edited by my longtime colleague Priya Ramanujam (and some of her gracious team members). The article focuses on meditation, and how meditation and other mindfulness practices have transformed my life for the better, ultimately saving it. Furthermore, the article discusses meditation's potential for dismantling systemic racism on a global scale, while reducing violence of all kinds. I began engaging in various meditation practices regularly in 2014, and such habits have been crucial to my mental health, and to my professional successes in the midst of a global pandemic, a global civil rights movement, and many other upheavals. Meditation is undoubtedly a game-changer, from my perspective, and based on many scientific studies facilitated by institutions such as The University of Toronto, Harvard University, and Stanford University, and the article is available via the link in my bio. #torontostar #journalism #toronto #mindfulness #meditation

Qatari camel trainers. #doha #zekreet #qatar #midd

Qatari camel trainers. #doha #zekreet #qatar #middleeast #camel

“When writing the story of your life, don’t le

“When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen." -Drake #drake #octobersveryown #ovo #toronto #selfactualization

"Artists can have greater access to reality; they

"Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur of life, might miss. Just sharing that truth can be a very powerful thing." -Jay-Z #emmalynestrada #venicebeach #losangeles #california #artist

Mary J. Blige is legendary. #maryjblige #randb #so

Mary J. Blige is legendary. #maryjblige #randb #soul #music #concert

"When we are no longer able to change a situation,

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." -Viktor Frankl #chaos #pandemic #blacklivesmatter #protest #toronto

Last November, part of our team attended Mindful L

Last November, part of our team attended Mindful Living Barbados, in beautiful Bridgetown, Barbados, to learn about the country, mindfulness, meditation, self-care, the human condition, mindfulness programs that are similar to Operation Prefrontal Cortex in North America and the Caribbean, and more. Read about our trip and view my photographs of our adventure via my photography company's blog (https://ajani.ca/blog), and we strongly urge you to sign our petition to bring Advance Peace to Toronto through the link in the article or through Operation Prefrontal Cortex's Instagram account, so that Premier Doug Ford, Mayor John Tory, and the City of Toronto can implement a proven solution to the shootings that we are all concerned about. #bridgetown #barbados #mindfulness #meditation #advancepeaceto

"I got a grind, won't stop, hustle won't quit." -T

"I got a grind, won't stop, hustle won't quit." -T.I. #ti #tip #atlanta #georgia #hiphop

I wrote an article on what it means to be Black in

I wrote an article on what it means to be Black in North America, from my perspective, it features my photographs of the recent solidarity marches in Toronto, and the article is available through my photography company's blog (https://ajani.ca/blog). With that said, I have experienced overt and covert forms of anti-Black racism throughout my life, and I have been racially profiled by police while driving and on foot. Even though I take full responsibility for everything that happens to me in life, in accordance with a number of principles first developed through stoicism, different forms of yoga, and existentialism, racism is an obstacle that all Black people must face nonetheless. Being of African descent in North America, and more specifically, being a Black male in North America often means being a stranger to oneself, a threat to other Black people, a menace to law enforcement, and a danger to society at large. To be a Black male in North America often means being public enemy number one and consequently labeled a criminal at worst or a source of entertainment and laughter at best. Conscious as I am of my Black identity, the recent killing of George Floyd and the marches, protests, and riots that have followed in the United States and elsewhere have affected me deeply. #blacklivesmatter #activism #photojournalism #storytelling #colonialism

The United States of America. #america #usa #slave

The United States of America. #america #usa #slavery #savannah #georgia

As requested by Arianna Huffington, my essay on th

As requested by Arianna Huffington, my essay on the long-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic has been published through Thrive Global, and it is available by searching for my name via the Thrive Global site (https://www.thriveglobal.com). The article includes my photographs of downtown Toronto during the pandemic, in addition to various mental health tools and habits that are relevant and helpful to the vast majority of people, especially artists, entrepreneurs, and executives, as they navigate a global event unlike any we have faced recently. However, individuals that do not have their basic needs met, as per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and individuals that experience untreated, severe mental illnesses or forms of trauma will need more support than the tools outlined through the article. #coronavirus #covid19 #journalism #mentalhealth #toronto

5 AM in Toronto. #drake #toronto #ovo #octobersver

5 AM in Toronto. #drake #toronto #ovo #octobersveryown #rap

I interviewed Julien Christian Lutz, professionall

I interviewed Julien Christian Lutz, professionally known as Director X for Thrive Global, which is an American company founded by Arianna Huffington in 2016 -- a company that provides behavior change technology and media to support individuals struggling with stress and burnout. The protégé of pioneering director Hype Williams, Lutz has been noted for directing high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular artists, including Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and many others. After his experience as a victim of public gun violence in Toronto, and with his childhood friend Danell Adams, he co-founded Operation Prefrontal Cortex, which is a program harnessing the power of mindfulness and meditation to help reduce the incidents of gun and mass violence in Toronto. I have been a part of Operation Prefrontal Cortex for over a year, recently I became the organization's Art Director, and throughout our conversation for Thrive Global, we discuss the evolution of Op PFC, meditation, mindfulness, violence in Toronto and elsewhere, childhood, and more. The interview also features my photography, and it is available by searching for "Director X" through Thrive Global (https://www.thriveglobal.com). #directorx #filmmaking #mindsforlives #meditation #toronto

The mental health, short-term goals, and long-term

The mental health, short-term goals, and long-term goals of many small business owners, entrepreneurs, and most of their employees have been compromised, and the mental health of marginalized communities and those that exist on the fringes of all societies have been unfathomably damaged. Among other variables, social distancing, isolation, and the lack of human touch have taken a toll on many of us, since human beings are social animals. The adverse psychological effects of loneliness are scientifically proven. Those with diagnosed and undiagnosed severe mental illnesses and addictions may not be coping well and may lack access to the resources that can help them during the pandemic. An article that summarizes my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes my photographs of the downtown core of Toronto and mental health tools that can benefit the vast majority of people is available via my photography company's blog (https://ajani.ca/blog). #covid19 #coronavirus #photojournalism #toronto #portrait

CeeLo Green. #ceelogreen #goodiemob #gnarlsbarkley

CeeLo Green. #ceelogreen #goodiemob #gnarlsbarkley #atlanta #portrait

Since the beginning of this year, the Coronavirus

Since the beginning of this year, the Coronavirus pandemic has touched me, my family, my friends, my colleagues, all Torontonians, all Canadians, all human beings, and our planet as a whole. Nothing that I can write will do justice to the millions of people that have been traumatized by hospitalizations and deaths perpetrated by the Coronavirus, nor can anything that I say accurately describe the profundity of the confusion, existential angst, anxiety, fear, depression, racism, nihilism, suicidality, job loss, debt, and financial insecurity that has spread across the world at an inconceivable pace. The effects have been unprecedented for individuals, families, communities, businesses, healthcare systems, and many other networks. Visit my photography company's blog (https://ajani.ca/blog) to read my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic, to learn about some mental health tools that may be useful to most people, and to view my photographs of the downtown core of Toronto as it presently appears to me. #toronto #covid19 #coronavirus #photojournalism #writing #icpconcerned

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