Here We Start – Issue #52

As we publish our 52^nd Issue, we are entering the holy month of Ramadan. A month in which we learn all over again to be patient, humble, and human; a month in which we rekindle our family relationships and we give back to the community in every possible way. In the spirit of all that, I wish you a blessed month, filled with prayers and faith, giving back to the community, reconnecting with your family; close & far, and lots of productivity.

This month we are joined with three new columnists:

• Mariam Ketait with her column “Ebb & Flow”. Dr. Mariam is a general practitioner specializing in family medicine, with a Masters in quality in healthcare, and various alternative healing certifications including Theta Healing, Spiritual response therapy, Pranic healing and Access consciousness.
  Mariam looks at health from a holistic perspective and believes that our bodies respond to our thought patterns and emotional behaviors. She also believes that health is attainable and that a happy life is a healthy one. Mariam created the concept of “ebb and flow” to reflect how we can deal with the various tides of life by flowing in harmony with our inner wellbeing to achieve health. Her column will cover common health topics with an approach to conditions in a mind body spirit framework.
• Sadiqa Sohail with her column “Little Doses of Happiness”.  Sidiqa is 23 years old and is half-Emirati and half-Pakistani. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the American University of Sharjah and a Master’s degree in Conflict Prevention, Sustainable Peace, and Security from the University of Durham in the UK. Sidiqa owns and manages the boutique-café concept store “Spontiphoria” in Wasl Square, Jumeirah and loves baking cakes and curling up with her cats and a good book.
• Sarah Al Marashi with her column “LOL – Live Out Loud”. Sarah is an award winning entrepreneur, business development specialist, life coach, writer, banking and investments professional with over 15 years of corporate experience working for some of the largest organizations in the region including Citibank, Dubai Holding, and HSBC. She has spearheaded many high profile startups and helped them explore opportunities, win awards and achieve breakthrough results. She is currently the co-founder & Group CEO of the award winning firm Infin8Ventures. Sarah is a certified Co-Active Life Coach, holds a BSc in General Business (Honors), an MBA and Graduate Degree in Finance from the US & a graduate of the Dubai Holding Future Leaders Program (LeadOn). An entrepreneur since she was 8 years old, Sarah has always believed that creativity & innovation are key drivers to growth.
  Sarah believes in the possibility of everything and is inspired by human potential. Her passion is to touch people’s lives by helping those in need, spreading kindness and inspiration by creating opportunities for learning, personal and business growth through her column and hopes to re-ignite the dreamer in all of us and inspire us to make those dreams a reality.

And now to our issue #52 – July 2014 in brief:

• Feature – Ela Jary: As part of our support to Ela Jary’s campaign, we opened the door for a member of their team to tell us more about their initiative, how it started, and how to be part of it.
• Feature – Hear My Echo: Announcing the winner of Hear My Echo’s writing competition along with publishing their winning story.
• Feature – Takatof: Omar AlOwais writes his review on “Takatof”, their Ramadan initiatives and what they mean for the community.
• Ebb & Flow – What Is Health?: Mariam Ketait extends an invitation to look at health as an attainable state of being.
• Habillez Moi – Cruise Collections’ Prominence: Reem AlSuwaidi explores the role of resort collections in the industry.
• Little Doses of Happiness – Pumpkin and Sage Bruschetta and the Joy of Small Things: Sadiqa Sohail shares a simple and easy recipe for bruschetta that is always a winner and some thoughts on what makes life that little bit happier and more special.
• LOL – Live Out Loud – Considering The Possibilities: Sarah Al Marashi urges the readers to believe in themselves being powerful, creative and much more, and helps the reader reach those states.
• Mental Pondering – 5 Ideas For A Happier Life: Budoor AlYousuf shares some minor ideas to live a happier life, in a time people are so bombarded with books and blogs about positivity.
• The Words Within – De-Clutter Your Way to New Beginnings: cluttering not only takes up all the space in your house, but can also hold you back from countless other experiences. Bahar AlAwadhi tells us why it’s important to de-clutter and how to get started.
• To A Better Tomorrow – Endorphin; The Elixir Of Life: Salma Bin Faqqas researches into how Endorphin or as many may call it ‘The hormone of happiness’ work, and how can we increase it.
• Wondering Out Loud – Will Earth Meet Its Long Lost Cousin?: Amna AlMadani looks into the possibility of finding a second Earth, as well as extraterrestrial beings.

Hats off to our amazing editorial team: Aida AlBusaidy and Dhabya AlMuhairi. Enjoy our reads, and don’t forget to check out our illustrations by our creative team: Hayat AlHassan, Marwa Fuad, and Maryam Zainal.

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Warm regards,
Iman Ben Chaibah
Editor in Chief