Meet Mimi Amaral

We recently connected with Mimi Amaral and have shared our conversation below.

Mimi, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
I would have to say that my generosity was attained by observing my parents and Nana [great grandmother]. As a child paying close attention to the interactions that my parents had with others and the genuinely divine, nonjudgmental beauty, calmness, and presence of my Nana greatly influenced my life path.

Allow me to begin with Nana, if there is such a thing as an earth angel, I believe she was one. Nana had this glowing beauty and calmness about her. The picture of her in this article exemplifies her glow, strength, and beauty; she was 98 in the image and passed at 101 years old. She was born in the Azores Island, San Miguel, and as a young adult moved to America. She had a very large family, which is tradition; I am one of her great granddaughters. If I remember correctly, for her 100 birthday there were 110 family members attending from five generations that were still alive. Nana was the matriarchy of the entire family, trust me great grandpa did not run the family, Nana was the rock. I believe because of the struggles Nana faced throughout her life it empowered her to see all sides of a situation which humbled her; she treated all humans with kindness. I remember my auntie Roe telling me when gossip in the family started Nana shut it down immediately by saying, “Where you there? There is always more than one side to a story, and people in glass houses should not throw stones.” Grant it, she said this in Portuguese. I also remember hearing about how my great grandfather, Nana’s husband, would randomly come home with people they did not know and have Nana cook dinner for everyone. The people he brought home unannounced were soldiers or people struggling that he met on the street. Even though my family did not have a lot, they shared what they did have and helped wherever they could. A personal example is when I told Nana I did not believe in religion, but that I am very spiritual and feel very connected to Source. I was nervous to tell her this because she was old school, from the old country, and devote Roman Catholic; however, she was so graceful in her response. She held my hand and said, “We all have our journey, you understand you are connected to something higher and that is what matters.” There was no other like her, and I feel blessed to honor the journey my ancestors took to guide me to where I am today. Nana made it clear that I did not have to follow or agree with the tradition or beliefs of others, that said I will always honor their traditions while embracing my own. I could go on forever with the beautiful memories and example of Nana, “I love you, Nana.”

When asking an adult about their parents, well, they may say parents are no angles; however, my parents had many great qualities. My parents struggled in many ways, which again I believe empowers compassion for others. One example of struggle was my dad was full-blooded Portuguese and, in that culture, one was expected to marry one who is also Portuguese. Well, that did not happen, and he fell deeply in love with my mom who was Caucasian fair skin, blonde hair, and green eyes. As you may guess at first that didn’t go over so well with the huge family, but Nana accepted the marriage and her great grandchildren; no one would ever disrespect Nana, so life began. My parents’ love for one another was strong enough that they embraced 52 years and four children. I observed many times my parents struggled to make ends meet with no help, and I believe because of that it is why my parents accepted everyone and helped others as much as they could. For example, in the town I grew up in a street downtown during the winter would always flood and my father would get in his flatbed truck, go help everyone out, and bring them back to our house for shelter and food. We did not have a lot, but like Nana we shared what we had. Another example was when I was a young adult, I remember meeting my parent’s out for breakfast and my dad told mom and I, “I will be right back.” Of course, that raised my senses and caused me to observe him. I watched my dad walk up to the waitress and silently pay for another table. My dad noticed a very young couple with three children, and I think it reminded him of when he was younger struggling with all of us. He told the waitress I want to pay for their meal, but I don’t want them to know. Shortly after he returned to the table, I didn’t say anything, and we left the restaurant. Dad didn’t realize I noticed what he did, but my heart and soul was deeply touched to witness my father in that moment. Again, there are many examples I could give, “Love and miss you Dad and Mom.”

I believe from witnessing such kindness, compassion, and generosity from Nana and my parents, it greatly influenced who I am today and how I walk my path this lifetime. I believe both nature and nurture influence our path in life; and whether healthy or unhealthy we observe and absorb it all. That said, as adults we need to go within to ask ourselves what we want to keep, and what we want to heal and toss out for our own journey.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am always grateful to wake each morning and I say that because at age 15 1/2 I was told I had six months to live. This is a very long story, but if you are interested in hearing the details of my early Lifes journey, please go to my website to listen to the podcasts:

https://mimipsy-d.com/.

I have always felt very connected to Source [God] so throughout my path I have always felt guided even in the darkest times. This guidance has also had a significant part in how my path has unfolded, including, and not limited to me writing and publishing five books [images at end of article], and an education that encompasses a business and clinical psychology degree. Also, from a very young age I have always felt a deep connection with human beings and have always aspired to help others. Was this innate or due to the beautiful examples I have had from my family? Maybe both. In any case I feel blessed to have embraced many occasions of empowering others in the best way I know how, and I aspire to do so until my last breath of life.

Currently, I am embarking on a path of working with a wonderful team of doctors and health care professionals at Harbor Psychiatry and Mental Heal in Newport Beach, Ca. I aspire to empower others to be an advocate for their own wellness and to embrace their own health and wellness journey. I am grateful for the opportunity to help humans and continue my passion of empowering others. My aspiration is to continue to evolve on multiple levels and while doing so include ways that I can encourage others to also live their best lives.

If anyone would like to attain any of my books, feel free to go to Amazon and type in my name Mimi Amaral:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Mimi+Amaral&crid=1JQJQPFOOC4ZJ&sprefix=mimi+amaral%2Caps%2C142&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This is a great question.

Early in life I made life rules for myself that I have followed ever since. I will share these with you now. If it resonates take it, if it does not toss it.

The Life rules I set for myself are: Breathe, Observe, Respond.

I have done this since I was very young. I have always been one to observe everything, take it all in, and then contemplate what I witnessed so I may come to my own opinion about everything.

To breathe allows for a pause to be mindful not to blurt out something you may regret saying later, to observe allows one to take an eagle’s eye perspective allowing for space between self and situation so to gain perspective, and when one feels the time is healthy one may respond in a conscious, mindful manner.

These three words have been vital and empowering for my entire life’s journey thus far. Hope they help someone else.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I would be interested in opportunities to advocate, educate, and get the word out about my books, which cover many unspoken subjects that humans face along their life journey, and my life story to empower others to never give up and understand they are not alone. I would like to achieve this by being on podcasts, zoom events, Tedx Talk, and eventually my own podcast.

I can be reached through my website at: https://mimipsy-d.com/ and via email at: mimi.psyd@gmail.com

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Tammy stover and Mimi Amaral

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