surrender

in the light of truth
surrender to live life with nobility, grace and elegance

al ritmo de mi alma

with one of my favorite feathers
me regalo plumas y rosas
bailo al ritmo de mi alma
y soy feliz...

hope for hope

remembering Tia Hope
hope for today.

hope for tomorrow.

hope for peace.

hope for love.

hope for light.

hope for children.

hope for mothers.

hope for fathers.

hope for families.

hope for hope.

originally published in June 2007

soy mujer

a warrior, a queen, a gypsy, a woman

soy guerrera de otros siglos

soy reina desde antes

soy gitana bailando

soy esa que grita su verdad en silencio

soy mujer

watching the moon

detail from a portrait by Robert Barberena De La Rocha


Watching the moon
at midnight,
solitary, mid-sky,
I knew myself completely,
no part left out.

- Izumi Shikibu (c. 974-1034)


full moon tonight

partial lunar eclipse

opportunity for enlightenment

she invites us to play

my son's hand covered in volcanic sand

juguemos con Ella
exploremos
esculquemos
descubramos
Ella nos invita
bañemonos en Madre Tierra Bendita

let us play with Her
let us explore
let us search
let us discover
She invites us
let us bathe in Blessed Mother Earth

only soul

freedom to create

"The beauty of art is that there are no rules..." - Mia Michaels

no rules to follow

no rules to break

only soul

om

Om Mani Päme Hum
"The mantra Om Mani Päme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. Pä, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom. So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (c.1910-28 - 1991)

mad, naked summer

summer hats, summer shades

Press close, bare-bosomed Night!
Press close, magnetic, nourishing Night!
Night of south winds! Night of the large, few stars!
Still, nodding Night! Mad, naked, Summer Night!

- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

wishing you mad, naked summer nights...

true sun is within

summer solstice

With praying hands I face the sun, feeling love and joy in my heart.

I stretch up my hands and let the sun fill me with warmth.

I bow before the sun's radiance and place my face to the ground with humble respect.

I lift my face to the sun and then remember, to achieve such heights, I must be as the dust of the earth.

I stretch up towards its light trying to reach the greatest heights and again surrender.

I stand tall as I remember the true sun is within me.

-- Ancient Verse, author unknown
years ago, one of my yoga instructors shared this prayer with me

father's day

this picture is worth one thousand words...
Happy Father's Day

soul dance

I love how the grass grows tall and proud despite the concrete
See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

yesterday afternoon, I lay upon the sweet grass, looked up at the rising moon and setting sun and felt my soul dance

curiosity

he holds the ring of the future
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.
- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

what are you curious about today?

on the edges of time

one of my rings landed in the midst of flowers and continued dancing

Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

let us surrender to the dance of life, let us dance, let us dance

sounds of life

let us sing louder, let us sing stronger
I have been watching the World Cup and I miss the human voices. I miss the songs. I miss the cheers. Plastic horns drown out all sounds of life, but people continue to sing.

of the soul

Rumi of my soul...
Oh soul,
you worry too much.
You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?
You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.

- RUMI

only sacredness

Rumi speaks to me in dreams...

Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness. - RUMI

Let us taste the sacredness in the ordinary.

time

craving complete solitude
Empty the cup.

- Zen Master Nan-in (1868-1912)

our lives are so busy, so full...how do we begin to empty the cup? meditation. time alone with our innermost self. even 5 minutes makes a difference.

new moon

tonight, let us dance barefoot under the new moon
new moon, new beginning
open up to universal energies
visualize your dreams become realities

enano de mariposas

an excerpt from a short story written in 2007
El enano era un galán. Entró al Salón de Escudos como un sultán. Dos tigres, una avestruz y seis jabalíes lo escoltaron a los aposentos de la Diosa Blanca. El enano le traía las mejores Mariposas Maravillas para adornar sus cabellos de plata.