Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Days 15 and 16

Article for the early am:  "The Greatest Definition of Love" by Maria Popova

 "By living my wholeness, I Become...

Complete."

Deepak and Oprah's Meditation Experience: Day 15 the Dots start to connect...`

Explore the big picture

"Fills you the way water Fills a pitcher that has no holes or cracks." ~ Deepak

Grace is everywhere and permeates every aspect of life. Grace exists in every moment

"Hidden Secret of Being" - Day 16

“If it is right, it happens — The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.” ~ Steinbeck 

Jason Silva shared the link that begins with this quote ...

“Knowledge of each other, not of the flesh but through the flesh, knowledge of self, the real him, the real her, in extremis, the mask slipped from the face…” ~ Tom Stoppard

Lifetime of Reflections on Love: “Nothing is mysterious, no human relation. Except love.” ~ Susan Sontag

Nature's perspective is 

Open the door. Open the soul... step in.

Pay it forward: embody grace. Point to a higher reality.

"Qualities of our awareness: wonder, joy, and beauty. As grace connects us to the hidden truths of Nature, we are really discovering the essence of our expansive liberated self." ~ DoingTheGratefulDance

Reality more Real than the world of appearances

Safe. Powerful... Grace brings you back to who you really are

"Uncanny feelings ... arrive without anything to cause them. Out of the blue you feel free, unbounded, blissful and awestruck." ~ Deepak

"What Everybody Needs" by Maria Popova

eXtend help and aid. Be there emotionally. Embody grace.

 "You can now show generosity of Spirit in every encounter... open with everyone, accept and respect their point of view... show appreciation." ~ Deepak 

ZEN TIP: “This is the real secret of life - to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” - Alan Watts

Sunday, Monday, Days 13 and 14 of Meditation Experience

“Acknowledging the weirdness makes it a lot easier.” ~ Andrea Bonior, PhD

Balance Your Workload for Max Productivity
Connecting with truest expression of the Self
Day 13 - Succeeding through Gratitude

Escazu Artisan Chocolates, Raleigh, NC
Forgive: in the absence of judgement, there is nothing to Forgive
"Grace, the source of success that lasts a lifetime." ~ Deepak

Gratitude brings compassion and empathy ->

“Having contentment and gratitude in the present moment is the surest way to achieve success.” ~ Bryant McGill

Judge only favorable, for we are more alike than we could ever be different.
Karuna Hum : I am compassion
Life sustaining
Making friends as an adult

"Nest in Abundance" - How Joel Salatine feels when he is in the garden. Me too!

Outing with Angela - Sunday afternoon, July 26th
Push-up Pops!

Quality of your relationships impacts every area of life – including your health and hormones. ~ Sara Gottfried

"Rising arc of abundance" ~ Deepak

S'mores for Stuart thank you again Barbara 

Unimaginable abundance is waiting to fill my life

Valerie with Mom, Barbara, Janice, and Shaun - Summer 2013

What do you want? Why are you here? What’s your deepest sense of meaning and purpose?

 on the Escazu menu :)

Yellow House fun Summer 2013

Zen at the garden, July 27, 2015

A Collection of Now Moments, the only ones that matter :)

aesthetic /esˈTHedik/ adjective 1.concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty. noun 1. a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.

"Being grateful for who you are, your own utterly original experience, allows you to discover a new sense of light ...

Clarity any time, any place. Life unfolds in the most unique and glorious way." ~ Oprah

Day 9...

European cantaloupe, Cucumis melo cantalupensis, has ribbed light green skin and looks nothing like what we commonly call cantaloupe." Plant Palette blog post

“For me, every hour is grace and I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile, so beautifully said by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Elie Wiesel." ~ Oprah, Day 10

Grounded in Gratitude... Gratitude expands every relationship... Grace as a verb instead of a noun... Day 10

Honor your authenticity... live your own story. Day 9

Infinite awareness can accomplish anything. ~ Deepak, Day 10

Kiwano (horned melon) has a hard orange skin with little horns. The fruit contains a green jelly with edible seeds. The taste of the kiwano is a combination of banana, melon, cucumber and lime.

"Maintaining a sense of appreciation in the present moment...is our connection to the Divine" ~ Oprah, Day 9

Namaste' means I recognize my true essence in every soul I meet. This recognition is a wave of love and grace. As you repeat the mantra, let your heart open and feel this love honoring the divinity in everyone." ~ Deepak, Day 10

"Open Ourselves to the ways in which gratitude can bring us together." ~ Oprah, Day 10

Powerful gift we can give another human being: powerful gift we can give another human being is to say, ‘I accept you’. In doing so, we dissolve the differences that separate us from one another and open a way to deeper connection, to alignment and energy.

Quiet beautiful morning in the woods - July 14, 2015

"Remove obstacles... Relationships flourish when we are able to open ourselves to one another with unlimited love, compassion, kindness and understanding." ~ Deepak, Day 10

Sacred vs. Secular by Omvana

Three Sister's Community Garden - July 25, 2015

"Ultimate wellspring of renewal and growth, and it is goodness to be relish and embraced" ~ Oprah, Day 9

Verb: grace: verb 1. do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one's presence.

When two are one, relationships can weather any and all difficulties

"eXperience life as a continuity based on the freshness of every moment." ~ Deepak, Day 9

"You are the author of your own life story. You can start a new chapter any time you choose. So honor your authenticity and live the story. Your story. That no one else can live." ~ Oprah, Day 9

Zzzzz on the Zinnia. Trust me, this bee was so fuull, it was snooZin'

Monday, 20 July 2015 through Friday...

Awaken the Energy of Gratitude 

Chickens? maybe... Courageous Dreaming by Alberto Villoldo

"Every thankful moment makes me healthier" ~ Deepak, Day 8

Foundation

Gratitude Is Within You: 

Honor your authenticity

"I am gladdening my heart." ~ Deepak Day 3 "Awakening the Energy of Gratitude"

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” 
 Karl Barth

Low carbohydrate high protein - higher energy

Making the Move from victim to hero...

Next step - discipline to blissipline to restoration via vacation

Oprah and Deepak newest Meditation Experience: Manifesting Grace Through Gratitude

Probiotic rich foods fermented foods help you get your gut healthy - yogurt? and Prebiotics (garlic, what else?)

Resting - what a week, especially the last 24 hours... Grace is Replying

Twam Eva Mata

Universe is our mother

Visceral - being able to look with eyes that see...

"Where the Moon Sleeps" is a beautiful blog

Our inner and outer worlds merge into one harmonious flow of eXistence.

Zen and the Art of Weeding - what do you think of that book title, Sue?

July 18, 19, weekend misc

Beautifully Bearable through Breath

Cooler temps and Colors spark Creativity

Dragonfly Darting Desirable Downtime

"Economist pointed out, we are selling sugar cookies to the Danes, and buying sugar cookies from the Danes, another absurdity... it would be a lot more sustainable to simply swap recipes. I think it is a very good suggestion." ~ Michael Pollan

"Food is the magic." ~ Terry Wahls
GOOD mornings Great us everyday!
Hummingbird spotting at the Three Sisters Garden this morning

"Immersion is the experience of losing oneself in a fictional world. It's what happens when people are not merely informed or entertained but actually slip into a manufactured reality." - Frank Rose
Jason Silva quote at the beginning of newest video

Kripa: Sanskirt word for the tradition of thanking God every day and in return, God bestows grace

LOVE this! 

Magnificent Moodling - Moodle: To dawdle aimlessly, to idle time away.

Natural History of Four Meals

Omnivore's Dilemma

Pineapple lily at Carolyn's 

Queenisms:

"Running the Ice Cream Stand"

Sue always takes fabulous pictures, check out this little "Q"-t-pie ;)
"These are the questions I ask every day, on my way, on my way, on my way"

Unique ways of looking at life

Verb: grace - a quality of moving in a smooth, relaxed, and attractive way

"When I don't resist, I am in grace" ~ Deepak Chopra
eXpression of divine love: grace
Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day - Sue, Humphrey and mouse celebrated :)

Zen Den: Check out this video. I love it! - "found" it in 2011, rediscovered this weekend!

Happy 54th Birthday to Me!!

Anchored in Appreciation 

Be thankful and married to Joy through

Commitment and Consistency

Drew Canole's 7 Step Morning Ritual

Engaged in the present moment with Enthusiasm

Faire for my 54th Birthday with Friends

Grace through Gratitude - "Grace is the amount of light in our souls"

Happy Birthday to me!!

Inspiration

Japa mala beads

Key that shifts awareness: gratitude - and, of course, Kale

Love and Learn... Mindset Monday

thank you Carmen

Noname00: The Book of Qualities - Ruth Gendler

Open heart through gratitude and yoga with grace - and Oysters on my birthday :)
Purple tomatillo Salsa Recipe - so good

Quality of Commitment was the topic for Sunday's yoga practice with Elise

Sharing my birthday with love from my friends and family phone calls

Thank you everyone xo

Unlimited energy

Volition : the faculty or power of using one's will.

Wake up and ask a better question: "What if...?"

eXpression of Divine love XoXoXo

Yoga for Your eYes by Meir Scheider based on the Bates Method 

Zen Thinking:

July 10,11,12, 2015

Anne Lamott captured the essence of grace when she said 'I do not at all understand the mystery of grace, only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us’. qtd by Oprah

Blessed, touched By grace

Community of the spirit – join it and feel the delight of walking in the noisy street and being the noise. Cose both eyes to see with the other eye." ~ Rumi

Dream a bigger Dream for yourself... Discover the seeds of potential that live within. ~ Deepak

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” ~ Harriet Tubman

Fairy Hair.. Fun!

“Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes this void.” ~ Simone Weil 

Honor the truth that belongs to us all

Inspire communication... vibrancy

Just by connecting love with other positive states, you are bringing love to the surface.

Keep the Shakti of love flowing ... Knitting together the fabric of wholeness one stitch at a time.

Live a Life of extraordinary design...
Merge self and soul

Nothing is too extraordinary to be achieved. If you can dream it, and your intentions are pure, you can be it, and be of service in sharing it with the world." ~ Oprah

Oprah's "Sunrise Faith" The sun will rise

Pure Potential to realize a magnificent destiny

Quiet steady power of the sunrise.... ~ Oprah

Relax to Realize a magnificent destiny
Support from nature, or the universe

The True self is divine by its nature because it is the source of self and soul at the same time.

Universe calling to each of us to listen, and to be heard, to give 

Voice to our truths, our creativity and our unique purpose. ~ Oprah

Who you are is the greatest gift you can give to others

Yoga in the garden? Yes! Every day there are plenty of opportunities to reach, and stretch, and bend!

Zing! "Get some Zing in your life! Beautiful radishes contain fiber; that wonderful indigestible carbohydrate that keeps your system flushed and functioning with regularity and also aids in maintaining a healthy weight and healthy estrogen levels. In Eastern and Ayurvedic healing practices, radishes are said to be a natural diuretic, purifying the kidney and urinary systems and relieving inflammation. Radishes contain glucosinolates -- beneficial sulfur-containing compounds only found in members of the cruciferous vegetable family that might protect from cancer. These beauties are also rich in B6 which makes you less bitchy." ~ Sara Gottfried, MD

July 6 through 9 - 2015

"Accepting the equality of all people in the eyes of God." ~ Deepak Chopra "Radiating Grace" 

Choose love

"Divine grace is unearned. It’s given freely by God or the Divine source." ~ Deepak Chopra

Everything that slows us down and

Forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. 

Gardening is an instrument of grace. – May Sarton

 

"Garden in the Sky" by Valerie Lorimer Contemporary Arts

Home:

John Joseph Law's Birthday is today and this is probably my favorite picture of him :)

Kevin Cashman says, ‘Purpose is Spirit seeking expression’.

Light-handed... light in your step, speech and attitude, especially in trying situations, leads directly to generosity of spirit...

Means that you lighten the burden of others and give from the heart. ~ Deepak "Radiating Grace"

Nigella stavia seed is variously called kalonji (from Hindi), fennel flower, nutmeg flower, black caraway, and Roman coriander. - Wikipedia

"Overflowing love, kindness, humor, appreciation - whatever your spirit has filled you with at that moment." ~ Oprah

Quality of mercy is not strain’d . . . it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” ― William Shakespeare

"Radiating Grace" meditation with Deepak and Oprah... expressing power...

Surrender is the greatest and Strongest Super power and  Spiritual Secret is liberating.

Unconditional kindness of the Universe, the gentle power and serenity that lifts us up no matter what we’re going through." ~ Oprah

Valerie Lorimer Contemporary Arts

eXtraordinary Force that creates our rhythms and cycles and it is the very foundation of the energy of attraction.

Yoga Journal LIVE! at Kripalu

ZEN TIP: "When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are."~ Donald Miller