Be the Beauty

Hear Candy: a poem to engage your senses and get you going.

Posted on September 8, 2015 by engagingly yours

A poem to engage your senses and get your week going by the incomparable Rives!

If I controlled the Internet
You could auction your broken heart on eBay
Take the money, go to Amazon
Buy a phonebook for a country you’ve never been too
Call folks at random till you find somebody that flirts really well in a foreign language.

If I were in charge of the Internet you could mapquest your lover’s mood swings
Hang left at cranky, right at preoccupied, u-turn on silent treatment
all the way back to Tongue Kissing and Good Loving.
You could navigate and understand every emotional intersection.

Some days I’m as shallow as a baking pan
but i still stretch miles in all directions
If I Owned The Internet
Napster
Monster and
Friendster dot com
would be one big website.

That way you could listen to cool music while you pretend to look for a job and you’re really just chatting with your pals! heck,
If I ran the web — you could email dead people.

They would not email you back.

but you’d get an automated reply.
their name in your inbox, that’s all you wanted anyway
and a message saying, hey it’s me…
I MISS YOU. Listen you’ll see being dead is, dandy
now you go back to raising kids and waging peace and craving, candy.

If I designed the internet, Childhood.com would be a loop. of a boy. in an orchard.
With a ski-pole for a sword, trashcan lid for a shield shouting
I AM THE EMPEROR OF ORANGES
I AM THE EMPEROR OF ORANGES
I AM THE EMPEROR OF ORANGES
now follow me ok?
Grandma dot com would be a recipe for biscuits and spit bath instructions (1, 2, 3)
that links with…
Hot Diggity Dog dot com that is my grandfather
they take you to
Gruff ex-cop on his forth marriage dot dad
he forms an attachment to
Kinda ditzy but still sends gingersnaps for christmas dot mom
who downloads
The Boy In The Orchard
The Emperor of Oranges
who grows up to be
me
the guy who usually goes too far
so if I were Emperor of the Internet, I guess I’d still be mortal huh?

But at that point, I would probably already have the lowest possible mortgage
and the most enlarged possible penis
so, I would Outlaw spam on my first day in office,
I wouldn’t need it!
I’d be like some kind of Internet Genius.
and me? I’d like to upgrade, to deity and maybe just like that.

I’d go wireless.
ehhh? Maybe GOOGLE would hire this
i could zip through your servers and firewalls like a virus
until the world wide web is as wise as wild and as organized
as I think a modern day miracle slash oracle can get, but
ohhhew weeeeee, you wanna bet
just how wack and un-PC your Mac or PC’s gonna be when I’m rocking hot shit hot shot GOD dot net

I guess it’s just like life. It is not a question of IF you can, it’s do ya…
We can interfere with the Interface
We can make you’ve got hallelujah the national anthem of cyberspace.
Every lucky time we log on.

You don’t say a prayer,
You don’t write a psalm,
You don’t chant an ommmmmmm
You send one blessed email

to
Whoever you’re thinking of
at
daddle a da da daa daa didaddle-la-daddle-la-daddle-la-da daddle da
dot com.

Rives.

Posted in Hearing, humor, Inspiration, poems, Senses | Tagged creativity, inspiration, poetry and spoken word, Rives, senses, social media | Leave a comment

What I Like About You, and You, and You….

Posted on August 31, 2015 by engagingly yours

Hello my Lovely ‘Likers’,

The day my last post hit the ‘stands’ a number of you reached out right away to say you ‘liked’ what you saw. Ditto Beauties. touched and excited to see so many ‘faces’ looking out at me from the postage stamp like Gravatar at the bottom of the page!

It is deeply gratifying to know that other people relate to my experience, and receive what I am offering. Modern life is isolating by nature, without adding my recent hermetic circumstances to the mix. Blogging brings me up close and personal and helps me to feel connected at best and at least, less isolated. Community is a human necessity and blogging is a wonderful way to find that, as you find yourself.

We are all doing our best and that best varies from day to day based on the variables and vagaries of life. I don’t think there is one amongst us who wouldn’t benefit from a smile of encouragement. ‘Liking’ something is like that smile. It is a way of connecting and of showing support all in one click. It is a kind of alliance that can lead to friendship.

I’ve had a few very special exchanges with other Bloggers over the years. I’ve also read about Bloggers meeting up off the page. I think that would be an interesting experience to say the least. I already love visiting you at your blogs where I am often inspired, and moved – so many of you are so courageous and creative! Occasionally, I feel a twinge of jealousy. Those of you without children hanging out in cafes in Paris know who you are. Mostly I am grateful for the sense of community I have experienced here on WordPress where in the midst of all the corporate and chain store blogs, people are finding themselves and supporting each other in and through creative expression. And so I just wanted to be sure I told you so, because life is to short precious and precarious not to say what you mean or mean what you say!

Oh course Art is for its own sake… I love the process and all that, life is a journey I never worry stuff. Still, at the end of a post, when I hit the publish button, I want to know that you are there on the other side to pick up the receiver. Writers need readers like malteds need straws. And we all need (and want) to be seen and heard. When I studied at Naropa (the famed Boulder based Jack Keroac School of Disembodied Poetry), they taught us to see whilst simultaneously allowing ourselves to be seen as we read or performed as a means to authentic presence. At the grassroots level, this whole blogging thing is like that experience of revelation and recognition.

In-between the markers of race, religion, nation states, genders, borders, boundaries, beliefs and territories there is an inlet. An oasis where time throws off the cloak of its disguise, and disappears into the tide of Love beckoning always at the shores of our longing. Drawing us back into ourselves, whole and imperfect as pearls. I’ll meet you there.

xoxoxSabrina

Posted in BlogPosts, Inspiration, Lifestyle, poems, Senses | Tagged blogging, community, experience, Gratitude, lifestyle, poetry, social media | 1 Comment

All Shapes and Sizes

Posted on August 29, 2015 by engagingly yours

creatinginspiration every day

Hello again Lovelies,

I’ve started work on my book again. It feels so00 good to be physically able to write and create and make! I am grateful for every moment that I am doing what I love. Writing is medicine for me, and not writing is akin to a diabetic not taking their insulin. It is ‘funny’ how what at first acts as an obstacle can turn out to be an opening…

Beauty really does come in all shapes and sizes, materials, mediums, and forms. From icicles to irises to ideas. The power of a beautiful idea or ideas can be life changing. Discovering Dr. John Sarno’s Mindbody Prescription got me thinking about what a beautiful thing it is to be able to accept, understand and forgive, and even bless what has been painful in our lives. As the deeply empathetic writer and teacher,Mark Matousek, notes, “if you haven’t experienced wounding in dramatic ways from devastating loss or pain, you may think that there are those who are wounded — and then there is you.”

“The truth is we all have wounds. They are part of the human condition. And they can manifest in many ways — your insecurities, your limiting beliefs, your challenged relationships or issues with anxiety and depression. Not only do we all have wounds, but we also have aspects to our identities that are lived out in the shadow. And yet, these forbidden parts contain essential elements of our true nature. They hold wisdom, energy, creativity and power — and need to be brought into the light so we can be free and whole.”

Healing builds over time through conscious attention to what is needed and Grace. Recovery is a verb, a process, and a puzzle. There is no one way, and spoiler alert, there is no magic wand. I know, I know. There isn’t any one amongst us who has not occasionally wished for the wand. Ok so no magic wand but..there is still magic. Beauty is ordinary magic. The fact that something so pleasurable is also so good for us!! Is in fact necessary for us to thrive, pretty much says it all. That doesn’t always happen or I would be drinking thick vanilla malteds (my current craving) a lot more often.

Embed from Getty Images

Speaking of Beauty. The next time you feel like seeing some of the world’s great Art collections you can see some of the world’s masterpieces “up close and giga-pixeled” without needing to travel farther than your laptop, you might want to visit Google’s Project Art. The cultural institute’s expansive and ambitious virtual (global?) museum of art. I spent time yesterday in the peace and privacy of my own home absorbed in the beauty of Marc Chagall’s angels. Painted in 1963 for the ceiling of the paris opera house.

The gallery never closes so you can head here anytime your spirits or soul need a little pick me up. Yes I’d rather be in Paris, sitting in a cafe in Montparnasse. Until then, well a girl can dream, and still see Chagall’s Angels! The scope of the project can be overwhelming so to get you started here are a few options: Modern Australian Art The aforementioned Chagall panels. A wonderful collection from the National Gallery of Women’s Art, and one all about Love.

Wishing you all every good and Beautiful thing until we meet again!

Engagingly Yours, xoxoxoSabrina

Posted in Healing, Inspiration, Lifestyle, quotes, Resources, self care, Senses | Tagged Art, Art Therapy, Beauty, nature, poetry, quotes, recovery, self care, Soul food for the Senses, The Mindbody Prescription, Travel | Leave a comment

Sense the Possibility of Being Happy for no Reason and Feel your Heart Expand

Posted on August 20, 2015 by engagingly yours

Posted in Senses | Tagged Beauty, lifestyle, photography, poetry, Soul food for the Senses | Leave a comment

A PEACH OF A CRISP (THAT STAYS CRISP)

Posted on August 17, 2015 by engagingly yours

This is what I’ll be making this week with the stone fruit from my Goodlife Organics Farm Box! Yummmm!

Posted in Senses | Tagged Baking with stone fruit, Food, lifestyle, Soul food for the Senses | Leave a comment

Now this is a good way to “waste time”

Posted on August 15, 2015 by engagingly yours

Hello Beautiful,

How is the weekend going. If it is all work and no play, or if you’re feeling creatively stagnant, this post is for you!

What a fun way to breakthrough “writer’s block”.

OK so it’s supposed to be for kids. No kids, no problem because we all have a little kid within. Usually this part of us goes neglected. The ratio is the more your true needs were neglected as a kid, the more you tend to neglect your own inner little kid’s needs now.

Word Mover allows children, teens, and adults to create “found poetry” by choosing from word banks and existing famous works; additionally, users can add new words to create a piece of poetry by moving/manipulating the text.

FEATURES

6 poem categories, each with the ability to personalize
12 backgrounds for stylizing poems
Helpful instructions available throughout app
Viewing of finished poem for proofreading
Ability to save poem as draft or final version
Ability to print poem
Ability to send poem by e-mail

“What a fun way to breakthrough writer’s block.”

My theory is that the ailments that end up as pain in the necks, shoulders and arms (carpal tunnel, frozen shoulder, tendonitis, bursitis, etc) are in part our inner kid’s metaphorically tugging at our sleeves, saying, Let’s play!

So the next time you notice pain tugging at your sleeve you might try gently shaking them out and wiggling your fingers…then turn on some music that makes you feel good and want to move and let your body, not your mind, lead! Allow your arms and legs to make spontaneous even foolish looking movements.

Then take turns letting other parts of your body lead..

your head, your head, your hara- the region of the solar plexus or abdomen, believed to be the spiritual center of the soul and the body’s life-processes.

What does it feel like to move from these parts of yourself. Which feels best or most needed at this time?

Save the last dance for your arms and hands let them clap and snap and twirl to your heart’s content.

See you next week! Engagingly yours,

Sabrina xoxox

To find our more, including links to the Wordmover App, go to http://www.readwritethink.org. via Word Mover – ReadWriteThink.

Posted in BlogPosts, chill out, Lifestyle, poems, Senses, Treasure Chest | Tagged Art Therapy, carpel tunnel, creative apps, Dance like no one is watching, Education, family fun, healing, inner child, poetry, tendonitis | Leave a comment

▶ Inspiration Thursday: Don’t Let Fear Steal Your Beauty!

Posted on August 6, 2015 by engagingly yours

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!…

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
—Rumi

via ▶ Attend and Befriend – Healing the Fear Body – Tara Brach – YouTube.a

href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14351313/?claim=h7uqxvv2fx8″>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Posted in Senses | Tagged healingthefear, inspiration, mindfulness, poetry, Rumi, spirituality | Leave a comment

▶ Soul Food for Your Senses Saturday

Posted on August 1, 2015 by engagingly yours

Engage your Senses, let your Imagination Roam, your Body Dance, and your Heart Soar! Wishing you every good thing! xoSabrina<3

via ▶ Conjure One feat. Poe – Center Of The Sun – YouTube.

Posted in chill out, Music, self care, Senses | Tagged Beauty, Bliss, center of the sun, chill out, Soul food for the Senses | Leave a comment

Treasure Chest Thursday

Posted on July 30, 2015 by engagingly yours

One of the things I adore doing is sharing treasures and ways to Be the Beauty you Love with Readers, friends, even the occasional ‘stranger’. I am always discovering engaging things that I want to crow about and this one is especially timely. Yoga-urt’s Organic Cafe ribbon cutting ceremony is today, in Glendale’s beautiful Kenneth Village 1407 W. Kenneth Road, Glendale, CA 91201. The made with love, good for you creaminess is hold your horses, gluten-free (cones), Vegan, Soy-Free, and Kosher. Mazel, as they say around these parts to creative cooking wonder, Meredith Klein, of Pranaful and dreamer and founder of Yoga-urt, Melissa Schulman. It’s been a three year journey for the entertainment industry project manager, turned yoga teacher, turned small business owner. For Melissa, Yoga-urt is about community, love, and providing nourishment for people coming together to live healthier lives.

pin bow 2

Melissa was a smiling face providing generous tastes for all, and told us told us they had all but sold out on opening day. And I know why! This is really something special.. the purity of the products and flavors..made local with awareness rarely seen at the commercial level. This seriously delicious stuff really is the Yoga of yogurt. We sat in the tiny back patio with its bright pink geraniums eating the creamy-luscious real peanut butter, deep chocolate, not too sweet strawberry, pure vanilla, and decadent salted caramel. So perfect for the hot summer days. If you’re looking for authenticity this is worth getting off the beaten path and over to Glendale in the SFV, for sure! For the uninitiated that stands for San Fernando Valley. It’s not too far from Universal studios and Griffith Observatory so you could easily make a day of it.Talk about bringing your yoga off the mat…and into your tummy. Mmmmm

Another form of nourishment I’ve recently discovered and want to offer you a taste of is the multi-talented writer/editor/journalist Sara Blackthorne ’s In-Her-Room. It’s a spirited, intelligent intimate podcast featuring meaningful conversation with women writers from around the world including my Photo Meditation teacher, Susannah Conway, and one of my very favorite, authors and self care pioneers, Jennifer Louden. The Woman’s Comfort Book, her first and most famous book, is as relevant now as when first published. Do yourself a favor and check this book out. Jennifer is an inspirational figure for me ( I am enrolled in Oasis, her free offering this summer. )

woman's comfort

In-Her-Room is an adventure in community-building and creative conversation. As a podcast, it allows for the freedom to go deep in exploring who we are as women, as writers, and as humans having an impact on the world. Being an audio experience, you can take it with you through your day — working out, running errands, taking kids to practice, cooking dinner — and listen when it works for you. Because as women with busy lives, finding a way to connect with our craft even when we aren’t writing is really important. You can listen in each episode post, on SoundCloud, Stitcher Radio and iTunes.

Wishing you every good thing and more,

Engagingly yours, Sabrina xoxo,<3<3<3

Posted in BlogPosts, Hearing, Lifestyle, Resources, Senses, Taste | Tagged community, Food, inspiration, podcasts, Travel, women, Writers, writing, Yoga, Yoga-urt | Leave a comment

Engaging with Relaxation: Swinging on a cloud

Posted on July 26, 2015 by engagingly yours

“Clouds are so commonplace that their beauty is often overlooked.
They are for dreamers and their contemplation benefits the soul.
Indeed, all who consider the shapes they see in them will save
on psychoanalysis bills.”

Hello Beauty-full Readers,

I hope you are having a peaceful Sunday. If you are, and especially if you aren’t, you might want to try Cloud gazing. It is one of my favorite ways to Engage, relax and reconnect.

Only 2 minutes of Engaged- gazing while you focus on breathing in and breathing out can transport you from a state of distraction to a much more peaceful place of appreciation and connection!! Yay, we like easy. This is an especially good practice for urban dwellers who access to land based natureis limited.

It is a quick, simple, no cost way to bring me back to the Beauty of the everyday.

And for those cloudless days…I think I need one of these Cloudswings by one of my favorite artists, Margriet Smulders!

up!

Keep looking

Engagingly yours! XOXO Sabrina

Posted in Inspiration, Resources, self care, Senses | Tagged Art, Beauty, Gratitude, nature, photography, relaxation, senses | 2 Comments

Independence Day: welcome to some hard-won Luck (part two)

Posted on July 2, 2015 by engagingly yours

“What I had, then and still have now, is something a lot to offer, teach and give. All of it time-tested and Mother approved. Through the best of times and the worst, these practices have engaged my senses in Beauty and saved me from succumbing to overwhelming pain and despair.”

Hello again Lovelies,

Welcome to part two of the story. When I launched EngagingtheSenses.com at the end of 2011, I had a fleshy outline in hand and a signed contract with a well published editor for New World and Penguin. The time was now. After years of believing, working, weaving, and wading through the life’s tide pools…it was time to dive in! I was ready, or so I thought….I couldn’t have imagined or accepted then that I would end up with motor nerve damage and be unable to write regularly for years to come. Nor would I have been able to accept the other losses and minor tragedies that have followed like books one after another falling off a shelf. More than my fair share..?

Though I did my best to keep my chin up, to focus on and Be the Beauty I loved and love, the years of unbroken pain, broken sleep and shattered nerves left me a shadow of myself. Much of the time I lived outside my thin pain riddled limbs. Engaging my senses had sustained my soul! Now it was my body’s turn to heal. I moved to LA to get the medical care and neurological physical therapy I needed. It was hard but it was happening. I was recovering. I really was and I was also about to start writing the book. It was just before christmas 2014. Finally… I had three whole weeks to myself and then it happened. Out of blue. I never saw it coming. That made it even harder. Betrayal became the straw that broke my heart and allowed me to contract an autoimmune disorder. I was sick to the very core of my being. Even in sleep there was no reprieve. I woke several time a night covered in sweat already in pain because my stomach burned and my heart roiled. I was covered in rashes….You may have noticed that blog posts have been fewer and farther between since January. Just after christmas, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. There aren’t words to describe how very, very ill, empty and depleted. I almost died.. it might have been easier.

Begin to Listen from Within

It has been the hardest climb up I’ve ever experienced. The seemingly personal nature of the act… I now know that both nothing and everything is personal. And that what we do and don’t is a reflection of who we are. What I knew and chose then was and is to keep my heart open and allow myself to feel everything, no matter what. Not all at once, but all of it in good time. It was and is an act of Self-preservation.

.. to do the work I have waited a life time to do there was and is no other way but to come from the heart and stay in the light. No matter what!

I am recovering. I don’t throw up when the sun hits my solar plexus anymore, and I often sleep through the night. Right now there is little if any margin. And yet, the healing is incremental and undeniable. And so I begin once again, inspired by Susannah’s ecourse, to engage anew through the lens of photo meditation!