~ Questions I’m Pondering At The New Year ~
~ When’s The Last Time You Did This? ~
~ I’m Loving Lucy ~
~ Dog Parks, Laughter and Gratitude ~
~ Sweet Reminder from Dr. Seuss ~
~ In The Center of The City of Angeles ~
~ Buddha On The Wall ~
~ Wild Lyon~Hearted Love ~
~ Laughter … It’s How The World Breathes ~
~ When I’m Asked “What has been my favorite place in my travels.”~

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

“There are only four questions of value in life… What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only love.”  
   ― Don Juan DeMarco

Hello Lovelies,

One movie I can watch over and over again is Don Juan DeMarco.  This romantic comedy, starring Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway, has enchanted me with the power and magic of love.

As I contemplate the arrival of 2020, the above quote, from that movie, keeps coming to mind.  It moves me to ask other questions that guide me deeper into love and  my ways of expressing that love… 

What brings me the greatest joy?
When do I feel more connected to Life?
What is my deepest longing for this next year?
How does love want to be expressed through me?
What would I dedicate this year to?
What does it mean to live my life as Love?

These are the questions that are alive for me at this year’s turning…. at this decade’s turning.
As Rilke wrote “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

My prayer is that I would live these questions wholeheartedly, for love.

May 2020 find you living your deepest questions, for love.

Here’s to a New Year. May we make it the best year ever!
In Love,
Sharon

 

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Lovely One,

This morning I’ve been pondering an email I recently received from a friend who is just re-entering her “business life” after taking a post-concussion-brain-care sabbatical. 

Her message took me back to a year where I put my own “regular life” on pause to care for myself when my auto-immune system went bonkers.

Since that time, I’ve been learning to listen more sharply to my inner impulses that tell me to stop.

When I listen closely I know when it’s time to put myself in “time-out” from the routine of my life.   When I don’t listen, the signals get stronger and stronger.   Sometimes the body just says, “Stop!”  It can knock me off my feet so that not stopping isn’t an option.   

Now, here we are at the Solstice. Even the movement of the sun appears to stop for several days.   

But isn’t this often the way of it?  Often the times we need to take a pause and stop are the times when life feels unbelievable full. With that in mind I’ve included a powerful “stop” practice that can be done almost anywhere, anytime …. and it only takes a minute.

Experiment with this practice for an entire week.  I’d enjoy hearing about what you notice.

Stopping in this moment with you,
Sharon

JUST STOP
 
In the midst of your busy day, when there seem to be so many things to do,
 
Stop.
 
Stop moving, stop talking, stop what you are doing, and feel.
 
Hold your body in the same position.
Feel this moment just as it is.
 
Hear the sounds.
Notice the sensations in the body.
Notice the speed and texture of your thoughts.
 
Remain like this for sixty seconds.
 
See? The world around you continues, even without your involvement.
 
Who are you now, outside of the game?
 
Now continue with your day.

From Leap Before You Look by Arjuna Ardagh,
with gratitude.

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello dear ones,

To me, these Lucy/emoji pics are hilarious .

I appreciate how Lucy could travel through the full range of emotions in one episode of her TV series.  Emojis are fun to use but they are NOT emotions.  Lucy felt it all.

So, as I laugh at this humor, I let myself be sweetly reminded to feel my full spectrum of emotions … and not take myself quite so seriously.

With loving humor,
Sharon

Loving Lucy in all her flavors

~ Practice Feeling What’s Present Without A Story ~

Whenever you feel provoked, irritated, pulled to make a response, STOP ……..   Sit back in the saddle. 

Scan your body and notice what you are feeling. Seek out any areas of strong emotional tension; feel what is there.

Stay with the sensations, dropping the story—the why and the because  – do everything you can to experience what is here, to the maximum possible degree, for no more than a few minutes …..   Then relax.

Feel your inner experience as though for the first time.
If there is more emotional tension calling to be felt in this moment,   take a few extra minutes to welcome the feeling even more totally.   Keep going until the charge is gone.

Feel yourself now: you are not just a loving person,
                      You are Love itself.

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Beloveds,

When I need a good dose of laughter all I have to do is head to a dog park.

Adorable. Sweet. Cute. Hilarious. All bundled up in fur. 

I’m grateful for the pets I get to fall in love with when Kenneth and I are housesitting.  They never fail to fill my days with laughter and my heart with delightful love. And they’ve lead me to the joy of dog parks. (And, yep,you can even go without a dog!)

Dog Parks. Good medicine for the soul.  I am grateful.

May you and your pack, 2 and 4 leggeds, enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving.

And when you’re in need of a dose of laughter… head for the dogs!

With gratitude,
Sharon

Right now I’m in San Francisco with these rascals, Lola and Mike.

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Treasure,

YOU!   You  ARE a Treasure. 

You are absolutely unique. 

You are irreplaceable. You are a jewel. You are priceless.

From your glorious brilliance, to everyone one of your quirky me-isms, bring it ALL to this party of Life.

Please, let your unapologetic YOU come out and play.  

Stop waiting until you’re perfect.
You already are perfectly, imperfect.

Stop waiting until you’re fixed.
You are not broken. There is nothing to fix.

Stop waiting until you’ve got-it-all-together.  
You’re too magnificent to be contained.

Let go. Be Messy.  Be Here. Outrageous. Present. Alive. YOU!

Celebrating the YOU of YOU,
Sharon

Today You Are You ~ Dr Seuss Quote ~

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Dear One,

For the past month I’ve been in Los Angeles. It’s an amazing city.  But it’s a city that seems to be on steroids.   This practice has been a gentle but potent ally to me.  It’s helped me move from overwhelm to wonder and presence.

FINDING THE CENTER …

In the center of the storm there is a sweet, still spot.
Find that spot within yourself.

You can’t “work” to “find it”.  It’s an effortless place.
Soften your breath; un-clench your belly; allow your face to soften.
The center is always present. Right here. Right now.

Rest in the eye of the storm.
The outer chaos of daily life will continue to swirl around you …
but you can rest in the peaceful core of your being.

The inner chaos of your thoughts might continue to jabber…
but you can take refuge in the quiet of the center.

Yes, there is a still, peace-filled place within you.
Find that place and rest here with me for awhile.

Hanging out in the center with you.
With love,
Sharon

 

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Dear Heart,

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” —Buddha.

This quote is on a banner that lives on the bedroom wall in the Los Angeles home I’m living in right now.

When I open my peepers in the morning it’s one of the first things I see.  As I crawl into bed, once again, it’s there offering  a ‘good night’ reminder to be exquisitely loving to myself.

Every day that banner encourages me to find ways to be more kind, gentle, sweet, loving and affectionate to myself.

With that banner as my cheerleader, I’ve been asking myself   “How can I be my own best lover in this moment?”

I’m not only asking the questions, I’m starting to listen to the answers too.

Yes, I deserve my own love and affection. 
Yes. You deserve your own love and affection.

Sending you a heap of self-kindness,
with love,
Sharon

 

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Precious One,

This poem carries my heart’s longing for fierce-terrifying-transformative love.
Breathing into this message with you,
Sharon ….

There is a wild love that will not satisfy you but destroy you, there is a wild love that will not bring you contentment but tear you open from the inside to reveal nothing less than the fiery face of the universe  ~ Bruce Lyon

Wild Love

When you are tired of the love
that curls up in the lap
of your personal desires
and purrs with the happiness
of what you think you need

consider this:
 
There is a wild love
that will not satisfy you
but destroy you
there is a wild love
that will not bring you contentment
but tear you open from the inside
to reveal nothing less
than the fiery face of the universe
 
The hot breath of that liberation
will quail your heart
before it breaks it
 
When you want that
stake yourself out
beyond the back fence 
of your identity
where the deep forest beckons
quiver and bleat like the poor goat
when it hears the soft snap
of twigs under paws
 
Wild love has not come to be your pet
 
If you are lucky your fear 
will draw it near
and then you may find
the torn fragments of your old self
curled up and purring
in the belly, the blood, the breath and the roar
of
Wild Love

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Dear Ones,

In the spirit of my birthday “More Laughter” proclamation, a dear friend sent this saying along with a fun video. I wanted to share the delight with you.  Enjoy!

With Laughter and Love,
Sharon

Ponderings, Poems & Practices
    for Living Your Brilliance!

Hello Dear Ones,

For almost nine years I’ve been living a gypsy-type of lifestyle.  I’ve had the privilege of traveling to many extraordinary places. People I meet along the way often ask what place has been my favorite. 

This quote from Salil Desai captures my truest answers …

The most wonderful places to be in the world are in someone’s prayers and in someone’s heart. 

Let’s continue to hold each other in our prayers and hearts.
With love and kindness,
Sharon