Ur Happy Place 9/29

welcome to ur happy place for the week of 9/29! i'm glad ur here with me. today the images here are taken by my hubbie, dino .first an october sunset from 30,000 feet. and how's this for new england foliage... if u want some perfect perfect music to get you in the autumnal way of being try william ackerman's new england roads...take a listen first thing in the morning while you and the sun rise together or as a commute companion..or..?? no matter where u live this will do it! and tah dah! here's my beloved dino below..here on set in brooklyn, ny during one of the this old house remotes. he is one creative heart, let me tell you. some piece of camera equipment is perennially attached to his person;)

ur happy place haiku:

letting hope settle in

songbird who quiets my soul

an invitation

things have been challenging here in my little world. we've had some health issues and without going into the gory details they are the kind that either don't go away overnite or possibly at all. we're learning alot; to have patience and lean into hope daily. nothing life threatening, no worries there. but i find myself swinging back and forth between hope and longing for my old life, hope and lamenting over the loss of the things i cannot enjoy anymore, hope and wishing that i will find the ways to restore my body, hope and regret that i am here in this place now and hope and peace that this is part of my unique journey and that there is still so much about my life that i appreciate and love.

life turns a corner and then what we were used to and familiar with vanishes. i'm sharing a bit today because ur happy place is big enough to handle it. it is a refuge for body, mind and soul. mine as well as yours..and sometimes putting out there what is going on even if it's not the juicy, exciting, yummy stuff has merit and i believe is very worthwhile...i'm deeply encountering the practice of acceptance more regularly than ever, i'm especially aware of the leaves falling, their colors and smell. of the rituals that bring me happiness and comfort; making homemade apple sauce, chatting with niko after school and over homework , watching the evening sky deepen into darkness...

maybe this time is bringing us a unique opportunity to choose to be aware, to choose to live as much as possible with our hearts leading the way. that is a hopeful thought, don't you think?

and i do have one yummy morsel for you today as a perk from all the change we're going through. i'm cooking a new way and have a dino and niko approved dessert :) for you from breaking the vicious cycle by elaine gottschall :

peanut butter brownies (the boys say its more like cake)

1c. peanut butter, no additives, almond butter can be substituted

1/2c. honey

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

mix all ingredients thoroughly, and pour into a well- buttered eight in. square dish. bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. remove from oven when nicely browned. cool slightly and turn out of pan. cut the brownies squares.

enjoy warm or room temperature with a steaming mug of ur fav tea!

and now here's ken lidden with his bi-monthly offering:

Opening Your Heart"

All too often we hear the words open your heart. What does that mean! How do I do this!

Yoga, Meditation, Walking in the Woods, Doing Your Creative Thing.

I believe, and I tell my students that Your Heart is Always Open, it is never closed.

Just allow your light to venture out, allow the clouds that block the light to lift, to drift away.

The clouds maybe there for a very good reason, but crack open the door and allow them to float freely.

In Emmanuel's Book 2, The Choice for Love, the question is posed, "I would like to know how to open my heart and what the heaviness around it is all about."

The answer which I dearly love and cherish is as follows.

"My very dear, the heaviness around your heart is the illusion in which you have wrapped yourself to keep your heart safe. Contradiction? Well, illusion is contradiction.

When the small child receives the clear message that he or she is not wanted as they are, then the wound is wrapped in forgetting. The heaviness around your heart was designed by the child to protect themselves from ever, ever being wounded again.

But such wrapping shuts out the light and mutes the voice of the heart. You are longing to be unwrapped, to be free, and the heaviness is the whispered caution that tells you, "It's dangerous." Close your eyes and welcome the heaviness. It will lighten.In doing so, you bring your self-love into an area that believes it will never be seen, never be heard, never be allowed."

So, may I suggest where you are right now, to sit up tall, to lift your chest out and up.

Allow your heart to shine, embrace the small child and allow its voice to be heard.

Yours in life, om shanti

Ken Lidden

..please enjoy jen gray's genius now and may you lean into whatever life brings you...with your chest out and up and ur heart leading the way.. until next week...xxx

t

Ur Happy Place

welcome to Ur Happy Place for the week of september 23rd! the images today come from my friend chrissy anderson they're perfect images to make us smile today as we spend a few minutes together in UHP.

so settle in and breathe with awareness for a minute:

breathe in and thank yourself for taking this time to nourish yourself here right now.

breathe in the potential of this day.

breathe in the possiblities open to you.

breathe in the beauty of the changing leaves.

breathe in the crisp air.

breathe in the anticipation of the things you look forward to this time of year.

breathe in and welcome change.

breathe in and smile and be. ur happy place haiku:

our lives like the falling leaves

brilliant, colorful

never doubting, full of grace


today marks the full moon, this month commonly known as the harvest or barley moon. i like to put my own names to the moon each month and for me september is the moon of change (see a theme here??) how about a couple yummy recipes to embrace the themes of both the harvest and change?


in honor of the harvest, i've picked a fresh apple sauce recipe from one of my fav witches and authors, starhawk, which will go perfectly with a recipe i'm sharing with you from one of my fav cookbooks, the self healing cook book by kristina turner. her recipe hails from the macrobiotic world (a japanese style of cooking with the seasons) and so here is ur opportunity to try something a bit different for a change as it involves cooking with seaweed! serve up with some fresh crusty bread and butter and ur good to go! munch outside under the moon if u can...


aduki squash soup

1/2c. aduki beans (yummy little black beans u can get from the whole foods store)

6"strip kombu seaweed(again find it at the whole foods store, be brave!)

1c. buttercup or butternut squash, cubed

1/2tsp. sea salt, or to taste

1 green onion ,sliced

to make:

"sweet and savory this soup is especially good for diabetics, or anybody with strong sweet cravings. bring beans, kombu, and water to a boil. cover and simmer 1 hr. peel and cut squash, add and simmer 1/2hr.or more until squash is tender enough to dissolve. season with sea salt and add green onion (save a few slivers to garnish each bowl)"
my note: i cut up the cooked kombu into tiny pieces.

yum!

enjoy this with starhawk's recipe from the book, circle round; raising children in the goddess tradition:

starhawk's easy apple sauce


5 apples

1/2 to1 c. apple juice, apple cider or water

1/2- 1c. white sugar

1tsp. lemon juice(optional)

" loosely chop and core apples, and place in a covered saucepan with half the liquid. bring to a boil, then simmer until apples are soft, adding more liquid as needed and being careful not to burn the apples. you can adjust the amount of liquid to taste-more makes a softer applesauce, less a chunkier mixture. when the apples are soft, mash them with a potato masher. add the sugar, adjusting the amounts to your taste. if the applesauce is too sweet or too bland, add the lemon juice. simmer until the mixtures thickens."

*substitute lesser amounts of honey or maple syrup for sugar

*peel the apples right before cooking.


may u take a moment to appreciate all that you've harvested in your life and spend some time this week maybe over a steaming bowl of aduki sqaush soup! reflecting on the bounty and gifts that have come you way..and if you're feeling like sharing, invite over a few friends and make it a party!

see u next week!

Ur Happy Place Begins Today!

welcome to the first ur happy place post!


Take a deep breath and relax...open to the possibilities of this day..to the power of feeling alive in this one moment.

just scroll down and enjoy....




ur happy place haiku( by urs truly;)


clouds float by like dreams
aimless and liking it so
watching i float too


i m a very pleased to share some of my favorite people with you and this week i'd like you to meet ingrid gans from the netherlands. a warm woman, wonderful artist, singer, songwriter and musician..mom and beautiful soul. here she sings a song that fits right into our happy place.





and now for my yoga teacher from Australia , operating here in topsfield , ma at abtyoga ( quite the international flavor this week!) i met ken, i guess a couple of years ago but didn't start really taking classes with him till last year. i 've also worked with him doing some phoenix rising yoga and it's really brought alot of transformation into my life. in fact the name of my biz, art for your heart came out of one of the sessions. abtyoga was also one of the very first places to host my product so i'm excited for you to get a bit of the yoga glow here, yes yoga magic can happen off the mat too. i asked ken if he would write about yoga as well as his path and experiences with it. and for this first post to introduce himself in his own way... so, here's ken.. read with an open heart and smile.

Explore and Experience

The year is 1995. Ken is navigating his way through a divorce, has the normal 9 to 5 job that doesn't feel satisfactory, and begins to explore other avenues in life. The bar scene lasted about a month, reading books about change was making me somewhat curious, to phoning a number in Sydney, Australia ( yes, that is where I am from) inquiring about local yoga classes.

On reflection, I am forever grateful to the lady that recommended a local teacher called Leah. After a long phone call with her, in which I found myself talking more about myself than ever before, Ken attends his first yoga class (tight, closed and highly strung) to be greeted with "would you like you a hug". From that moment on, yoga, mediation and what they offer had me hooked.

And, while at ABT Yoga, in Topsfield you may not get a hug until we know each other better, you will receive my enthusiasm for what yoga has done and continues to do for me. Little did I know at that time that 15 years down my journey I would own a yoga studio, have married a Topsfield local and inherited a family. To hear the rest of the story,

then a visit to Topsfield and our humble abode sometime may be called for.

Along the way I have learned YOGA is a tool for healing problems that we all face in life. It can strengthen your muscles and bones, your balance should improve, along with an increase in flexibility. At ABT you will be encouraged to relax, and let go the negative effects of tension and stress. Yoga is a dynamic, individual, non-violent way to approach conditions you wish to change. BUT it is not a panacea. It is not usually the only way or even the best way to solve human problems. But yoga can solve many of the problems we face, and it can considerably soften others.

Here, I will take the opportunity to say thanks to Deb for the opportunity to share my passion for what I do and how if you take the opportunity to explore and experience yourself through your body then you begin to create your own support using your own wisdom.

Awareness and Acceptance are spoken about a lot, because that is what I need to practice more off in my own life, so consequently how your yoga looks to me is not as important as how you feel, and how you can begin to accept that. So, thanks again Deb, I look forward to contributing to your endeavour and may it provide the refuge for others that you envisage.

om shanti, shanti, shanti

Ken Lidden

soooo not to derail ur serenity too much but before we part company but i do want you to know that there will be in the days ahead some goodies to win and fun to be had..but all in a very r e l a x e d way of course!

dear ones, may you remember to breathe, smile, stay connected to the peace inside, dance to the beat of your own song.

looking forward to visiting again with you next week!

happy day and good wishes to you.. xx

Ur Happy Place

hello my kindred!

i've gotten the glitch sorted out on blogger and I'm back to invite you to a new meeting place that i'm hosting here on wednesday's, called: ur happy place;a refuge for body, mind and soul. for some time i've wanted to create a little nook for you to visit to act as a place of refuge, relaxation, renewal and re-invention. i love the idea of offering it on wednesday's a little mid-week boost to see you thru the rest of the week..

the opening of ur happy place coincides with another gift, one that i'm giving myself, a working sabbatical. i'm taking thursday's while niko is at school to settle in and step away from the world at large and take space to rest, go to places of natural beauty, to breathe, draw, paint..to just be. i have no set projects , deadlines or outcomes that i expect of myself, except to be present and let this time nourish me. so the theme and timing seemed right to offer you a mini weekly sabbatical too!

here i hope you'll grab a cup of something delicious and sign on before u start ur day and just enjoy the inspiration.you'll see beautiful photos, poetry (haiku), guest bloggers, videos, and a format that will be soothing, peaceful and welcoming. visit ur happy place at lunch or before you tuck yourself in for the night too-whenever you wish to step into that place that welcomes you back home to yourself.

until then-thinking of you...<3