Tag: scrapyoga

possibilities

A chance to learn…from The Darling Tree!

RANI.SHAH

I was perusing some of my favorite blogs: Boho Girl, Susannah Conway, & Going Home to Roost, to name a few, I began to notice something….they were all designed by the same designer. As I scrolled to the bottom of each blog, there it was….The Darling Tree. So of course I clicked over to find out who this talent was and was thus introduced to Jo Klima.

As I checked her blog out, wishing I would have enough money to hire her to design my blogsite…..which of course is how I wish to create, share and make money, I happily found out that she was having a contest of sorts. Not only does she design websites and blogs, but she teaches an online course on how I can do it myself (light seemed to shine down on me an my computer!) -and she was offering a chance at winning a scholarship to her course! For all the details click this following link to find out more about the Your Darling Blog Workshop and Giveaway.

This would be awesome to take this course from her. I have had several blogs in the past, and having little to no money to shell out for design help, I basically just self taught myself on design, blogging, code, css, etc. I love digital scrapbooking, so I was able to apply some of that knowledge as well. But I now feel the need to take it a step further…it’s time! I want to use my space on the web to share the designs I create and want to inspire and sell. I started my site with intentions of Being Kind and Generous, but also feel that for all I give, I will receive ten fold in return. I admire women like Susannah and Denise who have taken their talents and applied them online. I want to be part of that pack, but into my own! I can do this!

And perhaps with the chance of winning this scholarship, I can! It would be great to finally take a class…to really learn and apply that learning into something unique, inspiring and Om She Said!

So here is my plea, my words out into the world, with the intention and hope that I am the chosen one! We shall see!!!

And if you’re in need of this same intention, I encourage you to check Jo Klima’s Blog, August Empress and see complete the details yourself!

July Mindful Mama Carnival, MIndful, Poetry

Grounded in Nature

RANI.SHAH

Welcome to the July Mindful Mama Carnival: Mindfulness and Nature

This post was written for inclusion in the Mindful Mama Carnival hosted by Becoming Crunchy and TouchstoneZ. This month our participants have shared their experiences of mindfulness and the natural world. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

Welcome to my site and to the Mindful Mama Blog Carnival with this months topic: Mindfulness and Nature. We hope you enjoy the carnival, and plan to visit often! After the post be sure to  read on to other people who have shared their vision of this month’s topic!

Below is my “walking quest,” that led me to write, Grounded in Nature. What do you find when you are in nature. I for one believe that all the answers to the deep question we seek, are there…in nature.

_______________________

Grounded In Nature

Darkness envelops.

Then all at once

Eyes see.

Open.

Light, bold and new

Crisp air that bites sweet.

Deep breath, exhale brisk breath.

I move,

I walk. Notice. Take in all around.

The extension of my limbs, roots in the ground.

My senses want. I touch. The earth is full of life.

Growth. Death. Cycles unfold.

Nature so profound.

Simple as can be.

Stop. Look. Listen. Smell, Touch. Taste the vapor in the air.

Though I step along, on top of and through,

I am one with all that is here.

The flowers, the leaves, the water,

the all.

I am grounded, deep.

Nature is here. Nature is me.

I am home.

________________________

Visit The Mindful Mama Homepage to find out how you can participate in the next Mindful Mama Carnival!

  • Zen and the Art of Raising Chickens Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction has found a connection to nature in her very own backyard, thanks to her chickens.
  • Healing Gemstones and Crystals for Children Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama discusses which genstones and crystals are best used by children to support physical, emotional, and/or spiritual healing.
  • A Gardener’s Meditation Andrea at Tales of Goodness shares how she finds peace and renewal through gardening.
  • Weeding My Thoughts Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro discusses how nature keeps her in the moment and stops her endless stream of thoughts.
  • Grounded in Nature Rani at OmSheSaid shares her walk in nature, and through expressive words, shares this journey to coming home.
  • Embracing the Magic of Moonlit Nights Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares ways to embrace the magic of moonlit nights with your children and as a woman.
  • Meditation for a Mindful Mama Alinka at Baby Web guides you through her research on the science of meditation, its numerous benefits, and presents to you a life changing meditation exercise.
  • The Wild Within Naturemummy at Motherhood: My Latest Adventure reflects on the soothing qualities of wild places.
  • Nature’s Lessons in Mindfulness Tat at Mum in Search wants to bring the same mindfulness that comes so easily in nature to her relationships.
  • On Manicured Nature: We Roam in Small Spaces Featherstory at The Aniweda Dream shares her gratitude for her limited natural settings and her plans to expand her children’s experience with the natural world.
  • Garden (Time Out) Meditation Do you ever need a time out for yourself? Amy at Anktangle finds that during a difficult parenting moment, taking pause to spend a few minutes outside is just the thing she needs to be able to experience renewed patience, focus, and energy.
  • Nature Makes Me a Better Mother Terri at Child of the Nature Isle could not imagine parenting without Mother Nature.
  • Natural Renewal Karen at Playful Planet shares her experiences of reneweal in the natural world.
  • Natural History Kenna at A Million Tiny Things gets out into nature, 200 years ago, and isn’t sure she likes it there.
  • Nurtured by Nature Darcel at The Mahogany Way shares with us how being in nature helps her feel centered and connected.
  • Mindfulness and Nature Zoie at TouchstoneZ explores the connection between mindfulness and the natural world.
  • A Sense of Awe and Wonder Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares the feeling she never fails to get from the natural world and how it guides her to the mindfulness she craves.
MIndful

WIse words!

RANI.SHAH

(AN old post brought here from scrapyoga, my old blog) With almost half the year over already, seemed like a good time to share!)

Appears in Anna Quindlen’s book: A Short Guide To A Happy Life.

I am a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know.

Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work.

You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree; there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life.

Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

People don’t talk about soul very much anymore. It’s so much easier to craft a resume than craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter night, or when your sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you’ve gotten back the test results and they’re not so good.

Here is my resume:

I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say.

I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cutout. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch.

I would be rotten, or at best mediocre, at my job if these things were not true. You cannot really be first rate at your work, if your work is all you are.

So, here is what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house. Do you think you’d care so much for those things if you blew an aneurysm one day, or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of the salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone, send an email, write a letter.

Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about the goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a Big Brother or Sister.

It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get.

I learned to look at all the good in the world and to try to give some of it back, because I believe in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that in part, by telling others what I learned. By telling them this:

Consider the lilies of the field.

Look at the fuzz on a baby’s ear.

Read in the backyard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy.

And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived.

MIndful

Yoga Breathing….

RANI.SHAH

(I brought this post over from my old scrapyoga blog-always good to revisit breathing!)

The Art of Breathing

Did you ever take a moment to study the way you breathe? I did this the other day while practicing my yoga and I was quite literally astonished. More so how I breathed after the session.

During yoga, I was calm, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth….deep long breathes. But then when I started getting into the routine of the day, I noticed how quickly I was breathing…ans it usually coincided with the stress I was having. If I was stressed, my breathing became quick and rapid and almost to a point of holding my breath at times…crazy!!!

So I made a concerted effort to take deep slow breathes…and it was amazing how calming that was. Something so simple could be so easy!!!

In Yoga, breathing is essential and key to a great practice…is what I am learning anyway! Pranayama is what it is called. There are four stages…..

Inhalation (Pruraka)- in through the nose

Pause after inhaling (Abhyantara Kumbhaka)

Exhalation (Rechaka)-out through the mouth

Pause after exhaling (Bahya Kumhaka or empty pause)

I found this information in much more detail here at The ABC’s of Yoga

Try it and read up on it. It really is quite fascinating how important breathing is!! It does really take practice to be conscience of how we are breathing. But the benefits of it are so great! Calming, more oxygen to your brain and body, boosts lymphatic system…….feels great!!

What are you waiting for…

Just breathe

from me to you…

Feel free to pin, print and share!

lessons learned, MIndful

The Car Wash Song! and a lesson learned!

RANI.SHAH

The day before a big road trip to Northern California, my girls decided to wash my car. It was a gorgeous, sunny day here in Los Osos so the plan was a go and marked one item off our summer fun list! They decided they would take care of everything, and I could go on working and preparing for our trip. Well, in a series of what is to be considered, stalls, they finally got to the car washing part. But first they couldn’t find the sponges, then they couldn’t find the soap or the bucket! But eventually, all the tools were ready. And while I was frantic about the day getting away from me, my youngest daughter decided a song was in order.
The Car Wash Song

This made all the interruptions worth while….and made me realize……..the process is half the progress….so enjoy the process!!!!!! Take note and enjoy your process!

MIndful

Missing her very much

RANI.SHAH

Yesterday marked three months since Jodi passed away. I decided to go visit her site after I worked out. It was a beautiful sunny day and the ocean was roaring in the distance. From her site there is a view to the ocean and beyond, but more than that…it was just simply a peaceful place to be and reflect and talk to her. Yes, I talked to her…alot. I’d much rather she be here in person, bantering with me, sharing new ideas, talking about her family, especially her kids, and just laughing and being together. I cried. I cried for not visiting her in the hospital. I cried for having that wonderful conversation with her at midnight when she was in the hospital…we talked for about three hours. I cried because I thought of her family…I thought of her spirit, and I thought of her ways.
I miss you Jodi girl. I plan on visiting again soon for some more chatting. Love you always.