We sailed away on a winter's day 

with fate as malleable as clay; 

but ships are fallible, I say, 

and the nautical, like all things, fade

❝

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being."

- Hafiz

Love Mantras

Love Mantra 1: Love is Who We Are. 

Love isn’t just something we feel for others, it’s who we are. Though we usually think of love as a stream of emotion flowing between two people, love is more like an ocean that’s inside and all around us. Instead of walking around with a little cup, begging for a few drops of love from others, recognize that you’re the huge ocean of love. Let go of the feeling, There’s a limit to love and I have to get mine. When you do this, you relax, and your energy expands.  Rather than looking at every interaction as a potential source of love—something to fill you up and make you feel good—come to every interaction radiating love. Then you go from being a “love beggar,” to being a “love philanthropist.”

Love Mantra 2: The Purpose of Life is to Expand in Love. 

Love is your job description – no matter what you do for a living. If you ever feel unsure of what you’re supposed to do in a situation, here’s a good rule of thumb: always do what leads to greater love. When you put giving and receiving love at the top of your priority list, you’ll definitely experience more everyday success and raise the quality of your life.

Love Mantra 3: The Heart is the Portal to Love. 

Your heart is more than a physical pump; it’s your ticket to experiencing love for no reason. If it’s open, love flows freely, both in and out. If it’s closed, even with the best intentions, you’ll have a hard time being loved or being loving. Try pouring water into or out of a jar if the lid is on. It’s a simple case of physics. Focus your attention on your heart. When your heart feels open, expanded and light, then you know you’re on the right track for greater love. When it’s shut down, tight or heavy, you know you’re going in the direction of less love. When this happens, shift your thoughts, feelings, and actions so they support the opening of your heart.

♥

Remembering these three mantras will help you shift to a new paradigm and open your heart to a deeper and higher love. As you’re learning to experience more love in your life, it’s important to treat yourself with love.  When you notice your heart closing, instead of getting down on yourself, know that, just by being aware that it is closing, you’re one step closer to positive change. Many of us think we’re only going to change by beating ourselves up, but harshness and self-hatred don’t lead to lasting change and never lead to more love. Being gentle with yourself will speed your growth and improve your quality of life as you go. Then every day can be an “in love” day.


(From the book Love For No Reason by Marci Shimoff) 

 “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with nature.”  

—Joseph Campbell

Happy Thankful Season

I love this time of year! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin beer, cranberry sauce, open windows and crisp air, Neil Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creedence Clearwater Revival (I dunno why but they just sound better in November) but mainly, 

PEOPLE BEING SO SWEET & GRATEFUL & HAPPY TOGETHER! 

No matter what, around the holidays, people just love on each other and it's so cute. It's a time where we all remember,

We're in this together! 

It's the perfect time to forgive someone, or reach out to someone that you left on bad terms. Holding on to a grudge hurts you and everyone else, because we're all connected. It's a waste of energy, energy you could be using to spread love and light! 

Love is the way to happiness, and you can never, ever give enough of it! 

Happy Thankful Season!

♥

Peppermint Patty Sugar Face Exfoliator

Exfoliating is great for your skin and can make you feel like a billion gold pieces on a winter's day. 

When it comes to cleansing products, I tend to be as cheap and natural as possible. 

Enter, the ever so simple Peppermint Patty Sugar Face Exfoliator.  

I've been using Dr. Bronner's Magic Peppermint Soap mixed with a little sugar. You can use salt if you don't have any sugar. 

Store in a pretty glass jar, and apply whenever you're feeling a bit dull. 

It works wonders, and smells like a snowy peppermint patty!

Dr. Bronner's is all natural, under 5 bucks for a 4 oz bottle, promotes a cheery message of universal love and comes in many different scents. My other favorite is lavender! 

Oh My Gosh, Spaghetti Squash!

At the grocery store last week, I delightedly stumbled upon an organic spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is a bright yellow oval shaped winter squash. When cut open and cooked, the inside of this fun vegetable can be eaten just like spaghetti (has the same texture as angel hair!) I love it because it's delicious, full of vitamins, great for sharing, and perfect for this time of year!

How to prepare:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Cut spaghetti squash in half, length wise.

- Scoop all the seeds out (Save them to bake for a festive snack, or plant in your garden.)

- Fill a pan with a bit of water

- Place the two halves face down in the pan of water

- Cover with aluminum foil

- Place in oven for 35-45 minutes

When finished cooking, scrape the sides so as to get all the "spaghetti" scooped up. Then add some olive oil, fresh garlic, salt & pepper, herbs, tomato sauce... whatever you'd like! 

Enjoy!

♥

“Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom.” 

-Jack Lalanne

Goddess Muse Inspiration - Marianne Faithfull

Evgeny Grinko - вальс from Greendaizer on Vimeo.

Merkaba - Light, Spirit, Body

Free Your Mind

“Bliss is possible only when the mind is put aside, when the mind is no more interfering, when the mind is no more playing its games, when you have seen the strategies of the mind, its tricks, through and through, when you have become aware of how the mind has been deceiving you for so long. And don’t fight with the mind, because if you fight with the mind… That is its last strategy; if you fight with the mind you have to remain entangled with it. If you have to fight with the mind you have to use the same tactics as the mind.

So the whole art is seeing through and through, and then without any fight simply putting it aside; just slipping out of it as a snake slips out of its old skin, without any fight. And the moment it happens, for the first time you feel that you are infinite. It was the mind that was giving you a definition, a limitation. It was the mind that was framing you, otherwise you are the unframed sky.

And the moment limitations disappear bliss arises. Bliss is freedom, freedom from all limitations. The body is a limitation, but it is easy to know that ‘I am not the body.’ You can feel it very easily, that you are not the body. When you are feeling hungry you know that hunger is in the body and you are a watcher. When you feel thirsty you know that the thirst is in the body and you are the watcher. When you drink water and the thirst is quenched you know that the body is satisfied and you are the watcher.

It is more difficult with the mind because it is very close. Somebody insults you and you become angry; to watch in that moment seems very difficult. You are so enraged that you forget all about watchfulness. And those are the moments in which to be aware. When anger possesses you, greed possesses you, lust possesses you, be watchful. Go on reminding yourself ‘I am not this.’ Keep your coolness. And you will be surprised that if you can keep your coolness even for a few seconds, the anger disappears like a cloud that has come and gone. And a great peace arises, the peace that is always there when the storm goes, the silence that follows the storm.

When lust takes possession of you watch and see, soon it will be gone. Nothing remains forever, in the mind everything is continuously changing. Just wait and watch, and when it is gone you will feel so strengthened, so full of vigour, so full of energy that you will be surprised. And this is the energy that could have been lost in lust, in anger, in greed.

And when you go on becoming more and more full of energy. When you start overflowing with energy great delight arises. Energy, overflowing energy, is a delight. It is bliss. And when you have come to know the inexhaustible source of energy within you that is no-mind, you have discovered god. It is not somewhere in the skies, it is within you. It is your very being.”

— Osho, Fingers Pointing to the Moon

"Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone." 

-Robert Allen

"All the pretty things that we could be. I feel you in every heart beat." 

"As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all beings."

- Dalai Lama 

“Houses are full of things that gather dust” 

-Jack Kerouac 

When you're connected to the source of the universe, when you let go of fear and worry, the windows and doors of oppurtunity fly wide open! The sun pours in! Everywhere you turn, people welcome you with love and light! You are living in a billion present moments, strung together through smiles and laughter and bliss.

Let go, and let love!

"The best way to get out of a rut is to go on an adventure."

-Me

I completely believe in this theory. Anytime I've ever felt locked up, or stale, I've taken trips to shed my dull skin and it has always proven to freshen my outlook on life.  

I just sifted through endless amounts of photos I'd taken from previous trips to England, Germany, France, Chicago visits, before I'd moved there. I was 23 around the time I'd visited these places. My heart was heavier than it is now. I was in search of something then, some serene place, dewey and dripping of gold in my soul. Revisiting yourself through old photos you haven't seen in a while is intense, but can be the perfect opportunity for growth. It's like having a conversation with your younger self through imagery. 

As we age, and live through experiences, we wake up.

I'm still in search of something now, but in a completely different way. I'm 26 and have evolved so much since 23. I know that the peace and calm I search for is within. It's all within. Remembering that is half the battle. Remembering to stay conscious, present. This is freedom. 

I love myself. 

High atop a small German town where my Grandma grew up.

My mom's hand cutting through the wind on a country road.

Coclico flowers in France.

On a boat tour of castles on the Rhine River - Germany.

Arturo's Tacos - Chicago

Falling in love with fall - Chicago

The more I remain conscious and present, the more I can open my eyes wide and look around at all the beauty that surrounds me. The more I can lay in the grass and let the sun shine warm on my face and arms and legs, the more I can strum my ukulele and sing what feels good without thinking, the more I can be okay with just being... the more I will soar through life like a bird in flight, with grace and intention.

All of this being said... tomorrow, I'm taking a trip.

Following my bliss and clearing my head.

My itinerary goes as follows: 

Chicago, IL - Staying with a dear friend, revisiting places/things I love, i.e. Earwax, Lula, Humboldt Park, Milwaukee Ave., so many beautiful friends, delicious beer, gettin' crafty and instrumental! 

Upper Peninsula of Michigan - Family, quiet, meditation, art with found things in nature, bliss 

From Michigan, I'll be taking an amazing road trip with my dad and my 17 year old nephew, Gage, in my dad's used but newly purchased RV. We're heading to Nashville, Tennessee to stay for a week in a timeshare. Super psyched for this part of my adventure. Having an RV and traveling the USA is one of my dad's retirement dreams. That and having his own butterfly farm. I love my dad. I'm really grateful that I have the opportunity to take this trip with him. 

Once our week in Nashville is up, I'm hoping to swing through Asheville, North Carolina and stay for a couple days... that's still up in the air though. 

My adventure ends where it began, in Port Charlotte, Florida, where I was born. 

Along the way I plan to take many photos and videos to share and as always and most importantly to raise good vibes everywhere I go. 

Life is beautiful. 

♥

"You are God in the dance of life!" 

-Alan Watts

Take a celestial boatride through the sea of your mind and you will find all the answers you long for. 

Float on your boat, let the waves calm you down. 

Laura Veirs- 'Wrecking'

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself." 

-Thich Nhat Hanh

"My actions are my only true belongings." 

-Thich Nhat Hanh

"Remember, you belong to nature, not it to you."

-Grey Owl

"To the dull mind nature is leaden; To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light"

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Mountain

The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

The Aurora

The Aurora from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

The Arctic Light

The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

"There's no way to grow that don't hurt."

-Iron and Wine - 'Sacred Vision' 

Snow falls

Seeds sprout

We cut our hair

We grow it out

I will always love you. 

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  -Maya Angelou

"There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.

There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that

mine. 

O traveler, if you are in search of that

Don't look outside, look inside yourself and seek that.

This aloneness is worth more than a thousand lives.

This freedom is worth more than all the lands on earth.

To be one with the truth for just a moment,

Is worth more than the world and life itself."

-Rumi