The Bird has Flown...

Dear ones ~ though I have stopped posting here for the time being, I am happily active elsewhere, and hope you will find me there! Facebook and Instagram are always good places to start, and for everything and then some (the hub!), please visit ArianaSaraha.com.

In the meantime, do enjoy reading these old tales ~ there are some gems within...

Touching the Delicate...

Touching the delicate shell of hiding and smallness I built when I was very small ~ allowing myself to feel vulnerable as I stretch my wings out of this cocoon that served to protect me then... With gratitude for the grace of Spirit that breathes and dances through me, and also for the life experiences I've been challenged with that deepen my capacity for wisdom and compassion. My prayers for the day:

a) that each of us feel safe in touching the tender places, that we treasure the vulnerability the shadow-stuff awakens ~ for it is this vulnerability that allows the heart to shine and to soften into our interconnectedness with all that is.

b) that it is from this earth, this compost of our deepest challenges that our bright gifts grow ~ if our offerings have roots in sorrow, they are more connected to a compassionate understanding of the state of the world, and our gifts naturally become a service-ful action.

c) that we each fearlessly allow our grace to shine, remembering the sacred light that is alive in each of our hearts. And that we remember that true fearlessness allows for vulnerability ~ we don't have to pretend we have all the answers or can do it all ourselves, we just have to do and offer what we love, from the depths of our hearts.

Ocean, I hear your siren song...

Indeed, when I contemplated moving to California, it wasn't for the sea ~ but it is she who clinched the deal. Indeed, we shook hands (wiggled toes, entwined tendrils, plied each others sandy shores with loving hands as sandpipers played at the edge of waves...) a couple weeks ago at a magic beach above Malibu that I'd dreamt of as home some 10 or more years ago...

It is by the seashore that I can't keep from dancing ~ as the ocean creates beauty upon beauty, painted on the sand, sparkling in the foam on the waves... Creating and re-creating beauty, over and over again, an unending masterpiece of life...

Today I danced in her waves, as the whole world became liquid, ever-changing. Mirroring the cosmic sky above, we are dancing, dreaming, dissolving into the wildness of all that is...

Set it Free!

I'm noticing how sad it is for me when I see other artists “play it safe.” I want to see an artist take risks, mess up even, if they must, in service to fully offering themselves. I want to see a musician at her edge – wild, passionate, rough, untamed and free. And of course, the more we practice and offer ourselves, the more often those risks will yield wildly beautiful and soulful results! It takes courage, but it’s worth every stumble...

On the Wings of an Angel...

As I drove down the winding road through snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains into California the other night, I remembered how in a recent ceremony I felt the presence of an angel so strong ~ maybe she's been with me all along ~ and I felt her offer to guide me from now on. I said yes, my ego surrendering gratefully...

I remembered this that night, as I drove down the mountain crying rivers of tears, feeling all the pain and sorrow I'm headed into. Not my own, but the suffering of others that I'm headed to be amongst, as I offer my service of song... She came again, filling me, reminding me of how simply I can surrender and let her lead, reminding me why the heck I'm doing this thing! It's not for my benefit, for some glory, that I've come out west. I've come so that my song and love can be a healing. I feel a tremendous relief, welcoming "her" into me - I don't have to "try" anymore, I just have to do what is needed.

Certainly, I know that for my own balance I will still need to tend to many things - I will need to spend time with those I love, to regenerate myself in nature and places that feel like home... But when I am here, out in the wider, crazier world, I have the strength of an angel with me.

Tears of relief continue to pour ~ purifying, purifying, purifying... I just wanted to share this experience, as it feels like a tremendous blessing I've received, this reminder of how easeful it is to be selfless. And I share it in hopes that you too are filled with the strength of angels, and that your tremendous beauty and wisdom gets to pour unhindered into the world.

Intimacy...

"Warriorship is so tender, without skin, without tissue, naked and raw. It is soft and gentle. You have renounced putting on a new suit of armor." (Trungpa Rinpoche)


It's intimacy I crave - to see the light in your eyes through all the tears you still might cry - to get real - to see and be seen - to stand naked in the wind and rain knowing that the sun is still shining from inside, as this skin, this shell falls away...

I am more when "I" dissolve, letting you into me, letting you see my pain - but even more, letting you see the tremendous JOY shining out from the crack in this ancient veil of hiding.

"There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." ~ Leonard Cohen

intimacy = into.me.see

I love you :-)

Everyday Art!

(I wrote this piece some time back in response to an article in Elephant Journal about creativity: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/05/cultivating-creative-citizens-through-art)


Thank you for this post. It struck me during Obama's inspired campaign a couple years ago that there was little (if any?) mention of the arts and arts education. Not only does creative thinking help us produce ordinary (and perhaps planet-saving) tasks better, but having an artistic outlet (whether that be gardening, painting, dancing, singing...) fuels us with the inspiration and joy to WANT to do these tasks - for the betterment of the planet and for other beings. Without art, without beauty, life becomes dry and pointless. With art, life takes on a vitality and a sense of meaning.

I suggest that we focus more energy on support for the arts - for our children, for the artists trying to 'make it' in this increasingly mechanized world - but most vitally, art for everyone, every day. There is nothing more precious than community art - growing gardens together, painting a mural, singing together, group dances, music-making, lovemaking, crafting... These are the things that truly weave us together in this web of mother nature's original artistic creation.

Because of course, mother nature is the finest and most original form of art...

...
Here's one of the responses I received:

Thanks for your thoughtful comment Ariana. Your suggestion of 'art for everyone, every day.' rings! It seems that we've become so removed from our own creativity and consider art an amusing extra, rather than an essential component of a rich life well lived.