Emily Perry Studios

moving & distractions

i must admit, i am finding so many ways to avoid packing.  i think this weekend i will really need to get "down to business," and so i though i would share a few things i'm checking out...

new books: a year of living your yoga (so good, and perfect little daily reads), awakening the spine (really making me re-think gravity), & the inner tradition of yoga (catching a theme here?)

(somewhat) new places: red dress studios (a great spot for creative entrepreneurs), the art of seeing things (because shari has a wonderful eye!), sheri gaynor (for inspiration gallore!)

worthiness, nonviolence & lovingkindness

this week, brené over at ordinary courage is hosting a week of worthiness to celebrate the release of her new DVD.  she really got me thinking about the idea of worth, and how it impacts our lives.  and while there is much to be said about self-worth in terms of self-care [am i worth spending the money on? am i worth the time?], there is also an aspect of worth that ties into our daily internal dialogue.

in buddhism and yoga, non-violence is referred to as ahimsa.  ahimsa refers not only to physical violence, but mental and emotional violence as well. when we doubt ourselves, when our internal tapes repeat messages about our unworthiness, this is a form of violence towards the self.  when we say to ourselves "i will be worth it when..." , this is in fact an act against the self as we are right now.  it is great to have goals and visions of who we want to be and become, but we don't need to pay the price now by beating ourselves up.  because, as we all know, when we do get to the "destination", often that is never enough either, and we are left striving for a state a being that is beyond reach.  we deserve to find happiness now, right in this moment.  we don't need to achieve anything to get there. 

part of our practice, as humans and creatives, is to shut this cycle down.  when you come up against internal resistance and messaging about self-worth, ask yourself, "am i practicing ahimsa?"  am i practicing loving-kindness (metta) towards myself?  a peaceful life and world starts with our internal world.  if we are not at peace, our world cannot be at peace.  if we cannot be kind to ourselves, and love ourselves fully as we are in this moment, then how can we practice authentic kindness and  love with another?

so as you can see, for me, this idea of worth comes back to a sense of loving-kindness (or metta) and non-violence towards the self.  how are you going to celebrate this week of worthiness?

a little ditty on photography

ah, photography.  it is such a joy for me, and so much fun.  often i get asked how i get the effects i want, and other questions by friends looking to pimp their shots, so to speak, and so i thought i would offer a few thoughts here on how i like to play with my camera.

• if you are totally new to photography, or have been working with a point-and-shoot but now what to play with an SLR, Digital Photography School has great tutorials on learning about the relationship between shutter speed and f-stop, and about playing with depth-of-field.  The Pioneer Woman also has a whole site devoted to photography, with great tools and tips there, too.  certainly worth a gander.

 

• don't be afraid to play with focus.  sometimes a soft shot can leave a little something to the imagination, which i like in this world of crisp and crystal-clear digital images.
• that being said, if you are shooting digitally, don't be afraid to adjust levels and curves in a photo processing program, like photoshop.  although i am all for getting it "right" in-camera, the fact of the matter is that these are digital images, and often the white balance or something needs to be corrected for.  i think never adjusting digital images is silly, since this is entirely different than shooting film.
• if you have an DSLR, and you find that your shots are always incorrectly exposed, try shooting with the histogram appearing on the LCD screen.  this helped me when shooting my children with super blonde hair: their heads were always reflecting so much sunlight!

• when processing, play with sharpness and saturation to get the effect you want.
• but above all else, play!  and don't forget to give film another go.  you'll be happy you did!

on tapas

late last night i was reading, and trying to get a plan together to get some writing done during this move.  i have a feeling it is totally unrealistic, but when you have three ideas for articles that will not leave you alone, you know it is a good idea to get them down and work them out.  and yet- when i have so much on my plate at once- things can come to a stand still for me.

and then i started reading about tapas.  in yoga, tapas is the intensity or drive that we bring to things.  it is the engine, so to speak, that propels us into action.  in our lives, so many of us are driven, and are going non-stop- but to what end?  i want to use tapas to fan the flames of a healthy, balanced life- not to drive myself into a state of burnout.  through this reading i realized that i may need to save all my drive and intensity for the moving process- and save the work projects for april.

there is a healthy way to engage our lives so that we are motivated and pro-active while maintaining a sense of being grounded.  Bo Forbes mentions in this great article, that the way to accomplish this is with our intention.  Forbes states that it is our intention, or sankalpa, which "acts as a guiding sutra, or "thread," that we weave throughout our yoga practice, on and off the mat."  i could not have said this more beautifully.  it is our sankalpa which gives us direction, and acts as a reminder of what is at the heart of all this activity in our lives.

i am working on applying these ideas to my everyday life.  what for me is just busy activity, and not rooted by my intention?  what activity keeps me from being present and calm, and what really is steering me towards my goals?  i would love to hear how these ideas apply to your life right now.

{for more on tapas, there is more great insight here and here}

what we carry with us

Remember that every action of body, speech, and mind creates a samskara, or subliminal activator- a track, or a seed...[which are] in effect, stored in the vast storehouse of consciousness.  Our future actions of body, speech, and mind are then influenced by these samskaric tracks.

-Stephen Cope, The Wisdom of Yoga

so, what does this mean for our daily lives?  i think samskaras are great reminders that what we say and do has energy.  that our actions and reactions can further either the birth of more positive energy into the world, or they can take us down a path of pessimism, angst, anger, and resentment.  it is our choice.

this is our energetic legacy alive in our own bodies:: what do you want to carry with you?

they're back...

oh, how i just love the california poppy.  bright.  open.  just what i need to usher me into spring! 

coming out the otherside

things have been a little funky over here.  first it rained and rained.  then the family was sick, and now more rain.  my cameras are gathering dust.  i haven't cracked open any paint in days.  and now we are starting to pack the house for the move: all the pictures are down, the big bookcase is boxed up.  the purging has begun. 

and yet in the middle of all this, i am feeling the itch.  i have been lurking on flickr, and realizing how much i really need to be shooting more film.  i have an online workshop to start designing materials for (it will be in July!), and an art walk possibility that i need to produce some work for.  oh, yes, then there there are the articles i have started writing- and, well, you get the idea.

:::

so, what to do when there is so much to do?  i think today i will just hope for some sun, carry my camera, and let my lenses lead the way.

surrender

ah, february.  how you rock my world.  it seems every year, this is the month for me that is the challenge.  it's cold, raining all the time.  there are sicknesses about, and usually some objects in my life need fixing. last year it was both cars; this year, it is the dryer, phone line, and the persistent ant invasions due to all the rain.  you might imagine the extent of my crabbiness: when the kids are sick, and i have all of this going on, at a certain point i just have to give up.

 
so yesterday, that is what i did.  i gave up the mere thought of my to do list.  i dropped my expectation that my daughter could actually clean up after herself.  i waited for my husband to get home, and then ate chocolate & watched project runway.  what has asked you to surrender lately?  leave your comment below- i would love to hear!

moving house

ah, so it looks like our family is moving. 

we will be moving to the next town over, to another beach house.  and so we only have a few weeks left at the place we call sea ranch.

 

things we have learned here, in no particular order:

• how to quickly start a fire in the wood stove
• that great horned owls love to duet
• that orion protects our house in winter
• how the plants, birds, sea and stars change with the seasons
• how to bike without training wheels
• how to climb the pines
• how the swallows return in spring
• the way the seabirds follow schools of fish
• the way the dolphins come play in summer and fall

 

our new house is just a bit north, up the coast.  i cannot wait to see what it holds for us!

  

i can feel spring creeping in

where i live, i can feel spring creeping in.  skunks are about, looking for love.  there are little bunnies everywhere.  the california poppies are in flower now.  and another sure sign: i am feeling like i am ready for a spring cleanse.  now, i'm not talking anything radical, but i am going to start planning for a week of super-clean eating and yoga.  it will be fun.

and it looks like we are going to be moving to another house in a few weeks, which will be exciting!  it is also a beach house, but it is not as remote, and i won't have to drive so much.  but oh, how i will miss our owls and hot tub.  and of course, the move is during the same time that i need to be doing all my planning for changes to this website, my e-course, etc. etc. don't you love how everything falls into place at the same time?

if you live up here in the northern hemisphere, what are your plans for spring?  any changes coming your way?