Vase de Valentine Schlegel avec tulipes, 1950's

Petoskey stones ~ fossilized coral that lived 350 million years ago - the rocks rounded in the surf along the shore of Lake Michigan near Petosky, Michigan

Sit down languidly at your altar and commune with the divine. Sing songs to the divine. Oil your scalp and braid your hair for the divine. Write poetry for the divine. Make up for bed with slow precision for the divine. Belly dance for the divine. Stretch your hips for the divine. Twirl around in a new city for the divine. What happens when prayer becomes sensuous and playful instead of stuffy, serious and fueled by begging? When you pray to the divine, allow your prayer to be playful, stunning, alluring, and fueled by beauty, serotonin and oxytocin as much as possible. . You naturally begin to expand your aura and live in a higher frequency when most things you do in life become offerings to the divine. In a chaotic world full of distractions, a world that has lost value and reverence for the feminine, the most challenging part will be remembering. -India Ame’ye

Shelley Duvall and her pet lizards

richard siken in interview

the first and most important step is learning to stay calm when someone with authority tries to pressure you. take a breath, think about what you actually believe, and respond in your own time. if they try to brush past or talk over you, you can say "excuse me, can I think about that for a moment. I'd like to give you a proper answer." self esteem. you're both just upright monkeys.