April 5, 2020

HAIKU TO BE FREE

I am so happy to announce the official release of my fourth book, HAIKU to be free (enlightenment is always free!) love, Selena Sage :)! I include the full title of the book because it was purposefully written as a (non-standard 5-8-5) haiku too! ;)

HAIKU to be free is available FOR FREE! All you must do to get this ebook is simply subscribe (at the bottom of any page) at ZENTAO BOOKS.

I decided to make this ebook free because in these uncertain times, I believe that art provides the greatest inspiration and opportunity to peacefully reflect on the nature of life and freedom. Since all of the books I write reflect a kind of passionate pursuit of freedom, I wanted to provide a free way to help support that journey in others.

HAIKU to be free contains over 300 haiku that I wrote this year, in the midst of creating the first season of my podcast, Live Free with Selena Sage (thanks to all who listen to the podcast!). The book spans four different writing sessions that I had in some of my favorite areas in Santo Antao, Cabo Verde — the beautiful beaches and caves of Singagoga, and the beautifully green inland of Vale de Paul.

The peace and nature of these areas inspired contemplative reflection about both nature and freedom. HAIKU to be free is a collection of haiku (written in chronological order of creation) which reflects various thoughts about these topics in beautifully direct poems.

I believe that haiku, the 5-7-5 syllable poetry that originated in Japan, is magical. While my book contains haiku to be free…I chose the title as additional encouragement for you to try writing haiku, as I believe that creating these poems also leads to freedom. While the mind is occupied with counting syllables, somehow the voice of spirit is a bit louder. Being forced to keep thoughts simple forces the poet to get to the heart of the matter. And that’s all that freedom really is about ;)

I hope that you will enjoy the book! And I thank you for your kind support, encouraging words, and beams of love—from both near and far! I truly appreciate you!

love,

P.S> A note about the cover art for HAIKU to be free. It was really easy for me to decide to go with another beautiful Japanese woodblock print by the great Hokusai for the cover! Hokusai is both my favorite artist, and also the perfect artist to give homage to the beautiful Japanese style of haiku poetry that became really popular around the time that this classic print was published (1830-1831).

The Great Wave is Hokusai’s most famous piece of art…and it is even the art that was used as the basis to create the wave emoji on our cell phones! It is an enduring, and beautiful, classic that evokes so many emotions.

For me, the turbulence of the sea (crashing the boats in its midst) is balanced by the calm and steady Mt Fuji that is in the distance (this print was the first of the very famous 36 Views of Mt Fuji series by Hokusai). I choose to make the mountain the focal point, and center of the cover because, to me, it represents freedom. When everything is turbulent around us, our freedom lies in the steady, detached observation that Mt Fuji represents.

The original woodblock print is multi-colored, and though it is beautiful, I felt that the colors would have distracted from the title. I feel so fortunate that I was able to find and buy rights to this edit in indigo blue…my favorite! Blue, for me, is the color of freedom. And this blue edit of the classic print allowed HAIKU to be free to be a seamless edition to my other works, for which blue and water are a major part ;)

As with my other books, I have used the intro pages and back cover to focus on distinct parts of the front cover. In particular, I really loved how to leading part of the great wave looked a bit like a bird to me! I used the front pages to focus on this detail a bit more, as birds are also a symbol of freedom to me. I hope that you enjoy the art too! ;)

March 31, 2020

Peace During Uncertain Times

Times are always uncertain, but we don’t always feel it. Sometimes we think we are in control, but that is an illusion of control.

When we feel that things are uncertain, we don’t feel in control….and, in fact, this feeling is closer to reality.

During these times, we are forced to live in faith as outcomes do not seem as certain as they once did (though they weren’t certain before either).

In these times, we recognize that there is a higher power at work. This recognition is everything. This is our opportunity to surrender to this power or recognize the Source of it all. Both paths lead to light ;) Both paths make us free.

Praying for peace or looking for the light are both beautiful things to do.

Namasté and much love to you!

xo,

March 22, 2020

THE PLAGUE OF PERFECTION CONTINUES

I’d like to say that I’ve learned from my process of publishing other books. Technically, I am more proficient and I have an internal recipe for how I want my books to look at feel. But my process to implement those things continues to be plagued by my relentless (and exhausting) pursuit of perfection.

In some ways this is good. I can look back on my books and feel that I got it right (though I will admit to finding a minor typo on one that will undoubtedly linger until I’m back in the States to fix future printings…haha It’s something I overlooked a million times and I’m sure others have to, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to fix it–I’m still a work in progress haha).

In other ways this perfectionism is exhausting. I’m currently working on my fourth book—a book of haiku poetry entitled: HAIKU to be free that I’m really excited to share! But for now, I’m finding myself in the familiar loop. I make changes, then change my mind and undo those changes. I find a minor spacing issue on one of the covers and redo the graphics. I realized that many of the haiku I wrote were 5-8-5 instead of 5-7-5 (I was listening to music in a restaurant while also trying to count on one of the days I wrote them) and thought it was a good idea to go back to change them to the 5-7-5 haiku format.

But thankfully I have great friends. One in particular told me that those changes might not reflect my earlier intention and could lose something in translation (thank you Lelita!). She was right. When I went back and read the updated poems and compared them to the originals, there were some cases where I went too far. And other cases where the change made the poem a bit more obscure. Nothing major…but not worth making the change in the first place. I’m a rebel, after all, and I was happy to make note of that in the back pages of this new book after re-adding the “mistakes” ;) haha

The changes I kept were minor contractions (e.g. changing “you are” to “you’re”)…things that didn’t change the meaning, but did simplify the flow. There were cases where I know I placed an extra “and” or “that” to add what I thought was the extra syllable I needed in my mis-counting. I’ve left those out when they haven’t added anything to the haiku.

I am about to start what I hope will be my last review (my sage sister Iris keeps telling me to walk away hahaha!), and I have to remind myself that I just started creating this book 4 days ago! Unfortunately, my perfectionism also tells me that I should be able to craft the perfect book in one day haha As a result, I’m not great at eating and sleeping on schedule while I’m doing these creations…but I’m trying to be better.

I was inspired to take time out from that process to just say that perfection plagues us all from time to time. We have to remind ourselves that what we’re stressing about doesn’t really matter as much as we think it does. (I’m writing this for myself haha)

All-in-all, I’m really excited to share book four! It will be an eBook that I’ll be giving away for free! in celebration of the completion of my first season (50 episodes!) of my podcast, “Live Free with Selena Sage” (which can be found at anchor.fm/selenasage). Thank you for your support of this project and others!

To be among the first to get HAIKU to be free, please take a moment to visit zentaobooks.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page to subscribe. When the book is ready, I will be sending an email to subscribers on that list with a code to download this ebook for free!

Below I will include a picture of the original haiku I wrote…and the main picture for this post is from the restaurant were I wrote many of the haiku earlier this month! I hope you will enjoy.

love,

February 10, 2020

New Podcast: Live Free with Selena Sage

I am excited to announce that I have launched a new podcast!!

“Live Free with Selena Sage” is now live and available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple, Google, and Spotify!!

Please visit anchor.fm/selenasage for direct links to your podcast platform of choice, or download the free Anchor app to leave me voice and text messages about the episodes! 😁🌟

I am excited to share this new platform with you and I’m excited to have you join the journey!

Live Free with Selena Sage is a daily show with inspirational content organized by day, and episodes that are 10-20 minutes each.

Week 1 of the Podcast is now streaming! Please Subscribe, share, and leave 5 Star reviews to help others find the Podcast too! Thank you!

January 2, 2020

NEW YEAR REFLECTIONS

During my hike yesterday, I was captivated by this small, clear pool of water. Because the water was calm and unagitated, I could see the rocks below very clearly. In the same way, when we are calm and still, we are able to see things clearly. 

Every new year, I try to take a moment to reflect on highlights from the previous year and things I’d like to carry over and expand on in the new year. I find that though every year includes some kind of sadness or loss, there is always something to be grateful for…there are always moments that we‘ve overcome something we didn’t think we would. And we know that simply because we are still here. 

In this new year, I hope that you will take time to appreciate your ‘wins’ and learn from your ‘losses’. Know truly that these moments manifested to push you toward truth…toward your truest Self. I wish you a beautiful year, full of wonderful moments…and I wish you peace, calmness, and stillness. My hope is that in that quiet, joy, love, and light will all find you. 

Namaste. 

love,   

Photo source: from my 11.1 mile hike, ending in Sinagoga, Santo Antao, Cabo Verde 1/1/2020

November 11, 2019

ZEN TALK: NO MIND

Spontaneous talk about the concept of “no-mind” as explored through my experience of fixing my sink here on the island :)

October 21, 2019

ONE MINUTE ZEN: FREEDOM

I’m inspired to share this video from my hike this past weekend, here in Santo Antao :)

With all things, I hope that you are inspired to release all that does not serve you and keep moving! ;)

 

xo,

sage signature1

October 14, 2019

ADVENTURE

After taking a quick trip to the neighbor island for supplies, I was reminded of the importance of adventure. Doing new things can introduce you to new people and experiences and this is often very expansive.

Because of a small decision I made to have a hammock on my balcony, I’ve been led to the most wonderful people! I’ve re-connected with my awesome carpenter, received help from the lovely team at Terra Lodge hotel in Mindelo (one of my favorite hotels!), and was directed to an amazing hammock company in France (hamac.fr), where the kind owner has gone above and beyond to help me! (Merci Daniel!) I’m so grateful!!

Routines are easy to get into, and sometimes they are beneficial! But see if you can switch up your schedule just a little and try something new. The people you meet and experiences you have might just be the spark your creativity was missing! ;)

 

xoxo!

sage signature1

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Returning back to my island. I liked the play of light and shadow—taking a picture of myself in the sun, and then taking a picture of the sun. Plus I liked how the sun illuminated my third eye ;)

 

October 7, 2019

GRATITUDE

I rarely cry, but just a few minutes ago, as I was doing my evening stretches, tears began to leak out of my eyes as I was flooded with immense gratitude for everything in my life. I was inspired to thank my ancestors (Grams, Momsie, and O’ma) and I felt their responses in certain phrases they liked to use with me. I felt Sri Mooji in my heart too, and all of the love from everyone who loves me truly, and it was just so much the love had to flow as water.

I don’t know what inspired me to write a post in such a moment (haha!), but maybe I just felt it was so good it needed to be shared. So much in my life just doesn’t make sense…I don’t know how things somehow work out…I don’t know how I’ve been blessed to know such amazing people…and I don’t know what I could have ever done to be worthy of this…or what I could ever to do share this immense love that I’ve been given, but maybe that is a purpose of my life that will unfold in some unknown way.

In all ways, I just hope that you will take some moments to feel gratitude for every good thing. It may seem daunting in the face of all perceived wrongs you might see/feel/know about, but if you can allow yourself to be immersed in pure gratitude even for a few moments, and allow yourself to just say “thank you, thank you” to nothing or no one in particular, the vibration of your entire life will be positively affected.

I am so thankful! Thank you, thank you!! Endless blessings to you.

Namasté and love!

sage signature1

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Ponta do Sol, Cabo Verde

August 28, 2019

STAND STILL: REVISITED

Recently, a kind reader of this website came across a quote that I posted in 2014. That quote, “Stand still. The trees ahead and the bush beside you are not lost,” was misattributed to Albert Einstein (the internet is not always a reliable place to source quotes!), so I thank Sara Wright for calling that to my attention and informing me that it was actually a quote from a poem called “Lost” by David Wagoner. After looking up the poem, and verifying the sourcing, I quickly made the change and thanked Sara for bringing it to my attention :)

I am thankful to Sara for not only providing this kind correction, but also for introducing me to David Wagoner’s magnificent poem! I love it! I’ll share it below, but I’d also like to preface it with a little history of the origin of the poem. Apparently, David based “Lost” on the teachings that Native Americans, in the Pacific Northwest, gave their children if they ever became lost in the forest. Here is the poem from David Wagoner’s book, “Traveling Light: Collected and New Poems” published in 1999:

Lost

Stand still.  The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost.  Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes.  Listen.  It answers,
I have made this place around you,
If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven,
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost.  Stand still.  The forest knows
Where you are.  You must let it find you.

 —

I woke up this morning thinking about the beauty of this poem, and how the original quote I saw inspired a question in my first book, Meditative Questions, during my time in Bali. (The question I was inspired to write from that quote is below and as follows: “Is the tree rooted beside you lost?”)

img_3594

Now that I know the poem, the message is in even deeper harmony with the spirit of my question than I had originally realized! Amazing! So, I was inspired to make the recording included in the header of this post just after waking up haha! As with all impromptu recordings, it is not perfect…but I hope that my sense of wonderment and awe comes through anyway ;)

I’m wishing you a lovely day! Namaste.

love,

sage signature1

 

 

 

 

—

A  note about the image from the recording: Though I could not find a picture of the tree that I remember seeing (in Bali back in 2015!), I did find this picture from my veranda at that villa, and I think it captures the essence very well. The beautiful orange flowers were carefully placed all around the room everyday in a way that was clearly spiritually inspired. Bali is a magical place, and it continues to be one of my favorite places in the world.

Newer Posts
Older Posts
Translate »