Debut Release of Anatomy of the Heart: Love Poems

It's here!
I went to Kauai to write a book (among other things) and returned with a book that I could not be more proud of. It is raw, 100% authentic and really allowed me to be completely vulnerable.

Below is the official press release. I hope you'll not only read it and love it, but also share with your friends and family.

From here on out I plan to dedicate my blog to my poetry. Who knew I would have to cross an ocean to find my truest heart's desire - writing poetry. I've been writing since I was 12, but never in a million years would have imagined it would be such inspiring, passionate work for me. Why? I always imagined work had to be "hard". Turns out, it doesn't.

Enjoy!
Happy Reading (and writing),
xoHeather

DEBUT INDEPENDENT BOOK RELEASE: ANATOMY OF THE HEART: LOVE POEMS BY HEATHER STRANG

For Immediate Release

Heather Strang
Phone: 503-522-9799
heather@heatherstrang.com

After 13 years of writing poetry detailing the beauty of love, the depths of lost love and the heartache of desiring a former lover, writer and poet Heather Strang is now sharing her experiences in her debut poetry book, Anatomy of the Heart: Love Poems.

Anatomy of the Heart features more than 50 original poems for lovers of both words and relationships. Walk with her through the beginning stages of love, sink into the depths of the experience, reminisce over lost love and join in the heartache of wanting a former lover back. Readers will also uncover the surprising similarities between the physical heart and the emotional one. Strang showcases how the two work together like mirrors, illustrating all we need to know about love and ourselves.

"Ultimately, true love is a process occurring within each one of us. I hope readers will find comfort and inspiration in these shared experiences. To experience love in any form is a beautiful thing. As Rumi says, love is within us - long before a lover enters our lives," said Strang.

Heather Strang is a writer, poet and coach passionate about conscious living. Her writing has appeared in blogs, books and a host of print and online publications, including 20-Something Manifesto, Four and Twenty, Women's eNews, The Oregonian, Amaze Magazine, NW Women's Journal and many others. When she's not writing, you'll find her meditating on the beach, creating new recipes and exploring the possibilities of the Universe. To learn more, visit: www.HeatherStrang.com.

A poetry sample from Anatomy of the Heart:

Bend

I breathe into you

My inhale sweet

With the scent of your kisses.

You on one knee

A blade of grass poised gingerly

for my ring finger.

Love and marriage and all

our hopes and dreams

In unison

In one breath.

# # #

Read My Poetry on Four and Twenty

I'm so pleased to announce that two of my poems are featured in the June 2009, Volume 2 issue of Four and Twenty.

This is an amazing literary publication and so much fun to read.

Hope you'll enjoy it!

Happy Writing,
Heather :)

P.S. And yes, I'm back in Oregon - on the coast - to promote my poetry book. Stay tuned for more info!

Tapping Into Your Intuition

During an interview this weekend for my upcoming book about love, one of the interviewees shared a great method for tapping into your intuition.

I thought I would share it.

When trying to make a decision by following your intuition, ask yourself the question at hand and pay attention to the feelings that come up. You're likely to feel either an opening or a closing in your heart chakra area.

If you think of one option and feel a tightening (which is how I experience it), then it may not be the right choice. If, when you think of another potential choice, and feel an expansion or opening - typically with a bit of excitement/relief/joy - you know you're on the right track.

The trick is - taking the time to stop, get quiet and observe this within yourself. Doing so will allow you to observe either the expansion or contraction within you.

Happy Intuiting!
-Heather :)

Update: Life and Homelessness

Of course, I'm not truly homeless, but that's certainly the feeling I've had of late. Check out Karen Bishop's latest update to get more in-depth information on this, especially if you're also feeling this way.

It's a new moon today (pacific time, that means yesterday as I write this) - which often means new energy and bringing new, great stuff in. In fact, the angel card I pulled this morning was "New Opportunity" - so all signs definitely point in that direction.

But, back to the homelessness, or at least the feeling of such. Kauai is beautiful and in just 4 short months I accomplished what I came here to do. I have a solid feeling that this isn't my spot, but no place else feels right either. I love the Oregon Coast (I've had a "condo on the Oregon Coast" on my intention list for about 7 years now!) and moving there would certainly put me close to my family (my sister is having a baby!) and within close proximity to my small, yet powerful group of soul friends. However, it doesn't feel right to step into that just yet either.

So, here I wait. For a sign. For a nudge, for the knowing. Karen Bishop says it's coming, my intuition says it is as well, but my mind and ego are in a hurry. They would really like me to make a decision NOW. They want to know what my plan is and where I am going.

The trouble is, I simply don't know. And my ego/mind HATES not knowing! But, during my meditation today I surfaced with the resolve that I will not make a move of any kind until I do know. This is, of course, totally counter to how I had been living my life - following my head and going at a break-neck pace. I love the slower pace of my life, the warmth, the ocean and my tan. :) But Kauai is odd and simply a place of growth for me. I've started a deep healing journey here and finished my first poetry book (out this summer - turning final edits into my publisher this week!). In addition, I'm writing more poetry than ever before - it flows out of me effortlessly. I feel more connected and centered than I have - ever - in my entire life.

At the same time, I feel a shift coming soon. My dreams are vivid and often leave me clues. During a recent healing session, I received guidance to bring greater transparency to a couple of my relationships - the next night I had a detailed dream as to how that transparency should come about. I'm journaling, meditating, walking, stretching, processing, asking, crying, getting angry and then writing some more and doing the whole process over again. I'm cleaning things up, shining light on areas within myself I had avoided or simply hadn't the time for. It is a fascinating process, and when I look at it like this - from a detached, objective point of view - it seems rather beautiful. At times, I'm deeply connected to this beauty, other times I'm so irritated with the slowness of things, I can barely stand it. :)

And so, I continue to write, while I wait.
Below is a poem I wrote (And I really shouldn't say "I" wrote it - the words just start tumbling out of me and I have to scramble to get pen to paper to capture it. I can't even tell you if what I write is true poetry - it simply comes out and I write it down.) the other night - at Brennecke beach while the sun went down:

Island

On an island
in the middle of
the Pacific

I am alone.

The beach stretches for miles
The ocean lays out as far as the eye can see

Yet, there is only me here.

Darkness has fallen
The couples, kids and families
are safely tucked
away

Only I remain
to write
to feel
to ask
and to receive.

I thought myself an island
But then, I came here
and realized that no one person
can ever be an island,
no one person can ever sustain
all alone in the darkness.

So, I pack up my journal, pen and books
Blow a kiss to the butterflies and palm trees
And I head home
to an ocean that is not an island
to a place where I no longer have to
pretend to be one.

It is time
Time to heal what
has not been lost
Open myself up -
wide and free,
Just like the mainland.

© 2009 Heather Strang
All rights reserved.

Happy Writing and Much Love to YOU!
xo

NaPoWriMo - Day 30 - Wouldn't Publish! 2nd Try

I tried to get this to publish all day yesterday and today. Sorry folks! But here's the anti-climatic last poem for National Poetry Month. xo

Sleep No More

4:30am on a
Thursday morning.
Sound asleep
Until
A scratch on
My arm.
A nightmare
flits through my
head.
I fling it across the room
Suddenly awake,
screaming.
COCKROACH!

ON MY ARM!

IN BED!

No more sleep
for me.
Tossing,
turning
planning my return to
Oregon.
Where there are no
COCKROACHES.

© 2009 Heather Strang
All rights reserved.

Today marks the end of NaPoWriMo. :(
I can't believe I wrote a poem, almost every day of the month. Almost.
It was fun, although challenging and I think I actually wrote some good ones.

I'm going back to my regular one week blog schedule to write about my journey in the tropics (which as you can see from above, took a dramatic turn for the worse), my writing and anything else that is on my mind.

I'm such an Oregon girl. Damn!

Much love,
Heather :)

NaPoWriMo - Day 29 - Friends Among Strangers

Friends Among Strangers

Peace
Washed over me
Gently, gracefully
As your story unfolded
It was sad, but rang so true
I felt the comfort of friends
Even among strangers
Here, in this strange place
I discovered my truth
The truth I had searched for
My entire life
Right before my very eyes
In the eyes of strangers
Who are now friends
Every ache, ounce of pain
And misery was confirmed,
Understood and acknowledged
My entire life made sense
And peace,
Peace was my
only emotion.

© 2009 Heather Strang
All rights reserved.

NaPoWriMo - Day 28 - Words

Words

It escapes me
mid-thought
I ask it to wait
just give me time
to find a pen
or something to write on.
But, it doesn't care
I can be driving
In a meeting
Or in the midst of dispensing advice
and there it will be.
The words, the sweet words
for this blog, for a book
for an article.
There's no stopping this flood
of words.
They do not have any particular
concern about my whereabouts
or the location of a writing utensil,
they simply bust out and,
I am lucky to catch any of them
at all.
I will recite the first line over and
over hoping to cement it into my
memory.
Sometimes it works,
Sometimes it doesn't.
And then I am left with a feeling
a feeling that something beautiful
passed through me
something of note.
It's on the tip of my tongue.
I lay my head in my hands
and beg it
to come back.

© 2009 Heather Strang
All rights reserved.