Heart Felt Thanks

In just over a month, my second yoga and dog-related mystery, A Killer Retreat, will finally be released and out in the world.

Until I became a writer, I ignored the acknowledgements and dedications decorating the first pages of my favorite reads. Now, I know that they represent the many, many connections that make a book possible. Please take a moment and help me acknowledge the people who helped me birth my second written child.

To anyone I may have neglected to mention: my oversight does not make your contribution less important. You have my sincerest appreciation.

Dedication:
To my husband Marc. Without your support, my writing wouldn’t be possible.

Acknowledgements:
I always assumed writing would be a lonely endeavor. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Thank you to the readers who have contacted me to tell me that they’ve enjoyed my work and to the writers who’ve encouraged me to keep persevering. Your support means the world to me.

For A Killer Retreat, I have so many people to thank that I don’t even know where to begin.
My mom Marcia’s enthusiastic support of the series has touched me, and I’m pretty sure she has single-handedly kept the Billings Barnes and Noble in business since my first book was released. My yoga students have attended events, read my work, and given me encouragement even when I’ve struggled. My wonderful agent, Margaret Bail, editors Terry Bischoff and Connie Hill at Midnight Ink, and freelance editor Marta Tanrikulu have all given me invaluable help and feedback.

Special thanks to D.P. Lyle MD, who helped me work out the technical details of the crimes in this book. He is kind, generous with his time, and an invaluable resource to all of us in the crime writing community. Of course if there are any errors in this work, they are completely mine.

My husband, Marc, supports me in all of my crazy endeavors but chooses to work in the background, designing and maintaining my website, creating marketing materials, helping me brainstorm plot points, and putting up with the angst, heartache, joy, frustration, and excitement that are all part of being a writer. Thank you, honey.

Finally, I have to acknowledge my own personal Bella, German shepherd Tasha. You’re getting older, sweetie, so we don’t have as many adventures as we used to, but rest assured that you are woven into the fabric of my stories and branded on my heart. I hope we have many more years together. You will always be my inspiration and the greatest joy of my life.

Tracy Weber

          

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT is available for preorder now from Whole Life Yoga. MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  and book sellers everywhere! 

Creating Abundance

“Abundance is about being rich, with or without money.”— Suze Orman

Happy Thanksgiving!

Depending on your perspective, the holidays can either be a joyful time shared with family and friends or a dismal demonstration of unrealized expectations. The choice is yours. Abundance is everywhere, if you choose to look for it.

On this day of feasting and family, I'd like to share with you some quotes, breath practices, and meditations that can help you find abundance in your own life.

"Whatever we are waiting for -- peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance -- it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.”—Sarah Ban Breathnach

Breath Practice:

1. Lengthen your inhale and exhale, making them approximately equal.
2. Remain at that lengthened breath for several minutes. With each inhale, imagine abundance in all its forms entering your heart. With every exhale, imagine those same qualities flowing through your body and taking root in every cell.
3. After several minutes, return your breath to a normal rhythm. Carry the energy of this breath practice to meditation.

Meditation Question: How can I invite abundance into my life, regardless of my material wealth?

“The universe operates through dynamic exchange…giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives.”— Deepak Chopra

Breath Practice:

1. Lengthen your inhale and exhale, making them approximately equal.
2. After six breaths at that lengthened breath, add a two second pause after both the inhale and the exhale.
3. Remain at this breath for several minutes. With each inhale, imagine abundance in all its forms entering your heart. In the pause after inhale, imagine abundance completely filling you. With every exhale, offer abundance back to the world. In the pause after exhale, imagine abundance both within and around you.
4. After several minutes, release the pauses, but continue breathing with a lengthened inhale and exhale.
5. After several more breaths, return your breath to a normal rhythm. Carry the energy of this breath practice to meditation.

Meditation Question: How can I create abundance in the lives of those around me?

The prosperity hens pictured above symbolize prosperity in Indian culture, because any family fortunate enough to own a hen has a continual source of nourishment. Find your own symbol of abundance and keep it near as you get caught up in busy-ness of the holiday season.  Allow it to remind you of all that is truly important.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about her  yoga and dog-related mystery series, the Downward Dog Mysteries.

An Ode to Turning Fifty

Today’s article will be a short one. No book news, no personal insights, no great yoga tips. I’m giving myself the day off. Last Thursday was my—gasp—50th birthday. I spent the day in bed with a nasty head cold, cuddled up on the floor with my dog, who was suffering from a nasty 24 – hour intestinal bug.

All in all, the day could have been…

A whole heck of a lot worse.

Any day I get to spend in my beautiful home with that gorgeous creature, knowing that my hubby will soon be home from work to harass us, is a good day indeed.

My 50^th birthday wasn’t the most pleasant day ever, but I wouldn’t trade my life for any other on earth.

Enjoy the life you’re given.

That is all for today.
Namaste

Tracy Weber

          

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT is available for preorder now from Whole Life Yoga. MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  and book sellers everywhere! 

The Essence of Gratitude

I recently read an essay from one of my yoga teacher training students, in which she discussed how she continually practices being grateful, even when things don’t go her way.  It reminded me how easy it is to let the circumstances of life dictate how we feel.  You can clearly see it in the sun starved faces of Seattleites.  When it’s sunny and warm, we feel joyous and energized.  When it’s rainy and cold, we feel lethargic and depressed.

One goal of yoga is to learn how to find internal peace, so that regardless of the “weather” in our internal or external worlds, our mind is calm, centered and content.  The teachings tell us that we cannot control what happens in the world around us.  But we can control how we react to it.

I once listened to a wonderful recording by Joan Borysenko, in which she discussed practices of gratitude.  I can’t remember the title anymore, but I adapted a practice from it that I use to keep myself connected to the joy and beauty of my life, even when I feel down and things seem to spin out of control.  This practice reminds me that no matter how “awful” things seem at any given moment, there are always many, many things for which to be grateful.

Like many important things in life, the practice is simple, yet powerful.  Each night, before falling asleep, I recount at least 10 things that I was grateful for in that day.

To be completely honest, some days it’s  harder than others.  But I can always do it, even on days that have been truly challenging on every level.  And the practice makes me pay attention and seek out the small joys I might otherwise miss each day.  It doesn’t matter how big or how small, every day brings gifts that make me smile.

For example, today I am grateful for:

• The cool breeze wafting through my living room window
• The purple color in the center of the orchids next to the studio fountain
• The soft, silky spot behind my dog’s ears
• The sound of the neighborhood woodpecker as he drills on our metal chimney top
• The white breasted bird that sat on the line outside my window this morning
• My dog's continued recovery from hip replacement surgery
• Chocolate
• The yummy taste of Blackthorn cider
• The delightful E-card I just received from a dear friend as I typed this blog entry

The essence of gratitude resides in things both big and small.  This practice keeps me connected to all that is wonderful in my world on a daily basis.  I hope you try it and benefit from it as much as I have!

Namaste and may you have many things for which to be grateful.

Tracy Weber

Learn more about my yoga mysteries at TracyWeberAuthor.com, and join my author mailing list for updates on MURDER STRIKES A POSE, available early 2014 from Midnight Ink!

A Whole Lot of Shaking

Tuesday morning I got a late start and was in the process of getting dressed when the small bathroom I was standing in began to move. I didn’t have to think about it. I knew it was an earthquake right away. Usually the small ones that happen here are over almost before you notice them. It feels like somebody pulled on the back legs of your chair (if you’re sitting) and then ran away.

This was different. It was more like I was in a box being shaken by some giant hand. It shook and then shook some more, but harder. I stepped into the door frame (that’s what you’re supposed to do because the door frame is stronger than other parts of the room) and watched one of my cats run across the living room with her tail poofed out.

And then it finally stopped. Relieved that for once I didn’t get that horrible free falling, scary feeling in the pit of my stomach, I went outside. We all work out of the house, so within moments my son and husband and joined me in the yard and we compared notes. Our other cat slept through the whole thing and Goldy, our terrier mix never stirred from her chair.

We had no damage other than unsettled nerves. And thankfully it wasn’t anything like the Northridge earthquake in 1994. We were practically on top of the epicenter of that one and while we only had an some cracks in our walls and an overturned bookcase, the power was off for days and there was lots of damage near us.

I will never forget driving my son to school and driving past an endless row of fallen block walls. Or the Cal State Northridge parking structure that looked like Godzilla had stepped on it. Or the apartment building that was now sagging at an angle.

This past Tuesday there were aftershocks, but since the epicenter was so far away, we didn’t feel them. Not so with the Northridge quake. The whole week after it seemed like the shaking didn’t stop. We had numerous ones that were over 5 points. And then something happened. I began to feel a surge of gratitude for every moment the house wasn’t shaking.

As the weeks progressed and the shaking grew less and less, my moments of gratitude became more and more until finally, I felt a constant state of gratitude all of the time for everything.

I still feel that way. The Tuesday shaker just reminded me.

Has anything negative had a positive impact on your life?