Well done!               

 
 
You have reached Mikaya Heart’s homepage
 
I've been a wordsmith since the age of six.
 
 ~ For information on My Sweet Wild Dance (which has just received a Golden Crown Literary Award) and other books I've written, click here, or go straight to Amazon to buy it, or support your local bookstore by ordering it there ~
 
~ For a list of upcoming events and appearances, click here ~
 
Click here for my article on charity and my article on shamanism published in Donna Magazine
 
here for my article on women's empowerment published in Diva Toolbox
 
and here for my article on The Meaning of That Word LOVE.
 
For more of my articles and short stories, see my blog.
 
You can see me talking about inner peace on You-tube; you can hear me being interviewed on SistersTalk radio, Innerviews and the
X-zone (which is also available on itunes)
 
and check out the interview on gaydarnation
 




Now you get to guess which one of these beings is me (hint: I'm handy with a chainsaw)
 
I’ve had a number of different personas in my fifty seven years on Earth in this particular body: a waitress, a political activist, a hippy, an anarchist, a radical lesbian, a feminist, a car mechanic, a carpenter, a tree feller, a butch dyke, an organic market gardener, a pig farmer, a Minister of Holistic Healing, a public speaker, a shamanic worker, and a kitesurfing instructor, for instance. Recently, other people have referred to me as the ultimate environmentalist, a  feisty old lady, ‘such a nineteen year old,’ 'that old guy,' a very interesting person, an exceptional lover, a courageous woman, and an inspiration.  I hear the last  two quite often.  I especially like the idea that I inspire people.
 
(There have been other less complimentary labels.  Let's not focus on them.)

I call myself a marveling mystic, since I have an awareness of myself as something far beyond this physical body, and I constantly marvel at the intricate beauty of our planet.
 
I grew up in Scotland, and lived in the boonies of northern California for twenty years. Now that I'm addicted to kitesurfing, I have become a nomad, traveling wherever the wind blows.
 

The Vastness of Being

In the last ten years, I've had some remarkable and inexplicable experiences that woke me up to the vastness of being. Now I know that peace is an inside job. I know that no having or doing is as powerful as being in a place of true joy. I know that I will die when the time is right and it's a lot smarter to concentrate on enjoying life than avoiding death. And I know that Marianne Williamson was absolutely right when she said, "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."  

After my awakening, I sold most of what I owned. I live wherever I happen to be on this planet, doing what brings me joy. I want to help others to be motivated on a daily basis by trust rather than fear. (That might be the foundation of what is called enlightenment).

I am a coach in the Art of Being Human. Do you think you already know how to be human? Life is a dance, and dancing in time to the music takes practice. It's the difference between wielding a paint brush and being able to paint a picture that moves others. I lead workshops and mentor individuals who are ready to embrace the fullness of being human--being fully present, being fully who you are, discovering and following your heart's desire. When all doing arises from being, our creativity and joy flows freely.

One of the tools I use in my coaching is the shamanic drum journey.

Although most religions have a profound basis, I don’t generally find them useful.  Spirituality (which I might define as an awareness of energy moving through you) is too personal to be institutionalized – and in practice, many religions attempt to restrict and control human beings.  The need to do that always stems from insecurity.  If people knew themselves as the magnificent beings that we all are, they wouldn’t do it.

One cannot develop spiritual awareness without developing self awareness.  The person who has helped me most on that path is Dayana Jon (I-Opening Network), a visionary who is the medium for an extraordinary group of beings called AMAG. They taught me that we are not human beings trying to become spirit, we are spirit beings playing around with human form.

Others who have helped me include Laura Rose, Caryn McCloskey, Brooke Medicine Eagle and Angeles Arrien.

Yes, I have a daily spiritual practice.  It takes a lot of focus and concentration.  It's called being fully human.
My Travels
In my twenties, I decided that I would have to do things on my own, because waiting for other people just wasn't getting me anywhere.  So I do a lot of things on my own.  I love being alone in Nature.  That's one of the reasons I like the United States - there is still plenty of wilderness here.  I've done a lot of traveling on my own: Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean. 

 In 2008 I visited the Middle East which, in spite of what we are told by the media, is a very safe place to travel.  The Jordanian desert was probably the most amazing place I have ever been.  The rocks sang to me, and I sang back to them.  I haven’t been able to stop singing ever since I was there.  I’m not trained in music at all, but my voice seems to know what how to sing, and my fingers know how to make beautiful sounds on drums and guitars.  That is a wonderful thing, and I am really appreciative.
 
 
 
No matter whether you're talking about world peace or individual peace, it cannot be imposed externally. It radiates out from inside.
 

Growing up in Scotland

You get to guess, again, which of the three beings above is (was) me.  (Hint: this picture really illustrates how I felt in those days).

People often say, “That’s cool!” when I tell them I grew up in Scotland, but actually it wasn’t cool.   Without ever intending to be so, I was too radical for that environment in the fifties and sixties, and I had (still have) an obsession with truth.  It wasn’t the done thing to tell too much of the truth in those days.  
 
I've spent too much of my life trying to fit in boxes. Now I’m just being Mikaya.  I think I'm less alarming when I'm just being me, than when I was me-trying-not-to-be-me.  That combination was a little volatile.
 

Are you fighting for a better world? I'm not fighting--for a better world.

 This is the house I built,

with my very own hands, on my property in northern California.

It's constructed totally from recycled lumber.

A few years ago I had an epiphany, which made me decide to sell everything.
Selling this house was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but 
I needed to be absolutely free.

I've always felt a deep respect and love for this planet. I like to re-use resources.

My latest foray in that vein has been fueling my car partly on hydrogen, obtained by
electrolysis of water. I just discovered that urine is a better source of hydrogen than water. Hallelujah!

Now I am building a urine unit.  :)
 



 

Tolerating mediocrity is a sin. It might even be the sin that underlies all other sins.

 

My favorite activities are

partner dancing, horse riding and kitesurfing.

I've been studying partner dancing (swing, salsa, tango, two-step, waltz -- that kind of thing) with Zoe Balfour in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's a delightful way of learning how to move in rhythm.

So are horse-riding and kitesurfing.

I don’t have any horses of my own right now, but I have several kites, and I get out on the water whenever I can -- preferably every day.  When I’m flying along on my board, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt what is important in life.  Everything petty falls away.  It' s a powerful spiritual experience right there for the taking.  This is a picture of me jumping by the Golden Gate Bridge. Click here for a story about kitesurfing.

Now that I know myself to be a free entity, I go where it's warm and windy in the winters. I have become the woman who follows the wind.

Click here for my article on The Zen of Sport

Wisdom and knowledge are sensations, and they're personal.  Anyone can learn to feel them; or rather, unlearn not being able to feel them.