solara silver

The contemplative life is accessible to anyone at any time.  But when, where, and how do you even start? I can't answer that for you, but can share how it began for me.  Noticing.  Noticing is the point of contact with present-time -- with that which captivates your attention and stirs your heart in this moment.  Do you notice a repeated thought? a thought pattern? an emotion? an attachment? a color? or something beautiful in the middle of chaos that makes you heart smile?   Reviewing your own data, that which  you consistently notice, is sacred work and the only way I know to step into the field of curiosity; of actual life.  Like Thoreau's tender quote reminds us "it's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see" .   What we see  is the invitation-- it's where we begin our divine apprenticeship and courtship with life.      By Mayra Porrata ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

I taught marketing courses in higher ed for 11 years. Twice each year, a capstone group project was assigned.  Coming from a background as a corporate trainer, I was well-versed in adult education theory and methods. This experience not only gave me a little edge in understanding the psychology beneath a number of factors that make projects, in general, fail or succeed, but it informed me on the unique challenges and importance of project-work in general.  Accordingly, one thing that was standard policy in my courses was choice ; students could choose to work in semi-randomly assigned groups or work alone.  By a show of hands I would get a sense of the students who wanted to work alone-- typically a small number, and then conduct an abbreviated Insights-style assessment for everyone.  At the conclusion of the 10 or so question assessment, I would ask: "Where are the yellows in the group?" The "yellows" eagerly raised their hands and I would ask them to "come on...

There's a gorgeous and growing silent majority in our country. They live in every state and  come from every background and human shade. Their key defining feature? Their ability to sense benevolence through the energetics of the human heart. What is benevolence? The stance of "do not harm" --- of not hurting anyone or anything intentionally or as a matter of policy.  As many more of us notice and realize the harms caused by the cultural expressions of malevolence*, a gentle energy is activated that naturally awakens an inner call to speak up and out. Despite the machinations of our current systems it is no match for the vast, living data base that informs the human spirit and heart. Accordingly, our response to current events is lived through the ability to move towards that which is beautiful and just;  that which serves humanity and is designed for our collective common good.   *Cultural expressions of malevolence  violence and abuse of women (verbal, physica...

Human beings are naturally endowed and imbued with God-given technology--- as such, there's a vast intelligence operating within and around you. If you doubt this statement then tell me: how does your mind work? why do you think the thoughts you do? how does your body operate? what enables you to feel, dream, hope, and accept grace? what urges you to fight? what actually is keeping you alive? Do you know? Our ignorance is no longer optional. Our compassion is no longer optional. What is optional is the choice to allow any leader or group to insert primitive technology into our towns and bodies and then sell it back to us as an advancement--as "the future".  Control is not the future. Division is not the future. Hoarding and raping the Earth is not the future. Toxic capitalism is not the future. Incarcerating human beings for profit is not the future. These are all functions of our collective past. And perhaps why they feel somewhat familiar and resonant. However, our  mut...

As the language and awareness around quantum mechanics and the quantum field reaches more individuals,  I'm finding myself connecting with friends and colleagues in an even richer  way. Fielding questions about consciousness, Spirit, and life not only informs the inquirer, but it deepens my own awareness and sense of self.   In my career as a community health educator, my approach was always "from the inside-out". This was not because I wanted to be a jerk-face contrarian (lol), but because that is how reality is created-- from the inside-out. You/we can create 'reality' that is divisive and punitive (as we do today), or we can create a 'reality' where we honor the divine in each and every life-- including our gorgeous and abundant planet.  From my research and observations, it's impossible to be sane and 'healthy' if we're constantly striving to fit standards that are not our own--- standards designed to keep us ensnared in mind loops with...

All of us enter life with unique wiring and a divine blueprint. Depending on your individual path and journey, there are things you'll naturally outgrow along the way.  Below is a list of some of the things I've outgrown -- ideas and both behavioral and cultural patterns I've evolved/matured beyond. I would  also like to note that about half of these lessons came directly from the soulful wisdom of my daughters-- the one on Earth who's still schooling me, and my cosmic angel who never misses a chance to remind me "the best is yet to come mom, keep going!!!"  colonialism (in myself) toxic masculinity (in myself) toxic capitalism (regular capitalism/exchange is our friend!) consumerism (a form of addiction)  charity (a form of structural colonialism)  "fighting" for a cure/cause (a form of structural militarism) "winning" (a form of structural colonialism) addiction (my one big lifelong addiction was to "thought"-- my blind ...

The last war will not come about because we elected a great leader, or because we finally stopped arguing about who owns what, while our children question their sanity, unable to freely live out their precious soul journeys and human lives. The last war will come through each of us —because of you and me and anyone who has ever felt the fire of their own human heart—who has bled and wept over the many wars they’ve already lived and barely survived and who know there’s no end until they end them.   In quiet rooms, in soulful circles, in secret journals, and in the hopes and dreams we carry in our living cells awaiting our silent signal; the yes that awakens our ancient memory and our living wisdom is released like a massive pulsar that will make Earth quiver all at once. When the golden light of your heart is no longer occluded, and you reclaim your blue sky and inner-sun, everything will be blessed, and your last war will finally end.   By Mayra Porrata ©2026 Solara ...

Anytime we make peace with our wounds and polarities -- with our own internal divide, we enter the realm of divine neutrality.  This is a tender space of deep contemplation and self-compassion. As we meet our own estrangement and forgive all the ways we've abandoned ourselves, we instantly realize the grace that's been with us all along.  As a natural consequence, we naturally allow others the grace of their own journey. We learn that no one needs  fixin'  only alignment and that happens at just the right time (for them).  Standing in neutral ground is not a stance of ignorance or being unaware or unengaged from the daily scuffles and battles of society. In fact, it makes individuals hyper-aware and informs them in ways that change them from the inside-out.  Yes, you can argue, fight, or debate, or you can walk the path that leads from your own divine heart instead. You may find it's the simplest and most rewarding way to live.     ...

The deepest insights from your human journey will not come from your mind, but through your heart and through the unique tune God/Source placed in your cells.  This is the tune that connects each of us to our human family and to our soul lineage-- and that's now playing in the world through you.   Engaging in these tender practices requires our willingness to look, listen, and love, and in many cases re-parent ourselves. Remember: wisdom is not 'out there' in another person, place, or thing. Wisdom is light that already dwells in and through you. self inquiry inner-child work wound/shadow patterns awareness and integration of shadow gifts understanding your multidimensionality readiness/ripeness to move forward  coherence/alignment returning to your innocence becoming an integrated human being (a modern human) By Mayra Porrata | comments: mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

W e need more  leaders  who are: - self-aware - compassionate - have emotional intelligence - have intellectual intelligence - have spiritual intelligence - are service (other) oriented At this time in our collective history, we simply need more intelligent and respectful leaders who can unite human beings and communities through creative collaboration(s) and God-given benevolence and goodwill.  How can we nurture our current public leaders? And equally important,  how can we start or continue to nurture these same qualities in ourselves ?  By Mayra Porrata | comments: mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

Aligning with the gravitational pull of our heart changes life for the better. Guided by the natural laws of life, of God/Source, we not only dissolve the density of emotional, mental, and physical energetic baggage, but we begin to embody more light and love—literally.   When our soul’s essence is allowed to direct our days, life takes on a different shape and form. We become more mindful, creative, and playful and more present to the beauty and magic of life and of each precious day.  By Mayra Porrata | comments: mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC Photo credit: Camille Silvestro 

As we mature and evolve, our health and wellbeing  naturally  turn inward. This shift motivates us to reflect on the following:     appreciation of your body nervous/electrical system cardiovascular system digestive system waste (excretion) system skeletal system facia network your mind/brain/thoughts your emotional patterns   appreciation of  your people your partner your children your friends your parents & siblings your colleagues/co-workers your extended family your neighbors your local farmers your local businesses   appreciation of  what you ingest food & other substances media nature, sun, ocean, fresh air   appreciation of y our home & community peaceful (to you) beautiful (to you) clear of extraneous objects and clutter clear of unnecessary past feels like home (to you)   appreciation of  nature/the natural world around you your fur babies & ...

As an Aquarian woman, it took me a long time to understand that my deep humanitarian sensitivities and emotional intelligence are not the same thing. From my experience, emotional intelligence (emotional availability) is an activation that enables us to sense or perceive beyond the confines of our mind. This sensory enhancement provides a new language that leads to a broader and deeper knowing, and therefore an expanded intelligence in us.  What some call ‘woke’, commonly used as an insult or derogatory slur, is nothing more than a God-given power and grace that’s available to us all. This activation can occur anytime we’re open to it. For me it was introduced in small doses via friends, colleagues, and family, and then fully received as a heavenly zip-file sometime after my daughter died. Needless to say, this has been a profound process and ongoing deepening of my own humanity --  a revelatory process that has become my new normal and way of life. If you’re not...

As we learn more about the way our world and universe actually works, polarized cultural bands become increasingly obsolete.  Polarized cultural bands are thought forms that pit one thing against another. The either-or mentality or fear programs all of us were taught to operate from. These are persistent bands of consciousness that exclude the intelligence of life/nature/energy/God and of our own human hearts. Ideas like  business/profits over people/humanity, this religion is the one and only, these are the good guys/saviors, this political party over the other (and vice-versa) keep us operating in a particular band of existence that limits our God-given gifts.   Although it may appear as such, nothing in God's universe is one-sided. It is, we are, multi-sided --- mind, body, and spirit.   Anytime we notice ourselves arguing with reality or with our own deeper wisdom, that's a symptom that part of us is estranged or in exile. Bring yourself back into sani...

Most children don't hesitate expressing who they are and what they love. My sister's granddaughter is a perfect example.  She's eight-years old and is authentically intelligent, funny, thoughtful, and charismatic. She doesn't try to be this way, or apologize for expressing her essence. She is truly her own little person. She is smart and sassy --- a tiny package of multi-dimensional goodness the world has yet to tell her is "too much" or too bright.  And, hopefully that day will never come.  There's so many of us remembering and honoring our unique intelligence and gifts. So many of us expanding beyond the single band of self-expression we were either shoved into or self-assigned in order to fit in, but in so doing, suppressed our inner sassy* light.  (*the lively and spirited kind) By Mayra Porrata | comments: mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

The desire to understand how you think, what you know, and how you know you know , is a simple way to describe metacognition. Another way to say is this: “the awareness of your own thought processes, including its evaluation.” Relative to culture, the simplest application of metacognition is to ask yourself: “how’s that working out for you?” This kind of question ushers us into a tender investigation of our beautiful selves as the living, fluid, and creative forms we each are. As a former educator, project manager, and life-long student, I’ve always valued the process of self-inquiry, dot-connecting, and evaluating outcomes. That’s why for anyone who's analytical in nature or enjoys using their mind to solve puzzles, I encourage the use of journals and contemplations on gratitude and self-awareness.  But...there are other ways to know that don't require any analysis; only your presence, awareness and love.   Recommended journals: Grateful – 30-day self-care journal ...

Realize what? What you realize as you live your days is entirely up to you. You could realize from the belief that life is suffering—that life is unfair--- that life is punishing, and that would be what you realize—what is real for you. But, even a tiny crack or shift in your awareness upgrades your vision, therefore changing what you realize and where you look.  In fact, a ll of us are here realizing and riding our own wave...and remembering where to look.  By Mayra Porrata | comments: mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

Though my writing often points out the mysterious and wondrous complexity of being a human being, the point of it is this: you don’t have to understand any of it to appreciate and accept yourself and embrace what you love. Love is its own language and intelligence. It transforms matter, distance, and illusion. It needs no conditions, only your allowance. By Mayra Porrata | comments: mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

Social media has helped more of us notice and observe conservatism and its derivatives. From my experience, conservatism stems from a band of awareness (see Self-understanding ) that leads people to value superiority, safety, and control over anyone or anything else. Conservatism is a form of fear – a personal and cultural refusal to grow beyond the confines of belief. It could also be viewed as an indirect form of violence—a commitment to controlling others, especially women,  through  policy, ridicule, or shame.     The conservative stance is deeply bound to dogma, nationalism, extractive economies, power-over mechanisms, and with leaders who promote and perpetuate these mindsets and policies. What are they conserving? Unconditional love.   By Mayra Porrata comments:  mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC

My dad was a book person. He and we had books all over our home-- including a full set of encyclopedias.  For me, looking up stuff was a hobby and repeating facts a strange form of spoken art (lol). It took me a super long time to realize that facts and data are snapshots of yesterday-- artifacts of the past. They are useful. They matter. But they are not the whole picture of anything-- ever.   What's actual intelligence? Life. You. Your loved ones. Your children. Your pets. Nature. Our planet. How you connect to all the living things that matter to you. Sharing what you love.   The answers and wisdom are all in you-- in each of us. By Mayra Porrata comments:  mayra@solarapublishing.com ©2026 Solara Publishing, LLC