CURRENT MISSION

To Deepen Connection with others, my self and the natural world/divine. To Stretch, Grow and Transform.

ABOUT ME

I am a mother to Zavian Talbeaux. Beloved wife to Sean Talbeaux. (In my references you'll see people call me Heather, my old name, I've been going by Oriyah for a few years now).

I am passionate about exploring every aspect of the depth and breadth of our human experiences. From the emotional, to the spiritual, physical and intellectual.

I enjoy being in nature, learning, community building, connecting with friends and family, traveling, being of service to others, campfires, singing, laughing, bicycling, giving spontaneous compliments and heading out on adventures of all kinds.

I love living on the edge and facing my fears, going on road trips and far away adventures, talking late into the night about life and love. Adore hiking, cooking, reading, learning, writing, taking workshops/classes, baking, decorating/creating space, going to farmer's markets, making friends, dreaming big dreams...

I occasionally practice the skills I learned in our permaculture certification course and realized that with almost every principle of permaculture, at the root of its truth is the importance of connection to/with others. It's all about relationships. It's all about community. It's all about sharing and connecting and loving.

I feel so much gratitude for the people in my life who fill it with richness, learning, art, beauty, laughter, growth, friendship and profound love. I feel incredibly fortunate and blessed in this life.

PHILOSOPHY

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you NOT to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory that is within us. It is not within some of us, its in EVERYONE. And when we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. We are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~ Marianne Williamson in A Return to Love

"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love" ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others" ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was couchsurfing from the very beginning of CouchSurfing, but now it's been at least a decade since I've done it, so I'm excited to try it again. I have an upcoming trip to Santa Fe to start a PhD program and would love to couchsurf for a few days before returning home to Portland, OR.

Once upon a time about a decade ago, I CouchSurfed all the way from Anchorage, Alaska to Northern Idaho through British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. I also CS in Thailand, India and Bali. Have had some WONDERFUL experiences so far and have occasionally enjoyed hosting at my home in Portland but with a 3 yr old these days, it's not been quite as possible as in the past.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Tok, Alaska, Whitehorse, Yukon, Prince George, B.C. - All wonderful.
Surfed in New Mexico, and now India, Thailand, & Bali. Panama. Billings, Montana. Reno, Nevada.
Every one has been unique unto itself, and truly awesome.

Interests

Travel. Music/Art Festivals. Burning Man. Connection. Depth. Love. Dancing. People watching. Learning. Growing. Stimulating conversation.

Authenticity. Cooking. Being in water.
Permaculture/organic gardening. Reading.

DANCING. Dancing. dancing...

Helping and supporting others.
Philosophy. Regenerative/Sustainable lifestyle.

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• beauty
• festivals
• dancing
• cooking
• baking
• vegetarian
• yoga
• walking
• gardening
• boating
• news
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• magic
• music
• hiking
• tourism
• road trips
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

World music. Instrumental. Singer songwriter. Beats that get me moving on the dancefloor - which are more rare these days than I would like to admit.

Memoirs, travel writing (ie; Dervla Murphy or Sarah McDonald), personal growth books, stories of transition/transformation. The SUN magazine.

I love movies of most kinds. High quality, independant, foreign, comedy, thought-provoking, suspense, 'true-story' is my all time fave, redramitizations, artsy films and every once and a while Hollywood puts out an exceptional movie too. (Amelie, Stranger Than Fiction, Inception, RED, Antonia's Line are some old school faves)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The huge pink moon rising over the Alaskan pacific ocean while rocking in a 32' aluminium gillnet drift boat over the swelling of ever-present ever-moving tides that sweep millions of salmon and salty water up into the glacial-fed rivers to spawn, then gently guide them back to open ocean. Glorious nature revealing magic in every moment. The cosmic ebb and flow of life.

Teach, Learn, Share

One of my favorite tools for personal transformation and overcoming 'issues' is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or 'Tapping'. Happy to teach this self-healing practice.

Cooking. Non Violent Communication (Compassionate Communication).

Beading/Jewelry making.

Watercolor painting.

Laughter Yoga.

Idea/poem/book/quote/vision/game/story sharing!

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, Spain, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States

• 

•