Kathie Gibboney in conversation with author Sarah Irani I once had a vision of the paradise realm The birdsong was louder, Everything glowed brighter, and i felt like i was home Welcome to the Paradise Realm — Sarah Irani On a Spring afternoon with new growth sprouting along Old Canyon Road, a dark-haired woman dressed in earth colors, walks, casual and lovely in the simplicity of her movement. It is Sarah Irani, local Topanga artist, mother, and wife, who carries her own inner spring bloom with her. Recently she was inspired to create and self-publish “Remember the Paradise Realm,� an art-filled work exploring and celebrating the re-connection of humans to another dimension. It’s hard in the middle of these desperate days to “get back to the garden,� but that is what Irani is compelled to champion in her own modest but powerful way. She cares about our human psyche, our planet and how we might remember to stop and smell the roses, or the sage, or the sweet fresh air after a rain. Her website (paradiserealm.org) offers insight to the inspiration for the book: “In the Paradise Realm, there are gardens everywhere; the Paradise Realm is the Garden...! Listen to the whisper of your deepest longings, and remember the Paradise Realm.� The Paradise Realm, she says, “is the future of humanity, connected with the Earth and the wisdom of our ancestors.� She describes the book as a portal into the fifth dimension, part journal, part diary, creative coloring book, poetry, spell book, or grimoire. It invites readers to use it in a hands-on, friendly, playful way, actually as more of a “play� book than a workbook. Provocative topics to explore are: “Describe a World Happy and Free; What Do You Say Yes To? How Do You Present Your Beauty To The World?� The book is designed to lead you through your own spiritual journey, connecting you to wonderment and dreams you may have forgotten and giving you the encouragement to open your heart to believe in them again. To rediscover, as Irani says, “a landscape filled with spirit. A landscape that glows.� Topanga seems the perfect place for her. Irani emigrated with her parents from Iran to the U.S. and was raised as a Muslim in a somewhat conservative Seattle home. Being the open, searching, free spirit she is may be attributed to some books she picked up—Kerouac, Burroughs, and other Beats—who strongly influenced her to follow her own path. She has been on it ever since. Having moved about quite a bit, she didn’t feel rooted to one spot but found herself always attracted to gardening and plants, especially the Datura. Coming from a background in art and graphic design, her illustrations are magical renderings depicting landscapes, flowers, flowing water, gardens, and fanciful creatures. Looking at them is like entering another world, a better world. Art as a Visionary Practice In addition to “Remember the Paradise Realm,� Irani also offers personal coaching. One can only imagine that her clients, like plants and flowers, must surely bloom under her tending. Her first workshop, “Art as a Visionary Practice,� takes place on April 16th in Topanga, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. RSVP required: paradiserealm.org/events/art-as-visionary-practice-2. Under Irani’s guidance, the event will be an interactive experience where participants are invited to explore the Paradise Realm as they practice breath, movement, third eye activations, then channel that cultivated energy into mixed-media art creations, Journaling, Collage, Drawing, and more where you’ll access your Vision and translate it into material form. It’s all about the transmission of energy. “Healthy soil is made from decay; everything breaks down and goes back to the earth,� Irani observes. “I would like to tell the world to slow down. Why rush to get back to normal when normal wasn’t all that great. I’d like people to view humanity without taking it for granted because there will always be greed, wars, corruption, and selfishness. I would like people to envision living happy and free.� “Remember the Paradise Realm� is available locally at Mimosa Café; Moona Star; and rememberparadise realm.org.