Ona Kiser

Meditation Excuses

Ona — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:53:35 +0000

Meditationexcuse.es is a humorous excuses generator project created with programmer Tom Buckley-Houston. We collected a long list of reasons to skip daily meditation practice from meditation teachers and meditation students in our network. All of the excuses were ones people had actually used. Tom set up the website to show a random excuse on each refresh, and the site was announced and shared via social media.

A World of Flavors Tours blog

Ona — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:05:43 +0000

For this project I helped food expert Otehlia Cassidy clarify her needs for a new website focused on her culinary tours business: A World of Flavors Tours. One of the biggest challenges was simplifying the requirements to keep the content very focused, the costs low and to allow her to maintain the site content herself with as little help as possible. I put together a simple WordPress blog and set up a ticket purchasing system on Brown Paper Tickets. The next project will be to refresh the design and content of her existing blog, which focuses on recipes.

A Little Death

Ona — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:26:07 +0000

A Little Death: A Journey to Awakening Through Meditation and Magick, published by Heptarchia Press is now in print. Regular updates, commentary and artwork associated with the book can be found at A Little Death Blog.

From the cover:

A series of traumatic accidents and losses is the starting-point for this unique memoir of a woman’s journey to spiritual awakening. Confronted by her mortality, and seeking a way to accept both death and living with death, Ona Kiser presents this deep exploration of modern spiritual practices, narrated with equal measures of humor and passion.

Re-visiting the lessons of her years as an initiate of Santeria, she also discovers and puts to work techniques from Buddhist meditation and Western Magick, enlisting – along the way – the guidance of a maverick guru. The result is a richly detailed map of all the joys and pitfalls of the quest for enlightenment. Like a modern-day St. Teresa of Avila, Ona skilfully navigates the waves of agony and ecstasy, the heights of mystical insight and visions, as well as the depths of confusion and despair, always in undaunted pursuit of her goal.

‘It was an end, but also a beginning, a rebirth into a new world that had always existed, hidden in plain sight.’

Startupi

Ona — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:53:38 +0000

Startupi is a blog that tracks news and trends relating to the Brazilian IT startup scene. Headed by editor-in-chief Diego Remus, Startupi operated independently for several years before forming a partnership with Brazilian media company SixPix/ResultsON and then with IG, a Brazilian media conglomerate; Startupi has developed over several years to become a leading resource for entrepreneurs and investors involved in Brazil.

Startupi is also involved in organizing events such as Startup Weekend São Paulo and Social Media Week São Paulo, and resources such as the Map of Brazilian Startups. I provided a parallel English language version of Startupi from its founding until it’s partnership with IG in the late summer of 2011. I also provide behind the scenes editorial and strategic support during that time. I currently provide a weekly digest in English for foreign readers. Follow Startupi on Twitter!

Global Horse Culture

Ona — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:22:34 +0000

Global Horse Culture is a blog I launched in June 2007 and updated actively until the Autumn of 2010. It features hundreds of posts about horses, particularly the aspects of horses and equestrian traditions that are less familiar to US readers. Topics include rare breeds, the adornment of horses, unusual sports, depictions of horses in ancient art and so on.

Global Horse Culture developed out of my longstanding interest in horses and in the adornment of horses. Post range from brief pointers to interesting online resources to in depth interviews with horse breeders, artisans, and riders. Numerous posts have been based on research done during my own travels in Costa Rica, Brazil and Mexico.

You can follow Global Horse Culture on Twitter.

Carriage Days at Boscobel

Ona — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:46:01 +0000

Article for the Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar print edition about a day of carriage driving at a historic estate in the Hudson Valley; published in August 2009.

The annual event, sponsored by the Mid Hudson Driving Association, allows visitors to the Boscobel House and Gardens to experience a taste of what it might have been like in the days of horse and carriage; the participating drivers enjoy the opportunity to drive their horses on the great lawn and driveways of the scenic property overlooking the Hudson River, while educating the public about the pleasures of carriage driving.

Business plans and presentations

Ona — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:54:21 +0000

Numerous Portuguese to English translations, including business plans, promotional materials, presentations, and website copy for Brazilian tech startups desiring to make a professional impression on English-speaking investors. Clients include:

The Better Deal

Ona — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:49:26 +0000

The Better Deal (working title) is a forthcoming book co-written with horse trainer Margaret Beeman. It features Margaret’s training philosophy and a complete system of working with horses to develop a safer, more successful and more fun partnership for all disciplines.

For this project I first helped Margaret develop an overall concept for the book. We then did several months of recorded interviews, which I used to write rough drafts of various sections. We then refined the drafts together into more developed chapters and eventually into the complete manuscript. Finally, I photographed Margaret and her students as they demonstrated the exercises, step by step. The writing process from initial discussions to final draft took six months. I then packaged and prepared the materials for submission to publishers.

Having worked with Margaret for four years training my own horses, I was familiar with her method and was able to incorporate this knowledge into the writing process.

Horse Shows for the 21st Century

Ona — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:47:48 +0000

An article for the March 2010 Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar digital edition, describing an innovative format for training and showing young horses developed by Rod Miller, an experienced judge, trainer and competitor in the sport of Reining. His organization, the IPHDA, allows competitors to show their horses via video submissions which are judged by professional judges. These virtual shows offer real prizes, including cash, buckles, and saddles.

This article also ran in the Canadian print magazine The Rider.

Janus

Ona — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:37:44 +0000

Portuguese to English translation of contest entry materials for Janus, a Brazilian nanotechnology company that won the 2010 Idea 2 Product international competition in Austin, Texas. Their winning product is a reusable demulsifier for use in the petroleum industry.