R.R. Shakti | Soul Artist
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three little bird eggs

4/4/2021

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Holy Days. Spring. Inspiration.
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For me, Easter has come to mean new beginnings.
My childhood winters in the US Midwest were long. Once Christmas had past it was mostly just snowy, drizzly, dreary days and long nights. Nearly half the year spent under cloud-cover, seeing your breath when you talk, waking up for school in the cold dark.

LONG.

Daylight would arrive each morning a little sooner...and a little sooner until one day, like a sunrise blast over the horizon, the entire world felt different.
The world looked different.
Life changed in an instant.

They say that when Jesus came out of the tomb, not all of his friends recognized him at first. He had changed.
That makes sense to me.
Within the span of the three new moon days/nights, Jesus had traversed into the underworld, ascended into heaven, and returned to solid Earth. It stands to reason, things would have been a little different.

Per usual, Jesus provides a model for the Soul Artist who seeks to live their most meaningful life.

Because this has been a year.
In the span of just over 365, we have certainly traversed some new territory. For some it was a deep-dive into the underworld–the "Dark Night of the Soul." Others found illumination of their shadows. There have been challenges to be certain, and hardship provides opportunity for transformation.


What about you? How have you changed?
Do you feel yourself cycling through into something new?


Today, I remember my favorite childhood Easter dress. I remember styling my hair and polishing my shoes and stepping into the church pew to hear the Sunday sermon.
There was excitement in the air.

After the service (and oh! the singing) the children were ushered out into the warm and radiant sunshine for an egg hunt on the lawn. I was bigger then. I followed behind the smaller ones. Something new was stirring.

As I walked the perimeter of the church yard, I spotted a little nest nestled beneath a tree. It was crooked and disheveled as if it had fallen from the branches. But there were three tiny eggs inside. I sat down to get a closer look.

It was a Soul Artist moment.

On the soft cool ground, under the brilliant blast of the Easter sun, I had a new understanding about the cycles of change (samsara in Sanskrit). It is all happening. Seasons. Moons. Days. Years. Thoughts. Life.

Creation.
Preservation.
Dissolution.
...and it is always coldest, darkest just before the dawn.

It was something like that, anyway, elusive and curiously peaceful as I sat awestruck with wonder beside that little broken nest. Birds sang everywhere above me. The breeze blew the style out of my curls. And the sun was there.

I let the littler ones look for the Easter eggs. I had already discovered mine.
Walking back to find my mother I felt like I had grown.

​I wondered if she would recognize me.

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What Don't I Know? | Light me up.

11/14/2020

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Love. Inner Power. Diwali. 
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What don’t I know?

We are all pretty sure about one thing: our own perspective. So many conversations begin with, “Look here,” or “Listen up,” because “This is where I stand.”

The whole entire enterprise of human engagement becomes a quest to be understood.

But standing in that mentality means staying in the dark—denying that there’s another point of view.

So here’s something new: What if you start each encounter with the question, “What don’t I know?”

Example: The neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking and it’s making me crazy. What don’t I know? Or: Marty left his dirty laundry in the middle of the floor, again. What don’t I know?

I fail at it daily. But when I remember this practice, my life is just better. It’s like real world enlightenment. The light shines on another’s perspective and I find out that we weren’t standing so far apart, after all.

Today is an Indian holy day: Diwali. It is an opportunity to celebrate the light.
The light of awareness.
The light of consciousness.
The light of your inner power.

There has never been a more crucial time for the teachings of Mystic Traditions to make their way into the real world human experience,
t
o make life... just better.
​
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10 Practices to Celebrate Diwali.

diwali. love. marriage.​
​
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10 Practices to Celebrate Diwali

11/8/2020

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Diwali. Lakshmi. Abundance.
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Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights" because it is a celebration of illumination. It honors the light of your awakened consciousness. It invokes beauty, abundance, prosperity, and love–the archetypal attributes of the Indian Goddess, Lakshmi. This mystic tradition invites you to realize those attributes as qualities of your own mind. Rituals serve to remind you of your inner power and transform your awareness. Your most powerful expression of abundance is a grateful heart. Diwali is the party for a more meaningful life. 

10 Practices for Diwali

  1. Clean your home. The first day of Diwali, Dhanteras, begins the celebration of Goddess Lakshmi, the archetype of beauty, abundance, and material wealth. Make house cleaning a sacred ritual of decluttering your life, detoxifying your environment...and creating space for absolute abundance.  
  2. Build a Lakshmi altar. Place an image of Lakshmi on a small altar. Surround it with flowers, candles, stones, and incense. This is done to remember the archetypal attributes of the Goddess–to embrace her beauty, love and abundance as qualities of your own heart/mind. 
  3. Adorn your hands with mehndi. Mehndi art on your hands is symbol of good fortune, health, beauty, and prosperity–all characteristics of Goddess Lakshmi. 
  4. Create rangoli. On Narak Chaturdashi, the second day of Diwali, it is traditional to create bright, colorful rangoli designs to decorate your home. Rangoli is temporary artwork that depicts beautiful designs–typically floral or geometric patterns. Draw or paint your design on paper, then embellish the artwork with colored sand, dyed rice, stones, mirrors, shells, flowers, and/or beads.
  5. Light diyas and candles. Diyas are small oil lamps, generally placed in a doorway or entry, They symbolize welcoming Lakshmi (and the divine light of awakened awareness) into your home. Place diyas and candles in every room and use them to illuminate your rangoli art. You can also hang stringed lights or use floating lanterns to decorate the outside of your home. 
  6. Make a Feast. On the third day of Diwali is the Lakshmi Pūjā (invocation ritual).  Invite family and friends for what is considered the most significant day of the festival. Enjoy a meal and share words of gratitude, invoking abundance through the power of your appreciation. You can also chant mantras to Ganesha and Lakshmi to invoke the energies of success, abundance, and joy. 
  7. (If it is safe and legal) Light sparklers. This is a popular way to celebrate in India. 
  8. Exchange gifts. Padwa is the fourth day of Diwali, and in some regions it marks the first day of the new year. On this day, it’s traditional to exchange small gifts and greetings–messages of gratitude for your loved ones. 
  9. Honor your loved-ones. The fifth of Diwali is called Bahu-dooj. This final day of celebration honors the love of siblings and friends. Mark each other's forehead with a tilak made from vermillion. The tilak symbolizes the presence of God/dess within. When you mark your brother/sister, lover, or friend at their third-eye center; you are honoring the divine light that dwells within them. 
  10. Join me live! I am stoked to provide live rituals and mind/body practice for holy day celebrations. Check my calendar for my next live event. I would love to see you online or in person, soon. 

diwali. light. rituals.​
​
Read more on these topics. 
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What Don't I Know? Light me up.
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Diwali | Celebrating Light
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Diwali & Kung Fu Panda
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Celebrating Light

10/27/2019

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Imagine the world before electricity. I bet you'd tend your fire carefully. Make it last through the cold, dark night.
...And then comes dawn. Every morning is like a victory–the triumph of the light. 
That is why Indian holy days, like Diwali. celebrate the light. 
That is why Indian mantras, like Gayatri, invoke and worship the light as a divine power. 

It is. 

In yoga, I honor the "dawning of awareness" as the power of illumination which awakens, heals, and provides clear vision. 

But the light does not always come easy. Let me explain with a story: 

Once upon a time my husband and I were arguing. It was heated. Now, I can't even remember what it was about. But at the time I was quite certain–I had no doubt–that I was "RIGHT!"
He disagreed. He presented his case, but I doubled down on my point of view, again and again. I wanted him to realize (and admit) that I was "RIGHT!" 

Then something happened. Mid-sentence. It hit me like a floodlight: "Oh, shit. He is right... 
​
I'm wrong."
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Daaaang! I felt just like Wile E. Cayote when he looks down from his full-throttle pace to realize that there is nothing beneath him but empty space and a long, hard fall. 

We celebrate the light as if it is always welcome. As if we are in a state of perpetual curiosity, always ready to expand and embrace personal development. 

But sometimes we're not.

Sometimes we think we already have the answer. We already know. We are "RIGHT!"...and nothing will change our minds. Then the light of awareness "dawns" on us illuminating our flaws. It isn't comfortable. Sometimes, truth be told, we wish we could stay in the dark. 

​Our practice often determines what happens next. 
Yoga provides the courage and compassion to face, and embrace, the light.

So back to that one time, when I was wrong:
I took a deep breath, mustered up the humility and said, "Wait. I'm just realizing that you are right. I am wrong. I am sorry."

My husband looked at me, first with surprise, then tenderness. "Yeah," he said. "I love you." 
I had braced myself for impact, but it turned out to be a super soft landing. Blissful in fact. 
Because in that moment, I realized that being wrong gives me the opportunity to experience his unconditional Love. If I were always "RIGHT," I would never feel the sweet sensation of forgiveness. 

When I embrace my imperfection it becomes a radiant gift. 
I am human, and growing. I wouldn't want it any other way.
Inspired by the words of Leonard Cohen: The cracks are where the light gets in. 
That realization has been, for me, like the break of a glorious new day. 

​Happy Diwali
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    About The Author

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    R.R. Shakti, PhD 
    Founding teacher of Inner Power Yoga®, Shakti is a Contemplative Mythologist, ritual facilitator, and writer who presents a Tantrik approach to personal empowerment and social action. Through contemplative story-telling and mind/body practices, she offers a vision of deep peace and radical freedom.

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  • ABOUT
    • R.R. Shakti, PhD
    • Inner Power Yoga®
    • Why Are You Here?
    • Calendar
    • Connect
  • MYTH
  • RITUAL
    • Nature Ritual
  • ACADEMY
  • JOURNAL
    • Soul Artist Journal >
      • "The Other"
  • BOUTIQUE
  • ONE/ONE
    • Soul Artist Awakening
    • Soul Artist Compass