R.R. Shakti | Soul Artist
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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.​
​
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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
    • Soul Artist Boutique >
      • love bombs botanicals®
  • ONE/ONE
    • Soul Artist Awakening