 Happy Shivaratri from R.R. Shakti, PhD. On this Indian holiday union of all duality is celebrated as the marriage of Shiva and Shakti, in her incarnation as Parvati (the daughter of the mountains). Therefore, Maha Shivaratri is a celebration of God/dess–the essence of God in Nature. While Shakti creates the manifest experience of embodied consciousness, Shiva is said to be lying in stillness, deep in a dream. When he awakens, the created universe dissolves into the unified experience of Pure Consciousness. The marriage of Shiva and Shakti may be celebrated as an awakened awareness of Pure Consciousness while still embodied in the human experience. This is Yoga: the realization of divinity on Earth and the sacredness in each and every moment. It is remembering the dream within the waking state and knowing the deep wisdom of your intrinsic wholeness. The March New Moon invites you to honor your dreams. They hold the deep wisdom of your unconscious mind and Visionary Heart. This month, in the Eleven Moons God/dess Odyssey, we are Dream Tending. Below is a glimpse of the content from our Eleven Moons Spring Journal:  ASSOCIATION Association with your dream image means connecting it with any recent events, scenes, ideas or feelings from your life or memories. This can be done using the method of “first thought, best thought,” whereby you allow an authentic and spontaneous association to arise. Write about these associations in the dream journal. AMPLIFICATION Amplification is a process of correlating dream images with mythic figures, archetypes, fairy tales, literature, movies, etc. There is no limit to this process. A single image can inspire many different correlations woven together in your imagination. ANIMATION To animate the image, you bring it into the present moment and space. See the image as a living body, a separate entity. Witness what it does of its own accord. Notice how it moves, how it interacts with you, and how it makes you feel; writing all observations in your dream journal. You may wish to articulate the animation of your dream images conceptually or to explore the feeling of the image through painting, sound, and movement. For a deeper exploration of Dream Tending, see Dr. Stephen Aizenstat's work at https://dreamtending.com/ SOUL QUESTIONS & ACTION STEPS
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ELEVEN MOONS GOD/DESS ODYSSEY.
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 A Reflection of the Ramayana by R.R. Shakti, PhD Incarnate to serve the dharma, here I am again. As the monkey god serves Rama as a confidant, a friend. He, the base of Cosmic Order; the mysterious of deep. I am only Nature’s daughter: grain, leaf, droplet, particle, sheep. He is Infinite Potential, and his favor is my boon. He’s the ever resting, always hidden, light of the new moon. With his love I can move mountains, and heal the ails of Earth. I can leap across the ocean, sing the beauty of my birth. Infinite is my true nature and sweet victory, my right. My body: the bridge of Union. My eyes reflect the Light. By grace, dharma embraces me. By grace, I tame the beast. I can slay a slew of demons, and the dragon lay to waste. And I AM the dragon. CRASH, CLASH, CLAMOR, STAGGER, STRUT rape and pillage slave to anger blind with longing stagnant, stuck Gross, Unfeeling Blind with Longing LUST, RAGE, DENIAL, HOPELESS, GRAVE CLINGING, CRUEL, LOST, FEARED AND FEARFUL. DREADED, WICKED, NEEDY SLAVE. Slave to Anger denies dharma, I steal away the Joy SPLURGE, PURGE, GIMME, GIMME, GRIP! SELFISH, STICKY, TRICKY, DEATH. WICKED, LONELY, ROTTEN, WASTED. I cultivate misfortune and sew seeds of seething pain. All I know is Separation. I AM VAIN. I AM VAIN. I AM VAIN. And then: I seek the silence. With the truth of Love eclipsed. I take the true king’s shelter; bare my chest, release my grip. The life, it courses through me. And I also AM that Light. Grace lies within the balance of surrender and the fight. So’Ham Nama Shivaya; sacred dance and cosmic play. The hide and seek continues through the night and every day. Purpose lies in imperfection: mantra, meter, rhythm, rhyme. I am nothing ever, always. I am everything, in time. And so from this fertile soil, with no beginning and no end. I am formed to serve the dharma. and yes, here I am again. With the twisted wrath of Ravana, and Hanuman’s pure heart; I am destined to rejoin lovers. And I am the demon who keeps them apart. || Dharma: A Reflection of the Ramayana R.R. Shakti, Oct. 1, 2010 I found the poetry, above, in some old files.
I wrote it almost a decade ago, and I am amazed at how far I've traveled just to realize where I am. WHO I am. As I continue to realize that all archetypes–all God Image AND all shadow reside within me, I discover a whole new level of "free." I decide, every moment, HOW I want to be who I want to be. In the words of Joni Mitchell, "I've looked at Love from both sides now," –and no matter how the story goes, Love ultimately wins. ONE LOVE, R.R. Shakti, PhD  My daughter was three years old when I took her to see Kung Fu Panda 3. Enrapt from start to finish, she was particularly attentive during the great battle scenes between the adorable ninja Panda and his scary nemesis. As we left the theater, she turned to me and said, "Mom, I've noticed something...the good always defeats the bad." Happy New Moon and Diwali! This has been an auspicious day throughout India—a festival of lights celebrating the radiant triumph of divinity over the darkness of confusion--a sort-of "Good Defeats Bad" Day. Various Hindu mythologies exemplify the power of righteousness over demonic forces, like the return of exiled Rama and Sita, the victory of the Goddess over the wicked Mahishasura, and the sacred marriage of Vishnu and Lakshmi. It's an age-old story: the universe is animated by dueling forces, and we all hope desperately for the virtuous to prevail. The question is who decides who is virtuous? History has made this grand narrative into an "us vs. them" story. When taken literally, it becomes the foundation for division and alienation: whomever is on "our side" is virtuous. On the "other" side is evil. In his work, Creation of Consciousness, Edward Edinger explains that consciousness is only possible in the presence of an "other." Therefore, all human awareness is dependent upon this dichotomy: self and other, me and you, us and them. But when we project the shadow side of our own selves onto an outside "other" we set up a never ending war zone. The teachings of non-dual Tantra assert that all things are individualized aspects of a single, dynamic pulsation of universal LOVE. ...A LOVE beyond all opposites. ...A LOVE so pervasive, perfect, and powerful that it encompasses everything. So, I explain to my daughter: "Sometimes it doesn't look like it will, but the good always wins in the end...because LOVE is the biggest, most powerful thing. In fact, LOVE is all there is. When people do bad things it's only because they have forgotten LOVE. When you remember that you are LOVE, you become as powerful as a superhero ninja." The new moon is a time of introspection and self-examination. Tonight provides a sweet opportunity to turn inward and get real with your Self. Who is your scary nemesis? Do you project all evil onto an outside "other?" Can you embrace the dark qualities of fear, anger, confusion as aspects of your own psyche, too? Can you envision a LOVE so vast it extends beyond all opposition? That LOVE is so pervasive it can actually include your fears, sorrows, and confusion without losing a single iota of its infinite brilliance. YOU ARE THAT LOVE...you superhero ninja, you! |
About The Author
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. CategoriesPSYCHE + SOUL
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