Get on Your Tiger and Ride
Namaste Friends,
As I do every morning, I woke up and grabbed my iphone/appendage to see the time and was delighted to see September 23 in the date line. The Autumn Equinox. Summer is officially over. I felt a bit of relief come over my soul in that I can begin the journey back toward balance.
Summer is like magic. Its showy and bright and full and playful. Her warm, lingering days are a seductress to our routine. We pack the long lit hours with adventure and fun. But it is so full, that by the time September rolls in I am exhausted from all the glory of summer. In fact, the intensity of summer is felt not only in its heat, but in its Muchness.
Now our days will begin their journey toward the dark extreme. But we have a few sweet weeks where balance is the the energy of Nature. We are given two seasons of balance, and two seasons of extremities. The Universe is guiding us in our ebb and flow so that we don’t burn out, or become stagnant. The guide posts are there for us, it is our job to follow them. As the great 2nd century Roman poet Juvenal said, “Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another.”
So, if we look to the Great Mother for wisdom right now, she is saying come to your Center. Reel in the extremes. Find Harmony and Balance in your mind, body, and spirit. In yoga, we often refer to bringing our muscular energy to the midline of our being. We encourage our muscles, fascia, ligaments, and bones to “hug” toward our spine, our core, our center. In this way we safely come into the postures, and bring about more physical strength, balance, and stability. This is a particularly potent time to hug to the mid-line, but not just in our yoga poses. We should pull into our Center or mid-line because it is where all the answers lie. At the mid-line of our soul is our Heart, and our heart is the where the source of our breath lives…our Divine Spark…our Higher Self.
The Universe is full of powerful energy right now. Coming to our inner knowing is where we should put our energy so that we may use our wisdom and equanimity to navigate through these challenging times that lie ahead of us. Due to the solar flares; approaching comets; spacial debris; gravitational forces from celestial bodies; and our own heighten spiritual awakening as a collective, we are coming into a time of transformation and metamorphosis, as a planet, and as a species. It is of utmost importance that we as individuals come into awareness of all that is happening in the Cosmos. Most of us feel some element of change in our energies, both in our self and in the collective. If you are a seeker, the information is out there…all you have to do is look. There are big, impacting things happening and its time to make yourself aware and prepared. Of course the internet makes information available at a click of a tab, but you have to be sure of your source. That is one way to find more information. But our own Mother speaks to us as well. I refer to Albert Einstein, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.“
Once you come into awareness of the shifts that are taking shape in our lifetime, then you understand the value in “hugging to the midline” of our soul. Maybe another way to look at it is to follow your Heart. At the core of all of us is a desire for peace, love, and happiness. If we live from our heart, then we will begin to experience these aspects of existence. And when we are living a peaceful, loving, happy life we will be co-existing in the same way. All of the inhabitants of the Mother need to be living in Harmony with one another. “We” can’t wait for “Them” to stop fighting, harming, hurting, stealing, raping, killing, lying, bitching, moaning, cheating, hiding, sucking. We are Them. As long as one of us is struggling, we will all struggle to some degree. We have to hold each other up. We have to “be the change we wish to see.” We have to teach each other by our words and our actions. Its not enough to just tend to yourself anymore. The Ma is mad. She is quaking, typhooning, spewing lava, drying up, flooding over, more than the normal share of natural disaster. She is talking to us. But we are too busy killing each other, fighting over land, money, religion, and pride. And our brothers and sisters all over the planet are in need of water, food, medicine, and love. We are so completely out of balance right now. We need to come to center; look to our hearts and listen.
Deepak Chopra says so beautifully, “Just as light brightens darkness, discovering inner fulfillment can eliminate any disorder or discomfort. This is truly the key to creating balance and harmony in everything you do.” Inner fulfillment requires us to listen to our heart’s yearnings and and satisfy it; To bring to our soul a sense of balance and equanimity. How we bring this will look different for everyone. For some it might mean letting go of old patterns that hold us back. For some it might mean bringing in a more healthy diet and exercise regime. For some it might mean we need to remove negative influences from our lives. For some it might mean finding our creative gene (that we all have). For some it might mean we bring in new energy to our live. If you give yourself the opportunity to listen in to your heart, you will hear the answers. They are already inside of you. They always have been, and they always will be. It’s the part of us that has never changed, and will never change. Drag your Intuition out of the closet and clean her off. Give her an altar. And bow to her.
Speaking of Goddesses, this the the time to invoke Durga. She is the Divine Mother energy. Her season is Autumn and Spring or the Equinoxes. She is fiece compassion. She rides a Tiger! The energy of this archetype is the most powerful of all. She embodies the fierce power of Kali, the sweet love of Lakshmi, and the creative wisdom of Saraswati. She is all aspects of our being. She is the Ma. Men and women have Durga power. Here is an excerpt from the amazing book Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power written by my new friend and goddess herself Laura Amazonne, “She (Durga)will come every fall and spring and give Her blessing of balance between the forces of light and dark, day and night. She will come calmly, with composure, and battle any demons with Her fierce gaze of measured intent. She will take action with unyielding ferocity, tenderness, and grace(9)”. I love that she uses ferocity, tenderness, and grace. She balances her light and dark side to bring about harmony.
September 28-October 5th is the high holiday in India called Navrati. Its a nine day festival that celebrates the 9 aspects of Durga. The first three days of Navratri are dedicated to Goddess Durga (Warrior Goddess) dressed in red and mounted on a Tiger (or Lion). Her various incarnations – Kumari, Parvati and Kali – are worshipped during these days. They represent the three different classes of womanhood that include the child, the young girl and the mature woman. Next three days are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity), dressed in gold and mounted on an owl and finally, last three are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess Of Knowledge), dressed in milky white and mounted on a pure white swan. Sweetmeats are prepared for the celebrations. Children and adults dress up in new bright-colored dresses for the night performances. The festival culminates on Mahanavami. On this day, nine young girls representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped through a puja (ceremony). In older times, Navratri was associated with the fertility of Mother Earth who feed us as her children. Blessings and thanks were given for the harvest and the seeds were gathered for the spring sow.
Since the beginning of time the ancients have known the value and power of this energy known as the Divine Mother. We all came from the womb, and we will all return to the womb But we have gotten away from this knowledge in our pursuits for material gain and superficiality. We need to come back to the Center, the Heart of our existence, to the Earth and her Energy. She is the Higher Power. As Frank Lloyd Wright so simply stated, “I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.”
So get on your Tiger my friends, ride it to your Center, and with Fierce Compassion slay the demons in your path; bring balance to your soul, trust your intuition, seek inner fulfillment, and hold each other up. Cuz if Mama hate happy, ain’t nobody happy.
I have Big Fat Tiger-Like Love for you ALL,
Aum Shanti (peace),
Katrina
Some Karmic Offerings to Herald in the Fall.
Oct 2nd 7pm-sunset $10 Drum Circle with Damon the Zen Drummer (moved from Sept. 25th)
Oct 9th 1-4pm $20 Yoga and Art! With Katrina and Una...Create a mosaic of your soul and do yoga…this is a preliminary look into what we will be doing in our Costa Rica retreat in February. We will begin with an hour of asana, and then turn into an art studio. Its for all students, but if you are thinking about joining us in Costa Rica this will give you an idea of what to expect. Bring in a picture, tray, piece of art that you want to funktify…we’ll supply the rest.
Oct. 21st-23rd Shannon Earthtree returns for a 3 day Kundalini Workshop! Take all three days or individual sessions. More information coming. Save the date.
Oct 30th 1-3:30pm Mala Making Workhsop with Christina Valastro. Make your own meditation mala and learn how to charge it with mantra. Price TBA. We will also be starting a new class called Malas and Meditation on Friday evenings at 5:30. First Fridays we will always be dedicated to mala making, with a meditation practice, and the other Fridays will be a meditation class using our malas.