OLD Blog EXPIRED

Contemplations from the 23 rd lesson on the Shiva sutras. Sutra 22: SVAMATRANIRMANAMAPADAYATI. You alone are responsible for your own liberation. So we reach a momentous point in this course on The Shiva Sutras; a point where the group journey comes to a sweet, satisfying end only for the resumption of our many solo journeys with a reignition of our ardent hunger for openness, growth and expanded consciousness. The seeds sown by Shiva’s Sutras will live long in each of us and we will all undoubtedly embody their wisdom and practicality in our own distinct ways. But the golden threads of timeless truth which run through each sutra will surely connect us all in some undeniable fellowship of Shiva’s Studious Acolytes, as we continue individually to work with, dance through and refine these invaluable gems which we’ve assimilated, and with which we’re now infused like the marrow in our bones. As we hug our goodbyes, pat backs, swap numbers, reminisce and promise to reas...

Contemplations from the 22 nd lesson on the Shiva Sutras. Sutra 21: PRANASAMACHARE SAMADARSHANAM When you know all things to be energy, you will see all things as equal. In our penultimate visit to the fountain of divine insight, the upsurge of wisdom foaming and sparkling into our eager cups is as clear and pure as it’s ever been. Shiva, as always, wants for our liberation and empowerment, He wishes for our fruition and fulfillment; thus He’s produced yet another rugged jewel for us to cut, polish and make our own for all time. The true Teacher is plunging straight to the heart of the matter (or energy to be more accurate) this week as His sutra delves directly into the crux of reality and its substratum. He is saying in quite plain terms that when we see, that is to perceive empirically for ourselves, that ALL the multifarious and diverse elements of our experience are simply manifestations of the same one energy, then we will naturally behold all things as equal. F...

Contemplations from the 21 st lesson on the Shiva sutras. Sutra 20: BIJAVADHANAM. Nurture a seed and watch it grow. Mahadev is in gentle repose in the lush surrounds of the richly cultivated garden of the Universal Soul. His Godly eyes are closed in the deepest meditation, and yet He lovingly surveys the cornucopia of this infinite, eternal garden of the Divine. His sacred heart beholds the manifold herbs, fruits and flowers; the myriad trees, shrubs and bushes, each having grown strong and beautiful in its own way. Shiva loves each aspect of this cosmic abundance as his own offspring, for they are all the yield of his caring, sagacious nurture. A long, loud OMM issues from The Almighty and then His lotus eyes open wide and come to fix us, his studious acolytes, with a firm gaze above a serene countenance that is as loving as it is strict. “Behold the Universe, my garden!” He says. “See all in it as it blooms and grows, dies, decays and is reborn. Enjoy its natural ...

Contemplations from the 20 th lesson on the Shiva sutras. Sutra 19: SIDDHA SVATANTRA BHAVA. The Sage is supremely free and unswayed by feelings. As we gather, yet again, around the open hearth of Shiva’s scintillating sapience to warm our souls and to cleanse our minds, the question once more arises; what does The Gurave, Teacher of Truth, wish us to learn from this short, sweet, golden thread of wisdom? Shiva’s coaxings are clear, be a Sage, an accomplished being, a Siddha. But he issues the caveat that to do this, we must learn in some way not to be swayed so heavily by passing feelings. Somehow we need to become a Feeler of Feelings, with space between the one who experiences the feelings (The Self), and the transient, energetic phenomena (The Feelings) as they pass through the mind/body complex. This template for Self-Mastery is not dissimilar to last week’s (SUTRA 18: NARTAKA ATMA) but here we’re changing the disidentification of Dancer with Dance, into the dissoci...