Jvalamalini : “Garland of Flames” – This Goddess of dreaming repose is evoked on or near water, and carries among her treasures a turtle. The turtle, for a tantric yogi, stands for one’s capacity, desire and commitment to meditate. Not withdrawn from the world, the meditator draws in to the worlds within. The yoga for such a person then looks patient, forbearing and self-contained. The inward-turning yogi is protected by her or his practice, like the turtle who draws in to her shell. She is a garland of flames because her inward turning practices have given her, in time, a capacity to express herself authentically. Her heart’s expression is like a garland of flames. The purpose of meditation is not to get better at meditation, but to bring that reflective power into waking consciousness, to be a lucid dreamer of one’s waking life.
“Love the life.”
Eric Stoneberg 