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RAKTA KALI : “Tinted, Playful, Beloved, Dyed” – The light of Consciousness is tinted – by you. This Kali teaches that the spiritual path is not a treasure hunt, that everything you want you already have. So choose the thoughts that create the world you like to look at. 

Rakta Kali Affirmation for January 1, 2011 : “I am the star in my own movie. I am also the author and the director and the producer. I create wonderful roles for myself every day.”

SRSTHI KALI : “Creative Constraint” – You are not a bound being seeking freedom, you are a free being seeking bondage. This radical assumption empowers you to CHOOSE to bind yourself – to creativity, or anything else you desire. The creative universe freely chose to become you. The power of the entire universe constrained itself in your embodiment. Of all the wonderful things that the universe can do, it became you. And so your life is a free gift. Learning how to receive that gift and bind yourself to choices that create a world worth living in is SRSTHI. Can you thrive creatively in all the myriad ways that you are distinctively YOU? Can you cultivate a creative life with the ingredients you were gifted? Or do you focus on lack and what you don’t have? This Kali says, “Stop that nonsense.” She invites you to tap into your originality, “There’s more there under the surface than you’ll ever know. Courageously enter the darkness and tap the source of your life.” 

A simple Kali practice – Sit for a few minutes with your eyes closed. Follow the inhale as a means of descending into the darkness behind closed eyes. Focus your attention on the heart and inhale into that vast space. It’s bigger than you think. Boldly enter the unknown nooks and crannies of your own heart. 

When I saw this poster on the subway a couple weeks ago I got really excited:

No, not because I’m a boxing fan. But because this poster helped me recognize that my birthday this year is 1-11-11. That’s pretty darn cool! And there’s just something about this guy – that undaunted blue eye, the bloody temple & cheekbone, the beefy shoulder – I dig it. The overt violence of the image appeals to that feature of my consciousness that typically lies dormant in the context of teaching a heart-melting, life is good, take a breath yoga class. And so I’ve decided that 2011 is MY comeback year too. Lights Out. It’s KALI TIME.

For the next 12 days leading to my birthday I’m going to explore another set of Goddesses. 12 Kalis. They, like the Laksmis, are a process of yogic reflection. When does one turn to Kali for inspiration? Well, for starters, during moments of URGENCY and EMERGENCY. And in 2011 I’ve decided to make the DREAMS I’ve dared to dream my own URGENT business. 

Kali is also the Goddess one turns to to explore one’s ORIGINALITY. That is, what elements are already IN you that lie hidden in the dark? It’s sometimes scary to enter the darkness of the Self. But that’s where to good stuff is. Kali wants to take us there. I don’t know what I’ll discover over the next days leading to 1-11-11. And THAT is precisely what makes life so beautiful.

Here’s a Kali doll designed by my friend Sanjay Patel. If you don’t already know his awesome work, visit www.gheehappy.com

BHUVANESHWARI LAKSMI : “She Whose Arms Embrace the World” – May the potency of today’s solstice reverberate in your own heart, mind and expression! Bhuvaneshawari is one of my most favorite of Goddesses – and today I celebrate her with so much delight.

The Laksmi process I’ve been exploring over the past 15 days culminates here, with the 16th (!) Laksmi. It’s really a list of 15 Goddesses + 1. We live in such an abundant Universe that there’s always a bit extra, like Ikea furniture that comes with extra pieces not included in the directions! (My teacher Douglas’ example, but one I’ve experienced profoundly more than once.) The Shakta, or Goddess lineages, of tantric yoga always describe the Universe as self-generating, one in which there’s always MORE than the sum of all parts. And so we arrive at the solstice, a tipping point for more. 

Bhuvaneshwari is a goddess of such compassion, of such enormous spaciousness, that she embraces all humanity. She IS this blue pearl of a planet we call the EARTH. She is our home. Not only the physical earth, and so deeply grounding and fertile and diverse, she is also the SPACE which holds the planet’s evolution. She IS in fact, the evolution of the planet. In this way, she stands for our own evolution. She is the space into which we evolve. 

In order to evolve and prosper, we have to be willing to make messes and reflect so that we might thrive. The 16 Laksmi’s provide but one empowering roadmap for that kind of reflection and yogic engagement. They can be either an individual or more global map. In fact, the first 5 Laksmi’s teach us how to get better at being human, while the second set of 5 teach us how to get better at being ourselves. And the 3rd set combines those powers so that we’re good at being ourselves AND living in the world simultaneously! 

What makes you distinctly you? And how will you be authentic while participating in the greater context of humanity? These are the questions Laksmi invites us to deepen within ourselves. The process is the goal, the journey is the destination. The Earth spins asymmetrically on its axis toward ever more beauty and complexity. Let’s do THAT. Together. 

Mountains and Oceans of love to you this Winter Solstice! December 21, 2010. Mark it auspiciously and you BECOME the Laksmi – the mark of auspiciousness – you seek. 

AROGYA LAKSMI : “Peak of Health” – Go to the boundary of your own ecstacy – and allow others to do the same. This Goddess teaches that when you give yourself permission to spelunk the cave of your heart you enjoy radiant health! Tonight’s lunar eclipse marks the invitation to enter the darkness of Winter Solstice more powerfully than ever before in your lifetime.

Tonight’s practice, if you desire : Take a few minutes to soften, breathe in, and follow the inhale to descend into the dark cave of your heart – ask to align with the fertile creative energies that live undifferentiated in the darkness, in the unknown, in your own hidden recesses. Choose an affirmation to punctuate your experience in the dark. For example, “I am safe, and I am fulfilled in all that I do.” Or, “I am always in touch with my creative source.” Or, “My innate creativity surprises and delights me.” What will you affirm as our planet shifts boldly and dramatically into the Age of Aquarius?

SAMRAJYA LAKSMI : “Possessed of Soverignty” – What does it mean to be soverign? For some yogis, soverignty is a matter of control – and so to be a soverign yogi is to be a master and commander of one’s own consciousness. However, be careful. Paradigms of yogic dominance veer quickly toward dictatorships! And dictators last only as long as they are able to squelch the next revolt – which inevitably comes with great upheaval, violence and general distress – sooner or later. In contrast to the dictator model, the shaktas of my lineage look toward a “princely” model of soverignty. That is, soverignty NOT as a commanding and conquering model of power kingly power; but rather, soverignty as an EXPERIENCE of service and receptivity.

The best kinds of soverigns certainly know that they are ultimately in charge, just like the yogi who knows that life is a gift worth expressing well – that life is here to freely engage however one chooses. Princely soverigns rule not by dominating, but by serving their kingdom. And they know how to listen to a close company of royal advisers. (Make sure you listen to the voices of SUCCESS which surround you! Encircle yourself with a court of diverse, knowledgeable, joyful, thriving individuals. You ARE the company you keep!)  

If you’ve been following it over the past days, this list of Laksmis is like a roadmap toward ever more expansive auspiciousness. The Laksmis certainly unfold in a particular order, but they are not a vertical model of ascendent achievement. Too much of yoga in the west is presented in this way for my taste, “Let’s take it to the next level!” What if “the next level” weren’t the achievement of the thing you don’t or can’t do yet, but instead was the deepening appreciation of the life you’re actually already living? It’s incredibly satisfying to stick a new pose, to achieve a goal in your life you worked at. I love that too. Alot. But there’s much MORE than the consumptive processes in which we  ”climb the ladders of life.” 

The things that are the most valuable are the things we do over and over again, like loving our children – or cooking dinner. The Laksmis then are like a garland of recursiveness. They circle and weave. They are not a ladder to climb. Samrjya Laksmi is a state of consciousness in which one is BEING possessed of soverignty. In other words, any moment in your day when you know that you know your life is serving you and those you love well, you’re SOVERIGN. 

SHANTA LAKSMI : “Serene,” – Peacefulness is the permission you give yourself to be serene in a process; at ease with your thoughts and feelings, whatever they may be. The hallmarks of peace are receptive & generative. Peace be with you this holiday season! 

SHAKTI LAKSMI : “Power” – Power is the sole commodity of the Universe. All judgements are power judgements. And while some yoga lineages teach “Don’t judge,” the Shaktas of my lineage say “Don’t judge? Well, you just did. You made a judgement that judging is wrong.” Rather than living in a good/evil Universe, live in a powerful one. Your interests become advantages that turn into expressions. (THAT’S precisely the way in which nature evolves. So be like that.) And your power lies at the edge of not knowing (see yesterday.) At the edge of certainty – are you willing to take up what is uncertain? Are you willing to live in the POWER of HOPE?

This Laksmi is richly complex. The cool thing about these Godesses unfolding through a process is that one is free to engage them on any level – and at any moment in the process. Looking back over the past few days I saw that PUSHTI is the mark of outward thriving. Also just a couple days ago a really smart lady I’ve come to love this year recommended that I take stock of 2010 and create a list (or collage) of all my successes and all my gratitude for the past year. At first I thought, well, I can just THINK about it, no need to get out a glue stick. Then, through the lens of these Laksmis over the past few days I remembered PUSHTI, the mark of outward thriving. When we SIGNIFY and ACKNOWLEDGE all the ways we thrive, we align with the frequency of abundance. And then, because we see our gratitude spelled out before us, we are emboldened to PRAJNA, to move forward with confidence, having taken inventory, into the unknown. And then THAT spills over into SHAKTI, into POWER. Who doesn’t want to live a more powerful life in 2011? I sure do.

In just a few minutes I’m on my way out the door to Macy’s to visit Santa Claus with my family. This year I’ve written him a letter which details all of the things I’m grateful for in 2010. It was such a delightful practice, done for the sake of itself, to mark all of the ways I’ve thrived (PUSHTI) in the past year. I don’t know what 2011 holds in store for me (PRAJNA), but I’m hopeful that it’ll be my best year yet. Santa Claus is certainly a magical and manifest form of power (SHAKTI) to whom I’ll deliver this gratitude. What will he do with it? I don’t know! And it doesn’t matter, I’m participating in the creativity of gratitude as a practice. 

Many folks say that this is the “Season of Giving” or that “Jesus is the reason for the Season!” For me Santa has always been the figure I’ve ASKED to manifest my material desires. This year, I look forward to creating an offering which invites me deeper into a process of receptivity. Is Christmas the season of GETTING? Or can it be the season in which we ALLOW ourselves to RECEIVE the marks of auspiciousness that make life breautiful? 

Have a holly jolly! And wish me luck in SANTALAND, HERALD SQUARE!

PRAJNA LAKSMI : “Smart Diver” – PRA is forward, towards; JNA is wisdom. Take everything you know and bring it forward. How? Translate your certainty back into uncertainty. Wisdom is the horizon of your ignorance. Only by saying, “I don’t know” do you have the potential for growth. 

Today I put this into practice in my morning meditation. I purposely chose a mantra routine I’ve been sitting with, that I “know” inside out and backwards. I asked for more. I asked to learn things from the practice I never dreamt possible. I said to myself, “I have no idea what’s in store for this practice today. I”m open and receptive to all Good.” That resulted in a subtle visit from my teacher’s teacher, long dead – a man I’ve never met – who gifted me a new set of practices for my meditation toolbox. Cramazing. 

PUSHTI LAKSMI : “Thriving” – The thing that makes yogis even more powerful than the Gods is… failure. The Gods don’t know failure. But we do. Because we can keep getting better at life, learning from the past and expanding our consciousness boldly into the future, we are are feared by the Gods. Yogis know how to THRIVE. And Pushti is the Goddess who nourishes herself externally so that she might thrive internally. The regimens of beauty aren’t hollow. Caring that you care is the BEST form of vanity! Choose to see through eyes that create the world you like to look at.