I often hear people speaking about spirituality as something extra we add to “real life”. More than ever before, as many of us feel an urge to actively be a part of the solution, there is a tendency to speak about social activism and even politics as something other than — and even opposite of — the spiritual. As a student of embodied spirituality and shakti tantra, I find it of great importance to closely examine any such assumptions of separation. The events that have occurred recently, not only the election in the USA, but also the Standing Rock gathering, the TreeSister’s campaign, the Palestine/Israel women’s march and many more, have shown me just how practical and crucial our spiritual practice truly is. Spiritual awakening and practice is to root ourselves in an insatiable source of nourishment and creativity. Our words and actions are the branches and fruits drawing their power from those roots.
One of the places I have experienced this most intimately the last weeks has been in the deep sharing in our Yogini Sadhana online group. Here we have been holding space for each other as we navigate through our raw responses to the world situation we are facing. In this group of more than three thousand women, I have witnessed an extraordinary willingness to stay awake and real in the birthing process, and not grasp for the short cuts nor hammer each other with bumper sticker slogans.
The way each woman has shown up in the circle in the heat of this challenging moment in time has touched and inspired me deeply. It gives me hope and a clear vision of how we can create a new future together. When I see the evolution of our circle, I see the evolution of the world. I know that just a few years ago we would have navigated this with significantly less skill and grace.
I see more clearly than ever before the importance of the transformational awakening work and practice we have been doing in our circle. We have planted resilience; we have anchored ourselves in the strength of the heart and body. We have grown a spaciousness within in which we can stay fully alive in the tidal waves of feelings… breathing through, breathing through… without getting glued to the stories arising out of those feelings. Instead we can stay rooted in Presence, available for the creative intelligent essence pulsating through each of us.
Many of us are called into action — whether that is to march the streets, hold a space for prayers, spend our time or money aligned with our values, sign petitions or to reach out to someone we feel separate from. And perhaps it is to raise a boy who knows integrity and respect for earth and women, or a daughter who knows that her sexuality is sacred and that her leadership is wanted. It is all our spiritual practice blossoming. Our actions arise out of our deep roots in the unified field at the source of all there is. Here we draw from an infinite well of creativity, abundance and intrinsic empathy.
We don’t need to close our eyes or minimize the serious changes we are facing in order to see light or hope. With our roots firmly held in the Mother, our feelings can be deep and real. With eyes wide open, we are here, awake and available.
We have prepared for these times.
With love,
Chameli
Photo Credit: © Awakening Women of yoginis from the Awakening Women Team,
from left Suzan, Chameli, Carri, Dominique and Melina