– from Shiva’s workshop last month … still swooning over it…SOMA drippy… incorporating this pulsating life into … what appears receptive and quiet on the surface.
According to this famous Japanese astrologist, latest Winter Solstice was a very auspicious day because the same day also coincided with the New Moon … such an overlap of cosmic proportion has not happened for the last 19 years. For Winter Solstice to overlap on New Moon day… once in 19 years… and for this overlap to happen again, I understand will be another 30+ years into the future. When you stop to digest this information, it’s remarkable…and to me, almost humbling. This cosmic alignment gives you this sense of time in a majestic proportion – a reminder of that time ticking – that today will never repeat itself – this moment is this moment like no other and you sense that sand escaping through your fingers & see that symbolic hourglass… then you feel the energy of alignment within the cycles of nature we are part of. Did you feel it too?
Sowing seeds into the fertile darkness under the new moon – full of faith in the promise of the unseen and unknown. We believe in our future – believe in the promise that the light will return, season will turn and another cycle will begin through the planting and the regeneration. This is the time to set our intentions and attune them to the natural and unseen forces. For many of us, sometimes like a boat on a lake, we might be pushed around or be floating in circles by the shifting winds of our dreams and desires, engulfed in currents of our ambitions and desires.
The mind is designed to be busy, full of thoughts, seek stimulation, excitement, pursue challenges and thrive on change but at the same time always planning and judging some with clarity, some in a fog. The body tend to seek out pleasure and do best with regular routine of eating, moving and resting for comfort. And, then, there is the heart… “kokoro” – the heart desires tenderness, intimacy, peace, security and … yes, LOVE. Does our mind, body and heart work in synchronicity with all desires the same at the same time? Hardly ever.
How do we keep afloat in the sweeping currents, balance out the conflicting agenda within, while at all times, maintaining this sense of calm. Faced with many demands placed upon us externally, how do we cultivate that “peace within”?
In gratitude for the practice and for this time to reflect and study … & then to have the joy to share.
SOMA? What is it?
Soma is called “nectar” or amrita. As amrita means both nectar and immortality, Soma is also called the “nectar of immortality.” Soma flows in drops called bindus in Tantric thought.
As Agni is the fire that ascends from below, Soma is the grace that descends from above. Agni relates to the Kundalini fire that ascends from the root chakra below and Soma is the corresponding nectar that descends from the thousand-petal lotus of the head above in higher Yoga practices. The thousand-petal lotus is often called the seat of Soma or the Moon.
Soma relates to the mind in Vedic thought, which is often identified with the Moon, and has its seat in the head. The mind like the Moon has a reflective nature that is developed through receptivity, observation and contemplation. The mind functions best when it is cool and calm like the light of the Moon. The mind has its own natural contentment when it rests in its own nature, held silent within us. Honoring the Moon in our lives and understanding the place of the Moon in our Vedic astrology chart helps us work with the Soma within us.
– Deepak Chopra