Week 7 ~ Resistance
Dear Energizers,
The time has come for “a little less conversation,” as Elvis would say.
Go ahead and download the week 6 reflections worksheet, if that’s been helpful for you to track your patterns:
Shiva’s Cohort (partner) = exemplifying Balance
In many eastern philosophies there is an understanding that balance is where health exists. In Western science we call this place “homeostasis.” Now this isn’t balance like, standing on one leg. (Except in dancer pose / Natarajasana, ironically this happens to be exactly the case…)
This is about understanding the simple notion that we as humans are meant to live a dynamic life, where the factors that make up our lives are in balance with each other. It requires that we understand the inherent duality (two-way) of everything. Here are a few other ways to think about this:
Opposites attract
For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Night follows day (Day follows night)
When one door closes, a window opens
One person’s trash is another’s treasure
Here’s a few ways this shows up for the components that make up our health:
Plenty of good sleep / to balance / plenty of activity & exercise
Fats, oils, & grains / to balance / fruits, vegetables, & legumes
Free time & recreation / to balance / focus & hard work
Support through love & affection / to balance / frustration, & challenge.
Last week we talked about Shiva as representing pure consciousness, and being known as The Destroyer. (Arnold… just think Arnold Schwarzenegger.)
Shiva, in order to do his work, live in his truth, and exist as he should in alignment with his dharma needs a buddy in existence. Enter Shakti (or Sakti)!
Shakti ~ Energy ~ The Power of consciousness
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, in a long-ago time, in a space of divinity, there was a divine feminine being. This gal was of such wisdom and power that she was said to have been the creator of everything.
She represented “Energy.” The energy of everything - the wind in your sails, the spring in your step, the grunt in your groan. She enabled men of fear to act, children of anticipation to plot, and whole communities to move mountains when the herd was in danger.
For certain, she was often faced with resistance. “No!” Her opposers would shout. “We should just sit still! God will save us!”
“Ignorant fools!” Shakti cried. “God is but the whole that is created when I am united with Shiva, and I deem that worship without action is but a rotten fruit. No one likes a bad apple.
God helps those who manifest, ahem, help themselves.”
And so wars were fought. Bridges built. Land tilled. Babies birthed. Cows herded, skills cultivated… you get the idea.
(By the way, I totally made this story up. But the reference is true of what Shakti represents.)
Shakti teaches us to lean into the ties that bind us.
In order to do this - and be successful- we must gather all of our resources: wisdom, knowledge, discernment, will, drive, desire... As we break through to liberation, Shakti hands us off to Shiva to dance into the new unknown of that which we have created.
Shakti helps us to stay focused on the rewards that Shiva promises, as we fight our way towards our own liberation.
Fighting barriers, setting intentions, protecting assets
When we want to achieve something new - something different than what we currently have - Shakti reminds us to gather our courage, wits, and brawn to fight whatever comes our way; she reminds us to anchor into what is most important to us - our intention - so that when the going gets tough, we remember why we are fighting; and she requires that we be willing to make difficult decisions to protect that which we need to fight our battle.
This last part is where the lines blur into the work of Shiva - we must release certain ideas to attain a new state. Sometimes this means making difficult choices, or different choices than we would have previously. Which is why we must set our intentions true to our heart, and we must be willing to go to battle in the first place. (We aren’t silver-spooned babes, now, are we?)
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