Greetings friends,
And welcome to this guided journey today where we all meet the Goddess Parvati.
I'm recording this guided meditation for those who joined me at the Insight Timer live events for a trio of Goddesses,
Just so that you can revisit the Goddesses if you enjoy the experience.
But if you're new to this idea of the story journey,
Then welcome.
This is a meditation technique used to help connect to the idea of the Goddess.
We'll meet the Goddess in our meditation journey.
This is a practice I worked with a lot when I was training to be a priestess at Glastonbury Goddess Temple.
And it can be a little different for us all.
You may feel some kind of connection with the Goddess we meet.
You might feel inspired,
Or you might feel that you learn a little something.
Maybe this representation of the Goddess is one you find presents challenges with things that you may be working on.
Maybe this is just a little time to take a break from the busyness of your day.
All of these are valid and valuable.
Like fairy tales,
Like folklore,
There are ideas and stories that run the world over in our collective unconscious.
And I think a lot of the beautiful elements of ourselves are embodied within Goddess imagery.
So to begin our meditation,
We'll take our time to find a restful place upon the earth.
You can be seated or laying down.
Make yourself as comfortable as you can be.
Bring in cushions or blankets or soft layers.
You may want to close the eyes or let the gaze be soft.
We just take a minute to find our restful place.
To allow the earth to support us.
To allow ourselves an opportunity to draw our awareness in.
To settle within the body,
The breath.
And just letting the noise or busy thoughts or the noise of the day begin to fall away.
As the body relaxes and the mind calms.
In our mind's eye we will envisage that we are sat within a mountain cave.
There are candles and lanterns around us casting beautiful warm shadows on the rocks around us.
This cave is peaceful and calm and you feel comfortable within it.
Perhaps a crackling fire warms you from the centre of the cave.
Maybe you're resting on warm cushions.
Surrounding you are items that bring you many things.
They might bring you inspiration or strength or comfort.
You might see around you books or food or images of loved ones.
You might see equipment for painting or writing.
These things,
These precious gifts will be personal to you.
And within the golden glow of this cave and the flickering flames.
As you gaze into the flames of the fire,
The image of a goddess appears.
The goddess is Parvati of Hindu mythology.
Goddess of love,
Beauty,
Divine strength and power.
She is a representation of Shakti,
Divine female energy.
And she appears to you here in this cave as a place where she once was.
You may see her image simply in the flickering flames or you may envisage a beautiful form of the goddess coming to sit beside you to tell you her story.
Once there was a powerful demon who could not be beaten by god or man.
So it was Parvati,
Great yogi and wife of god Shiva who volunteers herself to battle with the fearsome demon.
And to prepare for this challenge Parvati secluded herself within a mountain cave to meditate.
The gods sent her their best weapons for the fight that lay ahead.
Bows and arrows signifying dynamic energy of Shakti and Shiva.
And Parvati tells you that in taking her time in meditation,
She showed the power of focus and the importance of stillness.
Taking on this huge commitment,
Her first action was to slow down and to give herself space to prepare.
She did not rush into busyness or flee,
But she understood the usefulness and power of stillness,
Of being before doing.
It was the quiet focus that gave her her incredible strength receiving her divine resources.
Pausing made her strong,
Not weak.
During her time of meditation,
Parvati transformed herself into Durga,
The great demon fighting warrior goddess.
But in all her forms,
Parvati reminds us that to connect to our courage and to be ultimately victorious as she was,
Sometimes courage looks like finding stillness when everyone around you is busy moving.
Her victory was not to try and do everything at once or try to meet the expectations of others.
She had faith in herself and her ability to fulfil her powerful potential.
Sometimes courage looks like choosing over and over again to honour your own path,
Your own dharma and to be willing to make mistakes or have doubts upon the way.
Satsang with Mooji As the goddess Parvati returns to the flames and once more becomes one with the flickering fire,
You feel comforted by her message and her energy of balancing strength with stillness.
103 July 2014 You And so,
My dear ones,
If we are laying upon the earth,
Perhaps we take a little moment to wiggle our fingers and toes,
To make any little stretch or movement that feels nice for us,
As we begin to bring our awareness back to the room and back to the day.
There is no rush,
But perhaps if you are laying,
We'll just gently make our way up to a seated position,
And we'll just take a peaceful moment just before we return to our day,
To reflect on these ideas presented to us by beautiful Goddess Parvati,
And what it is to take time for ourselves to find stillness,
To find calm,
And to find our own empowerment by taking our time.
Thank you so much for joining me today,
My darlings.
I wish you well on your onward journey.
Thank you and namaste.
