This is a month of high energy and many celebrations. In the West, it’s the 10th month of the year, so it’s a month when main aspects of the year to come start showing (since 1 + 0 = 1, the number of new beginnings). But many cultures following the Lunar Calendar see it as a spiritual period.
For instance, Chinese people everywhere start it with a Vegetarian Festival lasting 10 days, as it’s believed that refraining from any meat or stimulants helps you obtain peace of mind and good health.
The Jewish community honors the Days of Repentance, starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur, as a time for fasting, reflection, and prayer (see Self-Growth Happens Between Letting Go and Moving On). It’s one of the holiest times of the year, permeated with introspection and forgiveness. Muslims also observe the sacred first month of their calendar year known as Muharram with fasting and prayer.
In India and Nepal, Navaratri marks 9 nights filled with worship, fasting, chanting, and other devotional practices. Each day is dedicated to one aspect of Goddess Durga, the loving, generous, and compassionate Mother of the Universe, who can also be ruthless when needed. She rides a lion as a symbol of her power, will, and determination, and holds many weapons to rid us of all fear and evil to preserve Creation.
One of her aspects is Kushmanda Devi, whom I referred to in The Indigo Journals at the midpoint of the Feminine-Masculine Soul Spectrum, because she reflects the eternal creative potential of the soul that gives you the power to create anything, including your reality. Kushmanda is the vital force residing at the center of the Sun whose smile created the Universe out of the eternal Void—the womb of the Universe.
The end of Navaratri is known as Dussehra (or Dassera)—which falls on October 11th this year—and is celebrated not just in India and Nepal but also in places like Java, Sumatra, and Japan. It symbolizes the triumph of good over evil or light over darkness. On this day Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu (the preserver of Creation), defeated the 10-headed demon Ravana and Goddess Durga killed the buffalo demon Mahishashura defending the Devas, or celestial deities.
For this reason, it is one of the most auspicious days to start something new (or renew something neglected). So bring that project you started months (or years) ago back into the light or begin nurturing that dream you’ve kept on the back burner for too long!
On a spiritual level, these victories represent the mastery of Spirit (or your true Self) over the ego-mind. Your sense of self can connect you to your Higher Self through the discrimination and love of the higher mind, giving you the power to control all negative qualities—lust, anger, delusion, greed, pride, envy, fear, attachment, hatred, and ego (the 10 heads of Ravana)—to nurture spiritual qualities and purify the mind. By turning inward and getting in touch with the Divine within, you can overcome negative tendencies and raise your perception to a higher level of awareness.
How To Benefit From These Blissful Times
Even if you don’t follow a specific tradition for this time of the year you can benefit from the wonderful energy of the Divine Feminine—the creative principle behind everything and the aspect of Consciousness that brings life, love, and abundance to all—by integrating a few things into your daily routine:
- Eat light, fresh, organic, preferably vegetarian meals.
- Meditate and do other practices (chanting, mantra, prayer, worship) at least once a day.
- Be silent and self-reflective as much as possible.
- Read spiritual books or scriptures.
- Avoid stimulants to keep your mind calm and centered.
- Be grateful for your blessings and the abundant nature of life.
- Avoid arguments and heated discussions (like the plague!).
- Let go of resentment, judgments, and envious thoughts.
- Focus your creative energy on a new (or unfinished) project.
Now, why would you do all this? To open up to the blissful energies of the Divine Mother within that you can access only through humility, devotion, faith, and trust: by surrendering to something bigger than the usual attachments and self-importance of the ego-mind. Become the divine child you truly are, to receive love, clarity, healing, and both material and spiritual abundance from the eternal Feminine principle within and around you.
No matter what’s going on in your life at this time, it’s essential to give yourself time for introspection (the Feminine is inwardly bound), to clarify where you’re at, what negative tendencies may be holding you back, and how to free yourself from your self-defeating ‘sense of otherness’ that traps you in the wounded child archetype. Contact me today to receive the guidance and support you need to accomplish this and develop greater emotional and spiritual freedom!
© 2016 Yol Swan. All rights reserved.
