Yogic Mystery School ™

Our most recent experience was an extraordinary fire ceremony known as homa, havan or yagna. We’ve experienced countless ceremonies like this over the years, but this one was different and amazingly powerful.

First, the ceremony began with a ritual that we learn in our mystery school. This powerful healing Tantric ritual fashions tumeric into an shape that is representative of the remover of obstacles (Vighneśwara). Many of us turned to each other in recognition as we noted that procedure and the mantras that we’ve learned to chant.

The next part was the fire ceremony that began with the homa nyāsa followed by the homam, which was extraordinarily powerful. It was to the Ultimate Shakti, invoking Her as Brihadnayaki (the ancient leader).

Although we have learned to offer mantras and offerings in the sacred fire, there was a fascinating vibration during the priest’s rendering of particular mantras, mudras and offerings, something that cannot be put into words. Some...

Pradosham, an especially auspicious evening time associated with Shaivite observances. April 3, the day this blog was created, was "Soma (crescent moon) Pradosham."

Pradosham often involves fasting to raise the bar on spiritual practice, and I explain why and how in the tutorial. Using the esteemed Panchakshara (five-syllabled) mantra (Om) Namah Shivaya is of equal importance, so I give you some tips on how to enhance its effect. It's all in the tutorial right here:

Fasting is used on pradosham to enhance our spiritual practice because the word "doṣa" is a defect, specifically something that can cause us harm. Pradosham is our monthly cycle to cleanse our karmas and purify, which is why the esteemed Panchakshara (five-syllabled) mantra (Om) Namah Shivaya is used to invoke blessing. 

The word "Shiva " in Sanskrit means "auspicious," a word that is not in common parlance today, meaning "favorable," a presence that blesses us and ensures successful outcomes. 

Close your...

The cusp between year-end and year-beginning is a time for reflection and resolution. Often, world events do not necessarily influence our formulations of what shapes our decisions for self-improvement in the coming year.

Here are three examples:

1) Acknowledging and engaging conflict within ourselves
2) Working for the upliftment of the feminine in all areas
3) Being responsible for emotional climatic conditions

WISHING YOU A BLESSED AND PURPOSEFUL 2023!

Asha & Russill

The new year is upon us, and the first thing we want to impress upon ourselves is that this is a long moment of refreshment and rejuvenation. Like the start of a new day, after the night's sleep, we get a whole new year to realize our dreams and formulate new ways of being healthy and happy.

Here is a new message for our Yogic Mystery School students. It offers insights on healing, spirituality, time, agenda and our calendar...

TANTRA, MANTRA AND WHOLENESS

This Sunday, Jan 9, Asha offers a Wholeness Cooking class complemented with a discussion group next Sunday, Jan 16. The previous month's meetings and supportive webinars and tutorials are all loaded up in the related web portal for this Wholeness Immersion. In addition to recipes, we're teaching "Food Mantras" and exploring "Foods, Moods, And Mantras" together.

LEARN MORE AND SIGN UP

A SLEEP OF PRISONERS

Dark and cold we may be, but this

Is no winter now. The frozen misery

Of centuries breaks, cracks, begins to move;

The thunder...

Navaratri means nine nights, an auspicious time of the year to invoke Durga. Durga is a form of the Ultimate Shakti, which is the feminine Godhead. All women (and especially disempowered women) should tap into this identification with Ultimate Reality and the formidable sense of power Shakti conveys.

Shakti is the ultimate principle of life that is both feminine and powerful. Durga represents the formidable power of this Ultimate Shakti, coalesced into symbolic form with multiple arms and weapons and riding a tiger (or lion). She is a warrior goddess whose very name translates as a fortress unto herself.

What's a good mantra practice at this time?

There are three Durga mantras in varying levels of complexity I would like to suggest. These are not necessarily Navaratri mantras; however, they can and will help you tap the power of Durga and the significance of this Shakti at this time.

om duṁ durgāya namaḥ (Tantric Japa Mantra)

That's a good starting point. This mantra develops the...

Amid this pandemic comes a bright flash of color. Holi is a festival that celebrates divine love. Although it originates in India, Holi spread to other parts of the world.

There are three main themes to this festival:

A Celebration of Spring
Love of Radha and Krishna
Triumph of Good over Evil

Holi marks the beginning of spring. Although many states are still in winter here in the US, Texas is celebrating some sense of spring. It has been a rough winter for many Texans unprepared for snow combined with sub-zero temperatures. Matthew McConaughey is doing much to keep the damage, most inside homes, in people's minds.

The Holi story that touches my heart is that of Prahalad. This young boy has a deep connection to God despite his father's efforts to remove all divine reminders in the palace. King Hiranyakashipu, the boy's father, is powerful beyond measure and has no humility. At the end of the story, Lord Vishnu, Prahalad's God, destroy's the king. Prahalad's story is about the...

Every day, we wake up, live our lives, and go to sleep. We never know what is going to happen. It is tough to align ourselves with what matters when we are confused by current events or circumstances as with covid, or matters of social unrest.

Human life has value because it is a medium for consciousness to evolve. The constitution of the United States places a high value on human life and dignity. Recent events in the US capitol building, however, have left many of us unsettled.

Below, is an audio vision meditation to help us tap into what matters at this time. It is not your typical meditation experience, so here is some context:

At first, some of the questions might feel probing, even unsettling. Relax—there is no need to answer them with your conscious mind.

Meditation is usually meant to help quiet our minds. But sometimes, meditation can also help us think deeply.

Does it matter that we exist in another human's mind? If someone thinks well or negatively of...

“Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.” 

-- Guy Finley

Our Yogic Mystery School went on a short winter break. We are excited to reconnect with students and those on our list with this short 3-minute audio message...

Note: After creating and uploading the message yesterday, to share with you today, we read the unsettling news of events in DC this morning. Although only half our students reside within the US, we ask that, no matter where you live, please hold the US in your prayers at this time.

What if someone told you that your voice is the barometer of your Soul? Would you agree that every condition and quality present in your Soul is reflected in the sound of your voice?

The difference in life experience in an elderly person's voice and a teenager's voice immediately registers upon us, no matter what they say. An elderly person may say something frivolous, yet, we sense maturity in that voice. A teenage, on the other hand, may say something profound. However, we still hear the immaturity of life experience in that voice. Of course, there are always exceptions, moments when something profound comes through a person's voice, no matter what age.

When we examine these moments of profundity closely, we notice a quality of presence that accompanies the voice in these instances. We want to work towards such a quality of presence in ourselves that is a refinement of self. And we discover this more significant presence, this sense of Soul, through the expression of a voice that...

As we approach the winter, there are many festivals that point to the incarnation of divine presence within our world to help rebalance the distribution of ignorance and wisdom.

This day marks the triumph of the light over the darkness. If you can remember the opening line from the Gospel of John, the light of divine presence cannot be overcome by darkness.  

Dussehra, derived from the number ten in Sanskrit (daśa) and verb for killing (hara) is built around the story of Rama (also a word derived from the root for light) kills Ravana, a ten-headed demon. In the Hindu mind-set, this is not a story in the sense of something made up. It is a way of pointing to actual reality. 

The holy day is also called Vijayadashami, occuring during what is astrologically known as śukla pakṣa (the luminious fortnight) that conincides with Navaratri, a nine-night festival in which the triumph of good over evil is celebrated through the goddess Durga, herself an incarnation of the Supreme...