Offering: Ah.... The F word. As we step into Navaratri (the 9 nights of Durga) on monday the 31st March, its a great time to contemplate our relationship with the Divine Mother as Durga, especially though our relationship to the experience of fear.
Many people think that fear is to be avoided. Its not. Its a very human, very real, very necessary experience to help us navigate this experience of life. It is a gift from Ma Durga to be able to experience the root of life, which is Mooladhara Chakra. And we must root to rise. The energy through this chakra on the emotional level can be experienced as fear, known as anxiety, which moves up the body and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system or fight or flight, or faith/trust which moves down the body, is rooted in trusting the Divine for the perfection of this moment, this reality but not identified with it.
You see, Fear, symbolized by the lion, (sometimes tiger) that Durga is seen riding, is not riding her. She is riding it. It is present in her world, but it does not dominate her, she is using this fear to transport her into action, to right action. To slay the demons of ignorance and illusion. Fear to Durga is not something that is to be avoided, cowered, or discarded. It is a sacred energy that must be harnessed. In the face of fear, often we seek distraction, suppression, or avoidance when what is actually being asked of us is to actively seek to end the suffering of illusion and ignorance, bringing us into truth, into Faith. Trusting that we are all held by the Divine mother in this leela (play) of the souls evolution though the human experience. That all we experience, no matter how painful, (actual pain, not the fear of pain perceived or projected) is for our ultimate healing, to spur us forward into the experience of the One. Atma. Consciousness.
Fear, is rooted into the identification of the souls human experience having a beginning and an end. To not be in control of when/how we die. Who we leave behind. As a mother, this is something I am very intimate with. To fear death is to finally find the joy in living, now we must find the joy in living the unknown, even death.
When we experience fear the first thing to do is shift our awareness into trust. Then from this trust, shift it into action. There must be action for there to be the full cycle of transmutation. Remembering that sometimes right action is to do nothing. Action from fear creates chaos, confusion. Action from trust creates inner calm, contentment, clarity.
Mooladhara (trust/fear) is the foundation of our 3rd Dimensional experience, and Manipura is the peak of our 3rd dimensional experience. To get from one to the other we must move through the emotional waters of Swadhisthana chakra. The purification of the waters, through bringing forth our unconscious samskaras (memories), that seem so real but are really just an illusion, into a witnessing, a discernment to what is illusion and what is real.
Then we open ourselves to the next step, this is where the opening to Love comes in.
Just as to praise the dead is to truly grieve, and the grieve the living is to truly praise. This is the human expression of Love. Which, the same frequency as fear/faith but mirrored in the higher chakra of Anahata (the heart) just like ice and water are the same make up but different expressions. Mooladhara the root, and Anahata the heart, are the foundations of two different realities. 3D and 5D
So when you want to love more, work on your faith. When you want to transmute fear, root into the the unconditional love and protection of the Divine mother.
Though awareness of our actions, our sadhana (practice) to Durga in this auspicious time of Navaratri, we have a real opportunity to consciously step from the foundational 4 of Fear, to the liberated 5 of Faith.
Om Dum Durgayai Namaha!
...to learn to die before dying.
ReplyDeletethis is where I am at.....transitioning through this...releasing fear....but need to find some tools on how
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading shandrea... the tools we would use are yogic practices to create discernment and reduce anxiety, such as alternate nostril breathing. This prepares you have to have the discernment in the moment to be able to work the moment as mentioned above.
ReplyDelete"When we experience fear the first thing to do is shift our awareness into trust. Then from this trust, shift it into action. There must be action for there to be the full cycle of transmutation. Remembering that sometimes right action is to do nothing. Action from fear creates chaos, confusion. Action from trust creates inner calm, contentment, clarity."
if there is chaos and confusion, note that chances are you are still in fear, and need to work on coming into trust. the quickest way to do this in my experience is to connect to an aspect of the Divine, eg. Jesus, Durga, Shiva etc... and offer all stress and confusion to that. Offer fear, to that aspect, ask for clarity on what action is needed to that aspect.
By doing this, we come out of doership, which steps the ego back long enough to connect with the clear and peaceful undercurrent that is a higher self, a self that is not identified with the fear.
When trust is established with the Divine perfection, then you can step into the action born from that connection.
i hope this helps!
Great article! I recommend Swamiji's book "Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra: the Ascent". In verse 68 it's mentioned fear and trasforming it. Swamiji writes that navel is the point where one experiences fears, anxieties, neurosis, psychosis, etc. If the energy from manipura doesn't move upwards, one may go berserk.
ReplyDeleteMother Durga and Guru are absolutely necessary for transforming fear into positive and creative energy!
Jay Mata di!
Jaya Gurudeva ki!