What a great omen for 2014! The first full moon of the year has the Moon totally empowered.
PUNARVASU
Punar: to return
Vasu: of the light
Just the thought of this concept puts at us ease. The reality, like it or not, is that we live in an energetic environment of light. Light is our home element. Really we have no idea why there is darkness. Maybe if we had a bigger brain or even used all of our own small brains, we might be able to perceive other realities, but for now, we have light and dark. Our bodies and the food that feeds our bodies depend on light for life. When there is an absence of light for too long, we begin to fade.When the sunrise comes, there is a return of the light and we know we can live for another day.
DARKNESS
I always wondered what it meant when people refer to their, ‘dark side’. Is this the area where the negative perceptions are stored, like a closet that you can go into, shut the door and live out your own horror movie. Pretty much all individuals I have ever worked with, with a very few exceptions, have gone into their dark closet at various times in their life. Some have the door jammed for a long time and are trapped inside forgetting that there is even a light world outside. Some have a revolving door and go in and out depending on circumstances. Each individual has their own karma to resolve. Yes, karma is the dark.
KARMA CLOSET
In may ways, I feel that being given a life is itself karma. Seems everyone who returns from death experiences describes a blissful free feeling with no desire to return to the dense body. The general comment is that there is an understanding that there is some work to do. Working out our karma is the work. Living in the body can even be described as the dark closet.
WORKING OUT KARMA
This is a sanskrit term and a vedic concept. Nowadays it has become bantered around so much that people have become cynical about the concept. If we can come back to the source and try to understand the concept it can go a long way in closet comfort. :-)
POORVA PUNA
The first time I heard this term was in a classroom in Rishkesh in the ashram of Swami Saraswati Dyananda, the formost teacher of Vedanta. I’ll never forget it. It means debit-credit?! Really!! You mean our banking system is mimic somehow of our deeper reality? How fascinating! Swami Dyananda, in his early 80’s at the time, went on to describe that we as souls, come riding in on a beam of light, enter a body and have a time lapse period of time in which we can either drain or top up our cosmic bank account. Based on our past incarnations, we arrive with more credit or debit. The goal of the game, of course, is to move out of the debit department and into the credit. Debit = darkness. Credit = light.
HOW?
So if this is the case, how then do we work off our karma? Essentially the root of it is something in sanskrit called ,‘seva’. Seva means Service. We have to learn how to willingly give our personal resources to help ourselves, and help others. We are all in this cosmic marathon and we are all heading to the same finish line. Realize first that your body is not the real,‘you’. Your body is a temporary vehicle. Your job is to take care of this precious moving temple. Is this easy? No!! The body is equipped with a super computer called a brain. Problem is the brain has monkey parts and needs to be trained. The monkey brain wants to indulge in all kinds of temptation that just keeps creating more karma. So, gaining control of your brain, if you do not have natural discipline, can take you at least 50 years, or even not at all! If you are lucky enough to have very light karma, and have already invested lifetimes into some form of spiritual discipline ( working on your spirit) this will be easier. If you keep rejecting the idea, you may feel overweighted by the dark feelings of being alive. Either way, we are all going in the same direction, just moving at different speeds.
A PRACTICE
The first thing you will need to invest your time in is what we like to call a ‘practice’. This just refers to some form of discipline that helps you manage your body and gain control over the monkey brain. For most reading this, the practice will be on the mat in an asana pranyama daily routine. The great news is that the beloved vedas give us the techniques covered under ayurveda. You will find beginner to advanced without prejudice.
EGO
Now here is the clincher. Do you find yourself instantly reflecting back onto yourself with a poor me attitude? Thoughts like, why do “I” have karma? What am “I” doing on this planet with all of those other unevolved beings? Why does my friend seem to be so much further ahead than me? How can I possibly get anything done at this age? It is going to be much harder for me because I am more wounded than anyone I know. All of these questions stem from your ego. Ego prevents many from getting started and can trip you up along the way. Best to just move first into a divine acceptance that you are here in this space, either all the way in the closet or almost completely out. It is what it is. The point is to get started and never quit. Period.
CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSES
In this vedic wisdom you will notice that the Gods and Goddesses are always celebrating. They eat and drink and play music, sing mantras and dance. You mean once you get into the light there is a lot of partying? Well, kind of. Believe it or not, once you clean up your body and mind, you have more capacity to actually hold light in your cells. Once you are mostly light, intoxication takes on a whole new meaning. Just sitting quietly in meditation for short periods puts you in touch with this vibration of pleasure that somehow links into your body. All of those intoxicating substances are inherently trying to give you a glimpse of the real thing.
FULL MOON CELEBRATION
Full Moon’s are for celebration. Always celebrate your success no matter how small. Celebration does not mean you need to get loaded. A new way of celebrating can mean that you take the day off all electrical devices and sleep and give yourself the gift of rejuvenation. Light several candles, dance alone, go into nature, journal, make love to yourself or another. Cook something special. Celebration is a mindset, it is about taking the mundane ordinary and giving it special significance.
PUNARVASU
This full Moon is in the delightful nakshatra that tells is it is time for the return of the light. Take time to see how this emergence into a lighter, brighter vibration is happening to you. Honor it. Give gratitude and find a way to celebrate! If you can spend some time under the rays of the full Moon you will actually absorb the rays into your system and they can recharge your vitris, dosas,koshas, and meridians that are the conductors of light throughout your body. If you can sleep under the full moon for the evening even better. LOVE ONLY..
