Shakti

 from:
 http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses/shakti.htm

The Hindu Goddess Shakti
Shakti is also named Devi, Parvati, Durga, Kali and many other names.

"Shakti is the divine force, manifesting to destroy demonic forces and restore balance."

feminine and masculine balance in our brain, the left and the right, the with in and the with out...

"Every God in Hinduism has his Shakti and without that energy they have no power. Lakshmi is the energy of Vishnu. Parvati is energy of Shiva. Shakti is also called Devi or mahadevi, assuming different roles as Sati, Parvati, Durga and Kali.

So Shakti is the mother goddess, the source of all, the universal principle of energy, power or creativity. The worship of Shakti as this energy is the main objective of Tantra Yoga. Shakti is inseparable from the one who beholds her, the Shakti-man, the masculine principle or Universal father. Shakti-man is called Brahman by the writers of the Upanishads. In the Tantric tradition he is called Shiva.

The play of female energy has no beginning and no end. Although it is restless, the energy moves through alternating periods of motion and rest, during which order is re-established. Tantra believes that as long as the phenomenal world exists, it is the Universal mother who is the creator, preserver and destroyer. Thus Shakti should be worshipped as an aspect of the divine.

The motivating force behind this eternal play that creates the illusionary world of phenomena is the power of desire. This desire is present in the one who is without attributes, the nameless and formless aspect of the divine."

 enThanks to my students/teachers

Throat Chakra Vishuddha

the changing of the background colors on my blog from green/heart chakra to blue/throat chakra.  


from http://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/article/256

Visuddha - The Throat Chakra

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY ANODEA JUDITH ON MAY 30, 2002

Element: Sound 
Color: Bright Blue 
Verb: I speak 
Attributes: Sound, vibration, communication, creativity 

Chakra 5 is located in the region of the neck and shoulders and is the center of communication and creativity. Its color is a bright turquoise blue, mixing the deep indigo of the sixth chakra with the green of the heart. Its lotus has 16 petals, upon which are inscribed all the vowels of the Sanskrit language. Vowels are generally thought to represent spirit, while consonants give the edges and definitions which define matter. As we enter chakra 5, we are crossing deeper into the realms of mind and spirit. 

This lotus is called Visuddha, which means "purification." To successfully reach and open the fifth chakra, the body must attain a certain level of purification, which helps to achieve the sensitivity needed for the subtler levels of the upper chakra. 

Classically, the element associated with this level is ether, or akasha, meaning "spirit," as well as the element of sound. Sound is a rhythmic vibration of air molecules as they are impacted by matter in movement. If I clap my hands, the sound that reaches you is from the air I have displaced. All sound is a vibration, and all things, living and nonliving, have a unique vibration. At this level, we do not see the world as individual things or their activities but as a complex interwoven net of energies with characteristic vibrational rhythms. 

The Hindus believe that the universe itself is made of sound. Mother Kali, the destroyer, is said to have the power to remove the letters of the alphabet from the petals of the chakras when she chooses to destroy the world. Without sound and language, there is no form. 

Sound waves are subject to a principle called resonance, also known as "rhythm entrainment" or "sympathetic vibration." Resonance is what occurs when sound waves of similar frequency meet—they lock into phase, with their vibrations oscillating at the same time. That which is in phase tends to remain in phase; hence, the interlocking of vibrational waves creates the ongoing harmony and substance that we experience in the world. Our breathing, heart rate, brain waves, and sleeping and eating patterns are all rhythmic activities that "entrain" or connect us with the world around us. When we are feeling harmonious with our surroundings, then our internal rhythms are resonating within ourselves. This resonance will, in turn, call other wave forms into harmony with it, bringing strength and integrity to the organism. 

From sound we get communication. Communication is the activity and function of the fifth chakra. Here we have language, a complex pattern of sound and rhythm, through which we symbolize the physical world around us. Through symbol, we have a more efficient way of dealing with the world. I can describe my car, but I can’t bring it into the room with me. I can call New York without actually going there. Our minds work with symbols. We think in words, as well as image and sensory memory. The world of the upper chakras is symbolic of the world below. 

Communication is a rhythmic activity. The more resonant our own internal rhythms, the more easily and pleasantly we will communicate. Studies have shown that regardless of the content of words used, listeners and speakers enter into a rhythm entrainment as they converse. It is believed that understanding occurs only when entrainment can take place. 

Communication involves both listening and speaking. If one’s fifth chakra is closed down, then there is fear of expressing oneself, fear of speaking one’s truth, or excessive shyness. The voice itself is timid and the words are few. If the chakra is too open, we are so busy expressing that we forget to listen, or our voice is dissonant, and we are unable to enter into resonance with those around us. 

Ideally, the fifth chakra should be connected to the self—to all the other chakras above and below—to visions of the mind and the feelings from body with equal ease. 

Chanting is an activity that increases the overall resonance of our being, allowing all our internal systems to enter into a rhythmic harmony. When chanting is practiced as a group activity, it enhances resonance and communication with the group as a whole. From Zen monasteries to rock concerts, this is a powerful tool for enhancing collective consciousness. 

The fifth chakra is also a center of creativity, another form of symbolic communication. As we open up this center, we open up our creative potential. The greater our resonance within, the greater the power within our creations. 

Chakra 4 Rising Wave

Chakra 4 Rising Wave         12" x 12"            2008

Chakra 4 or Heart Chakra "involves our growth in unconditional love, passion, and devotion." from my informational card included in my Chakra Rising Wave Series Giclee Print cards package.  The card briefly describes each Chakra's significance and is what I've been using to describe the Chakras in these recent blog postings. 

For the Wholidays!

The 5" x 7" Chakra gift cards are museum quality archival giclee frameable art prints. Images of the original paintings done in beeswax & natural pigments on Khadi papers can be viewed on my website at http://www.greenartstudio.com/galleryrising.html.

c&p to url bar for larger view

http://gregpatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/chakra-rising-wave-series-giclee-cards.html

Each "Chakra" card is a Limited Edition Print.

Cards are printed with eco-friendly inks and on post-consumable paper.

Useful as a meditation tool.

7 Card package $35.oo + s&h

Individual card $8.oo + s&h

tax included

you may contact me at info@greenartstudio.com for purchase, or...

...Cards are available at the following retail

ArtExposure, Hampstead, NC

Porters Neck Yoga

Spa, Wilmington, NC

Sage Salon & Spa, Wilmington, NC

Sambuca, Wilmington, NC

Visions and Dreams, Wilmington, NC

Chakra 3 Rising Wave

Chakra 3 Rising Wave          12" x 12"             2008

Chakra 3 or Solar Plexus guides our relationship with our personal power and personal growth with our emotional, physical and spiritual environment. As we raise our kundalini energy here we enable ourselves, giving ourselves permission, to be all that we can be with our environment and our self.

Chakra 1 Rising Wave

Chakra 1 Rising Wave      12" x 12"     Beeswax & natural pigment on Khadi paper  

Chakra 1 Rising Wave is the first of seven in this Series. Chakras, the body's 7 energy centers, connect each of us with our environment on physical, mental and spiritual levels. The 7 Chakra System is the more commonly recognized in western cultures. In these works I use pure colors with the coiled lines of Kundalini. 

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini

Kundalini literally means coiled. In yoga, a "corporeal energy"^[1] - an unconscious, instinctive or libidinal force or Shakti, lies coiled at the base of the spine.^[2][3][4] It is envisioned either as a goddess or else as a sleeping serpent, hence a number of English renderings of the term such as 'serpent power'. The kundalini resides in the sacrum bone in three and a half coils and has been described as a residual power of pure desire.

The first Chakra is considered the root or sacral chakra. It is located at the lowest area corresponding to the spine in our sacral pelvic area. It is associated with connecting us to Earth and aids with maintaining our stability, sense of security, sensuality and sexuality

Uranian Phalanstery...

...

http://onesunart.blogspot.com/2009/01/uranian-phalanstery.html

Turmeric

http://www.dharmaayurveda.com/article/2304.html?a

Turmeric - secret ayurvedic recipes

Gelbwurz oder TURMERIC oder Curcuma Longa    [Sanskrit - Haridra]

Turmeric is truly one of the marvellous medicinal spices in the world. 

Its been extensively used since centuries, as an ingredient in cooking.   Its popularly believed that turmeric was used in cooking for its detox properties to neutralise any toxins if present in the food preparation.

Benefits

Potent antioxidant. The antioxidant activity of turmeric is mainly associated with its phenolic fraction, curcuminoids, which act as free radical scavengers as well as inhibitors of leukotrienes and prostaglandin synthesis. 

Powerful antiinflammatory agent. The antiinflammatory activity has been claimed to be comparable to NSAID's such as indomethacin, producing significant improvement in clinical trials involving individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. 

Lowers Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL cholesterol. 

Reduces blood sugar level in diabetics 

An anticoagulant that inhibits platelet aggregation 

Liver protective and tonic 

Boosts stomach defences against acid 

Known to have varied anticancer activity. A powerful antagonist of numerous cancer causing agents.

Turmeric is being used in Ayurveda since centuries as an internal medicine for a variety of conditions ranging from allergy to diabetes, and as an external application for beauty as well as in skin disorders and arthritis.

A few simple turmeric remedies

Allergies      Ground Turmeric and Ground Curry leaves one heaped teaspoon each to be taken together early morning in empty stomach for 3 to 6 weeks. Proven very effective in chronic allergic rhinitis.

Bronchitis    Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder in half a glass of warm milk taken two or three times daily is an effective home remedy. Acts best when taken in empty stomach.

Throat irritation    Take a pinch of turmeric with little salt at bed time. Dont swallow, leave it in the tongue and let it slowly work its way down.

Diarrhoea     Take one spoon of turmeric juice with equal amount of honey. Or boil half glass water with one tsp turmeric powder and mix with one tsp honey.

Ring worm    Apply juice of raw turmeric on the affected part few times daily.

Sinusitis     Dip a dry rhizome of turmeric in coconut or neem oil and burn. Put off the flame and inhale the smoke through each nostril three times. Repeat for 3 to 7 days. Very effective remedy even in severe sinusitis. [You can use a small sheet of paper to make a funnel and keep small end in one nostril to inhale the smoke with the other nostril closed.]

Diabetes    Half glass of indian gooseberry juice with one spoon of turmeric is very beneficial in diabetes. 

Leucoderma     Turmeric mixed with mustard oil is a popular folk remedy for leucoderma. About 500gm of turmeric should be pounded and soaked in 8 litres of water overnight. It should be boiled in the morning till only one litre of water is left, and then be strained and mixed with 500ml mustard oil. This mixture should be heated till only the oil is left. It should then be strained and preserved in a bottle. This mixture should be applied on the white patches every morning and evening for a few months 

Source: Dr..Jayaprakash

Prakriti

Have been reading “Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution" by Robert Svoboda. The concept is not new to me. In my studies and teachings of various herbal and dietary ways alignment with the season’s providing food and herbal medicines and energetics is part of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Ayurveda, Macrobiotics, and western traditonal cultural understanding. As part of my trip to W. Ashville, NC this past week I received an Ayurvedic consult from Joseph Immel at the Appalachia School of Holistic Herbalism. Joseph is a Graduate of Ayurvedic Institute with world renowned Dr. Vasant Lad in Albuquerque, NM. He recommended Prakriti as an introductory to Ayurvedic principles. On my way home I stopped at Whole Foods in Cary NC and the woman at the checkout’s name was Prakriti. This, I am sure, was an affirmation directed to me that I was on the right path. 

 h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i / P r a k [ t i

Prakrti or Prakriti or Prakruti (from Sanskrit language prakrti) means "nature" [1]. It is, according to the Bhagavad Gita, the basic nature of intelligence by which the Universe exists and functions. It is described in Bhagavad Gita as the "primal motive force". It is the essential constituent of the universe and is at the basis of all the activity of the creation. [2] It is composed of the three gunas which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as sattva (creation), rajas (preservation), and tamas, (destruction) [3] Sattva encompasses qualities of goodness, light, and harmony. [4] According to the Yoga Vasistha, people who are of a satvic nature and whose activities are mainly based on satva, will tend to seek answers regarding the origin and truth of material life. With proper support they are likely to reach liberation.[5] Rajas is associated with concepts of energy, activity, ambition, and passion; so that, depending on how it is used, it can either have a supportive or hindering effect on the evolution of the soul. [6] Tamas is commonly associated with inertia, darkness, insensitivity. [7] Souls who are more tamasic are considered imbued in darkness and take the longest to reach liberation.[8] Prakriti is closely associated with the concept of Maya within Vedic scripture.[9]

Mulaprakriti can be translated as "the root of nature" or "root of Prakriti"[10]; it is a closer definition of 'basic matter; and is often defined as the essence of matter, that aspect of the Absolute which underlines all the objective aspects of Nature[11]. While plain Prakriti encompasses classical earth element, i.e. solid matter, Mulaprakriti includes any and all classical elements, including any considered not discovered yet (some tattvas.)[12]

Devi Prakriti Shakti in the context of Shaktis as forces unifies Kundalini, Kriya, Itcha, Para, Jnana, Mantrika Shaktis. Each is in a chakra.[13]

Prakriti also means nature.[14] Nature can be described as environment. [15] It can also be used to denote the 'feminine' in sense of the 'male' being the purusha.

According to the ancient vedic science of Ayurveda, the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas) as they pertain to the human physiology are called doshas: kapha, pitta, vata. [16] The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti or nature of one's body. [17]

Ocean Sunrise Ankh and Lingam

I find this most appealing to the coming season, Spring.


from National Geographic http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/ancient/artifacts-symbols.html

"The ankh is a symbol of life often shown in the hands of Egyptian gods or pharaohs. The gods are sometimes depicted giving the ankh, and thus giving life, to a human.

The origins of this widespread symbol are much disputed. Whatever its original symbolic meaning (theories range from a sandal loop to a sunrise) the ankh was widely adopted first by Egyptian religions and later by early Christians for whom it linked the cross with eternal life."

My personal preference would be that its meaning comes from the sunrise over water. Here is my reasoning. Man was drawing what he observed around him before he wore shoes, much like our cousin the ape. Conceptually, the symbolism of it relating to the sandal is a bit contrived. This idea does not relate to nature as our source for most of our symbolisms. Visually the sandal really doesn't look anything like an Ankh. The dots don't connect. Typically the Ankh is associated with "life". We realize that the water and the sun (light) are the great sources of life. Water is teeming with a major food source for us. Birth, delivering from the womb protectively within the water that streams forth as the "water breaks". Another interpretation of its symbolistic origins is associated with the lingum, or penis. This also would imply life as it sourcing the seed of life, also transmitted in the seminal fluid, a body of water.  The Sanskrit word for the male sexual organ is Lingam and is loosely translated as "Wand of Light."