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SHIVA
The promise of radical change,
of rebirth remains in the energy of Shiva. To crush bad
habits that new ones might emerge, to let an old self
die that we might become who we are meant to be –
such is the dual force of Shiva’s destruction and
creation.
Imagine a dread-locked dude hanging out in cemeteries
and smokinghash and talking a big talk about, say, some
big dream he had called “The
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World" inhabited by
10,000 forms of humans, creatures, plants. But for a long
time – say, eons – this wild renegade guy,
none other than Shiva, dwelled in death and denial of
worldly pleasures and destruction. He just sat and meditated
and dreamed this dream. That is, until he met his Shakti
– the feminine force who taught Shiva the dreamer
how to dance. When Shiva got his Shakti, the god of destruction
also became the force of creation. For this lord of dances,
the dream became real, and the world and its many forms
became manifest. Shiva the dread-locked ascetic also became
a householder, the partner of Uma/Parvati.
This rich form assumes many
names depending on the particular energy to be invoked:
Triyambakham (possibly “One with Three Eyes”)
relates to Shiva’s divine vision, dreamy lunar nature,
and association with the Third Eye; Bhairava (“One
Who is Fierce and Terrible”) refers to that quality
of our will that can destroy the old and stagnant; and
Nataraj (“Lord of the Dancers”) refers to
that quality in which we manifest both destruction and
creation, both illusion and grace, our foot fully planted
on the dwarf of ignorance.
Give a Shiva or Nataraj
figure to somebody, and you are giving her or him the
blessing to be fully integrated – masculine and
feminine, ascetic and householder, dreamer and actor.
If you need assistance in manifesting a dream –
a book, an art project, a social project, a business –
then you could not go wrong in placing a figure of Shiva
prominently in your work space or dream space. Someone
desiring to change old patterns and habits also could
benefit from Shiva’s aid. Shiva’s association
with dance and renewal makes him a prime connection to
Spring-related holidays as well.
Biography
provided by Jeff
Davis: Author of The
Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Philosophies
and Practices as Muse for Authentic Writing.
His essays,
articles, short stories, and poems have appeared in publications
around the country and in London. He is a former senior
yoga teacher at Bliss Yoga Center in Woodstock, NY and
founder of WEN
Barn & Gardens in Accord, NY. He
resides near Woodstock, NY, between the Catskill Mountains
and the Shawangunk Mountains with wife Hillary.
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