It's Midsummer here in the Northern Hemisphere and that means it's the season of water. Dive right in to the ocean of your emotions, my friends. In the etheric realm, the element of water is associated with the second chakra, the energy center located just below the navel around the sacral (from the root for sacred) area of the body. In Sanskrit it's called
Svadhisthana chakra, meaning one's own abode. Makes sense, since this is the home of the reproductive organs, the seat of creativity and emotions, and the nexus of love and, interestingly, war-like impulses. Love and war- a perfect duality.
The ancients were super comfortable with this idea, assigning the goddesses of love double duty: Astarte, Inanna, Ishtar, Freyja, Maeve,
and lest we forget, the Greek version of Kim K.- Aphrodite -her limitless vanity is responsible for starting the Trojan War. All had invisible holsters with pairs of pistols slung around those sexy hips.
So, if you're feeling filled with bodhicitta unconditional love for humankind one minute, and then complete despair for the state of the world over say, catastrophic climate change the next, it's ok, you are not alone. It's the weather and your anatomy.
Awhile back, way before Midsummer, the spoken word storytelling contest called The Moth came once again to Jersey City and I by chance saw the ad. Of course I knew I had to do it. It's been awhile since I've done public speaking outside a yoga class, but Moth performances entranced me the one time I saw them, and the odds of me being picked were slim to none, I figured.
Well, I was picked first. No drunken judges to grease the scoring for me. I believe I got 8's and 8.5, 6, 7, and 8's out of 10. Whatevs. It was a blast! Scary, fun, and totally exhilarating.
The theme was Water. I talked about yoga, jealousy, complicated family relationships,
forgiveness, Gone with the Wind, and Bruce Lee.
I only practiced for a total of 30 minutes, but major thanks to Pam Shaw (my wise mentor friend) and Dan Logue (my amazing husband) for helping me with editing.
Enjoy!
PS: Make sure you get a chance to swim or take a dip in a body of natural water this summer. It will make it all better. At least for a little while.
xo
L