Thursday, March 31, 2011
Experiencing two spiritual presences
On Tuesday, I experienced two spiritual beings--one a healer (who does not claim this title) and the other a renowned scholar/mystic devoted to tantra.
The first was Braco, who was appearing and "gazing" in this area. I had seen him once before in San Francisco, and had had a pleasant experience in his presence. As you may remember, he simply appears in front of his audience and "gazes" at the crowd. Many report that they experience dramatic healings from this experience. Others say they see lights around him (white, gold, or purple) or watch as his face morphs into many other faces.
I attended four of these gazing sessions, each lasting about 8 minutes--spaced at one hour intervals. In the first session, I did see some purple light outlining his body, and also watched his face change into a very different countenance--which I felt was that of some ancient shaman of unknown origin.
In the remaining sessions, I experienced very little, although the friends I was with had very positive experiences. One felt great heat during the gazings, and she felt that the heat was in fact burning off the issues that have been bothering her. (People report psychological and emotional reactions as well as physical healings.)
That evening, the three of us attended a talk by Daniel Odier, whom I have written about recently in conjunction with the Tandava (dance of Shiva). I admire his writings tremendously, especially his translation of the "Spanda Karika" (The Divine Pulsation). According to this ancient Kashmiri text, the cosmos came into being with a single pulsation or "tremor" and the resultant universe is in constant vibration. When we do the Tandava, we too experience the "divine vibration" of the universe. This text is thought to be at the origins of Tantra, the science of universal vibration.
Daniel Odier is French by origin, and speaks (rather softly) in a heavy French accent. Although I admired the man, I understood very little of what he said. Most of the discussion centered around his early experiences with his tantric teacher in India, and the questions from the audience were focused on personal psychological/emotional issues.
Though I experienced little if any energetic flow in either of these sessions, today when I did my own Tandava practice at home (to music, as always), the energies flowed sweetly within. Once more, it was a delightful experience. Once more, I realized that I am indeed a solitary practitioner, and can have a deeper "bliss experience" at home in my own living room than from the presence of recognized teachers and "healers."
And I discovered that there are several versions of the Tandava. In southern India, the dance is performed with swift, vigorous moves, appropriate to express the strong energies of Shiva. But there is also a slower version, described as follows:
The dance performed by Goddess Parvati in response to Shiva's Tandava is known as Lasya, in which the movements are gentle, graceful and sometimes erotic. Some scholars consider Lasya to be the feminine version of Tandava. Lasya has 2 kinds, Jarita Lasya and Yauvaka Lasya. [7] (from Google)
The Lasya is the form of the dance that I perform. It developed spontaneously from my practice over many years. And I discovered that one of my closest friends says that this is also the dance that she performs. So--you don't need a teacher or text to discover that form of practice that is best suited to you. It will manifest on its own if you simply allow it to happen.
(image found on Google with the note "added by Ecank")
