May 2021 News: the practice of Kumbha and more
My offerings for the coming period include the intriguing practice of "kumbha" or the earthen pot as the symbol of Goddess Earth or Aditi. Goddess Aditi is the focus of my upcoming 8 week course. Indian dance is rooted in ancient traditions which were "depth practices". The Goddess traditions, through embodied ritual practices, awoke a material and visceral union between the Divine and the body. This happens through the experience of Earth as Body, and the soil of the Earth as the composition of our own bodies.
Goddess Kali also continues her dance through the next weeks. I will be offering two intensives - one for women in the United States and one for women in Australia. Goddess Kali, when invoked, is a personal and intimate presence for women. Goddess Kali's invitation is to find power outside of all stories that limit and constrain us. Full terms and conditions of use of this video and other platforms available https://www.movingarchetypes.com.au/
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May 2021 News: the practice of Kumbha and more
SPEAKERS
Padma Menon
Padma Menon 00:00
Welcome to the news for May. Thank you for joining me. And I do hope that you will spend a few minutes so that I can share with you the offerings that I have for the coming period. It would seem as if the Goddesses that made their appearance at the beginning of the year, are continuing their reign in the coming period as well. Those who've worked with me before will know that I don't really have a strategic plan for what courses I offer, mostly, the Goddesses themselves appear and demand that their practice be offered. And this is, of course, the way in which these practices have worked from time immemorial. They are part of the energies, the needs of the times. And the practice always emerges for people to find a way of navigating the times with the fullness of their being. And in a sacred way, that is what these practices always did, from 1000s of years ago to now. So what I'd like to share with you is some of the offerings for group classes in Australia, and a couple of intensives that I will be offering in this month and early next month.
So this here is the essence of the courses that I'll be offering as group classes for the next eight weeks, which is Goddess Aditi, the great unbound Goddess.
And this earthen pot is one of the oldest symbols of Aditi or the Goddess, it's called kumbha. And this pot represented the lower half of the woman's body, the waist, the hips, the lower half of the woman's body. So this kumbha, while I say symbol, it was actually much more than that it was a practice. And when you embody it, it is a powerful sensation of the earth, as the holding space, the receptacle, the container, the abundance, it's almost difficult to put into words, the power of this practice, when we put it when we bring it into our bodies. One of the things that is offered by the practice of Goddess or Deity is a visceral experience of how the earth is the woman's body, the woman's body is the earth. And that is divine. That it's not the separation, but it is that union, that perception of that union, that experience of that union, that makes the Divine Presence, in which the Divine Presence emerges. And what is powerful, is that it's not just a thought, it's not a philosophy, we often talk about union with the divine. And it's a thought it's a philosophy. It's a kind of an abstract aspiration, but in this practice, in a very material way, we feel the soil of the earth, the soil of our bodies, and how inextricably they are the one thing and this is such a powerful and poignant practice for our times. And sometimes I wonder if we had continued to feel this in such a material way. Perhaps we would have lived and acted very differently as humanity on this earth.
And I'm going to offer two intensives on Goddess Kali, which will be eight hours over two days adapted for Zoom, it will be offered in the United States on the 15th and 16th of May, and for everyone in Australia, over the long weekend in June. So this follows the traditional depth practices of the goddess beginning with the preparation, the initiation, moving through the some of the ancestors of Kali and finally into the invocation of Kali. It will be supported by lots of extra resources before and also after the intensive.
Goddess Kali, of course, needs no introduction. To many of us, Her invitation is to reclaim the power within us that requires no permission. Nobody needs to bring that power to us. And no one needs to give us permission. It is unleashing of that power. Goddess Kali is also one of the most personal of Goddesses that I have experienced, and I have heard women tell me the same from their own experiences. Whenever I work with women, with Kali practice, there's always this experience of an intimate presence. It's almost like she's waiting to be called by the women. And when a woman truly invokes her with respect, and with preparedness, she absolutely makes herself available. She is there. And she's there without an agenda, which is so incredibly important for us as women in these times. So I do hope that I will have the pleasure and honor of your company at some of these offerings over the next weeks.
In the meantime, please take care of yourselves. And I do hope that the Goddess energies will touch you and touch your hearts in some way in these times. Thank you for joining me.