Last night i dreamt of a rainbow cobra.
Namaskar Nag Pachami’ers and benevolent greetings from Queen Soma (Naga). The Divine in me sees and recognizes the Divine in you (because these traditions teach it is, everything perceivable -and beyond. And this One can be known, through discipline, recognized to the point that Unity Consciousness becomes our new modus operandi because it would have to be...).
Anyway! I wanted to do a little follow-up from the event and share what came up for me yesterday. First, if any of you read last year’s post. You will notice that I (“ i “) trip out on the usage of such letter in the capital when referring to what we think is ourselves. You would have noticed another post dedicated to why that is at the bottom. For the sake of convenience, I will retain the capital usage when starting sentences but, you may notice, the implementation of using the lowercase otherwise. This is to imply the awareness of a device that keeps us, as we say on the spiritual path, spiritually ignorant. Language is magick (subtle structuring) so it’s important to be aware of what we say, including mannerisms or customs we have taken for granted. Well, it’s important if we want to progress. I’m attaching a video of Sinead O’Connor who might have agreed ;) In a way, this is “namaste/ namaskar” particular to the Rastas.
Nag Panchami is symbolic of so much more than asking protection of the earth-spirit snake-fae, the “Naga”, against serpent bites. Perhaps I would feel differently if our area was infested with Terciopelos or cobras ;)
We have often heard heard that Yoga means Union. Union being Unity Consciousness. It is that state which is considered the Liberation you will hear of in Tantric (snake wisdom) traditions. Many of us experience remembrance. It feels good but it fades. If we are tired of it fading that is why we do and might increase practice. And not only a “going to class” but possibly learning to create more daily spiritual discipline so we can become ever more intentional, One-pointed, and desiring of and practicing penetrating all layers until we reach the true goal of Yoga and Tantra - which is Liberation aka Unity Consciousness.
Snake wisdom master, and regarded apparently in scholarship circles as the greatest tantric writer-philosopher (CE 950-1025), Abinavagupta says on behalf of his lineage, “According to our View, insight is the one and only cause of spiritual liberation, because only insight antidotes ignorance, which is the one and only cause of bondage”.
(From the Tantrasara. Written by Abinavagupta. Translation by Hareesh)
What he is saying is that practices may ripen our potential but the only thing that will bring us all the way is study, reflection, Self-inquiry. This is part of the reason I think “holidays” are important. They give us that opportunity to explore the meaning of them.
So what came up for me yesterday were these three things:
The Goddess, Time (calendars), and Presence.
The Goddess will be addressed below while Time and Presence will be addressed in this link.
The Goddess is often associated with snakes. I know I did not have a chance to take us into the mysteries of Egypt much but Isis has a twin sister. They are sometimes shown as two snakes. You saw the Minoan Snake Priestess. She held two snakes, one in each hand. They were a culture that had strong (at minimum trading) relations with the Egyptians so there is probably crossover. The snakes represent energies and also the concept of duality itself. Their interweaving being that of the potential of unification. The two are in and of The One. What is meant by duality? Subject-object lensing. This is the spiritual ignorance that Abinavagupta refers to. It’s not that we consciously go around separating ourselves but that it’s an innate understanding that we are separate from the computer we type on, the Ocean we swim in, the annoying person who talks to us too much at the market. It’s subconscious because in our daily lives we don’t always “think” we are different, we “feel” we are different. It’s the consistent I-denitifcation and acceptance that we are contained within the body and mind we have subconsciously, and all our life, been told is who and what we are.
The snake wisdom unity consciousness is a non conceptual state - intuition - gnosis. “You” know because You know. The One (Self) knows itself. Mentioned earlier, i believe many of us have touched this state (the only Real State) but without a conceptual framework most people don’t know how to get back there without the drug, the dance, the whatever got them there. It’s not a place to go really because It’s the only thing that is ever present. It is the Present and it is always present and available for “our” recognition. That is (somehow - what the snake wisdom traditions say) is the True who and what we are.
So, that might feel heady but here is what i would like to offer to ground. Milk and honey! (Kidding not kidding). The concept that will be helpful to us jungle folk is this. Earth. Hang out with Her. Snake wisdom is supremely grounded. It is so sensitive to all vibrations. Go be with that version of The One. We are Her and She is not gendered although my preference is to lean to the She. She is Us. Feeling left out guys? No worries. Geb is Earth-dude in the Egyptian pantheon of non-duality. Feel Him.
The point is to tap into the expansive State that is readily available and easily accessible, Earth. It’s all around us, inescapably so. All we know is Earth, even inside. Be with Earth until you feel your consciousness shift. This should be easy for those of us who take psychedelics. Recognize in that moment we don’t need to recreate something elaborate to experience our reconnection and remembrance. It’s not that complex. That was, perhaps, a failure or abuse of the priest and priestesshoods of times past AND current. We, The One, is there, for all of us individual expressions to dissolve back into at any time.
A beautiful Ganapathi mantra that can be used as an invocation before any puja (ritual).
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