After the second round of The Awakening Heart Intensive with Sianna Sherman, I am still absorbing, marinating, deciphering, and decompressing from the experience. I will write on that, soon, but wanted to post my notes from the talk with Portland’s own, Shambhavi Sarasvati, who gave a talk to the group during the first part of the Intensive back in April. Shambhavi is the the spiritual director of Jaya Kula, and has written several books on Tantra in the Kashmir Shaivism tradition. When describing Tantra she says she is almost tired of the word, but not the practice… “Tantra is a way to find out who you really are and to live in the fullness of Reality. This is Self-realization. Nothing more or less.”
These are just some of the notes I jotted down, but this woman is full of wisdom and has a light hearted, fun and funny way of communicating and conveying knowledge of a spiritual nature. I would recommend checking out some of her books, going to one of her teachings or attending one of the satsang group gatherings at Jaya Kula.
Sadhana – Directly to the Goal
Self Knowledge – Waking Up
Know your divine self, entire reality is you
Recognition is key – Real experience, tangible
Not an abstract idea, not unsure, not “airy-fairy”
Transmission through a teacher in Kashmir Shaivism
The teacher is a mirror of you
Enlightened self reveals itself through the Self
Through every breath
Practice everywhere(on & off the mat)
In relationships, in the world, with others, by yourself
Resting in your own nature
Unwinding patterns – not just patching, but completely dissolving that they existed
A real yogi uses anything & everything to help them wake up
Sadhana never stops
Livingness – That – Consciousness
Spiritual Practice – How we live & act
The world is the body of Shakti
Experience is the life of God
“Peace is not in the Himalayas & the noise is not in the city.”
“The Father is in the Mother”
God is in the creation
Every day is embraced
Guru Yoga – Think of teacher – Being in the state of the teacher
Create new patterns
Avoid the fun of complaining, being critical, etc…fixations…