Perceived as the Void, as the dissolved form of consciences, when all beings are dissolved in sleep in the in the Supreme Brahman, having swallowed the entire Universe, the seer-poets call her the most glorious and the eldest, Dhumavati, Crone Goddess of Disappointment and Letting Go. She exists in the form of sleep, lack of memory, illusion, and dullness in the creatures immersed in the illusion of the world, but among yogis she becomes the power that destroys all thoughts, indeed (she is) Samadhi itself.
Dhumavati is one of the group of 10 Goddesses known as the Mahavidyas, or Great Wisdoms. They are Goddesses who incarnate different stages on the path of Self-Realization, or states of unfolding consciousness. In the Tantric tradition of the Mahavidyas, Dhumavati represents the void stage which we all must go through on the path of higher awareness. In any creative or growth process, there is a difficult but necessary stage of void. All our efforts have been fruitless. We know there is further to go but we don't know how to get there.
At such a moment, the only way through is to let go of expectation, hope, and our desire for comfort, money, recognition, or eve spiritual experience. These are the times in life when we come face to face with our inability to control outcomes, when our skills seem to have deserted us. We find ourselves in a state of emptiness and vulnerability, broken open by disappointment or loss or by our own failure to live up to our expectations of ourselves.
In failure, Dhumavati is our guide. She takes us down into the cave if the soul, and when we follow her, she shows us the spring that bubbles up out of the empty places in the heart. Dhumavati is one of those Shaktis who looks fierce but us actually tender hearted. She's supposed to give her devotees whatever they desire - when we look lovingly into the face of disappointment, we tap into her love and power.
Come, join me in honoring the recently passed Winter Solstice and the upcoming New Moon in Capricorn with this restorative and gentle yoga therapy practice themed on the Goddess Dhumavati; which includes a live music offering by the talented vocalist & harpist Mariah McCammond, journaling, aromatherapy, and yoga nidra to help you in your own releasing process during this auspicious time of year, when it is both End and Beginning.
featuring Live Music by Mariah McCammond
MoonDay, 12/26/16, 7-8:30pm
148 S 4th Avenue - Tucson Yoga Studio
