Where there is true listening, the light of wisdom shines.
Full Moon in Śravana
This August 2023 begins with a luminous, big & auspicious full moon receiving the glow of an auspicious and nurturing sun. Let’s see what is so special about this time and the month that is to come!
August 1st, 2023 brings us a beautiful full moon in the lunar constellation [nakṣatra] known as śravana. This constellation’s name means “to listen” and is symbolized by the ear. Any time an important body of the cosmos is in śravana it is considered of upmost importance in the vedic tradition because this is first and foremost a tradition of oral transmission that prizes sacred sound above all other sensory pathways.
Sacred listening is not about gathering information, controlling youself or others, or over-analyzing. It is about sacred mastery that comes of being in harmony with nature, with others, with your purpose and with supreme teachings.
Listening is an art and discipline, that does not come easily to all. It requires both discernment & receptivity. It requires that we not use the lens of the emotional manas, the reactions & the rāga and dveṣa [likes & dislikes] to guide how we choose or interpret what the ears hear.
A deep listener is a rare being and is truly receptive to luminosity that clears away all darkness – the way that the moon is receptive to the fullness of the sun’s rays when it is full each month.
The deities connected to Śravana – Śiva, Parvati, Saraswati & Viṣnu share one thing in common – they do not tell you what you want to hear, they tell you what you need to hear. This is often what makes outsiders uncomfortable with this tradition… but to those with their heads bowed in reverence, it is the greatest blessing that demolishes the ego that obstructs you from your own divine Self, your own greatest power.
This rulership is a reminder that under the influence of Śravana we are called to do deep listening to knowledge that protects the mind and sustains us in the spiritual journey of life… it is generally interpreted as a time for scriptural study or Sanskrit recitation in particular [more on forms of deep listening below].
What are you choosing to fill your ears & heart with? Rather than listen to the replays of old hurts and scripts, or the influx of disturbing news and information that grasps at your attention, can you make the choice to listen within, to listen to wisdom, to listen to sacred sounds and teachings and to listen to the long term path that you are on as a soul?
The opportunity of this lunar cycle is deep listening to sacred sound, the body's messages, teachings and wisdom. Let the deep listening & nourishment influence your manas [mind] for good so that you can take on long term vision, not short term thinking. The the gift of this will propel you into the gifts that are to come.
Sun in Puṣyā
What makes a moon full is that it is directly across from the sun, receiving its luminosity. Puṣyā is the most auspicious of the nakṣatras. For me, one very dear to me as it places in a key position in my own horoscope, that of my mentor, and that of my guru as well. Puśyā is the nourisher, the one who feeds all through nurturance in all forms – from plants and foods, to scripture and wisdom, to establishing institutes with sacred purpose. The downfall of those ruled by Puṣya can be sacrificing one’s own well being in service to an ethos and to helping others. The gift is that this service polishes the soul while helping other souls. I am so very grateful to my puṣya ruled Guru who gave until his last breath. Puṣya connotes education, dharma, preserving and transmitting sacred lore, cooking & counseling. Puṣya calls us to dharmic study & sacred devotional practice.
Forms of Deep Listening
~ Listen to or practicing sacred mantra or scriptural recitation
~ Listen to nature for beauty, cosmic wisdom, signs & omens
~ Listen to the messages of your body
~ Listening to the oral transmission of sacred scripture
~ Listen to wise counsel
~ Listen to your true intuition from the depths of your heart
Śravana refers to the kind of listening that truly transforms you through gifting ever deepening insight & illumination. It is the kind of listening that we do when we openly receive messages from nature, from our own hearts and from the depth of meaning inside a sacred text. It is the kind of listening we do when we tend to what the body is truly trying to tell us.
A clip from the spontaneous contemplation at the end of this week’s featured Supreme Release Practice, taught under the influence of this auspicious full moon in śravana & sun in puṣya.
Centerpiece of a Sacred Month
This full moon marks the mid-point of the sacred “extra month” known as adhika māsa, which goes until August 16. This is a time to bring in simplicity, austerity, the sacred, scriptural study, humility and committed spiritual discipline.
Deep listening is a skill in yogic receptivity in which you are truly open. In this state, you are free from allowing your past hurts to obstruct you from the present gifts. This rare but attainable capacity allows you to undergo true healing, transformation, and illumination. You will hear what by what the the divine is waiting to whisper in your ear and thus become the hero of your own journey.
Love, Kaya
Listening to Scripture
Nectar of Patañjali
Starts August 5, 2023
Kaya extracts esoteric + transformational from key sūtras. This revelatory program offers the true meaning, purpose, and potential of yoga through storytelling, teaching, recitation and mind blowing revelatory transmission. This Yoga Sūtra program will touch your heart deeply and impact your practice & life directly. Kaya’s approach weaves the Yoga Sūtras with shared teachings from the Bhagavad Gitā + the Upaniṣads, making the teachings accessible, meaningful and relatable for householders who are seekers of the Self.
*Includes 4 therapeutic Supreme Release Yoga practices with Kaya centered on teachings of Patañjali Yoga Sūtras
Listening to the Cosmos
Nectar of Time
Sacred Stories, Astrological Insight & Yogic Lifestyle
Experience life organized by the sacred.
Each month of the year Kaya offers guidance based on the vedic calendar, astrology, festivals & deities of the month.
Listen to Vedic stories of the purānas, exclusive “Tea & Jyotish” vedic astrology insights to guide your attitude and choices, spiritual teachings to inspire your path, supportive yogic practices & self-care rituals from special guest stewards of the vedic tradition.