What happened when our child asked if the tooth fairy is real...
We had a good run. Our older child is 10 years old and has believed in any and all forms magic. He also believes very firmly in honesty no matter the risk. But this week, he asked if the magical fairies & witches they know about are “real” or if we have been lying.
This was a threshold moment.
This moment could have meant an end of innocence and a start of cynicism in a child who believes passionately in BOTH magic and truth.
We took this moment and alchemized it. What came out was a beautiful nectar – an invitation to my son to be a guardian of magic – like his parents.
And so, here’s the story, of how I handled this threshold moment, recorded in the rainy forest with some fairies…
“Now I shall tell you the most hidden of teachings, oh virtuous one. These are like magic tricks, like dreams and illusions or castles in the sky.” ~ The Vijñāna Bhairava
Years ago I read about a father including his son in the Christmas Santa tradition and saying “now you are a Santa Clause too”. I held on to this vision.
The vedic tradition is all about guardianship of magic – be it the protection of sacred wisdom or hidden practices, or even the teaching that your own true self is a hidden mystery & greatest secret. What you truly are can never be perceived by the senses. Stewards s of this tradition are guardians of magic. Students of it are lovers of magic.
Listen to my recent podcast interview on sacred guardanship right here
When we try to “prove” yoga, prāṇāyāma, āyurveda or vedic astrology we can only get so far… because these traditions specialize in what is not perceivable to the senses. We can only “test” and “prove” what is seeable… and to limit this tradition to what can be tested or proven is to limit its vastness and cut off its roots and fundamental revelatory purpose.
“This knowledge is a secret, because it can not be known as you come to know other things. And it is a secret, because even when it is told it remains a secret” – Pujya Swami Dayānanda, on the Bhagavad Gita
This happens to be a very significant threshold of magic.
A few days ago, the celestial serpent, Rahu-Ketu [the north and south nodes of the moon] moved into a position that launches an 18 year cycle. This is very significant.
The celestial serpent is ruled by themes of mystery, charm, intensity, travel, renunciation, dishonesty, manipulation, anxiety, retaliation, violence, doubt, desire and yes… magic. The nodes are in fact unseeable mathematical points that create an incredible phenomenon that hide the luminaries – eclipses.
Get a deep dive on what this shift means for upcoming month & year in the Nectar of Time. Join here
This month of November marks a very big shift that will set the stage for the next 18 months and then 18 years to come.
Remember the crystal I mentioned in the story with my son above?
Well the crystal was one that I bought in India almost exactly 18 years ago… it has been hidden in a pouch and traveled through many moves with us… my husband Michael just found it in the closet a few days ago and put it on my desk. And there it was, ready to pass on, in a meaningful moment of transition with my son.
“Yoga, Vedic Astrology and Āyurveda are not science, they are science, art & magic” – Hart deFouw
Standing in front of a safely guarded threshold of magic 18 years ago.
Yogic practices and vedic wisdom such as jyotisha [astrology] offer doorways into the realms of magic.
I cannot imagine my own life or work without this “practical magic”… it is truly divine. If ever there was a time to use the magic that is born of this tradition to quell pain in the world and in ourselves and extract blessing… well this is certainly a time.
Even whilst you witness and try to make a difference amidst the trauma & pains of the world, make effort not to lose your child-like innocence. Do not become a cynic. You can hold both poison & magic. May we each have the ability to churn the ocean of life and extract what is good, to deepen the journey and hold even MORE magic so that you can contribute to the world with exactly the magic you are meant to share.
Love,
Kaya
This month I’m sharing so much magic to support you on a threshold of transition. Here are your invitations for what is happening in November
In the Nectar of Time we will have a deep dive into the meaning of this 18 year shift, and how to navigate the threshold month with grace. We will have the story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk in which two “sides” work together and out of which both poison & nectar are released. We will make ghee together and celebrate the festival of lights and learn the deeper hidden meaning of Diwali.
In the SRY Studio, called by the recent full moon in the sign of healing and prāṇa, we’re dedicating a full month to Ujjayi Prāṇāyama – the breath of victory. This subtle, slow, gentle but powerful breath will transform your health, your sleep, your immune system and your mind. It dissolves physical pain and makes you more alive. In “Precious Prāṇa” we will move through the levels of ujjayi that invoke sacred sound, the spine and subtle mantra. You’ll be invited into a 40 day sankalpa of practice too!
Weekly Sacred Stories, Astrological Insight & Yogic Lifestyle.
Your life inspired by & attuned to the sacred.
Each month of the year Kaya offers guidance based on the vedic calendar, astrology, festivals & deities of the month.
Get Vedic stories with deeper meanings revealed, exclusive monthly vedic astrology sharings to guide you, spiritual teachings to support your path, supportive yogic practices & ayurvedic self-care rituals.
Weekly practice of Supreme Release Yoga with Kaya
November Theme ~ Precious Prāṇa
Unlock the simple, subtle, supreme nectar that is the prāṇa carried on the wings of the breath.
Increase your life force gently with soothing, therapeutic and enlivening effects. In this series, you’ll directly experience the influence of increasing prāṇa on your spine, body, mind… and hopefully your life. Each week prepares you for the next, as Kaya will unfold deepening stages of a profound approach to Ujjai Prāṇāyāma. Learn to invoke the power of sound, awareness, expansion and the subtle spine. Āsanas carefully and lovingly selected will deepen the journey with the breath, plus you’ll be supported in a regular home practice along the way. If you have ever wanted to cultivate {or reconnect to} a regular prāṇāyāma practice.