Do you recognize revelation?
“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
We're wrapping up our exploration of the Shiva Nataraja (the recording of the story-telling event is in your virtual library). And the 5 Acts of Shiva culminates with revelation.
Anugraha is the Sanskrit word used for revelation. If you look it up in a Sanskrit dictionary, anugraha translates to showing favour, kindness, rewarding. Or promoting, conferring benefits, assistance. Another way to look at it is that anugraha is help, divine aid, a guiding hand. While it’s often translated as revelation, my teachers simply said anugraha is grace.
In the Shiva Nataraja, anugraha is represented by the hand pointing to the big toe. The big toe is the guru, the weighty one, the "remover of darkness." And notice that Shiva is pointing to his own foot. Grace and the guru are not outside of himself, they are part of him. Which means that revelation, grace and guru are inside of you too.
Sometimes you miss grace or fail to recognize revelation because you expect it to be big. Like fireworks and lightning bolts. But my encounters with grace have been quiet. Revelations have come in unexpected and mundane moments.
I did a recording describing a few of my moments of revelation. listen here:
Each of these revelations changed me. Deeply, profoundly. And quickly.
It's like those moments in cartoons when a light bulb pops up over your head, but you're doing dishes (or driving). Or when a great artist, inventor or thinker says they get their best ideas in the shower.
Your practice is designed to prime and prepare you to receive and recognize these moments. The more skill you have with inner listening and witnessing, the more clearly you sense these spontaneous surges of grace.
And yes, grace can seem big. Inner listening is elusive. But this is what we practice for: Not to make magical moments arrive, but to make the most of them when they do.
If you've found yourself wanting an amorphous more from your practice, I’m developing a new program for when your soul starts stirring. It's called Inner Sanctuary. It's an online curriculum with structure and support to awaken the subtle body, develop inner listening, and evolve your practice. If you're curious, learn more here. If it speaks to you, fill out an application. I'm looking for just 3 more yogis. We being on May 2.
