Almost five years later, I’m standing in the same spot, taking the same picture.
Everything here is still the same; the past frozen in the eternal present.
But life has changed many times. I have changed.
Did I change?
Isn’t there a part of me, just like these stones, that remains unchanged by anything external or internal? A constant in an otherwise infinite fluctuation of moments and experiences?
My very own states of being, emotions, actions, reactions, thoughts… they all change all the time.
But it’s still “Me” standing here observing… Still here, in the same spot, in a moment lost in time.
Nataraja or Shiva as Lord of the Dance is a very popular representation of Shiva in Hinduism. Personally, my favourite representation of life between all the symbols I’ve ever encountered.
Shiva appears mainly in two forms, two different dances; Lasya and Tandava. Lasya is the gentle form associated with the creation of the Universe, while the Tandava is the violent dance associated with its destruction. In reality, both are two aspects of Shiva’s nature, and also of the Universe. Nothing is ever complete or balanced without the existence of its opposite.
The symbolism of the Tandava, can be interpreted in many ways. It may show Shiva as the moving force of the universe and his five acts of creation, preservation, destruction, embodiment and release (of illusions).
The images are dynamic, Shiva dances in a ring of flames, the fire of existence; the hair in thin layers depicting the eternal movement and changes of life.In the image, Shiva is caught in the middle of the dance with one foot on the figure below (Apasmara or Mulayaka, the demon/dwarf) and one foot in the air. It is said that the figure is the embodiment of ignorance, the destruction of which is a pre-requisite to true wisdom and freedom.
Each of the objects he holds, or that are represented have their own meaning and might vary form image to image depending on the text used or interpretation.
Nataraja commonly appears holding Agni (fire) in his left hand; the front hand in dandahasta mudra (mudras are specific positions or gesture of the hands and body); the front right hand is in abhaya mudra (fear-not mudra) with a snake wrapped around it (a snake, again, as the representation of death and rebirth) while pointing to a Sutra text; and the back hand holding a musical instrument, usually a damaru (little drum) that with it’s rhythm reminds us of the incessant passing of time.
What remains constant is Nataraja as a representation of the creation and destruction that occurs in life, in the universe; where one cannot exist without the other. Polarities within ourselves that keep the pendulum swaying, that keep reality in motion. Birth, death, rebirth. The eternal cycle.
Nataraja reminds me about balance, about flowing with an open heart and mind, always keeping illusion, darkness and shadows as close to me as I want the light to shine on them.
This symbol gives me a sense of peace and stillness in the middle of chaos and movement, the wild dance of life.
It is my personal reminder that my real yearning and only purpose in this life and all others is true wisdom, the knowledge of the Self.
Art: A statue of Shiva engaging in the Nataraja dance at CERN (the European Center for Research in Particle Physics), Geneva, Switzerland. I think particle physics and Shiva Nataraja have a lot in common. 💜
Naturaleza muerta con paleta, vela y cabeza de Minotauro por Pablo Picasso
Mañana cruzamos el umbral de la Luna Llena, esta vez en Tauro. Es una luna terrenal, su energía es estable, nos trae a lo que podemos tocar, oler, sentir. Una luna corpórea, física, que trae de nuevo nuestra atención a los pequeños detalles de nuestras vidas cotidianas.
Este ciclo comenzó con la Luna Nueva en Libra el día 19 de Octubre. Ambas Lunas están regidas por Venus, ya que es el planeta que rige los signos de Libra y Tauro. Venus trae la atención a nuestras relaciones, nuestros valores, nuestra capacidad de amarnos y aceptarnos a nosotros mismos, nuestra autoestima.
También siguen vigentes los temas de la luna nueva sobre colaboración, armonía, compromiso y equilibrio. Sobre todo en aquellos aspectos más prácticos y al alcance de nuestros pequeños actos.
Si te sientes perdido, es un buen momento para crear pequeños rituales o pequeñas acciones que nos anclen a la realidad. Moverse, hacer ejercicio, cualquier práctica que nos traiga al momento presente y refuerce el sentimiento de tener los pies sobre la tierra, y raíces firmes que nos ayuden a crecer. Una buena comida en buena compañía, automasaje, yoga, danza, meditación, o simplemente escuchar una canción que nos guste y dejarnos llevar por su ritmo, ordenar nuestros armarios para ordenar nuestros pensamientos, escribir listas de agradecimiento o perdones. Cualquier cosa que nos ayude a traer la presencia de nuevo a nuestras vidas.
La luna en Tauro quiere que todo sea como siempre, que nada cambie. Quiere seguridad, estabilidad, sentirse arropado. Pero el Sol sigue en Escorpio, recordándonos que todo aquello que es completo lo es desde la aceptación de la dualidad y del cambio. La única constante es el cambio, y no podemos escapar de esta verdad por muy testarudos que seamos, uno de los extremos de Tauro.
A Tauro le encanta saber qué está pasando exactamente, sentirse seguro ante cualquier imprevisto que pudiera crear ansiedad, tener un plan B, C y D también. Tenemos que trabajar por tanto nuestra autoconfianza. Tenemos que centrarnos en ser fuertes y estables, enraizados en nuestro centro, porque la vida no la podemos controlar, pero sí cómo reaccionamos ante ella. Debemos pensar, por tanto, en las soluciones más prácticas primero. Empezando por lo que sí podemos controlar, que es nuestra perspectiva ante aquello que acontece.
Ceres, la Gran Madre, forma una cuadratura con la oposición Sol y Luna, trayendo a este ciclo los temas y dinámicas familiares, el sentirse seguro y protegido, pero también la conexión con la Madre Tierra y con los temas medioambientales. No sólo nutrirnos a nosotros mismos, sino a nuestro planeta, cuidarlo, amarlo, como deberíamos amarnos a nosotros mismos. Hay que cuidar el cuerpo, no sólo la mente y el espíritu. También nos va a ayudar a ver algunos aspectos con más claridad; ¿Dónde estamos atascados? ¿A qué nos aferramos por seguridad o miedo al cambio? ¿Qué parte del pasado nos mantiene aún atados sin poder avanzar? ¿Porqué tenemos miedo a dejar atrás lo que ya no nos sirve para nuestro crecimiento?
El mensaje de esta Luna Llena en Tauro es volver a traer la energía a nuestras vidas a través de nuestras pequeñas acciones. Encontrar un equilibrio entre nuestros sentimientos, emociones, y lo que de verdad podemos hacer prácticamente en la vida.
Esta Luna Llena nos pregunta ¿en qué aspectos he estado procrastinando, o en cuáles he sido exagerado con mis acciones o energía? ¿He estado obsesionado con aspectos o símbolos de poder externo, ya sea estatus, dinero, o miedo al fracaso? ¿He sido posesivo, celoso, o demasiado testarudo o cabezota? ¿Me he dejado llevar por mis emociones al elegir el tipo de comida que consumo? ¿He usado la comida para paliar algún sentimiento de vacío emocional? ¿He recurrido a la comida o cualquier otra cosa como ayuda externa a un problema interno? ¿He hecho suficiente ejercicio? ¿He movido mi cuerpo para eliminar tensiones?
Como todas las Lunas Llenas, es un buen momento para hacer una lista de todas aquellas cosas que queramos dejar atrás, ya sea porque queramos perdonar, o porque queramos avanzar sin tener el peso del pasado sobre nuestros hombros. Y hacer otra lista de agradecimiento por todo lo que ya tenemos, todo lo que ya hemos aprendido y que nos ayuda a enraizarnos para poder seguir nutriéndonos y avanzando con creatividad hacia un futuro más estable, más práctico, más real y en concordancia con uno mismo.
Usemos la energía de esta Luna Llena en Tauro para anclarnos en el momento presente, en aquello que sí podemos observar y sentir, en aquello que esta aquí y ahora, porque en eso se basa la vida al fin y al cabo, en pequeños momentos y detalles que se acumulan en un cambio constante y eterno. Y nosotros, en el centro, lo observamos, experimentamos y vivimos todo.
Snakes represent in many myths, religions and stories, death, rebirth and transformation, due to the casting of its skin. It is continually renewed, shifting a layer of its physical self in order to adapt.
The Ouroboros, the snake or dragon eating its own tail, is one of the oldest ancient symbols. It represents many things, all of which are based in the idea of the cyclical and eternal return. Something re-creating itself over and over again.
In Egypt it represents the world’s periodic renewal and the cyclical nature of the year, along with other myths involving Ra and Osiris.
For ancient antiquity and Greece it is the representation of the perfection of the cosmos and it’s eternal return. All the individual parts of the whole that participate in the creation of existence.
In Gnosticism it represents eternity and the soul of the world. The same as in alchemy, it symbolises too the duality of reality. The Western symbol for the Eastern Yin-Yang. The polarity that keeps chaos balanced.
In Indian thought it has been linked to the Kundalini, the primal energy manifesting from the bottom of our spines up to our crown.
It is birth, death and rebirth. The Whole. The All is One. The Eternal. The Cyclical nature of existence. The beginning, middle and end.
There are so many interpretations, so many stories yet to be told, from many different traditions. This tells us we are all connected at least in one point; in the search for meaning.
The unknown has always been a source of inspiration. Knowledge is the ultimate step towards Wisdom.
For me, it is one of my favourite symbols along with the spiral. I have always felt an intrinsic connection to the ephemeral nature of reality, but also, to the sense that everything repeats itself in different layers.
The lessons we need to learn are always playing themselves like a dramatisation of our lives ready to be observed and understood from different angles and levels.
We always come back to the centre even after playing a while in the limits and seeing the abyss from within. The road home is the road to oneself. The external experiences can only be understood from one’s own perspective. No matter what we do, we will always come back to ourselves. We are the beginning and the end. The snake eating its own tail.
Art: Ouroboros from the Codex Parisinus Graecus 2327, copied by Theodoros Pelecanos in 1478, from an alchemical tract attributed to Synesius. Now in the Bibliothèque National de France.
As a curiosity, this image appears in the movie based on Umberto Eco’s book ‘The Name of the Rose’ that is set in 1327. So it might be an anachronism, as the copy that we have is the one mentioned above from 1478, or it might indicate the existence of an older copy somewhere. 😍
Japanese Dragons, like most Asian dragons, symbolise water deities and are associated to rainfall and bodies of water.
Chinese dragons, Nagas of India and of Southeastern Asia, etc. There are innumerable examples of stories and legends that intertwine Chinese, Japanese and Indian mythologies.
One thing is common though, the connection to the water element is always present.
Water symbolise emotions too. Dragons may symbolise the flow of our deepest longings and desires. They might represent parts of us that we might want to keep secret because of fear of being rejected.
Dragons are also associated with Fire. Dragons can be dangerous creatures, they produce fear, respect. They will act instinctively and intuitively, and they might burn everything down before they stop to analyse what has disappeared.
I believe there is a dragon inside all of us. I also believe we can learn a lot from them if we listen closely. But if we lock them up and try to stop their true nature from advancing in their own cycles and paths, they will make themselves noticed through Water (emotions), or Fire (rage, anger or instinctual destruction).
Balance of elements. Water. Fire. Air. Earth. Ether. That is the only secret. Giving space for all of them to coexist.
Journey To The Self - Viaje Hacia El Ser 