A Diwali Amavasya ritual

Hello Moonchild,

Wish you a joyful and abundant Diwali/Deepavali :)

Deepavali is associated with various deities depending on the region and tradition. The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, light over darkness.

In India, this is a busy time of celebration. It is usually a time spent with family and friends through pujas/rituals, exchanging sweets and gifts, games, bursting crackers, cleansing and decorating the house, lighting diyas and more. While all this unfolds around you, it is important to stay centred and maintain the attitude of a witness through the day. This will enable you to celebrate consciously, help you choose peace, joy and love and be mindful of how to deal with anything challenging that might play out.

Given that you might be pressed for time, what can you do as a ritual?

Here is a simple practice you can try on the day and possibly a day before and after as well to find harmony amidst the noise and deepen your enjoyment of the festival. Any time of the day is good for this short practice.

Find a space where you can be alone for 10-15 minutes. It is okay if there is noise around :) All you need is a diya or a candle.

Sit down on a chair or on the floor, light the diya and keep the flame at eye-level, arms length in front of you.

Centering

Close your eyes. Centre yourself by observing your connection with Mother Earth. Remember your Gurus and ancestors and seek their blessings. Visualize a Dark Moon in your eyebrow centre. As you inhale and exhale a few times, ask the lunar energies to flow through you and guide you.

Sound & Breath observation

Start listening to all the sounds around you. moving from one sound to the next, not dwelling too long on any one sound. Sounds that are natural, man-made and that of machines, vehicles etc. Then pay attention to your breath. Watch the inhale, exhale and the micro pauses between the breaths. Sense the silence in those pauses. Do this observation for about 6 breaths.

Trataka or flame gazing

Open your eyes and gaze softly at the flame in front of you. Gaze without blinking till you cannot keep your eyes open anymore. Then with shut eyes, maintain the image of the flame in your eyebrow centre. Keep eyes closed till the image disappears. Observe the darkness that follows. Then open your eyes and repeat. Maintain a calm slow breath throughout. Do this 3-4 times. Then rub the palms together, create warmth and place the heels of the palms on the eyes for a while.

Settling into stillness

Go back to watching your breath. Gradually, settle your awareness in the gap/space between the inhale and exhale. The breath continues, while your awareness remains in that spot, wherever it is for you in the upper torso. Sense the silence and stillness in this region. Allow yourself to rest in that silence for a few seconds.

Gratitude & Closing the ritual

Place your palm on the heart. Feel the play of breath here as you breathe in and out. Feel gratitude for the gift of this practice that you gave yourself. Feel gratitude for one more thing - a person/people, situation, something you received or anything that is relevant for you that day.

Close the ritual by offering gratitude to your Gurus, ancestors, the Moon and Mother Earth.

If you have more time, here is another theme and longer practice that you can explore. It is a meditation I recorded few years ago, but is still relevant.

We often think about light as good and darkness and fearful and bad. However, there is no light without darkness, there are no highs without the lows, and fewer awakenings and insights without the challenges. Think about embracing both the light and the dark- about recognizing and rejoicing in aspects of the light and at the same time sitting with the darkness and not getting consumed by it, rather getting comfortable with it and being grateful for the insights and learnings it blesses you with.

Light and darkness are two sides of the same coin. The moment we accept and embrace that, we start to reduce internal conflict. External conflict resolution follows naturally. This is cultivation of harmony.

Do share these practices with whoever needs it!

Have a conscious Deepavali and Dark Moon day! :)

Love & Gratitude

Sheetal