Shakti Sutriasa
An Invitation from the Darkness

Have you noticed that certain times of year evoke different feelings or orientations?

What does December ask of you?

For me, it’s about LIGHT, about opening to it and receiving it.

How do you define light?

Perhaps you think about it as: inspiration, healing, divinity, truth, love- or something else. 

Whatever your definition of light, the dark days of December seem to call for a kindling of that spark, a nourishing of our inner light.

How about A practice to help you connect more deeply to that light?  

Here’s a simple one: How would you complete this sentence? 

An Invitation from the Darkness
Shakti Sutriasa
Death of Normal: Embarking on a Hero Journey

Last week I began an online class focused on the arc known as the Hero’s Journey. If you’re at all familiar with the mythologist, Joseph Campbell and his work, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!

Essentially, the idea is that we are all the hero of our own story, and within our lifetimes are invited, encouraged, urged, and sometimes dragged onto a journey of self-transformation.

It all begins with the death of normal.

Death of Normal: Embarking on a Hero Journey
Shakti Sutriasa
3 Practices to Help You Live Life Your Way

Have you ever thought about the unique track of your life and your experiences as being tailor made just for you?

It’s kind of a radical idea, one I learned from the Manual for Teachers, which is part of A Course In Miracles (ACIM).

In it, it says that in our journey to God, we have,

“[A] curriculum [that] is highly individualized, and all aspects [of it] are under the Holy Spirit's particular care and guidance.”

When I first read this, I smiled.

3 Practices to Help You Live Life Your Way
Shakti Sutriasa
How to Move Through the Veils

According to Celtic tradition, we’re about to get to the time of year when the veils between worlds is purportedly thinnest.

The actual date is from sundown on October 31st to sundown on November 1st which coincides with Halloween and the Day of the Dead.

Supposedly, this 24-hour period is a powerful time:

  • for divination (since the veils are more porous)

  • for reflection on the balance of life and death

  • for connecting between the physical and spiritual worlds

  • for honoring and remembering loved ones who have passed on

How to Move Through the Veils
Shakti Sutriasa
How to Discern Between Love & Like

I'm sure you’re aware of the difference between liking someone and loving them. But would you indulge me for a minute?

Call to mind a friend or colleague. Someone you genuinely like who perhaps is reliable, trustworthy…Now think about someone you love. A family member or close confidante.

Can you feel the difference?

Yes!

Unfortunately, sometimes the lines between love and like get blurred, especially with members of our family.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about.

When I was in my early 20s, I moved across the country to live near my sister. Growing up, our relationship was complicated. Sometimes we got along wonderfully, other times, not so much.

How to Discern Between Love & Like

shamanic journey

The Buzz in My Root Chakra

The Buzz in My Root Chakra

Since last December, I’ve been doing a curious exploration.

It started over the winter holidays when one day I had this acute sensation that I was going to be “replaced.” At first I didn’t even have words for the intense anxiety and fear I was in.

It wasn’t until my husband asked me what was going on, that the words popped out of my mouth. “I’m afraid that I’m going to be replaced.”

You can imagine the look of astonishment on his face.

It’s illogical.

In my desire to understand the root of this fear, I ended up tracing it back to infancy.

This makes perfect sense because when I was just about to turn one, my younger sister was born. And to my infantile reptilian brain, that meant I was getting replaced!

A Journey to Release Shame

A Journey to Release Shame

The forces that are churning right now – be they planetary, societal, energetic – are clearly telling us that it is time to change.

On a personal level, the invitation is to shed old stories or beliefs we’ve held about ourselves. For we know when we change ourselves, the world changes.

Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to bring an unconscious story/belief into my awareness. It came tumbling into the moment when I unexpectedly blurted out a most surprising phrase!

At the time, I had a house full of family mostly trapped indoors because of inclement weather. One morning, a minor incident occurred, only I experienced it as an overstep of my personal boundaries.