Har Har Mahadev!
Hey,
I'm Coach Dish.
Welcome to the art of deep restoration.
Today's teaching comes from an old,
Beautiful legend.
It is said the moon,
Cursed to fade away,
Sought refuge in Shiva.
Its light was dying,
And with it the world's coolness and peace.
Shiva,
In boundless compassion,
Did not remove the curse.
He placed the weakening moon on his own forehead.
Against his knotted hair,
The moon's decay stopped.
It found a permanent home.
Its gentle light now cooling the immense fire of Shiva's own meditation.
This is the teaching.
Our own energy can become a furious,
Exhausting fire.
Our minds can feel like they are wasting away under pressure.
Chandrasekhara shows us the way.
We don't fight the exhaustion.
We don't deny the fire.
We bring the cooling,
Soothing quality of awareness,
The Soma,
The Nectar,
Directly to it.
We offer our tired minds refuge in the infinite space of our own consciousness.
In that refuge,
Exhaustion finds a rhythm.
Burnout transforms into a sacred balance.
Modern humans,
Especially high performers,
Have a problem.
We run hot.
We push the needle to the red line,
Day after day,
Relying on caffeine and adrenaline to keep the car moving.
And then we get home,
Lie in bed,
And wonder why we can't sleep.
We feel wired,
But tired.
The body is exhausted,
But the minds are still buzzing.
That's because your cooling system is broken.
You can't drive a car at 100 mph forever without blowing a gasket.
So today,
We pull over,
We pop the hood,
And we pour some coolant into the system.
Today is about deep,
Radical rest.
So,
Let's begin.
Get comfortable.
Ideally,
You want to do this practice lying down.
Get any props that you need,
Such as a pillow under your head,
Or a blanket to cover yourself with.
Gently close your eyes.
First,
Let's scan for the heat.
Next,
Bring your attention to your hands and feet.
Do they feel restless?
Buzzing with unused energy?
Now,
Bring attention to your mind.
Does it feel like a screen still glowing after it's been turned off?
That's the residual fire of doing.
Don't judge it,
Just notice it.
Awareness is already beginning the cooling.
Now,
The legend becomes practice.
Just as Shiva held the moon,
We now invite its cooling presence.
Imagine above the crown of your head a crescent moon,
A half moon.
It's made of cool,
Silver light.
Visualize that this moon begins to drip a silver liquid,
Liquid moonlight.
Feel the lunar nectar begin to drip gently onto the crown of your head.
As it touches you,
It isn't wet.
It's a sensation of cool,
Soothing weight.
Feel this lunar nectar begin to drip slowly and gently onto the very top of your head.
A single drop of liquid moonlight.
Feel it spreading across your scalp,
A cool,
Soothing weight.
Every muscle,
Every strand of hair,
Releasing any tension from thinking,
From holding.
Now,
Feel it flowing down to your forehead,
Across the space between your eyebrows,
Washing over your third eye.
Pulling any mental effort,
Any strain of seeing or understanding.
Just soothing,
Feeling heavy and relaxed.
Let it flow down to your eyes,
Behind your closed eyelids.
Pulling all the tiny muscles that squint and focus.
Softening your gaze inward.
Your eyes are bathed in restful,
Silver light.
Feeling heavy and relaxed.
The liquid now moves down to your jaw.
A place where you hold words,
Reactions,
Silence.
Feel the lunar nectar pool here,
Melting the tightness.
Allow your mouth to soften.
Your teeth to part.
Your whole face to relax into a gentle,
Neutral expression.
Feel it dripping down your throat,
That sacred channel where Shiva held the poison.
Now,
It is bathed in the cooling nectar.
Any tightness,
Any lump,
Any unspoken word is calmed and washed clean.
Your throat feels open,
Clear and calm.
Now,
Let this cool,
Silver light flow into your shoulders.
Those carriers of the world's weight.
Feel the nectar seeping into the joints,
The muscles.
Dropping the heavy bags you've been carrying.
Your shoulders are not earrings anymore.
They are simply a part of you.
A deep rest.
Feel it flowing down your arms,
To your elbows,
Your wrists,
Into your palms.
And each finger.
A cooling stream,
Washing away restlessness.
The urge to do,
To hold,
To grasp.
Your hands are heavy,
Open and still.
Now,
Bring your awareness to your chest,
Your heart centre.
Feel the nectar merging here,
In this space,
This compartment of feeling.
It surrounds your heart with a cool,
Gentle,
Protective light.
Soothing any heat of emotion.
Your heartbeat is slow,
Steady and nourished.
And the whole chest feels heavy and relaxed.
Now,
Visualise the silver nectar as it flows down to your core,
Your belly.
Releasing any held breath,
Any clenched effort in your gut.
Soothing the inner fire of digestion,
Of metabolism,
Of anxiety.
Your belly is soft,
Supported,
Heavy and deeply calm.
Now,
Feel the nectar reaching your lower back,
The foundation of your posture.
Releasing any arch,
Any strain.
Your lower back feels supported,
Heavy and cool.
You are held.
Now,
Let this river of rest flow into your hips and pelvis.
Releasing any stored tension,
Any rigid holding.
A deep,
Cooling relaxation spreads through your joints and bones.
Feel it flowing down to your thighs,
Heavy and warm from the day's movement.
Muscles lengthening,
Softening.
All urgency to move,
To go is washed away.
Feeling heavy and relaxed.
The nectar now moves down into your knees and your calves,
Like a gentle waterfall of rest.
Rinsing away all standing,
All walking,
All effort.
Your legs are completely weightless,
Supported and at ease.
Finally,
Feel this lunar nectar reaching your ankles,
Your feet and each toe.
The very foundation of your body.
Cooling the soles,
Softening the arches.
Releasing the tiny muscles that balance your entire being.
Your feet are not carrying you anywhere.
They're simply resting,
Based in light.
Feeling heavy and relaxed.
From the crown of your head to the tips of your toes,
Your entire body is now immersed in this soothing silver nectar.
You are being washed.
You are being cooled.
You are receiving refuge in your own awareness.
There is nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to fix.
Simply be here,
Held in this deep lunar rest.
Now,
Gently expand your awareness from this deeply rested body to the space around it.
Feel the cool,
Silent,
Nourishing presence that now fills you.
To complete,
We seal this reset.
Very slowly,
Begin to deepen your breath.
Feel the cool nectar integrating into every cell.
And as you breathe out,
Feeling your entire body restored and refreshed.
As we gently come to an end,
Notice how your body feels now.
Gently place one hand on your heart and one on your belly and set your intention.
Like the moon,
I find refuge in awareness.
I allow deep rest.
May my rest be an inspiration to myself and to all beings everywhere.
In your own time,
When you are ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Welcome back.
You have practiced the compassion of Chandrasekhara towards yourself.
Tomorrow,
We meet Mahakala,
The great time.
We will learn the art of true surrender,
Letting go of what we cannot control.
Carry this lunar coolness with you.
When you feel wired,
Remember the moon and remember the refuge.
Om Namah Shivaya.
