Blessings and Maha Shivarati
Yesterday, I quoted a wonderful article, "Blessing Heart" by Sally Kempton , the well known and loved meditation teacher. Giving blessings is a powerful form of spiritual practice that Sally writes about - and it can lead to deep transformation and healing on many levels - for the one sending the blessings, and the one receiving them as well. In Sally's words: "When we offer blessings, we align ourselves with the force of grace that runs through the universe. We become channels for the higher power. And according to some of the mystical traditions, this is the hidden purpose of human life. The Vedic sages, whose culture is the basis of the Hindu tradition, believed that one special function of human beings is to create conscious bridges between earth and cosmos. They did this through invocations and offerings, and bracketed their practices and ceremonies with mantras we chant to this day - Lokaha samastah sukhino bhavantu - May all beings be happy... Grace is everyw...