Day 17: 🕯️ Candle Gazing & Turmeric for Clarity and Healing ✨

🍠 Nutrition: Nourishing soup with warming spices

🌕 Ayurveda Element: Candle gazing (Trataka) for focus & clarity

✍️ Reflection: How does my mind react to stillness?

💛 Dear Gentle Seekers,

Here we are at Day 17 of "The Challenge"! How was your full moon experience?✨🌿

🌿 "I embrace stillness with trust and clarity. My inner light guides me toward wisdom, healing, and peace." Swami Rama dell'Himalaya✨

💜 🌕Let this affirmation anchor you as you move through today's practices.

Feel free to repeat it silently or aloud,

letting its energy settle within you. 💜🌕

tell me.....

🌙 Before Meditation: How does the moon’s presence make you feel?

🌕 During Meditation: If the moon could speak, what wisdom would it share with you tonight?

✨ After Meditation: How can you carry this lunar energy into your daily life?

🌿 The Inner Prayer & Path of Samaya Tantra

Today, we’re going to talk about an inner magic that reflects the beauty of glow.

Have you noticed how, during motherhood, there is a glow in every expecting mother? The glow on her face, the glow around her being.

Where does that glow come from? The same life-giving energy exists within us and all around us. We just stop seeing it, stop connecting to it.

So, how do we begin?

Like our great masters say: “Start from the gross to then go to the subtle.”

This means we begin with the body’s vibration and move towards the subtler and subtlest states. And here’s a secret: you only need to start. Everything else will be revealed in time, flowing naturally. You’ll know what to do when the time comes.

Swami Ji gave us three main points to work on:

• How to sit

• How to breathe (1:2 ratio)

• How to think (Offer your thoughts to the Guru Chakra; the Gyana Agni will dissolve them)

Watch this insightful video to dive deeper.

Faith is the key. To glow in the journey of knowing oneself, we need Faith!

Think about those low points in life, when no one can truly help, not even your closest loved ones. What do you do? You pray. You call upon your God or Goddess, in whatever form.

The essential thing is intention—the honest feeling growing inside.

Trust: a word that carries the entire essence of faith.

Swami Rama teaches that your internal prayer is yours alone. It transcends language, like the unspoken connection between a newborn and its mother. It’s an acknowledgment that we are part of something larger, beyond our understanding: Energy, Goddess, Shakti, or simply a guiding force.

✨ A Personal Prayer for Inner Light ✨

"Dear Lord,

I thank you for being with me at every step. Now, I know you are the light within me. Guide me through life and its experiences with joy and wisdom. Burn away all unnecessary thoughts, help me transcend anger, and be love. Lead me forward and remind me always that I am part of a whole that radiates love; like a golden string of music carrying me toward beauty and beyond."

🍜 Nourishing Soup to Honor the Lunar Cycle

The full moon’s glow has waned, but its energy lingers. Let’s nourish the body, mind, and spirit with simple yet profound rituals.

Golden Healing Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 large carrot, chopped

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk

• Juice of 1 lime

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Fresh cilantro and chili flakes for garnish

Instructions:

1. Sauté: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Stir in garlic, ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon. Cook for another minute until fragrant.

2. Add the vegetables: Toss in chopped carrot and sweet potato, stirring well to coat them in the spice mixture.

3. Simmer: Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes until vegetables are tender.

4. Blend: Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. If using a regular blender, let the soup cool slightly before blending in batches.

5. Finish: Stir in coconut milk and lime juice. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Serve: Garnish with fresh cilantro and chili flakes. Enjoy warm!

🔮 Ayurveda Element: Trataka (Candle Gazing)

Trataka

Trataka is a powerful yogic practice that involves focused gazing at a single point, often a candle flame. It is one of the six purification techniques in Hatha Yoga, designed to cleanse the mind and enhance concentration.

Benefits of Trataka:

• Sharpens focus & memory

• Calms the nervous system

• Strengthens intuition

• Supports eye health

• Deepens spiritual awareness

Trataka in Srividya

Srividya is a sacred tantric tradition that focuses on spiritual awakening through mantra, yantra, and meditation. Gazing at a Sri Yantra or a sacred flame is believed to activate the third eye chakra, leading to heightened awareness and clarity.

✍️ Reflection: The Stillness Within

Stillness invites the mind to unfold in unexpected ways.

Observe without judgment:

• How does your mind react to the pause?

• Does it resist stillness or revel in its quiet presence?

• As you sip your golden soup, does its warmth bring a sense of grounding and healing?

• When gazing into the candle flame, do distractions dissolve, or do they cling to your thoughts?

This moment is yours to explore. Let the golden glow, the steady flame, and the ancient wisdom guide you inward.

Share your thought on your inner journey. What did you find most useful up to now? Chat with me below.