Mahashivaratri: The Great Night of Shiva (video)

Mahashivaratri, Arunachala temple, Tiruvannamalai

This weekend welcomes the New Moon in Pisces and tonight is the great night of Shiva – lord of creation and destruction and preservation – all in one.

Shiva is not only considered an incarnate god. Shiva is Oneness, Consciousness, All that Is. It truly depends on whether one is speaking of manifestation, or the plenum. Even to speak of Shiva, is too much. You lose it straightaway in the naming. The best we can do is recite the name – Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva. I Bow to Existence.

I honor Shiva as grace on his Big Night, realizing that arises in whatever way Consciousness deems – no hopes, no expectations, Nothing. There is nothing and everything in the fullness of What Is. This evening, I’m going to soak up the sounds of a Piscean-led jazz trio in an intimate venue with my Beloved, his son, and son's girlfriend. Music is a great way to celebrate this lord of the dance, Nataraja. And jazz does a fine job of capturing the beautiful chaos of tandava, dance of creation and destruction. Shiva, Shiva, Shiva…

Shiva tandava with damaru drum, Rishikesh

THIS IS SHIVA

A few words from my satsang teachings to kick things off this weekend:

The non-dual. Consciousness. Beyond the Beyond. You are That. You must know this now. You must know that what is happening, is the Truth. This is beyond anyone's individual will, power, or comprehension. This must be understood. Any ego inclination of separation, of belief in separate intention or causality, is ultimately false, or an appearance.

How does this help right now? To know that there is nothing that can ever be done, or that will possibly happen, good or bad, positive or negative, that is not the perfect will of God, aka Cosmic Law, aka Existence. This removes any shame or guilt of what is occurring. Rest in What Is. That which you are is eternal. It is untouched by this play. Rest there. Even while taking apparent separate action, in duality. Consciousness is running the whole show - cause, outcome, all of it.

PILGRIMAGE (video)

There are no words to describe my connection to India. I’ve thought about reposting a few Mahashivatri stories from my past. I wonder if they will have any impact, or why I should repost. They hold so much shakti (energy, power) and I get emotional and start to careen internally when I reread them. I’ll suffice with an old-school video I made on one of my pilgrimages circumambulating Arunachala, holy mountain of Shiva, on Mahashivaratri.

Here you are:

Travel writer Erin Reese, author of The Adventures of Bindi Girl, takes us on a journey around the holy mountain of Shiva, Arunachala, in Tiruvannamalai, India. This 14 km pilgrimage is called "girivalam" (circumambulation) or Pradakshina (the Hindu rite of going round the object of worship).

With love and a deep bow to the Oneness

of which you are always a part of

and never not connected,

Erin

Erin Reese, M.S. is a spiritual teacher, author, and intuitive consultant based in the SF Bay Area. Visit her website at erinreese.com for more information on her intuitive readings, counseling services and non-dual wisdom.

Rest in Presence: Next Online Satsang on March 5th, 9am PT

“It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false and you are free of pain; truth makes happy, truth liberates.” 

― Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Namaste,

The next non-duality meeting (satsang) with Erin will be held Thursday, March 5th, at 9am Pacific Time via Zoom.

Upcoming NON-DUALITY Satsang 
First Thursday of the Month
Next Meeting:
March 5th, Thursday 9 a.m. PT

Click here to register.

When: 9am to 10am Pacific, Thursday March 5th

Zoom video online - link provided upon registration

Cost: $20 suggested donation (no one turned away due to lack of funds)

Chinnamasta and her consort, Shiva

“Seeing through the illusion of separation, living entirely in the Now, one dwells in unshakeable peace and ultimate Self-care.”

Erin Reese, M.S. is a spiritual teacher, author, and intuitive consultant based in the SF Bay Area. Visit her website at erinreese.com for more information on her counseling services and non-dual wisdom.

February Client Appreciation Special 💟 Take Your Pick!

Erin Reese is an author, spiritual guide, astrologer, and modern psychic reader based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with clients all over the world. For readings and spiritual counseling by Skype, phone or email, contact her directly. She can be reached at erin@erinreese.com.

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Tabula Mundi Tarot, The Empress

 

Spiritual Counseling and Mentorship with Erin

With all the love and gratitude in my heart... Thank you for being my readers and clients. I am touched. 

2020 has amazing energy. I wish to share this with you. I have openings right now for spiritual counseling clients and mentorship, if you feel called. 

I typically meet with folks every two weeks on an ongoing basis, online from anywhere in the world. This is an excellent alternative to traditional therapy and offers upliftment in ways you may not have thought possible. 

I hope to share with you my deepest support and wisdom, as well as help you to shine brightly within and without - your soul's true calling. This is my February Valentine to you, beloveds. 

Please check out my website for offerings, or to make a consultation appointment. Or, simply email me directly. Always, Erin

My writing desk. Oakland, CA

Erin Reese is a spiritual counselor, non-dual teacher, author, and intuitive consultant based in the SF Bay Area. Erin has a Master of Science in Counseling and has been reading the Tarot for over thirty years. She works with personal clients, business executives, artists, and beautiful people just like You, all over the world.

Frighten Me and Make Me Shy

"The day I no longer do anything that frightens me and makes me shy I will know I am finished as a writer."  

~ Ellen Gilchrist, Falling Through Space

Bill's Place, West Harlem Speakeasy, NYC

As I wrote in my blog to all of you at the end of 2019, I intended to veer away from astrological writing and forecasts as we moved into 2020. Why?

For a long time I have felt like I’ve been hobbling along with astro forecasting, like I’ve been trying to cram the aspects of full and new moons into what I want to really say, e.g. I would start an article with, “Today we welcome the New Moon in the fixed air sign of Aquarius, the rebellious, unpredictable Water Bearer. It is a time of embracing our inner freak, misfit, humanitarian.”

Maceo Parker, Blue Note, West Village, NYC

When what I really wanted to say was much more straightforward, not fitting it into the stars, i.e. “What happens when we open ourselves up to spontaneity, trust, and flow? 

We have a night in New York that includes a granddaddy of funk horn, Maceo Parker, in a night at the Blue Note in the West Village. Just like that, you’re meeting two new friends who are Native New Yorkers, around your same age and vibe, and are music freaks just like you. The night is made complete by catching a favorite DJ, Rich Medina, whom you know from Oakland, who happens to be spinning in the Meatpacking District. All this is topped off the next night at a true-blue speakeasy in West Harlem (Bill’s Place) at the same joint where Billie Holiday was discovered in 1933.”

Now that’s getting my juices going!

Children's Sculpture Garden, Morningside Heights, NYC

For the last few years, I would box myself in and would write a forecast instead of what I really wanted to say. As I mentioned the other day, I wanted to get back to the type of writing which is really a way of LIVING AND SEEING THE WORLD. Writing is really a way of life. And my life is my art. In fact: Life is Art.

I’m hoping that you, my beloved clients and readers, will continue to devour my words. That you’ll come along with me on the journey. That you’ll find inspiration in these musings. Because, in addition to being an intuitive consultant and spiritual counselor, I am a teacher, a truly free Aquarian, a communicator. A visionary. 

A writer.

For God’s sake, capitalize that sh*t.

A Writer.

The Gilchrist quote at the top of this piece says it all. So good, I'll repeat it:

"The day I no longer do anything that frightens me and makes me shy I will know I am finished as a writer."  

~ Ellen Gilchrist, Falling Through Space

We found the Journals of Ellen Gilchrist (Falling Into Space, 1987), American novelist, in our Upper West Side Airbnb. I only had to flip it open to a random spot to feel my heart soaring. A writer! Writing about the life of a writer! Gush, gush, swoon, swoon!

Lennon Memorial, Strawberry Fields, Central Park, NYC

Reminded me of another kindred spirit, May Sarton, who inspired me some years back with her Journal of a Solitude (1973). 

I always get a bit nervous when I read such pieces, because they make me quiver with The Fear, the possibility that bleeds into a knowing, seeing out of the corner of my psyche, that I might just very well drop out of society as I current live in it, and settle into a long summer or winter nap and write my brains out.

How to do that while keeping my pocketbook flush, my retirement going, all of that noise?

I’m pretty much trusting that all of you are going to stay with me on this journey - whether as clients, students, or inspired readers. That you won’t run and hide because you prefer to hear what the Moon is up to. That you’ll find some steam hidden in these posts, steam that will power up your own creative engine: Your Heart. And start chugging toward that latent dream of yours.

It might be starting a Tarot consultation practice (want to join my Tarot mentoring group that starts tomorrow?), or having a baby (go for it! Why wait if that’s your dream! Twasn't my destiny as I’m far too in need of solitude, but I want YOU to be a mother or father if it makes you swoon!). Or falling in love (are you online? Try OK Cupid and pay for premium service!), or publishing your book (really, no excuse these days with Amazon online publishing options – ignore the inner critic that says it must be a New York Times Bestseller. I cannot tell you how many "NY Times Bestsellers" I’ve picked up and promptly tossed aside as the writing is often horribly basic and the content is obvious. What’s the word? Pedestrian? Think about it.)

Your Life is Your Art. You are Art. Life Itself, is Art. And You are That.

Start mixing your colors, baby.

Nightclub, Meatpacking District, NYC

Erin Reese is a modern psychic, non-dual teacher, author, and intuitive consultant based in the SF Bay Area. Erin has a Master of Science in Counseling and has been reading the Tarot for over thirty years. She works with personal clients, business executives, artists, and beautiful people just like You, all over the world.

In-Person Tarot Mastery Course with Erin Reese

Starts Tomorrow! 2 slots left!

Online Tarot Mentoring Group with Erin Reese

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EVENING SECTION:

Wednesdays, 7pm to 8:30pm Pacific.
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