Today's sadhana was short, deep and profound for me. I found myself diving deep into my heart, opening it wide like a lotus blossom, then feeling love pour out of me, as my body rocked back and forth, and I called out to Maa. I found myself welling up with deep gratitude, sending love and support to others with my breath, and accepting love and support from others in return.

For me, sometimes accepting love and support can be more difficult than giving it - it requires a kind of surrender, allowing my heart to be open enough to really accept and appreciate and hold sweetly the love and support from my community, my family, my friends. It goes against the deeply held American cultural belief that we must be fiercely independent, doing everything ourselves, pulling ourselves up by our proverbial bootstraps.

But when I surrender to that love, I find that the walls around my heart melt away, like the spires of a sand castle at the gentle lapping of the tide. That openness can be frightening, but also empowering. In the resulting space and expansiveness, I realize that my spirit is free to soar, to explore the vast connection to Maa and everything. I am free to explore my shadows with compassion, to love and illuminate and understand the dark parts of myself. 

I invite you to share in that opening. In the quiet space of meditation, let your heart open like a lotus blossom, accept the love and support from others doing this sadhana, from the Mother Goddess, and ultimately, from deep within yourself. Embrace the opening, the acceptance of every part of you. Feel yourself safe in the Mother's warm embrace. From that place, come back to the present moment, and see how you can carry that self-acceptance with you.

I wish you well in your sadhana!

