It's Goddess Monday for this gynecologist, and today I'm working with Lakshmi, one of the forms of the mother goddess in Hindu mythology. She is the goddess of fortune and wealth and is often called, "Sri," which translates from Sanskrit as elegance, sacredness, radiant power and prosperity. I think of her as manifesting soul prosperity, and helping me to align with my inner divine contentment regardless of my externals.
We all have the innate capacity to connect to our Sri or inner Lakshmi -- it is our birthright. According to UC Berkeley Sanskrit scholar Christopher Wallis, Lakshmi teaches us that the "inner state of feeling that you have enough creates the experience of prosperity in your outer life, not the other way around. No matter how much time, money and love you have, you will always feel as though it's not enough until you can evoke and honor the Sri within you."
Lakshmi is depicted with four arms: usually with two hands holding a lotus, one hand pouring forth gold coins, and the fourth poised in a gesture of blessing. The lotus is a symbol of purity and fertility as it grows with great beauty from mud.
What does Lakshmi represent hormonally to me? Intuition, which I believe is a form of inner divine guidance. Lakshmi is in a place of clear knowing that her intuition is sacred and pure, and that stems in part from her hormonal balance - internal manifestation of the right amount of cortisol, the right amount of thyroid hormone, estrogen and progesterone in balance - in sum, balanced and poised for action from a place of deep contentment.
For more reading, check out Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen's famous book (mostly on Greek Goddess archetypes).
Goddesses in Every Woman: New Psychology of Women
No comments:
Post a Comment