Taming the Shakti
Jenny Buergermeister © 2009

Ladies, as if we don’t already know how amazing we are – juggling chores, parenting, meal-planning, and managing careers – did you know that ancient Hindu philosophy claims our female essence created the entire universe? No wonder we often feel tired as if there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. Inevitably, you are Shakti.

Shakti is a Sanskrit word meaning “sacred force” or “empowerment.” It is often referred to as The Divine Feminine, responsible for creation and change. If you want to change something, put a woman in charge.

Shakti Loves Shiva

We experience Shakti as the pulsating, vibrating, and throbbing power of manifestation in the material world. Shakti is the feminine attribute to the balance of being (shakti) from no-thing (shiva). She is the ultimate creative force of the universe. As women realize this power, we move away from limitation and move toward the awakening of a higher consciousness. As human beings expressing this latent energy, often released in large spurts of creativity, we often experience depletion and exhaustion. Essentially, we’ve become low on Shiva, or male counterbalance energy, necessary for healthy balance.

We can have a lot of energy inside us flowing as Shakti and yet feel physically exhausted. When we channel Shakti as an open conduit, it can be a challenge to maintain the physical body’s energy – creativity sometimes will not let us rest. Since Shakti is also the force that liberates us from individual limitation and takes us to higher levels of awareness, we need to learn to skillfully manage it physically. At higher levels of awareness we see truth and objective reason through subjective feeling of our higher Selves as well as through our micro-Cell-ves. Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies unite through Shakti.

Psychic Grief

Immediately after my husband passed in 2001, I lost 30 pounds. I was unable to sleep or eat. In the process, I became open to psychic experiences, or shall I say, psychic experiences became open to me? The pain of grief was unbearable at times. I had not known that such pain existed until I suffered the loss of my husband. Strange things were beginning to happen. Maybe the lightness of being opens us up to extraordinary experiences…

For example, during my grieving one day I was reading the book, Many Lives, Many Masters, written by Dr. Brian Weiss, MD. My dog, Henry, was sleeping at the foot of the couch when I heard a clicking sound. The motion detector in the hallway was blinking mysteriously. This was strange since nothing was moving to trigger it. Perhaps it was running low on batteries. I realized, no, it was hardwired to the electric panel. Unable to form a conclusion, I returned to my book.

A few moments later the clicking began again, this time faster and louder. Henry glanced up so I peered in the direction of his gaze and witnessed the most amazing thing. It was a vortex. It shimmied to and fro, dancing in front of me and Henry. The motion detector was going wild. My jaw dropped, I stood up. Amazed, yet completely fearless, I walked toward it. As I approached, I noticed tiny blinking lights inside, which formed a spiral galaxy spinning at chest-height. I could clearly see the vortex.

I was sure it was my husband who came back to say hello. God, how I missed him! I stepped inside the vortex and my life changed forever. I felt a love and awe so great and so intensely sweet that I ever could have ever imagined. It felt like a breeze filled with tingling negative ions of the ocean that only a perfect spring day could bring. I felt calm – a peacefulness beyond words. I knew that everything was okay and that I would endure this “crazy” time in my life. I have often felt that grieving experiences have re-patterned and reprogrammed me in such a way that I see a much bigger picture: the holographic nature of life and splendor. Am I still dreaming? How can you sleep after an experience with the seemingly supernatural?
Feeling the awe and the energy of the vortex has taught me trust. These feelings were important to the awakening of my heart, a cosmic force that compels us to love and to serve. Shakti awakened in me and since, I have been driven beyond any other to share the knowledge of breath and spirit.

Sometimes, I have to unplug, which isn’t always easy. Last evening I turned everything off so that I could go to bed early. Learning to enjoy the silence of being is important - the no-thing, which led me to a prophetic dream about an old friend. Though I haven’t seen her in 6 years, I dreamt of her, then saw her the very next day.

It is imperative for all of us to rest, exercise, and spend time in nature. Taming the Shakti requires balancing with Shiva, holding steady, and moving with grace from the heart. Shakti is grace and balance as she co-creates with Shiva.