Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quotes I’m pondering from Joseph Campbell 

• “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”.  Joseph Campbell

  “Take one step towards the gods and they will take ten steps towards you.” – Joseph Campbell

2) Blog & Mantra for Inner Peace

• No Mud. No Lotus: Om Mani Padme Hum 

In Nepal, where I am currently visiting, you can hear this mantra on repeat everywhere you.  In all of the temples and shrines you can spin the prayer wheels, which all have this sacred mantra imprinted on it.

In many ancient cultures and traditions,  the lotus flower is considered a symbol of purity, enlightenment, awakening, perfection, and rebirth and serves as a metaphor for life,

Rooted in the mud, the lotus draws energy from the muddy waters below and grows towards the light,d transforming into a beautiful flower

The journey of the lotus from the darkness of the mud to the light of the sun is a perfect metaphor for the human condition,. We often forget that we are divine beings with seeds of infinite potential waiting to blossom within our hearts.

Read on to discover the lessons of the lotus.

3)Power of Prayer Flags

• Lung-Ta – Tibetan Prayer Flags

If you’ve been to our studio in Thailand, you’ll have noticed hundreds of Tibetan prayer flags – horizontal flags in sets of 5,  strewn around our space. After each retreat, we have our retreat students hang the Lung-ta, infused with their prayers and intentions to offer to help people around the world be happy and free from suffering.

Here in Nepal, they are everywhere.

Here is a picture from my recent trip to the VajraYogini Temple in Nepal:

It is said that these flags bring benefit to all, promoting compassion, peace, strength, and wisdom, and are used to carry prayers and mantras through the wind. 

Colour represent the 5 elements:

• Blue – the sky and space
• White – the air and wind
• Red – fire
• Green – water
• Yellow – Earth

4) Gods & Goddess Study Guide

• Gods, Goddesses & Religious Symbols of Hinduism, Buddhism & Tantrism – by Trilok Chandra Majupuria & Rohit Kumar 

This book is proving to be an excellent companion for helping to understand even an iota of the depth and scope of symbolism, religion, history and syncretism characteristic of the culture and it’s people.

5) Music

• Blessed to be a Witness – Ben Harper

LOVE this song as a reminder of the beauty and gift of life. I often feature it in the savasana portion of the Yoga classes i share.

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Hope you enjoyed this week’s Love & Inspiration.

So much LOVE, Gratitude & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love