Book Talk at Livraria Ferin in Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal

R. Nova do Almada 72, 1249-098 Lisboa Hours: Book Event 6-7 pm Phone: 21 342 4422

Invite to a FREE in-person and Zoom book event in English in Lisbon Friday, November 12 at 6 pm at Portugal’s second oldest bookstore Ferin Livraria!

You can also join us by Zoom! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82554478355
Meeting ID: 825 5447 Passcode: historical

Join myself and author Julieta Almeida Rodrigues to explore pivotal 18th century Portuguese history in our historical novels CUT FROM THE EARTH and ELEONORA AND JOSEPH: Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment.

I will be speaking on what is know in Portuguese tile art history circles as the tailend of the “Great Joanine Production”, contributions of Africans and their descendants in the tile arts, and The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. Julieta will share about the tumultuous times and key Portuguese historical figures of the “Enlightenment” in both Europe and the United States.

The event will be moderated by University of Lisbon 18th century specialist Professor Silvia Chicó and Art History Professor Luisa Capucho who is a preeminent scholar of Portuguese tile who will be present. I fielded questions with her for many years while writing my novel. Join us in person or online on Zoom!

VICTORINE by Drema Drudge

Victorine by Drema Drudge is tour-de-force of exquisite writing with a bold female protagonist by the name of Victorine. A woman in pursuit of her own expressive voice in the epic center of the world of art in 1863 Paris, France. At the outset of the story she is the favored model of Manet. But she harbors her secret desire to create works of art of her own. She’s a complex character in multiple ways with a burning compulsions to paint at a pivotal time of art making in Europe.

This is no sweet pansy of muses but a full artistic persona in her own right. She’s opinionated yet vulnerable and insecure in her intellectual astuteness. Through the pages Drudge reveals her sensually wild, exploratory creative appetite seeking visual expression, a character who surprises the reader endlessly.

There are so many wonderful art insights and passages throughout this novel. It is a delight to meet Victorine; to come to know this passionate and frustrated artistic heart. A delight to walk alongside her in the art show rooms, fellow artists eyes upon her as she commands attention with her mere presence, as they seek her opinion and in some cases approval.

As Victorine begins to befriend and feel threatened by other female painters she confront her own inner insecurities, judgements, and the challenges of her social position. All of which prod her on to pursue her own dream to paint.

There are many deep and meaningful nuances throughout this story. Ones that pose questions to the reader around women’s position, power, and place in the world. Women’s agency itself. The author explores the dark under current of the disturbing yet true desires of people.

Drudge has masterfully constructed the intimate world of artists and muse and inner drives to create art whatever the obstacles and cost. The writing is superb throughout, and as for the characterizations of this collection of artistic giants known and unknown. A must read for all those interested in the artistic inner world complexities and wonderous spirits that have given us the pleasure of their enduring works of art still to this day.


Drēma Drudge suffers from Stendhal’s Syndrome, the condition in which one becomes overwhelmed in the presence of great art. She attended Spalding University’s MFA in Creative Writing Program where she learned to transform that intensity into fiction. She and her husband, musician and writer Barry Drudge, live in Indiana where they record their biweekly podcast, ‘Writing All the Things’, when not traveling. Her first novel, Victorine, was literally written in six countries while she and her husband wandered the globe. The pair has two grown children.

In addition to writing fiction, Drēma has served as a writing coach, freelance writer, and educator. For more about her writing, art, and travels, please visit her website, www.dremadrudge.com, and sign up for her newsletter. She’s always happy to connect with readers in her Facebook group, The Painted Word Salon, or on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

REVELATIONS by Mary Sharratt


“A fifteenth-century Eat, Pray, Love, REVELATIONS illuminates the intersecting lives of two female mystics who changed history — Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich

Revelations is an inspiring story of women mystics, one a mother of fourteen and the other an anchorite. Both who courageously confronted social norms of their day to follow the heart’s inner call and direction.

This book is by my friend Mary Sharratt, author of one of my all time favorite novels ILLUMINATIONS, another female mystic story following the life of Hildegard.

This new novel takes us into the life trials of an everyday woman, Margery Kempe seeking her own path and relationship with the divine, and her spiritual friendship with Julian of Norwich cloistered for life by her choice. This is a harrowing journey set during the fifteenth century. A time period where women had little say and control in the direction of their lives. But Sharratt shows how these two women met the constraints with love and fortitude, overcoming seemingly the impossible.

The author reveals the inner world of Kempe and Julian of Norwich and the obstacles each woman overcame on their path to God-realization. Both women took extreme risks to live out their divine calling. This is a harrowing tale, one that will keep you up at night to learn more.

Revelations will humble you and provide guidance and encouragement to your own life path. This is a must read for those interested in women’s stories of the past that inspire the now.

Mary Sharratt is the acclaimed author of eight novels including Daughters of the Witching HillIlluminationsEcstasy, and Revelations, which will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2021. Mary is on a mission to write women back into history. She’s been featured on NPR, winner of the 2013 Nautilus Gold Award, the 2005 WILLA Literary Award, and co-edited the subversive fiction anthology BITCH LIT, which celebrates female anti-heroes–strong women who break all the rules. She has taught creative writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her essays have been published in The Wall Street JournalEnchanted LivingHuffington Post, Lithub, Catapult, and elsewhere, and she blogs monthly for Feminism & Religion. Visit her website: www.marysharratt.com

Join Mary and I for an online Zoom workshop:

“SHEStories + Saraswati Yoga = Muse Flow”

“SHEStories + Saraswati Yoga = Muse Flow” Zoom Writing & Yoga workshop!

Workshop dates: Saturday & Sunday May 15 & 16, 2021 (2 days!)

Join Mary Sharratt and Stephanie Renee dos Santos for two-day of writing and yoga.

The “SHEStories + Saraswati Yoga: Muse Flow” two-day workshop will spark your creative fire, liberating your authentic voice and deepest truths while we attune and open our bodies to the creative muse with the ancient wisdom of deity yoga focused on Goddess Saraswati of writing.

Join us in this offering to learn ways to discover buried women’s stories, discussion of women mystics throughout all cultures and traditions, how to empower the voices of women, to assist and equip yourself to write forth what only you can. 

Mary Sharratt is the acclaimed author of eight novels including Daughters of the Witching HillIlluminationsEcstasy, and Revelations, which will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2021. Mary is on a mission to write women back into history. She’s been featured on NPR, winner of the 2013 Nautilus Gold Award, the 2005 WILLA Literary Award, and co-edited the subversive fiction anthology BITCH LIT, which celebrates female anti-heroes–strong women who break all the rules. She has taught creative writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her essays have been published in The Wall Street JournalEnchanted LivingHuffington Post, Lithub, Catapult, and elsewhere, and she blogs monthly for Feminism & Religion. Visit her website: www.marysharratt.com

Stephanie Rénee dos Santos is a Yogini artist/writer steeped in the nondual Tantric sacred feminine wisdom traditions (Trika/Sri Vidya). She guides goddess-inspired hatha yoga, meditation, and Yogini arts. Yearly, she leads women’s yoga groups into the wilds of the mountains and goddess pilgrimages in the USA, India and Nepal. She is part of the forthcoming women’s anthology When She Wakes, women’s firsthand accounts of Kundalini awakening, art-based historical fiction Cut From The Earth, and contributor to Yoga MagazineLalitambaAmerican Athenaeum and Historical Novel Review. 

Join Us! “SHEStories + Saraswati Yoga: Muse Flow” 

CUT FROM THE EARTH short-listed and Semi-Finalist “Chaucer Book Awards”!

My historical novel, CUT FROM THE EARTH, was short-listed and then went on to become a Semi-Finalist in the Chanticleer “Chaucer Book Awards”!

The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the CHAUCER Book Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

Yoga & Writing Workshop: “The 5 Elements of Yoga & Powerful Writing”

“Yoga and writing are soulmates.” ~ Stephanie Renée dos Santos

This is one of my most favorite workshops to teach. I’ve lead it in various settings, outside upon a circular labyrinth, day hiking in deep forest, and in sacred yoga studio space. And I am excited to announce I’ll be offering this workshop again on Sunday, September 8, 2019 at Inspire Studio in downtown Bellingham, WA.

In this yoga and writing workshop we will stretch our body and unleash creativity  working with ancient yogic wisdom of the five elements which coincides with the five elements of strong descriptive writing. Also, we will align with and learn to invoke a yoga goddess of creativity to support our creative effort. We’ll open to and energize our being to invite the muse to awaken within for our creative writing to naturally unfold.

Yoga reveals insights; Writing is the recorder. Yoga balances the rhythms of breath; Writing surfs breath through oceans of language. Yoga taps the unconscious; Writing transcribes the wisdom within. Writing requires work; Yoga is the assistant. Writing is an offering to the world; Yoga helps cull forth the gift. Writing is a solo act; Yoga provides community.

Yoga relieves body and mind tension; when the body is at ease, so become constrictions of the mind and creative spirit — opening space for your writing to:  flow, seep and burst forth.

This workshop is open to everyone: fiction writers, memoir, non-fiction, poets, journalists, those that journal, and other storytellers and creative artists of all sorts and levels of experience. The workshop explores and combines Hatha Yoga (postures), mantra (sounds), the chakras (energetic centers), mudra (hand/body gestures), Yoga Nidra (guided meditation), wisdom mythology, writing exercises, small-group interaction and sharing, encouraging antidotes and practical yoga-writer wisdom.

The yoga practices in this workshop will spark your creative fire, liberating your authentic voice and deepest truths while we attune to the five elements of yoga and their power to empower descriptive creative writing. When we stoke the five elements within and align with a yogic goddess of creativity we open ourselves to a well-spring of inspiration and tap into its unlimited potential.

For more information and to register click here.

Yoga Magazine “From Pain to Awake”

 

In September of 2018 I had a story come out in Yoga Magazine “From Pain to Awake” (p.24). Each of us come to the yogic path in different ways and for unique reasons. In this article I share a part of my yogic journey. My wish by sharing a bit of my path is that someone else may find encouragement to also heal and take steps to awaken to one’s individual and our collective potential. Jai Ma & Namaste!

If you’d like to read the article here is the link to get a digital copy for just 1 Euro:  https://www.yogamagazine.online/w…/magazine-desc

 

 

Book Review/Interview: Shakti Rising by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan MD

Shakit Rising: Embracing Shadow and Light on the Goddess Path to Wholeness by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, MD is a fascinating and instructive book that brings together the strengths of the Eastern traditions of Yoga, Tantra, Vedanta and The Direct Path. To assist people to discover the shadow and light parts of one’s being and to harmonize them, to potentially realize liberation from all types of suffering. The book offers easy to apply to daily life practical ways to begin working with these established systems through the Tantric Dasha Mahavidyas (Ten Wisdom Goddesses), creating a modern day pathway to ancient teachings.

After the two introductory chapters, which give background and explores the differences and strong points of theses traditions, the author explains what are “progressive paths” and “direct paths” to self-realization. In addition, she touches on the female roots of these traditions, bringing to light and crediting the ancient contributions of the feminine in developing the yogic systems of today. A refreshing and much needed reminder of the historical ancestry of these established lineages.

The book then is organized chapter by chapter focused on each of the ten wisdom goddesses. Whose traditional sadhana (practices) are mantra (repeated sound), yantra (geometric diagram aids for meditation),  puja (act of worship) and meditation visualizations. But instead of working with these traditional practices to access the guiding wisdom of these goddesses, Chinnaiyan in Shakti Rising offers us a visionary new approach.

10 Mahavidayas (Ten Wisdom Goddesses) Kali, Tara, Shodasi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi, Kamala

The author presents and relates each goddess to the yamas (ethical values) and niyamas (virtues) of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This is helpful for those new or already steeped in yoga for it gives one a way to relate the teachings of sage Patanjali (dualistic path) with those of Tantra (non-dualistic path).

Also, the identifying of specific yamas and niyamas to each goddess is beneficial because in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali it is not outlined how to realize or apply these qualities to one’s life. That’s been left up to each practitioner to figure out. Chinnaiya book offers just that, a way, a path to honor and apply these Yoga Sutra guidelines to one’s life through the sacred feminine wisdom of the Mahavidyas.

From there, the author explains the symbolism, meaning and specific teachings of each of the Mahavidyas, allowing one to become familiar with each goddess before exploring the shadow and light aspects of what her teachings are trying to transmit and liberate us from. Chinnaiyan offers a clear explanation and way to approach each goddess and her light and dark attributes with the intent to discover one’s already inherent wholeness within, but that is often veiled by diverse and often hidden limiting beliefs.

With this understanding foundation established, Chinnaiyan then presents in each chapter two main practices: “…a progressive path exercise for transforming a shadow aspect into a yama or niyama, and a Direct Path practice of non-dual inquiry into the cosmic force of each Mahavidya.” These exercises help to start exploring one’s relationship with each goddess and her specific signature wisdom. As a way to begin self-inquiry and to discover where one might be limiting oneself and how to approach and shift these self-limiting attitudes.

The book bridges dual and non-dual concepts of these Eastern traditions and presents a holistic route to heal, overcome self-limitations, allowing one to open and embody one’s best-self.

This is a unique book in how it’s brought together these wisdom currents to uphold and support each other to access the sacred female wisdom of the Mahavidyas.  And in such a way so that the knowledge of the teachings of the ten wisdom goddesses are applicable to one’s life and daily practice in today’s world. This book meets the modern day needs of people seeking liberation from suffering, to discover one’s inherent inner bliss while steeped in divine feminine wisdom and the supporting traditions.

Throughout the book the author shares wise insights, this being one of my favorite passages: “If we haven’t learned the skills of living in harmony with others, we can unintentionally and unnecessarily continue to cause harm through our words and actions. Our internal state of freedom can remain separate and dissonant from our external behavior.” Such a good reminder that liberation from suffering isn’t just about ourselves it’s about learning to be in the world in such a way that extends this internal freedom and love-light to all whom we come into contact with.

On this note, I am pleased that Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, MD was open to interview to share a more about this important book and what it holds….

Stephanie Renee dos Santos:  Will you share with us how “Shakti Rising” came into being?

Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan:  It’s one of those stories that Shakti-lovers may be familiar with, you know, where you become Her instrument and are carried along by Her! After being initiated into Sri Vidya sadhana, my perspective began to change in sweet and wonderful ways, and I began to be drawn very deeply into the mysticism of the Dasha Mahavidyas. I’d spend weeks or months contemplating on a particular Mahavidya, and quite miraculously, the lessons I needed to learn from Her would manifest in daily life.

For instance, almost immediately after I began Kali sadhana, my life went through a great upheaval. Big changes occurred at work and a long-term project I was involved in (way past its time) ended abruptly. A coworker who had worked closely with me left and found employment elsewhere. Spiritual sanghas I was deeply involved in no longer felt like the right fit and I left them. Kali sadhana, as you know, is pretty much like this. She cuts through our illusions without any concern for our comfort!

Along with big transformations, there was this irresistible surge of creative energy—one to write. So, I started blogging about the Mahavidyas. What was really interesting at the time is that the writing couldn’t be forced. The urge to write about a Mahavidya would arise and I’d sit down to write, as if in a trance. Thereafter, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t write about the next Mahavidya until seemingly the main lessons of her sadhana had been learned. Spontaneously, the urge would arise again and the writing would flow.

When the series ended, some of my readers asked me to write a book, to expand upon each Mahavidya. By then, I was deeply engrossed in the Direct Path, which, for me, seemed beautifully complementary with the tantric path of Sri Vidya. The DP had (and continues to) clarified so much for me with respect to tantric practices, and specifically those related to the Mahavidyas. And so, Shakti Rising came about as an amalgamation of those insights and practices, with an effort to present a unique, accessible path of these great goddesses.

SDS:  What do you see as the added strengths of this inter-disciplinary/multi-disciplinary approach to the wisdom and teachings of the Mahavidyas? 

KC:  As you know, the Mahavidyas have been deeply enshrouded in inaccessible esoteric philosophy. While that is certainly appealing to some, these deities have so much to teach us, no matter what spiritual path we are on.

For a staunch non-dualist on the path of jnana (wisdom or knowledge), they can be gateways to surrender and sweetness arising from devotion. For one caught up in devotion, they are beacons of non-dual wisdom. For one who is attracted to traditional tantric practices (such as the use of mantras and yantras), they enable deep inquiry that results in living realization of the relationship between the bindu (the central point of a yantra) and the dynamic geometry that dances around it.

For one who is a Shiva bhakta, Shakti as the Mahavidyas enables deeper realization of Shiva-ness. For one who is a Shakta, the Mahavidyas open new vistas of delight, not only in sadhana but also in ordinary life.

Mostly, a multii-disciplinary approach to the teachings of the Mahavidyas makes them relevant to each of us.

SDS: What do you hope readers and practitioners glean most from “Shakti Rising”?

 KC: Mostly, I hope that this book opens the reader to Shakti’s all-pervasive, ever-present, absolute love and wisdom. Perhaps readers will find resonance with one or more of the Mahavidyas and be called to explore them further in their own practice and lives. The beauty of these goddesses is that they are living, shimmering presences in us and can be invoked quite easily through contemplation and practices.

SDS:  How has writing this book expanded or deepened your understanding of this divine feminine path to wholeness and its place in the world today?

 KC: It is a work in progress! Writing the book has been a great sadhana but even since then, I’ve had immense openings into the mystery of the divine feminine and how elusive it can be, particularly in the shifting landscape of our current collective social, political and cultural lives. It is as if Shakti is teaching us the hard way about what it means to align with Her divine power, not only individually or as women, but as humans.

In my own life, I feel the divine mother’s presence a more and more every day. If there is one thing that Shakti sadhana does, it is to teach us to surrender to divine will, to rest in Her flow and to trust in Her process. As I’m sure you can relate, it is quite a paradox—the more we rest in Her flow, the greater is our ability to act effectively, to bring about meaningful change in any way we can.

A miraculous thing that has happened with treading the path of the divine feminine is meeting so many others on the same path from whom I’m learning so much, including you! The path of Shakti is one of inclusion, collaboration and celebration—in joy, sweetness and gratitude. There are simply no words to describe the joy of celebration in very ordinary things, like driving to work, having a conversation, or sipping a cup of tea, or of coming together in creative ways.

SDS:  Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?

 KC: Yes, I’m in the process of creating a course on the multi-disciplinary teachings of the Mahavidyas, based on Shakti Rising but to include many practices that are not in the book. It is scheduled to be launched in early 2018, and will be announced in advance on my website.

Thank you so much for this discussion!

Likewise, Kavitha! Deep bow, Devi! For being a conduit to helping others to potentially realize their wholeness and a life free from unneeded suffering, for creating a modern day path to this vital ancient wisdom.

Kavitha Chinnaiyan, MD, is an integrative cardiologist, meditation teacher and tantrika. She became drawn to the Direct Path through the teachings of Greg Goode and Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon, and has studied yoga, Sri Vidya Sadhana, Vedanta and Tantra through the teachings of Chinmaya Mission, Sri Premananda, Sally Kempton, and Paul Muller-Ortega. She blends her expertise in cardiology with her knowledge of Ayurveda, yoga, Vedanta, Tantra, and the Direct Path in her approach to healing, enabling patients to discover bliss amid chronic illness. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, MI.

To buy: Shakit Rising: Embracing Shadow and Light on the Goddess Path to Wholeness by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, MD

Find Kavitha workshops, upcoming talks, past interviews and online programs, including the “Bliss Meditation Course” on kavithamd.com/.

Book Review/Interview: Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power by Laura Amazzone

In a few days is the September new moon (Wednesday the 20th) and the beginning of the annual fall festival in India and Nepal of Navaratri or called Durga Puja.

In honor of this transformative celebration I share and recommend a great companion guide to read throughout the festivities or anytime, Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power by Laura Amazzone. The book transports you into the heart of the sacred feminine and Durga Puja, the largest modern day commemoration to the Divine Mother on the planet with roots that reach back 5000 years. Through vivid storytelling Amazzone shares with us how people come together during this time of year “to celebrate the ancient mysteries of life, death and rebirth on the personal, social and cosmic level.”

by Laura Amazzone Navaratri Nepal 2016

Divided into three sets of three days and nights, the festival is dedicated to different aspects of Durga, of Goddess: MahaKali, MahaLakshmi, and MahaSaraswati. All faces of Goddess in their “Great” forms of which Amazzone elucidates on, to helps us understand the inner workings of how the dedicated days of specific goddess worship are guides to assist one on our path to inner balance and liberation. She explains how this yearly event focuses on honoring the cyclical nature of existence and how it promotes empowerment and freedom of the individual and universal. In addition, she goes into depth about various aspects of Goddess, as Kumari, the Navadurgas and more, plus the practices and rituals of renewal and regeneration fundamental to Navaratri.

Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power is a profound introduction and exploration of Durga and goddess traditions of the Kaula, Shakta and Tantric cultures in Nepal and India. Plus, the healing and power to be found and accessed within these ancient sophisticated traditions.

Through scholarship and personal accounts Amazzone allows the reader to enter into the world of female-centered deity worship and reverence. The Devi Mahathyma is the sacred text of Navaratri, which the author narrates important key parts of this ancient mythology, where Durga is central. Through the writer’s life experiences and struggles and study of the this important manual she shares with us its relevancy to our lives today. She also reveals wisdom and guidance found in this fifth century seminal work, also known by the names of Chandi Path and Durga Saptasati, of which offers us a divine feminine path to realize one’s divinity and be in the world where female power is honored and revered.

by Laura Amazzone Navarati Nepal 2016

The first part of Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power gives one a framework and understanding as what is nondual Tantra and Goddess and Her place and power in our lives and cosmos. The later, follows day by day the unfoldment of the nine night festival through Amazzone’s daily pilgrimage experiences, recountings rich in tradition details and insights. She also exposes how forms and structures of ongoing patriarchy have not served, nor are positively providing for the health and equlimbrium of the world and people today.

Throughout the book she shares encouraging and inspiring examples from her own life of how these spiritual pathways have assisted her in overcoming and meeting head on life traumas. Thus, allowing the reader to viscerally enter and begin to understand the healing and life-empowerment to be accessed through female-centered deity practices, ones that uphold female sacredness and the importance of female power.

Amazzone’s writing is the heart-soul of Devi, well-researched and experienced. One feels as if you too are on pilgrimage in Nepal or India kneeling and offering flowers at the feet of Goddess.

Blessed, Laura Amazzone was open to interview to share with us a bit more about the book, her relationship to Durga and the Chandi Path, and how these ancient teachings are vital to our lives today…

Stephanie Renee dos Santos:  What moment or pivotal situation prompted you to write Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power?

Laura Amazzone:  There was actually no one pivotal moment. Since I was 6 years old I knew I was going to write a book (and hopefully books). Spirituality and women’s rights and studies have been a central issue and passion in my life for as long as I can remember. I have continuously been guided on this path and there have been many synchronicities and divine displays that led me to writing and finally publishing the book in 2010. On a practical level, Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power evolved out of a Master’s Thesis for the California Institute of Integral Philosophy and was, in part, going to become a dissertation until I decided I did not want to go the route of academia. I was actually told by an adviser at one of the PhD programs I interviewed at that I would have to cut off the mystic/Yogini/devotee in myself to be taken “seriously”—and that one of the professors there had “had no interest in my feminist and subaltern perspective!” (My story about how I came to the subject for my thesis is in the book). At this time (early 2000s) I was working very closely with a Kaula Odiyya (Shaman) and author, Amarananda Bhairavan. At a certain point, he said to me, “No more new sadhanas or mantras for you. Your sadhana and dharma is to write this book on Durga.” He actually wanted me to include more of my personal story. While I did include some key stories, I left a lot of those mystical experiences out because I wanted to honor the researcher in me and really ground the work not only in experience, but also in looking at the historical, social, cultural and religious context. So there is a whole other book waiting to eventually come out on this subject.  Other mentors and teachers like author Linda Johnsen, who read a draft of my thesis, told me it was my dharma to publish it as a book. Shaman, Author, Co-creator of Motherpeace Tarot, Vicki Noble was a huge teacher and supporter as was author Elinor Gadon, and many other Feminist Spirituality foremothers. Alice Walker was another powerful mentor who personally encouraged me to write this book on Durga while I was working as her executive assistant for several years. It was not a matter of if I would write a book on Durga, but when and how much to include.

SRDS:  How did you learn that you were a “Daughter of Durga”?

LA:  When I first met the Kumari in 1998 I recognized something in Her that was very familiar. Being in the Kathmandu Valley I felt like I had come home and I did not want to leave this young living Goddess. I could not rationally explain it but receiving Her darshan changed me forever. I actually stood in Her temple courtyard and made a vow to dedicate my life to Her even though I did not really know who She was in that form! When I started researching the Kumari and learned about the Durga Myth I knew I had a very deep connection to this Goddess—in many ways the myth was describing my personal story and also affirmed much of what I was observing in my own culture—all the ignorance, greed, abuse of power, violence, destruction, misogyny, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.  The next time I returned to Nepal (in 2000) for the Durga Puja, every where I went Sadhus, Pujaris, Yogins, Matas would “randomly” tell me I was becoming Durga, or that I was Durga. I did not even really know fully who Durga was at this time and found it strange, how could I be Durga? What did that mean? I remember being at the burning ghats in Pashupatinath and sitting with the Milk Baba there. He said to me, “I see Durga all over your face, you are becoming Durga.” Honestly I was uncomfortable hearing this as I was not sure what to do with it. I started looking into what it meant within the Shakta Tantra context to be Durga, what it meant to have an Ishta Devata (a personal deity), and discovered how each of us ultimately is a “daughter” or “son” or we could say, embodiment of these different expressions of Consciousness. I am not unique, we all have Durga’s Consciousness within us—whether or not we connect to it or know Her in this or Her myriad other expressions.  I believe it came out so strongly in me because I have a strong dharma to embody Her and share this ancient and very necessary wisdom for these times.

Also, a couple years later after much study, practice, and devotion, Amarananda gave me the spiritual name, Ambika (a name for Durga). I actually have many different stories of how I realized the depth of my connection to Her and over lifetimes. There has been a sort of mandala of experiences and reflections that have led me into my center and showed me my place within this existence.

SRDS:  When and how did you first start working with Chandi Path?

LA:  During the Durga Puja in 2000 in Nepal, I was given a copy of the Chandi Path from a Tantric practitioner. When I returned to San Francisco I showed it to my professor, Dr. Jim Ryan, who is the Director of the Asian Comparative Studies program. He told me this was a very rare copy of this text—that I may be one of the only people in the States to have this and that I needed to study it and perhaps even write my thesis on the Devi Mahatmyam! Again I got the message that Durga was calling me and I needed to write about Her story. I started comparing this text with other translations of the Chandi Path/Devi Mahatymam. It became part of my daily practice with Amarananda and he told me I would eventually teach it. Like with the book and all the synchronicities that came for me to write it, many of my primary teachers have told me I needed to TEACH the Chandi for years. It has been a constant thread—so every time I would doubt or feel overwhelmed by the thought of teaching this epic Sanskrit text, another synchronicity would happen pointing me back to my sadhana so I could embody the teachings and eventually share what I have learned and experienced. Several years ago my Yogini teacher told me it was time for me to teach Chandi and create kulas around it. So that is my current seva!

SRDS:  What makes Durga’s teachings crucial to our lives today?

LA:  Now more than ever we need Durga Maa. At the end of Her myth Durga tells us to call on Her should we ever be in distress. Her myth and ritual festival is an opportunity to understand the cyclical natural of reality, and that the demons and instability in the world is actually created from our own ignorance and greed. Doing Durga practice, (chanting Her mantra, reading and reciting Her myth) during the Kali Yuga, a time of deterioration, destruction and decay, is one of the most effective ways to alleviate suffering both personally and in the world. In the midst of so much political instability and the climate crisis, we need to call on Durga to bring inner calm and harmony amidst all the chaos and destruction.

Thank you so much Laura for bringing the world this book on female sacredness and Goddess Durga, a goddess whose known by many names, one being “Hard to Access”, for which Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power makes it easier to begin to do so.

For anyone interested or drawn to learn about feminine voices and paths within yoga, just starting out or the experienced, this is a vital, must read. Be embraced and know the love of Maa in all her forms. Jai Maa! Jai Durga! Thanks again, Laura!

Laura Amazzone, M.A. is a teacher, writer, intuitive healer, Yogini and initiated priestess in the Shakta Tantra and Sri Vidya traditions of India and Nepal. She is the author of the award-winning book, Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power. She has published numerous articles within the fields of Hinduism, Tantra and Women’s Spirituality in many different encyclopedias, anthologies, journals and also online publications. Laura teaches in the Yoga Philosophy Program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Many of Laura’s teachings and rituals are offered in private settings, on a 1 to 1 basis and out of her home (or via Zoom/Skype). She offers a diverse array of authentic and undiluted lineage-based rituals, teachings and spiritual practices as well as pilgrimages to Nepal that promote spiritual empowerment and divine embodiment.

To learn more about Laura and her offerings visit: www.lauraamazzone.com

To purchase book: Goddess Durga and Sacred Female Power

Join Laura for “Nine Nights of the Divine Mother” of daily online practice, community, and teachings to participate and celebrate this 2017 Durga Puja!