From the MURK to the MUSE

Darkness is a place that’s not unfamiliar to me, and I would venture to say this is true for many artists. 

It’s not something to fear or avoid, but a place to explore.   This is where new beginnings can happen, where images arise from, and where the seed sounds begin to germinate.  

I’ve had a week of reflection and inspiration, although reflection never ends I feel like something has clicked with me, something that I’ve been struggling with, but have decided to relax softly around. 

The last few weeks I have been doing a lot of deep hip work and with in my exploration, padmasana (lotus pose), along with two goddesses that just I learned about whose names are Dhumavati and Lalita Tripura Sundari ,have shown me something very important.  

It’s that the sacred does not always sparkle, sometimes it is murky, dense and thick with things that are hard to look at. 

Sometimes there’s a haze of smoke that makes the eyes water. Sometimes there are smudges and smears. sometimes it looks like a mess. disheveled and unkempt, not pretty or flattering.

You  often get glimpses of a dark path, but no map, and yet something deep within, knows you’re meant to be there for a time, and any light feels blinding.

THE LOTUS OF THE CREATIVE PATH

In Yoga, the lotus a.k.a. padmasana is the seat of stillness, but for me it also holds the symbol of creative emergence. 

The lotus blooms from dark, thick, muddy water, and it unfolds towards the air and light. 

This is often what the creative process feels like, which is in my experience tandem to spiritual growth.  

You’re in something very messy.

You don’t know what’s coming next

And yet, you keep showing up.

That’s what artist do, that’s what yogis do, that’s what anyone, willing to live from the inside out will do. 

DHUMAVITI, LALITA, and the artist way

Dhumaviti a goddess that will challenge you to sit in the darkness  be there with spirit, and zero judgment,  and to to give up all expectation, even hope that your artfully designed way of moving through the world will ever happen, you are being asked to offer everything and I mean everything to  the dark altar.  

She is not all doom and gloom, however, because she bestows the wisdom of the universe and shatters illusions that obscure spiritual truths and this is the energy that is needed in order to emerge towards the light.  

Lalita Tripura Sundari isn’t just a goddess of pleasure and love, she is the goddess of sacred geometry, artistry, poetry, sound, and dance.

She invites us to follow our bliss, but not just the superficial aspect of bliss, temporary pleasures and excitement, she encourages us to listen to our soul and demands we connect with it and move from the soul’s purpose rather than from the ego.    Most importantly, she says we have to love whatever is in the darkness so that it has a chance to revel in the light. 

She encourages us to

 Move to our own rhythm even if no one hears the music just yet.

Follow the thread, even though you can’t see the whole tapestry.

Honor the work even if it’s unseen, or not yet recognized.

This is the path of the individual creator, the yogi and the Mystic.  

WHEN PRACTICE BECOMES ART

When I create a yoga sequence, I am painting with bodies my own, and then with a group of people.  

While I am on there matt, I am sketching and expressing a feeling or an idea, through breath, spine, nervous system, connective tissue and rhythm. , it’s so much more than just strength or flexibility, I am met with inspiration, ideas, symbols, textures and colors that I want to bring to my visual art.  

It’s not about producing something perfect, it’s about making space for what wants to be seen.  

Questions to Reflect or Journal With:

• What calls to you lately—even if you don’t understand why?

• What part of your creative voice have you quieted or questioned?

• How can your yoga practice become a more fluid, expressive part of your creative work?

• What in the darkness needs your love, so it can come into the light?

Closing

Dumavati reminds me that the darkness is not a scary place to be, but as a place to find nourishment and wisdom

Lalita reminds me that radiance isn’t about being polished.

It’s about being true.

And creativity isn’t separate from spirituality—it’s one of its most direct expressions.

When we sit in the mud, spiral through the flow, and follow what’s calling, we don’t just rise—we bloom.