BAGALAMUKHI
MYSTIC MISTRESS OF SACRED SOUND
Oh Goddess Bagalamukhi.
Some say the yellow one. We see you glowing in gold & coming from the east. You are the great paralysis.
We gather upon your birthday & courageously come to honour the wake up shock that you administer.
You are the great shock that pierces the Chakraand brings us to silence.
To you we bow
Dear lovers of Shakti
Here follow two home practices to continue to work further and deeper with the secrets of Bagalamukhi.
You may do these practices in their entirety, or you may find ways to adapt them accordingly to suit you.
The first meditation can act as a stepping stone towards the second practice. You may apply it for a matter of seconds, or for hours together, as you please.
The two practices that follow are an active work with sound and the tongue.
MEDITATION ON EXTERNAL SOUND
SURROUNDING SOUND -TO HEAR
This meditation can be done wherever you are. The Tantric voyager investigates the art of pausing in the midst of activities, especially in the midst of states of stress and tension.
This meditation is very much about pausing in the midst of daily or nightly going-on’s.
It is a step out of time and space and can be done for a matter of minutes or for a longer stretch, as you please.
It can be done anywhere. It is equally applicable to do out in nature, or in the midst of city bustle.
In outwardly noisy places, you might experience the silence of your inner sanctuary. Conversely, in silent places, any noise reverberating in your inner world might be brought to ear.
- Simply pause for a moment in the midst of what you are doing in the course of a day.
- Sit very quietly without motion, and start to listen to the sounds around you.
- Closing your eyes, start to focus deep within your throat Chakra. Imagine it to be as a receptor for all layers of sound.
- Start to tune into, and listen to all the sounds around you, through the inner ear at the center of your throat.
- Go deep into the feeling that the sounds create in you.
- For this meditation, you might perhaps go to a place where call of crow speaks directly to you.
- Maybe you can recognise and register many layers of sound within sound. Maybe children are playing somewhere in the distance, or machinery sounds are echoing in from afar. Maybe, somewhere a voice is calling!
MEDITATION ON INTERNAL SOUND
INTERNAL SOUND – TO HEAR
Gokarna (Cow-ear) Shiva cave, India
The practice outlined below, awakens the third ear.
It should preferably be done at times when we do not need to communicate with language, this includes language in the sense of reading and writing.
Select a quiet evening or a time when you have a pronounced period of silence.
In silence, the subtle energies of the throat Chakra can awaken.
A few minutes in each of the directions as indicated in practice outlined below, is quite sufficient.
FIVE POSITIONS OF THE TONGUE
TONGUE UP
- Point your tongue up and out of the mouth while looking up. Maintain this position for a few minutes while observing the words, thoughts and visions that surface in your mind.
TONGUE DOWN
- After relaxing the tongue, close your eyes and look into and through the things that have surfaced in you. Then take your tongue out of the mouth and point it down while gazing down. Maintain this position for a few minutes and observe the words, thoughts and visions that surface in your mind.
TONGUE LEFT
- After relaxing the tongue, close your eyes again and look into, and through, the things that have surfaced in you. Then take your tongue out of the mouth and to the left, followed along by your gaze to the left. Maintain this position for a few minutes and observe the words, thoughts and visions that surface in your mind.
TONGUE RIGHT
- After relaxing the tongue, close your eyes and look into and through the things that have surfaced in you. Then take your tongue out of the mouth and to the right side, followed along with your gaze to the right. Maintain this position for a few minutes and observe the words, thoughts and visions that surface in your mind.
TONGUE STRAIGHT OUT
- After relaxing the tongue, close your eyes and look into, and through, the things that have surfaced in you. Then take your tongue straight out and forward along with your gaze. Maintain this position for a few minutes and observe words, thoughts and visions that surface in your mind. Rest the eyes after a few minutes, and look into and beyond all that has surfaced. Take a rest before getting up.
HARA RING