Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga

by Sally Kempton

Overview

How do you live a life of spiritual awakening as well as outer abundance, inner freedom as well as deep intimacy? How do you serve the world selflessly, yet passionately celebrate your life?
The sages of Tantra have known for centuries that when you follow the path of Shakti—the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga—these gifts can manifest spontaneously. Yet most of us, women as well as men, have yet to experience the full potential of our inner feminine energies. When you know these powers for what they are, they heighten your capacity to open spiritually, love more deeply and fearlessly, create with greater mastery, and move through the world with skill and delight. In Awakening Shakti, you will learn how to recognize and invite:
Kali, bringer of strength, fierce love, and untamed freedomLakshmi, who confers prosperity and beautySaraswati, for clarity of communication and intuitionRadha, who carries the divine energy of spiritual longingBhuvaneshvari, who creates the space for sacred transformationParvati, to awaken creativity and the capacity to love
With a wealth of meditations, visualizations, mantras, teachings, and beautifully told stories, Awakening Shakti provides a practical guide for activating the currents of the divine feminine in every aspect of your life.
“Sally Kempton's new book is a treasure that brings myth, meditation, and everyday revelation together in a way that will allow every woman to embody the divine feminine in her life. Sally enlivens the full spectrum of the goddess—from independent protector, to lover, to dynamic and powerful creatrix. I highly recommend this soon-to-be classic!”
—Shiva Rea, yogini
“Sally Kempton has given us a mythic manual for a new kind of feminism—a feminism of the soul. And this is a good thing, because humanity needs feminine power now as both a healing tonic and a source of reinvention.”
—Elizabeth Lesser, cofounder of the Omega Institute, author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604079449
Publisher:	Sounds True, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/01/2013
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	392
Sales rank:	458,935
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Sally Kempton
Sally Kempton is known both for her ability to lead students into deep states of meditation and for her gift of making yogic wisdom applicable to daily life. She has spent over 40 years practicing, studying, and teaching meditation and spiritual philosophy. A former swami, or monk, she lived and studied for many years with enlightened Indian masters and received training in the Kashmir Shaivism tradition. She writes “Wisdom,” a regular column for Yoga Journal, and teaches workshops and retreats in the United States and Europe.
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Sally Kempton (1943–2023) studied and taught the wisdom of yoga for 40 years. A highly regarded teacher of meditation and spiritual philosophy, she wrote the popular Yoga Journal column Wisdom. Known for her gift of making yogic wisdom relevant to daily life and for transmitting deep states of meditation, she taught retreats and teleclasses internationally. Sally is the author of Meditation for the Love of It (Sounds True, 2011).

Table of Contents

Illustrations xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1 A Crown of Feminine Design: The Goddess Incarnates 1

Chapter 2 The Grand Tannic Narrative: Gods, Goddesses, and Worlds 25

Chapter 3 Durga: Warrior Goddess of Protection and Inner Strength 55

Chapter 4 Lakshmi: Goddess of Abundance and Good Fortune 83

Chapter 5 Kali: Goddess of Revolution 117

Chapter 6 Parvati: Goddess of the Sacred Marriage 147

Chapter 7 Saraswati: Goddess Who Flows as Language, Insight, and Sound 177

Chapter 8 Sita: Goddess of Devotion and Mystical Submission 201

Chapter 9 Dhumavati: Grone Goddess of Disappointment and Letting Go 221

Chapter 10 Radha: Goddess of Romantic Longing 237

Chapter 11 Chinnamasta: Goddess of Radical Self-Transcendence 259

Chapter 12 Lalita Tripura Sundari: Goddess of-Erotic Spirituality 279

Chapter 13 Bhuvaneshwari: Goddess of Infinite Space, She Whose Body Is the World 301

Epilogue: Dialoguing with the Goddesses 321

Appendix I The Goddess Families and Their Consorts 331

Appendix II Calling Out the Power in Mantra: Overview and Pronounciation Guide 333

Appendix III Quiz: Goddess Power in Action 335

Appendix IV Which Goddesses Are You? 337

Reader's Group Guide 343

Notes 355

Annotated Bibliography for Further Reading 367

About the Author 373

About the Illustrator 374

Editorial Reviews

Feminine energy is now rising all over the planet, and Awakening Shakti shows everyone - both men and women-both how to participate in and benefit from the truly healing power of Goddess energy.” —Christiane Northrup, MD, author of the New York Times bestsellers Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause

“Awakening Shakti is a magnificent contribution to the essential movement of our time-the return of the Divine Feminine in all her passionate glory. Kempton's book is not only a completely lucid and deeply felt exploration of the different facets of the Hindu vision of the Goddess; it is also as down-home as it is exalted, and as practical as it is ecstatic. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.” —Andrew Harvey, author of Return of the Mother and Radical Passion

“Rekindling knowledge and worship of the Divine Feminine may be the most important thing we can do to balance our fractured civilization. This book brings the Goddess alive in her many important forms. Well-researched, sparkling with stories, as well as practical applications, this book is your Bible to the Hindu Goddesses.” —Anodea Judith, author of Creating on Purpose and Wheels of Life

“With her signature combination of sound research, personal experience, and engaging storytelling, Kempton offers an authentic, experiential guide to working with eleven goddesses who embody the totality of life's beauty and challenges. I recommend it highly!” —Constantina Rhodes, PhD, author of Invoking Lakshmi: The Goddess of Wealth in Song and Ceremony

“The ascent of the Divine Feminine is one of the most important developments in contemporary spirituality. As both a skilled journalist and a gifted teacher, Sally Kempton more than does justice to this significant subject.” —Philip Goldberg, author of American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation

“Sally Kempton's new book is a treasure that brings myth, meditation, and everyday revelation together in a way that will allow every woman to embody the divine feminine in her life. Sally enlivens the full spectrum of the goddess—from independent protector, to lover, to dynamic and powerful creatrix. I highly recommend this soon-to-be classic!” —Shiva Rea, yogini

“Sally Kempton has given us a mythic manual for a new kind of feminism—a feminism of the soul. And this is a good thing, because humanity needs feminine power now as both a healing tonic and a source of reinvention.” —Elizabeth Lesser, cofounder of the Omega Institute, author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

From the Publisher