Dharma Series: Power Lies within You - Women's Project in Germany
By: Vera Kamalatmika
"Your self love is a medicine for the Earth."
- Yung Pueblo
Project Vision: To empower women to dive deep into womanhood and experience a balance of unconditional giving & receiving in daily life.
Personal Vision: I feel deeply guided to walk the Divine path, to support the spiritual growth on Earth by fulfilling my responsibility and fully living the way of my heart.
“How might I gather and motivate women to open up to their full potential and share their experience of womanhood in a community?“
Some of the desired project outcomes:
- Heart connections between women
- Connection between women from different social classes and of different ages
- Shared stories and experiences of life
- Truthful and non-violent communication skills
- Connection with the Mother Earth and the elements
- Discovering womb wisdom
- Empowerment of being a woman and culture of sharing among sisters
- Unconditional giving and receiving as a part of daily life
- Feeling of freedom and a deeper understanding of oneself
- Feeling of "coming home" among the participants
- Women who participate the project feel more cared for and loved by themselves & others
- Joy of life and a feeling of Divine Love and guidance
- Understanding of this life on Earth as a common creation of us all and responsibility to follow our dharma and walk the path of our heart
About The Power Lies Within You Project:
“The Power Lies Within You” Project is divided into two parts. The first part of the project was completed by the 15th of October 2018. This blog post describes the first phase of the project. The second part of the project will begin in January 2019, as soon as I return home from my 300hr YTT course in Guatemala.
“The Power Lies Within You“ is a project for women which seeks to empower the divine feminine flow within us and share the beauty of being a woman. Mostly all of the project activities are directed to women. An important intention of the project is to share intimate circles and yoga classes with women, create a space for immersion and deep understanding among one another. In this space women can feel safe and supported to share what wants to be shared.
One important goal of the project is definitely EMPOWERMENT – to feel and connect with the infinite power that lies within and from this connection find a balance of receiving and giving in daily life.
Project activities take place in Region Oberallgäu in Southern Germany: in Pfronten, Nesselwang and Maria Rain. Some activities are connected with the Yoga Vidya ashram (lineage of Swami Sivananda) located in the village of Maria Rain.
Project activities:
Lakshmi circle – a closed woman circle in Maria Rain („project devotee“ group) started in New Moon September 2018
Durga circle – an open woman circle in Maria Rain starts in January 2019
Saraswati circle – Weekly women gatherings in Pfronten starts in January 2019
Social activity with women in an older people’s home starts in January 2019
Mother Nature walks – shamanic nature exploration and self-expansion walks/hikes in the forests of Maria Rain starts in January 2019
"The Power Lies Within You" and "Unconditional Love Day" events for all participants in February and March 2019
First project phase: September-October 2018
Lakshmi circle started. This is a closed women’s circle that gathers twice a month. It is a group of around 16 women living in or near the Yoga Vidya ashram in Maria Rain. These women are interested in participating a women’s circle regularly and holding space for each other’s journeys to dive deeper in to their own true essence. Every woman in the group is also somehow connected to the ashram – some do their Seva there (selfless service for the Highest Good), some have lived there, others have done Karma Yoga periods there and so on. I myself also completed a one year Seva period and various karma yoga periods at this ashram. I feel very connected to this place.
This dharma grant project got started under the New Moon at the beginning of September 2018. I am deeply amazed and empowered with what we were able to share with each other within the first one and half months of the project! I love organizing and creating spaces where people can shine their light and share their medicine for the world.
One aim of the Lakshmi circle is to empower participants to share their gifts and their life work with others. So powerful and beautiful! From January, they will also be able to participate in other project activities and share their gifts even more widely. This is why I also call this group of women “project devotees“. Lakshmi circle is the only project activity that has taken place until now. All other activities will start in January 2019.
Now, I will give a small overview about the activities we shared with each other in this intimate women circle in the first phase of the project. A very powerful New Moon in Libra brought nine women of different backgrounds and ages together to share the mysteries of living in a woman’s body. We shared a glorious New Moon ceremony with each other with heart sharing, releasing old patterns and non-serving energies, planting new seeds for the upcoming cycle, connecting with Maria Magdalena and Mother Earth, and letting our voices gather together through healing sound practices. One week after this, we gathered again together to share a Yin Yoga class with each other.
In our third gathering, one of the project devotees, Shivanjali, shared her passion for Mandala dance. Shivanjali carries the medicine for this meditative dance form. It was a very aligning Full Moon celebration for all of us! We took our pants off, put beautiful, glorious, long skirts on and gave ourself the opportunity to drop into a silent space within us through spiraling movements of our body.
Our last gathering before my travels was a New Moon circle with a shamanic drumming journey. This gathering empowered us to receive messages for the upcoming moon cycle as well as for the powerful period of divine feminine energy during the Navaratri time.
Since the beginning of the Lakshmi Circle, many men in the ashram were telling me how they would love to gather as a men circle as well. Under the New Moon in October my Beloved, Chaitanya, heard a calling to start a mens’s circle in the ashram as well. This circle gathers monthly now and they are very much empowered by the love they share with each other. For me, this men’s circle is a beautiful reminder how the universe naturally balances everything. In deep gratitude, I bow to my partner for holding space, sharing his wisdom, honesty, and vulnerability with others in this circle.
Now as I am completing my transformative journey with Kula in Guatemala, the Lakshmi group participants continue gatherings twice a month – as Full Moon and New Moon circles. In January I will join them again and all other project activities are starting as well. I am excited about this!
I am deeply touched and grateful for the journey of this project unfolding like a spiral dance. From this first phase of the project, I have learned to stay open-minded and trust the divine guidance. I love planning and organizing, however throughout this project, I have learned that at times, plans can change.
Just recently, I had found a beautiful location to hold the Saraswati circle. Just before announcing this event, there where big changes in the organization of that Yoga Community, and all plans got cancelled. Almost directly after that, I noticed how this all had a meaning and how guided this was. The solution was later unveiled to me, to organize the Saraswati circle in a more fitting place.
This project definitely shows me that IF SOMETHING SERVES THE HIGHEST GOOD OF ALL, it will happen exactly the way it needs to happen. If we need to let go of something, we will be shown the way to do it. We don’t need to worry or try too much. Just sometimes we do and we try to manage more than is possible. It is rather finding a balance of organizing and surrendering where true BEING happens - what we call the FLOW of life. I am in deep gratitude for these learning opportunities and for Kula Collective offering me a chance to experience this fruitful project.
Om! Aho! Amen!
About Vera:
Vera embodies the grace of a lotus flower opening up into its purest divine essence, weaving the aspects of softness, stillness and inner strength together. Her authentic presence empowers others around to find the stillness in the core of being, and to stay in that union throughout the waves of our lives. Her life’s work brings together holistic teachings of yoga, nature and concepts of sensitivity; encouraging people to shine their light. She recently received a Kula Dharma Grant towards her 300 HR Yoga Teacher Training at the Yoga Forest in December of 2018.