Dear Friend,
This email is a little longer than usual and hopefully an inspiring read with a cup of tea 🙂
Happy Diwali! The Indian lunar new year is celebrated by the new moon with this beautiful festival of lights. According to Indian myth, it signifies the victory of light over darkness, dissolving negativity and doubts and illuminating our core with clarity and positivity. At this time of year, the community prays to the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, not material wealth (as it is often confused with) but for the internal wealth of virtues such as grace, purity, courage, and also for beauty, health, and enlightenment. My name comes from this festival and means guiding light.
With the state of the world in chaos, we are being challenged with the darkness we see. Diwali comes with a great reminder to still our minds in prayer, cultivate positive thoughts, come together in community, and regain clarity of the natural law of the dance of darkness and light. A wise man shared a story with me recently:If you see a house at night with all its lights on, and you open the doors and windows, what happens? The light falls out to lighten the darkness. The darkness does not enter and dim the light.
I am currently in an Ayurvedic cleanse (Panchkarma) at Santulan Ayurveda in India. There is oil and ghee being inserted in every orifice to soften the toxins in my cells, and then I’m oil massaged and steamed to encourage the impurities to be eliminated through the usual ways! I love it! This is a process of deep cellular purification and rejuvenation.
Here prayer and meditation are also part of the purification, so we can observe our toxicity as it comes to the surface and master our minds by cultivating positive thoughts. Â Gratitude and a still mind can quickly bring us back to peace in the present. I resonate with this multifaceted approach to healing.
I’m also being deeply challenged with my belief around cows milk which they recommend and revere as the best nutrition. The milk they serve is from their own healthy roaming A-class cows, so it’s the best I could ever have, and whilst my brain struggles with the concept after a lifetime of believing cow’s milk is unhealthy for humans (the white water available in supermarkets is still terrible!), I surrender to their process and continue to listen to my own body as I try their suggestions.
Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine have many similarities, both being potent ancient medicine we can remember and empower ourselves with.
Below, I share wisdom from the season of Autumn, photos from my Sacred Egypt retreat in October, and details about an upcoming DIY facial acupuncture and scar workshop in Ibiza this December.
May you walk the beauty way.
With love in all ways.Dipika 🧡
The “Classic of Categories” (Lei Jing, 1624) by Zhang Jie Bin states: “The Spleen belongs to Earth which pertains to the Centre. Its influence manifests for 18 days at the end of each of the four seasons, and it does not pertain to any season on its own”. In modern thinking it is common to see Earth pertain to late summer, after Fire of Summer and before Metal of Autumn. But ancient texts confirm what is intuitive to me that Earth is at the core of our being and all seasons and elements. The element of Earth deserves its own explanation that I will come back to another time.
the colour is white
the taste is pungent
eat cauliflower, onions, daikon, turnips, black pepper, pears
garlic, almonds, quinoa, tofu, oats, coconut, white meat
white rice, mushrooms, sprouted seeds and fermented vegetables
just as the trees drop their leaves
we too must let go of what is dead within
grief and sorrow is the emotion
feel all that is vulnerable and temporal
it is inevitable and unavoidable
not overly identifying with it
nor numb to it
grace and resilience is the balanced action
make space for self-forgiveness
and set boundaries
honour and reflect your renewed sense of self worth
and be flexible without losing integrity
so you can breathe
metal provides structure
practice rituals that keep routine in place
and turbulence at bay
restore order and rhythm
meditate on your breath for shining mental clarity
envision possibilities and new ways forward
balance solitude with connection
sweep away the clutter that hides your beauty
and refreshen the air of inspiration
air connects us to all living beings
