Shopping for Lakshmi

An Earth Day Ritual

Suppose you are shopping to find the perfect gift for the person who has everything. ...who, in fact, IS everything. What would you give the Universe? 

Mystic teachings seek to remind us that every person is an expression of the universal Infinite, and therefore, each of us is a divinely unique reflection of the “universal everything.” The archetypal image of Goddess Lakshmi embodies the abundance of the Earth and the richness of life’s miracles. She carries this message for you: 
तत्त्वमिस = “Tat tvam asi” = “You are that...” ​

PREFER TO LISTEN? 

Shopping for Lakshmi: A Ritual of Abundance –R.R. Shakti, PhD
(please wait 30 seconds for the audio to upload)

6:00

As a Soul Artist, you seek to remember your Self as one with creation and its Source. 
You look for the beauty in all things. You take a deep breath and remind yourself that you have everything that you need. 
And if you are like me, you often forget. 

When we forget ourselves as infinite, it is common to reach for material possessions to help us “remember who we are.” 
Shopping can feel like recovering our lost selves for a moment.
Parents who have extended their energy into their children, for instance, or those with demanding jobs may feel a sense of “lost self.” A trip to the department store, or shopping online, can help you experience a sort of ego-retrieval: 

You find an item you like and you declare, “Now THIS is me!” 

Sometimes appreciating beautiful things can, in fact, remind you of your infinite connection too, especially when you celebrate beauty without attachment or aversion—when you experience it with the eyes of the witnessing soul. When you remember the intrinsic beauty within you. Remember, You are That. 

“Shopping for Lakshmi” is a regular household ritual that allows my family time to connect with each other and the Earth. At other times, I take a walk alone and “go shopping” as a way of reconnecting with my natural creative power. It is a ritual to remember simple abundance and the rich treasures of my every day life. 

I’m sharing this practice with you as an opportunity to deepen your experience of interconnectedness by "shopping" outside in nature. It may be practiced any time as a contemplative practice or as a community ritual. Make it a weekly event. 

• Take a morning or evening hike and observe your surroundings, celebrate the glorious beauty that is freely expressed all around you in Nature.
• Choose one thing (a rock, a leaf, a shell, a flower, a pinecone, etc.) that speaks to you as a reflection of your own beauty within. Bring it home with you and place it on your alter.
• Allow this “shopping for Lakshmi” to be a ritual in recognition of Self—the universal aspect of you that is beyond all space, time, and form. Celebrate your true nature as one with all of creation. 

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”
—Wayne Dyer ​

Meditation

The Lakshmi archetype is the aspect of you which is universally abundant, rich in  infinite Love. Enjoy every exquisite nugget—both big and small—of the Earth’s beauty as a deeply cherished gift to your Self. 
Let each gift be a reminder of who you really are. 

Tat tvam asi

You are not just the voice of the Earth. You ARE the EARTH. You are her voice, eyes, ears, hands and heart. You are, in fact, the complete emanation of the Universe itself–an expression of cosmic creative power. As you admire the beauty in the night sky, you are the stars gazing back at themselves in wonder. You are an animation of the exact same life force that animates the entire planet. ​​Your life is the gift. 

​Tat tvam asi