"You can Drink with the Devil, but you must use holy cunning and leave him to pay for the bill."
-G.I. Gurdjieff

During David's recent Intensive in San Francisco, the moods, or bhava's during various sessions seemed very different, and I'm sure it was different for everyone. For me the first meditation session was like deep sleep, or relaxation. I was being removed from the picture, so the Shakti coould work on me. During the next session, there was a huge infusion of Light/prana wafting down through the top of my head in no pattern and there was tremendous bliss and santosha. Then during David's follow up talk he quickly changed from a sattvic bhava to a more fierce one and he instructed us in the fierce fire of Tantric energy, where all aspects of existence are divinized - even fierce states. There is Divine Wrath that dispels confusion, or even the tamas/inertia of too much sattva/equinimity. During this time I felt an intense transmission going on and an exhortation to use all means necessary to undermine ego. David used Republican poltical tactics as an example. He said "The Republcans just want to win!" and he insinuated we could take a page from their devious playbook to use in our approach of outwitting the ego. He spoke of Lions getting together just before the hunt and roaring together to get each other into the spirit where killing is permissible, and this was clearly suggesting we do the same as we go out and hunt the fast deer of Ego who will try to out maneuver primal consciousness at every step. He spoke of doing what ever it takes to trick ourselves, invoking whatever might work to that end, and that in that domain of ego, morality is absent, and that by whatever means necessary is the order of the day. This was useful to rattle our little cages of sattvic bliss that David sensed we had become complacent in, and it was energetically enlivening and inspiring. I was left reeling and felt the full force of the Kali in her scrimtar brandishing, ego-decapitating, fire-filled aspect!

MahaKali or Devi Gayatri

Om Adyayai vidhmahe
Paramesvaryai dhimahi
Tanno Kali pracodayat

May we realise the Primordial Energy. Let us meditate on that Paramesvari, the partner of Siva. May that Goddess Kali illumine us!