I have avoided the Divine Shield meditation for years. There was something about the posture (god forbid I should venture beyond siddhasana for meditation!), something about the mantra (Maaaaa? There is none of the upper-palate activation that I so love about kundalini meditations). I am partial to aura-boosting meditations, so the Divine Shield has often jumped out as one that would support me… but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it!

Well, I guess I just wasn’t ready.

Having recently emerged from the birth canal of 40 days of the Divine Shield Meditation, I am filled with  respect. The mantra Maaaaaa took me on a deep dive into the transformative power of Naad, or sound. Some mornings, the sound would feel like solid matter. At times, it felt as if my tongue was pressing on the upper palate! It wasn’t… it was the sound. Incredible. That gave me a new respect for Naad, and specifically, the power of our word.

Overall, I found this meditation to be very nourishing, supportive, sweet and gentle. It offered great reprieve when the frustrations of being locked down for Covid got a little too much. While my physical/exterior landscapes were certainly a lot smaller, my energetic ones felt extraordinarily expansive. I would sit in stunned silence afterwards, resting in the after effects of this meditation.

I first came across the goddess’ name Ma in Robert Svoboda’s Aghora trilogy (FANTASTIC books, if you feel called to dive deeper). Svoboda’s teacher, the tantric aghori Vimalananda, says we each connect to the goddess in our own way. For some, she is a sister or friend. For others, she is a lover. For Vimalananda, she is the mother, hence Ma. It points to her unconditional love, the unbreakable bond between a mother and child. And yes, I found this meditation a beautiful tool to explore my relationship with Ma…

Sat nam x