For this episode, I sat down with Sally Kempton. Sally is a widely respected teacher of meditation and spiritual wisdom. She has spent over four decades practicing, teaching, and writing on meditation and spiritual philosophy. Sally spent 20 years as a swami in a traditional Vedic order of monks. Sally is the author of the best-selling books “Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga” and of “Meditation for the Love of It,”, and an audio program called Doorways to the Infinite: The Art and Practice of Tantric Meditation. She is on the faculty at Esalen and Kripalu, teaches meditation on the websites Glo.com, Gaia.com, and Yogajournal.com, and is a contributing editor at Yoga Journal. Sally teaches online courses and seminars on meditation and spiritual philosophy and leads retreats and workshops in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Listen to the full episode here:

5 BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THIS EPISODE

1. We are in the middle of a shift in global consciousness. You can see it as a curse, a result of our global carelessness, or as a manifestation of sacred energy. It is the universe’s gift to you.
2. Tantra is a tradition that offers tools for tuning-in the sacredness of every part of your experience. It’s about nonduality; not making a split between the mind and the body or ourselves and others. It’s a devotional path where we put the emphasis on tuning to higher energies, particularly Shakti, feminine power.
3. Goddesses are a condensed form of Shakit Energy. The different goddesses can help us connect to all the different aspects of ourselves, our divine feminine nature. They exist as psychics states of our being.
4. If you are afraid of strong energy, turn towards it. As you move through its intensity, you will eventually find the love that they are really about.
5. Life is all about love. Love is the floor, it’s the ground. it’s what is. There’s interpersonal love, romantic love, but a lot of the practice is about opening to the love that is always there. you need to remove the vales that cover and close our hearts. Learn how to open your heart. Feel into the energy of the heart space. You can cultivate it and invite it in.

QUESTIONS SHE ANSWERED DURING THIS EPISODE

• Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your spiritual journey?
• Why do you work particularly with Goddesses?
• A lot of your work is based on non-dual tantra. Can you explain what that is and what are its core principals?
• How to choose which Goddess to work with?
• Should we be afraid of Kali energy? How can we work with her and feel safe?
• I’ve heard you say “Your priority is to experience love, to feel love” How can we experience more love?
• How do we move from having to meditate to wanting/loving to meditate?

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ABOUT OUR GUEST

Sally Kempton is a widely respected teacher of meditation and spiritual wisdom. She is known for kindling meditative states in others, and for teaching students how to work with yogic teachings for practical life-change. A former journalist who wrote for Esquire, New York, and the Village Voice, she has spent over four decades practicing, teaching, and writing on meditation and spiritual philosophy. Sally spent 20 years as a swami in a traditional Vedic order of monks. She was deeply trained in the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism and Vedanta under the guidance of her enlightened teacher, Swami Muktananda.

Sally is the author of two best-selling books, Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga, and Meditation for the Love of It,” which Spirituality and Health magazine called “the meditation book your heart wants you to read”. Her audio program, Doorways to the Infinite: The Art and Practice of Tantric Meditation, was released by Sounds True in 2014. She is on the faculty at Esalen and Kripalu, teaches meditation on the websites Glo.com, Gaia.com, and Yogajournal.com, and is a contributing editor at Yoga Journal. Sally teaches online courses and seminars on meditation and spiritual philosophy, and leads retreats and workshops in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Learn more about her:
www.sallykempton.com