Tina Shettigara's Joy Page

To wrap up our August contemplations, I want to share this beautiful, fiery invocation from Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, who is my teacher Hareesh’s root guru. 🔥✨

"Recognize that you have the courage within you to fulfill the purpose of your birth. Summon forth the inner power of your courage and live the life of your dreams."

Courage isn’t something we have to manufacture or find outside of ourselves. True courage is an inherent capacity of your own sovereign Consciousness. It is already sitting inside you, waiting to be summoned. Fulfilling the purpose of your birth means stepping out of the small, fearful stories of the ego and fully embodying the vast, divine light you actually are.

Take a deep breath and feel that spark of inner power in your center. What is one courageous step you are being called to take today? 👇

**ra

I love this reminder from Jeff Foster because it matches my own experience so deeply. "Give your questions time to breathe. And the answers will find you." 🌬️✨

There have been so many times when I have sat in Satsang with my teacher, Hareesh, carrying a burning question in my heart. Sometimes I didn’t manage to ask it, or there simply wasn’t an opportunity. Yet, inevitably, the answer would come anyway—either spilling directly out of his discourse without me ever uttering a word, or arriving as a quiet, gentle revelation during my own practice.

When we realize that when we let go of the desperate, analytical need to solve a puzzle, we tap into a shared field of Consciousness. The answer doesn't need to be forced; it drops in when the space is open. Is there a question in your life right now that you can stop fighting and simply let breathe? 👇

**ra

I had to share this one because we have all probably felt exactly like this cheetah at some point! 🐆💨

The Image: A photo of a cheetah running at absolute full speed. The caption reads: "Out of my way! I am going to yoga."

There is a wonderful irony in knocking ourselves out, rushing through traffic, and stressing over the clock all in the name of going to find "inner peace."

When we practice can we remember that the stillness we are chasing isn't something we have to sprint toward. It is already right here, waiting the moment we stop running. But until we fully integrate that truth, sometimes we just have to laugh at the frantic pace of our own human lives. 🧘‍♂️😂

Do you ever find yourself rushing at top speed just to get to your meditation cushion or yoga mat? Let's laugh about it below! 👇

Joy is the ultimate flavour of spiritual awakening. It isn't a loud, temporary excitement; it is the quiet, vibrant radiance of our true nature. ✨

I love sharing this because joy is deeply personal to me. My parents actually chose Joy as my middle name, and over years of practice, it has truly become the anchor of my path.

If you are looking for ways to drop out of the busy mind and tap into that natural inner radiance, I created a free digital space just for you. My online library, Pathways to Joy, is a completely free collection of guided meditations, yoga nidrās, and somatic movement practices designed to help you settle, soften, and remember your innate wholeness. 🕊️🌿

You can access the entire library for free by visiting tinashettigara.com/resources (or clicking the link in the Page info). Let's walk the path to joy together!

**ra

This insight gets right to the heart of what true spiritual shadow work looks like in practice.

"Learning the art of welcoming not only prevents the laying down of new samskaras, but allows the old to reveal themselves in whatever sensory/emotive way they turn up today." 🌿

When an uncomfortable emotion or reaction arises, our habit is to fight it, deny it, or overanalyse it. But doing that just presses it deeper into our system, reinforcing those old conditioning loops (samskaras). Instead, we practice radical hospitality. When we welcome the raw sensation in the body exactly as it is, without a story, the knot can finally untie itself.

What is one intense emotion or body sensation you can practice welcoming today instead of fighting? 👇

**ra

I find these words from Hafiz to be an absolute balm for the nervous system, especially when life feels heavy or rushed.

"Be kind to your sleeping heart. Take it out into the vast fields of light and let it breathe." 🕊️✨

The heart can easily contract or "go to sleep" when we are stuck in the protective, defensive loops of the mind. Kindness isn't a luxury; it is a necessary spiritual practice. Taking your heart into the "vast fields of light" means stepping into the open space of pure Awareness. It means letting go of the need to fix yourself, and simply allowing your heart to rest and breathe in its own natural spaciousness.

Can you pause for a moment right now, soften your shoulders, and let your heart breathe? 👇

**ra

I really appreciate how Alan Watts handles this truth with such honesty, because it gets to the very core of what it means to live an open-hearted life.

"We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain." 💔❤️

The goal of practice is never to numb ourselves or build a thick emotional armor to escape life's discomforts. To open the channel of consciousness means to open it completely. When you increase your capacity to feel the profound beauty, love, and joy of this world, you inherently increase your capacity to feel its sorrow and pain. The trick is not to reject or resist that. True liberation isn't about feeling only the good things; it is having the vastness of Awareness to hold all of it without breaking.

Can you soften into your sensitivity today, knowing it is the very thing that makes you beautifully alive? ✨

**ra

I love how Jeff Foster strips away all the complex theology here and brings us face-to-face with the exact choice we make in every single second.

"Heaven is this moment. Hell is the burning desire for this moment to be different. It's that simple." 🔥✨

Suffering isn't caused by the reality of our circumstances. It is caused by our resistance to reality. The moment we argue with what is, we create friction in our own nervous systems. When we drop the struggle and allow this moment to be exactly as it is, the burning stops. The space that opens up is what we call true peace.

Can you take a breath right now and let everything be just as it is, even for one minute? 👇

**ra