A Live Online Course
Invoking Shakti:
Durga Sādhanā
WITH AUDE BARRAS
Tantric Practitioner, Intimacy Guide, Seeker of Truth
This 4-week course, "Invoking Shakti – Durga Sādhanā" is part of a 3-Part Series and a pre-requisite for the third course starting in July. Learn more about the 3-Part Series below and the upcoming weekend immersion in Nevada City, CA in April!
COURSE DETAILS
Four Thursdays over Zoom
Starting April 4, 2024
6:00pm - 7:30pm PT
(Lifetime access to replays will be available)
The course is for anyone who knows that Love is the way and sincerely seeking tools to embody that truth in the world.
This course welcomes everyone who believes in the transformative power of Love. Whether you're a complete beginner to Tantra and Hinduism or a seasoned practitioner, this supportive space will empower you to dive deeper into the realm of Shakti, the divine feminine force that brings beauty and harmony to the world. Here, you'll find the tools to embody Love as a guiding principle in your daily life.
During this course, you will have the opportunity to:
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Connect with the Goddess Tradition: Receive an introduction to the rich history and practices of Goddess worship.
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Discover practical and devotional tools for navigating duality: Surrender deeper into the infinite ocean of devotion building trust to navigate the opposing forces in life, like joy and sorrow, to find inner peace and embody your truth.
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Uncover your Dharma: Through the teachings and practices explored in the course, receive support from Durga in identifying your dharma- your life's purpose and fulfilling your unique calling.
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Embrace your inner warrior: Channel the strength and nurturing power of Durga, the warrior goddess, to support your dreams while offering compassion to yourself and others.
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Honor your creative potential: Awaken the creative spark within, just like Durga, the source of all creation.
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Unveil how to express your unique talents and ideas in the world.
Overview of Sessions
Over four classes, this course will cover the following topics:
SESSION 1: Devī Worship – Invoking the Goddess
- Who is Devī? The worship of consciousness as the Goddess
- Introduction of Her Shakti and Navarātri, the nine-night festival dedicated to Devī happening this year between April 9-17, 2024.
- Practice: Invocation to the Goddess Tandava Lāsya, the dance of Devī with the universe
SESSION 2: Durga Sanketa – Encountering the Mother
- Durga Sanketa – Encounter with Durga, the Upholder of Dharma
- Visualization and Mantra
- Practice: The 32 names of Durga - Durgādvātriḿśatnāmamālā
SESSION 3: Devī Māhātmya (The Glory of the Goddess)
- Mythology of Durga
- Durga visualization and process for fear removal
- Practice: Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Hymn - Aparājitā Stotram
SESSION 4: Navarātri - The 9 nights Dedicated to Her
- Devī Festival and Worship
- Introduction to Nava Durgas ( the nine shakti's of Durga)
- Practice: Sapta Sloki - Seven Verses in Praise of Durga
Who is Durga?
Durga is often referred to as the primordial mother, the source from which all creation springs. This concept is linked to the idea of Mula Prakriti, which translates to "root nature" or "form of consciousness."
Imagine consciousness as a vast ocean of potential. When this potential begins to take form, to differentiate and move towards creating the material world, Durga, the power behind it all, emerges. She is the foundational essence, the building block from which the entire universe is born.
She is not just the source, but also the power that drives creation. Just as a mother gives birth and guides her child, Durga's energy fuels the manifestation of the cosmos.
What is Sādhanā?
Sādhanā literally means you are giving or getting support in Sā in peace, in sameness and equanimity.
Sādhanā can be understood in two parts:
- Support in the steadiness of being: This refers to a state of peace, equanimity, and inner sameness. Sādhanā is both the process of achieving this state and the support that allows us to maintain it.
- Knowing the essence: In Vedanta philosophy, Sādhanā is the means to acquire knowledge of Brahman, the ultimate reality or oneness. This knowledge isn't about accumulating information, but rather about touching the essence that underlies everything. It's about knowing the unity that permeates all existence.
Schedule of Classes
ALL CLASSES ARE FROM 6:00PM - 7:30PM PT ON THURSDAYS
April 4, 2024
April 11, 2024
April 18, 2024
April 25, 2024
For those unable to make the live Zoom sessions, all classes will be recorded and uploaded into the Academy Portal. You will have lifetime access to replays.
Join Aude Barras on a year-long journey of devotion.
This 4-week course, "Invoking Shakti – Durga Sādhanā" is part of a 3-Part Series. Courses I and II are stand-alone and a pre-requisite for the third course starting in July 2024. Learn more about the 3-Part Series below and the upcoming weekend immersion in Nevada City, CA in April!
The full series includes
COURSE I (Online Self-Study Course)
Enter the Doorway to Shakti - This 4-session self-study course embraces you at the temple entrance, where we pay homage to Ganeśa and receive an introduction to Devī, the omnipresent cosmic energy permeating the whole existence. (Note, this is a self-paced course with immediate access to recorded sessions). Learn more and register for this self-study course here.
COURSE II (live online)
- COURSE II (this course): Invoking Shakti: Durga Sādhanā:
This 4-week course begins on April 4, 2024 and continues during Navaratri, the 9-day festival dedicated to the Goddess-- an auspicious time to have deeper access to her field! This is the course page you are currently viewing.
COURSE III (Online)
- COURSE III: Embodying Shakti: The Navadurgas:
This is a 10-week course from July 2024 to September 2024 in preparation for Fall Navaratri, which takes place from October 3 to 11, 2024. More information to come. Note, Course I and Course II are prerequisites for this course. If you miss the first two courses live, you can watch the self-study replays to join Course III.
IN-PERSON OPPORTUNITIES IN NEVADA CITY, CA
- Kameśwari Sundari - A Tapestry of Love, Beauty, and Sovereignty: Re-memebring the Erotic Innocence:
An in-person weekend immersion in Nevada City, CA from April 26 through April 28, 2024 Learn more + register here!
PILGRIMAGE TO CATHAR LAND
- MARY MAGDALENE 11-DAY PILGRIMAGE on Cathar Land (Southern France):
In September 2024, we invite you to join Aude on a mystical Journey into the Mystery of the Rose and Mary Magdalene. (Priority will be given to previous students for the pilgrimage).
More info on the above programs will be provided in future weeks. If you miss any live classes, they will be available as self-study on-demand courses.
What previous students say about Aude's courses
“Life makes presents, presents that you need. Meeting Aude five years ago is one of these gifts. The process initiated by this encounter changed my life! I’m so grateful for what is unfolding within my being which was catalyzed by the precious human and spiritual wisdom revealed in these teachings. I feel better than ever; connected to my heart and the infinite Love of the Universe. Thanks to all the practices transmitted and integrated in my daily life I feel my feminine power embodied.”
Aline- Sion, Switzerland
“What I found in these teachings was the map for a particular path home to myself. My feminine. My sensual. My softness and my strength. It has created such beautiful new vistas inside me that I never knew I needed. Because it is hidden so deeply beneath the stories that until I found it I didn’t even know it was missing. Aude is a truly gifted teacher and a powerful guide of love and light as we gently enter the unknown. I recommend this class to everyone. It is both profound and joyous.”
Tanya Kazeminy – London -UK
“I found these teachings to be a deep invitation into the strength of softness and the grace of feminine power. It is still finding its own way into my life and Being. I am very grateful for Aude’s integrity and passion which permeate her work. The initiation into the space of “what if Love is just the beginning” met that same question in my own heart and it has been growing inside me like an ancient recognition. The time has come to really Be what we have always known. To begin, now that we have re-membered what was severed”
Ayala – London - Uk
Meet Aude Barras
AUDE BARRAS is a seeker of truth and a practitioner of beauty. She is deeply immersed in Śrī Vidyā, a Shakta Tantra lineage, and her life is devoted to the worship of Devī – the Goddess. A student of the arts of beauty, for the past decade she has been under the guidance of many masters throughout the world. Her life is in service guiding people into remembering their divine essence by allowing herself to be a channel for love.
Her vision is to preserve ancient wisdom by creating temples of beauty to celebrate and honor the arts of the divine feminine, spaces where pleasure is revered as sacred medicine – a safe haven for students and devotees of beauty. All her endeavors are a prayer, an offering to the Divine Mother.
Half Swiss-Canadian, Aude currently splits her time living between India and Cathar Land in France.
Aude's Story
In our fast-paced world, where everything is about instant gratification, this program offers a steady and integrated path to cultivate an intimate relationship with Devi, the Goddess, and the truth of being. The program embraces the patient and devotional approach of wisdom, providing a safe and supportive environment for you to unravel and transform over time. We will create a sangha, a committed community of kindred spirits, walking together with unwavering integrity and love.
Feeling very turmoiled as a child, I found yoga and meditation in my early teens and it became my saving grace. Knowing that intimacy and beauty were the way, for the last 15 years I've been seeking an avenue to connect to Truth. After years of exploring different paths (Taoism, Shamanism, Neo-Tantra) in a moment of despair, the Goddess graced me with a lineage, Śri Vidya (the wisdom of Auspiciousness) that opened a doorway to developing an intimate relationship with the divine.
For the past six years, I have walked the path of devotion under the blessed guidance of Maa Uma-Parvathi Natha. This journey has become the very breath of my life, a complete immersion in teachings that resonated with the deepest longing of my heart - the yearning to merge the masculine and feminine, the human and divine, within the ecstatic embrace of Oneness.
Join us beginning Thursday, April 4, 2024 on this journey of remembrance.
By opening to the realm of devotion and invoking the power within you, this class invites you to embrace your potential and nurture your dharma with integrity, love, and fierceness, just like Durga. It's about finding your place within the world's complexities and using your power to create something beautiful.
Isn't that something we all long for in the depth of our being?
