The lotus flower represents a vast array of incredibly complex spiritual meanings throughout the ancient cultures of Egypt, Maya, China, Japan and India.

Its unique importance is based both on the beauty of its radiating petals and on the analogy between them and an idealized form of the womb/vulva as the divine source of life. 

By extension, the lotus came to symbolize birth, rebirth, the origin of cosmic life, and purity. It also represents the human psyche, as the lotus illustrates the unfolding and blossoming of higher consciousness. The roots of the lotus are in the mud of the earth, or the undeveloped mind / unconscious. As we overcome adversities in our lives with resilience, we mirror the perseverance of the lotus as it grew through mud and water to reach the light of the sun. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, “no mud, no lotus”.

In yogic meditations, the unfolding of the lotus petals symbolizes the soul’s realization of its inner potential, i.e. its ability to harness the flow of energy moving up through the chakras, flowering as the thousand petalled lotus of enlightenment at the top of the skull (crown chakra). 

Practices such as yoga / meditation / exercises for maintaining the flow of energy through the body are well known. Some lesser known practices include:  

1. Releasing the voice through singing & chanting

2. Loosening the neck & shoulders through self massage or Gua-sha (recent personal fav)

3. Drawing / creating visual art 

4. Or coloring for the artistically challenged - like me! 

“The act of individual consciousness reflecting upon its own immensity is the mystery of the crown chakra. To realize that consciousness flows through every quantum of life around us, and to behold the same presence within our own consciousness, this is enlightenment” - Anodea Judith