Śilpa – arts and crafts 

«A man who has learnt all the arts (kalā) and is an adept in all the crafts (śilpa) and can [besides] captivate the heart of women, is called a Vaiśika (Expert Gallant)» (Natya-śastra, 25.2).

The quote comes from the manual (śāstra) concerning dance, but in the Indian tradition there are śāstra dedicated to śilpa too. The term śilpa includes any kind of art from the finest to the artisanal to the mechanical. Everything that involves creativity, skill, mental and manual dexterity is included. The Indian tradition counts 64 different types of śilpa, but today perhaps, given the available materials and means, there are many more.

Have you started planning your new life? You could also think of a new interest such as cultivating a new hobby or a new passion of study or reading if you do not even think of a real project that you can develop starting now and for the next few years. The only clause is that these projects are aimed at improving your personal life from the depths. Not an ambition for social success, but something that helps you live better psychically and physically, that brings out the best in you.

IN PRACTICE  

Nataraja-āsana, dancing Śiva.

Śiva dance to destroy and recreate. That’s exactly what I wrote above: art sublimates by destroying the old form to give it a new one, more functional and beautiful. Art creates beauty. Feel beautiful in this pose, practice it every day for one or two minutes per side.

Awareness exercise

Are  you used to fantasizing? This month you are licensed to. Hypothesize different scenarios, think about where certain dreams, certain fantasies would lead you, think if they were feasible.

Mantra of the month

«Abracadabra»

(Do you know that one of the meanings hypothesized for this formula is “I will create as I speak”?).