Setting Boundaries & Taking Action (a short 2-for-1 Navaratri bonus post)
“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Sharada Navaratri!” Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone cultivating friendship, peace, freedom, understanding, and wisdom.
Stay safe! Live well! Hydrate and nourish your heart, body, and mind.
This bonus 2-for-1 compilation post for the fifth and sixth days of Sharada Navaratri (in 2026), includes new content and excerpts. WARNING: While I had originally planned this as a regular post, I have separated it out due to recent events and some references to violence.
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“Taoists use the famous black-and-white circle to represent this energetic play in play in physical reality. The black side represents chi’s yin aspects and refers to those elements that are darker, harder to see, or more deeply hidden. It is often likened to the shady side of a mountain. The white side represents the yang aspects of energy. It is the brighter, more obvious, surface part of reality. It is the sunny side of the mountain. They are shown in a circle, the representation of life’s cyclical nature and inherent unity. Although they appear as separate, polar opposites, the line drawn between them is not a straight one. It is curved in an S shape, representing the eternal intertwinement of these two coessential essences. They are like two rivers constantly meeting, one side continually changing into and becoming the other. There is never one without the other, as the opposite-color dot in each side depicts. All states of existence are temporary manifestations of a blend of yin and yang chi”
— quoted from the “Yin and Yang” section of “3. Meridian Theory” in Insight Yoga: An innovative synthesis of traditional yoga, meditation, and Eastern approaches to healing and well-being by Sarah Powers (Forward by Paul Grilley, Photography by Matthew Carden)
Ancient religions and philosophies tend to view everything as energy that can manifest if different ways. In Chinese Medicine and Daoism, Chi is described as yin and yang, which can be seen as passive/receptive and active/repulsive. Before we get it too twisted, remember that this is not a strict binary. Each side of the taijitu (symbol of “utmost extreme”) includes part of the other element. Daoism also refences rising and falling, as well as entering and leaving. Additionally, Yoga Sūtra 2:18 indicates that everything in the Universe is made up of the the gunas: “the principles of illumination (sattva), activity (rajas) and inertia (tamas).”
These concepts are like night and day — which seem so different and yet come together during the twilight hours to make up a 24-hour period. Similarly, we have our inhale (which can be described as a solar breath); our exhale (which can be described as a lunar breath); and the pauses in the middle (which could be described as twilight). Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the sun and the moon don’t go away. Even when we don’t see them, they are exert a force that affects Earth.
Another way that energy can be described is feminine and masculine. Again, many of us have been taught this as binary. Yet, each of has qualities that can be described as feminine or masculine. Each of us can express those qualities. Some would even say that we must express some of those qualities in order to have balance and peace.
Bottom line: Even though I have been outlining a journey inspired by women, it is a journey for everyone.
“In his research on Durgā worship in Varansi, Hillary Rodrigues asked both males and females how they understood these goddesses and what lent the group internal coherence. Males, for the most part, stressed the fact that all were manifestations of Durgā or the Mahādevī, that they represented her different manifestations in the world. When pressed, some males interpreted the nine goddesses as different stages in the evolution of prakṛti (the physical creation) or as different elements in it….
Interpretations of the nine Durgās by women differed dramatically from this rather philosophical view of the goddesses. According to certain females, the nine Durgās represent the stages in a woman’s life; as one woman put it: ‘These nine Durgās are our life, women’s life.’”
— quoted from the “Religious Materials Are Heavily Gendered” section of “1. Women’s Studies in the History of Religions” by David Kinsley, as published in Methodology in Religious Studies: The Interface with Women’s Studies, edited by Arvind Sharma
When people think of “the Hero with a Thousand Faces”, they often think of masculine figures. However, sometimes the hero might be called a heroine. In fact, if we look at the aforementioned manifestations of the Divine as the same Woman at different stages of her life, then the stories associated with Navaratri are consistent with any other Hero’s Journey.
We are now halfway through this journey inspired by the different manifestations of the Divine who are honored during Navaratri:
- Shailaputri, the daughter of the Mountain King, was the inspiration to know who we are, where we are starting, and where we want to go.
- Bramacharini, who practices yoga, was the inspiration to take a deep breath in and a deeper breath out, as a preparation practice.
- Chandraghanta, the newly married version of Durga/Parvati, inspired us to commit to ourselves — with the understanding that committing requires showing up every day and re-committing.
- Kushmanda, who created the world with her smile, inspired us to created a plan… a plan to shine.
From start to finish, the Hero’s Journey is full of trials, tribulations, challenges, and danger. But, most of the danger happens in the middle of the journey. This is the point where we have to take care our ourselves (and sometimes others), as if we are our own fiercest protector and nurturer. For this reason, our fifth step is to set boundaries for ourselves (and our time).
“Kill those killer ghouls, Lust, Anger and Greed,
before they can aim their arrows at your heart.
Armour yourself in thought, shield yourself with silence,
you’ll soon see what they’re really made of.”
— quoted from the end of poem 114, as printed in I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal Dĕd by Lal Dĕd (Translated from the Kashmiri with an Introduction and Notes by Ranjit Hoskote)
The first paragraph regarding the fifth day of Navaratri was excerpted from a 2025 post highlighting non-negotiables and caring.
This fifth day of Navaratri, the Hindu festival of “nine nights” celebrating divine feminine energy in various manifestations, is devoted to Skandamata, who is a fierce mother as protector — a woman who simultaneously holds her baby, rides a lion, and keeps her eyes (especially her third eye) open for any and all danger. If we follow the story and see each manifestation as a different stage in a woman’s life and development, then each version of Durga/Parvati prepares her for the next stage of her life. Skandamata, then, is someone who can take care of herself and also take care of others.
When we set boundaries, in this context, we are setting them for ourselves. We are carving out time to do the work — and protecting that time. We are setting ground rules for ourselves, as a sign that we respect ourselves and whatever we have set out to do. We are defining our expectations and clearly indicating that we (and what we are doing) are important.
A Psychology Today exploration of boundaries (reviewed by Crispin Roven on October 14, 2026) points out that while we have to work to maintain our boundaries, we also must be aware that “Some individuals are more vigilant, and even aggressive, about enforcing their boundaries, which can lead to discomfort, if not conflict, with others.”
While we have to find balance between our nurturing tendencies and our fierce protectiveness, we also have to take action. In other words, it is time to “attack” (or tackle) the work.
The following excerpt was previously posted in a slightly different context.
Friday is the sixth day of Navaratri and it is dedicated to Katyayani, one of the fiercest (and most violent) ways that Durga shows up in the celebration. She rides a lion; is associated with red (as a color symbolizing courage); kills the biggest demon(s); and has multiple hands (4, 10, or 18, depending on the depiction). One of those hands is in the “stop the ignorance” mudra.
Of course, the best way to stop ignorance is with a little wisdom.
“146. Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
— quoted from “Fourth Chapter. Apophthegms and Interludes” in Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future by Friedrich Nietzsche (b. 1844)
NOTE: In 2026, the fifth day of Sharada Navaratri fell on October 15th, the anniversary of the births of Friedrich Nietzsche (b. 1844) and Italo Calvino (b. 1923), as well as the 1951 premiere of “I ♥ Lucy”. While I do not have a full post for this date, you can email me for a recording of a related practice.
Click on the excerpt title below if you are interested in a post related to Noah Webster (b. 1758) and Oscar Wilde (b. 1854).
The Vital Importance of Being… (the “missing” Wednesday post w/an excerpt)
If you are struggling, thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or need a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
