Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:00]:

Have you ever met someone who just seems completely at ease? Not because life is perfect, they have the same ups and downs that you might, but because they always seem to trust that they have enough, that things will get better. And while they might do well financially, there's probably more to it than that. They prioritize their creativity, relationships, and spirituality. These people have an inner wealth that doesn't fluctuate with the market. These people are also living aligned with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. If you wanna cultivate more wealth in your life, both inner and outer, this episode is for you. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Goddess School podcast, where Eastern wisdom meets Western mysticism.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:00:48]:

I'm your host, Lisa Marie Rankine, author, teacher, and Ayurvedic wellness coach here to help you reclaim your feminine superpowers, and I am so glad you're here. Listen, women are magical. They are intuitive, creative, wise, and magnetic. However, in today's fast paced world, these gifts often get buried under a more masculine way of life. Together, we'll awaken those powers. In each episode, I'll take you through sacred teachings like Ayurveda, shadow work, and the mysteries of archetypes and rituals so you can live with more clarity, synchronicity, and joy in all realms of life, like relationships, health, money, and more. So let's dive in so you can make the most of your one mythic life, The veil is parting. Let's begin.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:01:42]:

Hello, beautiful ones. Take a moment to imagine with me. Imagine being completely satisfied with your life. Sure. You have dreams and goals for the future that you're currently striving for, as we all do, but you're also perfectly content with how things are right here, right now. You're happy living in the present without being fixated on how things might improve sometime in the future. You're inspired by the success of others rather than simply feeling envious or threatened. And you give your love, time, attention, and even your money freely because you understand that generosity is an energy and it flows both ways.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:02:25]:

You are confident that you will receive all you need in this lifetime. If that was your attitude, you'd be operating from a place of abundance. This energy not only makes you feel really good, but it also attracts good things your way. This is the goddess Lakshmi. In today's episode, we are gonna explore the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. She's the goddess of abundance, beauty, love, and generosity. Now I wanna talk about what true abundance really means in a culture where it often can feel like there never seems to be enough, whether it's enough money, enough time, enough health, enough personal development. Right? There's this hungry ghost.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:03:09]:

There's graspiness. So if you're questioning what truly matters, whether it's the job, the house, the relationship, or maybe the perfectly curated lifestyle, if any of that actually brings fulfillment, this episode is for you. So let me start by just telling you a little bit about the goddess Lakshmi. Now, as I mentioned, she is the Hindu goddess of love, abundance, and beauty, and she is the consort of Lord Vishnu. He was one of the three supreme gods of the Hindu triumvirate, and his responsibility was really to make sure the world stayed in balance. He protected humans and just kept the world in order, but it was Lakshmi Shakti. So her energy that provided him with the ability to keep the earth spinning, crops growing, and people making love. Lakshmi had four arms, and these arms symbolize the four aims in life.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:04:06]:

And that's really what we are going to explore. So to give you a quick overview and we'll dive in a little further on, the four arms are represented by artha. Artha represent material wealth. It's money. It's our resources. And then there's comma. Comma is emotional and physical pleasure. It's our enjoyment.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:04:29]:

Dharma, our life's purpose or work. And Moksha, spiritual liberation or freedom. Moksha is the ultimate goal, but we do need the first three to realize Moksha because it's hard to attain spiritual liberation or freedom when we're hungry, when we don't have a nice place to sleep, when we're not enjoying our everyday lives and our lives don't have a lot of meaning and purpose. So we do need the other three to attain the ultimate goal, which is moksha. Artha and kama represent the physical realm, whereas Dharma and moksha represent the more spiritual realm. Now all four aims must be in balance to achieve happy, meaningful, purposeful life. The other thing to know about the goddess Lakshmi is she bestows really great fortune on those who follow her path. In fact, if you look at statues or iconography, she's often shown with her hands, with her palms open, and there's just gold coins streaming from her hands.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:05:32]:

The coins, however, they represent not only outer wealth, but also inner wealth, like love, peace of mind, and vibrant health. Lakshmi wants us to receive all that we desire. And I think that's important to note because sometimes if you are on a personal development path or spiritual path, you might feel that you shouldn't desire, that things are good enough. But I actually really believe that our desires lead us to that next best version of ourselves. Our desires act as a catalyst for action. So she wants us to receive what we desire, and she also wants us to be generous with both our material assets as well as our intangible ones, like our time and attention. And I actually think our time and attention are our most valuable assets. Lakshmi rewards hard work, devotion, and sincerity.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:06:27]:

So let's dive a little bit deeper into the four aims of life. So that first one was artha, and again, that wealth, but it's more than just money. It includes our resources, like clothes, food, our career, our home, like the material things that we need to live a stable and secure life. In today's culture, there's a lot of emphasis on Artha. Right? We have these big box stores everywhere. There's kind of sometimes this mentality of keeping up with the Joneses. People aspire to big houses, fancy cars, and exotic vacations. There's nothing wrong with that, except sometimes we judge our success by comparing what we own to what others might have.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:07:10]:

So while there's nothing wrong with desiring or possessing pretty things, I happen to love pretty things, We also need to understand that these things aren't going to bring us happiness or contentment. You can have all the material possessions you desire, but if you ignore the other three aims in life, comma, Dharma, and Moksha, you're always gonna feel that something is lacking. And that's because what you're looking for, so those other three aims, can't be found outside of yourself. It's a feeling of inner abundance that really needs to feel satiated. Lakshmi really encourages us to spend at least as much time growing our inner wealth as we do on growing our external wealth. Again, I wanna reiterate the importance of artha because sometimes when we talk about material goods, again, if we are on the spiritual path or personal development path, it's almost like we want to deprioritize that. However, we need artha to achieve Moksha. We need to feel good.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:08:13]:

So one thing to consider as we're reflecting on these three aims are, are you denying yourself the right to be supported or resourced? Are you telling yourself that things are good enough? Are you connected to your desires and what you want? Because, again, your desire is going to be your catalyst for action. It starts to show you where you need to go to become that next best version of yourself. Now let's move on to comma. Comma is one of my favorite as it refers to desire, love, beauty, sensuality, and enjoyment. It's the juice of life, art, music, connection, intimacy. I believe this is where many women need to focus and need to prioritize in a culture where it's very much no pain, no gain. We have all of these productivity hacks, we're always looking to become better, we can forget just to rest in this enjoyment of the present, to do things where they don't necessarily need an ROI, return on investment, but because we actually just enjoy doing them. So comma is about really prioritizing the things that you enjoy, the things that you feel good.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:09:32]:

I think there's a lot of room for exploration here because we've become disconnected from what truly lights us up. We've been talking about enchantment a bit in this community. You can think of comma as the doorway to that. Again, it's like, oh, what do I feel like doing today? It's going to be that enthusiasm you have for getting out of bed. So this is definitely one that I would love for everyone to start really exploring more. A question that you could consider or prompt that you can consider is where have I cut myself off from joy or sensual pleasure in the name of being good or productive? Do you feel that you are too busy for comma? Again, you're going to need comma to have a joyful, meaningful, purposeful life and to feel truly abundant. The next aim is dharma. Sometimes we think of a dharma as our life's purpose and dharma changes over time.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:10:34]:

So it's not necessarily the work that you are doing right now. It's really, I like to think of it as how you show up in the world. Do you find that your work is meaningful? Do you enjoy what you're doing? Do you feel that your gifts are being utilized and that you are contributing to the world at large? Dharma is living in alignment with your values and offering your unique gifts to the world. It's really the thread that makes life meaningful. Again, it's not a job title. It's how you show up. It's how you experience the world. You could have a job that was relatively mundane.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:11:18]:

You know, let's just say it was a barista and there's nothing against baristas, But if you really approached it as I'm going to shed my light to others, I'm gonna make others fail that their day is gonna get off to a great start. So it's really the way that we approach life less than any title or a reflection of what we do, which is also very different than the way we perceive things in our modern culture. Often, if you meet someone, one of the first questions we might ask is like, what do you do? Rather than like, how do you be? Right? What is it that you would like to give to the world or show to the world? So Dharma is what we need to have that meaningful and purposeful life, and it evolves over time. So a question to ask yourself here is, do I find my work? And by work, this doesn't need to be a nine to five job, but what it is that you do, do I find it meaningful? Does it light me up from within? Does it give me purpose? And what gifts are you here to share? And I know that this is a big question, but definitely one that is worth spending some time contemplating. The last aim is moksha. And again, this is liberation or spiritual freedom. It's freedom from suffering, from attachment, from the endless whale of striving and becoming. So this is living with a sense of calm contentment.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:12:48]:

Often, we are looking for the sense of happiness. Right? This is very much in our culture, like 10 happiness hacks, how to be happier. And, of course, I want all of you to be happy, yet happiness is often dependent on external events. What I would rather is for you to feel liberated from external events and be able to cultivate this calm sense of peace, ease, and contentment from within. And that's really what moksha is. Moksha reminds us that we are already whole, that we don't need things outside of ourselves. We don't need validation, but we are already whole within. We already have everything that we need.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:13:32]:

It's not about escaping our life or, you know, transcending reality, but it's becoming fully awake in it. So some prompts to consider when reflecting upon moksha. Where am I clinging? What could I release in order to feel more free? Where am I looking outside of myself to cultivate a sense of ease? So really consider how artha, kama, dharma, and moksha are showing up in your life in which area you want to focus on maybe a little bit more intently. People who attend to all of these four aims have more ease in the world. Their finances may fluctuate with the economy, but they'll always have faith that their situation will improve. People like this have loving relationships with others, are doing work that they enjoy, and know that happiness is found within. These people content. Most importantly, they know they have enough.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:14:35]:

So when we focus on all four aims, that is how we sync with Lakshmi. Now others might call them lucky, but really they're just thankful for what they have. They are aware of all of the blessings that have already come their way. And as a result, they invite more good into their life. Lakshmi also reminds us to approach life with grace, gratitude, and generosity, just like she does. She gives freely, and she really wants us to do the same. Remember, generosity isn't contained just to monetary or material goods, but also your time and attention. And in our fast paced environment, these can be the things that people are often the most miserly with.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:15:17]:

So maybe today you send a note or call someone to let them know that you appreciate them. Or if you're taking a walk, you can look at your fellow humans in the eyes, say, hi, have a great day. And you notice that once you do this, both the recipient and you will immediately feel blessed with a sense of love and well-being. And that's Lakshmi returning the gift. So which of the four aims of life am I currently working on? I am currently working on deepening my relationship with Kama and really prioritizing creativity, joy, pleasure. I can be a purely type a. I used to consider myself a type a yogini where there's a lot that I'd wanna get done during the day. I was often driven by success or how I would appear to be successful.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:16:10]:

And now I'm trying to take a step back more and enjoy my children as one is in her final year in high school and will be going to college this summer, enjoying my partner, my new puppy. I'm getting excited to start gardening outside, enjoying my yoga classes. So just doing more of the things that I enjoy that don't necessarily have a big return on investment. Although I shouldn't say that because I think sometimes we think of return on investment like, is this going to improve my finances? Is this going to improve my business? But the return on investment is, with comma, is this is going to improve my emotional and mental and really spiritual well-being. It improves everything. It's what life is all about. Sometimes we think once I get to where I wanna be financially or with my business, then I will have time to focus on pleasure and creativity, but it actually works the other way around. More often, when we prioritize feeling good, everything else falls in line.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:17:18]:

So I wanted to leave you with a few tips on connecting with Lakshmi. We did go through prompts for each of the four aims in life, but here are some practices to help you connect with that energy of Lakshmi, which is grace, gratitude, generosity. Now the first one is to have a gratitude practice. And I suspect that many of you have this already, and a gratitude practice is really important because as humans, we have a negativity bias. We remember all of the bad things that happened, maybe a dirty look someone gave us or somebody who cut us off on the way to the grocery store, but we don't remember all of the good things that happened. So with a gratitude practice, we are literally rewiring our brain to better focus on what it is that we already have. So I like to do this in the evening, but you could do it in the evening or the morning. But think about three things that you are grateful for that had happened that day and be specific.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:18:18]:

So rather than just say, like, I'm grateful for my health or I'm grateful for my children, be really specific. Like, I'm, I'm grateful that during this walk this morning with my dog, I got to have an engaging conversation and meet somebody new. So getting really specific can also kind of help infuse you with more of that feeling of abundance. The second one is connecting with your desires. What do you want? What are some big, crazy, audacious desires that you wouldn't even share with anyone? So be okay letting desire flow through you. We don't actually get to choose our desires. Our desires are just there. But when we block them off, we are also blocking ourselves off from our Shakti, from our power.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:19:07]:

So really start to connect with what is it that you actually want and why do you want it? And then give generously. And this isn't just about money. And, of course, if you are saving your money, you might not have that much money to give. But give with your time. Give with your attention. We spend so much time looking at screens on our phones, and we barely look up when somebody passes us by or if somebody wants to talk to us in real life. So really start to look at where you're putting your attention and give some of that to the people that you care about. When you start to align with Lakshmi, you stop chasing wealth or titles and you start to become wealthy in the truest sense.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:19:54]:

That's when abundance becomes truly inevitable. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope it has inspired you and expanded your paradigm of what is possible when we talk about wealth and abundance, and also gave you an area where maybe you wanna start looking a little bit more deeply at. If you enjoyed this episode, I encourage you to check out my book, The Goddess Solution, where I have a chapter on Lakshmi as well as about 37 other different goddesses and share how to apply this ancient goddess wisdom to your everyday life. That's it for now, beautiful one. I will see you in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to The Goddess School Podcast. I hope today's episode inspired you to reclaim your feminine magic.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:20:42]:

Now don't forget to subscribe to the show. And if you've enjoyed the podcast, please leave us a review on apple. If you wanna dive deeper into divine feminine archetypes and reconnect with your power, check out my book, The Goddess Solution. It's packed with ancient goddess wisdom for the modern woman. You can find the book on Amazon, and the link is in the show notes. And if you are ready to embrace these practices alongside a global sisterhood, I invite you to join my Divine Feminine Mystery School, Enlivened. It's a supportive space to embody these teachings with a fantastic community of like minded women. You'll find the link in the show notes.

Lisa Marie Rankin [00:21:18]:

Remember, the Goddess isn't a deity outside of you. She's an aspect of your highest self. You are the Goddess. Until next time, my friend.