In India, celebrations have begun for Diwali, the Festival of Lights. And for those of us who can’t join in the lighting of lamps and the igniting of fireworks in India, we can still bring the festivities into the practice.

Think of each moment of practice as an opportunity for light. Every breath, every movement is an act of lamp lighting. The illumination from practice, the experience of it, and what we are able to observe about ourselves in the process then helps guide us through the dark night back to the home where we belong.

Like the story in the Ramayana, where the citizens of Ayodhya put out lamps to lead Rama, the Prince of the House of the Sun and his wife, Sita, home on a moonless night, the practice shines the light of consciousness into our everyday, so that we ourselves can shine.