September Moon: Answering Our Longings

The new moon for September was on the 29th of August this year-and it totally slipped by without my notice. Having my granddaughters here from Montana was just too much of an attraction and I misplaced my daily inspirational reading which would have reminded me of the approaching new moon. But, the whole idea is about the practice of living consciously and in the present moment--not about doing it perfectly-just about living it.  I cut myself some slack-those beautiful 18 month old and a 3 year old brought so much life into our house, that was enough. 

But now, I am reflecting on the arrival of the season of Autumn-it is one of the seasons that sneaks in on me, before I am ready for it-every year.  The ninth moon cycle is about honoring our longings.  Acknowledge them and do something about them.  Maybe not fulfilling them, but recognizing them and treating them as living viable energies.  Make a list of your longings-the things you long for in your life.  I don't mean passing longings,but the stuff, ideas, dreams and prayers that have been around in more than a passing moment or two.  The ones that keep coming back. Or wake you up at night.  After you make your list, imagine that each one of them is a living being-give them a an image of a body or a form.  Then, face to face, talk to each one of them about your feelings about them, your plans for them-whether you intend to let them go or out them on the shelf or do what you need to do (change what you need to change in yourself) to bring them into reality, not just imagination.  This exercise could take some time.  You might need to grieve the longings you recognize you must let go of to move forward in your life.  You might also grieve the habits and addictions you need to let go of to bring others into fruition.  And you can cherish the ones you are setting on the shelf for the future-they will keep you growing.  Fall is the time for harvest.  You are harvesting and sorting your longings this month.  I am,too.

Working with the Healing Moon of August

For the next 10 or so days we have the opportunity to gather healing energy,feelings thoughts, behaviors and prayers into our lives as we live in the waxing cycle of the August Moon.  In Eath Medicine, on page 207, Jamie Sams writes, "There is nothing that has been done to you or that you have done to yourself that the Great Mystery and the Earth Mother cannot heal."  What if you really lived this truth for even the next ten days.  How do you think it would change your perception of your self? of your life and your world? 

Here is the catch, however, that in my eperience, both personally and with clients, which keeps us from being able to embrace Sams' words. (And certainly, she is not the only one who has written or spoke of this truth.  You can find similar teachings about healing in the words of all our great teachers and healers through out history.)  The catch is, particularly in our western culture that we confuse 'healing' with 'curing'. 

As I struggle with some hip pain and a lump in the bottom of my foot that has been 'coming and going' for over a year I am reminded that I still wrestle with my belief of what it means to be 'healed'.  At the very least, this struggle keeps me from judging clients who also insist that to be healed means their malady (which sometimes is very serious) must go away. 

For today,  contemplate what healing meansto you?  Is it different from being cured? 

Dark of the Moon

We are closing the 7th moon cycle for this year.  We move from the moon energy of love for all of creation, and embrace the energy of healing (first the injured and ill parts of ourselves and then those of our fellow human beings and of our community and the earth).   I had a month of the practicing living my calling from the focus of the energy of 'love'. Now I am going to focus my energy in the coming month toward healing those places brought to my attention from last month's focus. 

As I reflect on my Circle of Self work during the past month, with my focus on my Creative Aspect/Work Self, I have made some great progress toward completing the Website for a new complete launch. I also completed my commitment to write daily for 28 days, which I did.  But, what I noticed during this pat month, was how difficult it was for me to hold a place of love for my Self when I struggled with lack of inspiration, distraction and self-doubt.  These three things are human conditions that are not likely to EVER be absent from my life, so noticing my reaction and self-criticism and pairing that with the moon cycle energy to be with my self in a 'loving' way. That didn't (and doesn't) mean to let myself off the hook.  Rather, I continued to work with reactions. Where was I procrastinating? Where was I being impatient with myself? How was my tendency toward perfection interfering with my progress?  Where was I lacking in discipline to complete the work?  Perhaps the biggest question I have for  monthly reflection my is how often did I take my focus off my life calling and purpose as it relates to Creative Aspect and my Work Life. 

This kind of reflection and self questioning is the exercise for working with the dark of the moon.  In the deepest, quietest time of the moon energy, we can more easily go deep within ourselves and with love see where we need healing (in body, mind and spirit) to live our calling more fully.

Enjoy this quiet time, and may you have abundant healing in your life in this coming month.  May our country also have abundant healing from the stress, anger, hatred and divisiveness and fear we are currently experiencing.  It is my hope and prayer that our 'leaders' are supported by the new  moon energy of this August moon month for healing our country and our woundedness.

July's Waning Moon-Releasing Loving Energy for the Creation of Our Future Selves

Yesterday I wrote briefly about the Full Moon and the repeating cycles of the moon. These cycles remind us of how Divine Love invites us to begin again and again and again, as many times as we must, to live our calling and fulfill or purpose for our life.  While it may never be easy to stay focused, having a routine and living in our familiar and usual environment can help us to keep stay in alignment with our intentions. Not that we can't use whatever is going on to sabotage ourselves! 

So, what happens when we are not in a space or environment where it is easier to stay with our intention for living what we have identified as our life calling?   This long road trip has been great for exploring this question in my own life. 

Two thoughts come to mind. The first one, I mention just briefly: our Life Calling should be broad enough to encompass the moment to moment of our daily lives. 

The second is that our Life Calling is an anchor for our future, which draws us toward our life purpose, even when the path we are on becomes rocky, crooked or takesa detour!  The moon cycle energy for this month-and the energy of summer and the cycle of the south, all  are reminders for loving what is, loving ourselves,for love is the most nurturing nutrient there is for growing a healthy human-a healthy life-style,whether in regards ot others or ourselves.

It's the Full Moon for July

Days and nights and moon cycles come and go whether we pay attention to them or not.  I have four posts, begun, interrupted and languishing in the drafts folder. I have spent the last three weeks on the road. Somehow, I thought having nearly three weeks away from home would offer me lots of time to focus and concentrate on my writing commitment.  But, the great out of doors, grandaughters and socializing proved more inviting...this is so much of what I experience in my own life, as well as in the work with my clients.

So, it is now full moon, and faithfully ever month, our grandmother moon invites us again (and again and again) to recommit, begin anew, start over.  This month's moon energy focuses "Loving All Things"...and that does include ourselves-with a good bit of compassion!  As I rush to go out the door for one more School visit, I remind myself, and my readers, we have the extra support of Grandmother Moon today, to consciously birth our intentions and bring them to more fullness in the coming weeks. 

Dream Messages and the time of the dark of the moon

The waning moon of June is coming to a close, moving this evening to the dark of the moon, preparing for the coming new moon on July 1st. 

I always feel a thinness in the veil I imagine separates me and GOd.  I feel more keenly The Hands of God at this time of month. Either a squeeze of encouragement during a challenge. being held in the palm of respite when I am exhausted, a gentle push (well, and sometimes a whack) when I need to get moving, or a high-five of "you go woman" when I've lept into the unknown!  I love knowing The Hand is always there,I only have to take a breath and remember to notice.  This month I notice some encouraging waving on-"go-keep going The Hands seems to be saying.

The closeness between the Sacred and the Self at this time of month adds power to the practice of reflection and focusing for movement into the next cycle of growth and movement in our life.  It is during this time as well, that I notice dreams get stronger, clearer and at times more urgent in their messages.  I had one of those dreams this morning. It pertains to the seasons of the year.  I woke to this message: "Winter is the Season of loving the Self".  Spring is the Season of loving All Living Things".  "Summer is the Season of loving Human Beings".  "Winter is the Season of loving God".

June 15th-the full moon for the 6th Moon Cycle

This is the month of Storyteller, the grandmother of the sixth moon cycle.  It seems fitting to have a storyteller as the energetic personality as we begin to work with the energy of relationships of the course of the summer months.  We can tell story to teach and to share history, or we can tell stories to deceive and manipulate.  What kind of stories do we tell, and to whom do we tell them?  The full moon energy always invites us to send out into the world what we have been working on creating in our life over the past weeks-as well as to release and offer up for cleansing what no longer serves us or others.  Are there any stories you need to share-or stop sharing/telling yourself?

As I read my daily inspiration today, from the book Earth Medicine by Jamie Sams, the reading for June 6 was a telling of the tale of woodpecker coming to clean the bugs off the White Pine-the Peace Tree, so that the Pine could perform its' duty as peacekeeper for the people without distraction from the bugs that were burrowing under its' bark. Full moon energy is a good time for cleansing-if you keep or use crystals, you know about setting them in salt water in the full moon to clarify and cleanse them.  We too, need clarifying and cleansing so that we can fully shine.  A good sea salt scrub bath is a wonderful way to clear what is bugging us no matter what the source.