gOt nEw mOOn?

05.25.17.

New Moon

When I was a kid, one hot summer day, I was lying in the sun on a towel in my backyard and it was so, so hot! It was a bit before noon, and I had my iced tea, my journal, and my transistor radio (you can Google that!). I looked up in the sky, and to my right, I saw the bright, beautiful, radiant sun! It was scorching hot, full of energy, and I could literally see the beams reaching down to our beautiful Earth. I glanced across the sky to my left, and I saw the faint outline of the moon. The mOOn! And I was like, "OMG! I can see the sUn and the mOOn at the same time!" 

I felt a deep connection with the cycles of nature, the sun, the moon, the Earth--ALL OF IT. It was an epiphany (which means, according to dictionary.com): a sudden, intuitive perception of, or insight 

into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence 

or experience.

Here's what I understood in a deep and timeless manner:

Everything is connected.

Absolutely everything.

So, tonight marks the Gemini new moon, and I do rituals and special prayers and intentions around the cycles of the moon. So, when the moon is new and it waxes (gradually gets larger . . .) we are supposed to call in new attitudes, ideas, relationships, behaviors (fill-in-the-blank) that will serve our highest good! 

For this moon cycle, I intentionally bring in: balance in work & play, gratitude, peace, feeling my feelings, daily rituals & meditation, self-care, & purpose.

 . . . Here's a cool moon ritual from a site that I subscribe to each month called MoonCircles:

La LuNa RiTuaL

Happy new moon! It's so amazing & magical & full of possibilities!

The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

05.01.17.

It's hard sometimes when we are stuck in the shadows to realize that wherever we put our focus becomes out reality. If we realized that we simply need to turn our face to the sunshine we maybe wouldn't be so attached to the shadow--

Sure, we would still know it's there, but our attention would be elsewhere, basking in the light.

Sometimes, the light can be blinding if we aren't used to looking at it--and if we look at it straight on, it can bee too intense, and burn. But we have to take baby steps . . . and protect ourselves along the way.

It takes intention and presence to look toward the light. And the irony is, that we also must appreciate, acknowledge, and honor the shadow in order to move to the light . . . without shadow the sunshine cannot exist.

In our human existence, we simply cannot experience joy with out its shadow, which can come to us in broken relationships, sadness, major life changes--the things in life that can bring us to our knees.

But that's the point; it's how we grow. And we can be grateful for all of it, because the sun cannot exist without the moon, and we cannot see the moon without the darkness.

If we can get large enough and get out of the particulars, the weeds of our existence, we can begin to imagine the grand scheme of the Universe with gratitude and humility. But the weeds are part of it, and they can be part of the beauty of our existence.

I never knew a dandelion was a weed until the grownups told me to pull them from the garden. 

When I was a kid, I thought dandelions were beautiful pockets of sunshine on Earth; I used to watch their yellow faces follow the sun moving through the sky, and I collected them into the most delicate, ribboned bouquets.

The balance between light and dark, sun and shadow, can by a tricky navigation. Pure momentary presence honors both, and our challenge is to accept wherever we find ourselves with full attention. It's not an easy task, but it's often the resistance to shadow that keeps us from moving and breaking through into the sunlight. But don't underestimate the function of the shadow; after all, the shadow proves the sunshine.

Don't Stand In the Shadows!

I've noticed that my sweet pup Teddy is constantly looking for that small slice of sunshine beaming through the windows of our house. When he finds one, he lays himself down with his face smack in the light and closes his eyes to rest.

As the sunlight moves, I see him nudging closer to the light, following the beams as he takes his many naps during the day.

He keeps his face toward the sunshine. It's only natural for dogs.

We grownups have a lot to learn from nature. Thing is, it's often hard to intentionally keep our faces toward the sunshine; kids do it naturally--live in the moment with their intense presence--but as we grow up, things change.

Some of us learn to focus on the shadows of our past, or project our fears into the future--and we rob ourselves of moment after moment as a result. The experiences and people the Universe has placed uniquely in front of us become invisible as we live in our heads and overthink.

We lose the sunshine. 

But it's okay. 

After all, shadows cannot exist without sunshine. 

One of life's challenges is continually bringing ourselves back to facing the sunshine and living in the moment--it's a continuous conversation.

I'm grateful I have Teddy to remind me.

Merry Full Moon Christmas Solstice!

Full Moon

12.25.15.

Merry Christmas All!

I'm going to take a little break today, but I wanted to share with you the link to a blog I receive: Mooncircles. 

Tonight is Christmas, and marks the full moon. Coincidence? Of course not. 

Read Dana Gerhardt's blog to meet the full moon with grace and sacredness!

Full Moon Solstice Blog

Love,

Dana

yOu'Ve bEeN mOonEd! . . . (tEe hEe!)

deAr beAuTifuL fReE fuNseeKeRs--

Have you looked up in the night sky lately? It's amaZING! Tonight marks the New Moon, and I often do special stuff around the cycles of the moon, like writing, meditations or prayers, or spiritual reading. I love being connected to the cycles of nature . . . like the moon, the sun, and the changing seasons. It's like nature grounds me in a way that nothing else can.

It's interesting that when we look to nature & what holds it together, what we can always AbSoLuTelY count on in is 

. . . change, and growth, and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Hmmnn . . . that's pretty amazing, when you think about it, isn't it? The only constant is change. That makes me wonder why people have such a tough time with change,  especially if it's really the only thing we can count on in this world. Maybe we would all be happier if we would just go with the flow. I'm thinking that the only constant with people is also 

. . . change, and growth, and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. I which basically means that life is just a big school, and we are here to learn our lessons, and change & grow. Maybe that's why we keep repeating the same stuff over until we learn the thing we're supposed to. 

So, when the moon is new and it waxes (gets larger) it is a totally ripe time to call into our lives all the amazing juiciness that can serve our highest good . . . like new behaviors & attitudes, creative ideas, and improved relationships! 

For this moon cycle, I intend to bring in: less attachment to my expectations, a greater sense of order and peace, a new morning meditation practice, more delicious gratitude, and the courage to speak my truth. Here's a link I get each cycle of the moon: MoonCircles

Happy new moon! It's so magical!

mOOcho mOOnLoVe!

;) dana

mOOn mE!

Hey All! 
Got New Moon? SppspoooKKy!

When I was a kid, one hot summer day, I was lying in the sun on a towel in my backyard and it was so, so hot! It was a bit before noon, and I had my iced tea, my journal, and my transistor radio (you can Google that!). I looked up in the sky, and to my right, I saw the bright, beautiful, radiant sun! It was scorching hot, full of energy, and I could literally see the beams reaching down to our beautiful Earth. I glanced across the sky to my left, and I saw the faint outline of the moon. The mOOn! And I was like, "OMG! I can see the sUn and the mOOn at the same time!" 

I felt a deep connection with the cycles of nature, the sun, the moon, the Earth--ALL OF IT. 

It was like an epiphany (which means, according to dictionary.com): a sudden, intuitive perception of, or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence orexperience.

Here's what I understood in a deep and timeless manner:

Everything is connected.

Absolutely everything.

So, tonight marks the new moon, and I think you know that I do rituals and special prayers and intentions around the cycles of the moon. So, when the moon is new and it waxes (gradually gets larger . . .) we are supposed to call in new attitudes, ideas, relationships, behaviors (fill-in-the-blank) that will serve our highest good! 

For this moon cycle, I intentionally bring in: integrating my family (ies), balancing work & play, feeling gratitude & peace,  daily rituals & meditation, self-care, & purpose.

 . . . Here's a cool moon ritual from a site that I subscribe to each month called MoonCircles:

La LuNa RiTuaL

Happy new moon! It's so amazing & magical & full of possibilities!

So MuCH LoVe!

;) dana

La LuNa !#

Hey All! Got New Moon?

I remember when I was in middle school one hot summer day, I was lying in the sun on a towel in my backyard and it was so, so hot! It was a bit before noon, and I had my iced tea, my journal, and my transistor radio (you can Google that!). I looked up in the sky, and to my right, I saw the bright, beautiful, radiant sun! It was scorching hot, full of energy, and I could literally see the beams radiating down to our beautiful Earth. I glanced across the sky to my left, and I saw the faint outline of the moon. The mOOn! And I was like, "OMG! I can see the sun and the mOOn at the same time!" 

I had one of my first super duper deep connections with the cycles of nature--here's what I understood for the first time:

Everything is connected.

So, tonight marks the Leo new moon. I don't know if I have written about this before, but I do rituals around the cycles of the moon. So, when the moon is new and it waxes (gets larger . . .) we are supposed to call in the things that we want for our future! 

For this moon cycle, I intentionally call in: Peace, trust, acceptance, and letting go of other people's paths . . . Here's a cool sun/moon ritual from a site that I subscribe to each month called MoonCircles:

La LuNa RiTuaL

Happy new moon! It's so magical!

So MuCH LoVe!

;) dana