The Power of Moon-Gazing
/While out for a walk with one of my childhood friends, we saw the rising Full Moon in the sky and she commented, "Remember how your Mom would always tell us, 'You've got to look at the moon'"?
I was embarrassed to admit that I didn't remember that.
I suppose it was something that was said so often in my childhood that I didn't think much of it.
My mom was always commenting on the magical nature of the world.
She'd acknowledge not just the changing of the seasons but the "turning of the wheel" as the placement of the rising sun moved father south in the winter, more north in the summer. She would always tell me when we were at the equinoxes twice a year, where their was an equal amount of light and dark throughout the day. She'd remind me that winter was when the seeds we planted last Fall were "laying fallow" until they sprout the following Spring.
It was all metaphorical, especially because in Florida, winter is actually a great growing season for us.
So I guess taking time to gaze at the Full Moon was no big deal. But for my agnostically-raised friend, she thought it was the coolest thing.
That's probably why when I wrote yesterday's blog about Simple Practices for the Full Moon, I totally forgot the simplest one of all -- looking at the moon!
I asked my mom this morning what was the deal with gazing at the moon. Her pre-coffee response: because it regulates your body.
Without double-checking the neuroscience, I'll share that she feels like there's some connection between moon-gazing and balancing of hormones. That it helps your pineal (or pituitary ... there was debate over which one) gland do it's thing.
Facts (or the lack thereof) aside, I'd say for myself there is a calmness that comes over me when I gaze at the Full Moon. Especially when it just comes over the horizon and looks so huge that if you didn't know better you'd think it was another planet coming to bump into earth.
When I look at the moon now, I can't help but think about all those who've come before me and also gazed at this bright circle in the sky. Those who didn't have electricity to light up their nights but relied on the light of the moon for hunting or traveling through the night.
The moon has a way of both showing the passing of time but always of making it stand still.
When I see the moon now, I'll always think of my mom and my friend, reminding me that there's magic in looking at the fullness of the lunar light.
