I don’t know about you, but I feel like 2018 is calling me to do a complete overhaul on how I live my life. As you may have heard, 2018 is the year of actualization, according to numerology. I feel a strong pull toward living my best, most authentic life. What I’m most longing for this year is a deeper connection to nature, to my soul and to both inspiration and peace. In fact my word of the year for 2018 is (two words) “inspired peace.” What I want is a life, where I’m no longer forcing things. Instead I want to tap into the flow of life and create and live from my heart instead of my mind; from joy instead of “ shoulds” or striving or fear.
For most of my life I have had this ritual (like most of the world) of writing down New Years resolutions. But the past couple of years, this had felt more and more hollow. I have noticed more and more that the juice is in the setting of the goals but not in the actual achievement of them. For example, last year, I started off the year by making all these resolutions, like I usually do. One goal I set was running the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in June. I trained and worked hard and finally accomplished the goal of running the 13.1 miles, but guess what? It didn’t really result in a feeling of satisfaction. It didn’t make me happier. In fact, it didn’t change anything except I could now say that I ran a half marathon. Big DEAL! Are you impressed? I’m not. In fact, I can honestly say that one of the lowest points of the year came about 3 hours after running the race. I was sitting there thinking, what in the world was the point of that?? It was in that moment that I realized that we have all been sold a big lie. The big lie is this: “You have to do something to be worthy” and “You have to have goals to be happy.”
Over the course of my life I’ve read so much stuff on self-improvement, goal setting, vision-boarding, and making your dreams come true that I’m really sick of it all! I am here to tell you that none of it really works anyway! Ya wanna know why??? This is a secret that no one wants you to know, because this knowledge would probably stop the economy and change our society completely…we don’t need to be any better than we already are. Omg! Can you imagine the implications if that were really true??? You don’t need to change yourself and make yourself fit into some tiny pair of jeans or run some race in order to be enough. You actually ARE enough RIGHT NOW! Think of how much less stuff you would need to buy if that were true. Think of how much less you’d have to do if you were already enough right now? You are complete, perfect, and absolutely divine right now! So why struggle? Why strain to achieve these goals that are always going to leave you feeling slightly let down anyway. Instead, our activity in life would be lead by what brings us joy instead of what we need to do to prove ourselves.
But then how do you live?? Well, this year i am trying something brand new. It’s not about goals. I’m not doing resolutions. I’m not even setting goals except one big goal: To live in alignment with my soul in each and every moment….to be committed to the present moment and to let my actions flow naturally from that place. The universe knows what I want. I want to feel joy and I want to be at peace. Instead of setting goals I have decide to do something truly revolutionary, at least for me.
I have decided to organize my life around the lunar cycles. I have had the desire to do this for a few years now, but never quite knew how to get it going. This year I made a plan! I put all the lunar phases into my calendar with notes about what to focus on in each phase. Since I started doing this practice I am noticing huge shifts in my life in all areas. I no longer feel like I’m swimming upstream. Everything seems to be flowing in a way that is almost magical. I’m not sure if this resonates with you, but I had to share it just in case it could help you as much as it is helping me.
One major example of how this lunar living is helping me is this very blog. I have been feeling very stuck in self expression for an extraordinarily long time. One of the lunar phases, (the one that we are CURRENTLY IN!!!) is called “dissemination.” This is the phase in which we share what we have learned. Interestingly enough, this is the first blog I have posted in a very long time. For the past 2 days or so I have just felt my writing flowing in an incredible way…along with a desire to share that has not been there. I think part of that was that it just wasn’t time for me to come out of my womb, cocoon or whatever the heck I’ve been in for the past couple of years, but the moon is making it feel so much easier to come out! I also noticed that in the first quarter I spontaneously started clearing out closets and being active in that way. Turns out that’s what the energy of the first quarter moon is all about!
Here is what I did in case you want to try it yourself. If you don’t, you can stop reading here, cuz I know this is getting kinda long!
I first found a website with the lunar calendar on it. You can get a lunar calendar on your phone automatically but I wanted to manually enter them so that I had more detail. It also felt more personal this way. I saw some things that I wouldn’t have noticed had the phases been put in automatically.
Then I researched living by the lunar calendar. I found several good blogs written about it, and I’ll share them here. Here is a summary in my own words:
New Moon: This is a time for setting intentions and visualizing what you want to create, not only for the coming 30 days but for the next few years. Our energy is the lowest during this phase. It’s a great time to conceive new ideas. It’s good to write a list of intentions for the coming month. It’s a good time to meditate, vision board (I have another post about that coming soon), affirm, imagine, pray etc. Basically you slow down and send out your desires to the universe in whatever way feels right to you. It’s a good time to really create some down time in your life. Get a massage, take a cleansing bath, etc. whatever feels nurturing and nourishing to you. In Astanga Yoga you take a day off on this day. Some yogi’s recommend fasting on this day with water and lemon, but only you know if that feels good for you! I personally love fasting so I’m going to try it this year at least for the first couple of months.
Crescent Moon: This is a time to bring new things, relationships and ways of thinking into your life. As the moon increases in size, our energy also increases. The crescent moon is more social and a time to let ideas flow, but not necessarily a time to DO anything with those ideas.
First Quarter Moon: This is a time for clearing what is no longer serving you. A time to let go. Energy is higher at this time and it’s a good time to be in action about what you want to both create and release. Cleaning the closet, clearing the fridge, making space in whatever way is necessary for the new to come into your life. Its a good time to be more ambitious and to take more action on the picture you created at the beginning of the month.
Gibbous Moon: This is the moon 3 days before the full moon. It is the time of fruition. It’s a good idea to sit with the list you made at the beginning of the month and really visualize it happening. This is a time to care for others and to be generous. Maybe schedule volunteer activities for this time of the month?
Full Moon: Energy is highest but almost too high to harness. I spent years working in various residential treatment facilities for people in crisis, addiction and even psychosis and I can tell you that the Full Moon energy makes people a bit crazier than usual. I notice I feel more restless during this time and tend to get headaches. This is a good time for giving thanks, of receiving and honoring yourself for what you were able to manifest this month. In Astanga yoga it is time once again to take a break from your asana practice. Some yogi’s also recommend fasting on this day. One blog recommended burying your list of intentions to symbolize the growth that is happening in your life. Full moon is also a great time to make tough decisions.
Disseminating Moon: This is several days after the full moon. It is a good time to rid yourself of things that don’t serve you. It is also a great time to teach others and “disseminate” the information that you’ve learned. That is why I feel so compelled to write and publish this blog now! Who would’ve thunk? This stuff really works!! It’s also a good time to close a business that’s failing, get rid of toxic relationships (we’ve all got em!) and generally clear out what isn’t working. For me what’s not working is New Year’s Resolutions!! SO Good BYE!!!
Last Quarter Moon: Second to last phase of the moon. It’s a great time to finish things. It’s a time for action, completion and getting shit done!! You’ve got this! Tie up the loose ends so you can move on! It’s not a great time to be in the moment and meditate. You might notice you’re practice feels “stickier” during this phase and that you have more difficulty sitting still. That’s ok. Do it anyway!
Balsamic Moon: This occurs 72 hours before the new moon and is a time of preparing for the next cycle. It’s a good time to meditate, clear your head and spend some time alone. Some people recommend burning your list at this time to make room for the new list. It’s a good time to cleaning and clearing. I’m thinking it might be a great time to do a Yin Yoga class.
So I hope that gives you enough to get started with your own Lunar Living Lifestyle. I hope it helps you as much as it seems to be helping me. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. I’m sure some of you are already living this way, so I’d love to hear more.
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