Yesterday was the mark of a new moon. (Yes, I'm about to dive into some astrology...).
Growing up, I’d felt a connection to the universe and loved astronomy. My sense of wonder and my connection to what is ‘out there’ never quit. Metaphysically speaking, however, I’d never fully understood astrology, though, but always found it to be of interest. Over the past few years, though, I’ve come to appreciate some of its teachings. Particularly, that which centers around the moon.
Yesterday was the new moon. A new moon signifies the start of a new beginning, a time to release and relinquish old habits, thoughts, feelings, and stagnant energy, paving the way for new ideas, intentions, feelings, and energy to enter into your life and for you to take hold of.
It's funny how we can get so wrapped up in our lives that we disconnect far enough from nature and the patterns of our universe to cause us to become disoriented. Yesterday was a new moon and I completely forgot to send out my weekly newsletter! I've been so wrapped up in thoughts, emotions, and feelings in my own life, that I neglected to stay the course in my connection to others.
There are two ways I've analyzed this. One, I was meant to forget. That it's time for me to reevaluate my newsletter schedule and community-building efforts. And two, that I just need to pay more attention to the world around me. That I've become a bit disconnected from nature and haven't been tapping into and rebalancing my feelings as much as I need to in order to stay focused and clear. That I need to set clear intentions for moving forward.
Since I've been back in Ontario, I've had a hard time seeing clearly. Not physically, but more in the sense of not being able to understand what I'm doing here. As all these feelings have been building, this new moon felt like the biggest hurdle for me. I'm still struggling coming out the other side with more motivation, more clarity, and more space to grow. It just feels a little sticky to me, so I’m almost glad I forgot to write to my community, because it showed me what I have to work on.
Here’s my advice I have to offer to you for when this happens to you:
ASSESS HOW YOU GOT LOST
For me, this meant realizing that the last week was pretty heavy for me and that it clouded me mentally. I retreated inward a bit too much, overthinking and overanalyzing until I was blue in the face. It took me away from who I am and stripped all the good feelings I had from the week before.
Of course, I’d love to know how I got here, so I’ve been taking extra time to write out my thoughts and feelings. I’ve also been meditating more. I even did a restorative yoga class with reiki last night, which opened up a lot of emotion. Yes, I cried to myself and it felt good!
I’m not doing this to overanalyze again, but to really understand the fluctuations that pattern themselves in my life. I’m also doing it to become more aware of how the moon could possibly be affecting my cyclic emotions so I can plan for times ahead.
Whatever you need to do, do it. You may not think of the moon as having an effect on you personally and that’s fine. But something does, so find that thing of yours and try to understand it better.
LET YOURSELF ASK THE BIG QUESTIONS
This past week I went deep into my life and asked myself some really big questions. Am I meant to be running my own business, or should I work for others? Should I be in Ontario, or back in British Columbia? What is my body trying to tell me with the symptoms I’m currently experiencing?
None of these need action, but I wanted to let myself ask the questions because if I didn’t, I might continue harboring emotions that would end up hurting me down the road. It’s nice to be able to openly assess life when things get heavy, to question why certain ideas pop up over and over again. It’s all part of the effort to better understand myself and allow for me to follow my path and not anyone else’s.
This is best done undistracted. The brain can be on fire with thought sometimes and it’s nice to be able to remove external stimuli in order to get focused. Find a chunk of time in a quiet place without any technology to distract you, and just listen. Listen to your thoughts, write them down, understand them, and assess how they are affecting your life.
FIND A WAY TO COME BACK TO YOU
Ah yes, the hard part. This comes more easily to me now that I’ve practiced it, and believe me, it takes work! While I was going through this phase last week, I decided I need to find a way to connect to the things I miss in the place where I currently am. So, I decided to make a hiking schedule and find places and ways to connect to nature again, as that was what I was missing most.
Sure, it’s really hard to do this when there’s snow everywhere and the trees are bare, but at least the sun is shining and the birds are chirping, all things getting ready for spring. There’s always something to latch on to, a way to find your peace amongst the craziness, and I’m working on not only reminding myself of finding my outlets for connection, but also actively doing them. Thinking about them is one thing, writing them down is another, but actually doing them is the only thing that really has a true effect on how I feel.
Let yourself get there.