Eclipses

Things have been taking on a new intensity for me since the last full-moon. I've been a kind of moon watcher most of my life. I'm usually always aware of the cycles of the moon, particularly when it is going to be a full moon. It can be a time of emotional intensity for me, either pleasant or stressful. The effects of the full moon is well established in human lore. After all, the word "lunacy" refers to some craziness around the time of the full moon, no doubt. Also, the werewolf is fabled to come out on a full moon. Ask any maternity ward nurse and she will tell you that more births will happen around the full moon. Indeed we can see the effects of the moon cycles evident in the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides. So, if this is the case, then what does it mean for when a lunar or solar eclipse happens? Actually, both lunar and solar eclipse always happen in pairs at two-week intervals. These are not necessarily total eclipses, or seen from the same place on earth, but the events always happen 14 days apart from each other. For me, a lunar eclipse energetically means the same thing as a full moon, only more so. A lunar eclipse is when the earth blocks the light of the sun from shining on what would normally be a luminous full moon.

This event is on its way presently. We are due for a lunar eclipse on the 15th of March. Then on March 29 we are scheduled for a total eclipse of the sun, Visible in Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Libya, the northwest tip of Egypt, Turkey, northwest Georgia, southwest Russia, Kazakstan, the southern tip of Russia, and ends in the northern tip of Mongolia. The lunar eclipse on March 15th will be visible in some parts of the United States in the morning. If you really want more technical information about the eclipses, I recommend Nasa's Eclipse Page. If you would like to think about the eclipses in terms of what they might mean for you emotionally, evolutionally, or astrologically I would recommend what Susan Miller says about what eclipse mean for us in general on her website astrologyzone.com. This article compels one to consider it a time of possible spiritual quickening. It may present us with a challenge to change our life suddenly in ways we may not have thought possible, in a short time frame. Eclipses can bring about disturbing changes or perhaps it could be described at a time of metamorphosis. That is more like what I think I am going through right now, a metamorphosis.

If you think about metamorphosis, Merriam-Webster gives the following definitions: 1 a : change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means b : a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances 2 :a marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of an animal (as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching. A change of form by supernatural means? I think that's what's happening to me. And I think it has to do with those dreams and visions I've been working to manifest. I'm thinking a lot of changes are happening for me now. My work is changing. My home has been source of possible change as well. And, I have intense feelings at this time period which seem to be driving the changes. My heart often feels open and raw. It is painful at times, but hopeful at other times. It feels better as I put my energy into the things I want to see happen, the positive changes in my life. The power of the practice of conscious creation is greater now, as the eclipses bring events more quickly into play.

One last thought about metamorphosis. Just imagine what a struggle it is for the catepillar to cocoon himself and transform into a butterfly. Imagine the joy spring gives for the newly emerged butterfly.

• March 15. Penumbral eclipse of the Moon.
• March 29. Total eclipse of the Sun. Visible in Brazil, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, northwest Chad, Libya, the northwest tip of Egypt, Turkey, northwest Georgia, southwest Russia, Kazakstan, the southern tip of Russia, and ends in the northern tip of Mongolia.

• Sept. 7. Partial eclipse of the Moon. Visible from parts of Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Africa, and Europe including the British Isles.
• Sept. 22. Annular eclipse of the Sun. Visible in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, the South Atlantic Ocean, and ends southwest of the Kerguelen Islands

Writing Group

On Monday night I accidentally found myself sitting at a writing group at Barnes & Noble. Really I was sitting in one of their big comfy chairs and found a writing group form around me. The topic suggested to write about was “liberation.” Here’s what I wrote:

Liberation, hah! I’m jumping out of my skin. What a topic. I mean that’s what it is all about, finding liberation, finding freedom. And it is within our freedom we can take our time to open and gently allow a seeping in of what we can only find to be truth in liberation. From this I mean that true liberation comes from within. Most people are bound mentally and spiritually. Most people have been caught in a tangled web of society that has for generations built unquestioned norms of behavior and economic structure. Here’s a question: Why is it that our society, and the whole of human existence on earth doesn’t exist in a beautiful creation, a beautiful abundant world of harmony and care? Instead most people are kept too busy with “today’s active lifestyles” to even stop to ask that question. Isn’t it time we stopped to ask? And if we stopped, how long would it take to listen, feel and discover the true freedom within? What would it feel like? What would it look like?

To this end true liberation restores the individual to his or her true self, like Rousseau’s hermit needing to be removed form the fetters of society to be truly himself. This journey of self discovery is not an easy one, it involves questioning the core beliefs that have made us feel safe, like the way we just play along and find ourselves fitting into society like A Brave New World. But let us shake all of that off now. Lets open to a new vision. It might be disorienting at first, but what might you find once the clouds begin to clear, the sky becomes much more blue, the sun brighter, and there is a gift of freedom and liberation? There, one is awake to a new reality and knowledge that one is free. And within this freedom comes the responsibility to create. Yes, what else would you do given the discovery of this ultimate kind of liberation and freedom? Your world is yours, now what are you going to do with it? Now that is a new vista, a vista of complete freedom, abundance, with its accompanying lessons in creativity. You know it is right. It feels right. The body beams with energy from the solar plexus. The conscious mind touches the infinite. We are healed in our sense of full integration of ourselves.

Well okay, it all sounds like it may be a bit fantastic, but yet a courageous journey of self-discovery. Perhaps this is what is needed, to heal our woes of society, to turn our corporate, military world into some dream of peace, a beautiful earth garden to enjoy and live in harmony. Perhaps we need to listen to a tick of a different clock, different from the one our society has been listening to since the industrial revolution. A new rhythm of life may be available. Perhaps this rhythm hears the sounds of nature, the solstices and moon cycles. Maybe there is a rhythm that takes us away from our self-centered material 3-dimensional reality. Maybe a new pulse is being heard by many people to be more connected, to be more self-determined, to be close to our creativity (maybe even be close to our creator?). Here I suggest a vision to use to create: May more people awaken to their creativity. Perhaps it is time to heal our earth with a shift or lifting of global consciousness. Yeah, I mean like all of these people awakening all over the globe, like blossoms on a tree in the springtime. More people taking a moment to be still, to reset the frequency they are listening to beyond the current frequency of our 3-dimensional materialism with its accompanying earth bound focus. Instead may we listen with our hearts beyond our planet, which is at this time stranded and out of sync. Maybe a whisper from William James about the separation being a thin veil, and we can re-align the earth to a greater cosmic pulse. As we do less, feel more connected with inner source, we may also find ourselves expanding our consciousness to the galaxy – a great spatial ocean of energy.

The Solstice Project

I wanted to add more comments from my last entry. I kind of abruptly left off talking about The Solstice Project. And since that time I've reviewed the related documentary Mysteries of Chaco Canyon that has been shown on PBS stations. A scientist discovered the significance of the ancient Pueblo ruins one day when observing some slabs of rock specifically placed to mark the high point of the sun each day, noontime. The large rock slabs were placed to allow the formation of a 'sun dagger' shining on a spiral design etched into a rock wall behind the vertical slabs. The documentary calls the spiral design mysterious and notes that on the summer solstice the dagger pierces the center of the spiral. What is revealed about these ancient ruins goes far beyond this one phenomena, however. What is discovered is an entire system of archeological sites in the region that are remarkably built around observations of the movements of the sun and moon, and perhaps more. It appears to be a site of ritual and pilgrimage for the people of that time unifying the earth with the heavens. Some of the contemporary native people interviewed comment that these ruins were built by powerful people with a lot of spiritual power. These people may have been so in tune with natural forces that they were able to control these forces. This power, of course, could also be abused by people and a decision may have been made to not continue this accumulation of knowledge of control of natural forces. As the documentary suggests, this decision may have been a conscious one to shut down the activities of Chaco Canyon, as the structures and buildings appear to have been thoughtfully sealed up and abandoned over a long period of time.

The investigation into Chaco Canyon brings many questions to mind. What is this spiritual knowledge and how is it related to the natural movements of celestrial bodies? If people have had this knowledge in the past, are there any people with this knowledge today, and are they using it? How is this related to our own time system or calendar? Is this the reason behind the stilted or irregular Gregorian calendar as mentioned in an earlier post?

Perhaps the time has come that the abuse of power in our modern industrialized world is as such, that we need to re-awaken this power of natural order to once again bring balance and peace to our world.