Day 1 | Mindfulness | New Moon | Mindfulness With The Moon

This is day one of a 29-day journey where you will learn the fundamentals of mindful meditation while syncing yourself with the cycles of the moon, the gorgeous feminine mass in our solar system. Begin this podcast on the new moon to follow the cycle that is outlined over the next Synodic month: The harmonization of the movement of both the sun and the moon. Today we will introduce the course outline and explore what mindful meditation is and a few ways you can practice it. We will then lead a 20-minute, lightly guided meditation. Happy listening!

Music | Star Trails - In The Branches & Bluetech + The Last Moments of Light - In the Branches

Transcript

This is the Macaranda Method's Mindfulness with the Moon.

My name is Eleanor Medina and I will be your guide.

This is a 29-day journey where you will learn the fundamentals of mindfulness meditation while also syncing yourself with the cycles of the moon,

This gorgeous feminine mass in our solar system,

Starting with the new moon.

So look at your calendar and check to see when the next new moon will be,

And that would be the most ideal time to start this course.

We are so happy you have decided to embark on this journey into stillness and silence to experience the wisdom within yourself in connection with nature.

Over the next moon cycle,

We will meet every single day for about 30 minutes.

I will offer a short Dharma talk,

Speaking specifically about Buddhist-based practices in connection with mindfulness,

And then I will offer a 20-minute guided meditation.

Each day,

We will focus on a different aspect of mindful meditation,

And I will also share briefly about the phase of the moon that we are in and how she can be seen like a plant growing in nature.

This course is going to be broken into six phases,

Corresponding to six different moon phases,

Also known as a synodic month.

Each phase will last about five days.

The first phase is the new moon,

Second phase,

Waxing crescent,

Third phase,

Waxing gibbous,

Fourth phase,

The full moon,

Fifth phase,

Waning gibbous,

Sixth phase,

Waning crescent.

So in our first phase,

This is the new moon.

I recommend you start this in the new moon,

Where the sky is dark and the moon is not perceivable from our place on the planet.

This is the time where we're seeding this concept of mindful meditation,

Where maybe you've never practiced meditation a day in your life,

Or maybe you're a seasoned practitioner.

No matter where you are,

We will start here with the groundwork,

And this groundwork is the foundation from which we begin.

So we'll talk about what is mindfulness,

What's meditation,

Who is the moon,

And what's she all about,

And what to do when our attention wanders away from the present moment,

And how we can create this devotional meditation practice with ourself so that we can come more into who we are.

During the second phase,

This is the waxing crescent,

Where we're starting to be able to see the moon appearing in the sky.

This is as if our seed is starting to sprout,

Popping her head out of the earth,

Emerging from the darkness.

Just like your meditation practice,

This part of you is starting to grow stronger,

And it needs to be nurtured and watered and taken care of by you continuing to show up and sit.

We'll talk about mindfulness of the breath,

Mindfulness of thoughts,

Mindfulness of the body,

Mindfulness of emotions,

And the mindfulness of senses.

Breaking down mindful meditation allows for us to practice on our cushion so that when we're in our day,

These lessons can start to integrate and move more freely through our bodies and through our minds,

And can support us when we start to get swept away.

This allows for us to grow some roots,

To plant ourselves more firmly.

During our third phase,

The waxing gibbous,

We see growth in ourselves and in this devotional practice.

The growth is visible,

It's palpable.

We start to perhaps trust ourselves a bit more in this stillness,

And sometimes it's challenging as well,

And it can feel like it throws us off kilter because every single day in meditation is different,

But we start to build our capacity during this third phase.

We're going to be learning about different ways to meditate,

How to place our bodies,

Whether seated,

Walking,

Or laying down,

And I'll also teach a RAIN practice that I've learned from a teacher of mine,

Tara Brock,

That supports us in working with difficult emotions as they rise.

Our fourth moon phase is the full moon,

Where we are in our full bloom.

The sky is bright and the moon is shining in all of her glory,

And this time can feel like a lot,

A lot of life,

A lot of energy.

It can feel really big and life force energy,

And also scattered and kind of crazy.

And we will practice and explore different virtues known as the Brahma Viharas,

And in this meditation practice,

We will cultivate these virtues of loving kindness,

Compassion,

Empathetic joy,

Equanimity,

And the common humanity of us all.

During our fifth phase,

Waning gibbous,

We will start to taste the fruits of our labor,

Where we are starting to hone in our practice and let go of what's no longer serving.

We will prune what's not working,

And we will ask ourselves the reflective question,

What are you going to do with your time left on this planet?

How are you going to be with this time left?

I'll invite you during this fifth waning gibbous phase to pick a practice that you'd like to work on moving forward with the tools that you've learned in this course so far.

This will also touch into working with trauma and fear,

Pain and discomfort,

Suffering,

And how we choose to walk forward with every sensation,

Every emotion and thought,

No matter what arises with kindness and with gentleness and with love and compassion towards ourselves and all beings.

Finally,

During our sixth phase,

This is the waning crescent,

Where we're heading back into a time of darkness and death,

Where the moon is not as easily seen.

Little by little,

Day by day,

It becomes darker and darker,

And we will learn about the teachings that I am not my thoughts,

And how to dive in and let go of what I think I know,

To practice forgiveness of myself and others,

And how to be your own refuge.

And finally,

To integrate the teachings by letting them all go and simply being present,

Being mindful,

Being right here,

Right now.

Let's begin our meditation.

You will hear three bells to start the meditation.

I will mind the time and ring three bells to bring you back.

As we begin,

I invite you to find a comfortable seat and drop inside.

Perhaps you soften your eyes closed or lower your gaze,

And I invite you to breathe.

As you breathe,

See if you can taste this place of inner quiet.

This place where you can just start to notice what arises.

Noticing what arises in the moment is a form of mindfulness.

So we'll start here.

What is your definition of mindfulness?

It's talked about all the time,

And what is it?

Take a few moments and ask yourself,

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness can have many different definitions.

And my definition of mindfulness is doing what you're doing while you're doing it.

What does this mean?

This means feeling each footstep on the earth as you walk.

This means noticing your heart starting to race when you're having a challenging conversation.

This means feeling the water on your skin as you wash yourself.

This means engaging fully while also being aware of what's happening in your body.

Mindfulness is syncing our mind and our bodies together to be at the same place at the same time.

What is your definition of mindfulness?

So if this is mindful meditation with the moon,

We will practice being mindful.

And mindful meditation is just one way to meditate.

There are thousands of roads to get to a calm,

Peaceful mind.

So I encourage you to try different roads,

And I'm so glad you're here for this road.

This road with the moon,

Building connection with this beautiful planet,

Noticing the cadence of your breath,

Noticing the way your fingertips feel,

Noticing if there's space on the exhale to release.

Perhaps you could try feeling your toes,

Or feeling your seat on the cushion,

Or even noticing sounds that you hear around you.

Something that's happening right here,

Right now,

Where your mind and body are connected.

A meditation teacher of mine named Tiame once shared with me that learning to meditate is simple.

You sit down,

You hold still,

And you breathe.

Your mind will wander,

And all you do is call your wandering mind back like you would the sweetest puppy in the world.

Come here.

Come on.

Come on back.

Right?

The puppy's running away,

Off in a thought.

You notice the thought's running away,

And you say,

I'm thinking.

Come on back.

Come here.

Come on back.

Kindly,

Gently,

Back to your body,

Back to the moment.

Just sitting still and breathing,

Sitting still and noticing what's arising with an openness,

With a gentleness.

See if you can practice now.

During this new moon,

I invite you to be in the darkness,

To be in the mystery,

To be in the unknown of what you're doing,

What this even is.

See if you can allow yourself to be in this seed-like state,

As if you're being planted in the earth,

And you're just germinating,

Just figuring out what it's like to be planted here on this planet.

So be here.

Be with it.

Be with your thoughts.

Call them back,

Back to what's right here,

Back to your sensations in your body,

Back to the colors you can see behind your closed eyes,

Noticing if your mind is wandering,

Being kind,

Calling yourself back.

I invite you to bring and use this time to allow for your mind and your body to be right at the same place at the same time.

Perhaps you want to feel your heartbeat and let your attention rest there.

Or perhaps you'd like to notice the space on your brow,

The space right where your third eye is in the center of your forehead.

And on the exhale,

Maybe you just soften there,

Remembering to be gentle with yourself for the last few moments of this meditation.

I invite you to feel your place on the planet right here,

And see if you can notice the subtle rotation,

The subtle rotation of the earth moving,

Orbiting the sun,

And feeling into this first phase,

This new moon,

Where the sky is dark and the moon is not able to be seen.

Perhaps you want to visualize yourself as a seed being planted underground.

Just a little seed.

Just planted.

What is it like to be this seed?

What kind of seed are you?

What kind of soil are you in?

And see if you can feel it in yourself right now,

Being mindful of what arises as you tune in to this idea of planting yourself.

And as you plant yourself,

Also noticing the moon and how she's still there,

Moving too.

Allow for yourself to release any visualization and just notice what's happening in your heart,

In your feet,

In your forehead,

Just right now.

Slowly start to bring your awareness back,

Back to the room,

Back to the space around you.

And I encourage you to feel into what is mindfulness to you.

This is unique and during this course,

We will be exploring mindfulness meditation.

Thank you so much for joining me and for joining us on this beautiful journey of learning to be still so we can cultivate calm and peace no matter what is happening in the world around us.

See you tomorrow.