New Moon Meditation.
Take a seat and put yourself in the most comfortable upright position you can.
You may have heard lots of things about the new moon and the significance of the cycles of the moon,
How to harmonize with nature by paying attention to these cycles,
How the ties of the oceans bring awareness to these cycles.
But something is undeniable about the new and full moons,
Which is the light and the darkness of each.
If you live anywhere outside of the countryside,
Sometimes it's difficult to actually notice this with your eyes.
There's a lot of light pollution in our cities,
But you sometimes can feel the energy.
It's reported that with full moons there's lots of accidents,
More crying,
More intense energy.
And new moons tend to be darker,
Restful,
Inward facing.
However,
Today I'd like to offer you another idea about the new moon.
When we look at the cycles of the moon,
Coming and going and coming and going,
We're reminded of the passage of time on earth.
And this is something that sometimes is helpful and sometimes can hurt.
And so the nice thing about a new moon is this.
It provides an opportunity to begin again.
It's a new opportunity to live.
And so for this meditation today,
Take your seat with this in mind.
Before we even begin,
Take some time to let go and be free of what's come before this moment.
Don't think too much about it.
Just offer the idea to your mind.
And then just let yourself relax a little bit more back into your seat.
Relax a little deeper into your conscience.
And let your eyes close.
And as your eyes are closed,
You're kind of mimicking this action of the new moon,
Which is letting there be darkness in your line of sight.
So just take a few moments to get used to having your eyes closed and just consider this.
What a powerful action just closing the eyes is.
Again,
Normally when we close our eyes,
It's time for bed.
We're lying down.
We're just going to rest.
Meditation is different.
It's active.
It's an intensive training of your mind-body system to find and access another part of your being and a deeper state of centeredness and groundedness and relaxation that you can carry with you during your waking day.
And so with your eyes closed,
Sitting still,
Really just kind of let that darkness descend through your whole body.
And darkness not as a scary night or darkness not as evil,
But just darkness as in quiet,
Stillness,
Blackness.
And breathe.
Let out one or two more exaggerated breaths,
One or two longer exhales,
And just really let yourself come into your seat.
And then just again notice with your eyes closed how all your other senses are a little more heightened.
Maybe you're suddenly noticing a crick in your neck or an imbalance in your hips.
Or maybe you're noticing an emotion or a feeling that wasn't present to you.
Or maybe you're able to hear suddenly the hum of your refrigerator or the birds chirping outside.
Or maybe you notice how nice and soft your shirt is or the lightness of your hair touching your neck.
In this self-imposed darkness,
This reflection of the new moon in your meditation seat,
You can see what a valuable moment this is in the cycles of Earth.
From a society that is 90% of the time engaged with vision,
With screens,
Just this few moments of matching the darkness of the new moon with your eyes closed gives you access to so much more of your human experience.
Sitting and breathing and just letting yourself observe what else is happening when you're still and your eyes are closed.
And then give yourself a couple of really nice breaths through your nose.
Whatever feels good to you right now.
Whatever feels like it might help with this experience of newness that might match with this moment of darkness.
And let yourself conjure up an idea of what could be new at this new moon for you.
And just trust it.
This is one meditation out of many.
And just breathe into this idea and see what it feels like.
See what it looks like.
Let it dance on the screen of your being.
This one thing that could be new at this new moon.
And just soften and breathe as you let your body and your mind come to terms with this.
We often say we want change.
We want things to be new.
But when we really listen deeply and something new appears,
It can require a bit of getting used to.
So here in this nice,
Still new moon meditation,
With your body and your breathing relaxed and your eyes closed,
Just breathe and create a tiny bit of space for the potential of this newness.
And then with an exhale,
Let all that kind of imagining and thinking go.
Any visualization go.
And let any efforting go.
Just sit and be still here for one minute.
Again,
You may notice even more heightened senses.
And at the same time,
Even a more deeply resigned attitude towards holding this newness and darkness.
You're halfway through your still minute.
Just keep breathing,
Releasing.
And with a nice,
Easeful exhale,
You can gently bring yourself back.
And when you're ready,
Let your eyes open.
Namaste.
