65: LOVE THOSE HEAVENLY BODIES
Mon 4th Jan 21.03 - Mooning Monthly Edition 65 gets all physical....
Greetings dear Mooners
Hot on the heels of the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse excitement, we have a new moon in Aquarius this coming Monday just before bedtime. Under the influence of Aquarius there's a tendency for many of us to overthink just about everything. The thinking can dominate the doing and being as we rationalise ourselves out of acting in an aligned or informed manner with the bigger picture evolving around us. We can spin this as our need for independence of mind and action when mostly it's a willful stubbornness not to alter our rationalised behaviour, however much grief it may cause others or, more pertinently, ourselves.
There is therefore more than a whiff of martyrdom attendant to this Aquarius New Moon. We may find ourselves isolated in the ivory tower attics of our own thinking with little inclination to come down to earth and engage with any other 'stupid' opinion or reality. Such isolation can breed unhealthy distortion. Without the challenge of integrating a wider perspective in our lives we can allow ourselves to believe anything: that we are worthless nobodies undeserving of love or the good stuff that everyone else gets; that we are better and more intelligent than everyone else but undeserving of love and the good stuff that everyone else gets; that so and so is an evil, money grabbing dirtbag; that so and so really fancies/hates me; that such and such is a waste of my valuable time; that fighting to be right is a reasonable use of energy; that if I'm going to get this then I have to do that or generally that life's a shit and everything/everyone's against us etc etc......
These unconscious spirals of negative thinking, in which we all occasionally indulge, thrive in isolation. Under this Aquarius New Moon we need to guard against trapping ourselves, or others, in webs of our own self righteousness and belief. Belief, as we have covered in this column previously, is just something you've repeated to yourself enough times to think that it's true. Watch out for feelings of angry dissatisfaction justified by judgements of other's ignorance. We may feel that we're the only one that is cleaning the metaphorical Loo of Life after use but that's usually only because we haven't had the courage to ask others to help out.
Under this Aquarius New Moon, courage and creativity is the order of the day. Whilst expecting our conditioned infantile behavioural patterns to seek full inner expression in simmering frustration at the rest of the world's inabilty to see things as we see them, we can courageously and creatively build a different attitude: one of trust - in our intuition and our bodies, to serve us more effectively.
Any inward, unspoken negativity can play havoc with our health, both mental and physical. Pain begets pain dear Mooners, not joy... unless you're a hardcore, old school masochist. Pain retained, then mentally reworked in the angry isolation of expectations not being met, is amongst the quickest routes to tension/pain in the body and the self perpetuating nightmare of poor sleep patterns. Over the next few days, with the Aquarius subconscious running amok, let's find time to courageously look to our often neglected bodies for information and inspiration in pursuit of a healthy life balance.
Now is not the week to ignore aches and pains and stoically 'carry on' in the great martyr tradition dear Mooners. This is the week to intuitively tune into what your body is telling you despite the noise generated by the mind. The messages are constant but generally ignored. This is a week to decipher whether any discomfort is a call for urgent attention. Neck and back pain in the cold weather might call for complete rest in the warm but who of us are intelligent enough to allow ourselves that luxury without guilt? (We haven't time here to explore the painful derivatives of guilt....) Feel the pain and DON'T carry on dear Mooners. Rest.
This requires a level of inner attentiveness that extends beyond merely witnessing our bodily ailments. Such inner listening can intuitively inform us of appropriate input to address those physical imbalances. Rather than slavishly following 'Hollywood' dietary regimes, we can intuitively look at our patterns of diet, exercise and rest on a daily basis, specifically asking ourselves what action brings us most benefit. Despite the initial, seductive rushes of sugar, booze and adrenaline, our bodies will quite quickly let us know that much of the stuff we do and intake actually hurts our biological systems. There's a case in this high paced modern world for being gentle and slow.
We here at Mooning HQ like a cold glass of Prosecco and a finger of fudge as much as the next Mooner, but through increased awareness of our cravings (largely programmed by habitual indulgence) we create the opportunity to choose a different course of action than the autopilot stampede toward immediate satisfaction. The simple (but underemployed) process of observing our habitual behaviour toward external influence, such as traversing the cornershop confectionery and alcohol aisles under new and full moons, gives us greater, more informed choice in our subsequent thought, word and actions as a means to personal growth. It is a means to manifesting meaningful change in our world for the betterment of All and what we like to call on these pages, Mooning.
The suggestion under this Aquarius New Moon is to give short shrift to the reasoned mind as it's rationale is likely to be way off the mark this week. Instead, we recommend regularly checking in with the innate intelligence of your physicality to see how it's feeling and to enquire from what it might benefit. A little quiet stillness might be required to get past the noisy mental reasoning until an intuitively sensed, untainted soft voice can be heard. Go with the guidance however surprising, be it to take a mid afternoon nap; an early evening walk; a swim; homemade broccoli soup; unhurried sexual indulgence - whether alone or with similarly minded friends; raw onions or the most bitter of dark chocolate. Respectfully let your treasured body have its say and get used to and savour that internal dialogue. The more you communicate in this way the better you and your body (an integrated whole) will feel. It is a gentle reminder to be kind to yourself at all times and another of the recommended pathways into the greatest love affair one can ever hope to enjoy.
In short:
STOP!
Be still. Close your eyes. Quiet the mind by concentrating solely on the breath. Bring your attention fully to the body. Move your focus from your toes up to the top of your head. Linger on any area that is in discomfort or 'shouts' for attention. Relax the muscles in that area and explore the bodily sensations without judgement. Intuitively feel what input might be of benefit. Act on the guidance.
Repeat at leisure in the aisles of your local superstore whilst perusing organic produce.
Those astronomers in our number, fond of gazing at the occasional heavenly body in the open air of an evening, witnessed a cosmic treat this week. On Thursday, just before dawn, lucky UK residents witnessed a beautiful triple conjunction as Venus (the brightest planet) and Jupiter (the largest planet) lined up with the waning crescent Moon rising spectacularly between the two, just above the South Eastern horizon (heavenly bodies link here).
Under this Aquarius New Moon on the eve of the Celtic festival of Imbolc, may the alignment of these heavenly bodies give rise to an alignment in your own dear Mooners. As above so below........and, in the cosmically charged words of Olivia Newton John:
Let's get physical, physical I want to get physical Let's get into physical Let me hear your body talk, your body talk Let me hear your body talk
Awesome. With love 'til next time
