76: CONTROL ISSUES....
TUES 16 JULY 22.38 - Mooning Monthly requiring our best behaviour.....
Wotcha Mooners
We here at Mooning HQ must first apologise for publishing our last missive under the incorrect and misleading ‘Leo New Moon’ heading. This was due to a temporary malfunction in the cosmic chart tracking mechanisms at our purpose built observatory south of Staines. The new moon was, of course, at its shadowy depths in Cancer, not Leo, but we hope the message relayed remained pertinent to the moment.
With cosmic tracking mechanisms freshly realigned we can assure you of our planetary trajectory toward a full on, full moon in Capricorn this Tuesday night. What’s more, it will be a visible partial lunar eclipse for those in the Northern Hemisphere, within an attendant Mercury Retrograde. Let’s hope it’s a clear evening wherever we find ourselves, allowing us to take the air and bathe in those potent, silvery Capricorn rays as they turn blood red for an hour or two.
As we have highlighted previously in these columns, lunar eclipses can heighten the already emotionally intense period surrounding a full moon. Under this Capricorn Full Moon the normally reliable, practical aspects of Capricorn (the goat) might find themselves undermined by a mildly paranoid need for control, particularly regarding our immediate relationships with colleagues, friends and family. ’Game of Thrones’ style power struggles in the social structures of our various goat herds might pervade. Underhand tactics seeking upward mobility toward the throne (ultimate control) won't be beyond ourselves or others, so we recommend employing a specialist food taster to detect poisons when dining out over the next week or so. Dinner Mother?
The Mercury Retrograde (until August 2nd) is adding to the air of distrust. The general recommendation in such periods is to avoid signing contracts or purchasing the latest technologies because communications tend to go a bit haywire while the quicksilver planet Mercury runs backwards in the heavens. Under this Capricorn Full Moon the retrograde emphasis might require us to hold our tongues whilst others shoot off theirs indiscriminately. (Watch out for more classic Trump and Boris bullshit this month.) We will have less damage to repair if we can hold our peace until the start of next month. If you can also wait 'til then to sign your next celebrity product endorsement, it may prove advantageous.
This is a period to observe how our expectations of others affects our life experience. If our expectations aren’t met we invariably judge individuals and circumstances negatively. It’s a lose/lose outcome. We feel let down, but worse, we usually end up making others suffer for their perceived shortcomings.
Expectations equate squarely with human pain. In setting expectations of ourselves or others, we merely set the parameters for failure and disappointment, limiting the potential for positive outcomes rather than opening possibilities for boundless attainment, often beyond our own imaginings. An expectation is a restrictive thought pattern that only allows certain acceptable outcomes to our goals. It is often an attachment to an idea/form that becomes so dominant it's difficult to see validity in any other possibility.
The Universe, whose grand purpose is to provide opportunities for our greater learning and evolution (the evolution of self and Universe are inseparable - one informs the other) consistently works on our behalf to present these experiences. If we can't recognise the perfectly decent opportunities provided because they are packaged in a way that doesn't meet our expectations, those opportunities are lost. The Universe then has to expend even more energy presenting something that comes closer to our restrictive mental picture in order to be noticed. This creates delays in getting what we actually want. Sometimes our expectations are so highly defined they prevent us from ever manifesting what we want, which is tragic.
Our own inability to accept what life offers because we're expecting something different, keeps us from our most immediate, effective and, above all, pleasurable learning experiences. Our attachment to the form we think an opportunity has to take, be that job, partner, abundance or happiness, diverts our attention from what is actually being offered in the moment and we miss out. Such peculiarly human ingratitude might be considered rude if the Universe wasn't beyond such small minded judgments.
There can be no failure in life other than that of our own making. Failure could be simply defined as an inability to match experience to expectation. Essentially, expectation is a human projection into the future, and when thoughts turn to the future it is normally out of a desire to control. Under this Capricorn Full Moon there will be controlling desires aplenty.
By the same token, success might be where we bring our experience closer to expectations. Meeting expectations is rare, often requires huge amounts of effort and is usually short lived. Without wishing to sound negative, the labels of failure and success are merely two sides of the same restrictive coin in terms of creative manifestation. In order to harness our true creative potential we would be well advised to let go of the forms that drive expectation. Better still, allow the mutual interests of the Universe to encourage new heights of growth and joy in the moment that they crop up.
That's not to say we can't express a discerning preference about how we want our lives to unfold but, once a clear, concise intention is broadcast into the Universe, we shouldn't then apply restrictions to how outcomes may arise. A good intention, like a good enquiring question, will have an unlimited set of possible answers. We need to develop attentive listening to gain full understanding of the responses offered. With a receptive mind, open to the unlimited forms that responses to intentions may take, we can then apply informed discernment about the experiences we wish to explore. The philosophy could be likened simply to conscious curiosity, a process we often refer to on these pages as Mooning.
In asking questions curious for self knowledge, we align with the process mirrored in the exploratory, expanding Universe at large. What would it feel like if.....? What does that experience feel like...? By checking our bodily perceptions for answers on a regular basis we remain properly informed of progress, allowing even greater discernment and exploration. The trick to manifestation lies in awareness of those feelings. If one can imagine how an attained desire might feel in the body without directing unnecessary energy into how that might come about, one allows the broadest spectrum of possibility to manifest. Our responsibility is then to gratefully engage with the opportunities that emerge.
What we experience as feelings in the body are not an expectant projection. Once felt in the present moment, the physical and emotional reality exists. It always sounds trite but if you want to be happy, feel happiness. One obviously has to find a route there: think of a puppy, laughter, a remote tropical beach sunset or a well behaved partner, but once located, those happy feelings can be explored and enjoyed at leisure. If you want to be abundant, feel abundance. If you want to be loved, feel love. If you want to be powerful, feel power. If you want to be hateful, feel hate. If you want to be peaceful, feel peace. If you want to feel warmth......put more clothes on. Very loosely, this has been the basis of several schools of 'Be Here Now' meditation. However, as thoughts return to the future (desire for control) or the past (usually regret, shame, blame, guilt) we distance ourselves from the energised, ever curious present and our ultimate potential as conscious creators of our own reality, moment by moment.
The suggestion under this Capricorn Full Moon, partial lunar eclipse is to observe our need to exercise control over our relationships and circumstances in expectation of a brighter future. The energy expended removes our attention from the present moment and as such robs us of the magnificence of the experiences continually unfolding around and within us.
Let's not buckle under the self administered yoke of expectation dear Mooners, and instead find an occasional quiet moment this week to 'check in' with our bodies, minds and emotions to familiarise ourselves with what's actually going on in the here and now: How are we feeling - good, maaah, or a wee bit shit? How do we want to respond to that in our subsequent thoughts, words and actions? What narratives are we spinning for ourselves and others through our responses? How can those stories contribute beneficially to the wider picture? (Beware of inadvertent guilt trips here....)
The oldest man in Britain at 111 years, fellow Mooner Robert Grant Pitts Weighton, when asked of the secret to his longevity once responded, "Curiosity I think. I never know what's going to happen each day, or who may come through my door." 'Nuff said Grandpa Bob.
On a more recent occasion he answered the same question from a national newspaper by saying, "There is no secret. I just haven't died yet."
Genius.
With love 'til next time
Mooner Bob Weighton, May 2019 Photograph courtesy of fellow Mooner, Timothy Tyndale
