#30 The Sun, The Moon & The Act of Letting Go

The other night was the full moon. A typical practice on full moon nights is letting go of something. I wasn’t quite sure what to let go of. I often feel like my body is holding onto so much, but it’s not clear what. So a little reflection on what to let go of got me thinking about the process of letting go itself.

The importance and significance of it. And strangely, in letting go of the need to let go, it dawned on me that integration, the process towards what Carl Jung called individuation or developing one’s self, is only possible with separation. If there is no separation, no letting go of something that we once felt the need to have, or at least the desire to have it, then there can be no integration of that item under the hood of one’s personality. The state of our being remains subject to its influences.

Letting go doesn’t necessarily need to be a physical act, it can be a psychic or mental one, in which an idea or belief is no longer identified with, or attached to. It then falls away from the self and becomes something ‘other’. It’s fascinating how the process of letting go seems to be the essential step to becoming more whole. In the hole that results from the separation, something else must take its place. Perhaps it’s a greater understanding or a creative spirit that now has space to come into existence as a result of this wider perspective. And from this place, a deeper, more intimate relationship with the essence of the thing, the object, or the being can be established.

The dance between the sun and the moon reflect this process beautifully. It is when the sun is completely opposite the moon, most separated from its partner, that the moon shines its brightest. The sun sees the moon for what it truly is, and under this light of this awareness, the moon begins it’s journey back around to be close, or together with the sun again. 

And just like that, my body started to loosen its grip on itself. 

#27 Stories of Substance

We all have a story. A past, a present and a future in our hearts and minds that define who we are, or at least, who we believe ourselves to be.

This story shapes us – it either limits or empowers. Story, is what we all have in common. Yet at the same time, it is the thing that pulls us apart. Religions, ideologies, economies and societies are all stories, often waging war over difference in perspectives.

Narratives frame our view and shape our worlds, and in turn we try to shape the world in their image. Empires rise and fall. Heros are born and die.

Stories are tragic, yet they are the fuel which keeps us moving forward. Stories define and divide, but they are also grounded in the divine. They are the fabric of our souls, and let’s not mistake our many designs, for the substance in which they all reside. 

#26 Spine of the Soul

Stories hold things together. They hold the mind together, bringing order and meaning to what’s often a chaotic mix of fleeting thoughts and ideas.

They hold information together, into a coherent series of bits that become more than just random factoids easily forgotten, but key elements of a scene, educational, inspirational or revelational that lodges itself in the memory.

In a sense, stories are the backbone of our lived experience. In a similar way, our own spines hold us up and keep our parts intact.

A strong spine keeps us alert, upright, and energized, just as does a powerful story. Is it a coincidence that the shape of a healthy spine, is the same shape as a vibrant story? I don’t think so.

They are fundamental patterns of mind and body, which find their reflection within a shared structure, foundation and fabric of soul.  

#1 September 4th, 2023 - Picking back up

This will be my first blog post in some time here. I’ve written one-off articles in the past, but I’m thinking about writing more regularly here now. What to write about? That is the grand question.

There are so many things I’d like to write about, from so many different realms of thought. Perhaps what they all boil down to though, is a sense of connection that I’d like to explore. The connection between the mind and body, humans and nature, our planet and the stars, and people amongst each other.

A sense of connection that we have in many ways lost sight of, but are forever in the process of rediscovering. A journey into the heart of our being is what I am really after, and it’s along the path where the different topics will come to light. They may include philosophy, psychology, biology, ecology, astrology, anatomy, you name it.

Rather than fully discuss each subject, my goal is to survey the invisible landscape in which each of these fascinating fields finds its fertilizer. And in doing so to create a reference guide, a map, or a lifeline that one can refer to when navigating the realms of life. My intention is to share thoughts and experiences that have been useful or healing in my own life, as well as concepts and questions that I’m currently examining. And in this way, this blog might be a place where we can collectively explore the nature of being, together.

As new ideas emerge and connections are reestablished, may we weave a story that not only sheds light on the fabric of our reality, but also illuminates our relationship with and our place within the intricate web of life itself.