No offense, Carole King, but..
It's September (Happy Labor Day, by the way!), and my birth month.
Over the years for my weekly email ‘missive, I’ve refered to a particular website for the exact moon phase listed in the heading (astro-seek.com).
I typically overlook the daily 'forecast', but had to chuckle when it gave me today's outlook for Moon in Virgo (also my birth sign):
"Your feeling of safety is now related to order and clarity, even in emotions.
You may have the need to organise everything chaotic and disorganized.
Try being more tolerant and accept imperfections of life.
It is better to trust life and let it run its own way, not everything must be according to our expectations."
It was the sheer understatement of this advice that struck me as humorous, though, I do admit to going all organizational when I feel overwhelmed, or lost.
Safety, too, is such a big word these days.
When it feels though the very earth is shifting under our feet (there's the Carole King reference!) - and for some people, this has been a very literal and terrifying reality - it's hard to know where to go for refuge.
It seems a relevant time to meditate on the current nebulous 'fifth season' of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 'Late Summer'.
This transitional space between summer and fall (or, the transitions between the seasons) calls us to a pause.
To stillness.
Related to the element of Earth, it represents the Center.
Embodied in the 'flesh' and the nourishing organs of Stomach and Spleen, we are encouraged during these times to take stock of the harvest.
It's a time of gathering and for taking inventory.
my first black bean harvest!
Interestingly, Earth in TCM is also related to the spiritual capacity of 'intellect', which may have a slightly different interpretation for us.
From "Shiatsu: Theory and Practice", by Carola Beresford-Cooke:
"The Yi (or intellect), offers us the possibilities or options for transformation, reflecting the earth's potential for richness of manifestation.
However, when a basic sense of physical security is lacking, as in the case of a deficient Earth element, many of us seek a more reassuring reality in intellectual concepts and structures - hence the traditional association of 'thinking too much' with Stomach and Spleen.
The increasing emphasis in the modern world on the development of the intellect at the expense of other abilities tends to deplete the physical effectiveness of the Spleen and Stomach. As we become more and more used to the 'virtual reality' of the world of ideas, we even begin to live in a mental concept or construct of our own bodies ..."
Beresford-Cooke first published these words in 1996, which feels somewhat prophetic now, especially when posed with the problem of perception that even our own bodies are not safe, or at least, trustworthy.
It is my belief that this perception is one that's been gaining ground for some time - certainly since I've been in practice.
As a primary instrument of real-time experience and context, what happens when we become so disembodied as to basically leave the planet of our selves? Where could we possibly go without dissolving into complete abstraction? To what do we turn for a visceral sense of reality and truth?
While it doesn't seem that the 'reality of intellectual concepts and structures' is offering much reassurance these days, we still seem bent on seeking some solace there; some promise of safety, and of a ground that will finally stop shifting.
We are of the earth and the earth is of us.
More than a pleasing concept, our bodies provides context.
Validation. And intelligence. Ideas can take us anywhere - far beyond our skin, beyond the planets, and edges of the universe, which is remarkable. But this is where we live. Our only home in the universe.
Someday, our brilliant scientists may develop the means by which we can transcend the bounds of physical limitations.
But until then, perhaps I can entice my readers - those who have voiced with resignation that 'it's hard to know what to believe anymore' - to come back to earth.
Take a break from surfing the wind-toss'd waves, and relax for a bit on the shores of your own sweet being-ness.
“green to gold”
The energy of Earth is stillness.
Granted, not everyone is comfortable with slowing down. Or being in their bodies. Shiatsu can help. As well as a 'moving meditation' practice like Qigong.
But coming into the Center gives us a 360 degree view all around us. A better perspective from which to take stock. A point from which to see and feel your self in relation to the world around you; to ask not the question, "What is true?", but, more specifically, "What is true for me... right now?"
And then, what might you need by way of support?
Safety will always be a concern.
We are, after all, mortal.
But the paradoxical and subjective nature of safety is that it's a sense. It's an experience we cultivate from the inside - to a certain degree by what we observe on the outside, yes - but there's only so much control we have over that.
My freshly-vacuumed floors and tidied bookshelves don't confer safety upon me. A neat room doesn't protect me from evil or illness.
But, the order to the spaces I move about in allows me to think more clearly, with less distraction - which allows me to respond more appropriately and authentically in the moment to what might show up in my day.
In that, I feel 'safer'. (Earthquakes notwithstanding...)
Maybe a shifting ground is like a fun house ride for you :)
If not - and you feel little motivation beyond just sitting on the floor and holding on - honor that.
It's a natural, earthy impulse. ('Comfort eating' can be a manifestation of that... also related to Stomach and Spleen...)
Recognize the need for stability and grounding .... as a sense within yourself... and inquire within how to provide it.
Clear your physical space. Move your body. Turn off the t.v. Connect with family. Celebrate a beloved tradition. Take in the glorious, changing light.
Honor your home... imperfect as it is….
And may you find peace within you.
