I talked with the moon
I spoke to the moon, and I swear it answered back. Even my dog thinks so. Here’s how it all went down….
In November in the northeast U.S., we’re in that leading up to the holidays, I’m-not-sick-of-winter-yet glow. We get excited by the first real snowfall. In November, I was filled with a hopeful, peaceful spirit. Even the mundane stuff, like taking my dog out to do his business, was bathed in a gentle contentment. (Side note: I think happiness + peace = contentment, which is kind of the goal for grown-up me. Little kid me was all about happiness = amusement park or Christmas presents 😊.)
One November night, I gazed skyward as my dog Reyni was letting it all out with his pre-bedtime pee. The moon was stunning. It was an extraordinary, almost-full gibbous moon - illuminating a thin skin of cloud over its face. I was moved by how beautiful it was. “Hi moon,” I said quietly.
Then instantly, right beside the moon, an enormous shooting star streaked across the sky. It looked as if it was literally shooting out of the moon. It was so sudden and bright, it startled me - “WHOA," I breathed. And Reyni jumped like something spooked him. Was he feeling the powerfulness of that moment like I was? And this was my first-ever shooting star. I’d been wishing to see one for decades - searching the nighttime sky. I truly believe this was something divine speaking to me through the moon, saying, “Hey, Becky, we’re with you, you are loved.” The thing about what I call ‘mini miracles’ is that you can feel it - that something different and magical is afoot.
Now, let’s fast forward a couple months. It’s mid-January, the holidays are behind us, maybe we’ve gained some weight. In the northeast U.S., it’s cold, it gets dark early. Ugh, the dreaded January funk. Sometimes it can be more than just a funk and move into depression* territory. Or we can experience what’s referred to as a dark night of the soul, which I define as not feeling my connection to God/the Universe/Spirit as strongly or often.
When I’m in a funk, all I can do is surrender and flow. Have you ever gotten knocked down by a powerful ocean wave? If we struggle, we end up in deeper trouble. If we let our body flow with the water, we’ll be OK. The surrender part is acknowledging and naming the core emotions we’re feeling. Denying we’re in a dark place (i.e., ‘bypassing’) will just prolong it. Flow means honoring that those powerful emotions are there to show us something. Our mission is to figure out what that is so we can bathe it in self-love and heal. (Check out my Inner Healing techniques for more on how to do this.)
We can move through a dark night of the soul in much the same way - surrender and flow and ask, what do I need to heal? During a dark night of the soul, we may not feel the connection to God/Spirit/the Universe - nevertheless, the connection is always there, it cannot be broken. Many believe the reason we can’t feel divine guidance is precisely because we’re in these heavy, low vibration emotions, which is kinda sucky because that’s when we most want it! The trick is to raise our vibration enough to feel the connection again. The simplest way I know is to focus on something I’m genuinely grateful for - even if only for a minute. If I can string enough of these together, the channels open and I begin to feel that connection again. Gratitude is one of the highest vibration emotions.
So surrender and flow, dear ones, and heal with tender compassion for your glorious self. And know in your heart that, just like the cycles of the seasons, difficult times will come and go. The dark night will lift, and everything will be illuminated by a shooting star emanating from an extraordinary gibbous moon.
*If you are struggling with depression that lasts, please don’t go it alone. Seek the help of a professional psychotherapist. Spiritual coaching and spiritual guidance are not psychotherapy, but any of my services can be a nice complement to it.
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