Waxing Crescent Moon of October

Now the moon is waxing 

Photo by Alan Gillespie

until it's full again; it's building light and building energy. Astrologists say that it’s important to expend your energy now to honor this cycle of expansion; also, let the brighter moon shine a light on challenging areas in your life to aid personal expansion.

In these first days of the waxing crescent moon, I'll tap into this metaphor and give attention to my own growing energy, take first steps towards my intentions, and find my motivation to follow through with persistent action.

Agenda:

1. Plan first steps

2. Mindfulness

3. Walking Meditation

1. Plan first steps:

Today, at the waxing crescent, I give attention to my level of energy, and prepare to act on my priorities.

What are my top priorities for action this week? Are these priorities truly leading me on the right path?

Is my energy really growing? Where do I feel resistance to action? What information or help might I need to ease the way?

What are my first steps? Do I have supplies to gather or calls to make?

How can I give full effort?

Remembering my intentions throughout the day is a mindfulness practice; it creates energy and excitement for my priorities, but I have to take care to hold my intentions gently, not obsessively. If I begin to worry about completing my intentions, or think about them in an aggressive way, I try to back off a little. Even though I fully intend to take these actions, life sometimes shifts under my feet; and it is not my intention to feel self-loathing or anxiety.

2. Mindfulness:
The first step towards giving full effort to my priorities is attention; I want to remember my deepest, most essential, most passionate reasons for acting on my intentions, every day, and hold my intentions with gentle awareness all day long. I use several strategies:

• I review my intentions first thing in the morning, turning my essential reasons into shorthand mantras. For example, my three intentions today are: 

Write a speech / Witness

Worship / Community

Revolutions Ride / Celebrate!

• Later I will take my intentions for a walk and speak them out loud to the trees.
• I have a grid of my priorities on my phone that charts out the one's I intend to act on each day, and I check it often to motivate myself to complete one more important action.

3. Walking Meditation:

This month, as I focus on balance, I will practice this walking meditation each morning, giving attention to my body, heart, mind, and ki, an Asian concept that translates to "energy, life-force, spirit, or breath." It’s the Cosmic Power that flows out from the center of the Universe and returns back to the center.

1. Grounding: Begin my walk, and concentrate on my feet as they touch the ground, the feel of my muscles, my breathing, my surroundings, the breeze, the sky. Center my weight low and maintain balance as I walk.Continue this for 1-2 blocks.

2. Clarity: Turn a corner, and bring attention to my day ahead, my intentions, and how where I need clarity. Open my mind to the ambiguity of life. Become aware of ki as intuition. Continue this for 1-2 blocks.

3. Heart: Turn a corner, and focus on my tender heart. Feel the love that brings passion for joyful life and service. Send loving thoughts to my neighbors, my family, my community, the world. Become aware of ki as feeling. Continue this for 1-2 blocks.

4. Spiritual Awareness: Turn the last corner, and speak a prayer out loud - “Spirit of the Universe, I am open and awake to whatever comes into my life today. I am a limitless being, accepting from a limitless source, in an infinite way. I am incredibly blessed.”