End of Ghost Month

Today is the last day of Hungry Ghost month. 

On the last day of the seventh lunar month, before the next new moon, the gates of hell close up again. Asians celebrate this day in a variety of ways - they might burn paper money and clothing again, and taoist monks might chant to drive the ghosts away or release them; and the Toucheng Ghost Grappling Competition is held in Yilan's Toucheng Township in Taiwan(!)

 

Today:

1. Release my hungry ghosts

2. Read PowerHunch

3. Make a floating lantern

1. Release my hungry ghosts

As I said at the last new moon, Hungry Ghosts have two manifestations: They appear as the spirits of unhappy, homeless souls, and we also have our inner hungry ghosts.

Early this morning I had a little ceremony to release some of my hungry ghosts (need for approval, need for comfort). I wrote them down on slips of paper, took them outside in a bowl, and burned them as I said a prayer of release.

I'm sure these cravings and greeds will hang around to haunt me, but noticing them is the first step to giving them peace and liberation.

2. Read Powerhunch:

I'm reading a book by Marcia Emery, called Powerhunch: Living an Intuitive Life. I'm a little skeptical because of some of the woo-woo language, and the focus on "gut feelings", but I'm giving it a chance.

The fist chapter is "Tap Into Your PowerHunch Source", and the mind-body connection. The author points out that we each have a dominate body awareness sensation or two, and I've determined mine include hearing and seeing: I definitely process information by pausing to listen within for advise, or by squinting to picture an answer.

She also says that some of us are mentally intuitive; we get a mental flash of awareness or understanding that is fully-formed. It's not really rational - more like a leap of intuition, which I call a leading.

The third source is emotional - the message from your heart; and the fourth is spiritual.  

3. Make a floating lantern:

The most common way to mark the end of ghost month is to float a paper lantern down a river. People make colorful lanterns out of wood and paper, and families write their ancestor's names on the lanterns. The ghosts will follow the lanterns away. For a great tutorial see this Lotus Lantern tutorial at Chinese American Family. I haven't had time to try it yet, but it looks fantastic!

I've made a simpler version with kids - instructions here - but please substitute a paper plate for the foam base if you plan to float it down a river!