Sunday, September 30, 2012

Moon Festival

This past full moon was the Chinese Moon Festival. I had an in-class essay in which several  Chinese students spilled out their homesickness--it is, most of all, a time for family gatherings. The assignment was a response to an essay that only mentioned someone's homesickness in passing, but in honor of the occasion, I cut some slack for writing off-topic.

There are a number of different stories connected with the Moon Festival. Here is the one I like the best:

Long ago, there were ten suns in the sky. The earth was hot and parched, and no matter how hard people worked, they could not grow enough to eat. The king declared that he would marry his beautiful daughter to the man who could destroy nine of the suns, and leave them with only one that was needed for life.

A mighty warrior presented himself, and true to his word, fought with nine suns and destroyed them all, until at last only one good sun was left in the sky. The king was true to his word, and gave his daughter's hand to this mighty warrior.

The princess, however, was not happy in this marriage. The same ferocity that had given this warrior the power to destroy the nine suns also made him a jealous and violent husband. She soon came to understand that for the good of the land, her own hopes of happiness had been sacrificed forever.

So one night, she went to her jewel box, and chose from it one large, perfect pearl. She went out into the courtyard, and threw the pearl up, up, until it came to rest high in the sky. Then she took a running leap, and jumped high above the palace walls. She flew up to the moon, and there she lives joyfully and alone, giving comfort and encouragement to all unhappy souls below.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

At the Dark of the Moon

Introspection, trance work, self-evalution

Dream work

Fast or eat sparingly

Don't overwork


Wrap yourself in a covering or veil of some kind, arranged so you can breathe properly (oxygen deprivation is not an essential part of the experience.)
I especially like some slow and evocative sound for this--Tibetan temple bells, for example.
Close your eyes and go into a cave. As you go deeper in, the light becomes fainter and fainter, and you have to feel your way with your feet and hands.

The passageway becomes narrower, and more difficult to negotiate. You go deeper and deeper into the earth.

Then after a time you will suddenly lose your footing and go floating in free fall, around and around, down the passageway, until you land in a cavern deep inside the earth.

There you may find something, or you may meet someone.

You may be told something you need to know, or you may be given something to take back with you.

Perhaps you will find or be given something that must remain in the cavern, but which you can return to again.

When you are ready to leave the cavern, you will find that you can float up and out the passageway, by the same way you came.

Then you will find your footing, and make you way along the passage, feeling with your feet and hands, until you return to the mouth of the cave.