The Elephant In The Moon

We know, where have we been? There were some major happenings in our emotional and spiritual journey that required our attention, and now we return from a long break to find all of us in the growing phase of the lunar cycle and love portion of the LEAP program. We had a bit of a lapse in our writing skills from the heart, and didn’t feel it would be right to give you something that was not from a direct loving light. Life choices and our spiritual progress can feel like a lot of work at this stage, and we have to find ways to push through. We found our home filled with an elephant or two and they were dying to be let out and talked about. So as we reminded ourselves this past week, we remind you to keep a forward motion towards growth, even when you feel the heavy burdens are slowing you down. Reward for your efforts will show and it will all come together in time.

We do not practice any religion but we respect and admire vast elements of many beliefs. There is a Hindu God – Ganesh, which many people refer to as the “remover of obstacles”, which is true, but he also carries out the task of placing obstacles in your way when you need it. You can find his familiar multi-armed, elephant-headed figure all throughout India and Nepal.

Constantly creating, we’re sometimes so distracted by our latest positive endeavor that we ignore the elephant in the room lingering from the past. Since most of us have not found complete stillness of our minds yet, our mind is firing multiple times per second. We fill our minds with new ideas, judgments, fears and thoughts all at once. We can be extremely talented at making new things happen and pushing towards new goals and conveniently forget to deal with the lessons of the most recent negative experience. Growth is not about deflection or avoidance of the negative, but the acceptance of bad situations and the strength gained from the depths of the despair involved in them. For us, we moved into our new life with divine intention towards our soul’s work and giving back to the spiritual community. We created this new life with less bills and let go of old luxuries and settled into a simpler, more planet-loving life. However, we still have commitments and requirements for this life. We still have some bills and lifestyle requirements that can create stressful moments for us when faith should prevail. But in our shadowy bliss of the new, we found ourselves creating distractions away from the stressful, negative attributes our new life had to offer. We love what we are doing far more than anything else we have ever done, but nothing is without its challenges.

This past week was a slow-growing one for us with a few things looming heavily. We have been trying to open things up for our retreats and for Souls Converge to really take off and be our main focus. We took a job for a local winery to make ends meet, and it was hard work. It did provide for us to pay our bills so that we have internet, our website, gas, food and our home. We were exhausted after this work and couldn’t get a post out, or we didn’t want to is more like it. Our low energy and lack of motivation to do anything but sleep, was not a place in which we wanted to write from. We were tired, imbalanced, and not in a place of great faith in our hearts. LEAP is such a huge commitment that we chose, and we knew we had to push through. Any form of a Ganesh would have been well received to assist in loading case after case of wine onto pallets or just sort out thoughts and emotions. Perhaps Ganesh was there, watching us struggle and placing this obstacle of money and work in our path as divine intervention. There are many things we cannot control, but in a constant process of creation, you are an active architect. Our mistake was continuing to draw up plans before we had a clear view of the land on which to build on.

Buildings are only as strong as their foundations. Plants and trees only as strong as their roots. So it only makes sense that our quality of growth and strength comes from how grounded and balanced we are. What have we done to make ourselves healthy and not brittle, susceptible to breaking? What do we eat to contribute to the imbalance? What is not grounded that we engage in – tv shows, fast food, venomous people, and hurtful thoughts. When you begin to really look at what you are including in your daily process of living, you find the weak parts of your structure and it can open your eyes to how YOU are contributing to the weakness of your overall being. The judgements placed upon our society, and spiritual choices are disappointing at times. A simple notion towards a vegetarian diet can make others judge the power of the person choosing it. When you think of an elephant don’t you think powerful and strong? And yet we find another thing Ganesh is a symbol of – the first chakra. According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesh also resides in us as the “base, or foundation” of support.

We encourage you to find a stillness in your heart for a moment and feel this time of growth. Address any lingering issues you may have. Release them from you and you from them. Send out loving light with compassion as you watch them float away. It takes courage to face these things head on, and it will probably hurt. Just like those pesky leg pains in the middle of the night – when you get them, you know you’re growing. Find a strength in that and you will become a more balanced person from it. We are working with you and alongside our grand moon and her effects on us. Just a tip: the next time you feel an elephant in your spiritual “room”, (pink, white, Ganesh or otherwise), walk right up to it with a full heart and introduce yourself. You may even find yourself thanking it for the assistance in supporting your foundation of growth.

With full hearts and wishes for growth,

Lonny & Kristen

Click here for meditations and exercises for this phase.