Ritual 51: Monday, December 17, 2007

Waxing Moon

"Suppose you had the revolution you are talking and dreaming about. Suppose your side had won, and you had the kind of society that you wanted. How would you live, you personally, in that society? Start living that way now!"

I just picked up a copy of Yes! magazine where this quote from author and sociologist Paul Goodman appears on the periodical's inside front cover. Now, that is prime advertising space. But in this ad-free publication, such potentially lucrative advertising real estate is dedicated to something much richer than the bangles and bows of consumer Christmas. It is dedicated to change.

Change is the Moon's message. Growth and decline. Movement. Flow. Change is also the heart of magic. Transformation. Manifestation. The birth of the new. The death of the old. The rebirth of what was into what will be.

Tonight dedicate yourself to the change you seek in the world. A small change. A grand change. As Yoda says: "Size matters not." (Yoda is one of my own personal gurus, dispensing wisdom when I journey into my inner space.)

Lie back and close your eyes. Let yourself breathe deeply. Hear Goodman's invitation: You have the kind of society you wanted. Now, how are you living? You personally. What occupies your days and nights? How are you using your life energy in that society? From daybreak to moonrise, what unfolds through your actions?

Let visions and sounds and scents and sensations percolate up. What snips or wisps or clear-as-a-bell images occur to you? Which of these feels deeply meaningful to you personally?

After my revolution has been won, in my society there is true integration between the green world of nature's design and the human technological world. Colors and beauty abound. Creativity is everyone's birthright. And people love. Oh, they love deeply and freely and openly. They love at work. They love at home. Sure, they get angry and sad and are real. But through the experience of their full range of emotions, they love. After my revolution, in my society, people are welcomed in their wholeness wherever they are.

Love is clearly where the juice is at in my vision. But how am I living in this world? How am I, in particular, living love? I tune my focus onto the day-to-day activities, and I see that I live love by expressing love in all environments. This becomes the ground of my dedication in present time: to express love in all environments, even those where it might be surprising or threatening. This I can do.

What can you do on behalf of your world-changing vision? Breathe in the light of the waxing moon to empower your dedication.

Now here's some homework: tell someone about your vision for the world and what you're doing about it right now.

Let our magic close tonight with more words from my guru, Yoda, who says: "Do or do not. There is no try." Give yourself permission to do.

After the ritual, share your experience in our community section.