The oldest symbol of mystery in human existence.
Waxing, waning, turning the color of blood or disappearing altogether.
We've never understood the Moon...but we always know where it is. We carry it within us.
The Moon holds our deepest sense of safety...comfort...nourishment.
It also holds our instinctive reactions to the absence of safety and comfort - all the rising and falling emotions of being a vulnerable creature in an uncertain world.
When we understand the Moon in ourselves, we understand precisely what gives us that sense of safety, comfort, and nourishment.
This course will teach you about this most basic of needs – the one that sits beneath everything else.
You will learn where you’re supporting yourself in this way, and how to do that more skillfully.
We will also talk about other aspects of human nature that block or interfere with getting our lunar needs met – a critical level of understanding, since those parts of us also need to be fed and honored.
Equally important - we know what it looks like when we DON'T have those things.
We’re also going to learn about what happens when you DON’T meet your lunar needs.
In general, lunar needs sit at the base of our experience, so if the Moon in us is unhappy…
NOTHING ELSE WORKS.
We are frozen and unable to act from the other parts of us.
This isn’t always true, of course – other aspects of our nature are also powerful – but it’s true enough to understand how important the Moon is.
When we feed the Moon, we are "fundamentally OK."
When we don't...we're NOT.
We have very particular ways of responding to the world when we feel “fundamentally okay”…
And equally particular ways of responding when we are NOT.
Knowing what this looks like for yourself, your partner(s), your children, any important person in your life can be more important than anything else.
Your lunar needs are likely VERY DIFFERENT from their lunar needs – “food” for you is likely to not be “food” for them.
Knowing what a person’s lunar needs look like – especially if those needs are also very different from the rest of their own nature – can nourish the relationship profoundly.
When we feel “safe enough” at the base of our being, everything else works better.
Context matters SO MUCH - we'll look at that too.
Trauma shapes this part of us more than most of our nature.
I am in no way qualified to WORK WITH trauma, so if there’s something active for you around this, I’ll need to know that.
But we can talk about the shaping effect of trauma in general terms, and you can bring that awareness into your own work with yourself.
We’re also going to talk about cultural expectations of lunar needs, in terms of gender, class, race, and other factors – again in general terms, but we MUST consider systemic factors when we’re looking at how these things show up in us.
The combination of how we’re made and how our environment has shaped that core self shows us the clearest picture.
Come and join us for five weeks of learning about the Moon in you...and in all of us.
We gather on Thursdays beginning June 30th, for a Day group at 11am Pacific and an evening group at 5:30 Pacific.
The Practicum option is $240 and the Auditorium option is $60.
The Practicum seat brings a 45-50 minute conversation with me to discuss YOUR Moon, with all the complexities and challenges that come with it. You'll leave with a clear, pragmatic understanding of how to increase your sense of comfort and safety, a list of warning signs for when you are feeling unsafe and "hungry" for lunar nourishment, and how other parts of you will cooperate or obstruct getting your "fundamental okayness" needs met.
The Auditorium seats are full participants in the group in all regards except there is no focus session. You get to listen, witness, learn, and discuss the material with the whole rest of the group, and ideally you will distill insights that apply to your own Moon as well as that of other important people in your life.
We meet on Zoom, and all calls are recorded and provided to the group each week. Both Day and Evening group have access to each other's calls. We will have a Facebook group for discussion, though that is not required for participating.