Joined up thinking

If you ever wanted confirmation that the Moon affects every aspect of life on Earth, this week’s Full Moon would be the one to use as an example. It happens to be a supermoon, where the moon reaches the closest point on its orbit to Earth (the perigee), with an attendant partial eclipse thrown in for good measure. This week is something of a lunar job lot.

The September full moon is also known as the Harvest Moon, appropriately linked to the time honoured gathering of crops under the northern hemisphere's late summer sun. Many ancient wisdom traditions suggest every full moon is a time of harvest, where we reap what we sow from the seeds of our intents in thought, word and deed. Their shared line of thinking suggests, whether conscious of the process or not, that what we think, say and do largely determines the shape of our life experience.

Reality is created by the mind. We can change our reality by changing our minds.

(Plato)

In astrological parlance, a full moon in watery Pisces (represented by the icon of two fish) is likely to drench our personal harvesting in an emotional deluge, water signs being considered emotionally sensitive with a tendency to find their extremes at full moon. The moon sensitive amongst us will therefore need to be wary of saturating the immediate surroundings with fluctuating waves of emotional neediness and over reaction.

We all contribute to the ecosystem that is this beautiful, water bound, blue planet. 70% of Earth's surface is covered in water whose tides are determined by resonance with the Moon's orbit. 60% of the human body is water, but certain vital organs like the heart and brain (73% water) and the lungs (83%) are even more dependent on this vital constituent element. Emotional and mental health relies hugely on physical health. Logically we may assume that if the Moon's orbit drives the ocean tides, it is going to harbour a significant influence on the watery nature of our holistic well being.

But water constitutes just a small percentage of our planet's mass - roughly 0.5% - so how does the Moon's trajectory affect all the remaining elemental matter? Along with the ocean tides science has measured, (amongst others) earth tides, fire tides, air tides and blood tides.

The Moon creates a tide that pulls the crust of the Earth towards its lunar mass. The surface of our planet actually rises between 4 to 12 inches when the moon is above the horizon which then recedes as the Moon sets.

Lunar tides also affect the fiery molten core of the earth, causing it to surge and recede just like ocean tides. This has been measured as a contributory factor in the cause of earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Blood tides affect all living beings on the planet. There is plenty of contemporary scientific evidence of the Moon's tidal effect on living organisms and their reproductive cycles. From rutting deer to the wild sex of coral reefs; from human menstruation cycles (menses derives from the word Moon) to the pollination of plants, the Moon plays a vital role in the intelligent evolution of life on Earth.

The atmosphere around earth reaches up approximately 60 miles from her surface. We are reliably informed that this envelope of 'air' weighs an almighty five million, billion tonnes—apparently equivalent to a 10 metre depth of water across the entire Earth's surface. The Moon has a measurable effect on this air mass altering the density of Earth's atmosphere daily. When overhead, the gravitational pull of the Moon can drag the atmosphere outward by as much as 25% (the equivalent of 15 extra miles closer to the Moon) with attendant shifts in air pressure. These shifts in pressure play a significant role in affecting weather patterns on Earth's surface.

The devastating power of shifts in atmospheric air pressure are evidenced during the hurricane and typhoon seasons in coastal regions. This autumn, as the climate crisis continues to escalate, hundreds of people are likely to lose their lives and tens of thousands their homes during this year’s storms. Hurricane Beryl killed 70 as it overwhelmed huge areas of the Caribbean, Mexico and the US Gulf Coast earlier this summer while Super Typhoon Yagi has recently wreaked havoc across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Hainan and Guangdong in China where more than 400,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Meteorologists are suggesting Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit China’s southern coast in over a decade. There seems little hope currently that this annual catalogue of climate catastrophe is going to do anything other than get worse.

A rising tide doesn't raise people who don't have a boat. We have to build the boat for them. We have to give them the basic infrastructure to rise with the tide.

(Rahul Gandhi)

The defining theme in my art, and a regular assertion in this column, that everything relates to everything else in the unified, interconnected field of existence in which we operate, bears repetition. The argument goes that all activity of the individual, constituent components of existence has an effect on the unified whole, of which they are an inseparable part. In human terms this applies specifically to whatever we think, say or do and in developing a more conscious approach to our behaviour we can direct our energies away from habitual, often harmful patterns toward those which benefit all.

In bringing to mind people in need, each of us empathises personally through the pain felt in our own lives. An emotionally charged connection is made and an energetic thought form of goodwill is transmitted into the collective mind of humanity. Is it an unreasonable stretch of the imagination to suggest that others might tune into that transmission and be moved to take action, particularly if they are in closer proximity to those that need help? I like to picture the practice as compassionate, joined up thinking. Critical mass in collective human consciousness has given rise historically to major political and social upheaval. It's a powerful driver of change. It contributed to the abolition of slavery; the right of women to vote; civil rights in the US; the end of apartheid in South Africa and the #metoo movement, to name but a few. The current swell of opinion regarding rich economies’ reluctance to develop and uphold global climate change policy might be a current case in point. Let's hope so.

In an era of incessant, predominantly negative media bombardment, perfectly designed to make us feel disconnected and helpless, can we embody a positive disposition and outlook regardless of circumstance? In doing so, we may well be contributing to an energetic reservoir of positivity from which those trying to rebuild their lives from disaster can draw—be it in the wake of Beryl and Yagi; the bombed wreckage of Gaza and Syria; the threatened indigenous tribes of the Amazon as the forest burns around them; the recent flood victims in India or the 6.6 million people currently facing displacement and starvation due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Under this emotionally charged Pisces Super Moon, there’s a strong case for making a little extra effort to fill the well of goodwill from which anyone can draw in their hour of need. Every day for the next week, why not find a quiet moment to bring to mind those in need, whether nearby or in distant lands? We can use our mobile phones as a prompt. Set an alarm for morning, evening or both and commit to spending a minimum of five minutes with eyes closed, imaginatively focused on the well being of others.

The practice is not to dwell on their difficulties or misfortune but to clearly visualise their return to well being. That positive focus can be directed toward someone we know; those we have never met or both. What remains important is feeling the emotions that relate to our positive vision of another's well being. Take a little time to consciously acknowledge those feelings: relief, hope, strength, happiness, solidarity, gratitude - all add to the energetic reservoir of positivity from which others may draw the same.

And, of course, we all have the capacity to turn those positive thoughts into meaningful action. We can smile and say hello to those we pass in the street. We can contribute selflessly in our local communities; campaign for justice where injustice reigns and donate to charities that do relief work in distant areas of the world beset by tragedy. Ultimately, the suggestion here is that we actively do what we can with whatever means at our disposal for the benefit of All. Even if we're skint, the power of loving kindness in thought, word and deed should never be overlooked as an agent of positive change.

There is recognition in this Harvest Moon practice that our own health is inescapably linked to the well being of others; the well being of our planet and its great diversity of inhabitants. If, in a short daily moment of reflection, we can awaken a collective vision of equitable value for ALL life on Earth, we will move some way towards healing the problems that humanity is currently harvesting from the seeds of its own carelessness.