Is the Process of Letting Go a Human Impossibility?

Yoga, the Moon & Me: One yogi's musings on travel, spirituality, the moon and life!

Is the Process of Letting Go a Human Impossibility?

This week in my on-line studio and in my life, we have been talking about and focusing our yoga and meditation practice on this November’s Full Moon. As you know, I love following the moon phases and learning all about them, how they affect us in mind, body and spirit.

I am actually recording this on November 8th which is the full Moon here in central Ontario and this morning bright and early we also experienced a Lunar Eclipse.

That means the energy is so heightened right now and if you don’t understand what is going on you can really feel like you are losing it.

Normally we feel full moon energy for about 3 days. The day before the full moon, the day of and the day after.

How does the Lunar Eclipse affect us?

According to Yoga Journal, Eclipses signify significant periods of change and transformation.

While a solar eclipse opens the portal for new beginnings and change, a lunar eclipse reveals energies that help us complete a journey or shift our course in some way.

What’s interesting is these shifts don’t take place all at once. The transformation may start or continue on an eclipse, but the work continues throughout the time that eclipses are occurring in the same set of signs. The lunar eclipse, which coincided with the full Moon on May 15, 2022, continued the magic of the Taurus solar eclipse that occurred on April 30 and is part of a set of seven eclipses taking place on the Taurus and Scorpio axis from November 2021 to October 2023. So with this Full Moon in Taurus combined with yet another lunar eclipse, we are somewhere in the middle of this process.

That is a lot of astrology speak for me but when I look back at my life from November 2021 to now…there has been significant change, shifts in my course and lots of letting go. It’s really kind of exciting and I know that at some point, I need to dive deeper into these teachings. For now, I rely on the great knowledge of others and observe closely how it all makes me feel.

Last night I was making dinner and I actually felt dizzy and spacy for no valid reason. For a minute I wondered if I was coming down with vertigo and then the lightbulb went off…of course we are coming into major full moon energy right now. So I just took it easy, sat down so I didn’t fall over and rode out the wave.

One thing I love about full moons is their names and meanings. Depending on who you ask and what culture you are drawing from, there is always a different spin on the meaning and significance of the period we are going through.

This month’s Full Moon is no different. In my research, I found 3 names:

The Beaver Moon

In North America, the November FULL MOON represented a time when the rivers began to freeze and the beavers were hard at work building their dams...the perfect time to hunt and harvest their fur to survive the deep cold of winter.

The Reed Moon

The Celts referred to November's moon as the REED Moon, comparing the ominous sounds of these wind instruments to the sounds of spirits being drawn to the underworld. It was after all, a dangerous time of year when one might slip and fall, never to be seen again. (Maybe drawn down to the underworld..who knows!)

The Mourning Moon

The Pagans referred to November's full moon as the Mourning Moon, sometimes the last one before Winter Solstice. After a year of accumulating, this moon is the perfect time to let go of the old and unnecessary while giving yourself permission to mourn during the process.

I find that one generally resonates with me more than others and for this moon, I am leaning towards the Pagans. I like that they dedicate a moon to the process of letting go which to a certain degree is always a part of the full moon ritual but they took it one step further by allowing grieving or mourning to be part of the process. Letting go for whatever reason seems to be difficult for us humans.

How many of us have stuff that we have accumulated and not used for years, no decades and not touched one single time yet can’t seem to get rid of it? Oh…might use it some day. Really? It can’t honestly be good for our health to clutter our surroundings with stuff…physically or mentally.

Think about the clothes in your house…I have so many and I’m not even really a shopper. But because I’m not a shopper, I get “gifted” bags of clothes from my sister fairly often. And I am grateful for sure but I find myself keeping stuff that I might wear one day but never really do. Then I feel like I shouldn’t let them go because they are too good to just get rid of. Really?? My sister is an awesome woman. She’s an Interior Designer…the exact polar opposite of my style..which is no style really so it makes sense that her stylish wear doesn’t fit my hobo/yogi lifestyle. But my wardrobe is full of her stuff. I feel like that was just confessional for me. Time to declutter.

Patanjali’s teachings of the 8 Fold Path of Yoga touch on the process of letting go and decluttering one’s life fairly often. They take a bit of a harsher viewpoint on the art of collecting stuff.

The first limb of yoga is called the Yamas. This is the Practice of Universal Moral Principles and is broken into 5 parts.

One part is called Asteya ~ English translation “non-stealing”.

• Only take what is freely given
• Only take what we need

Did you know that the yogis believe that DESIRE is the pre-emptive to stealing?

Yogis even consider borrowing something longer than allowed to be stealing.

HOARDING is recognized as thievery...taking more than we need.

The second limb of Yoga is called the Niyamas ~ The Practice of Personal Disciplines. It is also broken into 5 parts.

Saucha, one of the niyamas, translates to “purity”.

When the yogis speak of purity, they refer to outer purity as well as inner purity of the mind.

Here we are asked to engage in things that are purifying or cleansing and it starts with our external environment...keeping our surroundings clean. This idea of cleanliness, simplicity, minimalism comes up often in the yoga teachings? Give it some thought….

Letting go of “stuff” is one thing but let’s dig a little bit deeper.

Why do we humans have such a hard time letting go of relationships that we have outgrown? It could be a friendship that maybe at some point you had lots in common but now no longer do and it no longer feels natural, easy or comfortable but we find ourselves forcing it…trying to make it the same even though it really isn’t any more. Why do we do that? Do we think that by resenting having to get together with that person but doing it anyways we are somehow doing them a favour? Wouldn’t it be kinder and more compassionate just to let it come to a natural end without resentment or hard feelings?

Or let’s talk about love relationships ~ partnerships or even marriages. How many of us stayed in a relationship way beyond its expiry date. You ca...