Pink Full Moon,

 

Before I write some stories about the moon, I want the reader to know, these are just stories. However, stories are events in a person’s life, which become associated with whatever was happening at the moment these stories were told and listened to. This is known as Classical Conditioning or learning through the pairing of stimuli. May be, you have heard or read about the experiment, in which Ivan Pavlov paired food with the sound of a bell and made the dog salivate, after repeatedly pairing the sound of the bell with the food arrival. A dog, normally, doesn’t salivate, when hearing a bell, but a conditioned dog surely will have this response.

 

We are biological organisms, who learn through Classical as well as Operant conditioning. In the latter, antecedent stimuli precede a behavioral response, which is then socially reinforced by a postcedent stimulus. Operant and Classical condition are scientific procedures that predict the future-probability of a behavioral response.       

 

The unpleasant, unnatural, effortful sound of your voice, during your usual way of talking, which I call Disembodied Language (DL), is a very different sound, than the sound, which you only produce, on those rare occasions, in which you – unconsciously – were able to have some Embodied Language (EL). If you would talk out loud with yourself and listen to the sound of your own voice, while you speak, you would immediately hear this enormous difference. Moreover, you would prefer the sound of your EL and hate the sound of your own DL, as you will figure out, why you never wanted to listen to yourself. Although you have little knowledge about or experience with the sound of your EL, you experience and know immediately, that it is associated with everything, that is positive and desirable, while the voice of your DL, is related to everything that is negative and wrong in your life. Yes, the voice, which you use every day sounds strange, as you feel it has prevented you from being who you are and have always been. Your EL was never reinforced, as there was no one who knew enough about it, to reinforce it.  

 

During your DL – which, I repeat, is your usual way of talking – the sound of your own voice is inadvertently paired with a broad self-defeating behavioral repertoire, but the sound of your EL – which was never consciously made – relates to the relatively small behavioral repertoire of your wellness. Simply stated, you are so lonely, troubled, unhappy, dissatisfied, vindictive, jealous, isolated, hateful, stressed, frustrated, nervous, confused, anxious, etc., etc., because stimuli in your environment constantly trigger all the behaviors, which perpetuate your DL.

 

The other day, everyone was suddenly talking about the solar eclipse, the alignment of the sun, the moon and the earth. The moon, which was directly between the sun and the earth, casted a shadow on our planet. This event happens only once every eighteen years. With eye-protection, the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, was visible, because the sun’s disc was completely covered by the moon. Many people went out of their way, to get to what is known as the Path of Totality, from where they were able to witness a total, rather than a partial eclipse. This event signified an unusual moment in which many human beings, were, relatively speaking, briefly, observing the same reality. A similar phenomenon occurs once you engage in EL.               

 

I have always loved the Full Moon. As a child, I was sitting alone, watching the full moon, from a branch of a small tree and I was listening to the beautiful singing of a bird. The streetlamps had already come on and I should be at home, for dinner, but I felt so comfortable in my tree, that I  wanted to stay there a little longer. Across from where I sat, were four-story apartment buildings, in which I knew every family. It was such a happy moment, which I would always remember, each time it was full moon again.    

 

Tomorrow, April 23, 2024, it is full moon. Why is it called Pink Moon? The word comes from the herb Pink Moss or Phlox Subulata, a wildflower, which blooms during early springtime. These flowers usually grow in the North American region. Thus, the name Pink Moon associates with Springtime. I find it interesting, through the Native American language, that the moon, in outer space, is colored by what is happening, here, in North California. Every year, there is a Pink Moon, the first full moon of Springtime.   

 

If one imagines the person, who first came up with this idea, he or she was walking through the fields, on a warm full moon’s night and was able to see these beautiful flowers. He or she was probably relieved, that the coldness of the winter was gone and looking forward to spring and summer. You could say, he or she was so happy, he or she saw the moon with colored glasses, although glasses didn’t exist back then.

 

On an uncloudy night, the full moon is seen by all human beings and everywhere they give a different meaning to it. The Pink Moon is an important event that marks many religious and cultural holidays and festivities. It has different names as per different cultures and different people. Christians call it Paschal Moon, which refers to the Eastern celebration. For Jewish people, Pink Moon marks Passover, a holiday on which they celebrate their freedom from Egypt. For Muslims, the Pink Moon signifies the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. For Hindus, Pink Moon is a reminder of the birth of Hanuman, which is an important figure in their religion. Also, Buddhists in Sri Lanka have a version of Pink Moon, called Bak Poya, to commemorate Buddha’s second visit to their country. The second time, somehow, was more significant…

 

Pink Moon is known by a variety of names and symbolizes Spring and fresh growth. It is called the Moon when streams are navigable again or the Breaking Ice Moon. Some call it Moon of the Red Grass appearing or Budding Moon of Plants and Shrubs. Elsewhere, Pink Moon is associated to animals. Moon when the Ducks come back, Moon when the Geese lay Eggs, Frog Moon or Sucker Moon. Sucker Fish are believed to come from the spirit world, to visit various water bodies on earth to purify them.

 

In my early twenties, I often went to a park, in the dark, where I tried to meditate at full moon. It was a hot and dry summer, which is unusual in the Netherlands, where it very often rains. Usually, I sat under a big tree, by a small pond, in which you could see the moon reflected. I could hear owls or the sniffling of a porcupine. One balmy night, I sat, for no apparent reason, on the other side of the pond, when something remarkable happened. With a huge crash, a large branch broke off of the tree I had been sitting under, just like that. If I had been sitting there, I might have been crushed. I stayed calm. A month later, when I returned to that same spot, the tree had been removed and after this, I never went back to that place again.

 

Looking back, I realize, once again, the whole story about meditation has become completely irrelevant to me. Also, I grew up in a Catholic family, but at some point, the story didn’t do anything for me anymore. Actually, I have never really believed in all these boring stories people are so carried away by. Our usual way of talking, which I call DL, is always some kind of dreadful story, but also a monologue. I have always been more interested in dialogue and that is EL. You can only have dialogue after your monologues have been stopped. EL can only happen if your DL has been addressed and therefore stopped. That Path of Totality, is, of course, when your EL can finally continue unobstructed. This is the total eclipse of your so-called mind, because, by listening to yourself speak, you will hear, there is nothing between you and your language.