October Full Moon 2022
The October Full Moon in Aries can bring strong questions to the surface. Questions about what’s actually possible and what it takes to get from where you are right now to where you desire to be.
With every Full Moon comes the opportunity to step into new possibilities and new ways of leading your life. But how often are those possibilities possibilities that you’ve already experienced or observed? They wouldn’t be new possibilities then, would they? In order to truly take advantage of the opportunity of the Full Moon to illuminate the path to new possibilities, we must turn away from the realm of possibility and look instead to the realm of impossibility. What we don’t believe is possible. What we can’t fathom experiencing. What is beyond our ability to comprehend fully.
So if new possibilites, new solutions, and new directions are what you actually desire, then you will have to stretch and allow yourself to dream and imagine MUCH bigger. Even going into the outlandish and the crazy and writing down and speaking the dreams and thoughts you haven’t allowed yourself to entertain because they just seem too out there. If you’re doing that, then you’re on the right track!
Because everything is possible. But to go there requires us to detach from our experience of how our life has been or is now and to unhinge the limits of our imagination. Which for most adults is a highly uncomfortable experience, for it pokes at the compulsions to control, to be perfect, and to always know what’s happening next. And I say adults because as children we don’t start out with these compulsions as part of our default. Rather, we are taught them along the way as “ordinary” struggles of being human in this world. So on this Full Moon, we can challenge those programs and bring our own beliefs and personal dogma under the microscope and into the Light.
I’ve found one of the most effective methods for doing this is through asking questions.
Not only does it force you to put into words thought patterns that may be subconscious or running on auto-pilot, but in saying them out loud, you can gain distance from them as a “necessary” or “core” part of your identity to experience them more objectively. You may find that when you do speak them out loud you experience a bit (or a lot) of cognitive dissonance where the answers on the surface seem obvious but the feelings, emotions, and experiences you’ve attached to the questions and answers bring you to question the obvious and question yourself. For example, when asked “Does worrying ever make a situation better or more positive?” on the surface the answer is “No, it doesn’t.” but beneath the surface your mind may come up with reasons and examples, no matter how irrational, justifying why worrying is okay and why you shouldn’t get rid of it. I encourage you to simply notice when that comes up, to approach it more with curiosity rather than alarm, and to make a note of that defense mechanism and what you may be trying to hide or protect from yourself.
And before asking the questions, bring yourself into a meditative state and allow your body and mind to relax. Take time with this and don’t rush it. The less your brain is in beta and the more it is in deep alpha or light theta, the less likely your negative ego will be able to interrupt you. And when you ask the question, say it in a sincere way and allow yourself to listen deeply. You may need to ask the question a few times for it penetrate into your subconscious. And once you feel the question has reached beneath the surface, be patient with the response. It may not make sense at first, but I’ve found the longer you give yourself permission to listen and receive without interpreting and making sense of it, the more useful the answer in breaking you free from the limits of your conscious mind.
Here are questions you may want to ask on the Full Moon:
What do I truly desire for my life?
How do I block myself from having what I truly desire? Why do I do that?
Where have I allowed my ego to convince me to play small?
What would it feel like to live my full potential without limit?
Am I ready to let go of some of my self-limiting beliefs and habits? If yes, which ones?
If answers don’t come, don’t be discouraged and attached to the outcome as a sign of either success or failure. It didn’t happen overnight for us to install these programs and ingrain them into our self-identity. And thus it won’t happen overnight for you to debug them out of your system (thought it can happen much faster if you’re willing to do the work). Simply asking the question is already a successful start, stating that you’re willing to receive the answer and be responsible for it. So if an answer doesn’t come or it comes in a very abstract manner, again, simply make note of it for future reference. There may be something that you’re subconsciously unwilling to know or accept responsibility for at this moment, which is good to know. And in a future moment down the road, that can change.
And the word “responsibility” is key here. It’s one thing to know something but it’s quite another to do something. And without doing, the answers we receive are no better than good intentions that adorn our journals or get put on a to-do list or vision board that gets lost in the shuffle. There has to be a physical connection, or bridge, between what we know and what we do in order to ground the inspiration in our lives and apply it. Expanding what’s possible for you through your own direct first-hand experience of following through with the answers and guidance and discovering the result through living it. So for example, if you ask the question about what blocks you from having what you truly desire (more vitality and better energy levels) and the answer is “too much sugar,” then accepting that answer and taking action steps to shift your consumption of sugar. And if you ask the follow-up question of why you do that, and you receive “emotional eating as a coping mechanism,” then accepting that answer and taking action steps to bring more awareness to your emotional wellbeing and what emotional states or situations trigger your craving for sugar as a means of self-soothing and self-medicating and why you find yourself in those states or situations. Again, you may run into cognitive dissonance when your negative ego tries to defend your emotional eating, your need for the amount of sugar you consume, and why it’s other people’s fault that you do this. Take note of it, avoid the distraction, and keep moving forward.
For ultimately, entering into new possibilities, exploring new solutions for ourselves, and expanding what we get to do and experience within our physical life is our responsibility. It’s about the choices we make, the consequences or benefits of those choices, and empowering ourselves to be accountable for them. So if a choice we’re making is bearing more consequences than benefits and adding more stress and less joy to our lives (like too much sugar), then it’s up to us to change that choice we’re making and change our experience of life. There’s a common tendency to blame or hold others responsible for the choices we make or to resort to the defense that “I have no power” or “I have no choice.” But if we’re honest with ourselves, we know we always have a choice - it’s more a matter of whether or not we give it away. And by owning and claiming that choice is where we truly can unlock our power to shape our lives and create a unique experience of life that’s fulfilling and brings joy both to our lives and to the lives of others.
So on this Full Moon, I invite you to explore the realms of impossibility. Accept the challenge of getting outside your own box, outside your comfort zone, and into the unmarked territory of a new world. And allow yourself to ask questions and receive responses that will move your life forward towards your North Star.
