Moontime
by LYBS Alumni, Titania E.A. Michniewicz
Honoring my Period.
The seed for a monthly moon-retreat was planted at the Live Your Best Story Retreat on Bowen Island last October.
One of the exercises had each of us holding space on a stage in front of our workshop fellows. My turn started innocently enough, reading the lines of a poem I had written. From that beginning, I found myself talking about power, and menstruation and cramps, and asking how could I be powerful in a masculine world when I was sidelined by my period and its accompanying cramps for a week out of the month? Asking how was it that other women could plow into the wide world and somehow keep themselves from imploding? I shared how pathetic I felt, needing so much introspective quiet time to keep my little life in balance. How I envied those seemingly powerful women who kept up with the boys, and still ran households and raised children and did great things in the bigger world. Why was I so flawed when I too wanted to be out there, on the cutting edge of transformative change?
The coaching I received blew some doors off my fortress: What if the weakness that I perceived was actually a strength? What if, instead of vilifying myself for being weak, I made friends with my feminine vulnerability and made it a source of congruence and power?
What if I embraced that ebb and flow of my power and worked with it, not against it? What if I chose to structure my life in a way that honored the inward time of my moon so that I was full and nourished for the rest of my cycle?
Agog with the power of what I had gained, I sat down again, humbled that such a powerful and simple distinction could change my whole perspective about being a woman and being powerful in a completely different way than I had been conditioned to perceive as useful and valuable.
That was the first night.
I spent the weekend making friends with this new knowledge — this new perspective that I was not weak.
The piece I had been missing was leveraging the power of my feminine rhythm so I would be outward and productive when my energy was, and renew, recharge, dream and vision when it was time to be inward.
In practical day-to-day terms, this means I mark my moon days on my calendar and designate that as my monthly Sacred Time. To enable myself to surrender to this space, I prepare and attend in advance to the responsibilities of my life and arrange them to give myself as much room as possible to withdraw into the quiet and dream-state. What a contrast to years of cursing my flaky, forgetful, accident-prone state — what pleasure to finally work with, not against myself and my best.
During my moon, I unplug from other people and the outside world (including my computer). I am quiet. I eat simply. I take slow walks in nature. I read gentle, uplifting books. I journal. Mostly I dream and doze as much as I feel called to — often staring out the window at the greenery for what seems like ages, basking in the luxury of quiet and space all for me.
As I come to the close of my moon season, I am passing what I know on to my daughter; not just verbally, but also by modeling and giving her permission to take the time she needs to care for herself best. My hope is that she and other young women will be spared my years of seeking. That they can be powerful in their woman-ness now and leverage their feminine power into full lives and meaningful contributions, while nurturing and nourishing themselves.
Today, I celebrate what is one among my remaining moons. I celebrate the difference that makes me who I am as a woman. I celebrate the sharing of wisdom that provided me with this Sacred space to honor and replenish myself. Today I stare at my toes, in the warm sun, at the quiet beach, grateful to be a little wiser and kinder to myself.
Titania shares her Best Story as an Artist & her Life Guidance through Tarot~604.947.9987 www.titania.ca
Come join us at our next Live Your Best Story retreat workshop~Bowen Island, Feb. 5–7/2016. To register, www.liveyourbeststory.com
