spreading the delight of moonlight

/

It was about 2 a.m. when I stumbled out of bed, my eyes still mostly closed and my feet searching for my slippers so I could make the trek to the bathroom safely protected from errant dog toys. Then I looked up and gasped.

The full moon in Virgo—hanging over the ridge of forest behind our home—blazed into the bedroom from our window, lighting up every dark corner as if an overhead light had been switched on. I stood at the foot of the bed to let my now-open eyes adjust and really take everything in. Even our dog, Zoey, was bathed in a moonbeam so bright that I couldn’t imagine how she could still be asleep (until I remembered how well she naps on the front lawn in the noonday sunsine).

It was the sort of scene you want to share with everyone. My husband was sleeping so soundly with the moon washing over his blanketed legs and feet that I didn’t dare wake him. Besides, he’s usually not nearly as impressed by sights like this as I am (especially when awakened at scary-o’clock). And I certainly couldn’t text anyone at that hour. There was no way I could capture the magic of this sight in a photo, anyway.

I couldn’t keep the alchemy of the moonlight all to myself, so I used a little inspiration I had just gleaned from my Tibetan healthing meditations class with Tony Murdock to send it back out into the world before I drifted off to sleep.

Tonglen is the Tibetan Buddhist practice of sending and receiving (or giving and taking). It’s often used by meditators to take in an experience of suffering—either by an individual or a group of beings—and then to send back out feelings of ease, comfort and happiness. Drinking in the glow of the full moon, I longed to share its quiet peace with anyone who might be struggling.

Here’s what I did:

  1. I gazed around the room one last time, taking in the sight of the moon silently spilling over my sleeping family members. It was an image that just made me smile with contentedness.

  2. I settled back into bed and closed my eyes, feeling the cool moonlight all around me, draping itself over surfaces and providing a sense of calm.

  3. I imagined myself drinking in this special light on every inhale—even through my pores. I imagined filling myself from the inside out with this magical, calming substance.

  4. And on every exhale, I sent out feelings of gratification and tranquility to anyone who needed to feel supported.

  5. I continued until I drifted off into sleep.

That night I didn’t get to feel the shared appreciation that I enjoy when I experience something wondrous right alongside someone. But I do feel that I may have been able to help someone in pain settle a bit that evening, and get the rest that they truly needed.