Full Moon — The Heart of Belonging
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
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Welcome to the Wild Wisdom Monthly Practice.
Each full moon you will receive a practice to help keep you on track with the lunar cycle and your new moon practice. These practices are crafted to keep you spiritually nourished, and to help you continue to expand your spiritual growth.
Our practice this month is: The Heart of Belonging
Our mantra is:
I look into my heart
And I am at home
Be content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are. When you realise there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
— Lao Tzu
We are active participants in an interconnected web of life.
How we participate is our choice.
At the heart of belonging is the understanding that we are nature, that we live within the rhythm of life. Life offers countless moments of wonder, awe and interconnection when we choose to pay attention to what is around us. When we engage with thankfulness and reverence for the good things we have, and are fully present to what is unfolding around us.
Recently I got a call about an Eastern Pygmy Possum out on Cape Otway, at a large forested property with a campground. It didn’t sound as though she was injured, so I took my scales with me to assess her properly and decide whether she could go straight back to her home or needed to come into care.
She was in the manager’s office in a cardboard box. All her vitals were good and she was bright, weighing 28 grams—within the average weight range for an adult—so I felt she should go back home. The manager knew roughly where she had been picked up, near where they had been chopping up old fallen trees and stacking the logs that morning. Old trees and fallen logs are perfect shelter for these tiny possums.
One of the campers had been walking past the wood stacks, seen her and picked her up. She had probably been asleep inside a hollow log and been disturbed during all the activity. As they are nocturnal, and because it is winter, she may even have been in torpor. Displaced from her home, she was completely disoriented.
I tucked her back into the little cardboard box, adding some soft fabric for cushioning, and set off with one of the workers on their quad bike as it was quite a distance away, deep in the forest.
After fifteen or twenty bumpy minutes we arrived at the area where the trees had fallen.
It was a little daunting because we didn’t know exactly where she had been found. I wanted to put her back as close as possible to where she belonged, and for such a tiny creature, even a few metres could make all the difference.
I stood quietly and surveyed the scene until I saw a perfect spot. It was an area of older fallen branches and bark, with long grass growing luxuriantly through them. There were plenty of hiding places to snuggle into and less chance of the wood being cut up for firewood
I let my heart tell me where exactly to place her.
She disappeared straight away, scurrying out of sight.
As I walked away, I had a strong feeling to turn around—and there she was.
She had popped her head up and was looking at me as if she was saying,
“Thank you, goodbye.”
My heart said thank you too. And goodbye.
Then she slowly turned and disappeared back under the logs.
I had the sense that all was well.
I’d been worried that I might have put her in the wrong place but now I was reassured.
That little being was where she belonged.
And in that moment I felt a deep sense of belonging.
How do we nourish our sense of belonging?
Belonging is nourished through relationship, wonder, appreciation and participation.
Many people in the modern world have lost their sense of belonging. We can find ourselves feeling disconnected, uprooted or uncertain about where we belong. Yet deep within, we know that we belong because we are part of life. Belonging is something we experience and nourish through the way we live, the choices we make, and the relationships we cultivate with ourselves, one another and the world around us.
When you lose your sense of belonging, find something that needs doing. Pick fresh herbs for dinner, spend a little time in the garden, or sweep the veranda. Give your full attention to the task before you. These simple acts bring us back into the present moment and into the flow of life.
There are also simple things that nourish our sense of belonging. For me, a warm cup of milk with honey and nutmeg takes me straight back to my childhood, living with my grandparents. It carries with it a feeling of warmth, comfort and safety. We all have experiences, places, smells, tastes and memories that awaken this feeling within us.
Feeling safe is the foundation of belonging.
Wonder and beauty are woven through life. They are always here, waiting for our attention. Place yourself where you are more likely to encounter them. Step outside at your favourite time of day. Watch the changing light as the sun sets or a storm arrives, listen to the birds at dawn, or walk among the trees. As we give our attention to the living world, we become fully present. In those moments, we simply know that we belong.
Wonder opens our eyes.
Appreciation helps us recognise what is precious.
Participation allows belonging to become something we live each day.
When we choose to participate in life through simple acts of care, attention and appreciation, our sense of belonging is strengthened.
FULL MOON RITUAL OF BELONGING
This simple ritual is inspired by an old Druidic tradition of lighting three candles.
For this Full Moon, and the next few days as we move into the creative Waning Gibbous Moon, let these three candles remind you of the relationships that illuminate your life and deepen your sense of belonging.
Each morning or evening, place three candles on your altar, kitchen table or windowsill. As you light each one, pause for a few moments of reflection.
The first candle
For your relationship with yourself.
May I live with an open heart.
The second candle
For your relationship with the living world.
May I recognise that I am part of the great web of life.
The third candle
For your relationship with Spirit.
May I live with courage, truth and wisdom.
Sit quietly for a while, allowing the light of the candles to settle your attention.
If you are able, step outside for a few moments and notice the beauty and wonder around you. If you remain indoors, notice the warmth of the candlelight, the sound of the rain or the stillness of the evening, or whatever is happening at that time.
As the rest of the month unfolds, remember to visit your Altar of Wild Beauty and see how nature is arranging it. Reflect on the relationships that continue to nourish your sense of belonging.
With love
