Moon: Facts and Myths - Last Part

MOON: FACTS AND MYTHS - LAST PART
In mythology, Endymion was a shepherd (some version say he was a king or a hunter) blessed with a godly handsomeness which later proved to be a curse. One night, Selene, the moon goddess, caught sight of him sleeping on a mountain side as she rose up the sky. She was so captivated by his beauty that she came down from the sky to kiss him and lay besides him. She was jealous of anyone taking Endymion from her so she kissed him into eternal sleep. He never wakes up to see Selene. Motionless, he slept forever on the mountainside. Night after night, she visited him and covered him with kisses. But her sleeping lover brought her no happiness, only pain and many sighs.

The story of Endymion was written by Theocritus, a third century BC Greek poet. Many such poems and tales from many lands have been written about the moon. To the Greeks and Romans, the moon deity or personification is Diana or Selene, who wear wings and a crescent crown and rides a chariot pulled by horses.
To the Hindus, he is known as Chandra, who was born after her mother swallowed the moon. To the Chinese, Chang-o is the lunar goddess who was the wife of the famous archer to the gods had granted immortality. Chang-o stole her husband potion, drank it, and forced to escape his wrath by fleeing to the moon in the shape of a frog. Chang-o is represented in the dark spot of the moon as a three-legged frog.
To the Aztecs, she is known as Caotlicue, wife of the sun god. Sin is the name of the moon god worshipped by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Sumerians. The son of Enlil, the storm god, Sin is personified as a turbaned old man with a long beard and the color of moon god who is like a tintlapis lazuli (gemstone golden tint). Sin is also a god of wisdom who advises other gods. Throt is the principle lunar god of the Egyptians worshipped in the form of an ibis. Tsuki-Yomi is the Japanese Shinto moon god who is a time keeping god.
These are the few examples of the lunar deities of various cultures. Now, let’s dwell on how the moon is affecting us.
If enterprising businessmen have the midnight madness sale, nature has the moon madness which is the malevolent aspect of the moon. Opposing powers and traits are ascribed to the moon. If the moon can regulate life and stimulate growth, it can also destroy. In the ancient times, people accepted that the moons can bring about madness, seizures, suicides, and heinous crimes.
In its ruinous aspect, evil spirits and creatures of darkness rule and stalk the night according to the phases of the moon.
Law enforcers are in alert on full moon nights as it has been observed that the rate of homicides and suicides escalate on such nights. Arson is also said to increase. Crimes against persons get more brutal, and there are more hospital admissions.
A classic study made by psychologist Arnold Leber and Carolyn Sherin reviewed 4,000 homicides that occurred between 1956 and 1970 in Miami and Cleveland. They conclude that “Homicides in the Dade County showed a striking correlation to the lunar phase cycle. The actions were peaked at the full moon and new moon. Our results indicated that become more frequent with the increase in the moon’s gravitational force.”
One of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century, New York’s “Son of Sam” killed five of his eight victims on nights when the moon is full or new.
Lunacy, which means strange and abnormal behavior and even insanity, is derived from the Latin word, luna, or moon. Excerpts from the Old and New Testaments to modern researches attribute lunacy to the effects of the moon. The 16th century physician Paracelsus said that the moon has the “power to tear reason out of man’s head by depriving him of humor and cerebral virtues.”
What dark forces of the mind lead people to take their own lives? Although it is not the determining factor, the moon could be the last influence that triggers frustrated persons to put an end to their miseries by suicide. Studies of 1964 to 1987 in Buffalo, New York place more suicide occurring around a full moon than any other time. Out of 928 suicides in Cayahoga County, Ohio, 120 committed suicide on a new moon – 43% higher that other time of the year.
Moon Health
The earth and our body go directly against the moon on the 4th, 5th, 8t, 14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, 26th, 29/30th of the moon days. At that time, the water levels in the sea and our body rises. On these days, many people in India are advised: (1) to observe complete fast (not even to drink water, if possible); (2) to eat only once; or (3) to eat only twice; or at least avoid eating vegetables (as they contain about 90% water), and thus control the water in the body, reducing the chance of having a cold.
People suffering from chronic cold or sinus trouble, or having allergy to cold should try to carry out as many as the above restrictions as possible. Moreover, in certain countries like United Kingdom and Japan, where having a cold is quite common throughout the year, many follow these restrictions on a national scale.
People who have kapha (a combination of earth and water) bodily constitutions and have asthma and epilepsy are likely to suffer more attacks during the full moon. Also, women have more menstrual cramps at this time.
In yoga, people who seek to control their senses, especially the precious fluid, observe fasting twice a month. This is called ekadasi which is done 11 days after the new moon. This is merely fasting from grains, and is particularly effective in controlling the passionate influence of the moon craze.
You can also observe that on a full moon day or a no moon day, the effect of the moon is most powerful. Since there is an aggravation of the water substance in its heat decreases; thereby increasing the air content. This air travels through the head and causes mental disturbances. This is an explanation of the link of the lunacy and the changes of the moon.
The sun is related to human consciousness or awareness while the moon is to the mind, creating changes in emotions and mental faculties. To calm the mind and stabilize human emotions and bodily water, wear a moonstone ring set in silver on the right finger to help overcome emotional stress during the new or full moon.
Gazing at the beautiful moon envelops us in its multifaceted mysteries. It will never fail to bewitch and awe people. The mutable moon holds the answer to many questions puzzling man. So, the next time certain experience beset you, look at the moon’s phase after all, it is one of the strong dominating force affecting us.

Moon: Facts and Myths - Part One

MOON: FACTS AND MYTHS - PART ONE
The changing faces of the moon never cease to cast an enigmatic look upon, and effect, the earth. While early man appreciated how the sun gives life, the moon according to the ancient, regulates life. The lunar cycle regulate the rhythms of all life cycles: the tides, the rain, fertility, women’s menstruation, and plan cycles. The moon establishes unifying pattern for all living entities, with every life and breath harmoniously existing in an intricate and incredible web.

In the Vedas, the moon is known as Soma, the source of food and grains, strength, and longevity for the heavenly beings. He is the master of all vegetation. It is said that succulence of vegetable is due to the moonshine. Being a vital force of all living being and source of nectarine coolness influencing the growth of plants, followers of the Vedas find it very difficult to accept the conclusion of the scientists today that the moon is a desert.
Gazing upon the changing phases and position of the moon in the sky, ancient men came up with their weather auguries. So, it was held that if a full moon between the 25th and 28th of April brought serene nights and no wind, expect heavy dew and crops of grain suffer. Weather forecasting based on the moon was also recorded in the ancient Assyrian Cuneiforms dating back to the seventh century B.C., which says that “when it thunders on the day of the new moon, the crops will prosper and the market will be steady.”
People have keenly observed that the heaviest rainfall occurs just after the new and full moons. Indeed, studies shows that rain is most likely to occur three to five days after a full or new moon. Thunderstorms are most likely to strike two days after the full moon. Hurricanes, typhoons and other violent storms also appear to brew up more often around the new and full moons. Of course, we know how the waning and waxing of the moon influence the tide cycles.
Sometimes, we look at the moon; we notice it has a halo around it. This halo is cause by humidity in the atmosphere, and is universally considered to forebode wet weather. This was a scientific basis.
Moon Gardening and Fertility    
In agriculture, the lunar cycle is the farmer’s guide in producing robust plants and than bountiful harvests. Plants are known to be at their juiciest and animals at their most active at the waxing of the moon. From experience, farmers have noticed that certain crops planted during the waxing of the moon grow faster and more abundantly than crops planted during the waning of the moon.
According to moon gardening, farmers obtain better harvest when seeds are sown during the waxing moon. This occurs between the new moon and full moon, and includes the first and second quarters.
The waning moon covers the period between the full moon and the new moon, and includes the third and fourth quarters. All growth and propagation activities, especially of plants above the ground, should take place during the waxing moon.
On the other hand, cutting, controlling, and harvesting for food to be conserved or is preserved, as well as planting crops below the ground should take place during the waning of the moon. Farmers have also noticed that animals tend to give birth more often with healthier offspring during the waxing moon.
For the ancient Romans, the crescent phase of the moon is the symbol of fertility and fecundity. This crescent symbol, which could be in the form of any object reminiscent of this shape (such as claws of a crab, the tusks of a boar, or any horns), will serve as an amulet. Wearing is said to increase love and fertility, and protects one in his travels and from evil eyes. To this day, many novelty stores carry this crescent moon amulet.
In Japan, on the 23rd night after the new moon, women observe the lunar fertility and worship rite, Nijusan-ya-ko. The rite is offered to Nijusayasama, the lunar guardian of easy birth and good fortune. The women meet at the village shrine and remain there throughout the night to worship the moon, which appears at dawn of the next day.
Women’s menstrual cycle, which averages a28 to 29 days, is roughly the lunar cycle. It is said that ovulation occurs most frequently at or near the full moon. It is also during the full moon that man’s lust or passion increases. This is the reason why lovers find the full moon very romantic.
Researchers show that people bleed more during the waxing and full moons than any
other time. Thus, surgeries are usually performed during the waning moon. This was supported by two theories.
The first is based on the ancient understanding of how the moon regulates the body fluids, just like the ocean tides respond to the full moon’s gravitational pull.
The second is that the moon’s phases increase the electromagnetic activity which, in turn, increases stress to the nervous system, hence, a faster heartbeat.
Conducting a major study (in the nineties), Dr. Harry Rounds of the Wichita State University, discovered that blood chemicals affect the heart rate more powerfully during
the different moon cycles. He found out that a drop of blood taken after a new or full moon and placed on a cockroach’s heart accelerated the insect’s heart beat more than blood drawn at different times.
Following Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, some contemporary authors, such as Miami psychiatrist Arnold Lieber, have conjectured that the full moon’s supposed effects on behavior arise from its influence on water. The human body, after all, is about 80 percent water, so perhaps the moon works its mischievous magic by somehow disrupting the alignment of water molecules in the nervous system.
On The Other Hand
There are at least three reasons why this explanation doesn’t “hold water,” pardon the pun.
First, the gravitational effects of the moon are far too minuscule to generate any meaningful effects on brain activity, let alone behavior. As the late astronomer George Abell of the University of California, Los Angeles, noted, a mosquito sitting on our arm exerts a more powerful gravitational pull on us than the moon does. Yet to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of a “mosquito lunacy effect.”
Second, the moon’s gravitational force affects only open bodies of water, such as oceans and lakes, but not contained sources of water, such as the human brain.
Third, the gravitational effect of the moon is just as potent during new moons—when the moon is invisible to us—as it is during full moons.

Quantum Physics: A Shift of Paradigm (Series 1)

QUANTUM PHYSICS: A SHIFT OF PARADIGM (Series 1)

Who will be much attentive in a class of Physics and Chemistry as they would on a Sex Education. So with Mathematics, is the language which all the sciences operate on. These are subjects draggy to people, "nerds" at that, take interest in. But talk about sex and even the sleepers in class have their eyes sparkling, ogling in excitement armed with questions about it. Tabloids sells like cakes because of it pictures of sexy and nude women. But for now, let’s be a little daring and take a look at something we’ve abhorred. 

Physics

 

Everything is energy. The martial artist uses energy, whether its kinetic, potential or mechanical energy. This is what the external styles deal with the internal styles like Tai Chi Chuan, Hsing-I, Pa Kua or Aikido is not only concerned with developing external energy but deals with the more refined, subtle energy within man. This is not to say that hard styles of martial arts don’t deal with the utilization of ch’i. Much traditional system of martial arts in Asia deals with the cultivation of internal energy. Everything is energy, since energy has a constant activity. Not knowing about energy leaves you groping in the dark, not having an inkling of the essence of anything. So do you agree that a closer look at Physics which explains energy will make us appreciate what life might be all about?

The sages of the Milesian school of Ionia of the 6^th century BC were determining to discover the real constitution of things or “physics”. From this, Physics was derived with originally meant. “The endeavor of seeing the essential nature of all thing.” What it means to us is that Physics might not be boring at all, since it is the understanding of the essence of reality. But Physics has so many members to deal with. Let’s take of the stumbling block – Mathematics.

What is real overwhelming in Physics is the endless mathematical equations and formulas to make us realize the laws of nature. But strip off the numbers, we open to a door to pure enchantment about the awesome patterns of energy and matter. We need not entertain any number blocks either, since mathematics is a highly structured realm which tries to approximate the order and harmony in the universe.

One setback with using mathematics as the language of nature is that it speaks in a very linear monotonous tone. This is also true with any spoken language. Verbally expressing certain experiences becomes difficult when your groping and hoping that what you’re communication would be understood. The frustration is most apparent when you are, for instance, a Chinese trying to communicate certain ideas in English. More so, when you experience the realm of infinite possibilities and realities through meditation or non-ordinary states of consciousness of the Eastern mystics. Inner-dimensional and galactic travel becomes an easy task with the use of he mind. How do your describe certain experiences you’ve had? The brain which is the computer that process the information has a limited megabyte capacity. What to speak of verbally expressing these experiences?

Language is limiting and it can only give you a rough estimate of the situation. So is the language of Mathematics. The language of Mathematics is like a cartographer trying to sketch the spherical world map on flat paper. This map could only give you an approximation of reality.

On the other hand, Pythagoras says, “All things are numbers.” In fact, he introduced numbers to described nature. Pythagoras went even a step further; he wedded numbers with religion which reflects its influences from the ancient Greeks down to the middle Ages. From these union came the birth of mathematical mysticism. In esoteric parlance, it is termed as the knowledge of Sacred Geometry, a science that explores and explains the web of energy that creates all things. Pythagoras regarded symmetric number patterns as essential in all things.

From the Thoughts of Ma. Lolita Dizon