Episode 24: Finding Balance through Cycles: Tapping into the Wisdom of Nature and Lunar Phases

Join us on Aphantasia Experiments as we explore the fascinating concept of finding balance through cycles and unravel the wisdom hidden within nature and lunar phases. In this thought-provoking episode, we delve into the phases of our lives and discover how they mirror the ebb and flow of the moon itself.

Our host takes us on a journey, sharing personal experiences of navigating through periods of introspection and social activity, drawing inspiration from the restorative power of meditation. We learn how tracking mood and symptoms can help us predict and manage future changes, fostering better mental and physical health.

Can the moon truly influence our sleep patterns? We explore the fascinating connection between lunar phases and sleep disruptions, as well as the impact of the full moon on anxiety levels. Along the way, we gain insights into the intriguing parallels between lunar and menstrual cycles and their potential influence on our well-being.

Join us as we challenge the prevailing societal norms of constant productivity and encourage listeners to heed the messages of their own bodies. Our host shares their personal journey of burnout and the importance of rest and self-care. Together, we reflect on the necessity of carving out time to enjoy life and make necessary adjustments for a brighter future.

As we immerse ourselves in nature's wisdom, we discuss a captivating study involving redwood trees that shed light on the significance of rest and rejuvenation. Drawing intriguing parallels between trees and humans, we uncover the profound impact of taking breaks, processing emotions, and nurturing personal growth.

So tune in to Aphantasia Experiments, where we embrace the beauty of cycles, tap into the innate wisdom of nature, and explore the profound influence of lunar phases on our lives. Be prepared for a journey of self-discovery, as we delve into the fascinating realms of balance, rest, and personal growth.

Transcript:

Speaker A [00:00:01]:

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Aphantasia Experiments and The Psychic School podcast. I have been a bit quiet for the last week or 2. I went through a phase of bumping out several podcasts, and then I went quiet and it's because I've been going through a bit of a dark night of the soul, which is basically what I say when I have to retreat a bit. I have times where I'm like, super active with my friends, you know, sending voice notes, talking, talking. And then I have these periods of time where I feel like I have to retreat, and meditate, and just be alone, and quiet. And, I don't know why that is. I feel like when I meditate, I get a lot of downloads and information, and like, I learn a lot and I grow a lot. And this all comes from, like, this past year of my life.

Speaker A [00:00:57]:

I've really learned to, like, listen to my body and my needs and understand that, like, my anxieties are here for a reason, and I need to, listen and grow and experience everything that, you know, my mind and body is going through. And in those periods of time when you feel really low, It's a really great time to kind of evaluate what's working in your life, what's not working. And if you never have those times of sadness or stress, You wouldn't be able to evaluate, right? If something's bothering you, a lot of times when we're in this like good hormonal stage, You're able to just power through, power through, power through, but I don't think that's the point of life. Life isn't about powering through, it's about enjoying You know, the moments in your life, and I think that when you have the low moments, it's a really good time to assess what's working, what's not working. And then when you're in the better cycle, the better part of your cycle, you can make adjustments to be in a better place if you, you know, once you're in in that mode again. Right? And I'm not just talking about like the female cycle. So what I wanted to do in this episode was talk about the seasons of our life, and how we as human beings kind of mimic nature. And if you, I find with my like spiritual development, I often book to nature to give me guidance on the things that I'm going through in my own life.

Speaker A [00:02:38]:

So recently I saw something on Instagram, and I did a bit of research after. And the actual study isn't, the thing that they posted on Instagram wasn't completely accurate, but the point that they got across was very valuable. So I'm gonna tell you what they said on the Instagram post, and then I'll kinda tell you what the actual study was, but they do this study on redwood trees. I believe it was in 2018, where they injected the redwood trees with adrenaline, so that it wouldn't go through the wintering process. And in this, study because the trees weren't able to have that period of rest, where they don't have to grow leaves and flowers and whatnot. The trees ended up dying. Which is like, which says a lot, right? Like we need periods of rest, and we need to rejuvenate, we need to Take time for ourselves to feel things. We need to Look back on our past and like process emotions, and We need time to deal with stuff.

Speaker A [00:03:56]:

We need rest, we need space. And I think in our culture, especially North America, our society is like go go go. We have this work hard, capitalist kind of situation going on, and, I'm losing my train of thought here, sorry. I think it's just so important that we listen to our bodies, and listening to our bodies is really, really, really hard, when we never take a break. Right? If you're on your computer all the time, and then you get off your computer, you go home, and then you're on your phone, And you cook dinner, and then you make lunches, and then you go to bed, and you watch Netflix, and then you I'm literally describing my day, but I reached complete burnout this year and now I'm taking the time I need and I know it's not easy for everyone, but even just like not watching TV at night sometimes, and just doing a meditation, I feel like it's so valuable. Even before I quit my job, I started going to meditation classes at my gym, and that's been like something for me. Just for me, to love myself and to be with myself to process what I need to process. And it's been such a game changer for me.

Speaker A [00:05:21]:

And meditation might not be the thing that helps you, but taking a break and taking time to actually enjoy your life instead of just, live your life, you know? I think that's really important. So the redwood tree thing, I wanted to actually say what what I just took a note here on my computer. I'm just gonna bring it up. The The results of this study when they they so they injected 20 mature redwood trees in a California forest. They injected them with adrenaline. The adrenaline was chosen because it mimics a stress response, and the researchers wanted to stimulate the psychological reactions that trees might experience during periods of dread induced stress. So the response was, they measured various psychological, physiological, not psychological. Why did I say psychological? Clearly I can't read.

Speaker A [00:06:32]:

Physiological parameters. I shouldn't be reading off, like, I'm so much better when I just walk in a circle and talk. This is why I don't do my podcast like this, but I wanted to like share the actual science. Because you see stuff on Instagram, and it's not always completely factual. So the team measured, the adrenalized group of trees. And they measured various Per, parameter, parameters. Why can't I say parameters? Perimeters? Per, parameters. It looks like, you know, when you look at a word and you're like, that word is Not real? That's this word.

Speaker A [00:07:11]:

Parimeters. Parimeters. Anyways, such as water, sap flow, and the opening and closing of the stomata, which is the small pores on leaves responsible for gas exchange. Didn't know that. But, the internet told me. Fun. So the results were surprising. The most remarkable finding was that the redwood trees injected with adrenaline exhibited an immediate and significant increase in water uptake and transpiration, which is the water loss through leaves compared to the trees that weren't injected.

Speaker A [00:07:47]:

This response suggests that the trees were sucking water from the soil at a much higher rate, similar to how animals might increase their heart rate in response to stress. So basically, the indications of this is, it just kind of explains how trees respond to drought stress. It suggests that redwood trees have the capacity to respond to stress by enhancing their underwater uptake and usage, potentially helping them survive during prolonged droughts. Basically the trees are kind of, doing something different to get the water that they need, but They should be going through their seasons. Anyway, so the actual Instagram thing that they put out there is not even really true. But I think, I still think the message is really important that we need periods of rest. The other thing that I really think about when it comes to seasons, is our moon cycle. And if you don't think the moon affects to you.

Speaker A [00:08:54]:

I don't know. I don't know. I will try to convince you here. This is what I'm gonna try to do. I'm gonna try to convince you that the moon does affect everything. It really does, I think. I don't think this is just an opinion, I think this is like scientifically proven, but think about, okay, the moon affects what is the moon It affects for me. I remember when my kids were little, I mean, they're still pretty little, but when they were, you know, between 15.

Speaker A [00:09:28]:

Anytime there was a full moon, I was texting my friends who also had like toddlers. We'd be like, oh, good luck tonight, you know. It's a full moon, the kids are gonna be crazy. And it honestly all especially like babies, they're always up at night. Okay, so think about the environment and what the moon does to the environment. It affects our tides. So the moon has a gravitational pull. Think about that, it has a gravitational pull, and it's affecting the tides.

Speaker A [00:09:56]:

It causes the tides to rise and fall. It's affecting the water and we're 80% water. Think about that. Of course it's gonna affect us. High tides typically occur during the full moon, so right now there should be high tides. It's a full moon currently, today, There's another reason why I wanted to record this today. It's Thursday 28th September, and it's a harvest moon currently. Beautiful moon, it's so pretty.

Speaker A [00:10:24]:

Saw it last night. Today is the actual full moon, but yesterday it was fairly full. So, high tides typically occur during the full moon, and new moon phases when the sun, moon, and earth align. These tidal patterns influence marine ecosystems, navigation, and coastal communities. So it's like, It really does, impact us, right? The moon also impacts wildlife. Lots of animals, especially nocturnal ones because they're out at night, exhibit different behaviors during specific lunar phases. An example of this would be Some types of fish are more active and likely to feed during a full moon, which makes it the perfect time to Go fishing. If you want to catch a fish, go during the full moon.

Speaker A [00:11:16]:

You know, if you're a new fishing person, Try fishing during a full moon, it's the optimal time for fishing. Also predators often use the darkness of a new moon for hunting, as it provides better cover, right? Like you can hide better in the dark, so that's a better time for predators to pounce. Not that all predators pounce, but I have this like vision, not a vision because I have aphantasia, but a vision of like The Lion King, you know, learning how to pounce on that bird, whatever the bird's name is. What's his name again? Zazu. Zazu. That was the thing that came into mind there. That's why I said pounce. Also the lunar phases affect gardening.

Speaker A [00:12:03]:

I mean, this, I don't know if this is like scientifically proven, but I know that a lot of people, plant and harvest crops based on moon phases. A lot of gardeners think that it impacts the growth and yield of their, their growth, Yield of their growth. Now, it impacts the growth and like how well how well they, how well, I don't know. I didn't know where I was going with that. Some people believe that planting during a waxing moon, which is So waxing moon is when it's new moon to full moon. So, I believe, I might be wrong on this, it looks like a C, when it's waxing, and a backwards sea when it's waning. I might have that wrong, I should probably written this down. So a lot of gardeners and whatever, plant during the waxing moon, and because it promotes above ground growth.

Speaker A [00:13:05]:

And I think that while planting during a waning moon, which is full moon to new moon, encourages root development. So interesting, if you're into gardening that's some fun facts. What's better though? Do you want root development or do you want above ground growth? I guess it depends on the plants you're planting. Another way that I mentioned this before, but another way that, the moon affects us is our sleep patterns. There's been studies that have suggested that lunar phases can influence our sleep patterns. Some people have reported experience Experiencing poor sleep quality or disruptions during the full moon? Absolutely, that's me. I was up half the night last night, I'm just like, I also have this like bubbling in my chest, it's like these bees. It's It's like enhanced anxiety, during during the full moon.

Speaker A [00:14:07]:

What else, what else? Human sleep patterns. Evidence has suggested that lunar phases can affect emotions and behavior. So just like what I was saying. I'm definitely like affected by the moon. Lots of people, report feeling more energetic, or which is what I'm going through right now, more emotional during a full moon. I feel like different moons affect me in different ways. Sometimes I'm like amped the fuck up during a full moon, I'm like, Yes, I have so many ideas, amazing, I'm gonna do this, and this, and this. And other times I'm like, oh my gosh, I just need to meditate.

Speaker A [00:14:43]:

I don't know what's going on with my body. I feel so energetically frazzled. So I guess it really depends on What is happening in your life at that period of time? But it's important to listen to those things, right? People sometimes, connect the Lunar phases to menstrual cycles as well. Menstruation, the term itself is derived from the Latin word menses, meaning month, highlighting the connection between lunar and menstrual cycles. Some cultures and traditions have linked women's menstrual cycles to lunar phases. The scientific evidence isn't really, there's not much on that, but I have a couple books on this that I don't know, I feel, I believe it. And there's a cool app actually that, oh my gosh. What's it called? There's an app where you can track your own menstrual cycle, but as well it also tracks the moon cycle.

Speaker A [00:15:48]:

And I find it really helpful, you can put in your mood, like all your symptoms throughout the month, so you kind of know what's gonna happen the following month. When you start feeling agitated, you can look on the thing and be like, oh okay, this is the time that I feel this way. And so I need to, you know, maybe drink 1 cup of coffee less today or or something. Like, If you pay attention to these cycles, you are better prepared to deal with them, and to understand what your body needs, and your mind needs and all that stuff. So very important. What else, what else, what else? A lot of cultures have incorporated lunar phases into their spiritual and religious traditions. If you go on Instagram or TikTok or whatever, during the full moon, everyone's burning stuff, you write down, you know, things that are no longer serving you, you burn them, you write down what you want, burn it, you know, manifesting, all that fun stuff. This is interesting.

Speaker A [00:16:53]:

The lunar calendar plays a central role in determining dates for various festivals and holidays in different cultures. What else did I want to talk about? That's not, sorry, I was just reading that off of there. Hormonal cycles, oh yes, okay. So I talked about the female hormonal cycles, it's usually 28 days. So what happens is, we're having all these different hormones happening throughout our cycle, and Men are different, right? Men have more of an 8 day cycle. They also have more ups and downs throughout the day. And I came up with this concept a while ago after listening to, not concept. I listened to, I think I mentioned this before, I listened to Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.

Speaker A [00:17:51]:

He was saying in 1 episode how if he has a new idea, he has to wait 8 days before he before he acts on it. Because within those 8 days, his whole like creative, whatever, can change. Like your inspiration changes, right? So for me, I know, for sure, without a doubt, that throughout my month, like throughout the month, I have periods of like extreme, Extreme creativity where I like, I said it in one of my last podcasts about how I wrote 6 chapters of my book, and I was like, go, go, go. And that's when I was putting out a lot of podcasts. That's like my creative energy zone. I'm amped up, it comes so naturally to me. I am so productive and incredible. But if you look at me last week, I was a shell of that person.

Speaker A [00:18:41]:

I was not the same person, but I just listened to my body and now I'm feeling better, and I'm getting back into it and, I had to go through that. But, where was I going with this? So say you're on a 30 day cycle. If you have a new business idea or a new Something, something inspiring that's like super exciting. Write your idea down. And then, Before, you know, buying the website, or before, you know, starting an Instagram account, or whatever. I mean, you can do it. But just know that through your cycle, there's gonna be periods where like, that doesn't even interest you anymore. You know? And if that's the case, maybe it's not the right thing.

Speaker A [00:19:31]:

Or maybe we're not supposed to be doing the same thing all the time. Every day. You know? I don't know. I think for me personally, I'm a multi passionate creative. I like of variety in my life. And I know that's not for everyone, I was just talking to a friend and I was saying how if I have to sit, The last 20 years of my life I've been sitting on a computer, working in an office, working at home, but you know, working constantly, 8 to 5 kind of thing, every day. And then on weekends too, and I always did freelance work at night, so I was on the computer way too much. Way, way, way too much.

Speaker A [00:20:10]:

And now I'm like, if I have to do that Work for the rest of my life. I don't think I'll survive. Like, I think my body Will probably start, like, I think of like cancer and like stress, and how stress causes like disease and inflammation in your body, and I think if I were to continue to do that, like I know this from you know, just experienced, I wouldn't survive, you know? I would not live a full life, for sure. A happy life even, you know? I feel like I was able to do it in my 20s, and the people surrounding me were enough to get me through the days kinda thing, but now in my life, I know that It's not gonna work for me anymore. So as a multi passionate creative, and just person, I need to be doing various things. So I do random work for clients, I'm doing this, I'm writing a book, I'm going for my Reiki, I'm gonna, I'm kinda like exploring different ways to improve myself and, reinvent myself, because the thought of being on a computer every day, Not okay, but again, I was talking to my friend today and she was like, I love sitting on a computer all day, I like the structure of it. I like that I have my tasks and I get them done, and then like work is work, and then I have my life after. And I think that's such a beautiful thing.

Speaker A [00:21:44]:

And I think that it's so wonderful that we have so many different types of people in this world, So if you're happy doing that, that's wonderful, for me. I can't anymore. You know? And this is like the cycle of my life. If you think about an entire life being a cycle, I had my childhood and then I had my 20s where I was like, Go! You know, I had so much fun in my 20s, but it was like, I never took a break. I worked my ass off, I went through college, I had You know, a kid when I was younger, I went through college, I worked, and then I got a job, and then On the weekends I would go out with my friends, I never took a time to rest, ever. And then now I'm approaching, then in the thirties it kind of continued, I had more babies. I was like, I grew my family, and so my life is like work, then come home and work, and then work, work, work, work, work. And then eventually, I just felt like, no, this is not working.

Speaker A [00:22:52]:

I am like falling down this rabbit hole of depression, because it's just not who I am, I think at a soul level, and I think, eventually we all kind of go through this like, maybe we don't, maybe, maybe your whole life you don't go through this, But a lot of people go through like a moment where you're like, what am I doing? And how can I make this better? And if you're feeling like that, start listening to the seasons you go through in life. Your full life, think of it as a season. Like as, you know, summer, winter, fall, whatever. There's different phases of our life, maybe I should say phases instead of seasons. But, it's hard to be the same person your entire life. There's things that happen in your life that change you. I just watched oh, I just watched this documentary on Netflix, it just came out yesterday, and I was like, ready to watch it as soon as it came out, because I saw the preview and I was like, yes, this is for me. It's called Encounter, so if you have a chance to watch it, Let me know what you think.

Speaker A [00:24:02]:

I'm like super into learning about all things unknown, which makes people uncomfortable, but I love learning about the unknown. So, this is all about UFOs, but it gets into like more spiritual stuff too. I thought it was really well done. Why did I tell you that? What was the point of that? Oh man, I'll keep walking. So I watched this documentary, and it was really interesting. I hate that I lost it. I hate that I lost it. Oh well.

Speaker A [00:24:40]:

Watch the documentary. I think you'll enjoy it, and if you don't that's okay too. All right, I'm gonna move on to the next thing because I can't remember that, but I will try to I'll try to get back into it. So the reason I wanted to make this podcast is because I feel like we have this like cultural pressure to push through challenges and glorify the constant productivity. Like, we're supposed to be Energizer Bunnies, but we're not actually, we don't actually have a battery pack, you know? If we do, Eventually we need a recharge, right? I feel like if we don't take times for breaks, there's a lot of consequences, which can include burnout, or mental health problems. It's so important that we listen to our bodies and minds embrace periods of rest, because it's essential for growth. It is essential for growth to take rest. For me, a lot of my rest is like meditating, or just like having some space to be alone.

Speaker A [00:26:06]:

But the magical thing about taking that time to rest is that's when the best ideas come to you. And maybe, there's, so there's 2 types of brains. We have the growth mindset and then the fixed mindset. And a lot of people have a fixed brain, and I think it's like part of your in neurological makeup. I could be wrong on this, but if you are in that kind of brain, you're not kind of looking to expand, and these are the people that if you're very spiritual or whatever, like me, You might have a harder time connecting to someone who has a fixed mindset. I have a growth mindset, so I'm always looking at how I can grow as a human being, but like also grow my business and grow financially and grow grow in many ways, right? Grow as an emotional support system for my kids. Like, There's always room for growth and always room for learning. And if you don't take those times to rest.

Speaker A [00:27:09]:

A lot of times those periods, like the growth doesn't happen because you need to take a break. Like an example of this is, I, I was getting my car fixed the other day and the guy was like, oh, it's gonna be a couple hours. And I was like, I could go home and easily work for 3 hours, or I could go to the forest and sit by a tree and meditate. What should I do? So I went to the forest and I meditated, and it was a beautiful thing. And you know what, I got so many amazing ideas. It's where I got my book idea, like there's so much comes to you. And also, When you meditate, this is what happens, every time I meditate and I have like a serious problem in my life, I meditate and the solution comes so naturally, in such a weird way that you wouldn't expect. And meditating isn't just like sitting there and thinking about how to solve your problem, it's like trying to free your mind from all The noise and garbage, and that's when the good stuff comes in.

Speaker A [00:28:13]:

You have to get rid of all the stressors and stuff to allow The good stuff. So, anyways. My point of this podcast, is listen to your body and understand that Throughout your life, you change a lot. You grow a lot. And the person you were today might not be the person you were yesterday. And you know, we go through different types of cycles, you know, your entire life cycle, yearly cycles, monthly cycles. And if you just ignore it, and never take time to rest, You're going to miss out on a lot of opportunity to grow as an individual in this world. And maybe that's not important to you, but for me, I feel like the reason I am on this earth is to learn and grow, you know? And to help other people learn and grow.

Speaker A [00:29:24]:

And a lot of my growth comes from doing nothing. And that just, It kinda sounds like I'm just being a lazy little turd, but if I do nothing some days, it's because I need to do nothing. Sometimes I retreat and I don't talk to anyone for a whole day, and other times I'm like go go go all day long. And I'm able to be go go go all day long, because I take those times in my life to listen to my own needs. I hope this makes sense, I feel like I rambled a lot in this episode, but I hope this reaches whoever it needs to reach. Understand. If you're having a hard time and Things just feel overwhelming. Take a sick day, take a personal day.

Speaker A [00:30:22]:

You know, meditate, do something, go swimming, I don't know. Go for a nice long walk in the forest. Sorry, my dog's barking. Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm gonna go outside. Yeah, I think that's it for today. I feel like I've lost my train of thought, but I hope you enjoyed this episode. Also this is like part of my phase that words are coming easily to me, as you can probably tell by this episode, but I really wanted to get this out because I think it's such an important thing that you Recognize that we can't live in a state of adrenaline all the time. You know, it's not normal for us to act like the Energizer Bunny.

Speaker A [00:31:15]:

And it's okay. It's okay to rest. Take some time for yourself. I hope you have a wonderful day, and enjoy the full moon. Burn some stuff, and, yeah. I hope you have a great day. Thanks.