The Moon
lunar cycle in minute detail in order to isolate these
moments—these gaps in time/space—moments where
insight into our larger situation can be gained. Much of
the day-to-day practice in Eastern religion amounts to a
scheduling of precise times for personal practice or
activity built around the natural series of gaps that can
be found in the continuous lunar cycle. In its own way,
this is a very scientific approach. They have, in the East,
been astute observers of the mind for many centuries.
Here in the West we are no stranger to days when our
minds are clear—we have these too! The only
difference is that we tend to believe that these so-called
clear days appear randomly—every now and then. The
more ancient and sophisticated psychological analyses
of the East has found that these clear days are, for the
most part, anything but random events; they have their
own internal ordering, and oftentimes this ordering can
be associated with the phases of the moon.