Balancing Lightness and Darkness: Lessons from the Eclipse
Yesterday, millions of people paused their daily routines and gathered to witness the solar eclipse. This fortuitous event took place in the middle of the day and passed over significantly populated areas across North America. Many found deep scientific, cultural and spiritual meaning in this event. For me, my attention turned to a different kind of eclipse — one that we cause within ourselves each day when we do something as simple as flipping a switch.
The root of the word “eclipse” comes from the Greek “ekleipsis” — “ek” meaning “from” and “leipein” meaning “to leave.” So translated from its original form, eclipse means “to fail to appear” or “to abandon an accustomed place.”
During a solar eclipse, the moon passes in front of the sun, blotting out light from its accustomed place. Light fails to appear and darkness rules — albeit for a few minutes. The balance of our natural order is interrupted, an event which, in times past, caused pandemonium in cultures throughout the world.
From our bodies’ standpoints, we also live lives that abandon accustomed places. Our actions cause internal eclipses each day. Each evening, for example, instead of embracing darkness, we countermand the natural order in numerous ways.
We turn on the lights. Lots of them! We add tasks when we might consider slowing down. We stay up late to watch one more episode of our favorite show. We flood our minds with imagery and information as we “abandon” darkness for hours at a time. We disrupt the balance of our own natural cycle when nature calls us to rest.
Yesterday’s solar eclipse caused numerous disruptions in peoples’ lives. Some traveled hundreds of miles to witness this rare event. Others bought special viewing glasses. The news cycle became jammed with eclipse updates. The revolution of celestial bodies, long propelled by the gravitational pull among the sun, the earth and the moon, was no surprise.
Our internal eclipses, however, caused by intermittent and irregular human interventions, are always something of a surprise to our bodies. Sleep cycles, regulated by our pineal glands, respond to patterns of light and darkness by releasing melatonin.
Located deep within our brain in the area right between our eyebrows, this gland sits in a part of the body referred to by many cultures as our third eye. Just as eyes can serve as portals to receive (and transmit) visual information, the third eye is thought to act as a portal for us to perceive and interpret intuitive patterns of light and darkness.
From the body’s perspective, the natural order matters. Any departure from this order is a form of internal eclipse. So, when we interrupt the natural cycle of darkness and light our third eye goes into overdrive. No wonder then when we ramp up our after-dark input through entertainment and social media, we have trouble sleeping — and we may experience other side effects as well like anxiety, high blood pressure, and migraines.
Just as the special eclipse viewing glasses help us to manage the light of an external eclipse, we might serve ourselves better by engaging tools to manage our internal eclipses, by:
1. Closing down our screens and turning off the lights at least an hour before going to sleep;
2. Turning off as many lights as possible as we prepare for bed;
3. Keeping bedrooms as electronics-free zones; and
4. Engaging in meditation or light exercise before going to bed.
An eclipse can remind us of the non-negotiable importance of balance. Every natural cycle seeks a return to balance because in such balance, regeneration and healing can occur.
Let the rare and the exceptional serve as a teacher to us in guiding the choices we make every single day. Regaining our individual and collective footing might be as simple as flipping the switch.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. Our internal eclipses are happening every day in all sorts of ways. How can you use the disruption of this solar eclipse to call your attention to sun sets, and to revive the wonder in witnessing the medicine of darkness?
2. What can you do to honor this time, listen to the rhythms of your body, mind and soul?
