The full moon approached as we explored San Pedro during a couple of well deserved days off – our first after a long stretch of work-for-stay on the Mystical Yoga Farm. The day began with a juice date with Jananî, the spiritual leader of the farm who we had shared transport with.

Andrew, a Canadian friend who had just left a position at the farm to travel Central America showed up unexpectedly. Being one for extremes, he took two juice shots in 15 minutes – the first a ginger, the second garlic. He then spent the next hour doubled up against a wall in a gravel parking lot across the street sweating garlic and trying not to vomit. Note to self – no garlic shots. Especially at 10am.

As Andrew repaired himself we progressed to the local Hebrew hummus joint HUMMUS YA for a delicious and filling 25Q roasted veggie lunch. Our mission after lunch was setting our lodging straight – we found a hotel near the public dock with a private room, lukewarm showers in a private bath, shared kitchen and a roof terrace – all for Q60 (about $8 US). The room even came with an unexpected guardian – a 7 legged spider the size of a small cat.

Mystical Yoga Farm values community and we often end the days by sharing time with people around us in a variety of mystical summer camp type activities; sweating in the temescal, kiritan style call and response fireside singing, gift sharing ceremonies (basically a yogi talent show), or guided meditations. The full moon is especially potent and sacred for such exchange, and we envisioned our rooftop terrace as the perfect place to share an intimate ceremony with Jananî.

The blossoming of the full moon is a perfect time to set an intention for the next cycle of your journey. The ripe moon allows us to meditate on where we are at in the moment, and what the next month looks like offering us a discreet frame to view our actions and manifestations.

The lunar cycle pulls us, as the moon pulls the tides, reminding us of other constant cycles in our lives and our constant state of flux. And just at the moon circles the Earth – outshining even the starts for a moment – we are able to chart our paths.

We met Jananî and slowly climbed the 4 flights of stairs to the roof of Hotel Peneleju as the the moon slowly began it’s ascent in the cloudless sky. We bundled up and spent 30 minutes in an unchoreographed clown show trying to light candles on an unsheltered rooftop on a windy night. Finally, all candles went out and we began our ceremony, calling in the 4 directions of the Medicine Wheel. Our other SYI friends were performing a simultaneous ritual near Yellowstone in California, praying for rain to end a 3 year drought. We spent some time talking about the nature of things like drought and human intervention. Our conclusion was that it’s impossible to wish a specific outcome for any situation – any wishes using the genie’s lamp inevitably go astray. So we wished for things like limited suffering, abundance of food, allowing equal and just access to resources, and realizations that water is one of our most precious natural gifts – hoping that it remain free and accessible for all.

We then discussed our own personal manifestations for the coming month. Creating this ceremony on a clear night with full bellies, abreast a beautiful lake, with a soft bed to sleep in and good friends around us we realized – who needs more than this?