This past Monday I had a high DMA (Daily Mood Average) of 8.5. Through my efforts of choosing to spend time with my extended family, I reaped positive emotions like joy and zest with plenty of laughter and warmth. The moon was in waning gibbous that day.
As the week wore on I generally maintained a good level of around 7.5. I abstained from alcohol, caffeine, and of course, weed, something I go from indulging heavily in during different phases of my life.
Yesterday, March 28, the moon was in last quarter. Exactly half of it was visible (although I couldn’t tell you that from my own experience because I wasn’t out staring up at the sky). That day I chose not to go to the yoga studio. This after near daily, almost religious attendance. Something didn’t feel quite right. Instead I felt compelled to listen to a past life regression recording. Later I spoke to a medium over the phone.
The phone session had been scheduled about a week in advance. Of course, I don’t fully buy into what anyone really says only because I believe that a lot of what comes forth is transactional and that some people are just really good at picking up cues. In this instance, my subject matter, diction, and even my vocal inflections impacted the intuitive advice she gave, which was basically, you and your husband aren’t working out, nor will you ever work out, and the man of your dreams is waiting for you somewhere out there but will only come to you if you divorce the man you’re with now.
I shared this anecdote with some amusement with a group of people I didn’t know too well–the people Frank (my husband) and I had met at a Christian relationship workshop. It was Friday, March 29, 2019. The moon had finally gone from more or at least half to less illuminated. We had reunited together after a month, gathering round a long banquet hall style table to eat Chicago deep dish pizza in San Juan Capistrano. They told me not to believe the lady, that psychics were phony balonies, and Frank and I were perfectly suited for each other. I didn’t think much of this exchange until later–thanks to the man in question. When we got into the privacy of the car, Frank started to throw some heat: https://youtu.be/AecPK8s_JGg
In the third edition of Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion, author Jay Heinrichs writes, “Wrenching myself out of bed, I say to the mirror what I tell it every morning: ‘Don’t take any crap from anyone” (8).
I applied some good old-fashioned Zen oh, is that so? Then I tried to keep it future-focused. “What is it that you would like for me to do?” And: “Thank you for your opinion. I’ll consider it.” Next time I’ll probably add something like “I hear what you’re saying, and I’m sorry you feel that way. Now I’d like to work on finding agreement or improving the situation” to foster more overall goodwill.
My DMA for Thursday was a 7. My DMA for Friday was a 6.5.
Heinrichs, Jay. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2017. Print.
H.M.K. 