Walking On The Moon: Moments That Change Your Life Forever

Imagine walking on the moon and then returning to earth in Apollo 14. That’s what Edgar Mitchell, the 6^th astronaut to walk on the moon, talked to us about for our radio show and in our book, Be The Change. Few of us ever get to see the earth from outer space, but it was entering the vastness of space that led Mitchell to a deep, personal transformation, one of those moments that change us forever: unexpected and unlooked-for moments that take us out of our normal, rational selves and offer us a glimpse into another dimension of reality.

“We were coming home after being on the moon. As we rotated, a 360-degree panorama of the heavens appeared in the spacecraft window every two minutes. As my job had been the landing craft on the moon, I could now sit back and enjoy the view. I became immersed in the vastness of space. Suddenly, I realized the connectedness of everything, like the ancient mystics all said, and it was accompanied by this feeling of ecstasy, an overwhelming experience that I had never had before.

Having a glimpse of a different reality can have the effect of turning us inward, as if the outer world loses its relevance while the inner world becomes alive and vibrant. As Mitchell continues:

“I wanted to know what had happened in that transcendent experience so when I got back to earth I started talking with Eastern mystics and holy men, and with spiritual people from all over the world. I studied virtually all the meditation disciplines and techniques and practices that there are. The only answer I came to was that I was in resonance, a deep quantum resonance with the ground of my being. A theologian would say the ground of our being is God; I would say it is a field of infinite energy and potential and that when we have such experiences we are in quantum resonance with that deep reality. And when we get in resonance with that reality, we have this feeling of deep peace and the sense that everything is really okay.”

Such transcended moments can take the form of dissolving our sense of being a separate self. For Deb’s mother, it occurred when she was washing the dishes and heard the sound of a wild bird’s song; in that moment, she became the sound and lost any sense of being apart from it. For Deb, it occurred when a worm crawled over her foot: “I was barefoot and had been walking slowly and meditatively across the grass. I had stopped and was standing very still and silent when this worm crawled out of the earth and traveled across my foot before disappearing back into the grass. I felt this intense gratitude that it had deemed me safe enough to walk over, and then I suddenly became it, there was no difference or separation between us. I too disappeared into the grass. In that moment I ceased to be a separate, ego-defined human. It changed the way I saw everything.”

Transcendence also awakens our heart to the love that is the essence of all life. Ed had this experience when he was on the ferryboat going from NYC to the Statue of Liberty. It was evening and he was gazing at the starlit sky. “It seemed the sky was clearer than usual with the stars shining brightly. It was if the microcosm became the macrocosm and there was no separation, just one breath. The universe was breathing and I was part of this universal breath, my whole body was breathing along with the whole cosmos. I became breath, and then it all became a bright light. All I could feel was that everything is love. I spun around and in every direction it was love! Within and without was love! Up and down was love! My whole being was blissful love!”

Such moments stay with us; they alter our fundamental awareness and constantly remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, that we are way bigger than we realize, and that that vastness is always available to us.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

LMj S.

10:53PM PST on Feb 6, 2012

wow, thank you! :)

send a green star

Kishore A.

9:28PM PST on Feb 4, 2012

Amazing article!

Neil B.

8:40PM PST on Feb 2, 2012

I can relate to the moments explained here..at a Conference on Northern Ireland to assist the Peace Process in the Mid 90,s and was listening to an African woman share how her people were so Angry as they were at the stages of emerging from the Apartheid Regime...undrstandably so but she was at her whits end not knowing how to asist he community..i went to my room and simply handed her the book - Different Drum by M.Scott Peck [ an awesome book about the beauty of accepting the diversity in community and how that creates Peace] and said this may help, then turned and walked away..as i walked outside on what was a grey day I was hit in the face by a magnificent ray of Sunlight and a soft breeze blew in the trees...I looked up and it was like the trees were talking to me....i felt connected to everything around me..i remember feeling incredibly humbled and just burst into tears... at the shear beauty of the moment ..I understood that God is Love and Love is God and that we each have it and that we are all connected...it was then that i remembered that i had written in a life journal 11 years earlier that i aspired to assisting the Peace process ...its the little random acts that can have the deepest impact..thankyou..

Bonnie M.

5:09AM PST on Jan 30, 2012

Astronauts, cosmonauts- they are so lucky to have this experience first hand and so generous of them to share these with us. Indeed, we can all take a walk to the moon, to the vast space and feel the connectedness. Now, more than ever, man has to feel the advantage of raising their vibratory levels higher, and higher to all that is positive and possible.

Kevin J.

8:07PM PST on Jan 29, 2012

In the beginning we were all born from the stars. In the end we will all return to the stars.

Kirsten B.

10:09PM PST on Jan 28, 2012

Wonderful glimpses as to what we could all experience. Thank you for sharing these jewels.

Velmapearl H.

2:48PM PST on Jan 28, 2012

A bit of a birds eye view.

Maria P.

12:31PM PST on Jan 27, 2012

Beat S.

8:56AM PST on Jan 26, 2012

For the lucky ones, as the previous commenters testified, there comes a time in their lives when they finally got it ... For the yet unlucky ones, look out for the time in your life when in the midst of all your fears, head-against-wall-banging and insanity something or someone makes you stop dead in your tracks and a voice inside - your voice - cries out "Enough! I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!" When you hear it, do not hesitate - your turn to be bold and take action. Not sure how? Visit my blog, http://leapofaction.com

jerry c.

10:42PM PST on Jan 24, 2012

cool thanks