Blue Moon

What is it about a blue moon? Often, we say "once in a blue moon" to describe something or an appearance that happens only rarely. Like their occasional appearance in the heavens, blue moons also exist in consciousness. They are always there, yet only surface once in a while. Because they are within our experience, we may be surprised but only briefly. Blue moons invoke awe, wonderment and inspiration. Richard Rogers was so inspired, he wrote the song and named it Blue Moon. The song reads like our affirmative 5 step prayer. The first line indicates a recognition of Spirit. The next line indicates the Unification with Spirit. Third, is the Realization and Release with implied Gratitude.

Blue moon, you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me

The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper, "Please adore me"
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moons surprise us when they appear. Unexpected, they take us away from what appears to be normal. Surprise quickly turns to awe and wonderment. It is an invitation to expand consciousness and welcome the
unexpected. By accepting this, the portal to inspiration opens and some new thought enters our consciousness. At this point, we may become inspired, like Rogers, to write a song. All we need do is be open and Spirit will speak through us, guiding us to the already manifested outcome.

Recently, the gift of inspiration appeared came to me when an Ahiah congregant approached me to help a couple of her piano students with some musical enrichment. I simply said yes, vaguely remembering the first time I worked with them. At this point, I had no idea what I would say or how I would go about this.

A couple weeks passed. Next thing I knew, I was there at her house. I asked them what they wanted to learn. One answered, "improvisation" and the other, "accompanying myself and others", both of which require
advanced skills. At this point, everything got quiet and I realized Spirit was speaking, yes, communicating through me to the two boys, one around 11 and the other, 20ish. I closed my eyes. Almost immediately, my body and mind began channeling the words and music as Spirit spoke to them and played the piano using my hands and voice.

My hands began playing a short chord progression using only white keys to play triads going up and down the scale starting on a C major chord with my left hand, going up to D minor and E minor, and then back to C. My right hand improvised a melody to the accompaniment, playing only the white keys. After a while, I got up and they sat down. I then had one kid play the chords and the other improvise. They were ecstatic, improvising and accompanying.

Back at the piano again, my eyes closed, I began playing. This time my hands outlined the "1-2-5-1" chord progression. In the key of C, this corresponds to the chords "C major - D minor - G7 - C major". With the
right hand improvising on the white keys, it soon sounded like a song. They couldn't wait to play again, so we soon switched so that they could. The delight in their eyes reflected the inspiration that played through my
hands and spoke my words.

Something inspired my hands to play those particular chord progressions and to speak the words spoken. When the students saw and heard what I said and what my hands were playing, they lit up inside as they "caught" that inspiration bug. They were learning the principle of voice leading, basic to the science of accompaniment and they were confidently applying some basic principles of improvisation and were able to apply these ideas to their own playing. Who knows? Perhaps one will be inspired to write a song as Richard Rogers did. Thank you, Blue Moon!