For our first call for submissions to New Perspectives on Creative Inquiry, we asked our contributors to consider a passage adapted from Love of Knowledge, a book in the Time, Space, Knowledge series written by Tarthang Tulku. The passage brings our attention to sensory experience and the way we interpret and label that experience. What happens in this process of naming? On one hand, it can be dynamic and creative, like telling a story — the act of recognizing and naming “the moon” represents a moment of intimacy and connection. On the other hand, holding on to that name – “the moon” – may cut us off from connecting with the fullness of our present experience as time flows on. “To define is to be confined within the definition’s narrow range” (Love of Knowledge, p. 105). We may start to ignore the rippling water, the wavering light, the cold air on our faces – we sum up everything with “the moon,” a preexisting concept primarily based on our past knowledge of what the moon is. Tethered to the past, we are drawn outside experience, which only occurs in the present.

Can we recognize and name the moon, while remaining fully present to the ever-changing richness of experience?

This collection, Reflections of the Moon, invites you to connect anew with each reflection in a dynamic way. Cathleen Evangelista captures the energy of the moon emitting a vibrant orange light among clouds in the evening. As dusk turns to night, Birgit Maria Viedenz imagines a clear and untouched center unfolding into a deep, crystalline blue glaze. In his essay, The Many Faces of Time, Michael Gray brings to light the rhythmic, cyclical nature of the moon, naming it a “pendulum in the sky” and a keeper of time. Ignacio Ercole also plays with the dynamic quality of the moon in their original musical interpretation, activating the field of hearing with a melody that shows continual changes throughout the piece.

As you engage the collection, allow each piece to be the first time you’ve ever encountered the moon.