Dear pj,
Thank you once more for your kind words. Knowing that there are others on this path gives one courage and hope to continue! :)
Yes, there is a correlation between mental, body & emotional cleansing and your menstruation. I can point you to a number of websites to help you track the wisdom behind your menstrual period, and what it means to become a powerful woman.
some interesting ones I have bookmarked:
http://www.moonsurfing.com/lodge-george.html
http://www. healthynewage .com/moonlodge.html
http://www.yoni.com
http://www.hecate.awebspider.com/darkmoonmagic.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/bloodmysteries.html
http://redmoonrising.homestead.com/
Also, a favourite book of mine is "The Wise Wound - Menstruation and Everywoman" by Penelope Shuttle & Peter Redgrove. This is currently out of print, but you can find it on abebooks.com
To summarise for you: when a woman approaches her "dark moon" phase, ie. menstruation, she is going through a phase which will eventually lead her to a "death" and "rebirth" experience. A few days, or ever a couple of weeks, before their menstruation, women experience what has mistakenly been defined by modern medicine as Premenstrual Syndrome. In reality, this is not a Syndrome, but a natural event in which emotional issues that have been lying dormant & repressed inside a woman request to "see the light" and be acknowledged.
If a woman does not pay attention to this natural phase in the month, which calls her to retreat inwardly and descend into what is hidden in order to reveal her personal truths to herself, then these repressed emotions have no "choice" but to seek outlet and demonstrate themselves (without the woman's conscious control) as irritability, depression, frustration, lower back pain, constipation etc.
Even so, through venting in anger or breaking down in tears, a woman cannot help but be notified of the issues deep in her soul which are crying out for her attention.
Hence, when the bleeding starts (Dark/New Moon) the opportunity to heal, cleanse body, mind and soul and begin implementing the appropriate changes to accomodate the messages received from the soul, is waiting to be seized. If it is, then a two week period of building, nurturing and fertilising will follow; to reach culmination on the woman's ovulation period (as in the waxing, "mothering" period of the Full Moon).
Following this, the woman's body/soul will naturally open another cycle of healing and self-discovery. All that has been left unattended to, or has not been given a chance to grow during the previous waxing period, is now, once more, brought to light.
Tracking my cycle has been extremely helpful for me and has brought me much relief from many menstrual-related symptoms. Body/mind consciousness, as Andreas says, is a wonderful thing; especially for us women!
As for reaching for the light & "flying", which you mentioned: this is of course natural & very desirable when one is healing and becoming whole. Like you said, however, you can only imbue your life with light once you consciously (ie. with full awareness & without fear) pass through your own shadows. This will allow you to see that what you feared was in truth only phantoms, shadows on the wall; rejected pieces of your soul that were, all along, crying out for you not to ignore & deny them, but to love and accept them.
You ARE a brave AND wise person! I'll keep repeating it, if you don't, till you believe it! ;))
Lots of love & laughter,
Louise