Wednesday, April 13, 2011

4/13/11—Realigning Heart and Mind

Today's Draw: Ace of Air from the Gaian Tarot.  Are you tired of the status quo? Could you use something to shake you out of a rut? Have you stopped living from your heart, finding yourself saying, thinking or doing things automatically?


Joanna Powell Colbert's beautiful Ace of Air comes to us to remind us of our unlimited capacity for transformation. The butterfly is the symbol of transformation and the hawthorne branch it rests upon asks us to live from our hearts.

The rampage of daily life often puts us into certain habits. We find something that works, whether it's a thought, action, belief or hairdo. And then that's taken care of. And now we can deal with the barrage of the million other stimuli that come into our sphere on any given day.  And, frequently, we don't ever go back and reassess those habits. We've changed, but parts of our being have never been examined from the point of view of the new person. Heart and mind are no longer connected.

Growing up in a military family, we moved every two years. I went to five elementary schools, one junior high and three high schools. Being a smart, overweight kid with some eccentricities, it was hard to fit in. So it seemed like every time I would start to make friends, we'd move. That part sucked. But because I didn't fit in, there was a silver lining—every two years I got to reinvent myself. I got a fresh start. With each new school, the slate would be wiped clean and I could try a new part of myself on for size. As they say, though, youth is wasted on the young. I wasn't mature enough to make any real, situation-changing transformations. But the anticipation of that fact—that I could reinvent myself—gave me something to look forward to with each move.

Things became different as an adult, however. I used to be a meaner, less caring person. I used to occupy more of my time with distractions. And I used to be a non-spiritual atheist. At one time or another, these things didn't align with the truth of my heart any longer. They didn't inspire my soul. So I changed them over time.

Today's card comes to us to remind us to stop and take inventory again. What parts of your persona no longer fit the person? What ways of responding to stress, for example, are no longer in alignment with your heart and/or spiritual beliefs? We've all seen the person who brags about their relationship with God, turn right around, flip the bird and spout nastiness in traffic, for example. And hey, everyone has a bad day. I've done the same thing myself. But when we see that we're acting out of line with our beliefs…when we see that we're saying and doing things that we don't really believe…it's time to do the work of transformation. But before we can see this, we have to shift out of automatic and become conscious of what's in our heart and the way we're being. So walk in consciousness today and for the rest of this week, if you can. And remember that we were born to change. It's time for us all to go in for a tune-up and let our soul take flight.

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful card; I am practicing not cussing other drivers. It is a habit I have had for ever. From Buddha teachings, I realize this habit is reinforcing critical and negative behavior towards people in other areas of my life as well. I am going to remember the image of this card when I open my mouth to criticize someone else.

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  2. Oh, interesting thought about behavior in one area affecting other areas of your life. Hooray for Valerie! The way I am behind the wheel bothers me, too.

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