Saturday, February 26, 2011

2/26/11—Living in Value

Weekend Reading: Four of Pentacles from the Kitty Kahane. Assess what is valuable to you this weekend and what is not. Separate yourself from people, situations and material belongings that weigh you down. And don't give your energies away carelessly. Just stay centered this weekend and protect your self respect.

Friday, February 25, 2011

2/25/11—Accepting Things As They Are

Today's Draw: Accept What Is from Sonia Choquette's Soul Oracle. Are you questioning a decision? Are you, perhaps, taking something personally? Are you dissatisfied with what you've been given?
 
Today is an odd day where I just wasn't inspired by tarot. So I chose an oracle card instead.

This card asks us to accept what we have in the present moment. Maybe you're questioning something...accept the questioning. Accept where you are ...in this moment. If you're unhappy with where you are right now, keep moving toward your goal, but accept where you are right now. If you're upset with something someone said or did, don't take it personally, but accept the feelings you're feeling because obviously some buttons were pushed. And, ultimately, accept yourself.

The thing is, when we spend all this time rolling things over and over in our minds, we're detouring from our intended path. We're lengthening the amount of time between now and what we want. Chances are certain that this moment is one you need to reach your ultimate goal, regardless of how you're perceiving it in the present moment. So accept it as it is. Don't question it, don't curse it. Just focus on what you want to create, instead.

This reminds me of a time that I set an intention to become more prosperous. Immediately after, things started getting worse. It seemed like circumstances were falling apart. But in the end I reached my goal and realized that the "falling apart" was the necessary chaff from retooling and building on a firmer foundation. The truth is you don't know that this very moment may be critical to your getting what you want. So accept it.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

2/24/11—Honoring Success

Today's Draw: The Four of Wands from the Necronomicon. What is worthy of celebration in your life today? What can you be satisfied at having completed? How will you honor this moment?
 
I'll be honest. I know nothing about the Necronomicon. I'm not a sci fi or fantasy person. That said, this card shows a beautiful woman in an intimate gaze with a lizard man, while a party goes on around them. They seem to be digging each o...ther.

While customarily picturing a wedding or some other rite, the four of wands isn't a love card, per se. As a wands card, it more specifically speaks to a first stage of success in a creative endeavor.

We often let these moments pass us by as part of the swirl of daily life. But this card is asking you to honor that success in some way. Drink a toast to it. Write about it in a journal. Or just sit in silence and feel it. Don't be too busy or otherwise concerned to let it pass you by unacknowledged.

About six months ago or so, I asked for something to enter my life. And now it seems as though that may be finally happening. It's private and too unformed to mention now, but it's a good thing. One of the standard spreads or card layouts in tarot is called the Celtic Cross and one of the card positions is called "greatest hopes and fears". It never ceases to amaze me how often in my life that my greatest hope is *also* my greatest fear. This is one of those things. But this card asks that we honor these things—and even smaller victories—and not to lose them in the shuffle. So I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do intend to commemorate today's victory in some way. How about you?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2/23/11—Allowing Power to Flow

Today's Draw: The Three of Wands from the Haindl. Are you allowing your natural power to flow? Or do you find yourself forcing things to happen? Do you feel you are manifesting your highest good right now?
 
The Three of Wands is an auspicious card. It speaks of manifestation and power and allowing...allowing the universe to deliver to you. The assumption is that you've already asked and laid the groundwork for some wish or want and now you jus...t need to sit back and allow it to happen.

But there's the rub. Most of us try to control an outcome. Or dictate how and when things will be delivered. Forcing an outcome can seriously affect the fulfillment of our wishes, though. So this card reminds us to "let go and let God". Another way of thinking of it, as Mike Dooley puts it, is "your job is say to what, the universe's job is to figure out how".

So think about all the things brewing in your life right now and see where you might be forcing a conclusion, rather than letting nature take its course. It's a sticky wicket, because you don't want to let go to the point that you're not moving toward your dreams. But you know where you're struggling...you know where you're working too hard.

This is always a good reminder to have. There are a couple of places in my life right now where I'm fighting against the natural outcome of something. And there's at least one place where I'm letting go too much. So just take a few moments to check in today and see where you might be standing in the way of your own fulfillment.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2/22/11—Contemplating Affluence

Today's Draw: Nine of Pentacles from the Spiral Tarot. What are your beliefs around affluence? What does it buy you? Happiness? Freedom? Headaches? What are your aspirations when it comes to money?
 
The Nine of Pentacles usually depicts a well-off person who has no trouble making money or securing things on the material plane. And they usually look quite happy about that. But does the happiness come from the prosperity? Or does the pro...sperity emanate from the passion and happiness of creating something of value?

When I formed the mission statement of my business fifteen years ago, I purposely made sure money wasn't a part of it. It was all about getting a wide variety of work, clients I felt good about and fueling my passion for my work. As a result, I've never made a big decision in my business based on money and have, in fact, moved on from my biggest clients a few times based on the way I felt about working with them.

When it HAD to come down to a choice between money and happiness, I chose happiness every time. Of course, the two aren't mutually exclusive. You can have both. And it's only happened once that I've been desperate for work, but turned it down because of who I'd have to work for. So, to be honest, my choices really haven't been tested on the eat/don't eat scale.

But I think all that reflects my attitudes toward money. I certainly don't want to worry about where my next meal is coming from, but I'm not shooting for Oprah wealth. As far as I'm concerned, money only buys freedom when it truly buys freedom. When having money places responsibilities on you...takes you away from the things you love or requires some sort of management and concern...then what's the point? I'm happy being middle class. And while I wouldn't turn down opportunities to enhance my bank account, I wouldn't do it at the cost of anything I hold dear—my integrity, my time with my babies, my mental health or my happiness. I like buying crap, don't get me wrong. But crap is crap. It's not what really matters to me.

Monday, February 21, 2011

2/21/11—Calling the Professionals

Today's Draw: The Three of Loaves from the Kalevala Tarot. Are you the kind of person that tries to fix broken stuff by yourself? Or do you call a professional the second something breaks? What are your beliefs and/or anxieties around this?
 
This card equates to the Three of Pentacles, which is traditionally a card indicating work toward the mastery of some craft or another. But the lwb for this deck provided a nice little twist in saying it was time to call in the professional...s.

This is a very interesting topic for me. My father was an engineer and was both mechanically and electronically adept. I can't remember once ever taking anything in to a shop for repair or having a professional come by the house to fix anything. Basically my dad lived for the day something would break so he could fix it. So with that modeling in my life, I follow suit. Except that I don't have the education he had in electrical engineering and I don't have the hours under car hoods that he had.

So when something breaks, I'll go and buy the parts to fix it, but won't ever get around to fixing it. I have a dripping sink and a toilet that needs a new flapper right now. I'm perfectly capable of fixing these things...I'm often shocked at the stuff I can figure out. But when I needed a new shed—something I couldn't do myself—it took me YEARS to take care of the situation. Any time I have to call a professional, I freak a little. Unless it's a situation where I have no water or electricity, I'm willing to live quite some time with the inconvenience. I hand washed dishes for a while just to avoid getting a new dishwasher installed. I have serious issues around this kind of thing...haha. And, though sometimes finances have to do with it, it's mostly the anxiety of choosing someone and trusting they'll do the job. And I blame it all on growing up without ever having seen a repairman. :D

So what's your story? Do you mostly fix things yourself? Or do you call in the professionals? And if you call in the professionals, would you do that even for something as simple as a drippy faucet?