Today's Draw: Eight of Rainbows from the Osho Zen—Ordinariness. What actions bring you into union with the divine? What activities do you tend to do with reverence or ritual? Is union with the soul of God something you intentionally seek, something that happens when it happens, or something you don't think about at all?
The Osho Zen is one of my favorite decks. It's a non-traditional deck based on the teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, aka Osho, an Indian mystic. I really resonate with Eastern spirituality. My mother was born in India and, when she was two, Ghandi came through her village and blessed her.
Although she was raised Roman Catholic, her heart wasn't there. Instead of a bible, she kept the Rubaiyat in her bedside table. It's a collection of poems by Sufi mystic Omar Khayyam. Depending on the translation, some call them devotional poems, others see them as atheistic. She died before I ever thought to ask her, but I tend to think she veered more toward spirituality and mysticism than religion. I don't think she ever made it an official journey, but I sometimes feel I inherited her path. It wasn't until after she died that I ever thought of stuff like this.
Mystics are on a path to unite with the higher power through self surrender and contemplation and, thereby, gain greater enlightenment. It's more of a spiritual path than a religious path. I see religion as divine knowledge that is brought to you by sources outside of yourself and spirituality as divine knowledge that comes from a personal relationship with source. Mysticism is beyond a relationship...it's a direct union with source.
This card is one of those paths to divine union. It speaks of total immersion in even the most mundane of tasks—cleaning the house, tending garden, chopping wood. When we do that, we lose ourselves and find ease and joy in the moment. We transcend mind and ego and. Just. Are.
In those moments, I leave this earth and become part of the all. And I'm not talking about cleaning the house while kicking and screaming the whole way. I'm talking about being in the zone, losing all thought and losing time. I get that way when I'm writing. And I also get that way when I'm tending my container garden.
Writing and container gardening (I make that distinction because, oddly, I dislike working in regular gardens) are things that automatically take me there. But then there are actions I perform with reverence that also take me away. One of those things is preparing ceremonies. I make the incense, anoint things with oil and carefully plan every step of the process. And then there are intentional paths to union with the divine, such as meditation.
This card asks us all to find the joy and beauty in the ordinary things of life. It really is a choice, you know. Just like with yesterday's card about wanting what you have, bringing reverence into ordinary tasks can make them extraordinary. Both are paths to God and if you don't believe there is a God, both are paths to happiness. Because both are about letting go...about stopping the fight.
When we're never satisfied with what we have, we're resisting. When we hate what we're doing, we're resisting. When we accept and allow, we fall into the flow. This doesn't mean accepting or putting up with things that are unhealthy in your life. You know the things in life that you're holding on to and resisting against. They're the things that bring you pain. When letting go brings relief, that's the accepting and allowing I'm talking about.
So consider the things that bring you pain or resistance. What can you let go of? And what in your life can you bring reverence to? What can you do today that brings you together with God?
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