Friday, October 12, 2012

10/13/12-10/14/12—Remembering Wisdom

Weekend Reading: The Hierophant from the Victorian Romantic Tarot. As yesterday's Daily Draw suggested, you have far more wise answers on the tip of your tongue than you're aware of. And this weekend you'll get a chance to share them. The Hierophant is the keeper of traditional knowledge, so the best advice may end up being advice that was passed down from your parents. And if you're the one in need of advice, then maybe think about what grandma or grandpa would tell you. After all, not much has changed in the landscape of human drama throughout the centuries. You may be able to get out of relationships faster, but it's really the same stuff as always. Chances are most problems were solved eons ago. You'd think we'd learn. ;)

Thursday, October 11, 2012

10/12/12—Advising my Inner Oprah

Today's Draw: The Sun from the Infinite Visions tarot. What would you tell a friend about the situation you're in right now? What advice would you give him/her? What do you KNOW based on past experience?

On the final day of holding pattern and transformation week, we get the Sun. And the book for this deck says "choose carefully where you go because many will follow your shining light."

So, everyone's eyes are on you and you're an example generations will herein follow. So don't screw up. Like you know you will. :D

Well, since THAT is too much pressure, how about you ask yourself what advice you'd give a friend in the same situation as you? What would you want your daughter to do? If Oprah and Iyanla were hanging on your every word, what wisdom would you pass down?

It's funny how often we have the answers to those questions, but don't have the answers when it comes to ourselves.

For my own situation, I feel like I'm in a space between lives...in a holding pattern where I'm some of where I'm going and a lot of where I've been. In between those two places is rollercoaster motivation, fear, cluelessness....you name it. 

So let's say Oprah and Iyanla and I are sitting around my kitchen in Maine and I've just made them some of my famous fried chicken wings (I really DO make good fried chicken.) And, because we're gal friends and can let down our guards with each other, Oprah says, "Tierney I'm feeling a little lost and directionless right now. A little afraid to change. Listless. What words of wisdom do you have for me?" 

Iyanla tries to answer first, but Oprah holds up her hand and says, "no, I want to hear what Tierney has to say."

So I say, "it is what it is, Oprah. We are where we are and if we were meant to be somewhere else, we'd be there. When was the last time the universe failed you? When was the last time you were involved in something that didn't make you who you are today? When has any moment ever been without purpose in your life?"

Oprah would think about it a minute and say, "never." 

 I would reply, "so why doubt it now?" And a silent tear would issue forth from Oprah's eyes and she would nod knowingly. Meanwhile, Iyanla would be silently heard to grumble, "that's what I was going to say."

So that's the advice I would give someone. We can only do what we can do. Right now I don't have all the readiness I need. I am where I am for a reason. What about your situation? What would you tell a weepy Oprah if she asked you about the same situation you're in?

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

10/11/12—Facing Death

Today's Draw: Transformation from the Osho Zen Tarot. Do do you feel change works on your timetable? Do you feel you have any control over the process at all? And if not, do you tend to busy yourself in stuff you CAN control in order to feel "right"?

This week we're talking about transformation and today we drew the Transformation card. It's called Death in most tarot decks, but what they really mean by death is transformation. Many of us feel in the midst of, or on the cusp of change. Some feel like we're in a holding pattern within that change energy, unable or unwanting to move forward. 

I get two messages for us from this card. The first message is that life only *appears* to work on our schedule and at our bidding. Certainly we have input. The way I see that things work is that I have a desire to change, I make my desire known, I start working toward it and, before I know it, the desire is fulfilled and change has come. 

But that's not working on MY timetable. My timetable would be that change would be instantaneous and painless. Then there are those times when I haven't even thought of change and it just came and hit me in the face. In a way, dog #3 is like that. I had decided not to get a dog. So I fostered. And failed. It's like a surprise pregnancy or a surprise job move or illness...sometimes change comes whether you want it or not. And you have to handle it because it's HERE. NOW. 

So I like to feel like a master manifester, but the truth is sometimes there are a lot of moving parts that take time to come into place...mental attitudes have to adjust, other things that were already in play having to do with the old you need to be stopped, and entire scenarios involving other people and other situations have to come into play. 

It's a wonder anything gets done. But my sense is, if it had to be done right NOW, that would happen too and we'd have no control over it. So my guess is we're all right where we should be—and NEED to be. We have no idea of all of the stuff churning up on our behalf in the background while everything seems to be immobile on the surface. Maybe we NEED to be staring off into space with empty eyes in a state of total shock! Bet you never thought of THAT. 

The other thing about this Transformation card is the way the all-powerful is touching the face of the person while at rest. I think sometimes we busy our lives with appointments and obligations and distractions to keep ourselves busy because it's easier than facing whatever emptiness or anxiety or risk or whatever it is that's happening at a time of change. 

So this card is basically saying to still yourself long enough to hear the voice of God in your life. Maybe that means quiet meditation at night. Or journaling dreams. Or taking some sort of retreat. Especially if being on hold in the midst of change is making you feel a little lost. Answers and wisdom and safety and love is waiting for you if you can still yourself long enough to receive it. 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

10/10/12—Remembering Who You Are

Today's Draw: Father of Coins from the Margarete Petersen. Do you believe there is a part of you that is part of source? Is your humanness getting in the way of hearing, seeing and answering the call of your soul? How often do you find yourself forgetting who you are?


This week's posts are all about those times we feel like we're in a holding pattern...unsure of which way is forward or unable to move forward even if we know. 

Today's card is about building empires and legacies. But one of the things the Father of Coins learns along the way is that it's not just what you build, but how you build it. If the kingdom is built on ego and the need for external power, it's built on a shaky foundation. And it will fall. But if it's built from a place of oneness and connectedness, the whole of the kingdom is there to ensure it won't fall. 

Many of us are looking to build something new in our lives...or at the very least move on from something old. As we sit in our holding pattern waiting for inspiration or energy or SOMETHING to kick us in the arse, it might help to remember who we are. 

We are an essential part of something much greater. My buds Oprah and Iyanla were talking on TV the other day and Iyanla said she believes our souls are that part of God that comes down here to inhabit a human form and take on a human personality. That's not exactly what she said, but it's what I took from it because it's also what I believe. I just hadn't parsed it in those terms before. 

From time to time I talk about this amazing energy healing/visualization appointment I have every month. Anyway, one time I was there and looking for guidance and I visualized myself ascending into the puffy whiteness of what could be considered heaven and there were a bunch of angelic beings there. It seemed I was there for a "tune up" and they tuned me up by placing their hands on my head. And then they shoved me back "down" toward earth, kind of kicking me in the arse and saying "she's so funny. She's totally forgotten who she is." 

It makes me emotional just thinking about it now. Their attitude was like I was one of them—a divine being—and they were laughing because I had so completely bought into the delusion of being separate from Source. 

There is an enduring part of me and you and everyone else that is...whatever you want to call it...source—limitless, fearless, omnipotent, divine. And in being human we learn to limit ourselves. We learn to fear. We buy into our powerlessness. That is the power of the human ego...the power to drown out the voice of our divinity. 

So if you're afraid of moving into the unknown, remember who you are. If you're thinking of limiting your vision because what you REALLY want is too ambitious, remember who you are. And if you just don't feel like such-and-such is cut out for little old you, remember who you are. Any foundation build on fear, limitation and powerlessness isn't going to stand anyway. So, as long as we're just sitting here in a holding pattern, we may as well start entertaining solutions that our soul angels would look down on in pride. 

Monday, October 8, 2012

8/9/12—Making Our Desires Official

Today's Draw: Three of Cups from the Witches Tarot. Do you ever use ceremony to help create change in your life? Do you involve others in the ceremonial process? What kind of things do you do in your ceremonies?

Today's entry is going to be a quickie, since I'm running short on time tonight. The topic is about how to move forward when you're in a holding pattern or ways to abide the feeling of being stuck. 

The Three of Cups is a card of friendship and good times. So one way to abide would be to get together with friends and take yourself out of your head for a while. Or, to get unstuck, get together with friends and brainstorm about what you should do to move forward. 

So those are two answers. But this is a witchy deck, so I would be remiss not to bring up the magical aspect of the number three. Three is a magic number. If you're going to wish, say your wish three times. If you want to manifest something, repeat it three times. And if you're going to create more energy behind your manifestation, do it with a total of three people present. 

Ceremony and "magic numbers" aren't just for witches. I'm not a witch, but I'm a huge fan of ceremony and when I write a wish down, I fold the paper in thirds and repeat the wish three times out loud. I also burn a lot of incense because the smoky stuff feels mystical to me. I usually light something on fire somewhere along the line...a piece of paper or maybe I use some special incense that goes up in flames. I tend to do my ceremonies alone, but I do believe that when two or more people are present, the increase in energy is not just additive, but exponential. We can accomplish more "magic" in groups than by our lonesome.

So if there's something specific that you want to accomplish, why not make a little ceremony around it? You can use the moon...bring things into your life when the moon is waxing or full...release things from your life when it's waning or dark. You can write something on a piece of paper and ceremonially tie it up in a bow...maybe put it under your pillow. You can release something by writing it on a rock and throwing it in the river. 

Whatever. Use your imagination. There are no rules to follow and you don't even have to do things in threes. Just do whatever feels sacred and right to you. Ceremony and saying something out loud makes it official in ways that can be truly inspiring. So start thinking about something special you can do to commemorate whatever it is you want to achieve or release in your life, then do something symbolic to show your commitment to it. 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

8/8/12—Revisiting the Last Turn of the Wheel

Today's Draw: The Wheel from the Celtic Book of the Dead. If you're in a difficult or frustrating situation right now, think back. Have you been in a similar situation before? What did you do then to move beyond? What wisdom from the past can you bring to bear on the present? 

Last week we talked a lot about being in transitions in our lives where we just can't see the forest for the trees...we know we're moving toward something, but we don't know what. Either that, or we're in a holding pattern in which we know where we want to go but, for one reason or another, aren't moving. 

A lot of people seemed to resonate with a need or desire to refocus, reinvigorate or re-something at this time. So one of my readers, prolific deck creator and all around nice gal Beth Seilonen, suggested that's what we address this week. So this week's draws will center around that topic, either advice or wisdom to move us forward...or a message to abide us while we're here. 

Today's draw of The Wheel is, I think, both advice and comfort. The comforting part of The Wheel is that it speaks to cycles, gestation and impermanence. This will pass. In its own time. And before you know it, you'll be so caught up in the next phase that you'll be begging for another holding pattern. Also, those times when we don't seem to be moving forward are sometimes the moments we're working the hardest. 

That's the gestation part. Think about a pregnant woman. She might not even begin to show significantly for six months, but all that time cells have been splitting, hearts and limbs have been forming...a lot of work has been going on that's barely visible. But it's a LOT of work. So while we may be in a phase of apparent stasis, we may nonetheless feel exhausted from all the work that's going on outside of our immediate consciousness.

The advice piece, though, is a nuance of The Wheel that I don't know I've ever considered in this way before—what have you learned in the past that can help this moment? Where have you seen this situation in the past? After all, the wheel has a tendency to spin lessons and   experiences around to us again and again to bring deeper understanding at each new turn. 

A lot of times we'll look at the recent events that led us to where we are...the relationship that failed, the job change we just made, the frustrations that led to our desire to change. That's not the past I'm talking about coming back around to. All of that happened on this turn of the wheel. The past I'm talking about the relationship BEFORE this that failed...the LAST life change we made. The last turn of the wheel. We have to move beyond the clutter of this current situation to see beyond it. 

One thing that keeps coming up for me...and may be a card that comes up later this week...is surrender. Things don't usually move or progress while I'm all tense about them, pushing against them, trying to steer them, control them or otherwise supervise them. But when I just "let go and let God", things seem to fall into place. Beautifully.

Surrender works for me. But what wisdom from your past could be applied to your current situation? What do you know about yourself that helps here? And what are you willing to share to help others learn from you? ;)