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?

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. 

1/23/12—Becoming an Expert

Today's Draw: Eight of Pentacles from the Crystal Visions. What are you an expert at? Who decides whether you're an expert or not? And is it possible you're selling yourself short in some area of expertise?

The Eight of Pentacles is about the apprentice...and often the late-in-life apprentice or second-time-around apprentice. Hard work, perseverance and attention to detail are required to master a new skill, so our weaver woman focuses on her work, regardless of what else may call to her. 

I don't feel like writing this blog today. And I don't have to. But for some yet-to-be-revealed-to-me reason, I've made a commitment to doing it. Until I'm done. Whenever that is. In the meantime, this exercise helps me practice my craft and refine my voice. It helps me build an audience. It helps me practice my tarot and intuitive skills. And it delivers a seemingly unlimited supply of encouragement from people like you. :)

This past weekend, my "new Saturday entry" debuted and I got such wonderful feedback. As I said before, I want to make a book full of those and will be using some of the ones I post here to send to publishers in a proposal.

I've been writing professionally for 25 years, but the kind of writing I do here is different from the "Sale! $59.99 Sansabelt Pants!" kind of writing I'm used to. For one thing, I use a lot less exclamation marks. For another, in more than a year of writing these entries, not a one of you has tried to edit my work. (Though "Sansabelt Pants Sale! $59.99!" certainly would be an inspired suggestion on your part.)

Awesome Woolen  iPod Pouch—Closed

There are times we tend to discount our skill or expertise. An engineer who's been honing their artistic skills for years might say their art "is just a hobby." An accountant who can fix anything mechanical might claim "awww, it's just something I picked up as a kid." A nurse who knits caps for patients might feel "I'm just trying to help out."

There are a few different ways to measure whether or not you're an expert at something. One is the 10,000 hour (or 10-years at about 20 hours a week of focused practice) rule made famous by Malcolm Gladwell. If you've been doing something that long, you can consider yourself an expert. Why? Because everyone else does.

Another way to define expertise is "continual, focused practice over time." No year limits. You just do it for a long time and declare yourself an expert. And this last part is key...there is no special dinner held when you become an expert...no cake in your office's kitchen...no speech or crown, no passing of the baton. It happens without fanfare or notice. It's a role you step into of your own accord.

Why is this important? Because you're probably selling yourself short on your skills and abilities. I've been reading tarot for 25 years, but a year ago I did not classify myself as an expert. I did not consider myself worthy of, say, writing a book on it. Or teaching classes. Or doing it professionally. The difference in the amount of actual, hands-on tarot experience I had last year and what I have this year is insignificant. The difference in the amount of confidence I have now, however, is paramount. The confidence is what made me take those steps to write and teach, not some outside source telling me it was time.

Awesome Woolen  iPod Pouch—Open

People are so afraid they'll be labeled "conceited" if they consider themselves an expert at anything. And really that just means less competition for those of us who are willing to step into our expert underpants...haha. Those of us who plan to get rich off our expertise NEED people like you to buy our stuff and look up to us. So it's cool if you'd rather stay humble. :D

My personal definition of being an expert is when you start realizing that the experts aren't saying anything you don't already know...and that they're not saying stuff you DO know. That's when you know it's time to share your voice with the world. Or at least claim your expert badge. Even if you've just got the first part of the equation, you're "expert enough". I mean, if they're expert enough and they've got nothing on you, then what else could you be?

Today I can say I'm an expert writer. I'm an expert in advertising, marketing and copywriting. I'm an expert in tarot. In dog rearing. And I'm an expert in the area of spiritual thought and personal growth. The last one was a little hard for me to claim because of my own insecurities. But I'm claiming it. I certainly meet the 10,000 hour quota in all areas mentioned. Soon I'll get my badge in making hand-sewn woolen pouches, too. Once that happens, expect to see me on Oprah.

So what are your areas of expertise? And what areas are you developing now?