Showing posts with label contemplation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contemplation. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

"T minus 4" - Point of Reflection # 6 - Vision Quest Tarot

Today's Point of Reflection is a selection from what may be my favorite tarot deck:  Vision Quest Tarot by Gayan S. Winter and Jo Dose (affiliate link).

After many years of unconscious resistance (a blog post for another day), I've come to a place of deep appreciation for and delight in "the Tarot" as a tool for self-awareness and personal understanding.  I've overcome a gut-level, inchoate fear that had no discernible roots in my experience.

This deck, and one other that I may share over the next few days that helped me move beyond my discomfort, played a big part in my willingness to explore "the Tarot."  My fondness for this deck is rooted in its indigenous, Nature-based focus.  It just feels comfortable and, even more important, comforting to me.  That's not to say that the messages delivered by this system aren't universal - and don't occasionally amount to a kick in the rear-end - for they are, and they do.  I just resonate with the symbols and feel at home in allowing them to speak to my heart.

Today's Point of Reflection?                    
(You know, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.  Well, I guess could, but not without it seeming completely contrived and losing all credibility...)
                                                                       
 V. - Shaman (relates to the Heirophant in traditional decks)


"In essence:  WISDOM - transcendence - intuition - deep knowledge of underlying forces - clear insight into recurring cycles - supernatural talents - otherworldly, extrasensory visions

Inner message:  The Shaman inside you is capable of merging his intuitive perceptiveness with the wisdom of the Elders.  Meditate and find out what really motivates you, what your inner core truly desires.  Don't waste time trying to fulfill more superficial desires. They can never satisfy your ancient longing.  That is not their task.  Shift your attention to what is ESSENTIAL.  Most essential in your life is your own being.  Without knowing the true essence of your being, your heart will always remain empty and dissatisfied.  Without recognition of who you are, without inwardly awakening to that, you stumble like a drunkard through a maze of meaningless limitations.  Remember your Self!  Take the time and whatever space you need to explore your innermost being.  For that, you don't have to go anywhere.

Outward manifestation:  Much of what no longer feels right for you is ready to leave or fall away.  Be thankful!  You may have to go through the pain of disillusionment, but that's in fact your liberation.  If you want to awaken to Reality, no spiritual entertainment technique can help you.  It is time to face yourself.  The Shaman merely reminds you of your spiritual heritage.  He points to your source, the unnameable, the mystery of your existence, the power that created everything and absorbs you back into itself at the end of this life.  Contemplate how to best spend your time!"
(c) 1998 AGM AG Muller

This is What I'm Talking About!

Talk about a kick in the pants.  I cannot imagine that, if you've taken the time to visit this blog and read this far, that this Point of Reflection doesn't resonate deep within you, that it doesn't poke you and prod you and yet make you want to smile and maybe even laugh - as in, "Yeah, I'm busted."

You're here for a reason, and I'll leave it up to you to decide what I mean by that.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

"T minus 7" - Point of Reflection # 3 - The Gaian Tarot

I'm never disappointed by how amazingly spot-on the guidance I receive is; that is, when I remember to ask for it.  That doesn't mean I'm not disappointed with what I'm being told, though.  Sometimes it feels as though the Universe, God, Goddess, Spirit, whatever you want to call that Essence that is greater than all of us and somehow both holds and IS the matrix that creates everything, is picking on me. 

I do not feel picked on today.

I feel amazed, awed, and humbled.

Again, I settled myself in my space and grounded myself and my thoughts.  I got quiet and still.  I opened my heart and asked for a message, something that would speak to our hearts - all of our hearts - as we struggle to maintain our balance in these chaotic, heart-rending times.

"What do we need to hear?  What do we need to "get" as we move toward this momentous Winter Solstice?" I asked, with deepest sincerity.

The cards of the Gaian Tarot (affiliate link), a lovely, earth-based, beautifully wrought "modern" tarot deck, created by Joanna Powell Colbert, shuffled effortlessly in my hands.  I stopped when I sensed the card to choose was on top.

Our card for Reflection, Contemplation, Celebration, and Connection today?

Justice - Karmic balance

I encourage you to follow the link, above, to read the excerpt pertaining to this card that is provided by the author on her website.  Simply examining the image, however, one can sense the essential message being conveyed to us.

How does this card apply to each of us?

In order to deepen our understanding of how the Justice card applies to us today, we might want to reflect upon the following concepts and how they are, remarkably, swirling around in and infringing upon our collective reality in a myriad of ways, particularly as a result of the tragedy in Newtown, CT.  These themes are, quite literally DEMANDING our attention:
        • Karma                                      Justice
        • Truth                                        Right order
        • Social justice                         Cause and effect
        • Responsibility                       Legal issues
        • Actions and consequences
It is becoming increasingly obvious that we cannot continue along the path we've been trodding without encountering profound consequences.  Indeed, we are reaping them in this very moment.  The question is whether we will choose to take responsibility  - now - for the imbalances that are becoming apparent, in both our own lives and our society, and work together to achieve a new sense of equanimity.

We are in this together.