Shining the Light on Your Shadows

 

 

Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog Hop!!  

 

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Hermit card from Snowland Tarot by Ron and Janet Boyer

 



Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog Hop!  I am but one stop on the beautifully lit journey.  You should have gotten here from Karen Sealey's blog.

Traditionally, since farming couldn’t be done in the winter months, the dark time of the year was a time of rest and introspection.  Although things have changed tremendously over the years, for many, including myself, we still use this time to go within ourselves and decide what has been working and what has not.  Like the Hermit here, we use that inner light to search our inner depths, getting to know our true selves.  

 

As we celebrate the rebirth of the sun this Yule, many people are preparing for the New Year, making plans, goals and resolutions so the next year will be the best that it can be.  Some resolutions are chosen to live life to the fullest, such as learning a new hobby or crossing some things off of our bucket list, while others are chosen to better ourselves, such as quitting smoking or losing weight.  The idea of the resolution can really be a fantastic thing because they come from a place of us wanting to change for the better.  Our desire is there, however, a majority of resolutions fail.  We have the best of intentions but our desire for that particular change fizzles out for one reason or another leaving another “failed” resolution.  The problem can be that we are putting a band aid on a wound that we think is something minor but actually goes a lot deeper.  Of course this is not the case with all resolutions, but it is with some.  To have success, we have to dig a little deeper and get to the root of the deeper issues.  In other words, we have to do some shadow work.   

 

For those that are unfamiliar with the term, the shadow is those parts of ourselves that we keep buried deep down inside refusing to acknowledge them until they come out at the most inopportune times, sometimes wreaking havoc in our lives.  Our behaviors can be erratic, seemingly irrational and we can have issues making changes to ourselves (thus the “failed” resolutions). 

 

In order to free ourselves from our shadows, we must bring them to the surface and learn to live with them rather than fight them. When we start making resolutions, these are our shadows starting to peak out, wanting to be acknowledged.  We get a glimpse of them by wanting to make those changes to ourselves, but when we do not follow through with those changes, the shadows go back into the deep, barely acknowledged and we make our shadows worse because we may think less of ourselves because we weren’t able to follow through with our resolutions. 

 

When we make a resolution, we want to bring the shadow of that resolution to the surface, shine a light on it and reveal it for what it is.  Here is a spread that will help get to the bottom of things.

 

Ray of Light Spread

 

                                      2

                              3

         1             4

                               5

                                         6 

 

1. Issue at hand/Shadow to work on
2. How the shadow holds me back
3. How does it help me
4. What can I learn from it
5. How can I heal it         
6. What gift will I receive after it is healed

By revealing and healing our shadows, we celebrate ourselves and the light within us while also becoming a beacon of light for others.  Celebrate the return of the sun by celebrating the light within you.

Next stop on your journey is Shari B. Yetto's blog.

 

Happy Yule and happy hopping!

 

Shine on everyone!!

 

 

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Keeping It Clean

We have reached the time of year when we make our lists, check it twice, find out who is naughty or…wait, wrong list.   But we are making our lists….lists of things to do, goals to make, etc., everything that we need to do to make 2014 a fabulous year.  Unfortunately, there are a few steps that are missed by many, simply because they either forget about it or they simply aren’t aware of the impact that it can have.  Here’s a hint…..you have to remove the old to make way for the new.

 

You’ve all heard the saying, right?  When we hold onto the old, things that no longer serve us, they end up cluttering our area, creating obstacles, keeping us from reaching our goal.  Think about it.  You can’t make it to the front door if there are obstacles in your way that you have to walk around or step over.  Sometimes you end up tripping and falling.  It’s common sense, right?  Of course it is, however, people don’t necessarily consider everything clutter.

 

 Inversion from Snowland Tarot

 

Negative thoughts are clutter.  They hold you back, keeping you from obtaining your goals. If you think that you don’t deserve your aspirations, you won’t receive them.  You have to be positive and believe that you do deserve them.  If you believe that you have a positive attitude and that you have been doing everything physically necessary to reach your goals, try changing your perspective, just like the Inversion (traditional Hanged Man) card shown here.  Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see it from their perspective.  If a friend was in your shoes, what would you see?  If they asked you for advice, what would you tell them?  Often, if we look at things from the outside looking in, we can more easily see the answers that are right there staring us in the face.  Change your way of thinking.  Whatever the issue is, take the time to change it to your benefit. I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know, but we sometimes need the reminder, especially since this piece is on de-cluttering for the New Year.  Moving on……

 

4 of Material from Snowland Tarot



 

Now here’s what many people don’t think about when they are preparing for the New Year.  Remember that physical clutter we talked about earlier?  Yep, that’s it.  If your house or office space is cluttered because you are being a miser and holding onto to everything you can, like the man in the 4 of Material, how do you expect new things to be able to enter your life?  That pile of mail on the table, the junk drawer or closet, the book shelves that have so many books thrown on them that the shelves are bowing, those papers with business ideas just thrown on your desk.  There are many areas that clutter can accumulate and even the smallest amount of clutter retains old, stale energy.  That stale energy that hangs around can keep great things from entering your life.  You know the feeling after you’ve cleaned your house, everything is in its place and you sit back and just enjoy it?  Do you feel a sense of a cloud lifting after you clean no matter what the state of your house was in?  That feeling is what you want to accomplish.  That cloud lifting is the old stale energy leaving the area, allowing for a new attitude and new energy.  Wouldn’t you rather work in a space that is newly cleaned and refreshed rather than a space that makes you feel like you are Pig Pen from Peanuts?  If your house is clutter free and you still have that feeling, burn some incense, sage or a nice smelling candle.  Sometimes after a bad day or a fight, those feelings can hang around so clear the area.  You’ll be amazed at the difference.

Remember to keep it clean!

Have a great week! 

This weeks affirmation – I am committed to having a clutter free life

 This weeks song: Car Wash by Rose Royce

 

Tarot cards courtesy of Snowland Tarot by Ron & Janet Boyer

Lighting the Fire Under Your Rear – Finding Ways to Git Er Done

 

Ace of Energy from Snowland Tarot

by Ron & Janet Boyer

 

We’ve all been there at one time or another.  We lose motivation for whatever we are doing and, believe it or not, it is actually normal, especially if we get burned out.  Normal or not, it can be irritating especially if we need to meet a deadline.  Sometimes we just need the break in order to recharge ourselves, but other times, we need something to light a fire under our rear ends, much like the match that will light the pile of wood in this Ace of Energy card from the Snowland Tarot.  So what are some ideas to get and stay motivated??  I’m glad that you asked!  Here are just a few ideas to get things pumping. 

Music – Find a song, or songs, that motivate you.  Whether it’s the lyrics or the beat that moves you, find one or find many.  The point is that it motivates you.

 

-         Use the song as your alarm clock so that you hear it every morning or set multiple alarms throughout the day to get the periodic boost that you need

-         Set the song as your ring tone or text notification so you hear it unexpectedly as a reminder

-         Make a play list on your iPod or mp3 player and play it during your morning shower to start your day off right

-         Listen to your list of motivational songs while you run errands or exercise 

Affirmations – Affirmations are a great motivator when used properly.  The thing is, we all see the affirmations but we let them go in and then right back out.  We don’t necessarily retain them.  Give these a try.

 

-         Place post it notes where you regularly go in your house, car or work, or wherever.  Somewhere that you will see them on a regular basis – refrigerator, bathroom mirror, computer screen, etc.

-         Put the affirmation on your screen saver on your computer.

-         Put it as your wallpaper on your phone, computer, ipad, etc. 

Goals – Do you have goals?  Have you written them down?  Like the affirmations, we need to be able to see them at least every once in awhile.  The more often we see them, the better.

 

-         Make a list of your goals and keep it handy for you to look at when you need the motivation

-         Put one goal a day on your computer as a screen saver or wallpaper, or on your phone, ipad, etc.

-         Choose a song a day or a week to represent your goal and program your phone accordingly (see above)

 

 

Lists – Keeping a daily list of what you want to accomplish for the day can really take you far, especially if you are a list person.  The key is to keep the items on the list manageable.  If you put too many things on it, you will end up feeling overwhelmed, totally defeating the purpose of being motivated.  Start with only 5 things on your list.  The accomplishment of checking things off the list is a great feeling, motivating you to do even more.  If you find that you have checked off all of the things on your list, either add more to it, or take some time off.  You deserve it.  If you are having a difficult time working on your list in the first place, please see the above suggestions.

 

 

Meditation - I don’t know about you, but meditating gets my rear in gear every time.  Whether I am listening to a guided meditation or playing it by ear, I always come out relaxed and ready to get things accomplished.  If meditation is not easy for you, guided meditations may be the best way to go.  Look for ones with affirmations and positive messages to lift you up.  If you don’t like guided, create your own affirmation or mantra and repeat it for several minutes.  I have found that a minimum of 5 minutes is what works for me.

 

All it takes is some creativity in order to find the motivational tool that works for you.  So….how will you Git-Er-Done this week?

 

Have a blessed week!!

 

This week’s affirmation:

Motivation is all around me. 

This week’s song:

            Git-R-Done by Montgomery Gentry

 

 

To see more of the very charming Snowland Tarot Deck, or to purchase, please click here

 

 

 

Tarot of the Absurd: A Review

In the beginning of August I entered a contest on Ohm Sweet Ohm’s Facebook page to win a tarot deck called Tarot of the Absurd.  I had never heard of the deck before so I was very intrigued when I looked it up and saw a black and white deck with very quirky art and when I say quirky, I mean fabulous!  This deck is very different than any deck that I have ever seen.  Granted, there are so many decks out there that I probably have only seen a smidgeon of what is actually available and out of print but this is the first time that I have seen something like this.  I started doing a bit of research on the deck, the artist, and when it was created and found in that research that the artist, Jessica Rose Shanahan, has a marvelous sense of humor, which can absolutely be seen in her art in this deck.

 



 

When I found out that I had won the contest I was beyond excited and couldn’t wait for the deck to arrive.  And then it did.  The deck comes in a sleeve that is tied with a red ribbon and it also has a title card which tells you what deck number that you have in its limited run of 600.  While the sleeve isn’t going to stand up very well it is very special because the artist assembled them by hand.  This is such a huge plus to me so it will receive a very special place in my collection.  The art itself is based on the traditional Rider-Waite illustrations, with the Magician becoming the Alchemist, and the suits becoming Blades, Coins, Cups and Sticks.  The art is very simple in a good way.  Some black and white decks that I have seen the illustrations are very busy making them very difficult for me to read, but not this one.  The simplicity in black and white just pops out at you, practically screaming its messages.  A fabulous bonus is that the deck is borderless making it easier to read. 

The card stock is a bit on the thin side but it seems to me that it should hold up pretty well.  It’s also a good size and easy to shuffle which is great because I have small hands.  The backs are very simple, but beautifully decorated double doors which lend a bit of elegance and invite you to open it up to discover the secrets on the other side. 



 

 

A couple of my favorite cards are Strength and 7 of Blades.  The strength card shows a woman standing over a lion, prying open its mouth with a face full of agony.  On one foot she wears a high heeled shoe and the other is in the upper right had corner of the card.  The lion looks as though he is saying “ok.  I would have opened my mouth if you would have just asked but carry on”.  It really captures the essence of what strength is about and can even say that sometimes we tend to make things harder than what they have to be.

 

The 7 of Blades cracks me up every time I see it.  It embodies the typical meaning of theft, deception or betrayal but with a comic flair.  We have a man wearing a long trench coat with 7 blades inside of it and he holds up the one side as if to say “psssstt.  Are you looking for a blade?  I got what you looking for at a good price.”

 

 

The artist chose to have 2 moon cards in her deck, one of which is a mother who is eating her own child.  While some may find it creepy, I find it hilarious.  Not that I would eat my children but as the mother of 2 girls, their teenage years were very difficult so I can certainly find the humor in this image. 

 



 

The readings are accurate and to the point, kind of like that best friend who tells you like it is with that sassy sense of humor and her eyebrow arched in disbelief that you even had to ask the question in the first place. 

This deck is superbly charming, witty and just plain fun!  It will definitely be used on a regular basis in my house.  I’m simply in love with this deck. 

  

Blessings!!

 

If you wish to purchase this awesome deck you can do so from the artist, Jessica Rose Shanahan, at

http://barefootfool.com

 

or from Ohm Sweet Ohm

 

http://www.shopohm.com/main.sc

 

Ohm Sweet Ohm’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OhmSweetOhm

 

 

Are You Rockin' the Job??!!

 

8 of Pentacles from Deviant Moon Tarot by Patrick Valenza

 

Recently I heard someone state how they “lowered” themselves to take a retail job in order to make ends meet and they felt that it was wasting their time because they have a degree that they can’t use.  While I understand what this person was saying, it really chapped my butt.  Since when did taking a retail job mean that you were lowering your standards? 

 

This isn’t the first time that I heard this recently either.  My husband is a long haul truck driver, moving trucks – semi’s, box trucks, vans, whatever it is – from one state to another.   One of the drivers that used to work for the company (they refuse to use him because of this attitude) would turn down moving trucks that weren’t semi’s because he said it was a waste of his CDL license, even though the pay was the same.

 

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this kind of talk and to be honest, I don’t understand it.  Why are we too good for this job and have to “lower” ourselves in order to take something that we don’t want to do?  Do the people who think this way think less of the people who are doing those jobs that they feel are below them?

 

My parents taught me that you take whatever job that you need to in order to make ends meet and you should be proud that you are supporting your family no matter what you are doing.  Not only that, but you do the BEST job that you can do.  I have taught my children this same thing.  My oldest daughter holds a CNA license and she had a job as a CNA, however, this facility didn’t treat her very well and they wouldn’t give her more hours then 24 hours a week when they had promised more when she first started.  As a single mom who was living at home, she needed something that would give her more hours.  She had the opportunity to work at an establishment making donuts as their processor.  Not only did they give her enough hours, but she moved out and has her own place and she is one of the best processors that they have.  Sure she would like to go back to being a CNA, but right now she is happy where she is at and she is providing for her son; my grandson.  My youngest daughter works for a fast food restaurant and was cleaning up, following the cleaning guidelines, one of them cleaning the cabinet doors and the handles.  She was told that even though these are on the cleaning list that she is the ONLY one that does this.  I have to say, I’m extremely proud of my daughters, and that pride increases tremendously when I hear stories of people thinking that they are above doing certain jobs.

 

While I agree that you should always strive for the best and not settle for less than what you want, I don’t believe that it has to mean that you have to have the attitude that you are better than a certain job and you would rather do nothing than take a job that is “demeaning” to you.  What is wrong with taking whatever job that you need to take in order to pay your bills, or feed your children and continue to look for something else while you are there?  What is wrong with taking pride in your work, even though it’s not your ideal job, and doing your best while you are there?  In this job market, it is difficult to find a job anyway, so if you are lucky enough to be able to get one, take it and take pride in that job!  Rock that job, baby!    Be proud that you are doing what you need to do rather than being resentful because you don’t have the job that you want because believe me, that shows in the work that you do and people see it and hear it loud and clear. 

 

In the meantime, we should all be grateful for having any job that we have, take pride in what we do and do our best doing it and if you don’t want the job, that’s ok.  However, if you hate it so much that it affects your job performance you should probably find another one because I can guarantee that there are several people who would love to have it, no matter what it is.

 
Have a great week!!

Blessings!!

 

We Gon' Light It Up Like It's Dynamite!

Card from Victorian Romantic by Baba Studio

 

A couple of years ago we purchased a used iPod Classic on Craigs List for a very decent price.  There were roughly 1300 songs on it that ran the gambit from big band to hard core heavy metal.  Sadly at the time the iPod was not working correctly so we put it aside.  Recently one of my daughters gave me an iPod as a gift for Mother’s Day.  I dug out that old iPod classic and cleaned up the song and artist information so I could go through it and decide what I wanted to have on my mine and then the rest of the family could decide what they wanted to put on theirs. 

 

Now, I’ve always considered my musical tastes to be eclectic although pretty conservative.  That sounds like a contradiction.  I love classical, old school, country, classic rock, and pop….many different genres.  Really the only kind of music that I could never get into is rap, hip hop, hard core heavy metal and screamo.  There’s nothing wrong with them, it’s just not my cup of tea really.  The lyrics on some of them are really off putting for me, others just aren’t musical, in my opinion, and any music where the singer is literally screaming so loud that you can’t understand the lyrics…yeah, it hurts my ears.  This obviously isn’t the case for all and lord knows that there are a lot of country music haters out there as well so it’s all just a matter of personal taste.  Going through the iPod gave me the opportunity to sample many different genres that I normally wouldn’t even gave a second thought to and I really came out with a kick ass music list.

 

My daughter was going through my iPod to see what music I had on it and to be honest, there was some music on there that I have no idea why I like the sound of it but I do.  That’s how music works.  I liked it so I put it on there.  Anyway, she was very surprised by some of the music she found, including rap and hip hop, and made comments like “Who are you?  You are not my mother”.  My response was that I’m not the square that she thinks I am.  At the time I brushed it off but I was thinking about it the other day and it made me a little sad.  Now, I’ve never really been the type to put myself into fun mode a million percent.  I’ve always been the responsible person who has made sure that all of the I’s were dotted, t’s were crossed and rules were followed.  That doesn’t mean that I’ve never had fun because I have.  I’ve embarrassed my kids (on purpose) and done some crazy things in the name of fun but the truth is I haven’t done it enough.  What made me sad isn’t that my daughter didn’t think I was cool.  I’m a mom so I’m square and not fun.  This is normal to a certain extent.  However, the comment made me feel as though I don’t have enough fun around my family and truthfully, I don’t.  My family doesn’t see the fun side of me as often as they should, although I have been getting better at it. 

 

I need to find the balance between responsibility and fun.  I need to learn to relax and just be in the moment and enjoy it.  This is something that I have been working on for a long time and obviously by my daughters comment, I’m just not there yet.  Not to where I want to be anyway.  (I mean she will probably always think that I’m square to a point)  I need to allow my freak flag to fly on more occasions and that’s what I am going to try to continue to do. 

 

I will say that I have a very difficult time not throwing my hands in the air when Dynamite comes on by Taio Cruz.  Usually it is at home but today I vow that I will do it in public!  I invite you to do the same.  Life is too short to be all responsibility and little fun.  Responsibility is extremely important but without the fun, it just isn’t worth it.  What good is working all of the time to support your kids if you never spend time with them?  There is a time and place for responsibility and a time and place for fun and letting go. 

 

So go outside of your box and learn about things that you wouldn’t usually consider.  Get yourself out of that rut and have a good time!  You deserve it!  If I hadn’t have listened to music that I normally don’t listen to I wouldn’t have expanded my horizons and found some really great music!!

 

“I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying ayo
Gotta let go

I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying ayo
Baby, let's go

'Cause we gon' rock this club
We gon' go all night
We gon' light it up
Like it's dynamite”

 

Dynamite by Taio Cruz 

 

I’m seriously going to have this song in my head the rest of the day and I love it!

 

Have a fabulous week and remember to light it up likes its dynamite!!

 

Blessings!!



Finding Success

 

Card from Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert

 

 

Today I started out writing about a completely different subject for my weekly blog but I decided to change it.  Yesterday’s card of the day, Gaia The World, really got me thinking a lot more about it so I wanted to expand on it a bit more because I think the message is important.

 

I realize that the message of things falling into place with The World card doesn’t resonate with everyone but sometimes it’s not always readily visible.  Sometimes, we have to look at our lives a lot more closely and take stock of what we do have and appreciate that, rather than hoping and wishing that things were better.

 

The thing is, The World card can always be applied whether we want to believe it or not.  Is your family healthy?  Do you have a roof over your head?  Do you have enough food to eat?  There are plenty of people in this world who have none of these things and yet they can find happiness in their lives.  Just the simple fact that they woke up makes for a successful day.

 

It’s easy to get wrapped up in our life issues and feel the “whoa is me” syndrome.  Nothing is perfect and let’s be honest, it’s hard to feel successful when you have no idea how you are going to make your mortgage or how you are going to feed your kids, but things always have a tendency of working out.  So why let our worries take over our days?  Simple.  We are human, but that doesn’t mean that its healthy for us to do or that we can’t change it.  We hear all of the time that we should be grateful for what we do have in life and the more grateful we are the more great things that we attract.  We see the meme’s all the time and everyone clicks the “like” button or makes comments, but does everyone really thank the Universe, or God, or whomever on a daily basis?  Probably not.  We see the meme’s, we are grateful for the day and then life takes over and we forget to be grateful; until we get another reminder.

 

We should be grateful every day, no matter what is going on in our lives.  If we aren’t grateful, our negativity attracts more negativity and before we know it we end up in one great big crap storm.  There is something to celebrate every day of our lives.  Every single one.  Even in the middle of a crap storm.  Sometimes it takes a bit to find it but even if its just “I got out of bed”, celebrate it.  If you had a great cup of coffee or tea to start out your day and then rest of the day turned bad, hold onto the fact that you had a great cuppa.  Hold onto the good of the day rather than the bad.

 

I’m not saying anything that you haven’t heard before so just consider it a reminder and try to be grateful a little longer than the last time you were reminded.  You may find that you are a much happier person more often than not.  That’s what I’m trying to do. 

 

Have a blessed week!



Contract Against Hate

2 of Koros (Cups) from Buckland Romani Tarot

 

 

The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial has evoked many heated emotions and reactions, and once again there is a spotlight on racism.  I want to talk about that.  Racism. 

 

Many people believe that we have come a long way since slavery and while I do agree to some extent, to another extent I have to ask…have we really?  Let’s face it, racism is alive and well and many do nothing when they come into contact with it.

 

When something like this trial happens, I see a different side of people.  People that I thought were not bigoted use these issues an excuse to let their bigot flag fly.  I’m not talking about their opinions on the trial or the situations themselves.  There are non racist people who don’t believe that the actions are necessarily based on race.  What I am talking about is the blatant remarks that are made against a certain race, be it black, brown, yellow, orange or purple polka dotted.  It’s then that I have found out the “true colors” of certain people.  However, if you look closely at these same people in between the big media events, you may see that they were bigots all along, only masking it….trying to hide it.  They say they aren’t racist but their words and actions speak otherwise.  Some purposely hide it while others truly do not have any idea that sometimes what they say is racist.

 

Let me ask you this….have you heard people make a remark that seems racist but you aren’t sure because it was masked as a joke?  Guess what.  It’s a racist remark.  When you hear someone make a racist remark do you say anything to them or just let it go?  When you are in the privacy of your own home, around your children, do you make comments that you would never say in front of someone with different color skin?  If you wouldn’t say it in front of them, don’t you think that there may actually be something wrong with it???  If you claim to not be racist, but you still make these kinds of comments, or make these kinds of jokes, you really need to take a good look at yourself and change that behavior and way of thinking.  I’ve known people who grew up in racist households but weren’t racist but they also had to retrain their brains.  The jokes that they grew up hearing were second nature to them and growing up you don’t necessarily think that it’s a wrong joke or a wrong saying.  It’s just what you hear and it becomes imbedded in you.  You have to wake up.  As parents, we have to be models for your kids and racism is a learned behavior.  It is not something that we are born with.  We learn it.  And there are bigots in every race.

 

When will we as a society learn that underneath skin color, we have the same organs, the same skeleton, we bleed the same way and the same color?  I ask you, why does skin color have to dictate hate???  There is no reason why it should.  Period.  Whites are not better than anyone else.  Blacks are not better than anyone else.  Browns are not better `than anyone else.  We are all the same….human beings.  I don’t understand why that is such a hard concept for people to understand.  I have never understood it.  And it’s not just racism.  It’s any kind of bigotry and there is no reason for any of it.

 

Listen, bigotry and racism are a choice.  Hate is a choice.  They can be unlearned.  We can be inadvertently spreading hate with what we say and how we say it.  So today I ask you to make a contract with yourself and stand up to racism…to bigotry….to hate.  If you hear a racist or bigoted remark masked as a joke.  Say something.  It doesn’t have to be nasty or mean.   Just a simple “Do you realize that was racist?”  Make part of the contract to monitor your own thoughts and remarks and change them.  You could be inadvertently spreading hatred.  I am not asking anyone to put themselves in danger.  I don’t want that.  I do want more love to be spread instead of hate.  I want unity as a people.  I hope that one day I will see that. 

 

In the words of the vocal groups War, “Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?  Why can't we be friends?  Why can't we be friends?  The color of your skin don't matter to me, ow.  As long as we can live in harmony”

 

Are We Judging Too Much?

 

 

Card from Housewives Tarot by Paul Kepple & Jude Buffum

 

 

Judgment.  We all do it.  Whether we judge other people or ourselves, it is something that we all do at one time or another, for one reason or another.  Some judge more than others and some say they don’t judge, but their actions prove otherwise, and they are judged for judging even though they say that they don’t judge.  It’s a vicious circle. 

 

Let’s face it, we have to judge in our lives in order to protect ourselves.  What foods are best for us, what situations may or may not be the best for our well being, and what people may or may not fit best into our lives.  We have to do it; however, I believe that it is sometimes taken to an extreme to our own detriment. 

 

It is interesting to me that when someone decides to get rid of a pet for their own personal reasons that they are chastised for doing so but when someone wants to get rid of a person in their life that they receive all kinds of accolades and support for their decision.   

 

For example, I once witnessed a barrage of insults on someone who chose to get rid of a dog because they were extremely destructive and the person just couldn’t handle it anymore.  They had a couple of small kids and having a destructive puppy on top of it was just too much for them to bear.  The insults that ensued were unbelievable, stating that it was just the puppy’s nature and they needed to be more patient and wait for the puppy to grow out of the destructive stage.  Another example is coyote attacks in rural neighborhoods.  I have seen numerous people say the same kind of thing….we are on their land, we pushed them out by the increased human habitation and we need to learn how to live with them.  Take the proper precautions.  These same people who insult people for getting rid of an animal and preach that we need to live in harmony with animals and learn from them are the same people who throw away people because the friendship doesn’t suit their needs.

 

Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some people that we need to cut out of our lives.  We need to protect ourselves and make sure that only people that are for our highest good are included in our lives, but are we just quick to judge who is right and who is wrong for us?  I am of the belief that everyone is in our life for a reason.  There are lessons to be learned from every person that we come in contact with.  This does not mean that every experience with every person has to be a positive one.  Challenging people and challenging circumstances are to be learned from.  I have cut people out of my life for one reason or another so I am not claiming to be perfect by any means.  Some of those people will remain out of my loop but there are some that I am wondering if it was the correct decision.   

 

Sometimes we cut people out of our lives because we just don’t want to deal with them….they aren’t detrimental to our health, they aren’t “pretend-a-friends” who have ulterior motives…they are people who we just don’t want to deal with or we just don’t want to make time for.  Perhaps they are needy, negative or difficult to deal with.  Does that mean they aren’t worthy of any kind of friendship with anyone?  Does that mean that they don’t have anything to teach us or they can’t learn anything from us?  Right off the bat they can teach us acceptance and patience.  If you dig deeper and discover who they really are underneath the neediness, negativity or difficulty, they may have a lot more to offer if you take the time to get to know them….and in doing so perhaps the needy person won’t be as needy or the negative person won’t be as negative because they were given the time to be heard or the difficult person wont be as difficult because they have learned to let go a little bit because of their friendship with you.  Each one of us has something to offer.   We all need to live in harmony with each other…not just wildlife, but the wildlife gets more consideration than people do and that saddens me.  We should accept people who are different than us or have different beliefs than us.  That does not mean that we have to be friends with every person who resides on Earth because that just isn’t realistic.  We are different for a reason.  However, we CAN respect those differences and we quite possibly can gain a lot of insight by befriending those people whom we don’t really want to deal with on a regular basis.  If you find yourself attracting a certain type of person that you would rather repel, maybe you are meant to learn a lesson from that kind of person, and until you learn that lesson, you will more than likely continue to find yourself attracting that type of person.   

 

The bottom line is that we all deserve respect, time and consideration.  We all have our own challenges in life and every single one of us may not be the perfect type of match for another person but those differences can be learned from.  Don’t dismiss a person because they aren’t the type of person that you necessarily want in your circle.  You never know what they can offer you if you give them a chance, or, what you can teach them.  By not giving people a chance, you run the risk of not seeing another side of things, not seeing beauty through the eyes of someone else, not learning a new skill, not appreciating diversity and the beauty within it.  Open your heart and mind to new possibilities.  Definitely choose your relationships wisely, but I ask that you really think about the reason for releasing a relationship before you do so.  You could be giving yourself a great gift, or better yet, a gift to someone else……a fabulous new friend.

 

 

Just something to think about.

 

Have a beautiful week!

 

Blessings!!



 

The Fun and Agony of Empathy

 

 Card courtesy of Tarot Illuminati by Erik C. Dunne and Kim Huggens

 

Welcome to your next stop on the Tarot Blog Hop!  Your previous stop should have been John Marani's blog.  I hope that you are seated comfortably and are enjoying your journey so far. 
 

I have always felt an affinity to the High Priestess card because she represents receptiveness, intuition, and information coming to light   She is a perfect representation of my gift, empathy.  If you are not familiar with the term, an empath, very simply put, is someone who is highly sensitive to the feelings and vibrations of other beings.  An empath will take on the feelings of others that are around them but it isn’t always feelings for some people.  I have been an empath my entire life only I didn’t really know what was going on for a very long time.  In my family, I was just known as being over sensitive and I have struggled to find a way to shield myself so I can better discern my feelings from everyone else’s.  There are varying degrees and while some people have a handle on putting up a shield to keep other feelings at bay, others have a difficult time doing that.  Not only do I take on other peoples feelings, but I can take on other people’s ailments as well.  Let me explain….I can physically feel what someone else is physically feeling. 
 

Several years ago, I was having some very bad leg pains.  I went to the Dr. to get checked out and they found absolutely nothing wrong.  The pains weren’t consistent but they were very painful.  Now, at the time, my mom and I weren’t really talking but I felt that I needed to call her (not having to do with the leg pains) so I called my dad to see how she was doing.  As it turned out, she had clogged arteries in both of her legs and needed to have bypass surgery in them in order to fix the problem.  She would wake up in the middle night because the pains in her legs were so intense.  After I talked to her, I realized that it was her leg pains that I was feeling and that I was being told to get in touch with her. 
 

For a long time I just took the pains as they came, most of the time not knowing where they were coming from.  It took awhile before I figured out that I could tune into this gift so I started testing and practicing.  A couple of years ago, a few friends and I went to a cemetery to walk around and visit the deceased and to look at the head stones.  We came to one headstone and one of my friends stopped and asked us if we could feel anything from the person that was buried there and she didn’t let anyone see the front of it.  I felt a pain in my chest, felt as though I couldn’t breathe and when I closed my eyes I pictured a bubble.  As it turns out, we were at the grave of a man that had drowned when the Sleepy Hollow mine flooded in Central City, Colorado in 1895.  

 

Now the absolutely fun, and practical, part of this gift is that I knew when my kids were faking being sick in order to stay home from school.  They, of course, did not know this until very recently when I was telling someone about it and my youngest did a double take.  The look on her face was absolutely priceless.
 

Empathy helps me tune in as a tarot reader and a Reiki healer.  When I am with a tarot client, I can tell if they are testing me or if they aren’t being honest with me.  I also have a way to be able to get to what they really want to know about and I can access their feelings, knowing what they are really feeling rather than putting up a front, enabling me to react to a situation appropriately.  My empathy helps me to get more in touch with my Reiki clients, being able to scan them to see where they may be having health issues so I can spend more time on that part of their body if necessary. 
 

It can be a difficult gift to wrangle but it can be amusing and extremely interesting. 
 

A fun tarot spread to try, if you are not so empathic inclined and you like to cruise cemeteries (like I do), is to take your cards and use them to read one of the residents.  Here is simple spread that you can utilize on your next trip.  Once you have results, you can always take it a step or two further and do some research on the person that you read to try to verify your findings.

 

    4

    1                      2

    3

 

1. What did this person do for a living?

2. What was this person like?

3. How did this person die?

4. What legacy did this person leave after their death?

 

If you happen to try out this spread, please drop me a line and let me know how it went. 

I do hope that you are enjoying your journey through the Tarot Blog Hop.  Please be sure to continue on to Sharon Cumming's blog.

 

Happy Litha and happy hopping!!!

 

 

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