I use tarot and oracle cards as tools for reflection and contemplation. Rather than divining the future, they are a way for me to look more deeply at the "now."
"The goal isn't to arrive, but to meander, to saunter, to make your life a holy wandering." ~ Rami Shapiro

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Wide Range of Possibilities

From the Cosmic Tarot, the Star; from the L'Oeil de Lotus, Expectation:
          I must say I was glad to see the optimism and hope reflected in the Star card appear, though my enthusiasm was dampened a bit by the Expectation card. The opening verse of the Dhammapada states: "Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think." (Another translation says: "All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind.") It is tempting to do as some New Age movements and translate this into a philosophy that says "If you think it, you can have it," as if whatever you want will be given to you if you frame it in a positive light. Yet the Buddha was actually saying that our cognitive patterns shape the kind of mental experience we have. If your mind's habits are like Eeyore's, then you'll have an Eeyore attitude in response to your world. Now there's nothing wrong with positive thinking - it just means you aren't expecting doom and gloom. And having hope that is not attached to a certain outcome lightens the spirit considerably. This kind of hope allows us to lift our eyes and hearts to the fact that the future is unknown, which means it has a wider range of possibilities than my ego can come up with.
The Buddha’s view on positive thinking was that if it violates reality, it’s worthless. ~ Bodhipaksa




6 comments:

  1. That is me in the Expectation card, hoping to catch a glimpse of my mermaid kin. I wished upon the Star and hope it is so.

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    1. Maybe the glimpse is in your mind's eye or heart, and not outside of yourself. :)

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  2. What can I say today but: "hee-haw"
    It seems I have some serious "mind dusting" to do. Luckily The Star is really encouraging

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    1. This Star is one of my absolute favorites! I'll be doing some mind dusting myself!

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  3. Love this particular Star card even though the deck and I have issues. "This kind of hope allows us to lift our eyes and hearts to the fact that the future is unknown, which means it has a wider range of possibilities than my ego can come up with." Beautiful!

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    1. Thank you my friend; I hope life has gotten less overwhelming for you.
      It is a beautiful card, and one of several that made me get this deck even with the "movie star" characters. :)

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