The Courage to Change

The deck I'll be using this week is the Illuminated Tarot, a recolored version of the RWS created by Carol Herzer.  The card drawn this morning is the Eight of Cups:

A waning crescent moon lights the way as a man begins a journey away from what he's known.  The pattern in which the cups are stacked make it appear as if one is missing.  Indeed, this man is aware his life is unfulfilled in some emotional or spiritual way.  It may be due to a relationship, a job, a community, or just feeling stuck in a rut.  He's looking for the missing piece, for something that will fill his "hole in the soul," and give him a sense of purpose.  His departure makes me hope that he has also evaluated what is inside himself and not just his external circumstances.  I know too well that "wherever you go there you are;" if I want my life to change and become more rewarding, the first changes must be within myself.

     The oracle deck I'll be using this week is Dreaming in Color: The Luman Deck by Mindy Sommers.  These cards, created from a mixture of nature and fractals, use the power of color to convey feelings.  Today's card is "Fear:"

It is interesting how the spot of purple in this card mirrors the cloak of the man in the Eight of Cups above.  Change within or without can make me anxious, and that feeling can either paralyze me or make me run away from a situation I need to deal with.  To be productive, fear requires that I sit with it and look at it realistically.  Byron Katie's four questions can help me do this:
1) Is it true?
2) Can I absolutely know that it is true?
3) How do I react, what happens, when I believe that thought?
4) Who would I be without the thought?