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

Monday, June 27, 2016

Embracing Two Sides

From the Shining Tribe Tarot, the Lovers; from the Animal Tiles, the Hawk:
          Well now there's a position I've never tried - suspended in midair. Pollack has chosen to pair an angel with a human, suggesting we embrace both our human and spiritual sides. Mary Jaksch writes that there are three core experiences for being able to live from both parts:
1) The present moment is a doorway.
2) Ordinary notions of 'self' are recognized as limiting, separating 'us' from 'them.'
3)  Awareness of interconnection becomes natural with mindfulness.
So if I live this way, then basically that means I'm a partner with every living thing. I have a commitment to care for all creation, human and otherwise. But before I take off on a head trip of "all is light and love," Hawk flies in with the gift of discernment, the ability to see with clarity and objectivity. No rose-colored glasses are needed. Seeing from a larger perspective means I don't have to hate, but I might need to take a stand, set a protective boundary or try to change an unjust situation. For instance, I may loathe Trump's views, but I don't have to wish him harm. Instead, I just don't have to vote for him.
Bearing witness is not only about understanding what drove “them” to do such terrible things. The practice is also to look deeply and with precision at the innumerable ways that they are us and we are them...Cultures do not spring forth from nothing. They are created by people - we the people. As such, these acts of violence, allowed for by our laws and lionized by our culture, reflect something poisonous in each of us. ~  Joshin Brian Byrnes


6 comments:

  1. A popular saying is:"Every nation gets the government it deserves" and I hope sincerely it won't be Trump for you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. there are some times in our lives where we really are living the rose colored glasses life. All is well, all is good. Usually lasts for 2 or 3 days...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem seeing the good as long as we don't close our eyes to the not-so-good. Reality vs. rose colored glasses.

      Delete
  3. That is just wrong, angels and humans doing the deed, though I would defend the artist's right to express herself in her way as long as it brought harm to none. With wings of the hawk I can just leave and not watch what they are up to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Pollack just meant it to represent the two sides of our nature (physical and spiritual), but it definitely got my attention!

      Delete