Residential Status

This week I'll be using the self-published Wayfarer Tarot, created by Stacy Salpietro-Babb with Margaret Shipman. I'll also be drawing from A Curious Oracle, self-published and created by Holly DeFount. Today's draws are the King of Water (Cups) and Echo:

Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.

~Mohsin Hamid

This King listens deeply and knows how to be empathetic and compassionate. He doesn't sink beneath the waves of emotional drama - he knows that wouldn't be of benefit to anyone. (Misery might love company, but stagnate water never flows anywhere.) Having a nonjudgmental person to listen and talk with can allow us to reflect on our habitual patterns and mindsets that keep us stuck. I'm currently taking an online class with Pema Chodron on the Six Realms (psychological mind states where we get stuck in emotional reactivity and lose our sense of perspective). The internal discussions we have in our minds help each realm take shape and thrive. Chodron asked us to see if we have been a long time resident in any of them:

• God Realm: “That’s just how it is, and I’m right.” (Blissful self-absorption) Because we are privileged to have many comforts (physical and spiritual), we grow attached to our pleasure and expect it to continue. We ignore anything that might upset our mood.
• Jealous God Realm: “I’m the best.” (Competitive yardstick) Even though we have it good compared to many others, we are driven by ego and envy to strive for recognition and a rise in position. We crave feedback, always trying to see if we measure up and are better than others.
• Human Realm: “If only I had…” (Longing for certainty) Our experience is a balance of pain and pleasure, never enough to settle into complacency. Our thoughts are rambling, a constant background noise, as we try to find solutions to make what’s external match our preferences. 
• Animal Realm: “I’m just trying to get by.” (Sticking to the ‘tried and true’) There is a rigid tendency to avoid anything that threatens established patterns. Routine, strict structure and dullness seem safe. Deliberate and defensive, there is a great effort to avoid all pain and discomfort.
• Hungry Ghost Realm: “There’s never enough. I’m never enough.” (Poverty mentality) We have a voracious craving to fill the empty void we feel inside us, but contentment is always just out of reach (regardless of our material circumstances). Our desires become an addiction, and we think of ourselves as a victim. Our life is colored by neediness while we remain blind to the fact that our indulgences will not satisfy us.
• Hell Realm: “You’re against me. Everything’s against me.” (Choked by hatred) There is a hostile attitude toward all others and a disgust of ourselves, enacted with rage and violence or bitterness and passive-aggression. Pleasure doesn’t exist, only uncontrollable anger or depression. Kindness extended to us is met with cynicism.

I've been a part-time resident in many of these realms; awareness is the first step in getting out. As we realize the misery we experience in these realms, we might also begin to feel compassion for the suffering of others who are still stuck there.