Calming the Mind

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the Nine of Swords; from the Dreaming in Color Deck, Foreboding:

Besides being hereditary, some causes of sleepwalking are exhaustion and stress. Like nightmares, the mind tries to deal with anxiety in its own way. What else can it do if we live on a crumbling emotional edge, and our thoughts swirl around our panic rather than anything productive? Foreboding - fearful apprehension that something bad is going to happen - often instigates our sleepless, worry-filled nights. Gehlek Rinpoche offered this advice: "Understanding comes from patiently reasoning with yourself. You cannot force your mind or order it about." Gentle prodding to look at the facts of now rather than living in a projected future may help calm the mind. Once it is calm, we can consider if there is anything beneficial we can do rather than torment ourselves.

The Telling of Stories

From the Victorian Romantic Tarot, the King of Cups; from the Dreaming in Color Deck, 'Foreboding:'

          I imagine this King of Cups knows what Aesop knew - stories stick better than simply giving advice about ethics and morals. Wrap what you want to teach in tales of challenge and courage, loss and love, and forgetting and finding if you want the listener to remember. Yet there are some stories that we should avoid because they are more harmful than helpful. The Foreboding card seems to point to a dark storm that is coming. But I know if I am stressed and worn-out, I'm likely to be over-sensitive to any information I receive. What may seem like a strong intuition about an impending catastrophe is likely just my emotions on overdrive. Time to turn off the news channel and find some quiet stillness for relaxation and recuperation.

Trusting a Moment of Hope

  The "Star" was my daily draw from the Illuminated Tarot this morning:

A nude woman (no secrets, nothing to hide) pours water on the ground and in a pool of water.  Balance has returned.  The eight-pointed stars light up the night, offering guidance to any wanderer.  An ibis, associated with wisdom, sits in a tree in the background.  Whatever the previous struggles, hope has now come through the assistance of openness, balance, guidance and wisdom.  Looking back at the "wake-up call" of yesterday's card (Judgment), I have a new understanding, and this has brought optimism and direction to my life.  I was up before dawn this morning and paused to look at the stars; I'm almost sure I spotted the Big Dipper.  It reminded me to stay open and receptive, no matter what comes my way.

    From the Dreaming in Color oracle today comes the card "Foreboding:"

Foreboding, the keyword for this image, seems like an odd pairing for the Star above.  But for those of us who have lived chaotic or muddled lives in the past, it is often hard to accept times of joy at face value.  We constantly wait for "the other shoe to drop," never quite appreciating the good in our lives.  While paying attention to my intuition is a useful tool, not staying fully in the present moment is a black hole that will extract all the peace from it.  I don't have to expect my happiness to last forever, but I can take full pleasure in its gift while I've got it.  Pause, breathe, relax.