Changing Myself

From the Spacious Tarot, Judgment; from the Phenomena Oracle, Geyser:

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. 

Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

― Rumi

Judgment is a spiritual rebirth; we have been given clarity, realizing our assumptions were false. The world suddenly looks and feels like a different place because our own attitude and beliefs have changed. As Henri Nouwen explained, "Living a spiritual life requires a change of heart, a conversion. Such a conversion may be marked by a sudden inner change, or it can take place through a long, quiet process of transformation. But it always involves an inner experience of oneness." Geyser indicates the sudden understanding that this is a way of life to be lived rather than simply studied. We put away our roles of critic and adversary and become the advocate and the friend.

A Run-Over Beer Can

This week I'll be using the Spacious Tarot, a self-published deck that was a collaboration between Annie Ruygt and Carrie Mallon. I'll also be using the Phenomena Oracle, a deck self-published by Jessica Bott. Today's draws are the Ten of Swords and Geyser:

We all have things we believe in, ideas that we expect (even demand) will manifest into something solid and sustainable. But life rarely follows our plans, and can in fact squash them as flat as a run-over beer can. Then we may feel like this felled tree, having all that gave us vitality and purpose cut away. We can become maudlin (stabbing our own self and creating more suffering), or we can let go and try to remain open as the sky above us. The Geyser - an intermittent column of steamy hot water - suggests that such an opening will allow us to be surprised by ideas that are new and different. And if we nurture them and refuse to put concrete around them, those seeds might grow into mighty oaks. 

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. ~George Bernard Shaw