Swinging Through Time

From the New Era Elements Tarot, the Six of Water (Cups); from the Tao Oracle, Hexagram 66:

My mind swings wildly through time, touching on dozens of ideas a minute, unharnessed and undisciplined. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.

―Elizabeth Gilbert

Have you ever been lost in a memory, reminiscing about a time that brought joy, only to have a less than enjoyable thought seep in? Evolution has shaped our minds so that we remember the negative much easier than the positive. As Rick Hanson put it: "The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones." Hexagram 44 is traditionally called Unexpected Encounter, but Padma has titled it Attraction of Opposites. Both fit the way our good thoughts can be seduced by the bad ones, pulling our attention in their direction. Peace comes when we learn to retrain our brain (over and over) by changing the channel; instead, we make the effort to refocus on the kindhearted, the funny, the beautiful, the wondrous and the beloved.

Self Examination

From the Tarot by Caro, the Eight of Cups; from the Holitzka I Ching, Hexagram 44:

When meeting contention in another it would be wise to examine oneself.

―Confucius

The cups in this card seem to provide steps as this man leaves under the cover of darkness. Those 'steps' are his reasons for leaving a situation or relationship that is unfulfilling or unhealthy. Yet the shadow that follows him is disconcerting, and reminds me of something a psychiatrist said in a recent online conference: when we search from our wounds we generally find a slightly upgraded model of ourselves. Before he seeks comfort elsewhere, he would do well to take some time for honest self-reflection. Hexagram 44 is often called Temptation and suggests we are about to make a choice that could have volatile consequences. Instead of judging a situation subjectively, we need to look at it objectively. Antifreeze may taste sweet, but it's still a poison. Self-examination, especially a look at our motives and intentions, is the antidote.