Responsible Thinking

From the Deirdre of Sorrows Tarot, the Six of Swords; from the Victorian Flower Oracle, Lilac:

          A woman, twisting off her wedding band, is shuttled by boat to another shore. What's amazing about this particular Six of Swords is the swords have all been left behind. In cases of infidelity, the hurt seems to bring out obsessive behavior in the unsuspecting spouse. They will secretly follow the other, Google them or their new partner, and ask mutual friends for information about the situation. But that kind of thinking and behavior is like constantly sticking your hand into a pot of boiling water. The hand never gets a chance to heal. So I'm happy to see the beliefs and ideas that caused this woman pain aren't coming with her in the boat. Lilac symbolizes news or a message. People in turmoil tend to have tunnel vision and can't really pay attention to anything but the chaos within themselves. Now that the waters around this woman are becoming calmer, perhaps this woman can hear what she's been missing.

You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think. ― Marianne Williamson

Stiff Upper Lip

This week I'll be using the Fairytale Tarot, a deck and book set published by Magic Realist Press and created by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov. The oracle deck I'll be using this week is the Tree Affirmation Cards created and self-published by Victoria Sofia Lewis. Today's draws are the Ten of Swords and Lilac:

          The tale of "The Constant Tin Soldier" is about a toy soldier who starts off his life in bad straits (having one leg), then gets tossed outside (experiencing harrowing adventures), only to make it back home in time to be thrown in the stove fire (where he burns with his love, the paper ballerina). Throughout all his ordeals he keeps a stiff upper lip, remaining at attention and showing no emotion. Sure it may sound romantic and courageous, but that's the icing that hides the delusion and ignorance. Ideals and philosophies are great, until they turn you into a blockhead that common sense can't penetrate. Then you end up as someone who no longer knows how to have a discussion, because you are convinced you already have the truth. Lilac's keyword is 'faith' (you can smell it without seeing it). I've walked away from my childhood faith and found Buddhism, which doesn't ask that you believe something without testing it for yourself. The other day, watching the chaos in Charlottesville, VA, I lost my faith in America. However, seeing the counter-protesters come out in such great numbers in Boston, I feel like our country has a chance to survive Trump's rhetoric and presidency. In the meantime, I refuse to stand by with my mouth shut and be a tin patriot.

Patriotism is proud of a country’s virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country’s virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, “the greatest,” but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is.

~ Sydney J. Harris

Right View

This week I'll be using the Prisma Visions Tarot, created and self-published by James R. Eads; the companion booklet was written by Katherine Tombs. The oracle I'll be using alongside it is the Secret Language of Color Cards, created by Inna Segal and published by Beyond Worlds. Today's draws are the Hermit and "Lilac:"

           A figure stands alone on a bridge in a solitary place in the dead of night. Eads suggests that in this still and quiet place it is possible to "uncloud your vision." His words make me think of the first point of the Eightfold Way: Right View ("right" meaning harmonious or appropriate). It is a way to see life just as it is, without being caught up in the memories of the past or the fantasies of the future. Like a compass, it can help me orient myself. With Right View, I am awake in the present moment, realizing it is always fluid and changing. I am open and receptive without trying to hide my head in the sand or numb myself from my experience. It also means I am aware that my choices will bear fruit, wholesome or unwholesome. In the Hermit's place of solitude, I can ask myself these questions suggested by Gil Fronsdal: Do I feel any stress, discomfort, or suffering in how I am relating to what’s happening or not happening? What is my contribution to this suffering? What am I clinging to that is contributing to the suffering? 

          Lilac is associated with strengthening my faith. Since I don't believe in a deity that physically intervenes in the world, what am I left with? The training of my mind. I am convinced that while I cannot erase the pain that naturally comes with a physical life, I can ease my suffering (my response to that pain). I always have a choice in how I view what life doles out. As Pema Chodron states:

We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.

Faith is being open to all of it, with my eyes wide open.