A Practice and a Process

From the Cosmic Tarot, the Wheel of Change; from the L'Oeil de Lotus, Stabilization:

The Wheel of Change is always moving, adding and taking away things in our lives. There's no real time to settle in before we have new things to which we must manage or adapt. As Pema Chodron puts it, "To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest." The goal is not to 'transcend' these changes - this is our life, after all - but to learn ways to skillfully deal with them. The anchor on the Stabilization card suggests we find a way to steady ourselves in choppy waters so that the mind doesn't get swept away by imagined impending doom. For me personally, this is a practice rather than a one-time solution, as Sharon Salzberg explains:

The process is one of continually trying to greet our experience, whatever it is, with mindfulness, lovingkindness, and compassion; it helps us to realize that everything changes constantly and to be okay with that. The effort we make in meditation is a willingness to be open, to come close to what we have avoided, to be patient with ourselves and others, and to let go of our preconceptions, our projections, and our tendency not to live fully.

Changing Positions

From the Dark Goddess Tarot, the Wheel of Fortune; from the Tattwa Cards, "Earth: Seed of Fire:"

          "Fortune always has ups and downs, and Fate will have the last word," writes Lorenzi-Prince. The goddess Fortuna doesn't dole out good to a select few and bad to only those she's chosen. She's indiscriminately interested in change. But look at the poor folks hanging onto that wheel for dear life. Rarely is any change considered all good unless things are so bleak the only way left to go is up. In Buddhism, Mara represents a personification of mental conflicts. He has four "daughters" who represent the way we react to life, especially when it throws us for a loop. The first gives us a sense of entitlement, as we think we don't deserve any pain. We cover up any suffering with pleasures of all kinds and do our best to ignore the problem. The next daughter suggests we let our emotions lead us in reacting to the situation. We take things out on other people or ourselves, causing even more suffering. The third daughter is concerned with our self-image. When our identity takes a hit, our ego becomes angry and blames others; it quickly tries to build a new image for itself. The last daughter's name literally means death (yama), and she represents the delusion that we have power over loss, change and death - if we can just get things right. Of course none of the daughters offer a true solution, which is acceptance with an open heart and mind. The Fire of Earth tattwa does, however. It's keyword is "potential," and it suggests if we don't cling to a certain outcome, a wide range of possibilities can open up. We'll get a wider view of things from our new position on the wheel, which can enable us to become more compassionate.