Flow with Banks

From the Gill Tarot, the Prince (Knight) of Cups; from The Circle, Flow:

          This Knight of Cups reminds me of working with children with attention-deficit issues. He's made a cup of clay, but now is daydreaming and no longer aware the water is about to wreak havoc on his creation. Daydreaming isn't all bad (studies show our minds wander 47% of the time); it can help us find innovative solutions and inspire creative activity. But then there is maladaptive daydreaming, which according to researcher Eliezer Somer distracts a person from real life such as in work and relationships. And reentering reality after spending so much time in our imagination can instigate depressive episodes. Yet the Flow card suggests another alternative - not fighting our tendency to dream, but giving it some boundaries. Structured, focused daydreaming, which may also be called visualization, is an alternative. Since our brain doesn't know the difference between a real memory and an imagined one, we can gain self-confidence through such visualization exercises and better develop our focus. With this technique, that Knight might remember to take his cup to a kiln. 

Before the Harvest

From the Gill Tarot, the World; from The Circle, Abundance:

Don't mistake activity with achievement. 

― John Wooden

There are no shortcuts, and you can't wing your way through real hard work. 

―Rick Hoffman

I've learned over the years that when I go to that place of passion within me, there's no force in the universe that can interfere with my completing a project.

― Wayne Dyer

Before the reward, there must be labor. You plant before you harvest.

― Ralph Ransom

Just Swingin'

From the Gill Tarot, Strength; from The Circle, Happiness:

          According to Gill, the lion represents our animal nature - our primitive drives that often appear when we are angry or fearful. Such intense emotions can't be repressed or ignored without consequence (note the bones in the background of the card). But we can learn to focus on the physical sensations they cause in our body and stay out of the story lines in our head. By doing so, we give ourselves a mental pause, allowing logic to get back in the driver's seat. The Happiness card suggests a freedom that comes from living in the moment without being tied to the past or the future. Added to Strength, it brings to mind the words of Pema Chodron: "Obsessing about getting what you want and avoiding what you don't want does not result in happiness." In those moments, free from desire and clinging, we find peace and happiness.

When we believe that happiness should take a particular form, we fail to see the opportunities for joy that are right in front of us. —Thich Nhat Hanh

The Stories We Tell

From the Gill Tarot, the Ten of Swords; from The Circle, 'Strength:'

Reality is always kinder than the stories we tell about it.

—Byron Katie

          The stone number that contains the swords illustrates how our habitual patterns of thought can become so ingrained that we rigidly see them as truth rather than opinions or concepts. Life can feel very constricted and miserable when we get stuck in such a cycle; we feel hopeless and often take on the role of a victim. 12 Steppers have a saying: "My best thinking got me here (meaning hitting bottom)." But that doesn't mean we can't become open-minded and change our thinking so that we have more clarity and a wider perspective. The Strength card reminds me of something Lakota Elder Joseph Marshall III said in a recent interview: 

Each of us—whether we are young or old—have a certain amount of strength to begin with. We come with that; it's part of the package. When we are born, we have the ability to be strong. And in order to flip that switch or turn on that strength, we need not avoid bad things; we need to face up to them. Whether we get knocked down or not is not really the issue. We face it with whatever strength we have. 

Playing the victim or the martyr won't benefit us in the long run, but using our strength to face reality and learn from it can.

Counterweight

This week I'll be using the Gill Tarot, created by Elizabeth Gill and published by U.S. Games. The oracle deck I'll be using with it is The Circle, created by D.R. Taylor and published by Versation Publishing. Today's draws are the Emperor and Partnership:

          This Emperor is a vigilant fellow who must straddle the extremes of those he leads. The volcanoes represent the fiery faction that likes to take revenge and dominate others, while the cool waters symbolize the group that wants to do nothing more than kick back and take it easy. The Emperor's weight rests on a solid rock cube that implies what guides his actions are logic and the facts. Yet the Partnership card suggests that even he needs a balanced viewpoint (which is where the Empress comes in). Hard evidence still needs to be sifted through some compassion. Based on the conditions that have shaped us, we all tend to lean in one direction or the other. It's good to find someone who can offer a counterweight to our views.

The world is bad but not without hope. It is only hopeless when

you look at it from an ideal viewpoint. ~Friedrich Durrenmatt

Inner Workings

From the Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, the Eight of Water (Cups); from the Insectorum Divinorum, the Stag Beetle:

          Da Vinci's sketch shows a combustion engine, the beginning idea that would much later transform into the idea for motor-powered vehicles. The combination of fuel and oxygen that results in combustion is a nice analogy for relationships; sometimes the energy of combustion forms deep relationships and other times it simply burns them up. With the Eight of Cups, it is time to move on. The dimmi asks how things can be improved in order to move ahead, otherwise, the same mistakes will just get us to the same place. The Stag Beetle, named for its oversized pinchers that look like antlers, needed a wide head to offset them. Large muscles and a lever (like the handles of pliers) connected to the jaw allow them to become a forceful weapon when grappling with other beetles. To understand why this adaption is needed to create force, try pressing your palms together with your arms extended and then with your hands close to your chest. The adaption message combines with the dimmi to suggest that the changes needed must come from within rather than externally. Otherwise, we just keep building an engine that doesn't work well.

To Form a More Perfect Union

From the Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, the Two of Water (Cups); from the Insectorum Divinorum, the Lanternfly:

          In this sketch, Da Vinci attempts to show what happens during sex from an anatomical perspective. The dimmi asks what creates an environment for union and reciprocation. Love would be the simple answer, but what about between groups of people or nations? The biggest obstacle comes in getting both parties to drop their agenda and listen with an open mind. Progress and compromise can be made when there is discussion that leads to understanding rather than just debate. The Lanternfly is misnamed on two fronts: it does not glow in the dark as was previously believed, and it is not a fly but a planthopper. Its message is to be wary of misunderstandings caused by skewed information. Such is often the case when two opponents come together. Their knowledge of the other is frequently slanted because of confirmation bias — when evidence is cherry-picked instead of looked at as a whole so that it confirms one's expectations. Laying aside presumptions can be just as hard as dropping agendas, which can explain why so many compromises and partnerships fail.