Don't Forget to Breathe

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Three of Swords; from the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, Opportunity within Uncertainty:

One day you’ll round a corner, your path is shifted.

In a blink, something is missing. It’s stolen, misplaced, it’s gone...

Your path, as though channeled through a spectrum, is refracted, and has left you pointed in a new direction. —Kevin Kling

When we experience loss, we often react in either one of two ways: we try to eliminate everything that reminds us of that person or thing, or we try to hold on to everything that does remind us of them. Neither trying to cling to nor shove away a loss actually helps us heal (though I suppose it makes us feel like we're doing something). Grief is a process, a slow progression that allows us to gradually let go of what was and accept what is. Opportunity within Uncertainty suggests that even in our despair we can continue to embody compassion and kindness (for ourselves especially). We can look for beauty and embrace gratitude, even while we shed our tears. And as we do this, we pay attention to any small ray of light that may appear in our darkness; perhaps it can lead us back into the sunlight.

To survive we must return to our senses, touch, taste, smell, sight, sound.

We must let our spirit guide us, our spirit that lives in breath.

With each breath we inhale, we exhale.

—Kevin Kling 

Empowered with Intention

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Eight of Cups; from the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, Intentions:

Boss up and change your life.

~Lizzo

Is this not an empowering image? This lady is leaving what she's known behind without a backward glance. She's determined and invested in finding a life that liberates her and allows her to create the joy she's been lacking. She's not worried that it will be a hard road; even the unknown is better than the hell she's been living. The Intentions mandala looks like a compass of the four directions. It implies that we need more than goals (which come and go) - we need guide posts to keep us headed the right way even when our objectives change. Intentions can be based on core values, personal ethics or a chosen spiritual framework. As Joanna Macy explained, "Uncertainty, when accepted, sheds a bright light on the power of intention. That is what you can count on: not the outcome, but the motivation you bring, the vision you hold, the compass setting you choose to follow."

What We Leave Behind

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Ten of Pentacles; from the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, Surrender:

Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people.

—Peter Strople

A gnarled hand gently touches a younger one, a simple symbol of passing a legacy to the next generation. As I get older, I'm beginning to see that the wisdom we pass on to others is as great a resource as land, a business, or other material possessions. My peers and I (and those before us) have been so busy procuring that we've not given enough thought to caring for and sustaining the earthly foundation that supports us. We've lost sight of our interdependence with other beings. The Surrender card is a reminder that we can't tell the next generation how to handle their affairs. But we can admit our mistakes and plant some seeds of wisdom that perhaps might grow. As Chuck Palahniuk said, "The goal isn’t to live forever, but to leave behind something that will." Hopefully that will be something more beneficial and longer lasting than material goods. 

Messenger

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Seven of Cups; from the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, Speak from the Heart:

There's nothing wrong with giving your imagination some time to play, but it's another thing to completely ignore all the facts. An ungrounded life of fantasy is a life of stagnation - there's nothing available for traction to actually get us anywhere. In dreamland, there are no real life choices to be made and no proactive actions to be taken. We exist in a state of wishful hope, with plenty of expectations yet nothing concrete to build upon. Speak from the Heart suggests communicating with kindness, only motivated by a wish for the other's well-being. When someone is stuck in a destructive pattern, we can gently tell them what we see as a witness, not to judge only to caution. They may become angry and resentful no matter how tender our communication. Yet that seems a better choice than letting them crash and burn, then later asking, "Why didn't someone tell me?"

Think about the best way to communicate your message beforehand or get ready to do some damage control afterward. ―Frank Sonnenberg

Add Humility

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Ten of Swords; from the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, Leadership:

This pair of cards seems to ask who should lead - the one with wisdom/knowledge or the one with life experience? It's easy to make a snap judgment either way, but it's wiser to dig down a little deeper. Years ago, I had a doctor who adamantly told me there was nothing wrong with me when my body told me otherwise. My cousin, who has suffered with a disease for years, had an older doctor she loved with an excellent bedside manner. He retired and was replaced with a much younger doctor who completely changed her medications, explaining that those medications are no longer used for her disease. Since then, she's felt better than she has in years. Both those with knowledge and those with experience can get stuck, assuming what they know or what they've experienced makes them the better decision maker. But if they have a closed mind or closed ears, neither is the better choice.

There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage. —Fuchan Yuan

Digging In

From the Tarot of the Abyss, the Nine of Cups; from the Nature Mandela Meditation Cards, Generosity:

Whatever positive facts you find, bring a mindful awareness to them—open up to them and let them affect you. It’s like sitting down to a banquet: don’t just look at it—dig in!

~Rick Hanson

If I asked you to recall something that was upsetting or made you angry last week, it would probably take less than a minute. But what if I asked you to remember something wonderful that gave you joy? Thanks to our biology, we have a built-in negativity bias that makes our brains focus on what's bad. This innate tendency is more stressful than helpful now. As Rick Hanson put it, "Staying with a negative experience past the point that’s useful is like running laps in Hell: You dig the track a little deeper in your brain each time you go around it." But like this lady taking the time to smell the flowers in each of her cups, we can choose to make it a point to deeply absorb moments of joy and contentment, and when we're having a bad day, we can relive them (and retrain our brain). The Generosity card reminds me of a tonglen meditation where we send out thoughts to others who may be struggling, wishing that they might enjoy the happiness we're currently experiencing. Not only does this practice stave off self-centeredness, it also helps us be mindful and grateful of the full cups we currently savor.

Relationship with Power

This week I'll continue using the Tarot of the Abyss, created by Ana Tourian and published by U.S. Games. I've paired with it the Nature Mandala Meditation Cards, created and self-published by Michelle Wallace. Today's draws are Strength and Connect with the Light:

Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself. 

—Elie Weisel

Tourian's lion does not in any way resemble a domesticated feline; he looks like he could eat someone without blinking. We all have this power within that can be used without restraint, repressed or honored and engaged with creatively. What kind of relationship do we have with it? It isn't evil or something of which we need to be ashamed; it just happens to communicate through strong emotions when it delivers a message. Connect with the Light implies a call to clarity and a wide perspective. In the middle of an emotional tsunami, how do we find these things? Pema Chodron suggests feeling your feelings, first physically, then emotionally, but without the mental story-line (thoughts that escalate things). The point is not to transcend, but to connect. Place your hand over your heart as you do this, telling yourself, "It's okay. I'm here for you." Settle in and be fully present with tenderness and kindness rather than judgment. Calm will eventually come, and when the emotional waves subside, we'll have a much clearer view of the horizon.