Today’s meditation was a ten minute #DailyCalm session from the @Calm app.

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Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.

Today’s draw is the Eight of Wands, which is traditionally a representation of action, speed, alacrity, fast paced events or change, or having a target goal in your sights that you are charging towards.

The card has then been combined with a Breathing Techniques card from the Rethink 120 Learning Cards For Mindful Daily Life deck, which says, “Hold a feather close to your nose. Inhale slowly and deeply, trying to keep the feather floating in the air with your breath.”

Sometimes when changes are thrust upon us we can take them in stride. Sometimes, we lose our footing and need time to adjust. Other times we are able to spread our wings, catch the air currents, and keep up with cheerful alacrity.

There is no set and steadfast response, though. We all go through times when we’re prepared, and times when we’re so taken by surprise that we’re knocked on our ass. The key is to focus on adapting to what’s going on around you. This adaptation and flexibility will allow you to often dodge the painful parts of the process, and move with the flow instead of getting stuck in fighting against it.

The message in today’s Eight of Moths and Feather Breathing card is a reminder that adaptation is the key to riding out change with grace, no matter if that change is sudden, fast paced, a surprise, or tortuously slow.

DECKS USED:  FAERIE TAROT AND RETHINK 120 LEARNING CARDS FOR MINDFUL DAILY LIFE

@thewitchstherapist Understanding My Parts Spread

Card to represent a part of me to explore.

Le Choix de Perception

This card speaks of my negative inner narratives and the efforts I put towards balancing them out with a more positive outlook.

I was trained to see the negative. It was something ingrained into me from my earliest memories, and probably before them as well. The theory being that when you stay pessimistic you are not taken by surprise when things go awry, and when you are negative in your perceptions you see flaws more quickly and thus can fix them before anyone else notices.

This makes pessimistic thinking and negative perspectives a valuable tool, but when we prioritize these qualities, it’s also harmful to ourselves and our well-being. Thus the need for a counterbalance such as tools that help foster positivity, optimism, and hope to keep the negative from taking over and permeating everything.

What does this part struggle with the most?

L’étreinte de la Nuit

Authenticity. The you beneath all the damage and training.

It is hard to separate yourself from the demands and influences of the past and freely embrace the self beneath them you’ve been unable, thus far, to become acquainted with.

Stillness and silence occasionally give you peeks at the person that lies hidden behind the veil of influences from your past, but these glimpses are fleeting.

How does this part express its needs?

La Voix Unique

This part of yourself asks you to not focus so much on harmonizing with others, but instead pursue those things that are interesting to you.

Each person is unique. Each voice is unique. It’s in our diversity that we create the beauty of the world around us and how things come together to “just work” instead of being forced.

This authentic part of yourself seeks to communicate through these unique interests that spark your curiosity and enthusiasm. It’s when you march to the best of your own drummer that you most closely get in touch with that authentic part of yourself and hear them most clearly.

What does this part need from me?

La Forêt de Rêves

Let go of the demands and expectations of the past, and listen more closely for those moments of genuine interest and curiosity that whisper within you.

Your past and its training, thoughts, opinions, and expectations are loud. They shout, roar, and bluster. That inner place of authenticity that your past has not broken or buried is quiet, but still there. It needs you to be quiet as well, so that you can listen more closely.

Card to represent something this part needs to hear.

La Beauté de l’Ombre

“I hear you. I understand you. I support you.

You are not lost, and the abuses of the past are just that, in the past. Although the echoes still have a voice, each and every day I seek to bolster your voice as well, to lift you up and give you priority over that which is dead and gone.”

Other elements included in this reading:
Black Spruce Needles to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Dried Rosebuds for Potential and Beauty Waiting to Unfold
Dried Purple Heather Flowers for Independence and Luck
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Raw Clear Quartz for promoting a Sharper Mind
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: L’ORACLE DE L’ESSENCE SACRÉE

@note.project August Journal Prompts
Prompts for August 15th and 16th

A way I want to move my body that feels enjoyable

Four of Toadstools; Mouse and Oats

It is in the stillness and grounding of nature where you will find what you need. Sometimes it’s not about pushing harder, but instead in connecting deeper.

Spend some time among the trees and moss connecting with the roots beneath the earth. In doing so you will be stronger, steadier, and more grounded than ignoring your needs for more “productively active” pursuits.

Something my body has been needing more of lately

The Star; Rabbit and Dandelions

Stop avoiding the “work” involved and dive in to explore and create. Look at this time of productivity as an adventure instead of a chore. Seek ways to turn your sense of duty and responsibility into positivity, play, and eager anticipation.

Other elements included in this reading:
Staghorn Sumac for Connecting with Nature and the Wild Within
Foraged Parmeliaceae Lichen for a “Breath of Fresh Air”
Dried Cedar Bundle for Protection from Negative Influences
Conch Shell Knot for Concentration and Clarity
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Gray Agate for Instilling Gentleness, Calm, and Stability
Desert Rose for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: FAERIE TAROT AND THE FAMILIAR MAGIC POCKET ORACLE

I took some time out in the back of Ms B’s property taking photos of plants today.