15 | July | 2019 | Twisting the Leaf

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long and was focused on working on the inner self. It discussed how society is so focused upon the external progress, that we often forget about working on our inner selves where our emotions, instincts, and sense of self lives.

To me, this related to the importance of shadow work, and the necessity of knowing yourself. Not just the parts of yourself you want to know or accept, or believe that others will accept… but knowing your whole self, including those dark and secret parts you don’t want to acknowledge or admit to.

Today’s draw is the Two of Swords, which is a representation of duality, division, and choices in the area of intellect, the mind, logic, communication, and instinct. It is a card that deals with making choices, and trusting your perceptions and instincts (as opposed to intuition) to choose the path that is right for you.

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Instinct and intuition are often confused with each other, perhaps because they both speak from a very similar place (your gut). Instinct indicates that your subconscious is gathering outside data and steering you in relation to that data and one’s genetic dispositions. Intuition is more esoteric. It is the “just knowing” that sparks regardless of external input, instead of because of it.

Or, at least, that was how it was explained to me.

Because most people feel both of these through their “gut” or solar plexus, they are easily confused and intermeshed together, and I am no different. In truth, I don’t care which is which when I feel it in the moment. I only care that I felt it and react accordingly. Later on, though, I (we?) often sit back and pick apart these reactions (if not doing it in the moment already), and even then it can be difficult to discern which was in action at the time.

Oops sorry…. wandered off topic.

The Two of Swords… Instinct and decision making. A choice.

This card represents when there is a choice present that needs to be made, but the scales are level as to which seems the right one to go with.

The Two of Sword’s appearance in today’s draw is a reminder that when such difficult choices arise, it is important to take in all of the pros and cons of each situation, but JUST as important to listen to your instincts. Bringing in as much information as possible will assist your inner voice of instinct in having all of the information it needs to steer you in the right direction.

The key? Don’t discount that voice when it speaks or disregard what it has to say… no matter how much you may want to at the time.

Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on intuition and the importance of listening to your inner voice, and how when you foster mindfulness through both meditation as well as your life in general, it assists in giving that inner voice a bit of a boost.

This meditation theme goes very well with today’s daily draw.

Today’s draw is the second card in the Major Arcana, the High Priestess. This card is a representation of intuition, the subconscious, spirituality, and the sacred feminine. It is a card in the Major Arcana, which deals with one’s spiritual journey and life paths, rather than any one aspect of the human experience. In this case, it deals with intuition and that inner voice that whispers from the subconscious.

Have you ever noticed that your gut reaction is always right? I’m not talking about the stuff you’re taught by others, or lessons you’ve learned along the way, or habits you happen to pick up… I’m talking about that gut reaction right at the beginning, before thought even factors in. That moment… that fraction of a second when your mind and reasoning is not engaged and it’s all about instinct and intuition.

It’s always right. We might end up disagreeing with it, or second-guessing. But, that combination of instinct and intuition is always right if you listen to it instead of overthinking it or reverting back to preconceive notion‘s and learned ideals.

This is the instance of that internal debate of “should I or shouldn’t I” when your first gut reaction is that you shouldn’t… but, you do it anyway because you want to. Then, later, you wonder why it turned out badly? Well, you knew in your gut at the start it was a bad idea and you chose to ignore your inner voice.

This is the situation where instinct and intuition tell you to stay away from someone… but you reason to yourself that you are being unfair, or that that feeling is baseless. And then, later on down the road, you learn a painful lesson by getting hurt by them. Yet if you’d listen to that first instinct and intuition, you’d have either known what was coming and been prepared, or avoided the pain all together.

These initial reactions from your inner voice are a combination of intuition and instinct, and they are often discounted and disregarded by most people. But, the fact is that they can be a useful tool, and the more that you listen to them the more they will flourish and grow.

The High Priestess card speaks of this. Of listening to those inner voices and allowing them to grow. To strengthen. To assist you and guide you along your life’s path. The more you listen and respect the messages that your instincts and intuition offer up, the more you’ll hear. As a result, over time, those messages will become clearer, and easier to recognize and understand.