Quiet Kisses
Can we
just stay home
and burrow
together
under cool covers
with the
ceiling fan on
and whisper
sweet nothings
to each other
in the
quiet space
we share
Month: July 2025
Awkward and Foolish
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JulyJoy25 Challenge
Celebration of Joy Prompt for July 19 : Openness
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Five of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of pessimism, regrets, doomsday thinking, disappointments, and occasionally, failure (or at the very least, the perception of failure).
There have been times in my life where I could see nothing but the negative. Even when not in the grip of a depressive episode, I just couldn’t (and very possibly wouldn’t) look beyond my negative perceptions of the world around me or of myself.
This perspective makes life lackluster, and creates a situation where addictive behavior can become a problem; primarily because we’re so starved for any little shred of “feel good” that even the slightest taste of dopamine is worth chasing after.
I’m in a healthier place now. It took a lot of effort to get here, not to mention a good deal of feeling uncomfortably awkward and foolish. It’s so easy to slip back into those old tendencies, too, and yet I continue to work towards something better.
Today’s message is a reminder to be open to the positive, even when it might feel unrealistic or stupid. Look for the positive in negative situations. Find the boon, and accept it alongside the crap. I’m not saying that it’ll make the bad stuff disappear, but if you only focus on the negative, then it’s no surprise that the negative is all you see. Instead, allow yourself to be open to more than that. It’ll take some work, but it’s worth it.
DECK USED: LULLABY TAROT
#DiscordTarotholicsJul2025 Challenge
Prompt for July 13 : Do Spread 2
Philosophical Question for July 23 : Do acts of kindness always have a motive?
Reading Summary: The first thing I note in these cards is the color correlation between the roses in the Heart card and the pink/red hues in the archway of the anchor card. Both surround a golden figure… the heart is golden, and so is the hair of the figure in the anchor card.
These correlations speak of warmth and love as a motivator. The hair of the woman in the anchor card also correlates with the hair of the woman in the Harp card and the large rose in the Wreath card. This connects the central figure to both melancholy and a sense of completeness.
Blue is also a central theme, as it is where the figure in the anchor card headed, and also in the background within the Harp card and in the middle ground of the Heart card. This connection and placement connects melancholy a bit deeper between these three, indicating that that is also a strong motivator.
Take Away: The answer presented in these cards is that even when there is no selfish motivation involved in acts of kindness, there is still a motive involved. These kindnesses are spurred on by a sense of love and kindness that the people being kind need to spread to others. Alternately a sense of sadness or pity at another’s situation can create a need to “solve” things for another in some cases. Thus, the motivation in these instances of kindness is either to share love, to help make things better, or a combination of both.
So, in this instance, the cards answer is no. There is no such thing as kindness without motive. It may be an altruistic motive spurred by love or pity, but there is always a motive involved.
Other elements included in this reading:
Dried Rhododendron Leaf for Fostering Confidence
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECKS USED: TEA LEAVES AND DREAMS ORACLE AND TWIST’S GRATITUDE CARDS
I left the room when politics came up today and turned on my audiobook so I couldn’t hear the discussion even from a distance.
Gideon’s Challenge – The Bait
The Bait
Why is it necessary
to lay the trap
with words spouted
in a tone
recognized
as contentious
and meant to cause
hackles to rise
as nonsense words
spill forth
like thorny vines
to bristle sharp
as front and center
the bait is lain out
for the taking
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Building On the Past
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JulyJoy25 Challenge
Celebration of Joy Prompt for July 18 : Confidence
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is Le Pape (the Hierophant card), which is traditionally a representation of traditions, spiritual guidance, long standing institutions, teachers and guides, and themes that deal with conformity and social norms.
Don’t take for granted the stuff that you know through past experience, no matter if these past experiences are yours or, as is more often the case, someone else’s.
It’s through listening and valuing our experiences and those of our elders and ancestors that we learn what doesn’t work, as well as what does, and even what might be improved on by building upon these past experiences.
Today’s message encourages us to look at those things that we are good at, and to examine their roots. Where did this knowledge come from? Who (or what) deserves our gratitude and thanks, when we consider how we developed this knowledge? Whose footsteps are we following in?
These things, experiences, and people need acknowledgment and respect for having paved the way forward for your own knowledge and skills. The card and prompt combo for today remind us to not discount them out of hand, but to instead include them into our personal narrative of confidence and success.
DECK USED: PIPSPEAK TAROT
@LightningWildflower‘s July Tarot Challenge
Revere Prompts for July 16 – 18
What in my life deserves special attention and reverence?
Wandering Stones – Remember that mistakes happen for a reason and the bad things in life are something that you learn from. They have value. Each stumble and tumble that you go through is a building block upon how strong you are and the knowledge you hold. They are not random, nor are they the world picking on you. Instead, they are lessons in the development of who you are meant to be and who you want to become.
How can I include more ritual or intention in my day?
Krampus atop Instant Noodle Lung – Bake into your plan the consequences of those times when you take a break, instead of just allowing those consequences to roll up on you and take you by surprise or be something unexpected that needs rectifying. Consider how your shrink encouraged you to specifically plan time for lazing and languishing rather than fitting it in where you can; you need to also specifically plan in time and leeway for shit to hit the fan when you choose to do something that you know is going have to repercussions.
What simple moments have hidden beauty?
Domestic Twigling atop Kitchen Brownie – Enjoy your food. Sometimes this can be difficult considering how much you eat and how much cooking you do… combined with the fact that you really don’t enjoy cooking all that much, even if it’s a good part of both your life and your spiritual practice. It’s no surprise that you sometimes become bored or burnt out in this area of your life. When things become boring? Start experimenting instead of slacking off. That’s where the fun lives.
Other elements included in this reading:
Pressed Pansy Flower for Hearing the Heart More Clearly
Black Spruce Tips to Boost Self-Confidence and Positive Thinking
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy
DECK USED: HOME AND GARDEN CREATURES DECK
I had a nice long soak in the tub today.
Gideon’s Challenge – Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation and Mindfulness
Recently, someone asked me “How often do you meditate?”, and I had a hard time answering this question. The thing is that I do multiple types of meditation every day; but I don’t count them.
I pause multiple times a day to just slow breathe for a few minutes, and focus on those breaths. These breathing exercises are a coping mechanism, and help with my nerves and moments of anxiety. It is meditation, but I don’t count it as such.
I do grounding meditations before client readings. These help to ground and center me for the reading and put my head and energy into the right space. But, I don’t count them as meditation, even though that’s what they are.
I pause for moments of gratitude. I paused for moments of enjoyment from my senses and/or from my synesthesia. I don’t count these as meditation either, although they are in fact a brief mindfulness meditation.
What I count as a meditation is usually a 10 minute or longer stretch of mindfulness meditation and breathing exercise that’s done strictly for me and only for me. This is why we often see my posts saying that my meditation is skipped, even on days when I’ve actually done multiple meditations during the day.
The other types of meditation, I don’t think really count. Not that they don’t do their job or aren’t a type of meditation. I just don’t consider them to be time that was aside for that purpose and just for me.
So with this in mind, I ask to the question “How often do you meditate?” Do I answer multiple times a day? Or do I answer few times a week? I’m still not sure.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Finding the Positive for July 15 – 17
July 15 – Mental Health Card of the Day
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JulyJoy25 Challenge
Celebration of Joy Prompt for July 15 : Relaxation
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Page of Swords , which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s thoughts, intellect, logic, ambitions, and communication. This often translates into themes that have to do with learning new ways to communicate with others, beginning new educational pursuits, exploring new ideas. and seeking to sate one’s curiosity.
I’m still learning. Rest and restoration is a relatively new thing to me. Relaxation is a somewhat foreign concept that I’m trying to familiarize myself with. I understand that such things are important and healthy. I understand, too, that the guilt I feel over trying to insert a bit more of these things into my life is a part of the learning process.
I was taught in my youth, and have accepted throughout my life, that everything I did was not enough and could be better if I just try harder and push myself for more. I still believe this is true… but, I also have come to a point in life where I now accept rest is a necessary thing. Needed. Essential.
Today’s message is an encouragement to consider what in life you are still learning. What concept do you know is essential to how life works, but you are struggling to grasp or insert into your life? By considering these things, we bring with them to the surface and give ourselves room to work them out a little at a time in our subconscious, instead of allowing them to stay buried and ignored.
So… The question is; where are you still learning?
DECK USED: STUNNING TAROT 5TH EDITION
July 16 – Mental Health Card of the Day
Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and was one of the #DailyCalm sessions in the @Calm app.
Challenging our automaticity (mindlessness, being on autopilot, habitual reactivity), and learning to notice when we are on autopilot and soften the reactivity ingrained in these moments.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JulyJoy25 Challenge
Celebration of Joy Prompt for July 16 : Appreciation
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Judgement card, which is traditionally a representation of judgements, one’s inner calling and chosen life path, and looking back on one’s life to consider how they feel about the path they’ve taken and who they have become.
In Chinese mythology, when Xing Tian’s head is severed, he lives on by changing his nipples into eyes and his navel into a mouth. In this way, he manages to move on from the judgments of others through growth and adaptation.
Humans are resilient. We learn and grow. We fail and bounce back. Through these lessons and growth, we have the capacity to become better people. Sometimes this means some pretty significant adaptations.
This is a quality that is unique to humanity. The message for today encourages us, in moving into your day today, to take time to appreciate just how valuable this quality is in your life; as well as where you are in your own development and where we want to go from here.
DECK USED: TRANQUIL NIGHT WISDOM TAROT
July 17 – Mental Health Card of the Day
Today’s meditation was skipped.
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The @GlitterbyInk #JulyJoy25 Challenge
Celebration of Joy Prompt for July 17 : Supportive
Daily Mental Health Prompt: Seek a positive message to carry with you throughout the day and offer perspective.
Today’s draw is the Death card, which is traditionally a representation of gradual organic changes, loss, slow moving transitions, and letting go.
She doesn’t need the same level of support as she once did.
A few years ago, an elderly friend shattered both her shoulder and her opposite wrist, and I became her primary caregiver. I experienced a sudden and surprise ice bath of a plunge into what elder care is all about.
For years after, I braced for impact every time the phone rang, and even sometimes when it didn’t. Even today, I’m still in a bit of recovery from that experience.
Fact of the matter is, though? She is well past that need for my care now. Not that she still doesn’t need support; especially emotionally, but also an errand running and certain house upkeep. But, the emergency is over. She is back to doing most of the things she wants to do (other than driving), and all of the things that she needs to do to take care of herself.
The card and prompt for today is a reminder that she is no longer the center of my world… and it’s time to let go of that mentality that she is or needs to be.
Where in your life are you putting someone or something at the center of your world to your own detriment? Today’s message suggests that perhaps it’s time to make a change in this; even if it’s just a change in personal perspective.
Twisting the Leaf 