Daily Meditation

It’s Going to Be Okay

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Today’s meditation was twelve minutes long, and focused on the fact that sometimes meditation isn’t peaceful.   That is to say that sometimes, there is so much going on in our minds that it isn’t possible to sink into stillness.   It also discussed how this is okay.

This is a struggle that everyone deals with, but meditation isn’t about that silent calm.  It’s about seeking mindfulness.   If that means you don’t reach calm, but you are mindful in those moments of the present and what is going on with you.   Then you are still meditating.

I think that’s an important message.  A lot of people try meditation and feel that they are failing at it.  But the truth is, if you are trying?  You are succeeding.   It’s not about success, it’s about the journey.

Today’s draw is a double without a jumper, and may I just say…. I’m so happy to be home and able to use the Stolen Child tarot one last time for this purpose before the month shifts to October.  I really love this deck.

Ok… on to today’s draw.   The draw for today is the Nine of Zephyrs (Swords) and the King of Oak (Pentacles).

The Nine of Zephyrs is an “oh shit” card, and you can see this in the belly-to-the-ground pose of the hare in the card’s imagery.   There is a whole lot of uncertainty there, and a sense of a “the sky is falling” mentality.   In the traditional meaning for this card (the Nine of Swords) it is much the same.  It is a card of overwhelm and anxiety, depression and turmoil in the area of the mind, logic, intellect, and instinct.

The King of Oak’s energy speaks to me of self-possession and abundance.  The young king is surrounded by plentiful gifts, and the closing of his eyes in this card does not appear like ignorance so much as like a communion and gratitude.   Like with the previous card, my perceptions of this card’s artwork echo the traditional meaning of the card, which is a representation of a projective alpha energy in the area of resources, finances, manifestation, and the physical world.  This includes themes that involves wealth, abundance, and stability in the areas of business and finance.

Today’s cards are addressing my cyclical “catastrophe” type thinking concerning my business.  This time of year is very stressful for me, for although the dry period that comes each year has come to an end, the pick-up back to the norm takes a little time.

Sometimes it DOES feel like the sky is falling during this time before the holiday rush starts, and I worry that all the preparation will be for naught.   The King of Oak is there to tell me that I just need to center myself and keep preparing.  He speaks of the fact that I know full well what this cycle I’m in with my business is, and where it will go, and that I will become flush again soon enough as the recovery period flushes out into an abundance of business for the six weeks or so that are my yearly holiday rush.

Deck Used: Stolen Child Tarot

 

Oh… It’s You

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on vulnerability. Namely the fact that there is a certain amount of vulnerability involved in the exploration of trying new things and meeting new people.

I think that overall this is a good premise Letting yourself be open enough to seek out and explore new experiences is an essential part of life.

At the same time, what the meditation didn’t discuss was that when you open yourself up and give yourself some free reign to be vulnerable, it is very important to have clear and established boundaries in place to ensure you are being vulnerable in a safe way.

I think that this is a very important distinction to make, and one that was missing in today’s guided meditation.

Otherwise, I found the meditation to be relaxing and that my body really needed some extra stretching time this morning.

Today’s draw is the Knight of Cups. I have to admit that in general I don’t usually see this card as a positive one. In fact, in a deck like the Morgan Greer, the classic imagery lends itself to traditional reading of the card, which makes it Sven more difficult.

Usually when I see the Knight of Cups, I see emotional manipulation. I see the guy at the club that tells you what you want to hear to get what he wants, and justifies his behavior by arguing that the end result is mutually gratifying.

I used to use that argument too, because like this guy, I was a “mutually beneficial user” as well, I just didn’t use emotional manipulation to get there.

I know that is t the only interpretation of the Knight of Cups, but it is where I often go when traditional imagery is involved, simply because there’s not enough in the imagery to steer me in another direction.

So… the Knight of Cups… This card’s traditional meaning is that it is an active beta energy in the area if the emotions, relationships, creativity, and intuition. He is, in his more positive aspects, about creativity and imagination, as well as charm and romance.

The positive message for me in today’s card, I think, has more to do with his appearance than his meaning, though. He’s arrived today to encourage me to keep an open mind, and remember that sometimes things aren’t as they first appear.

My Morning Routine

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Being that I’m away from home for the week this week, I figured today would be a nice day for some nostalgia.   Well, nostalgia concerning my normal routine, that is.   So I thought you might like a peek at my regular morning routine.

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I usually work on the farm at least six days a week, and I wake up VERY early each morning to head to the farm and get there by 5am for my shift.  I very literally pick my ass out of bed, put on  my crappy tattered farm clothes, grab my keys, a handful of protein bars, and my phone, and head out.  I don’t bother with a shower or brushing my teeth, or even combing my hair.

My shifts on the farm are usually between 4 to 7 hours in length depending on what needs done that day and if the owner needs any extra help.

Once I get home, I immediately toss my clothes in the washer and hop in the shower.  I do all of my washing, flossing, tooth-brushing, plucking (because I do not grow enough hair on my face to bother shaving), hair combing, other intimate grooming, etc in the shower.   I get out and apply lotion, then apply emollient bar to the various scarring on my body to keep them supple so they don’t crack.  Deodorant, ear cleaning, all that good stuff comes next.

I then get dressed and spend about 30 – 60 minutes on the floor doing yoga.  Once this is done, I move to my altar and do my daily devotional.

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What is a Daily Devotional?

Every morning I stand before my altar.  I take a few minutes to center and ground myself, and then I light the candle on my altar.   I touch each of the corresponding spheres on my altar as I go through this invocation in my mind (obviously, I can’t speak these aloud).

Energies of the North, Earth, and Body… I welcome you
Energies of the East, Air, and the Mind… I welcome you
Energies of the South, Fire, and the Inner Spark… I welcome you
Energies of the West, Water, and the Emotions… I welcome you

I then touch the Gaia statue and continue…

Energies of creation, evolution, and balance… I welcome you

I touch my father’s kila and the mirror of my grandmother and continue…

Beloved ancestors that wish to bestow love and wisdom… I welcome you

I light incense.   Usually this is a combination of Nag Champa and Frankincense. I then stand before my altar and take a minute to center myself again so that I am not distracted when I decide to continue.  Gratitude comes next…

Thank you for this beautiful new day and all of the opportunities it presents to me to improve myself and the world around me.

Thank you for my safe and secure home, my beautiful and loving sister, my trusted friends, my lovely Luna, and my beloved partner.   Thank you as well for the love of my mother and loving care others around me.

Please guide my feet along today’s path so that I may…. (changes from day to day)

Examples:  Enjoy the day to the fullest, have safe travels on today’s journeys, have a productive day filled with accomplishments and small pleasures, etc.

I then pick up my daily draw deck for the month and I begin to shuffle.  As I shuffle, I am requesting…

I ask that you provide me with a positive message to carry with me throughout my day and foster perspective.

I repeat this as I go through riffle shuffling then switch to a seesaw overhand shuffle until a card falls out (or jumps out).   Sometimes more than one card comes out (as you’ve seen in my daily posts).   If it is more than two cards, I will put them back and ask for an answer that involves less cards.

Once I have my card of the day before me, I will take a moment to sink into the image and really -feel- the card, then return my attention to my altar to close things out with…

Please accept my gratitude as I strive to learn from your messages and follow your guidance.  Today, and Every Day.

I then blow out the candle to close things out, and snuff out the incense.

From there, I will go to the bed and lie down with my legs up the wall.  I will settle into a piriformis stretch position, and then meditate (usually to the guided meditations provided in the Calm app on my phone).

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Once my meditation is done, I will then head out of the bedroom and feed Miss Luna, get my tea made (complete with collagen peptides added), make a couple pieces of toast with peanut butter, and get my probiotic yogurt out.  With tea, toast, and yogurt in hand, I then sit down to take my morning medications and eat.

From there, my day diverges into whatever else I have to get done or do throughout the day, any other shifts I need to work, business tasks that need completed, etc.  But, my mornings up until that point?  They’re pretty much the same every day except Saturdays.

Creating Small Spaces

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds long, and focused on how we perceive time, and enjoying our time more.

The guided meditation discussed how it is the times in our life when we forget about time entirely that are our unforgettable moments, and how we need to seek out more of these moments to incorporate into our lives.

It was very early when I did my meditation this morning, and I did a repeat of it later in the day just before my nap. In both cases I found it to be a really nice, peaceful process today, even when E (the eight year old girl I told you about) decided to join me for the second one.

Today’s draw is the Hermit card, which is the ninth card in the Major Arcana, and deals with overall themes rather than specific aspects of the human experience.

The Hermit card is a representation of taking time to oneself and self reflection. For me, it is in many ways a self-care card, as the kind of “stepping away” and into self that this card represents is almost always a time of restorative healing for me.

This card was very apt for today, and I’ve already ran into a few situations where it’s advice has come in useful. These included staying quiet and restful in the car this morning on the way to the festival, taking E aside at the festival when she had a mini-emotion-explosion, stepping out to go for a walk in the rain when we made it back to the house, and taking a nap because 5am came god-fucking-awful early this morning.

In each of these instances there was a bit of healing involved, mostly for myself but in one instance also for E, who would have gotten in serious trouble if she’d been allowed to go full-on nuclear meltdown as they seemed to be egging her toward with everyone’s insistence on ignoring what was happening.

None of these retreats were particularly long or large, but each was a bite-sized piece of time and healing that has helped preserve a bit of balance.

Deck Used: Morgan Greer Tarot

Stability

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds long, and focused on self-soothing. That is to say, finding methods to self-soothe that work for you personally during times of stress and discomfort.

It covered a number of methods in mindfulness and meditation including breathing exercises, counting exercises, visualization, etc.

These are all methods that I’ve tried before, and most of them work for me on some level as long as I’m not overly worked up and toppling into the area of a snickers attack.

Today’s draw is the fourth card of the Major Arcana, the Emperor, which like all of the Major Arcana cards deals with “the big picture” rather than any one aspect of the human experience.

The Emperor card is a representation of authoritative energy, control, and structure. Its appearance today is a reiteration of what you have been saying over the past few days while I ride out the disorientation of my family’s new behavior.

That is to say, keep myself seated in a place of stability and strength. Enjoy the reprieve, but don’t allow it lull me into a place of vulnerability.

Perspectives

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds long, and focused on staying present and mindful in the moment as a way of developing better concentration and focus not jus in those moments but in life as a whole. Hi

Today’s draw is the twelfth card in the Major Arcana, which is the Hanged Man. This card, like all Major Arcana cards, is a “big picture” card rather than dealing with only one aspect of the human experience. The Hanged Man is my favorite card in the tarot, snd is a representation of taking s step back in order to gain a new perspective.

Today’s card is another push within the currently running theme concerning new perspectives where my family is concerned. I don’t see this as I would a stalker card, where I’m just not getting the message. Instead, the repeat themes using different cards feels more like reminders and encouragement.

I am doing my best to keep an open mind where they are concerned and not allow their past behaviors to influence my perceptions or expectations. This doesn’t mean I am leaving myself wide open to be hurt or abused, only that I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.