self care

Back to Basics

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and ten seconds, and focused on the uselessness of blame and its origins in anger. It outlined a variety of options and ideas for how to work past that anger that resides at the seat of blame, and redirect ownership of situations to a place of problem resolution rather than stewing and pointing fingers.

Today’s draw is the 5th card in the Major Arcana, the Hierophant. As with all of the Major Arcana, this card deals with personal development and spiritual evolution, rather than any one aspect of the human experience.

The Hierophant is a representation of tradition, institutions, spiritual paths, and teacher/student relationships. The appearance of this card in today’s draw is an indication that it is a good time to consider the traditions, rituals, and practices of my spiritual path, and perhaps do a little research and reach out to a mentor.

I have been very closed off throughout the spring, and I spent a good portion of June focused inward, getting myself back “on track” after my depression came to an end. The Hierophant speaks of turning one’s focus outward in order to either teach or learn, therefore, the card is also a reminder to keep myself open to learning from and/or mentoring others.

Reflection and Rest

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on gentleness. Specifically, on the need to be kind and gentle with ourselves, to love ourselves and be aware of how we treat ourselves.

This messages is one I need reminding of on a regular basis, because I am my own worst critic and my harshest taskmaster.

Today’s draw is the twenty-first card in the Major Arcana, The World. This card, like all Major Mrcana cards, reflects not just upon one aspect of daily’s life, but upon the bigger picture of our journey through life as a whole.

Yesterday’s card was the Four of Cups, representing I need to take a break emotionally and creatively. Today’s appearance of The World card is a continuation on that theme.

The World card represents completion, restoration, and reflection. It is about coming to the end of a cycle, the end of a journey, or taking pause to reflect and redirect moving forward.

All morning this morning I have been debating on whether I need to complete the orders that have come in within the last 24 hours, or stick to my vacation schedule and hold off on them until I come back as I had initially planned.

This push for constantly doing more work is because I always feel like it’s never enough. The World card’s appearance is telling me that it is enough, and I need to take a break and reflect on my accomplishments.

I’m going to take this advice and leave the orders as I had initially planned. Self-care Saturdays are supposed to be about me and taking care of myself. Just because I’m going on “vacation” doesn’t mean that should change.

Slow Down

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes long, and focused on how all the little things in life are what make life worth living.  The intent in the guided meditation was to learn to better focus and be grateful for all of those little things, rather than taking them for granted.

Today’s draw is the Eight of Wands with a jumper card of the Three of Swords.

The Eight of wands is a representation of fast moving action, or a quick and energetic forward movement or action in the areas of one’s passions and enthusiasm, inspiration, and drive.

The Three of Swords was my jumper card.  It is a representation of heartbreak and emotional pain and all that it entails, including not just hurt and pain, but also sorrow and/or grief.

It took me most of the day to grasp the message in these cards.   I think the jumper card just took me by surprise and, on only about 3 hours of sleep, my brain just couldn’t function enough to grasp what they were saying.

As this draw is for a positive message to carry with me throughout my day and provide perspective, you can imagine that I spent a good amount of time dwelling on this.  Funny how, after taking a nap, it just comes clear… just like that.

These cards in conjunction with each other are telling me that sometimes when you leap ahead and go at something full boor, that  you end up in a mess of hurt as a result.   It is a reminder to slow down and take my time.  Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and sometimes that means that you take your time and pour over the little details rather than forging ahead all gung-ho.

Being Kind While On Memory Lane

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Today’s meditation was ten minutes and eight seconds, and focused on examining one’s habits, when you catch yourself in the middle of them, to see if they are really for you, and necessary, or if they are simply habits picked up over a lifetime.

The guided meditation explained that this is a part of mindfulness and getting to know yourself. That the more that you make decisions and choices based on what is authentically right for you, rather than what you’ve “picked up” along the way, The more mindful and “your self” you become.

Today’s draw is the Six of Cups, which is a card that deals with memories within the realm of the emotions and relationships, and provides guidance to view these emotions with kindness and understanding rather than judgement and condemnation.

The appearance of the Six of Cups in today’s draw is just that… a reminder that when I reflect on my memories, I am kind to myself rather than beating myself up with should haves and harsh judgements.

As you know, I can often do that.  I need to remember that while mistakes of the past can be learning tools for the future, that doesn’t mean you have to relive the emotional trauma again and again each time you touch upon those memories.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

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Today’s meditation was fifteen minutes and forty eight seconds, and focused on bringing mindfulness into daily life instead of just during meditation.

It discussed how easy it is to get distracted and overwhelmed during the day, and how taking a moment now and then to take a breath and pay attention to that moment and all that entails in the physical world can help in getting out of one’s mind and the constant wild turbulence that is often going on up there.

Today’s draw is the Two of Pentacles, which is a representation of duality, division, and openings in the areas of resources, money, and the physical world.

In the standard tarot, the Two of Pentacles has an image of someone in the process of juggling and looking slightly overwhelmed with an infinity wrapping around the juggled items. In the Tarot of the Hidden Realm, on the other hand, you can see that there is a much softer image portrayed, with a Fae watching over the growth of a plant.

I like this softer image. I like that it shows both the duality of the nurture and growth dynamic, but also how it shows that as the plant grows above the earth, so too do the roots dig beneath. It is a symbolic relationship, each needing the other to keep the plant healthy and happy.

In this draw, the Two of Pentacles is telling me that although I have a lot going on in my life, it’s also important to balance my self care into the equation.

This is something that’s not always easy for me to do because I get overwhelmed with work responsibilities, the running of my business, and all that that entails. I get too focused on pushing forward, and forget to pay attention to my own needs.

I need to remember that living a balanced and healthy life is not always about where I’m going and where I want to be, but also about where I am now… and how I’m doing now.