Tarot Journal #40: Princess of Wands/ Three of Feathers

Posted on July 18, 2022 by randomyriad

There is Nothing Either Good or Bad but Thinking Makes It So. 

“ I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space”

This weekend I have been in a frenzy of activity and dust devil of thought, wishing I was already moved out of this space of endings. I had some larger items carried away and began organizing and cleaning out closets, but it is still a month until I move. Waiting is sometimes the hardest activity when everything must play out in its own time. It can become a blank slate for fears to make shadow plays upon if I am not focused on keeping myself present and moving in each moment, what small wonders I might miss.

So I watched Benedict Cumberbatch play Hamlet thinking it would be a distraction since nothing tragic is occurring in my world just a little heeby jeebies. Turns out it was a great way to think of things in a new way. The language of the play is poetry and put my mind in that alternate state that poetry does. And, the problems are all so overwhelming that they make what I am experiencing seem pleasant in comparison. Being thrown about in this maelstrom of a play made me pay attention to my thinking in a more detached manner. Taking me out so I could look in. I am so calm now as if I had Shakespear for a therapist to help me wring the goblins from my mind with beautiful impassioned speeches about death and grief and how impatience can lead to a lot of problems. A Lot of Problems. Horatio is the only one who makes it out alive and he will be scarred for life. And, poor Fortinbrass is left to clean up the mess. I will be trying to focus on living my life well until I move and maybe not make any messes I have to clean up before I leave.

Posted in All part of the process, Being Human, change, Chaos and Order, file folders and nut shells, Fools Journey, House and home, imagination and reality, Loss and Leaving, mindworks, my life, my mystic toolbox, Other peoples words, paying attention, Playing on a Stage, poetry, scenes on screens, Self-Experiments, the end is the beginning, thinking in words, visions from the dark side, Works in Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thích Nhất Hạnh: The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism

Posted on July 17, 2022 by randomyriad

Vox Populi's avatarVox Populi

1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

2. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolutetruth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment from views in order to be open to receive others’ viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.

4. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence…

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Posted in mindworks, my museum of inspiration, Other peoples words, paying attention, philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tarot Journal #39: The Magician

Posted on July 16, 2022 by randomyriad

The Powers I Used Today

The Power of Listening and Paying Attention

I knew if I could get her out of the bed and get her to move around and wash her face, she could let go of a little bit of tortuous knot of paranoid anxiety her confused mind was tangled up in. At first, I tried to reason with her. She tightened up and said that she did not want to be patronized. Finally, I decided to listen to all of what she had to say without judging or trying to fix it. As she spoke she relaxed. I did not interrupt or remove my gaze from her face, just listened with all of my attention on her and what she was saying. Finally, she said, “Thank you for listening, I think I would like to go wash my face and brush my teeth.”

I was able to help her get up and get dressed and take care of a few little things with very few more words. She was still terrified that she was being held against her will in a strange place, but just someone listening to her feelings and thoughts took the edge off the blade of her delusions, and she was able to give herself some peace to move her body and care for herself and let me help her. When I was trying to reason with her I forced her to defend her confused thoughts and hold onto them tighter, but when I listened without judging she was able to let her thoughts move away from her a small distance from her leaving her space to breathe a little and accept what I was offering without surrendering her beliefs.

So often I forget the miraculous power of being present with people and just listening to whatever they have to say.

The Power of Walking in the Woods and Seeing and Framing Images

Posted in All part of the process, Art in Nature, Being Human, capturing light, conversations, developing relationships, Fools Journey, mindworks, My Art, my life, my mystic toolbox, paying attention, philosophy, Self-Experiments, summer, thinking in words, working world, Works in Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tarot Journal #38: Knight of Swords/The Star

Posted on July 14, 2022 by randomyriad

Developing a Perpetual Practice of Hope

Well you gotta have soap to wash your sins away

You gotta have hope it’s the price you gotta pay

You gotta give love or your love will walk away

And you gotta stay loose it’s the only way to stay

Harry Nilsson, from Down

As I continue to move through my present, pieces of the future are falling into place. Though I know I cannot count on a set outcome because each present moment is a new reality. I now have a place where I will be able to put my possessions in about a month as I exchange my present living space for another. Just this feeling of having a landing space, makes the leap feel more like a new start instead of catching myself from a fall. There are pros and cons to the new space, those that I know about now and those that will become known to me through experience, and there is a tremendous amount of work and planning still to do, but the target is in place so I can pull the bow, lock my arrow into place and have a something substantial to aim at. A little semblance of control, that may be illusory, provides hope and a feeling that I can move out of disequilibrium into balance.

I have taken the time to make myself stronger and put into place practices and systems to monitor my mental and physical state after immense destabilizing events. The space where I am now living gave me time to do this, now I am free to step out into a new space because of the work I have done to plant my roots in my own life and consciousness so I can carry it anywhere I go and feel centered, or if I don’t feel centered I have the capacity to work on it anywhere I am. It is far from a perfect system which is why signing a lease on a new apartment gives me a feeling of hope, as well as little feelings of dread that occur with any commitment. I have strategies to deal with those negative feelings so that I can keep my mind clear to take the steps that will keep my life steady so that I can move into whatever comes next with a calm hopefulness and not waste my energy floundering in the muck of despair and panic.

Posted in All part of the process, change, discovery and recovery, Fools Journey, House and home, mindworks, music, my life, my mystic toolbox, Other peoples words, paying attention, poetry, Self-Experiments, the end is the beginning, thinking in words, Works in Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tarot Journal #37: King of Wands (Innovation)/ Page of Wands

Posted on July 12, 2022 by randomyriad

Desire and Resolution

“The quenching of thirst is so exquisite a pleasure that it is a scandal that no amount of ingenuity can prolong it.”

Iris Murdoch from Under the Net

True Love is a flame that does not consume, but gathers hearts and minds together to burn brighter.

Posted in All part of the process, Being Human, bodyworks, change, developing relationships, Fools Journey, mindworks, music, my mystic toolbox, Other peoples words, paying attention, philosophy, poetry, Self-Experiments, Singing, Works in Progress | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment