Amateur Tarot

I'm afraid I have a positive talent for spiritual materialism. This is a condition described by Chogyam Trungpa where a person accumulates a lot of spiritual stuff without any of the underlying reality. Among the many books on my shelf I've had a set of Tarot cards for several years and never tried to use them until this morning. The reading was so interesting I thought it worth a post.

Tarot isn't something I could ever regard with mystical awe. First of all I'm a product of the technological age and beyond that I'm a skeptic at heart. But I've heard spiritual teachers talk about it as a sort of guided meditation. You see what you want to see, but inquiring into your own mind is what meditation is anyway. If the cards help me see more clearly that's fine with me. If not at least I can say I used them once.

So I opened up the "Tarot of Paris" and looked through its beautiful cards for awhile. The artist developed the set while living in Paris and told interesting stories of how the deck came to be. The back of the book had simple instructions including several typical card formations. Choosing the "Trinity Spread" formation I divided the deck into three piles and turned over the top card of each pile beginning with the central card.

The central card in this formation is supposed to represent the inquirer. That would be me, represented by the Four of Air. This is the card of "rest and recouperation", certainly appropriate since I've been ill several times lately and am concerned about my level of stress. The four swords hovering over the reclining figure are wrapped in smoke indicating that their edges were dulled by exhaustive manuevers. Emphasis is on healing the mind by identifying root causes of exhaustion and withdrawing physical, mental, emotional and spiritual participation from it. Wow, that's surprisingly topical.

The left card represents negative influences. In my reading it was the King of Fire, a card representing relentless professional challenge. On the negative side it can indicate that a driving desire for excellence might be producing exhaustion. Hmm, that's also amazingly topical.

The right card represents positive influences. Mine was the Nine of Water, a serene figure alone with herself but unburdened by emotional baggage. This is a card of freedom from the conditional terms of the emotions. It shows what is possible when there are no emotional ripples.

So what did I take away from all this? The recent changes in my life have left me exhausted, both from professional responsibilities and the emotional impact of major life changes. While professional challenges are good my work has become too important in my life and I feel overwhelmed by it. Focusing on emotional equanimity and removing root causes of stress will enhance my life.

Perhaps I should throw the cards again in a few days and see if they repeat their performance. This was incredibly correct advice.

A Moment in Time

Welcome to one of my favorite places. This log bridge spans a small section of Dungeness River in Buckhorn National Wilderness in Washington's Olympic Mountains. Years ago I travelled extensively in Europe and the Middle East and spent days viewing the world through expensive camera lenses. This photo was taken in an instant with a cheap digital camera and is one of the best frames I've ever shot.

What matters? The present moment matters.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I started this blog to document my winding journey through life. Its about making choices as to who I want to be on a daily basis and trying to live gracefully with the consequences. I can't say I've made the best choices in my life and probably will continue to have mixed results. But this is who I am.

Enjoy the journey.