Lately, I've been thinking about concepts a lot, particularly how tied we can be to them when they become our beliefs or opinions. But concepts are not reality. Unfortunately, we humans can only think and communicate in concepts. They are very useful to navigate through this life, which is a consensus reality vs. an absolute… Continue reading I Carry My Concepts as Long as I Am Able
In the book Zen Chants by Kazuaki Tanahashi, he shared Joan Halifax's version of the Four Great Vows (or Bodhisattva Vows). I've come across these before, having chanted them at a local sangha, but this particular version resonated with me more than most. Creations are numberless; I vow to free them.Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow… Continue reading Delusions and Life Purposes and Freedom
Tarot is one of my abiding loves for introspective guidance. Not in a fortune telling sense but as a way to tease things out of my subconscious or unconscious mind. Shortly before my state went into lockdown, I found The Wild Unknown Tarot at Half Price Books on their 50% one item day, so for… Continue reading Tarot Introspections: Mother of Pentacles
My husband and I have a tradition of touring most of the HPBs around our city when they do special sales. We hit four over this long weekend and found lots of goodies. Pictured is my haul.
Xenogogy is a guidebook for tourists or visitors. Since I am definitely in an exploring-the-mind place, I decided to talk about a guidebook to the psyche. After all, it can definitely feel like you are a tourist when you delve into your own, but that's what makes it fascinating. You probably aren't surprised that I'm… Continue reading X is for Xenagogy: A visitor’s guide to the psyche
Today is the last day of sharing a tarot card for the A to Z Challenge. Wheel of Fortune is card ten. In Buddhist thought, there is the concept of impermanence. This states that everything that exists is always changing, in every moment. Therefore, we must embrace the groundlessness of our existence and realize there… Continue reading W is for Wheel of Fortune – the #tarot card, not the TV show
Today, back to my tarot deck. I'm highlighting the Tower card, which is card 16 of the major arcana. The Tower indicates swift, sudden change. Traditionally, the card shows lightning striking a tower and people falling from the building. It is utter, irrevocable destruction. In other words, it indicates change from which there is no… Continue reading T is for Tower #tarot #AtoZchallenge
Lately, the concreteness of what can be known has been on my mind. It's something I've pondered on and off for many, many years. I will probably continue to contemplate the boundaries of knowledge for the rest of my life. Everyone (probably) knows what these questions are like. Why is there suffering and pain? How… Continue reading Q is for Questions that are Left Open-ended
Another tarot card. Today the Magician. Card 1. The Magician is the first step on the journey of enlightenment represented within the major arcana. It indicates a person who first sees their discrete self and begins to apply willpower for the ends of the self. You see it reflected in the toddler yelling “no!” in… Continue reading M is for Magician #Tarot #AtoZChallenge
Today I am going out of town for the weekend to visit with my mother, so I'm relying on some tarot essays for a number of my posts. Up for the letter L is Lovers. This is card six. The Lovers is a card about the relationship and union of opposites. In this card, we… Continue reading L is for Lovers #Tarot #AtoZChallenge
Suicidal Tulip 