tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post2593582017876282706..comments2024-03-26T08:01:01.445-04:00Comments on 78 Notes to Self: A Tarot Journal: Chaos Happens, Deal With ItGinny Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759784851970527096noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-53996567078104948012012-03-06T01:06:47.870-05:002012-03-06T01:06:47.870-05:00There again Ginny you come up with a point- After ...There again Ginny you come up with a point- After reading The Secret This question ( about the Bad things still happen)popped in the corner of my mind- I just overlooked that- I kept saying oh !LoA was too good for that- But one has to admit bad events do happen come what may-it hits you out of the blue from nowhere- Just like any feeling or emotion sometimes comes in from nowhere for no reason and it comes - it just comes and that's it-<br />A cousins child was diagnosed with blood cancer at the tender age of one.Definetely an event which no one had any control over-As always in such a situation The people and relatives turned judgemental- the mother was arrogant and it is a punishment...... and all that stuff - as it always happens accusations go on and on-people are so insensitive at times- When I thought about this- with LoA or no LoA why shud this happen to a child? Let us the past life theory in hinduism-As it is my reiki guru had told me that cancer is a karma related disease.Could it be that it was some karma in the past life carried over to the new life? The justice card speaks about karma- or rather can one attribite it just to past life karma or just the kind of pesticide filled, and biomedical kind of food we have at this age?Even if the new age food is the culpirit then all who eat it should have it. <br />I think we must accept that there are many things in the universe which we do not comprehend-solobonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-51707278522805259742012-03-04T21:31:07.306-05:002012-03-04T21:31:07.306-05:00I always love when you join the discussion, Katrin...I always love when you join the discussion, Katrina. :) The control issue is definitely huge. The LoA mindset seems to promote a purely internal locus of control and I just can't go there any more than I could accept a purely external locus. I know and accept there are forces and happenings outside my control, therefore this: “In those cases where a change in circumstances is not an option, a change of attitude can be greatly supported by Tarot wisdom" is so spot on. <br /><br />Tarot cards, like life experiences, aren't inherently good or bad, but we deem them so based on our emotional response to them. If we can observe our own responses and shift them as we are able, the card (and the experience) changes its "good" or "bad" status. Voila! ;) It's the same in any life situation, though some can truly be tougher than others to make that shift with. And the shift doesn't have to be a "mood change" at all, but a perspective change. Grief, for example, though painful like no other emotion, is a journey of its own and full of richness. One does not, nor should not, paste a smiley sticker on everything. Authentic realization that treasure is to be found in the depths is more than enough.Ginny Claytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03759784851970527096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-73107690923465319102012-03-04T21:21:16.287-05:002012-03-04T21:21:16.287-05:00Dear Ginny,
As is often the case, I resonate with...Dear Ginny,<br /><br />As is often the case, I resonate with what you have shared in your research and writing. You have brilliantly explored the relationship between order and chaos, and accurately described the order behind what appears to be chaos, while connecting these issues back to what we love, Tarot and life.<br /><br />One of the questions in the background is the notion of “control.” <i>Who</i> controls <i>what</i>? Is there control, or are there multiple points of contact beyond control? My Taoist influenced perspective on life reminds me that control is an illusion, while flow is an art. Thus, my approach to Tarot is to align with flow, not to look for the source of control or to seize an effort to manipulate life circumstances.<br /><br />Just yesterday I was responding to a series of research questions on the topic of “Tarot and Health” from a fellow Tarot scholar in which the subject of Tarot was breached as a tool for trying to gain control in our lives. I shared these thoughts of mine. “In those cases where a change in circumstances is not an option, a change of attitude can be greatly supported by Tarot wisdom. “ and “To relinquish control <i>over</i> and learn to navigate more authentically <i>with</i> the currents of life is my goal when working with all clients.”<br /><br />A second notion I find most challenging is the idea that Tarot cards, or life experiences, are inherently “good” or “bad.” To this I return to my Taoist leanings and express that these are polarized concepts and unique to one’s point of view. What is good for one can be bad for another. What is more interesting to me is why this thing seems so good to you? What need does it fulfill? This is much closer to your opening image….What? Why? How?...yet more personal.<br /><br />Again, I appreciate the deep thought and consideration you have given this important topic and look forward to more posts from you.<br /><br />In Spirit,<br />KatrinaKatrina Wynnehttp://tarotcounseling.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-47355286220823179572012-03-04T13:31:40.774-05:002012-03-04T13:31:40.774-05:00Katherine, I have always had trouble with theories...Katherine, I have always had trouble with theories place all the responsibility for either good or bad on one person's shoulders. The "self-made man" is not an island. He or she had lots of help along the way. Although we all love to hear the rags to riches stories, and they do exist, more often one is propped up or held back depending on the environment one is born into. If one is born into a relatively privileged lifestyle, one's chances of material success are exponentially greater, even if you're a negative douchebag. LoA doesn't factor this in, and I understand why it doesn't. We CAN rise above our circumstances and should be encouraged to, but many sensitive souls will turn their focus inward, trying to search out some possible cause in their subconscious for the problems they experience, and feel like failures when they don't produce the results they think they should. There are many LoA advocates and teachers that promote MANY very good ideas, so I am not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But I also cannot disregard chaos when our lives are so interconnected that other entities have such a profound affect on what happens in our lives.<br /><br />Satu, you make an excellent point, too, with the example of your friend. Such was the case with my son as well. His life wasn't any worse than others. In fact, in many ways it was better and I would point this out to him (to no avail). His focus needed shifting, but no one could do it for him. He and I both agree that, at minimum, LoA can improve one's life simply by helping one feel better without anything around you changing. <br /><br />Pietra, isn't it also true that, in tarot reading, we focus more on the "negative" cards? The Sun shows up in a reading and we're like, "That's nice," and move on. But when the Tower appears we're all, OMG! Oh NO! And fret and worry and try to figure out what it is pointing to. You also mentioned something really core to life and that's balance. Dualities make up the cloth of life, as I mentioned in another recent post. We can't have light without dark, yin without yang, so it seems unreasonable for us to essentially eliminate or ignore entire threads from that cloth (as if we could). I think LoA has good things to say about dealing with life, but I wish it didn't go so far as saying one is entirely responsible for that heart attack, that accident, that abuse. There's where most of us draw the line. <br /><br />Some who believe in reincarnation also propose that our conscious souls choose certain life paths in order to learn or experience particular lessons. Though I had an experience with my son when he was three years-old that caused me to believe that we may have a hand in choosing our parents, I have a hard time believing this is 100% true all of the time given the horrible things we know can happen to some children at their parents hands. So it's not just LoA that dumps this weight on people, but many systems of belief. Now, here's my Libra showing -- On the one hand, it's good to help people see that they are responsible for much of the misery they have in their lives so they can proactively work to change it. But they will never persuade me that my friend's baby that died of a hereditary disorder CHOSE to do so, or that her parents somehow brought that on their daughter by their negative thinking. It's cruel to even suggest it. Much better to focus on how to more positively respond to such tragedies than blame one for bringing them on.<br /><br />Which opens a whole other can of worms, but I will stop here.Ginny Claytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03759784851970527096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-9072848348761305042012-03-04T08:32:07.503-05:002012-03-04T08:32:07.503-05:00I do believe in the blessings of life and sometime...I do believe in the blessings of life and sometimes, I can see then as, in tarot reading, for example, we get many cards confirming these blessings: they are not only in your head! Yey! 3 of cups! <br />And though I don't buy this LoA thing, tend to think that as much as we are satisfied to what and who we see in the mirror, life goes on a fair path - ah. libra!<br />Also there is an important thing that you mentioned: no, we are not the only gear in the engine. Sometimes, people just change and we... Adapt.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10634128553847103919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-36036093493740276472012-03-04T05:27:17.288-05:002012-03-04T05:27:17.288-05:00Very well put, Ginny. I too have my problems with ...Very well put, Ginny. I too have my problems with the LoA. It's all just too simple and I think life doesn't work that way. The chaos factor is a seriously good point.<br /><br />I also see the danger of victim blaming. If you got abused as a child it's all your own fault because you chose that life??! Scuse me...but WTF?! That just makes me mad. I am a strong believer in shit happening and it not happening for any reason whatsoever. Of course you can influence how your life goes by how you deal with things. But I think some things happening to us are just random.<br /><br />I still believe that positive thinking has a lot of power and a lot probably depends on your perception of things. I have a friend who is a total pessimist, too. No matter what happens in her life, the sentence most frequently uttered by her is "My life is hell!". For a long time I thought she was actually particularly unlucky and bad things happened to her a lot more frequently than to other people. But after six or so years I have come to the conclusion that the same amount of shit happens in other people's lives, they just don't make as much of a fuss about it and don't take it to mean the Universe is against them. ;) <br /><br />Anyway, thanks for this. It's something I've been thinking about a lot because this LoA stuff often made me so angry (because I think it is too simplistic). You put a finger on it and it's not the LoA as such but the chaos or randomness factor it leaves out.Satuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01006690023752202536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-41625154405489537952012-03-04T04:01:25.410-05:002012-03-04T04:01:25.410-05:00It's nice to see the original proponents of th...It's nice to see the original proponents of the "Law of Attraction" are retweaking it, but it still makes me really and deeply uncomfortable, and it always will.<br /><br />"Oh, your mother died of cancer? Well, she must not have wanted to get better *hard* enough."<br /><br /><br />It also opens the door for making victim-blaming paradigms more legitimate than they should be. Plus, I think there's way more confirmation bias at work there than anyone is going to admit to (or even be aware of).Katherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04687248923547966231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30754098.post-10956430441101770782012-03-03T16:08:26.169-05:002012-03-03T16:08:26.169-05:00Yep, you nailed it.Yep, you nailed it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com