A few major shifts are happening for me this week as I pulled three cards from my new Philly-centric Tarot deck prompting a few important ideas into my mind.
I pull three cards every so often to get re-centered and see what comes to my mind. The first card represents what's leaving, the second represents what's here, and the third represents what's coming. These are always potentials, not guarantees and sometimes they could be warnings of what might happen if I don't focus on a particular energy. I usually get my reading from Biddy Tarot.
3 of Wands - Progress, expansion, foresight, overseas opportunities
I've been spending the last few weeks recalibrating my vision for myself and my career trajectory. Expansion has been a big theme as I've let myself get stuck in my ways and need to learn new skills to find a new path forward.
The Magician - Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action
This card reminded me that I have everything I could ever need. I have the ability to learn, I have life experience, I have a catalog of work to offer, I can produce new ideas, and now I'm feeling inspired to write. So, now it's just piecing it all together.
Judgment (Reversed) - Self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call
I can very easily see myself ignoring my inner wisdom and continuing to do what I always do which is dissociate, isolate, keep my mind occupied with work or YouTube, and avoid stillness, presence, boredom, and creative potential. I see this as a potent warning to be gentle with myself and put my stillness practices into action. It's game time.
Some key themes I'm taking away...
Thinking bigger: I've kept myself small by not allowing myself to learn new skills. I'm practicing some humility here in allowing myself to learn from those who have done well on Substack, taking feedback from friends and experts, and taking ideas for how to improve my writing.
Attracting, not seeking: Seeking is that hot-button word that is used in new age circles and spiritual growth pursuits but I find that all of that work is to be a fuller more whole version of ourselves and in that effort, we attract the right energy. I caught myself doing it in this Substack by "efforting" too hard by trying to tell you how to grow and fulfill daily journal prompts. But the goal here is to share my practices, to demonstrate, share, and provide wisdom by proxy of my mistakes or learnings. It's ultimately our journey individually to grow, so showing mine is the only way to show its uniqueness and therefore create an ability for you to explore your uniqueness.
Focusing on Substack: Other social platforms don't have much to offer me anymore. I can follow old friends on Facebook, current local friends on Instagram, and wrestling news or philosophy on X but none are ultimately filling up the cup. They each increasingly feel like temporary brain fodder for dissociation. So, focusing on Substack feels like going where the writers are, learning from them, and curating what I'm interested in whilst also expanding my palette for knowledge and wisdom. Grateful for the opportunity to expand my ability and network through this platform.
I have everything I need: I've had a 20-year design career, I've been an artist for decades, I've been pursuing personal growth for decades, I have a podcast with 500+ episodes, and I have a renewed motivation to write and share. I have support from family and friends, local opportunities to be creative, and interview creatives through Behind the Studio Door. I've got everything I need to make magic externally as well as so much within my experience to let my mind, in stillness, guide the way.
Practicing Stillness: Speaking of stillness I've been exploring the Seven Stages of Spiritual Alchemy, which mirrors scientific alchemy. Perhaps I'll do a post one day laying those out but a simple Google search will get you everything you need. I find myself at the end of the Fermentation stage, which is testing the new Persona out in the world and moving into the Distillation stage, which is about reflection, meditation, and stillness to weed out any final major egoic underminings. And I'll admit, I've done so much work to remove major gunk from my inner working that I'm so ready to just get the rest out and move on.
My overall mood is excitement and relief. New possibilities are here and it's a matter of me getting to work. Writing is awakening as a compulsion that I'm putting into action.
Thanks for being here to witness the journey. If you think anyone else would appreciate this work then please share with them! I haven’t figured out which posts should be paid vs. free so until then all posts are free! But you can become a paid subscriber to support my work.
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