What a week

Well, now the "Thunderbolt" card I drew for April is making a lot of sense (see the post dated April 6)...

If you or loved ones have been affected directly in any way by the dramatic events of this past week, my heart goes out to you. Please accept my sympathy and my prayers for your healing, on all levels.

In one way or another, all of us have felt some effects of the week, at the very least energetically. It has felt to me that the explosions in the U.S. and the two large earthquakes elsewhere in the world (7.8 in Iran on April 16 and 7.2 in Russia on April 19) manifested in physical form a tension that had been building. In the aftermath of the immediate crises, there was a sense of pressure having been released, much as the tension between the earth's tectonic plates is released when an earthquake occurs.

Now comes the time of recovery and healing, as well as the search for answers. It makes sense that this week's Lunar Eclipse (on April 25) is in Scorpio, the sign of the Detective and Psychotherapist.

Blessings and healing to all, Pam

Say yes to the process

For those who participated in my teleclass back in January, this card will look familiar:

This was the card I pulled for the month of April, and it certainly represents the energies we're already feeling. It's from the Osho Zen tarot deck, entitled "Thunderbolt," and here's the interpretation:

The card shows a tower being burned, destroyed, blown apart. A man and a woman are leaping from it not because they want to, but because they have no choice. In the background is a transparent, meditating figure representing the witnessing consciousness.

You might be feeling pretty shaky right now, as if the earth is rocking beneath your feet. Your sense of security is being challenged, and the natural tendency is to try to hold on to whatever you can. But this inner earthquake is both necessary and tremendously important -- if you allow it, you will emerge from the wreckage stronger and more available for new experiences.

After the fire, the earth is replenished; after the storm the air is clear. Try to watch the destruction with detachment, almost as if it were happening to somebody else. Say yes to the process by meeting it halfway.

It is this last sentence that continues to reverberate in my thoughts: "Say yes to the process by meeting it halfway." I've been considering how to best do that in my own life -- it at least involves being willing to embrace change, consciously letting go of attachment to the old ways, even physically doing a cleanse (either of the body or the environment). With each step we take in the direction of a positive change, we are participating in the process instead of just waiting for it to find us.

I also very much appreciate that the interpretation draws our attention to the background figure on the card, the "transparent, meditating figure representing the witnessing consciousness." It reminds us that we always have the choice to step into the higher perspective and to understand events from a place of Greater Knowing. It is also important to notice that although the meditating figure is "in the background," it is actually the most predominant feature on the card.