Let me tell you something – – most of the time in life, the part of you that you think of as “rational“ is not driving the bus.
Mostly, our actions are driven by beliefs and perspectives that were laid down before we even had language, when we were very small children or even babies.
These beliefs are largely unconscious. They are imprinted at levels that are so deep that we don’t even know we have them.
// Some of those patterns are working for us.
// Some haven’t worked in a long time.
// Some never worked.
The ones that don’t work show up in your life as outcomes that you don’t like.
You may have a sense that something isn’t working. You may even have the sense that something about your mindset is hobbling you. But you can’t shift a feeling, a belief, a pattern, if you DON’T EVEN KNOW IT’S THERE.
As Jung wrote, “one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
So how do you make your darkness conscious?
There are a million ways.
Therapy. Meditation. Journaling. Conversation. Creativity. Daydreaming. Prayer. Service. Contemplation. Coaching. Yoga. Movement. Time in nature. Games. Loving others. Getting a pet. Challenging yourself. Caring for yourself. Insert your fave here.
One of MY faves is Tarot.
A Tarot deck tells a story.
A Tarot DRAW tells a story.
How you interpret it reveals your inner life.
Let me give an example.
Say you are going through a huge professional transition. It’s a positive change and on one level you feel really good about it.
But on another level, you feel super stressed out. You find yourself breaking into tears for no reason. You’re not sleeping well. When people congratulate you, you smile and go through the motions of saying thank you, but deep inside, you feel the chime of a distant gong of sadness.
“What the fuck is going on with me?” you wonder. So you think about it. Maybe you talk to friends, a therapist, a coach.
And maybe you get out a Tarot deck.
“What do I need to know about this situation?” you could ask.
You shuffle and draw the Four of Cups. This card shows a youth sitting under a tree with arms crossed, looking down. Three cups stand before him. A disembodied hand emerges from a small cloud to his right, offering a fourth cup. The youth seems uninspired by the three cups in front of him and uninterested in the fourth cup.
You seek out several possible interpretations of that card, and one really speaks to you, from Tarot teacher Lindsay Mack.
She points out that in this image, the person who is being offered the fourth cup has already had three cups. It’s not that the fourth cup is unwelcome, or lacking in value. It’s that three cups of anything will fill you up!
When you think about it, you realize that this new job comes with a bigger paycheck and a lot more responsibility. And while that feels like a magnificent success, a wonderful new plum on the tree of your career, you’re tired. You worked really hard to get to where you are. Frankly, what you really feel like you need is a bit of a rest to digest those three cups.
Maybe you need to go away on vacation.
Maybe you need to take a month off between the old job and the new job.
Maybe when you get to the new job, you’re gonna need to be a lot more careful about your work/life balance to make sure that you don’t get burned out.
Maybe, on some deep level, you don’t even want that fancy new job!
Or maybe…none of those interpretations suit you. You’re still in the dark.
So, you know. No biggie. You can always try again later.
It’s just a Tarot deck.
———————
Ready to tap into your magic? Tarot is one way. Coaching’s another. Apply to work with me here!