Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
GETTING TO KNOW THE MOON
The moon affects everyone and everything on the planet. If you don’t believe me, think of the high and low tides of our oceans.
Beyond this, women’s menstrual cycles are connected to the moon.
Go one more: We refer to the maiden, the woman, the crone. The maiden is the newborn crescent moon. The mature woman is the full moon. The waning moon represents the crone.
Speak with policemen, emergency medicine employees, warmline workers, and you’ll hear how people act differently during the time of a full moon.
The moon focuses on dreams, feelings, instincts, and intuition. Sometimes, you may focus on your rational mental activities, ignoring your inner feelings. Problems occur when you ignore the things that the Moon finds important.
When this happens, the Moon brings things to the surface. While this may be painful, it can also be healing. One thing for sure – the intuition the Moon sends you is a strong message that you already know the answer to your question.
However, overthinking as well as other thinking can cause more questions – especially as you travel into the unknown future which causes disorienting perceptions. What happens is this: the situation is not really changing. What is changing is your perception of reality.
When you realize that you cannot return to the world you once knew, you can be shocked – to say the least. You cannot see your life in the same way again.
This is big stuff and it’s also scary. The Moon brings you front and center with low self-esteem, your oppressive background, sexual identity issues, and everything else you’ve been taught to run from. PTSD, past traumas, mental illness, drug addiction, disabilities, gender issues, and anything else that needs a slow approach, and nonlinear healing.
The message of the Moon: Do not be afraid of the dark. After all, we’re all part of it. The Moon card is emotional, intuitive, and healing.
Reach beyond your fears. You are safe.
Explore your subconscious while you find healing in your shadows.
If the influence of the Moon seems to be too strong, some grounding exercises can keep you in your body. If you don’t know any or if they don’t seem to be what you need in the situation, then Reiki is a reliable option.
A STORY
Dr. Longmore, an Emergency Medicine specialist, had an office in Woodstock located in the little group of offices across the street from the Playhouse. He practiced by himself, without a receptionist or nurse. His patients included every category of residents in Woodstock: the elderly, the rich, and the homeless. Artists, local residents, musicians, and writers anyone else in between.
They went to him with their health issues and he treated them with dignity and respect, whether or not they had money. Most of the artists had no money so, when he treated, they brought over paintings.
Dr. Longmore finally had one of the best local art collections in the area. Then the paintings and sculptures, given to him over the years by artist patients with no money, disappeared from his office after he was arrested.
On the street, the real story remains a mystery. The FBI report referred by hydrocodone. The stories in the paper didn’t read like a whole story or even a piece of a story.
Dr. Longmore and I knew many of the same people. He healed them. The food pantry fed them. Even without trying, I knew more or less who was on what. How could I not know? I saw them every week under fairly intimate circumstances. Faces, gait, arms reveal much. Hour-long waits in a crowded hallway reveal much more over time.
I only knew two people on Oxycodone. And, one of those two was trying to sell the stuff. So they can’t blame Dr. Longmore for that.
He got six months house arrest, three years probation, two hundred hours community service, and fined $200,000.
The real punishment went to the poor in Woodstock who now have nowhere to go for a doctor. It puts a lot of pressure on the Healthcare as a Human Rights group.
His office sat empty for the longest time, the building at 104 Mill Hill Road. I think of Dr. Longmore every time I pass by. I remember his beautiful art collection, all the people he served, all the good the man did for the people of Woodstock.
The first tenant was a beer hall: Reynolds and Reynolds served specialty beers and delicious, locally sourced foods.
The current tenant offers yoga, IV vitamin therapy and wellness promotion.
For me, it doesn’t matter. The building is a monument commemorating those in Woodstock who unfailingly give of themselves.
While the Moon Card doesn’t land on every reading, it does show. In Woodstock, many people are in the lineup. Each time I pass by the building. I’m reminded of yet another person who qualifies for commemoration for giving lifestyle.
Many Woodstockers are remembered for giving much, asking for nothing. Recognition for a job well done does not always happen with the Moon. People should be honored in some way for a job well done – even if only in memory.
Even with the Moon out there, names and faces bubble up from my memory. They ride in on their own energy, as if the people are volunteering or working once again for the community and those in it.
When I see the Moon Card, I offer gratitude. My community is what it is today because of the individual efforts of each person I remember, plus of the efforts of many people I never knew.
We are not alone in our pain
FOCUS IN
Your journey can nourish and heal. Meditate, journal, practice yoga or Tai Chi, foster interconnectedness with others.
Place your hand over your heart and offer soothing touch and forgiveness.
MEDITATION
Go to a quiet place, one that is private and safe. Sit in a very comfortable position. If you want, light a candle, play healing music, or place a favorite stone or rock in your space.
Focus your attention and awareness on your breathing. Become aware of your inbreaths as they bring healing and positive breath to your lungs and body. Notice the outbreaths releasing toxins and stress.
Follow your inbreaths and outbreaths as you become more peaceful and relaxed.
As this happens, you come to understand that you have power and energy to conceive and create your life. Your reality is your reality.
You understand that it’s not important to worry about what others think of you. Your self-acceptance and self-approval begins within yourself. You know that your own path is the one that is right for you. This happens with your open mind and clear conscience.
You see that you are free from the past as you live in this present moment.
Self-love and unlimited potential create your reality. Self-love and unlimited potential build your outward reality.
You no long allow negative and limiting thinking.
At this time, you accept joy, happiness, and unlimited love.
Relax now, for a few moments as you follow your inbreaths and outbreaths. Feel how the healing, relaxing energy fills your consciousness.
You take your journey inward and connect with your inner healer.
After experiencing a few more inbreaths and outbreaths, you know it is time to return to your day. You know you can return to this meditation any time you want.
Thank you for reading this article!
Interested in finding out more about Woodstock, NY, the most famous little town in the US? This show is all about Woodstock!
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When Belief Becomes an Experience
The Hierophant shows up in your life when you become personally aware of God. The Hierophant offers spiritual growth, a starting point for when you realize all your questions don’t have automatic answers.
You initially seek out a Hierophant to learn, receive sacraments, therapy, and for marriage counseling. This instruction connects you with traditional spiritual beliefs. The Hierophant shares spiritual wisdom and unlocks mysteries.
When you study with a teacher, mentor, priest, or therapist, the Hierophant helps you explore guidance on the spiritual meanings you find in life. The Hierophant understands your higher nature, an essential element of spiritual healing. He helps you deal with old wounds or trauma you experienced in a situation that no longer works. The Hierophant offers the experience of organized religion.
When studying with the Hierophant, expect to be honest with yourself and others. Expect to be responsible for your own actions. You should be exposed to traditional attitudes, ideas, and methods.
Expect to find the Hierophant in a community church, temple, or congregation. You will find a higher purpose represented by organized religious, philosophical, educational, and spiritual institutions.
The Hierophant is powerful. He shapes who you are and what you will become. He tells you what your world looks like. The Hierophant presents his students and clients with a choice. You will build a foundation focusing on history and tradition
Through his teachings, you will come to accept your own spiritual beliefs and truths.
Through the Hierophant’s teachings you begin to know your own spiritual beliefs and truths. You may see a need to learn from the more orthodox experiences.
If you feel disconnected from faith altogether, the teachings of the Hierophant can be comforting during difficult times because of his offerings.
When you go to the Hierophant, he passes down spiritual wisdom and unlocks mysteries, religion, rites, dogma, and doctrine.
This is a meaning-of-life experience.
STORY
I met the Hierophant when I was in Austin, Texas, and engaged to a Catholic man. I was preparing to experience life in a different way:
I certainly wanted things to work out right because this was my M.R.S. degree in action. So, I met with the Catholic Priest in Austin, Texas.
“You’ll need to convert to Catholicism before the wedding and you need to take marriage classes. You can practice birth control for a year to solidify your marriage before the children start coming.”
The young priest was definitely the Hierophant in my life. I received marriage counseling, life guidance, the sacrament of Baptism, and learned everything he had in his training manual to become a successful Catholic wife in Texas in the ’60s.
There does not always have to be a Hierophant as a go-between to embark on a spiritual quest but this slight young man in a black cassock took his job as a guide to help me in my journey into spousehood and motherhood seriously.
This Hierophant/priest felt his connection with traditional spiritual belief was crucial to my success. His job was to pass down spiritual wisdom and unlock mysteries for me.
I came away from those sessions believing that the family is a spiritual unit and that one was to engage with and interpret the sacred for my children. The young man in the cassock and I dealt with the importance of education, indoctrination, and spirituality in my family.
He taught me to be aware of a larger, mysterious order of things that sometimes exceeded our control. He explained that I didn’t have to fix every problem in life that I might encounter.
FOCUS IN
Journal about a time when you did what was expected of you.
MEDITATION
Find a safe and private space.
Get comfortable now; the goal is to be so comfortable that you can become unaware of your body.
Take a deep breath. Hold it for a moment and then release it. Repeat this several times. As you exhale, you release tension. Continue this until all the tension is gone and you are relaxed.
As you continue breathing, you see a light coming toward.
As this light approaches, it surrounds you and the space where you are meditating. It further relaxes your entire body – relaxing your muscles. Every muscle and nerve in your body relaxes. As your muscles relax, stress is replaced by a light.
This relaxing light fills your muscles, nerves, and energy with love – the love of God for you and your love for others.
This light protects you from negativity and harm. This light becomes a wall of protection surrounding you.
When you include your friends, relatives, and loved ones, this light protects them also.
This light sends love as it shines through. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, this love shines on.
As you feel relaxed, you are protected, healed, and loved.
Now, slowly, you begin to return to the awareness of now. You feel physically, mentally, and emotionally relaxed.
Your muscles and nerves are relaxed, loose, and refreshed.
You open your eyes and look around. You know you can return to this space any time you want.
Thank you for reading this article. You can find out more about Thurman Greco at www.Thurmangreco.com
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Manifestation and Co-creation
Could you study the Temperance Card for a moment? Front and center, pouring water from vessel to vessel, is Archangel Michael. This picture shows how he negotiates and balances.
Followers in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam know Archangel Michael as the greatest of all angels. He is easy to get to know. Call him in with a letter or prayer.
Call on Archangel Michael whenever you feel vulnerable or when you need guidance and support on your journey. Archangel Michael carries a sword. With his sword and his reputation, he is known for coming to anyone who calls him.
Try this:
“Archangel Michael, please come to me. I need your help!”
Making a long story short, the Temperance Card tells us to seek moderation and balance. In creating everything in moderation, it may be necessary to seek to blend both sides of the story. Are you doing what you need to do to get the outcome you seek? You can’t just wish for something to be a certain way. Include action and effort in your wishes.
This means: avoid the extremes. When this happens, a nourishing balance seems to become part of your life.
The balance so prized by Temperance depends on inner growth and outer harmony. But, it doesn’t end here. Think of your past compared with who you are today and who you will be tomorrow.
STORY
For me, balance and harmony work together in moderation. As a child growing up, I never saw anything in my community approaching balance, harmony, or moderation.
As a child at home in Texas, I lived in a black-and-white world. I didn’t attend school with, play with, or even know any children of color. The closest I ever came to local people of color was passing the local bus station and seeing restroom signs which read: “White Women, White Men, Colored”. Water fountain signs were simpler. They read: “White, Colored”.
Mine was a white/black word which had no middle path. I only knew the extreme.
Looking back on the whole situation now, I realize that I never played with or studied with any children of color because we attended segregated schools. They lived in their own part of town and attended their own neighborhood schools.
Students in white Texas schools used textbooks and then passed them on to the students in the colored school.
Integration was not a concept to me. I never even heard of it.
I was already a teenager when, on September 4, 1957, President Eisenhower integrated the Little Rock Schools in Arkansas. On that day, National Guardsmen escorted the children to school to integrate our public schools.
With the Temperance Card, there is no room for extremes. This is the time to go with the middle road. This applies to friends, family, jobs, health. Reject fear, guilt, and ignorance.
We achieve success with the Temperance Card, there is no room for extremes. Balance, cooperation, growth, harmony, receptivity, and healing are the key ingredients to manage a situation and resolve problems. Compromise is the key.
Patience is essential.
Sometimes, people receiving the Temperance Card don’t like the idea of patience. But, there it is – just sitting there when it seems nothing is happening. All things work on their own time. Right along with this patience comes reality and the necessity of connecting dreams to your present situation.
Get your act together and co-create your future. Visualize your road to the rising sun as you move toward your goal.
FOCUS IN
Self-care is practical here. What does this mean for you? Massage, Reiki therapy, regular trips to the fitness center?
MEDITATION
Go to a quiet, uncrowded space. Get comfortable in a chair or on a mat on the flor. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breathing. Focus on your inhales and exhales as they balance. Continue with inhales and exhales as they develop a relaxing rhythm.
You become aware of a deep pool. The water in this pool is sacred. It is some distance away. It will take a gentle uphill climb to get there. You walk over on a quiet path.
The deep pool is fed by a fresh stream. As you stand at the edge of the water, you see the path has given way to lush, green grass. You see reeds and irises blooming near the water. You connect with the water and the greenery. The scene purifies and calms you.
You feel the air you breathe is regenerating every cell. Every atom is glowing with perfection.
You continue with this inbreathing and outbreathing until your entire body feels uplifted. You feel a oneness of just being.
You stay with this energy for several moments. You want this energy to be more and more a part of your life.
With one last uplifted inbreath, you know it is time to return to your room. You want to bring the energy back with you and bring your awareness back into the room.
Gently, you slowly bring yourself back. You gently know that you can return to this room whenever you want.
Thank you for reading this article. Please share it with your friends and family. Forward it to your favorite social media network.
Find out more about Thurman Greco at www.Thurmangreco.com
Do You Know Where Things are Going? Act now!
Do you suddenly feel as though somehow, some way, somebody or something just removed a few obstacles in your life and career? Suddenly, after seemingly endless waiting, things are moving rapidly in a direction perfect for your goals!
Finally!
The waiting is over.
Well, you are not mistaken. Things like that do happen and suddenly there’s a lot of activity that needs to be sorted out. This will clarify your intentions.
Things are moving in your favor more rapidly than you hoped. Don’t get overwhelmed. Instead, take advantage of this energetic boost by acting now.
Ground activities to prevent overwhelming feelings. . Even so, action is popular right now.
This can be an opportunity to keep your goals on the front burner.
This is a very positive time so be ready to be energized.
Prioritize your opportunities because you don’t always have to accept everything.
Even so, you need to know where things are going. Everything needs to be
moving in the right direction.
STORY
I lived an 8 of Wands story several years ago when I found canine massage therapy. I searched “high and low” for a school to study canine massage therapy.
I was teaching reflexology and Reiki therapy at the time. But, I was also becoming more involved in pet rescue as orphaned dogs weighing under ten pounds and being more than 10 years old seemed to be finding me.
While this happened, I searched out every canine massage therapy teacher I could find. Nothing seemed to be right. I found a distance-learning class in the US and I found a teacher on the West Coast of Canada.
Everything seemed good – just not a good fit for me. I never thought I would learn massage via distance classes. And, I just didn’t seem to be able to make it to the West coast of Canada.
Suddenly, Jonathan Rudinger’s class was in front of me! It seemed perfect – and it was. Jonathan and Anastasia offered the right class at the right time in the right place. They taught Canine Massage Therapy in Toledo and they had a student opening! I packed two small dogs in the car with me and took off for Toledo!
I loved every minute of the class! I was going to be able to use my Massage Therapy, Reiki therapy, and Reflexology credentials along with my new canine massage skills.
Perfect!
Three days after I returned home from the class, I found a space in a local veterinarian’s office.
I felt like somebody or something removed a few obstacles in my life and career! After a lot of waiting, and blind alleys, things moved rapidly in a direction just perfect for my goals!
Finally!
Jonathan Rudinger’s class served me well. I was still practicing this skill 20 years later. This career took me well into my retirement years.
FOCUS IN
Have you got a list for your short-term goals? your long-term goals? Is it in need
of updating?
MEDITATION
The 8 of Wands is an exciting card. Feeling grounded is an important part of this experience. For one thing, it is used practically when chaos enters your life. Restoring order helps.
Begin this meditation by finding a calm and safe space. Get comfortable as you find a supportive space to sit or lay flat. Take a few moments to relax and unwind.
Let your body float…
Let your body drift.
Without worrying how you breathe, simply allow yourself to breathe fully and deeply. Release tensions as you exhale.
Gently close your eyes.
Give yourself permission to experience this meditation without interruption.
This time is yours.
Visualize your spine. See a special cord which begins at the top of your head and travels down your spine – beyond your spine – into the earth.
As this cord travels into the earth, it supports and grounds you.
Now, inhale and exhale several times as you release any worries, doubts, and fears.
Grounded peace replaces these emotions. Warmth, energy, love, and peace move into your world.
Your cord gently disappears for now.
Now, slowly move your arms and legs and smile.
You feel gratitude for this connection and know that you can return to this experience whenever you seek a grounded connection.
Thank you for reading this article. It is a seed chapter in a book about the Tarot which I am writing now. If you liked it, please share it with your friends and family. Forward it to your preferred social media network. Subscribe to this blog for future chapters.
This book is available as an ebook. Get it at www.Thurmangreco.com
Having the Courage of Your Convictions
How are you managing your energy? Are you losing something of yourself?
When you are successful, some don’t like what you have to say. They want what you have. Continue and overcome the obstacles in your path.
Keep the conversation going and negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. You may be defending others as well as yourself when you become the spokesperson for the group.
Please just consider your self-awareness. Protection becomes important as you are asked to defend your accomplishments.
Turn to your integrity, positive energy, and your good intentions. You don’t have to accept criticism as truth. Instead, align yourself with your highest values.
This may mean that you have to draw the confidence within yourself to say “no”. If you find yourself at odds with your conscience, this is the time to set your boundaries.
Continue on and supplement this with your diet whenever you can. This is a time for introspection, self-care, wisdom, and a healing diet.
Set your sights on the future while you leave adversity behind.
Your job isn’t easy. But, remember, you have this job because of your prior success.
A STORY
“Don’t go away. I need to talk to you.” A man approached me in the basement hallway. As he spoke, the hair on my neck stood up.
The scene is etched in my memory. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling or the toothy grin he showed that afternoon. I’m convinced he practiced for years turning himself into the big bad wolf he projected.
Stocking shelves in the food pantry, I prepared for the hungry people coming to shop in the food pantry soon. After filling the third shelf down from the top of a unit with canned green beans, I stepped into the hallway for a moment.
“Good afternoon, sir. What can I do for you?”
“For starters you can stop feeding all those people. Ever since you started working here, more and more people are standing in the halls waiting for food. You’re feeding too many people and I want it to stop. Right. Now.”
The man standing over me in the hall was fat, old, angry. His toes pointed outward, an indication he had painful back issues. “I want to see your files on the people who use the pantry.”
“I’m sorry sir. We don’t keep many files on our hoppers. We keep a journal where we record their names and number of people in each household. That’s all.”
“Well, you should. No one should be allowed in this pantry who isn’t on food stamps. You’re feeding people who shouldn’t be coming here.
“Just this last week you gave food to a man who you shouldn’t be feeding. He wrote a book and published it a couple of years ago and he shouldn’t even be here. He has a motorcycle. Writers make a lot of money.”
I didn’t believe this story about the writer and his book, but I didn’t answer him back.
“This man is definitely a threat to the pantry” went through my mind as he stood over me. “I’ll have to call the food bank about getting that kind of information.”
Not a secret, he didn’t like the way I managed the pantry. And, he had grounds. Before 2007, the pantry served about twenty-five of Woodstock’s most colorful characters on Thursday mornings and now with the economy tanking, new hungry people showed up weekly. Lines got longer on every pantry day.
The Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) expanded pantry nutritional guidelines to include fresh produce, 1% milk, and whole-grain bread. Now, instead of shoppers getting a jar of peanut butter, a box of cereal, a can of tuna fish, they chose from shelves filled with fresh produce. Bread Alone sent bread weekly.
These changes brought not only hungry people but mountains of cardboard. According to him, the pantry was overrun with vermin. No amount of reasoning convinced them otherwise. It didn’t matter one whit that not even one bug or mouse could be found in the pantry.
Our boxed, canned, fresh, food arrived clean from the food bank with no insects or rodents. Food bank employees were proud of their clean food. The reason is simple. Rodents and insects prefer dark quiet conditions and immediately vacate a disturbed area.
Food pantry stock is in constant motion, the best pesticide.
Meanwhile, here was this angry man staring at me and demanding to see files I didn’t have and the State didn’t have and the State didn’t require. And, if I had them, he wouldn’t see them anyway.
“I can call the food bank and find out what files we need. However, an inspector was here only a few weeks ago, saw my paperwork, and pronounced everything excellent. We’ve never done anything like this before. After all, we’re not the police.”
“Well, check into it NOW!” he said as he turned away, his toes still looking outward. With that, he walked away.
He looked back at me then and grinned broadly, displaying a mouthful of large, yellow teeth.
As he walked down the hall and out the door, I felt a terrible pain in my gut. My solar plexus was on fire. My adrenals knotted. I realized I was afraid. Cold. Hard. Fear. He threatened the food pantry. I knew in my gut that I was the only person standing in the way of his threat. Others would mutter things about a job not being worth the aggravation and walk away.
It took a food pantry in a church basement in the most famous small town in America to teach me about fear in our country. Food shoppers and volunteers live with the peril of starvation daily. The subject is stark, deep, hidden, real.
Full-blown fear wasn’t in my personal vocabulary, so I rarely felt it.
At that moment I knew I wasn’t going to let panic get the best of me. People shopping at the food pantry were afraid of being hungry, being homeless, or being unemployed.
I was not going to let go of this pantry. I was not going to let go of this pantry. I was not going to let go. This anxiety stuck to me day and night. I felt unsafe every moment.
It seems a bit strange, maybe unbelievable. Looking back on the whole experience, it was a steppingstone on the path to the pantry. We all lost things along the way. I lost a lot of fluff and met up wiwth the stark reality of hunger in our nation.
I worked hard to avoid being overwhelmed by danger. First, I defined exactly what alarmed me. At that moment I knew exactly what that was. I was afraid to let pantry deniers close the pantry. I knew I had to negotiate my day-to-day work in the pantry to prevent that from happening. I had to find ways to make sure the people got what they were supposed to get. I had to balance things, so I didn’t go too fast but I had to implement the guidelines soon enough to satisfy the food banks.
“I’m walking a tight rope high above an abyss.” I thought. I needed to be at my peak performance.
I surrounded myself with people who lifted me up and who wanted me to lift them up. Volunteers and shoppers supported me even though they had no idea I needed it. People at the food bank inspired me and taught me to do my job better. People surrounding me made me successful because their support stopped anyone from holding me back.
I knew he wanted me to leave. I decided then that I would not let that happen – not on his terms anyway. I would not leave because of what he did did.
I stuck with my decision. I left on my own terms in 2013 when I took my experience and skills to Boiceville to open a new food pantry.
Pantry deniers finally evicted the pantry in Woodstock in a public outburst several years later which ended up with a story in the local paper.
I kept my mouth shut, much like a woman married to an alcoholic man who beat her. Whenever someone realized what was happening, I changed the subject and moved on to other topics.
Hunger in America is a hidden shame. Those coping with it have smaller and smaller voices. As time passes, they have none. More and more people with more and more are blind to those choosing between food and rent.
We know that the top 1% have more than the bottom 99%. From my tiny spot in the smalltown food pantry, I connected with it existentially.
Volunteers defend the food pantry for the hungry people using it. They feed hundreds of people weekly with as much dignity as can be mustered under the circumstances. They attach no strings.
Shoppers live the fear daily. There are no holidays. What are they afraid of? Hunger. Inadequate or no housing. No work. Healthcare costs. Clothing costs. Transportation costs.
FOCUS IN
Journal about what gives you resolution in your life. What do your purpose and your inner energy need now?
MEDITATION
`This meditation helps you find solutions to life challenges arising once you achieve your goals. Use it to creatively solve your problems and generate new ideas.
Find a private and safe place for this meditation. Sit in a comfortable position. If you want, turn on some healing music, light a candle.
Take in and out breaths. Breathe slowly and deeply The inbreaths encourage invigorating energy. The outbreaths release tired, worn out, toxic air.
As you continue with your meditational breathing, focus on this problem while you inhale and exhale.
After several grounding in and out breaths, you find yourself in a parklike setting. You notice the trees, the plants, the path nearby, and the bench you are sitting on.
You think about your problem. Focus on ways you can resolve it.
With each in-and-out breath, think about the different aspects of your problem and how protecting yourself fits into the overall picture.
Think about how to protect yourself in your situation.
As you do this, you get to know it intimately. How does it smell? Taste? Feel? Sound?
Can you see your challenge as an opportunity? Can you see it as a solution?
See the challenge now as a way to grow – to move forward on your path.
Feel a sense of freedom as you see your problem’s new place on your path.
You know it is time to return to the present.
Focus now on the room where you began your meditation.
It is time to join the world of now.
You know you can return to this park and this resolution any time you want.
Enjoy!
Thank you for reading this article. Please share it with your friends and family. Forward it to your favorite social media network! It is my hope that it will support you in your healing journey.
Have you read my book: “Healer’s Tarot Memoir”?
Books are available at www.thurmangreco.com
Standing Out
When members of your group work at odds with one another, they may not appear to be getting anywhere. Take a moment to analyze the disagreement so
You can seek a more proactive approach to overcome the obstacles.
But don’t get worked up for nothing. Frantic energy will get you nowhere.
Could you make an assertion and adapt your motto?
Sometimes, you can find yourself competing with others. Even though there is a struggle, there is no clear winner. This is your chance! This may be a time to step up and prove your worth.
Could you be sure to pick your battles? This is not a good time to argue just to prove your point. Rise to the challenge for the right reasons.
Order can be restored. You can succeed.
Finally, take a deep breath and re-examine your own path.
All this competition can help you become a better version of yourself.
DO THIS
Grounding activities are important now: Yoga, meditation, labyrinth, breathing exercises, mindfulness are some you may find helpful.
MEDITATION
Find a quiet place for this meditation. If you can, find a place away from street sounds or work noises.
Dim the lights a bit. Sit or lie comfortably.
Take a deep breath and hold it for a moment. Now, release this breath. See the tension in your body leave you now. Take a few deep breaths followed by releasing the breath.
As you breathe out, you release tensions. After a few in-and-out breaths, you feel relaxed. Each exhale brings more relaxation and comfort.
Close your eyes gently now. When you open them, you are standing on a path in a large park.
As you walk on this path, you see the trees overhead. Birds sing and a soft breeze blows. You feel it on your arms. The whole place smells like summer. You see the shadows of the trees and bushes as you walk along.
The path leads you to a stream. You see a small boat on the edge of the water. You know this boat is for you. You get in the boat and untie it. As you do this, the boat gently floats down the stream. Sitting in your boat, you drift and float in calm waters.
As you float along, you understand something: You can anticipate spinning and whirling pools of water. You know that streams have quiet times where the water seems to drift along. You know that streams also have swirling times where the water spins along, bubbling.
What you experience with your being is this: The water has its quiet time, with drifting and floating. Then, there is a turbulent time with bubbling water swiftly moving along.
PAUSE
You bid goodbye to the stream now, knowing that you can return to it any time you wish. You gently move your muscles now, shifting, at your time and pace.
Thank you for reading this article. It is a seed chapter in my third Tarot Book. You can purchase the first 2 books on www.thurmangreco.com.
I also produce a weekly show on YOUTUBE about people who live in and visit Woodstock, NY:
This YOUTUBE show has been running with weekly programming about Woodstock and its interesting residents. Let’s Live has been running over 15 years with an occasional intermission. The guests love it and I get lots of positive feedback.
Thank You
Thurman Greco
thurmangreco@gmail.com
When It’s Over
The ending creates open space for something new.
You’re ready to get ahead of the situation and move forward. While you process the events, look ahead. Your overwhelming feelings are ending. You are stronger now than you were before.
Pick yourself up and dust yourself off. The past is over. Let go of negative thinking.
Consider the beginning and ending in a different light as you become more aware of your opportunities. You’ve seen your illusions for what they are, and now you can cultivate a new level of awareness.
What’s over is over: relationship, job, home town, school – whatever.
It’s time to go it alone. You’re taking a turn for the better.
DO THIS:
You are moving forward now. What’s done is done. It’s time to forgive yourself.
MEDITATION
Begin this meditation when you choose a quiet, safe place.
Choose some healing music, soft lighting, essential oil.
Get comfortable as you take deep relaxing breaths with your eyes gently closed.
With each breath, bring in healing and relaxation. When you release your breath, release toxins, stress, and negativity.
As you inhale deeply, you absorb calm and peace.
With each out breath, your body is cleansed of negative emotions, fear, and confusion. This process purifies and renews.
You enter into a greater sense of awareness and you experience peace.
As you relax, you find yourself stepping onto a beautiful healing balloon. You seat yourself comfortably in the balloon as it rises.
You look down and see roof tops, tree tops, roads and patches of green and yellow.
You drift up through puffy clouds.
Now, when you look down again, you see the earth. It appears as an an orb.
From your space, serenity and beauty, harmony and peace are everywhere.
You are moving: Here it feels like there is no time. All around you is open and free.
You breathe deeply and enjoy this state for a moment.
It is time to decide how much of this space you can take with you on your daily travels. You ask: How much can I take home with me?
It is time to return. As the balloon descends, you have a sense of well-being.
You look around and find yourself in the room you were in before the balloon ride. As you gently move your arms and legs and rotate your wrists and ankles, you feel wonderful. You are at peace, right where you are.
You know you can return to this balloon ride whenever you want.
This was a blissful return. You are grateful for this experience and you look forward to repeating it in the future.
\\\
Are You Having Trouble Sleeping?
You have a long-standing problem that you can no longer ignore.
Is the story finished?
Not Yet.
When will it end?
Until it’s over, you wake up in the middle of the night, haunted.
What is real and what is not?
Are you taking on the world’s troubles? Whether or not this is your case, you are a victim of your thoughts.
If anxiety, depression, trauma, and fear are trying to take control, it’s time to claim your energy. The challenge is to understand it. The goal is to make sense of the situation.
One way is to let go of the familiar and the safe. However life works, there isn’t much comfort here. You are overwhelmed, with too much to do.
Focus on all the ways you’re safe and cared for.
Can you see your worries diminish and disappear? Imagine happy endings.
DO THIS
This is a perfect opportunity to book a Reiki or Reflexology session. Both of these modalities promote homeostasis, something we all need.
MEDITATION
You are preparing for bed and sleep. Feel the pillow under your head. Feel the texture of your favorite sheets on your bed. Your blankets and covers enfold you and make you feel comfortable. Your mattress is perfect.
The air in your room is perfect. You breathe evenly, smoothly, and deeply. Each inbreath encourages you to sink deeper into the covers. You rest more deeply and feel peace surrounding you.
As you relax, you find yourself sitting on a comfortable bench in a secluded park. You notice the sky and see the clouds. A deep evening sky approaches the area.
There is no one around. The evening is coming. Everyone has left this part of the park. A quiet breeze blows around you.
You hear the gentle sounds of evening birds in the area.
You sink into your covers, floating into dreams and a deep restful sleep.
As you drift into sleep, you are aware of sounds in the room around you while, at the same time, you accept sleep.
You are aware of the darkness of your room. You embrace the comfort and safety you experience now.
You release the concerns, cares, and worries of the day. This restores your peace and calm.
You accept a deep and restful sleep. This allows you to wake feeling relaxed, refreshed, alert, and prepared to experience a positive day.
Thank you for reading this article!
Books are available at thurmangreco.com
Set Yourself Free
Our thoughts, to a great extent, dictate our lives and our beliefs. We determine what we believe based on information which we receive and observe and live with and live by. This information begins coming to us even in the womb.
The world, by and large, is a busy place. It’s hard to figure out what is real and what is not. The outside world influences us as it enters our brains and memories.
I have one experience. You have another experience. And, on the long haul, each of us has a sense of reality. Right and wrong are based on our experiences. The bottom line here is this: There are many truths in this world.
One truth I embrace (among many) is this:
When something doesn’t feel right, let it go.
Letting something go is sometimes necessary to save oneself.
Once upon a time in my life, I realized that if I was going to live an authentic life, I was going to have to make some dramatic changes. In order to bring about the things I needed and in order to live the life I needed, I had to do some things for myself and by myself.
No one around me cared or even believed I could do what I did.
Looking back on things now, I realize that my chances of success were small to none. My decision verged on desperation craziness.
Looking back on things now, I send continuing gratitude to my younger self.
My whole plan hinged on clear thinking. I had to reverse some thought patterns to free myself from my limiting beliefs. And, mainly, I silenced the inner melody that continually told me that I was not enough.
This song kept singing that I was not strong enough, brave enough, or clear-thinking enough to get where I needed to go.
All I had was a goal. And, actually, I only had one option. My situation was a disaster but nothing actually fenced me in. My feet were not tied down. In order to get to this place, I had to see my situation for what it was without the many filters that we all experience daily: isolation, oppression, and believing in my own helplessness.
So, one lovely September afternoon, I climbed the stairs in the Woodstock Reformed Church, walked the length of the second floor hallway, and opened the door to the Pastor’s office. I walked into the empty room, put the keys to the food pantry on his desk and quietly walked out.
As I retraced my steps down the hallway and descended the stairs without the keys, I felt different. I experienced physical, mental, emotional, spiritual shifts as I walked down the stairs to the ground floor.
By the time I got to the church parking lot, I was comfortable with this new feeling. I was lighter. I saw things in clear, pure colors.
I had made the right decision. This was something I was supposed to be doing.
The hungry I knew fought a daily battle for survival against all obstacles. Some fought against incredible odds as they struggled with homelessness, mental illness, unemployment, helplessness, and extreme misfortune.
I saw them work to make their dreams (of what might have been) into a reality. These struggles all began with a wound of some kind.
For sure, things improved with the better nutrition offered at the pantry. Their lives were simplified a bit when they were able to put less energy into the struggle against hunger.
Nothing prevented me from leaving. I should have left sooner. I lived for years in my own self-imposed oppression.
My feet were never tied down. But I was blindfolded. I was unaware of my own limits created by my senses, language, and culture.
DO THIS:
Write a letter to your future.
“There are some beliefs that once defined me. I am letting them go now. I trust myself.”
MEDITATION:
Find a quiet, secluded place where you feel safe. Get comfortable. This meditation may benefit from healing music, incense, essential oil, and candlelight.
Remove your shoes. If you remove your socks, you may want to apply a healing lotion.
Begin this meditation by walking around for a minute or two. This will give your feet some freedom and it will improve the blood flow.
Now, stretch your feet in all directions. Move your toes left and right, up and down. Stretch them. Wiggle them.
Rotate your ankles gently in all directions.
Now, hold one foot in one hand while the other hand gently turns each toe separately. Softly pull each toe. Try to spread your toes out. Give each toe separate attention.
Move on to the ball of each of your feet. Press into the metatarsal area gently using your thumb or a knuckle. Make small dime-sized circles along the metatarsal area and then move out to the entire sole of your foot.
Enjoy this experience. Give healing energy to your whole foot. Send positive energy to your feet. They work for you all day.
Now, give attention to the muscles and tendons in your feet. Rub them slowly and gently. Work your feet from the ankles down to your toes. Massage and loosen any tight places. Give equal attention to each foot.
Move your attention to the soles of your feet. Massage your feet as you move your hands up and down the sole of each foot. Apply pressure to the soles using circular motions with your knuckles.
Take a moment to tune into your feet. What feelings and sensations are you experiencing?
How are these sensations and feelings connected to the rest of your body?
It is time to return to your day now. Thank your feet for the job they do for you each day. Touch your feet for a moment as you send nurturing and gratitude to your feet.
This book is available at www.ThurmanGreco.com
Thank you for reading this article. These posts are seed chapters for a book I’m writing about the Spirituality of the Tarot.
Peace
Thurman Greco
Sorrow: Is There a Storm in Your Heart?
When someone inflicts pain, it changes you deeply. It creates a cellular memory.
At times, your body responds to this memory as if the event were happening now.
Knowing sorrow is to experience it. The more experience you have with it, the more you know it – inside and out. Some of this is internal.
When you know it, you are getting to the heart of the matter.
What to do?
Now is a time to grow. Evolution does not come skating in.
No sirree. It rides in on despair and loneliness.
It’s time to go in another direction so you can be stronger – more resilient. You are transformed.
You will evolve!
How?
Dance – Scream – Roll around on the floor – Write – Beat Drums – Journal – Draw pictures – Run – Change jobs – Move away – Apologize
DO THIS:
Move on
MEDITATION:
This meditation focuses on making your coping easier and more effective if you are under severe stress.
Find a comfortable and safe place to sit. Select a place where you will not be disturbed. When you are in this safety zone, settle into the quiet where you can feel positive and relaxed. This is your sanctuary.
Turn on some healing music. Light a candle. Fire up some incense. Do whatever makes you feel calmer. You may enjoy lighting a Himalayan salt lamp.
Now get comfortable. You may prefer a chair or a mat on the floor; whatever works best for you.
Breathe slowly, calmly and deeply. Breathe deeply – into your heart. Breathe into those places needing healing. Breathe healing and positive energies into your deepest self.
As you exhale, release negativity, stress, fear, and anything that needs to go.
Develop a pattern: breathe out to release negativity and pain.
Breathe in deeply as you receive the wisdom of your heart and your light. Breathe the wisdom of your being.
Let this breath pattern lead you to an inner sanctuary.
Open your eyes to find yourself in a tranquil place where you feel secure and strong. Your surroundings make you feel comfortable. Notice the details of this space.
Notice what this space is like. What does it look like? What is the temperature in this space?
Notice everything. Include the smells, noises, colors, textures, and shapes of this space. Examine everything about this space.
Possibly this space is from your past. Possibly it is one you are creating for your own special healing needs.
Whatever this space, you are in control of this sanctuary. Take time now to create this place just for you and your healing needs.
Notice the areas and objects that represent safety, security, and peace. This space is your refuge. Explore it now. Immerse yourself in this sanctuary, feeling its protection and beauty.
Feel the protection this space offers you.
It is time for you to return to your day now. As your breathing brings you to now, carry the safety and calm of your sanctuary with you.
Know that you can return to this space whenever you choose.
Tune into your breathing now.
Peace be with you.
