Press On!
SYMBOLISM
The Charioteer carries a wand which he does not raise above hi head to heaven. Power, creativity, and initiative are important here as he moves on.
His hands do not hold the reins. His character controls life’s forces and his mental energy directs his passions.
The Charioteer’s belt is decorated with symbols of the planets.
His skirt has magical symbols.
The shape of the Chariot represents the material world.
The Chariot wheels are in the water while the Chariot itself sits on the water. The Charioteer gets his energy from the water (the unconscious) and from the land.
The black and white sphinxes are guardians of mystical secrets. The sphinxes stand for life’s mysteries. The black sphinx represents the night, femininity and the unconscious mind. The white sphinx stands for masculinity, conscious thought, and the sun.
The Armor show us The Charioteer is ready, and prepared for the next event.
The Crown symbolize authority and is worn on the head with a laurel wreath symbolizes victory.
The Canopy of Stars represents liberty and independence.
The Winged Sun accompanies the Charioteer on life’s journey.
GETTING TO KNOW THE CHARIOT
The Chariot shows up for graduation, new apartments, new jobs, driver’s licenses.
Energy triumphs over obstacles. You have the skills to succeed. This works especially for things like taking a test or running a race, but it’s also about your understanding your motivations.
It’s also about control and willpower.
But, there’s another thing: This all goes better with intention.
With the Chariot, you move in a new direction. That’s where the intention comes in, know where you are going. This means you set your goal and make your plans. It’s all about knowing where you’re planning to go and how you’re going to get there.
STORY
The Chariot showed up years ago when I studied Spanish. Before thi time, I used what Spanish I knew to buy groceries, chat with neighbors, protect my family’s health at the local medical clinic, and keep myself on the positive side of the law with the Federales while living in Venezuela and Mexico…
But, time passed and I was in a totally new place: a new country, a new spouse, a new job, and a completely different lifestyle.
I used Spanish in my new job but things weren’t what they could be. In my heart, I knew I was stuck and stagnant. I wasn’t learning any new words.
The situation required a goal-oriented focus and courage without heavy-handed tactics. I knew I must, finally, learn the language – not just play like it.
When I enrolled in a Spanish class at a local college, the willpower of the Chariot carried me through. I used the strength of the Chariot for the confidence and belief in myself to learn Spanish.
I knew this was going to be a time of overwork but the outcome would make the effort worthwhile. There were conflicting demands on my time and resources but i felt things would work out well in the end because I was in the driver’s seat.
I also knew that grit and determination were the things most needed to see this project through.
The Chariot helped me make this major life decision. It was time to on my life’s journey. The Chariot was an important pathway for me.
Ambition and determination helped me overcome the obstacles I found along the way and the Chariot helped me cope, develop skills and use my abilities to succeed.
Ambition and determination helped me overcome th obstacles I found along the way and the Chariot helped me cope, develop skills, and use my abilities to succeed.
I finished the classes with A’s. Even all these years later, I can still speak to people in their language. The strength of the Chariot gave me the energy to not only set goals but carry them through to success.
There are also situations where The Chariot can help you control competing forces and inner conflicts. A politician or business employee sometimes needs to settle into the situation and take the middle road and go with the flow. When this happens, follow the road where it takes you to success.
I’ve seen this work well on the local government level. Several years ago, in my community, a few buildings needed modernizing and upgrading. One building, the Highway Department Garage was a teardown and rebuilt project. Our Town Supervisor certainly had the building contractor skills. He knew how to manage the budget. One noisy faction of the community was critical. He knew how to call in The Chariot
Before it was over, Woodstock had new and improved buildings. They included a Highway Garage, Town Hall, Community Center, and the Comeau Property with the Town Clark’s Office and Supervisor’s Cottage.
The goals you achieve are important. But, don’t stop here. Other accomplishments are waiting for you in the future.
Then it’s time to ask “What’s next?”
DO THIS
Are you planning a project? Set your goal. Chart your map. Make a list.
MEDITATION
Find a safe and private location where you can get comfortable. Settle in a comfortable chair or on a flat surface.
Turn your attention to your breath. Close your eyes and focus on your inbreaths and outbreaths. As you inhale and exhale become more and more relaxed. Let your breath settle in to a calming and cleansing pattern.
You open your eyes now and see that the sun shines brightly and is high in the sky. The sun illuminates the sky in a positive yellow. This is your reliable consciousness focusing on your goal.
A star-covered canopy shelters you from the heat of the sky above.
You look around and see a path that you feel was created just for you. You know, in some way, that this path is for you to reach your goal. Your job is to stay on this path.
You see a Chariot waiting for you right underneath the canopy. Two sphinxes are stationed at the front of The Chariot. You know they represent the mysteries you experience as you travel to your goals.
The Chariot is your space and time on this project and in your life. This vehicle has a connection to your karma. As you realize this, you do not fear it. Instead, you feel empowered to work with it to your benefit.
You see the winged sun adorning the front of The Chariot. You feel that this sun will join you on your new project.
You know that this Chariot and these symbols are part of your journey as you stay on your path. They further your progress to your goal.
You realize now that the path is its own journey as you steer your course toward your success.
The landscape around The Chariot is positive and fruitful. The lawn is a lush green grass. Your path leads you along the banks of a beautiful stream.
Farther down the path, across the stream and through the park, is a city with gorgeous buildings capped with red roofs.
The path leads you to success!
You sit with this scene for a few moments while you enjoy and absort your future which is waiting for you. Get comfortable with your success and how it feels.
You know it is time to return to your day. You continue to focus on your breath while you slowly and carefully move your hands and arms, feet and legs.
You move consciously into the now of the day.
Thank you for reading this article This post is a series of seed chapters for an upcoming book I’m writing about The Tarot:
This third book “The Spirituality of the Tarot” will be available soon.
My two Tarot books, “A Healer’s Tarot Memoir” and “The Minor Arcana and the Court Cards” are available in ebook form .
You can order them at www.thurmangreco.com.
While they last…The Minor Arcana and the Court Cards
are being given with a tarot reading.
A few copies of “But for Gabriel” are available. You can order them at www.thurmangreco.com
ENJOY!
This blogged book has gone out to 14 countries. This interesting true story tells the truth about hunger in America.
And, you can read it for free!
www.hungerisnotadisease.com
Taking Responsibility
GETTING TO KNOW THE EMPEROR
The Emperor doesn’t quibble around with what is right and what is wrong. An authority figure, he knows what is worth having. He is his own person. He is also an important father figure. And, the Emperor may be a person of authority, such as a boss. He is balanced. He brings security and conventional values.
He does these things through rules, systems, discipline, and boundaries. He develops the rules. He fosters disciplines. He creates boundaries and he honors values.
He is not afraid of conflict.
Boundaries have meaning for the Emperor. He knows when to create them and how to maintain them. He does this because he understands and respects the rules of society.
The Emperor lives authority and power. And, he likes controlling it all. He knows how to use things like structure, rules, logic, and reason.
The Emperor is thought of as a man but can also be a woman. Women are the Emperor when they structure their careers and their lives according to the rules. Women who know how to use the Emperor’ skills can find the experience to be a powerful experience.
People think of The Emperor as a warrior but, really, he is a ruler. His job description requires that he defend the boundaries and values he lives. The Emperor believes that if something is worth having, it is worth fighting for.
Whatever environment the Emperor connected with, whether it be business, government, partners, parent, he can take charge as he works with honor and tradition.
STORY
My father was the Emperor in my life. Although he was depicted as a warrior, he was a beneficient ruler.
In the Rider Waite Deck, the Emperor wore robes over a full set of armor. My father wore armor daily. His armor was a bullet proof vest and a side arm which he hid under his arm in a leather holster. When he was in public, I never saw my father without a suit coat over his armor. He even wore his armor at the breakfast table.
My father, a small-town Texas attorney, was good enough at what he did to plead a case in the Supreme Court of the United States of America in Washington, D.C. I never knew the particulars or even the names of the plaintiffs or the defendants.
What I knew was that my mother took him clothes shopping in Austin and bought a special blue serge suit and a white shirt with just the right collar and even more special, somber tie just for the occasion. And, on or about May 15, 1954, he packed himself, my mother, and myself into his late model, dark green Oldsmobile 88 and drove to Washington, D.C. to plead the case.
While we were there, he drove us around Washington, D.C. so I could see the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, and the George Washington University camput.
We didn’t get out of the car to walk around the city or even stay the night in Washington, D.C.
My father, who always carried a concealed weapon, knew the martial arts of the day, served in the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, and was in the OSS during World War II, did not call attention to himself.
He didn’t want to be noticed by anyone because he was constantly on the lookout for trouble. And, for him, crowds meant trouble. He saw things and people and could pick a person out of a crowd and recognize him/her as “trouble”. This was an attitude I grew up with.
After riding around Washington, D.C. all day, we ate dinner at a fish restaurant, O’Donnell’s. Fish was not readily available in my hometown so my father loved the meal. I don’t remember what fish dish he ordered, but I do remember that when he ordered for us, he asked the waitress: “Do you have jalapenos?”
They were served at every meal in our home. Mother drove across the bridge into Villa Acuna and bought large, #10 cans of them in a bodega there.
After dinner, he drove us to Salisbury, Maryland, and we stayed in the Wicomico Hotel.
The next morning, he put on his fancy new suit, shirt, tie, shoes, and drove back to Washington, D.C. to plead his case before Justices Robert Jackson, Harold Burton, Fred M. Vinson, Hugo Black, Tom C. Clark, Sherman Minton, Stanley Forman Reed, Felix Frankfurther, and William O. Douglas, the Supreme Court Justices of the day.
Then he returned to the hotel in Salisbury, paid the bill, picked us up, and drove home to Texas. He drove nonstop taking the short route through Arkansas.
He returned home to his practice which was primarily civil but included criminal cases because he provided whatever services his small town Texas clients needed.
At a time when women in Texas had few rights, my father was known area-wide for doing much for his clients. In divorce cases, he had a reputation for taking everything for his female clients, especially if there were children involved. The first thing he did was clean out the checking account leaving fifteen cents for the divorcing husband. The washing machine went where the children went.
I recall that every day he used the word “ethical” somehow.
FOCUS IN
What is your relationship to responsibility? Journal about this masculine energy.
MEDITATION
**This meditation is most effective when practiced in the morning. The goal is a meditation that is tranquil and quiet.**
Find a quit and safe place which will be distraction-free.
The goal here is to find a supportive and stable place where you can sit comfortably on the floor or recline on a cushioned chair.
You want to be both relaxed and alert so you can go about your activities with a positive, focused attitude.
Once you are seated, encourage your body to feel at ease while remaining aware. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. Hold this breath in and breathe out, feel the support and comfort where you are resting.
Connect to this place. Allow your breathing continue to connect you to this place and this day.
These in-an-out breaths clear away mental stress and clutter. They steady you for the coming events, both scheduled and unscheduled.
Take a moment to settle your intention for the day. Prepare yourself to continue through your coming schedule with clarity and positive intent.
Close your eyes and take calming in and out breaths for a few moments. Take a centering outbreath now to center yourself. Continue with your attitude of calm and positivity.
Take a deep inbreath now and appreciate your readiness for your schedule today.
Bring to mind a powerful attitude reflecting how you will move through the coming hours. Let this attitude resonate with your inner self.
You know it is time for you to move forward with your schedule today. Know that you can return to this meditation whenever you want. Meanwhile,
Take a deep breath to release any negativity. Wiggle your fingers. Open your eyes and proceed with your day.
Thanks for reading this article. It is a seed chapter of an upcoming book.
Meanwhile, please share this article with your friends, neighbors, and family.
Forward it to your preferred social media network.
Creating as an Expression of Love
When the Empress reveals herself in a spread, the situation is full of promise and potential. Abundance is a possibility with marriage, motherhood, material gain, writing, music, creating a home, and more.
The Empress in a Tarot spread is important for anyone looking to get pregnant, foster a child, adopt a child, or seek a surrogate. This energy applies successfully to projects dealing with nurturing. This also applies to any project with creative energy and to anyone creating from the soul level.
This is a time of renewal. To make the most of your situation, plan new ideas for the future. Enjoy your creativity and make the most of your situation and abilities.
The Empress supports abundance on a material an an emotional level.
The Empress creates an environment where you can develop your own individual potential. She enables you to make the right decisions.
The message of The Empress is loud and clear: Nurturing and caregiving are essential to heal. She is the foundation of the most significant relationship in your life. This impacts all other relationships.
The Empress has all the tickets – beauty, creativity, passion. An ultimate woman in your maternal role, she is the symbol of the maid, mother, and crone. The Empress loves life unconditionally.
With The Empress, you get up close and personal with a person who nurtured something to fruition. She is at peace with herself.
The Empress uses the same energy to create a new project: a book, a TV show, a job, hobby, or anything else creative.
Plan for the future using your creative talents. Make the most of your situation and your abilities. Incorporate abundance – both materially and emotionally. Create a situation where you develop your own individual potential and make the right contribution
STORY
Rita lived in the Saugerties/Palenville area of the New York Hudson Valley before Hurricane Irene cost her everything. One day her life was normal and the next day she was homeless with nothing.
A friend we both knew, Lorene, found Rita a worn-out pickup somewhere. The owner couldn’t sell it or even give it away so Lorene got it for Rita.
Until I looked closely, I didn’t even know what color it was. I knew what color the tires were, though: slick and bald.
Rita got the pickup and the key that went with it. She put it in the ignition, turned it and the motor came to life. When the engine turned over and got into gear, Rita became The Empress.
It got her to the gas station. Hurrah!
She began her new career doing anything anybody needed to have done for $10 an hour and lunch. Rita cleaned out flooded houses and sheds and then hauled the trash to the dump. She used her computer skills when someone needed administrative work. She nurtured her way from assignment to assignment daily.
Rita’s “professional attire” came from the free store at Family of Woodstock.
She rented a room in somebody’s house and was finally no longer sleeping in the pickup.
When she worked in Woodstock on Wednesdays, Rita shopped at the pantry.
And, I will say this about Rita, she never once grumbled. Rita was a creative force working for harmony wherever she went each day. With a smile on her face, she acted as if the pantry food was the best she had ever eaten. And never, not even once, did she complain about the ancient jalopy rig she drove around.
As far as I could tell, she never lost hope. Without hope, I don’t think she would have made it to the other side – wherever that was. This hope made her a symbol of abundance.
For my part, I never asked her how she got the rig repaired and I never even looked near where the inspection sticker belonged.
Truthfully, Rita was no different from the rest of us after Hurricane Irene. She had to figure out how much of her past she could rebuild. And she had to figure out how much of the past she was simply going to close the door on as she moved into the future.
Beyond her material possessions, Rita gave up everything standing in the way of her success. She gave up her rear vision. Looking back into her past simply didn’t happen so she gave up bitterness and seeing wrong. This means she gave up waiting and putting off something because the stars and planets weren’t properly aligned. She gave up criticism, self-criticism included.
Rita was the right person in the right place in the right job to unfold her path. She lived each day as if the blessings were all around her and all she had to do was open her eyes a little wider.
Daily, she risked whatever was necessary to rebuild her life. Rita embraced the future while renouncing the past. She never quit.
Rita was the poster girl for us all. She lived each day with meaning, even in the worst situation and under the most inhumane condition.
FOCUS IN
This is a time of creative projects with profound healing and blessings. Nourish your body and soul with luxurious self-care. OR, climb a tree, or ride a carousel! Do whatever connects you with your Mother-God.
MEDITATION
Select a quiet, safe, secluded place to experience this meditation. Make yourself comfortable. This may include sitting in a comfortable chair, or resting on a pallet on the floor.
If it feels appropriate, light a candle, turn on some selected healing music, place a a favorite stone nearby.
Focus on your breathing now. Inhaling, you breathe in calm energy. As you exhale, breathe out negative energy. Continue to inhale calm energy and exhale negative energy for a few minutes as you transform you breathing into relaxation and calm.
As you close your eyes, visualize yourself walking along a smooth path. See yourself carrying suitcases, tote bags, briefcases, and other assorted packages. You feel tired and your muscles ache.
You carry your bags and luggage to an outdoor area.
As you set them down, you notice the beautiful blue sky above you. You see several puffy clouds in different sizes and shapes.
After a few moments, you notice you are feeling better. You think about the things in your baggage and packages.
You see that slowly, carefully, the baggage and packages and their contents disappear.
As this luggage, baggage, and packages and their contents disappear, you feel lighter, calmer, and freer.
The sun in the sky is moving low into the sky. The bright blue gives way to oranges, pinks, and purples.
You are aware how much calmer and more positive you are after you release these bags and their contents.
You pause for a few moments and then you stretch your arms, legs, and spine. You feel the oxygen enter your muscles. You stretch, bend, and rotate your legs.
Your arm and back muscles stretch as you move them overhead and back. You feel as if your muscles are breathing.
Soon, every muscle in your body feels refreshed from oxygen. While stretching and bending your muscles, you take in fresh air which relaxes your body and mind.
Slowly, your realize that your heavy burdens are disappearing. The release of these bags and packages give insight into how much better you feel without this weight and these issues.
You feel healed.
You are now ready to move forward as you journey down your path.
You are relaxed as you wiggle your legs, feet and toes, your arms, hands, and fingers.
You are now ready to explore promise, renewal, and plan for the future.
You are ready to develop your potential.
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Find out more about Thurman at www.thurmangreco.com
Interested in Woodstock? This show has 20 years of segments about the people, the community, and subjects important to our residents.
This book is available as an ebook at www.thurmangreco.com
These recently listed articles are the seed chapters of the new book: “The Spirituality of the Tarot”.
Thanks
Thurman Greco
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!
Find this book at www.Thurmangreco.com
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Manifest Your Goals
The Magician specializes in manifesting reality. He takes you by the hand and moves you along toward your life direction. This can sometimes be an inch-worm process through your adventures.
This is a beginning class that shifts your perspectives.
If you allow him, the Magician can influence you. You may think of him as a teacher, guide, mentor, counselor. Whatever word you use, what he does, actually, is heal.
Healing is magical.
The Magician’s apprentice program teaches techniques you can use to reach your goals. This work is sacred. God touches you in all sorts of ways as you find wonder in the ordinary. You learn to work with reality using your intellect, intuition, talent, and day-to-day skills.
When you focus on your goals and ideals mentally, reality follows. This may not be so easy at first, but with the Magician’s help and your good intentions, you can manifest the reality you need to control your own life.
STORY:
When Donald Trump was elected President of the United States for the first time, I contacted a small number of my Reiki students and offered them a complementary Reiki Master Teacher training class. I set my limit at four students.
Four Woodstock students showed up at my home for the first class. I explained to them that I felt the most effective thing I could do for my community at this time was train a few Reiki Master Teachers. I charged no money for this class. Their newfound skills would be my contribution to my community.
I was paying the debt forward, I explained.
Karen was one of the students. She not only attended the three classes, she copied class materials and prepared certificates for signing. Karen was in charge of handouts.
We were in. Because a Reiki Master Teacher needs some time to incubate the new skills, I felt there would be little impact over the next year.
It wasn’t long, though, before Karen found students. I made myself available to support her in any way possible.
Most of Karen’s students were local but her reputation spread quickly. It wasn’t long before she was teaching Reiki to people who lived outside Woodstock and beyond Ulster County. Karen was teaching people and building a reputation for herself and her classes.
Then came the Pandemic. Karen continued to give Reiki sessions, teach classes, and attune students in the outdoor park area near her home.
As far as I can tell, neither Karen nor her students cared whether it was hot or cold or raining or whatever. They practiced and learned Reiki.
Using Reiki, Karen connected with a divine order, aligning the physical and sacred selves.
As Karen offered Reiki and extended blessings her circle widened. She sought no gifts or thanks for what she shared.
FOCUS IN
Be ready for creativity coming your way. Keep notes on every idea coming to mind. Do you have a small notebook ready?
MEDITATION
Remember a recent very busy day in your life. Think about the rushing around, the hassles, of your hectic schedule, and the stress of it all.
Now, leave that day and its pressures behind you.
Let them go.
But how?
You encounter balanced energy throughout the day. As your day progresses, the energy moves in streams.
Somehow, the energy flows in unexpectedly. Often, the source is unexpected.
Giving and receiving are the healing activities which balance the flow.
There are many ways to give: time, money, talents, activities, prayer, yourself.
There are many places to send your generosity: family, friends, neighbors, people throughout the planet, both known and unknow. Further, you can send your gifts to living being both on this planet and beyond. You can send your gifts to places, plants, the past, the present, and the future.
Every time you give of yourself, the universal energy bank returns your gift. The more you give, the more you receive.
Giving and receiving are both healing.
So, take a few moments now to sit or lay down in a quiet, private, and safe place.
Light a candle, or turn on your salt lamp. Play your favorite healing music. Place a special stone nearby. OR, do nothing beyond sitting and relaxing in this special place.
Breathe in and breathe out naturally. Use whatever breathing pace is the most comfortable for you.
Be aware that your inbreaths uplift, balance, and heal. Your outbreaths release what needs to go.
Now, for a few moments, reach out in love to a soul. This soul can be anyone or anything that you feel needs your touch.
Ponder for a few moments the generosity, blessing, and healing that you give and receive in your daily life.
Notice how you feel at this moment.
You know that it is time for you to return to your day.
Take several more inbreaths and outbreaths now. Know that you can return to this space of generosity, love, awareness, and healing any time you want.
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A healing book you may find interesting:
A Tarot Book you may find interesting:
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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Your Past Creates the Present and the Future
Judgement focuses on concepts that are grounded in both religion and practicality.
Judgement focuses on your awareness of your higher self within.
Something has happened – and you are being called to make changes reflecting who you truly are. At this time, you are being asked to become comfortable with a new you. Actually, this is who you have been all along. Except now, you have an opportunity to enliven yourself. You now have the freedom to be yourself.
Judgement is the experience of regeneration and rebirth as the present and the future meet up with the past. This is liberation and completion.
What’s happening is this: things are ending in your life. They include doubt, indecision, depression, despair, and fear. Much of this is happening under the surface. You are liberating yourself!
This is a big deal – an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Archangel Gabriel blows his trumpet! Accounts balance, self-appraisal processes, and your accomplishments are evaluated. This is the final settlement of the matter.
Judgement pays off old debts and sets the stage for a new beginning.
As you enter this time of growth, you leave the past where it belongs – behind you.
See your new potential!
STORY
In a food pantry, shoppers and volunteers remake their lives when forgiveness erases resentment and awful memories of feeling harmed.
In the food room, forgiveness is as necessary as the groceries. Opportunities to experience forgiveness pop up like dandelions on a spring lawn.
And forgiveness, like those dandelions, finds its own time.
When shame and disappointment move on, they free the future from the past.. If not, these negative emotions define the future. The whole thing is a process. An excellent first step is to prepare to forgive someone else as well as yourself.
Dispensation is often an internal, hidden experience. Without a smile of mercy, it’s difficult to impossible to know when a person practices forgiveness.
I sometimes know who didn’t because I see anger and a stuck life in a person’s face.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean you win. You don’t get away with anything. You don’t forgive someone for them. It’s not about what they did. You forgive a person for your own peace of mind and inner calm. It means you’re moving on without lugging around so much baggage. The absence of baggage sets us free.
Go compassion!
You feel lighter physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and mythically. When this happens, when you forgive somebody, frustration and grudges leave your body through the thoracic region of your spine like a rush of hot wind.
I sometimes feel this happens on people during a Reiki therapy session.
Miracles, blessings, and forgiveness go hand in hand. When you ask for absolution, you invite a blessing because of the spiritual shift connected with the request.
In a food pantry, you simply give away the food. If you can’t give away food without strings, scorekeeping taints everything:
“That person lives in Shandaken. He shouldn’t even be here.”
“You’re serving entirely too much food to these people. You can’t do that.”
“You shouldn’t feed fresh produce to these people.”
“You’re serving too many people.”
“You don’t feed this kind of food to these people. If they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat anything.”
“Are you sure the people in the line really need the food?”
“Those cell phones are expensive. How can they afford the fancy cell phones and still get free food?”
With forgiveness, you forgive yourself as well as the other. After all, you need to forgive each other as well as yourself.
Forgiveness can surprise you. You just discover the old normal disappeared one day, never to return.
One day forgiveness invited you to move to a new normal, a place you liked a lot. You weren’t a victim anymore. This was wonderful! You could be happy to dump this load. You weren’t stuck in the past anymore.
You waited until the time was right, just like dandelions.
FOCUS IN
Forgive yourself
MEDITATION
Find a private place where you can feel safe for this meditation. Sit in a comfortable chair. Arrange yourself so you can relax.
You may want to turn on some healing music, burn a candle, light incense, and/or place an important crystal near you.
Begin this meditation with breath awareness. Follow the breath as it enters your body, fills your lungs, and leaves your body again. You don’t need to control this process. Let your body manage your mind as it relaxes. Release all stress as your breath continues to enter and leave your body.
As you breathe, your relaxation wakes your self to your powerful life force.
You continue to follow your breath as it enters and leaves your body.
You feel peaceful and relaxed. You realize you can manifest your present and future because of your connection with your past.
You see that you accept and approve of yourself. This acceptance and self-love create forgiveness.
You see that your journey is a map for your soul development. And now, you see
the connection between your past and your future.
You feel awakened.
You understand that when you are awakened, you can find your true self.
As you continue to focus on your breath, you move your consciousness into your
physical body as you return to your day.
You know you can return to this place 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 about Thurman’s books at www.thurmangreco.com
Exploring Mysteries
Getting to Know the High Priestess –
The High Priestess wants you to learn more about your unconscious. She feels your potential will benefit from the attention you give to your dreams, imagination, and intuition. Your potential needs attention. Explore your mysteries.
Because you already have the answers you seek, you can trust your instincts, even if you can’t explain why or how. You have your own secrets. It’s a good time to discover them. After all, you already know the answers.
The High Priestess appears in a spread to tell you that something hidden or otherwise unknown is about to surface. This is all about recognizing or revealing the hidden potential in your life. Opportunities wait to surface. Something hidden emerges. She mediates the human and the divine.
The High Priestess understands truths that cannot be put into words or doctrines. This is hard to describe. She is all about understanding.
If you happen to have a secret, please keep your own counsel.
A STORY:
The woman seated at my table on that beautiful Woodstock afternoon at the Mower’s Saturday Sunday Flea Market was lovely. But, she wasn’t the centerpiece of the spread on the table at that moment.
She thought of her question while she shuffled the cards and handed me a card from deep in the deck.
I knew for sure: this spread was unique.
They all are. I’m always amazed at how, in some way, each spread tells a story appropriate for this person, this situation.
This spread was no exception. It was time to explore mysteries.
Three cards stood out: The High Priestess, the Tower, and the Eight of Swords.
In this spread, the High Priestess spoke. She focused on hidden and emerging opportunities. She saw potential waiting to surface.
I was especially impressed by this because the High Priestess has a reputation for keeping things hidden. In this moment, I felt she was offering a way for my client to discover a mystery of her own.
What a gift! The High Priestess knows that not all truths can be put into words or even doctrines.
Another card reaching out to be read was The Tower.
The Tower brings surprise, shock, and awe. But, years of experience have taught me that The Tower is, deep down, not a total surprise. It needs you to explore mysteries.
The wisdom of the Tower is that this card offers a chance to rebuild, update, and move into the future.
Another bit of wisdom of The Tower is that it’s wise to slow down after the event for a few days, even a week or two. Let the dust settle before making any substantive decisions. That way, the decisions can be part of the rebuilding process.
But, what about the decisions that need to be made? We come now to the wisdom of the Eight of Swords:
First – don’t feel sorry for yourself.
Second – After you’ve given yourself time to see the problem for what it is, list your options.
This is a challenging thing to do but is easier if you give your eyes a chance to see the problem realistically. Your list can be short, written on the back of an envelope. Or, it can be a page or more in your journal.
Finally – Trust in your intuition. Is there anything in this list that you can use?
Yes – Great – Go for it! Explore mysteries.
No – Is there nothing in this list that you can use? No – Don’t get discouraged. You have a final option that you may not have yet considered: The wisdom of the Eight of Swords has a strong message: Walk Away!
FOCUS IN
Journal your goals and intentions. What are ways you can align your intentions with your goals?
MEDITATION
Begin this meditation by getting comfortable in a quiet and private place where you won’t be disturbed. Turn off your phone. Loosen uncomfortable clothing.
Focus on your breathing. Allow yourself to breathe to your own natural rhythm. Breathe slowly, easily and deeply to produce a state of deep, gentle relaxation. Inhale…Exhale…Inhale…Exhale…
When you are ready, breathe in deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Notice how your sense of relaxation, comfort, and peace of mind become noticeable to you.
A ball of light surrounds you now. This ball of pure energy circulates around you and moves you into even deeper relaxation and comfort.
Each inhale and exhale encourage you to become more relaxed.
Enjoy how relaxed and comfortable you are now. Your inhales bring soothing, relaxing, nourishing, and healing energy into your body.
Your exhales release tension, stress, pain and/or discomfort.
Each breath increases your relaxation and comfort.
Think, now, of a beautiful, peaceful, safe place. It is magical and mystical and just for you.
Take a few moments to enjoy this place. Notice the trees, shrubbery, flowers, grasses. See the birds. Smell the beauty of this special place.
You see a table and chairs for two in front of you. Two drinks of soothing liquids are on the table. What do the glasses, cups, saucers, and napkins look like?
A wise being comes into your special area and sits at the table. You join this wise being at the table.
You know that this is a situation you can trust. You understand that you are here, in this special place, to explore solutions to important questions that you are dealing with. You are seeking solutions for problems that have been bothering you for some time.
When you ask questions your responses come to you as inspirations. You ask questions that may not generate responses at this moment.
You know that some answers may not come instantly. You know that you may need several hours or days before inspirational responses come to you.
Wordlessly communicating with this wise being, you know in your heart that you can return to this place whenever you need because some answers will become available to you over time.
You know that this meditation will become easier over time.
You know that it is time to return to your day. You open your eyes, and take a few final relaxing breaths – breathing in and then breathing out.
You look forward to meeting with this wise being in future meditations.
You open your eyes and take a few relaxing breaths – inhaling and exhaling to your own rhythm.
You look forward to meeting with this wise being in future meditations.
Now, you return to your day.
Thanks for reading this article. It’s coming to you after a recess of several weeks. I have been reorganizing my manuscript recently.
I’m currently writing “The Spirituality of the Tarot”. This book is absorbing a lot of attention and focus. One thing I’ve learned – when the manuscript calls, there is a reason.
Thank you for your patience.
Find out more about me at www.Thurmangreco.com.
Two short books, “Healer’s Tarot Memoir”, focus on The Major Arcana, The Minor Arcana, and The Court Cards”. They are available as e-boooks 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
