Asking about Life

I got the idea for this topic this month from a post I saw on a Tarot bulletin board that I go to often. Someone there said that they don't believe we can, each of us on an individual basis, do much to change the world. I wasn't at all sure this was true.  I personally believe that each of us can take actions that spread out like ripples on a body of water. We can touch someone, who then touches others and it starts a chain reaction. Much like the person who invented the idea of paying it forward and now people all over have heard of it and benefiting from it. If we have a truly good idea, we can incite others to follow us. And we can certainly work together, doing group meditations and the like, which are more powerful than individual ones.

Since I had all this in mind, I decided to ask the cards this month for you: "What can we do, as individuals, to make the world around us a better place?"

I used an Oracle for you this time, one I don't believe I had ever used here before. This one is called "Sacred Path Cards" and its by Jamie Sams. It's a Native American themed deck, and one I absolutely love for that and because of the beauty of its messages, both those of its cards and those found in the book accompanying the deck (comes with an amazing hardcover book full of wisdom).


Question: What can we do, as individuals, to make the world around us a better place?

Card 1: South Shield (Innocence/Inner Child)

This to me says the start is to have faith in our abilities, to believe that we can be anything we want to be. Like the innocent state of a child who believes they can be anything at all they want to be when they grow up from.  This reading says that this is the start. The more you believe you can do, the more you can accomplish. And what you don't believe you can accomplish, you will most likely never try. 

The image is saying to me that part  of the answer is also about being  faithful and true to the inner values and beliefs we learnt growing up.

 

It's also a card about keeping things in balance. about slowing down and really seeing and appreciating the best and the beauty of life. And that creating real lasting change works best when it comes from a positive place inside us, not from a negative one. From a love-based place instead of from a fear-based one. It helps to really be able to believe in the wonder of life and that anything is possible rather than to come at a problem filled with sarcasm, for example.

 

It's about keeping things in balance. While yes, some things in life could benefit from change, it's also important to keep your sense of humour. And that making time for physical exercise is as important as what is occupying your mind. And just stop and listen to your inner child and the real you inside.

 

 

Card 2: West Shield (Introspection/Goals)  

This card says that an important part of how to help make the world a better place is to take the time to really stop and think about your goals. It's also important to be sure of what you hope to create, what it might lead to, if it is really for the best, or might something else do more ultimate good instead.

It's about our connection to the all, and to everything around us. And the interconnectedness of all things. Changing one thing, will affect others. And being able to see what is ultimately best in all areas. This card says we can know this by really looking into our hearts and deeply into our souls. The answer of what is ultimately best IS there inside us. And this card says it is important to take the time to look and look before trying to create change.

 

It's important to work from a pure place where you can see clearly and to be true to the inner you, not to be hampered by a need for the approval of others or things of that nature.

 

It's a matter of taking a look at the goals you feel you would like accomplish, before starting, and to try to see how they really would affect the future, in different areas.  To ask yourself if the desire to create these things is really coming from the real you deep inside, or is it being influenced in some way by the feeling and opinions of others which may not lead to the ultimate best path. This card says this can happen at times without our being aware of it. And that if you don't feel totally sure that your goals are coming from the real you deep inside, it's time to take a break, meditate if you wish, and think things out until you know your goals are coming from that place. Then you will be working from the right place to take action.

 

 

Card 3: Peyote Ceremony  (New Abilities)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This card is about learning from the past and discovering new abilities within yourself. Whatever has happened in the past, as human beings we also have the capacity to change, evolve and grow. We can nurture and develop new abilities within us at any time in our lives. Just as we can go back to school and take courses at any time in our lives, we are also very capable of learning new life lessons, and strengthening and improving all that we are at any time in our lives.

 

This means, for one thing, that 10 years from now we can become much more than we are now. And right now we are likely much more than we were 10 years ago. The change can be so gradual that at times we barely see it. But nevertheless it is there. Life is change. We develop new abilities every day even if that change is often gradual. So part of the answer from this card is to not feel you have to limit yourself according to what has happened to you in the past

 

If you tried to accomplish something in the past and it did not work as well as you had hoped, that doesn't at all have to mean that you cannot succeed now. This card says that if you don't have to expect that something that did not work as well as you had hoped in the past will not work well this time. By now you have likely developed some new skills and abilities. You are more than you were then, as we constantly grow. And from where you are now you can see the entirely of that situation in the past and why things worked out as they did,. From that vantage point you can think out different methods that are more likely to be successful for you.

 

So, the message here is a lot about not limiting yourself, not telling yourself that you can only go so far or do so much, because in the past that is the most you could achieve. This card asks you not to just assume that. If  you push at those limits, you may very well see that you can now achieve a whole lot more than you imagined.  

This card asks you to see yourself as someone who is always learning and growing. Look for new ways to be more than you have been in the past. Talk to others who know things and have qualities you admire. Take classes or read some books if there is something you would like to strengthen of improve. And don't place limits on yourself.  You are very very likely much more inside than you realize even now.

 

 

Card 4: flipped Medicine Bundle (Allies/Support)

This is the last card in answer to this question. It is also a flipped card. Meaning a card that flipped out of the deck during shuffling. A flipped card in a reading shows issues that are a bit complex and it asks that you stop and think over the answer given in the card. It says there is something a bit deep there, that you may not fully see the first time you read the answer.

And this card clearly says that, well, you are never alone really. No one lives in a vacuum and no man is an island. We all have allies and the support of others in the world around us to help us see things in different ways, to help us find inner strength, to know we are never alone and to be the best we personally can be.

Depending on your belief system, this can be talking about caring people in our lives: friends, family, teachers and people we admire. Or if that is part of your belief system, you could also see this as support from the Universe/Spirit. But either way the end result is that as individuals we are never totally alone. We always have the support of others around us to help us....

This card says that knowing and remembering things can be healing to you. Even doing things that remind you can be helpful, like wearing the shirt given to you by someone whose courage you admire can be helpful when you need to face something requiring courage. As a help to remind you they are there with you in spirit and to ask yourself what they would do and how they would proceed in the same situation.

This card says to remember and to respect those who are here in this world to help you. Let their love and  strengths help heal you. No matter what you face in life you have that support of those who care. And this card says it is also important to remember your role in helping these people who are their for you when they need your help.

 

 Although the question was about what we can all do as individuals to make the world a better place, the answer here focused more on how to do it than what to actually do. I think the reason for that is found in Card 2. The answer is an individual thing. You have to find it inside you, from the real you deep inside. We are each of us individuals gifted with a unique set of talents. The answer will be different for each of us.

 

BUT, also, I think it is safe to say from this reading that some things any of us CAN do to help make the world a better place is to help others get in touch with the parts of them that will help them send out that kind of energy. Eg helping others to see life events positively and to have faith in life, to help them see how to set the most effective goals for them according to what their true inner self tells them, to help them learn new things and to see themselves as growing beings who are learning new things and improving as time passes.  And to be there for the people in your life and help them remember they are never alone....