Living your Symbols

Symbols and Metaphors

2011-10-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Clients have often asked about the difference between symbol and metaphor. Yes, they are different. Metaphors alter or change a subject's meaning. They are more fluid in writing, for example, with the comparison continuing between two objects that may seem very dis-similiar but do have a common denominator or meaning.

Metaphors can help us clarify expressions in a visual way as in '...she grew in relation to her former self...'

With symbols an 'object' is used to substitute for the subject or feeling or thought or action. Your personal symbols have meaning within the context of association with a subject. We write with symbols, but they are not metaphors.

A cross is a symbol. Within the Tarot story it symbolizes coming together. The union point of foursomes: The four levels of awareness, the four major themes in all our lives as well as four directions and four sides to a pyramid. And thoughts can grow into symbols - A great personal writing journey of exploration could be, "Where do you see this in your own inner world?"

David Brooks, a favorite New York Times writer of mine, writes about metaphor which set my mind in motion to post this blog originally back in April. Here 'tis updated:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/opinion/12brooks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Pull out your lifetime tarot card and write about what it 'symbolizes' in your life!

Have fun with your theme of creativity today.

Worry vs Concern as I'm off to Costa Rica & Guatemala

2011-03-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

We often confuse these. Yesterday while talking with a friend about my upcoming trip to Costa Rica and Guatemala she said, "Oh, I'm so worried for you, is it safe?"

Let's take a moment to separate concern and worry. In the tarot story the 5 of Disks is called "Worry". The card has a Darth Vader quality to it. Dark with disks grinding at each other. It symbolizes what the mind can do to us if we fall into worry which can grind us down. How? That mind set just runs repeatedly rummaging around in the mind to burrow into deep recesses of memories.

With worry we are living in the past, or the future. It is impossible to be in the present with worry. However if we take it apart we see that it is the combining of fear and concern. And it's that fear that will run us.

Concern is gentle. Fear is harsh. Concern is an expression of our human heart to heart connection. Fear is an expression of the past or future. Concern conveys care. And we all love to be cared for by another.

Her mindset was on fear. Gently I reminded her that I welcomed her concern and invited her to drop the fear. Who wants that fear energy around them? And as thought directs energy and energy follows thought it is my hope that my family, friends and clients hold possibility, hope, opportunity and love when thinking about my latest foreign excursion.

The next time you find yourself in worry take a mental break. Separate out what fear may be driving your thoughts with what your concern is because the concern is manageable but the fear will manage us!

March 6 - March 30 will find me in Costa Rica and Guatemala. I'm blessed to have friends in both places along with the opportunity to share more of my Beyond Tarot work.

As I did with my trip to Cyprus I will be posting updates and photos on my facebook. Please connect with me there, too.

Viaja bien esperan!

Don't Defeat Yourself. Notice where fear may be living.

2011-03-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

Recently, while working with a client who is creating the vision for her new project, I was coaching her on the type of team she wants to develop. She talked about some of the people who want to be involved with her in this venture. One person is quite bright in a specific area but also quite negative in their communication style. Unsure of how this person's energy could affect the project I asked her to become quiet inside and pull a card that would symbolize this person and their involvement as a member of her team.

She pulled the 5 of Swords which is called 'Defeat' in the Thoth Tarot deck. In an instant her own fear emerged and of course she wondered if it was about her. This was a delicate challenge for her and ultimately she realized, on her own via the inner environment in which we were working, that this person was indeed mirroring a fear of defeat that she was holding on the unconscious. Gratefully she embraced the awareness and was then able to look at what she wanted in the working relationship.

She was able to separate her fear from her judgment about this other person. She was able to see that this person could be a valuable asset on her team but the responsibility lay with her to create the right set of expectations regarding how the team would communicate with each other. She had not thought at all about the dynamics of the team's communication. Now she was aware of the power that the fear of defeat had held within her.

That is was not about defeat but rather about the fear of defeat. It's understanding that it is the fear which can freeze any movement forward.

Now this is a case where true defeat could materialize if the expectations are not clearly communicated and worked with as a communication continuum. Exchanging expectations is not a one time thing. Whenever two or more are gathered together in anyone's name there is the need to continually visit and re-visit expectations. Exchange them, negotiate them, make them the fluid foundation for building co-creative working relationships!

In that way there is no room for defeat or the fear of it. There is only room for the flow of creativity!

Again...

2011-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

So the other day google had a problem. Many lost their emails and some of my blog posts are now gone. Well, isn't that just like life? We can plan and prepare yet we really don't always know outcomes.

The card I pulled about this was the "Chariot" which is all about change. Change in which one can learn to ride the waves whether large or small. It is about continually adjusting and re-adjusting to what shows up on our path.

Movement, too. The Chariot symbolizes one of the four main themes in our life - movement. There are times we need to be still, to bring our outer movement to a place of quiet. There are times we much continue to move forward. And, we want to be aware of the times we may be holding ourselves back somehow - stopping our movement for some reason which is usually fear based.

When you pull the Chariot one thing is for sure. It is definitely time to pick up your body and MOVE! Walk, dance, jump rope, do yoga or tai chi. There is intuitive information that wants to come in and you can access it by moving your body!

My next move? Sunday I leave for Costa Rica and Guatemala. Have cards will travel! See you all soon here, or on facebook, or on one of my travels!

Our New Year

2011-01-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Since my last post in September the Hermitess (Hermit IX) has been my inner guide. With this Hermitess energy I found myself introspecting more than usual. This kept me inside my own inner cave to afford me the time needed to look at completions and perfections.

The Hermit is gifted in three areas: introspection, completion and perfection. When this energy is moving through you as a growth year - or as an individual focus which it had been for me - we are called to sit as deeply and quietly within ourselves as possible.

This introspection then allows us to see what it is that may be calling for completion. Of course because we do live in a 'completion challenged culture' we all will be asked over and over to look at our completions. Then, to perfect them or to follow through on the completion.

Remember that completion does not mean the end. It means a new beginning or initiation wants to be birthed. We need the completion energy to, in turn, have new beginnings.

What are those needed completions? They differ as much as each of us differ from one another in all aspects of our lives and being. You can began by looking on your four levels of awareness (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) as well as the four primary themes (creativity, relationships, healing and motion).

It is most important that we not let overwhelm overtake us in completion work. Why? Because, truthfully, completion work is never done! You can, however, look at the completions that are calling you right now in this moment and begin to attend to them. The beginning new year is a 'perfect' time to do this.

Start now! Let me know how it goes and do let me know if you need any assistance with uncovering them or working with them.

Happy New Year!

Seasoning Change

2010-09-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

Today the Chariot card came up in my morning spread. Perfect focus and remembering as we are now into the Fall season. Here, in Santa Fe where I am on retreat, the change was dramatic. Hot hot days leading up to the Equinox yesterday on the 22nd. Then on the 21st there was rain off and on all day complete with thunder and lightening.

Yesterday, as the Equinox, moved in the weather was remarkably different. Windy and cool with a few high white clouds here and there. What a change from the week leading up to this.

With the Chariot, which is the highest archetype of motion and change in the Tarot story, remember that there is something that wants to be set in motion. Look first at your creativity. Is there something that wants to be harvested or changed within your theme of creativity?

If that doesn't resonant in this moment then take some time to look into the other major life themes of relationship, healing and motion itself. There could be something that needs moving in the relationship you have with yourself.

Feeling stuck anywhere? Then just begin to move your physical body. Be your own chariot and move. Doesn't matter whether its dancing, walking, biking, tai chi, or... just get your body moving, even for a few minutes, and the information will begin to channel in from your own intuitive level.

Now, I'm going to walk in this cool, brisk New Mexico morning. Have a good day of change and motion!

Beyond Tarot workshop Saturday, August 21, 2010

2010-08-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

Summer greetings! It’s still here and I hope you are enjoying the season! Here is an update of my summer with some terrific events:

♥ Saturday, August 21 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM, I will be offering an afternoon workshop: Beyond Tarot, igniting and living your personal symbols! This will be a lively, learning, lovely afternoon all about YOU! And when we think about it, isn’t the most interesting thing to each of us ourselves?

Join us and learn more about your own special ONE-derful self through the journey of symbols and how I use this as a needs assessment tool with my clients. We will look at gifts and potentials as well as completions and challenges. Come see what’s waiting in the wings of your life and how to take flight with them!

WHEN: Saturday, August 21, 2010
TIME: 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
WHERE: Golden Gate Center for Spiritual Living http://www.ggcsl.org
199 Greenfield Ave., Suite B – Upstairs, San Rafael CA 94901
415-721-2492 – Pre-registration is required! I can register you, too.
COST: $25.00 (this is a fundraiser for GGCSL)

♥ If you want to plan a full day of summer fun on the 21st, I encourage you to try Boomer Rhythms in Mill Valley. Maya Durie leads this dance & movement morning. What a concept – movin’ to the music of the boomers, and you younger folks will love it, too! http://www.boomerrhythms.com/ Dance yourself full, enjoy lunch at any number of great Marin eateries then spill over with all your joy into the afternoon Tarot journey. We will have food, too!

♥ Other news for me is a moving sale on Saturday, August 28! Time to lighten up and let go of so I can travel and traverse with less to make room for more.* To help with this, the universe brought Kathy Bennett into my life. Kathy’s business, A Helping Hand, supports people who want to get by with less or just need to let go of stuff. Her gifted skills are helping me clear out, clean up and put together my sale, which she will be managing. Come by on the 28th to meet her. She is open for business and you can contact her via email: kathyb525@gmail.com or on her cell phone: 407-461-7318.

♥ The garage sale blends with my emphasis on completion work and the opportunities Mercury retrograde brings. Mercury goes retrograde from August 20 – September 12. This is a spot on time to work on completions – remember that we do live in a “completion challenged culture”. Completions on all levels and within all your life themes could be calling to you right now. It is also a perfect time for a Beyond Tarot consultation!

Remember that when Mercury goes retrograde we need to double check and be super clear about appointments, agreements, contracts and communications – anything on that physical level of awareness! *For example, one of the ‘more’s in my life is a new business I began that is geared towards 6th sensory beings. I made sure to initiate it now so I can utilize the Mercury retrograde time and its completion energy to be in contact with the people who want to join me. Wondering about 6th sensory beings? Read my blog for more and to see if you are a 5th sensory or 6th sensory being.

I hope to see you at my workshop, and beyond! Until then use this upcoming Mercury retrograde time to also give yourself some lazy summer time to kick back, refill and renew!

Much love,
Susan

More about 5th and 6th sensory beings.

2010-08-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Are you beginning to see where the 5th and 6th sensory beings are in your life and how best to work with them and yourself? Can you now be more understanding of the family into which you were born? Remember, you don't have to waste time and energy trying to understand it which can be a fruitless exercise in frustration! Rather, just develop the ability to be understanding. Understanding of the differences.

Fifth sensory beings are not wrong. They are just more limited in their reality and what they are open to experiencing. If you are a 6th sensory being you are spiritually accountable to step up to a higher place in which to communicate from and live your life!

Personally, I am more compassionate with myself around the complications I experienced when I was in the corporate world. As a 6th sensory being I was often frustrated and ended up making my time there more difficult than it needed to be as I reflect back.

Where, in your own life, have you seen this play out? Where, today, can you make a difference by embracing the other-ness of the 5th sensory beings in your world? And, most importantly, how can you nurture your own 6th sensory self and draw like-minded souls into your life?

Now I have a new business that only 6th sensory beings will understand. Only 6th sensory beings will be drawn to it, will get what it is as well as the value in it because it is based on the universal law of attraction!

Pull a card, or ask me to pull one for you. What does it say to you? Let your brilliant intuition speak to you through that symbol. Write about it, dance it, sing it, draw it, integrate it. Symbols take us beyond tarot, beyond the ordinary and into the higher energetic being you are - and, by the way, chose to be in this lifetime!

5th sensory and 6th sensory beings

2010-08-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Fifth sensory beings require physical evidence before they can accept something as real. Since energy is invisible to most of us, they have little or no energy awareness. If they can't see it, smell it, hear it, touch it or taste it, they simply cannot relate to it. It is not part of their reality.

Sixth sensory beings recognize that everyone and everything lives in the realms of energy. We are all energy, or spiritual beings in a physical body. We are all energy having a physical experience.

If you are a 6th sensory being and find yourself amidst 5th sensory beings then that could explain why you might feel stymied or stuck in your communication with them. This is also true if you work in a 5th sensory organization. The organization will not 'get' who you are. You will need to adjust your communication style as well as your expectations in all four levels of awareness as well as the four major life themes.

Did you marry into a family of 5th sensory beings? Here, again, you may find yourself experiencing communication frustrations because the realities you each see will be different.

As a child did you ever wonder, "How did I get here with these people? It feels like we are on different planets, different universes." Yes, you were! Now, this was part of yours, and their, pre-birth contract - to come in and walk the journey in that family system. Why? To develop compassion and wisdom about differences for one. To learn malleability and flexibility in your communication and behaviors.

Here, again, Beyond Tarot sessions can assist you in identifying, completing and clearing these stuck places that may still be in your consciousness.

More tomorrow!

Sunday, July 25, enjoy both the full moon and the sun!

2010-07-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Sunday, July 25, for those in PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) we will have the opportunity to be with both the full moon and her counterpart the sun at the same time.

At 5:37 PM PDT, the moon will be full and the sun will still be out. This is a perfect time to balance out your magnetic and dynamic energies. Magnetic energy, often called the feminine or yin, is symbolized in the Tarot story by The Moon card. The moon is the magnetic symbol in our universe. She symbolizes our ability to receive as well as structuring and completing what our dynamic has initiated along with the listening aspect of our communication.

The Sun card symbolizes the dynamic, or what you may know as the masculine or yang, in the Tarot as well as in your life. The sun is the dynamic symbol in our universe educating us about our ability to give, to initiate, to begin and to communicate from an assertive place.

Can you begin to see how those energies work together? Tomorrow, when the moon is full and the sun is still shining take some time to bask in the beauty of those energies pouring into you. Sit quietly with the The Moon and The Sun cards. Consider writing about how your day has been with the those energies. Was it an overly magnetic day? Was it an overly dynamic day? What can you do with the time after 5:37 PM, or whenever the moon is full in your time zone, to balance out those energies by working with the one that may not have been activated.

It is a good time to also look at what completion opportunities from the past month may be waiting in your consciousness for their cycle to finish. And remember, any completion done is not only a win for you but a win for us all. Completion energy raises the vibrational frequency of your own feminine and that can only be a good thing for us all!

Enjoy the full moon and her counterpart the sun tomorrow afternoon!

The Completion Challenged Culture

2010-07-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was working via Skype with an international client who is growing his leadership skills to match his business acumen and success in the financial industry.

In growing himself as a visionary leader he has seen the value in identifying and working with his own personal symbolic language. During this session his thoughts were cloudy and troubled, but by what he could not identify. What I see in so many client cases is that troubled thoughts are often an invitation to look at what may need to be completed.

He understands the phrase I have coined about the impact of living and working in our 'completion challenged culture'. Over the years we have worked deeply with this in both his personal and professional life. As he talked my thoughts were taken immediately to the completion opportunity.

As we looked with more depth he pulled The Hermit from his tarot deck. Aha! The Hermit is the leadership archetype of completion! The Hermit energy within us all is the opportunity to introspect so that what wants to be completed can be identified and emerge.

He saw that he was over-activated on the mental level. Too much thinking. I reminded him of Einstein's idea that the level a problem is created on is rarely the level that has the solution. Then we began to look at the other levels.

Remember, there are four primary levels we all are operating on and with simultaneously: perceptive, mental, emotional and the physical. Of course we can sometimes find ourselves living more in one of them. This is why having a coach can be a powerful co-creative learning experience.

As we delved into the other levels, as well as the life themes of creativity, relationships, healing and motion, he began to 'see' and 'feel' and 'intuit' more information. There was a communication that he was withholding which needed to be given to one of his business partners. He saw his resistance and the denial surrounding it as well as his unconscious belief (old beliefs!) that he could ignore it.

As the solution became clear, his troubled mind found respite. Again, working with completion, The Hermit's journey, he garnered what the completion needed to be - delivering the communication with the skills of a visionary leader.

A completion always opens the door to another initiation, or beginning. I was not surprised that as he was forming his communication and practicing it a new idea came through that would benefit all the partners.

Look around your world today. What is calling for completion? It may be that proposal sitting in a corner of your computer. It may be a letter waiting to be written, or a communication to give, or the junk drawer in your office or kitchen that wants order. Or...?

And, last, remember that a completion for one of us is a completion for all of us. Why? Because completion moves energy up, it raises the vibrational frequency and that is a good thing for everyone!

Now, on with our completions!

August 21, 2010 BEYOND TAROT workshop

2010-07-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

Anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area is welcome to join me on Saturday afternoon, August 21, 2010 for a 3-hour workshop, BEYOND TAROT, Igniting and living your personal symbols.

Here's a link to the event posting on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/susan.cole?v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=135386456484510&index=1

It will be a time of learning and integration as well as fun and fascinating.

Join us!

The 3 of Swords

2010-07-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

This morning I pulled this card along with the Empress. The 3 of Swords is the sorrow card in the Thoth Tarot deck. It is a symbol of the grieving I am doing right now. Grieving is good, it's the blocking of grief that is not good. The swords can symbolize three different thoughts or belief systems or feelings that are interjecting at an intersection of your life. It can also be the loss of a person, a job, a relationship - any kind of loss needs to be recognized and worked with.

Right now I am working with letting go of and grieving the loss of a way of life. The other side of this is my excitement at a new way of life that is coming towards me. And, grieving the loss is imperative to fully allow the birthe-ing in of the new.

If you pull this card please welcome it into your consciousness. As we move through our grief we open the door to the feminine side of the soul and the result is unconditional love which is symbolized by the Empress. We do live in a culture that denies grieving. Don't deny yours. Let the loss work its way, and magic, with you. Stay with it, breath into it and let your tears baptize you into a new relationship with love - self love and unconditional love toward all sentient beings!

Every blessing to all this day!

Beyond Tarot: Igniting and living your personal symbols!

2010-07-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

On August 21, 2010, I will be giving a 3-hour introductory workshop on Beyond Tarot. During this time we will look at how to identify your primary symbol as viewed through the lens of the tarot story. These are powerful archetypes and once you know them you can begin to work with them rather than they working you! We will also look at the energy that transits you each year to provide new opportunities and learnings.

You will begin to understand what living in a 'completion challenged culture' means as well as where your part is in that. This will be a fun, lively and interactive time that also uses a power point presentation of the major symbols. Please join us!. You will meet and greet yourself in a new way!

DATE:     Saturday, August 21, 2010
TIME:     1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
VENUE: Golden Gate Center for Spiritual Living
              199 Greenfield Ave., Suite B Upstairs
              San Rafael, CA 94901
COST: $25

Summer is here!

2010-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

The summer solstice has now touched the entire world. As we enter this time it is a good time to remember The Sun card.

This card in the Tarot story is about finding and living co-creativity. This is a time to not be doing anything by yourself with in the theme of creativity.

The world, our world, is calling for co-creativity. For teaming. For creating on a larger scale that can only come from co-creativity.

If you have The Sun card put it up where you can bask in the light... more later.

The Emperor and Father's Day

2010-06-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

The Emperor, in the Tarot story, is the father archetype. Father's Day is Sunday, June 20. This is a time to not only honor your own father, but even more to honor the father within you!

Here we have an opportunity to activate that Emperor energy in our personal world. Since the Emperor is the dynamic, the initiator, the visionary these are all areas within yourself you can play with between now and Sunday.

Here are some questions to play with, journal around and meditate on:

How am I fathering myself? We hear so much about mothering ourselves, but rarely do we look at how we father ourselves. You can explore your relationship with assertive communication, or finances, or how you build a foundation for your creativity as well as when, where and how you vision. These are aspects of the Emperor, of your own dynamic nature. What shadow is there from father issues? Don't be afraid to look at the dark side and use your own inner father to bring light to these opportunities of development.

Of course the relationship with your own father can be clarified or healed by working with this energy, too.

Create a vision for how you want to father yourself! Look into your world to see who mirrors the Emperor to you. Welcome and embrace your dynamic energy as you birthe new insight into the Emperor within!

Times they are a changing!

2010-06-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. After my return from working last Fall in the magical Mediterranean island of Cyprus I have been in quiet quite a bit. Still seeing clients of course. Still writing which has been more of an inner journey than an outer sharing.

Now with the gentle winds of Spring surrounding me there is new growth and opportunity with my Soul Mapping work.

Spring is symbolized in the Tarot story by The Fool. If you have that card, now is a perfect time to just put him up somewhere to let the colors and symbols swim somewhere inside you. It is a time of initiating new growth from the planting of your creative seeds.

Right now, today, this minute plant something! Whether a seed in the ground or a thought in consciousness - plant it and grow it remembering that The Fool, Dionysus the Springtime God, is all about transforming fear. Use your fear today to reach for what you most want!

Soul Mapping

2009-12-14T01:37:00.000-08:00

As most of you know my work centers on the power of symbols in our life, how to identify them and use them for our growth and development as well as the betterment of our world.

For many years the portal to this work has been through the archetypes and symbols of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell's work as well as the Tarot. While I've never used the Tarot in the ways a traditional tarot reader does, it has been the magic, beauty and power of how the symbols show us paths to our growth that most fascinated me.

Now, this has taken a new step in my own creative development. What I really do with symbols as a portal to someone's path is Soul Mapping.

I will be writing more about this as well as sharing an entirely new set of flash cards for your leadership development.

Look for your symbols today. Where are they? How are they living inside you? What messages do they hold for your potential as well as problem solving your challenges?

Enjoy this moment!

Still in Cyprus!

2009-11-24T07:11:00.000-08:00

I'm still in Cyprus and adjusting to all the changes - sort of a microcosm of what happens anyway - aren't we all adjusting to something all of the time? This is a magical island full of history, change and the theme of motion.

The most amazing for me are the people here who are committed to their own growth and development. I am blessed to be working with many innovative individuals as well as leaders who desire change in their businesses, organizations and families.

Often I feel that the healing happening here is touching our whole world. Especially because this island is still struggling with its own internal split between the north and the south. Or, between its own magnetic and dynamic.

This is an island that has always been in the midst of change and motion. With many invaders and occupiers over the centuries the people have had to be flexible to survive. A lesson for us all.

Curious? Then google Cyprus to learn her history and the current situation between the north and south of her land. Later I will tell you more about the magic I am continually encountering each day.

Now, a moment for me to greet the lovely Cyprus evening as it welcomes the moon.

Cyprus Expo

2009-11-15T01:55:00.000-08:00

Today, Sunday in Cyprus, is the last day of the Mind Body Spirit Expo here in Nicosia. What a truly lovely sight to see so many people who want to learn about their growth and development on the spiritual and emotional levels of consciousness.

In many of the quick 'readings' I did for people we saw the energy of the Hierophant emerge. That is the card of spiritual teaching!

Spiritual vision is what the archetype offers us through the Tarot story. My hope is all who sat with me yesterday and today, too, will go for their spiritual vision in the days, weeks and months to follow.

Now, time for me to go to my table at the Expo to see who Spirit will send to me today!

Stillness today

2009-11-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

Traveling half way around the world yesterday with the Chariot as my symbolic guide. Now, I am in Cyprus. It is lovely here and I feel the ancient symbolism of Aphrodite who, in Greek mythology, was born here.

Just walking in the hills brings my spinning mind to stillness. As my feet move slowly my soul remembers the hills and the paths. Today is stillness after all the movement yesterday. My card for today is the Queen of Disks. She is the nutritionist, the designer of intimate healing in the Tarot story. She knows when its time to bring the theme of motion to a place of stillness. Then the healing theme has greater access to all my levels of awareness.

So today is about drinking lots of water, eating lightly of healthy vegetables and fruits and being quiet, being still as my body brings itself into this different time zone, into the magic of this island that I so love.

Now, time for some long exhales!

The Chariot

2009-11-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Today, instead of picking cards, I choose The Chariot. This represents the theme of motion in the Tarot story.

And today I am in motion on my way to Cyprus where I will see clients and present at their Fall Expo: http://www.cyprusspirit.com/

The Chariot is about setting something new in motion. Some aspect of my creative force, creative energy. I am setting in motion the work Spirit has given me in this lifetime. And The Chariot knows how to protect herself which is the armor she wears. It's not defensiveness - that would be an inversion of her energy.

More about that after I land in Cyprus!

Now, today, get your body in motion and your theme of creativity!

Packing Piles

2009-11-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Today I am preparing for my upcoming trip to Cyprus where I will present some of my work with symbols, Tarot and organization developement at their Mind Body Spirit expo http://www.cyprusspirit.com/

So I find myself in the midst of packing piles - several in the bedroom, two in my office, one in the bathroom, one in the kitchen. As I was sitting in the midst of some of them I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. That was my cue that I'd momentarily lost my grounding.

There are many different types of grounding exercises. For years I have experimented with many of them and find the simplest and most direct are through Aimee Lyndon-Adams' work. You can learn more about them at her website: http://spiritualenergyhealingnow.com/

Back to my piles - after a few moments of re-grounding the message of completion comes through. But what to complete? After a few moments of quiet, yes still sitting in the midst of the piles, the message was to clean out a drawer in my office. Of course, that's where I found the converter adapters that I had been looking for!

This morning's card that I pulled was the Two of Swords/Peace which, for me, was about grounding to be integrated enough to then receive the intuitive message about a next step. The two swords represent your/my magnetic and dynamic energies. They come together by clearing thought and grounding!

Sometimes we need to keep re-grounding many times during the day. And don't forget to ground your vehicle if you will be driving! You can also ground your home or any particular room there, too.

Now, back to my piles! More on my Cyprus trip later.

Bountiful blessings to all,
Susan

Halloween is a time for your magic!

2009-10-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a time for your own magic to emerge. Take some time to befriend your personal symbols. Don't know what they are? Then it may be time to have a Tarot consultation to find your very own so let me know if you are interested.

And, you can also sit quietly, close your eyes and just watch what emerges in the quiet of your mind and heart as they unify.

Halloween is a time to take off any of the old masks that no longer work for you. What are you projecting to the world? What do you want the world to see?

It is also fine to wear a mask in your day to day life. A mask can also be a protection. Just be sure you don't wear one as a defense or to hide.

Mostly, have fun with this magic time of the year. What are you harvesting from your inner consciousness? What will you do next with all that goodness?

Now, I'm off to find a new mask for this weekend of magic and mystery!

Changes

2009-10-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Today, for the first time this season, the weather has told us it is Fall here in northern California. Each season is a reminder of the continuing flow of change both within and without our lives.

With this morning's chill in the air I sat quietly with my steaming cup of coffee and let my eyes wander over the horizons. One cloud formation had the shape of the infinity sign! This opened my mind to the 2 of Disks tarot card which is named "Change".

The card shows the ouroboros snake in the form of the infinity symbol - without beginning and without end. Snakes also are a symbol of transformation, the highest aspect of change. This particular card symbolizes change, but it is gentle and expansive change. Change we welcome, transformation that moves us along our path of actualization.

Look today at what may be gently calling for change in your own life. Is there a completion waiting? Are the falling leaves in the yard calling to you as they change their colors? Does your kitchen call this morning to be filled with the transforming aromas of home baked muffins or a stew to simmer throughout the day? Is that poem rattling around in your head ready to change an empty white sheet of paper?

Remember from yesterday's post, you can easily access your levels or themes to discover what change is waiting to be birthed in your own consciousness.

Keep changing and let me know your story of change on this day and how you choose to greet it!

A Model for Living

2009-10-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Model of Living I work with provides a simple way to assess one's needs on a daily basis. You, too, can use this in the morning as you plan your day and at the end of the day when you are scrolling back through to see what may have been left out or undone.

This Model is simple. It consists of your four main levels of awareness along with the four primary themes in our life and the energy of balance.

Four levels of awareness: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical or reality level.

Four primary themes: creativity, relationships, healing and motion or movement.

The levels and themes are alive and continually interacting via the energy of balance.

In the Tarot story balance is symbolized by the male and female forms on the cards. In this system of work I use the term magnetic when speaking about the feminine or yin or receptive. Our magnetic supports our work in completion. Dynamic is the term I use to represent the masculine or yang or action of giving. Our dynamic is the key to initiation, beginning or starting something new.

At the end of your day look at the four levels and the four themes. Quickly scan through them to see if one was more active than another, or if you were actively involved in some over others. Was it a very 'mental' day? Then you may consciously need to invest some time in your 'spiritual' level with prayer or meditation. Or combine the spiritual and the physical with solo time in nature walking through the trees.

Most of us have one theme we are more gifted or feel more drawn towards. What is that one in you? Again, if you know you just put a great deal of time and energy into a relationship, then be aware that some part of you is calling for balance - maybe get those crayons and paper out, or write every day in a journal, of change something in terms of how you care for your physical body which will support your health or healing.

The Tarot story pictures all this in symbolic form and you can pick a card to also learn where or what your subconscious is directing you towards. Today, do a quick needs assessment on yourself, with the cards or just with your intuitive, and then invest some time and energy in what is calling for balance.

Have a day of balance and express gratitude for the depth of your levels and life themes!

You are a shining star!

2009-10-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today's inspiration comes through The Star archetype in the Tarot story. This popped into my consciousness this morning while I was replying to an email from a dear friend. She was looking intently at some of the people she had drawn into her life who, from my perspective, seemed to reflect the wounds in her sense of self. People who drew upon her exquisite energy to inflate themselves and gain recognition for themselves via her knowledge.

While the ego may see The Star as being recognized as a star in some creative endeavor this is really the journey of healing our sense of self.

This card, the 17th one in the Thoth Tarot deck, represents the process one must go through to heal a wounded sense of self, or a wounded self-esteem. The opportunity here is to recognize the self. To recognize the intimate individualized internal path one must follow to heal the heart. Often this involves grief work - and we do live in a grief challenged world!

It is a hero or heroine's journey to fully embrace one's grieving. To fully feel and express the loss experienced with a wounded sense of self by recognizing that as a personal reality. Once the recognition, or awareness, of that is made then the journey of healing that wound begins.

Once we fully recognize our wounds we become The Star in our own story. Then, we recognize that the story isn't all that important. However, the recognition of our intuitions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around the wounding and the healing is what is significant.

As this integrates into our Model of Living (which I'll write about in my next post) our star shines and we are then able to truly recognize others. That is The Star within you manifesting at your higher energetic frequencies.

How do you know your wounded sense of self is healed or healing? You begin to recognize the star-ness within others. It becomes more important to give recognition to others than to seek recognition for the self.

Today is a "Lovers" Day

2009-10-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

The numerology of today aligns with the Lovers archetype in the Tarot story. In the first thought we often think of emotional love with another, or a soul mate or a twin flame. And, yes, it is that kind of Lovers energy. But even more it is about balance.

The balance we experience when our dynamic and magnetic energies are merged. Your magnetic is the receptive, the vulnerable, the listener, the moon, the yin, the feminine as well as the part of you that supports your completion work. Your dynamic is the doer, the assertive communicator, the protector, the sun, the yang, the masculine as well as that part that lives for initiation or beginnings.

Look today at which one is getting more time and focus in your life. Then, to bring your own Lovers energy into balance look for thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviors that resonate with the other one.

As we each unite the aspects of our own balance we automatically have more love to give and to receive. Then, our world is all the closer to one love! Here's to the Lovers in you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xjPODksI08

Transforming in your morning!

2009-10-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

Along with completion work you will find yourself right in the midst of your own energy of transformation. Today is a day to transform, change, and uplift your energetic frequencies - of course every day is and this day is one to focus that on relationships.

Today, look at the theme of relationship in your energetic completion work. Not just your relationship to and with other sentient beings but your relationship to everything! What is the relationship to the color you chose to wear? What is the relationship to the creative focus you have right now in this moment? What is the relationship to that thought running through your mind right now?

And, what in your relationship area needs a new initiation? That will lead you to the completion work that is waiting for you! If you have a tarot deck pull out the Lovers and Death cards to assist in accessing those symbols of relationship and change in your consciousness.

Completion Challenged Culture

2009-10-18T19:18:00.001-07:00

We live in a completion challenged culture! We've been raised in this do do do culture which applauds initiation and beginnings. But, as a culture, we leave much undone.

I'm not necessarily writing here about endings. Completion is not about the end, it is part of a cycle, an infinity loop of beginnings and completions. Our completions open the door for new beginnings or initiations.

Look around you at what may be asking for completion. Look at your four main levels of awareness and the four primary themes in the Model of Life to see what may be asking for completion right now.

The four levels: Spiritual or intuitive, Mental or thought, Emotion or feeling and the Physical or reality level. The four primary themes are Creativity, Relationships, Healing and Motion.

I guarantee there is 'stuff' somewhere there in one or more levels or one or more themes that is asking for completion. It might be a communication, it might be a creative project, it might have to do with how you are caring - or not - for yourself, and it could be about how you are stopping or holding yourself back somewhere...

Knowing and working with your personal symbols will assist you in listening to the language of completion and what may be calling from your inner self that wants completion here and now!

More later, and for now with just each exhale make sure you complete that exhale and don't hold any breath back from release!

Musical instruments as a symbol.

2009-06-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Recently a dear friend, Mona, gifted a lap harp to me. Harps have heralded to me since first playing one while visiting Jerusalem in the early 1980's. Many times they have reached out to me and now, with great joy, I have my own. Each day I play both with and at it. Now I am taking a class in Healing Harp that is offered through a local hospital's education outreach program.

There is much symbolism in music and the instruments to which we are drawn. No, I do not have a musical background. And that is not important. Because when a symbol calls to us and we listen and respond all we need is there. This is part of the power of symbols and how they call to each of us. This has been a strong re-membering for me of listening and responding to the call of a symbol.

My purpose is just to please my soul. In being drawn to the harp I did not know what the symbolism had in store for me. Now, as we are getting to know one another I can feel my spirit smile softly with each note. Each note is a breath. Each of my inhales and exhales heralds a note. It is my symbiotic music.

The symbol was there - calling to me. It is important to listen and respond to our symbols. Now, one of mine is calling and wants to be strummed.

When's your birthday?

2009-03-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Your birthday is the beginning of a new year. This is the most powerful day in your entire year.

But, how you complete the year that is ending will impact the beginning of your new one. How do you want to finish the old year? Around your birthday if you experience any confusion or negative thinking then something from the year that is ending is not complete.

Now, by completion I am not talking about the end. This is completion as a cycle that opens the way to a new beginning - which is what we all want with our own personal new year, a new beginning.

Want to know more? Time for a consult? Contact me: susankcole@gmail.com