Not Enough Time? Life too Scheduled? Adjusting to Change? Lose Your Self Around Others? Dancing to the Tune of the Clock? Wisdom from the I-ching

Calm, Quiet, Slow … Mountain Time

It seems like ages since simply sitting at the keyboard and typing onto my blog has happened… and it has to do with this thing that we call time or our concept of it.  Yeah, it’s bothering me and if you’re a regular reader here, then you know that I work things out here—things that disturb my psyche or ruffle my feathers.  I look for ways to handle these dilemmas, these “pickles” of life, and hope that my post will also help another who finds it or goggles a phrase that shows up here.  Ever since I’ve moved I’ve been dealing with schedules and family itineraries!  It’s like if someone suggests something to do in the future, everyone grabs their appointment calendar to see which day they are free!

LEFT: grandson
TOP TO BOTTOM RIGHT: daughters, sister and daughter, grandaughter, grandson marching band, niece

I’m simply not used to living this way—at least for the past 15 years anyway.  I thought those days were over for me; never did I think that I’d be dancing to the tune of the clock again and certainly not to a school bus or band practice or Friday night football game schedule! 

O, Please–don’t get me wrong, I love being with my grandchildren and daughters–even my sister and niece!  And we love Friday night football; yet I’m sort of ‘over’ driving two nights a week to and from band practice… but anyway….

 It’s just that my life doesn’t seem like my own anymore, but I’m adjusting and my own appointment schedule is being juggled and adjusting too! 

We’re managing.  And everything is getting done; but inside me there’s lots of resistance to this new life! 

I’m working on it though and this blog post is helping me do just THAT today.  And I hope it will help you too in some way.  Anyway…

I know this feeling of being short of time all of the time is mental and emotional and psychological and it’s an energy thing that I’ve gotten pulled into.  I’m trying to pull myself out and having a little bit of difficulty. 

It is true that I have to accommodate my family now whereas before (the past 15 years@!) there was none of that.  I chose to do so and know that it is their energy and the energy of this general vicinity that needs balancing within me. 

You know, people drive so fast around here even in the parking lot of the apartment community and energy of the white rabbit from the Alice in Wonderland story is predominating:  “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, and I’m very, very late…” 

Yeah, I feel that within my own mind and body and it gets reinforced at the start of every new day… “Hi Mom, here’s her breakfast, she has to finish this or that homework, I love you, here’s her lunch box, gotta’ go, I’m late…”   (My granddaughter stays with me in the morning until her bus comes to take her to school and my daughter rushes off to work.)

Again, I love my family and being near them most of the time.  It’s just that I don’t like that hurry-up we’re late feeling and I know it is within me unnecessarily—I carry it too often! 

It’s affecting my usual feelings of peace and ease and I miss the pace of the mountains—the general feeling everywhere was “What’s the hurry?  And besides, if you wanted me to hurry you should have told me about it 3 weeks ago.”

Aaaahhhhh, sometimes I miss that small mountain town but then other times, like last Thursday night, having sushi and seaweed salad at a local Wasabi Restaurant makes me want to jump up and down celebrating being here in civilization!  Oh, there are many things that bring up celebratory feelings about being here—take my grandson for example! 

But then, I digress—my issue involves how to deal with this hurry up feeling that predominates too often and restore the more comfortable and compatible “what’s the hurry?” attitude.

Come to think of it, this has always been my problem in all relationships—whether it is with a person or a city/community!  I am way too taken in by the ‘other’ vibe and loose myself!  Yeah, I could blame it on my Sun/Neptune/Moon natal conjunction or I could use that triple combo to my advantage.  What’z it gonna’ be? 

Whether you’re like me and are sometimes too sensitive for your own good OR NOT, we’ve got to ask the Oracle for guidance.  What can we do? What insight can you give that will help with NOT being pulled into outer energy—how can we maintain our own energy when surrounded by an incompatible vibe 24-7?   

I will turn to the I-ching now to select a coin-combo which will bring us some helpful insight on how to change our attitude about time and hurry-up energy and how NOT to lose our self in the midst of so many ‘others’.  

Well we have Kua 3 (Difficulty in the Beginning) changing to Kua 60 (Limitations).

Let’s open up this guidance. But before we do that, I just want to say that I am enjoying this Saturday morning!  I am undisturbed by duty calling me in any direction and am enjoying the birds visiting my balcony bird feeder.  The trees are only a-small-number-of-feet away from my balcony (some ends of the branches are only a few feet) and I like to pretend that I live in the trees WITH the birds and that I AM one myself!  I did more of that in the early days of my residency here—and realize now that I need to spend more time with that fantasy when I can fit it in! 

Well, to the i-ching…  the changing line in the first Kua advises “doing nothing”  and “taking a breather”.  I really relate to that!  Writing in this blog today is about that very thing.  Kua 3 is about enduring difficult transitions and this move has been such a thing which I am STILL getting used to!  I moved in June and here it is nearing the end of September and the full adjustment has yet to be accomplished!

Here’s an example:  we had a garage sale last weekend in which we all sold items that we simply could not use in our new apartments (my daughter and sister also moved here around the same time I did).  We agreed to donate what did not sell to Goodwill afterward and did.  Several days later, I went there to get a donation receipt that my sister forgot and saw an item from my mountain home.  It was a basket which I had on a porch column and I filled it with different flowers as the season’s changed.  I did not expect to see it and there it was on a shelf in the Goodwill store and suddenly I grieved the death my old life of peace and solitude.  In turning to escape the basket, my eyes landed squarely on ceramic angels that I had along the window sill in the guest bedroom—I called it “The Angel Room”.  I nearly ran out of the store with my heart aching and tears streaming down my face.  Yeah, I’m not fully adjusted to being here yet—“fer’ shuur!”  said the way we used to say it in the 80’s.

So doing nothing and taking a breather this may be a good thing to restore a little bit of balance—that’s the advice (so far) from the i-ching oracle.  This sort of stops the whole time thing from being an issue—I can understand that it would be helpful. 

I had blocked some time out for myself yesterday and actually felt guilty that I didn’t DO something during that time.  Since this small amount of free time is so precious and valuable now, you better DO something special with it… I didn’t and then felt guilty!  I never, ever used to feel guilty about doing nothing before–what gives? 

The oracle speaks of this situation as “strengthening the ability to roll with the punches” –that is what is going on now.  I have to say that bumping into the energy of my old stuff in the Goodwill Store felt like a punch—fer shure.

This is about my ability to deal with difficult transitions—according to the i-ching book for this Kua.  Yeah, I think of death when I hear the word “transition” and actually I did say to my daughter on the ‘Goodwill Day” that my reaction is part of me “grieving over my old life”.  Kua 3 really does relate to this question I’m asking.

The old was dismantled to make way for the new and now that I’m in the new, the adjustments do create certain doubts and vulnerabilities.

Maybe I need to shore up my certainties and do something to feel less vulnerable.  I need to give that some thought.  I do believe that I did the right thing to move; yet I do feel vulnerable and intuitively feel some sort of boundary is needed, somehow, to remedy the vulnerability feeling.  I just don’t know exactly how to achieve that since I seem to have to be the one to accommodate to everyone else’s schedule!

  I find my mind wandering out to future to find a school holiday and to announce to my daughters that I am not available that week—I’ve always wanted to go away to some country that doesn’t celebrate x-Mas during that x-tian holiday anyway!  But I digress.  Let’s see what else the oracle says.

This is some sort of ‘stage of growth’—this transition, this move, this complete change of lifestyle!  Haven’t I grown enough?  Wait, don’t let me go into victimization now!  This blog post is about how to  accomplish a feeling which is one in which I feel as if I have more time—let’s stick with the topic at hand here.  (self reprimand– ha ha)

Moving on.  The oracle says to stay in touch with the “needs of the moment”.  Okay this is helpful.  And that’s right! Some of this whole time shortage and “I’m late” vibe is really future oriented.  People here run around trying desperately to drive into the future instead of just dealing with the needs of the moment—that’s the “slowing down” that I’ve been doing for the past 15 years which moving here has affected.  That’s usually how I am and I’ve allowed the surrounding people, places, things to infiltrate me—and I’ve sort of lost myself as far as this part goes. 

I need to bring my mountain mentality to the big city—and live it in the now by affirming continually that I am “in touch with the needs of the moment”—yeah, I like that.  I’m going to use that.  I should make that a sign and hang it up on the wall to remind myself! 

SIGN SHOULD READ:  I AM IN TOUCH WITH THE NEEDS OF THE MOMENT—PERIOD!

The Oracle also says that any attempt to make a plan or to make sense of things is premature and will lead to frustration.  Be gentle with the self and go slowly.

Let them rush and be late!  I don’t have to.  Right?

Kua 60 is about “Limitations” and speaks of “testing your own serenity in the chaos exposes the depth of self-disclipline” and also the manner in which we respond to “limitations” is revealing of what has been deeply assimilated. 

I have deeply assimilated the mountain energy and the inner peace of living a serene life has been genuinely anchored within me.  It is my true nature and true self.  I have to remember that it is there and cannot be affected—it is only necessary to stay in touch with myself by staying in touch with the needs of the moment.

Alright, I’ve gone on long enough and I’m good–are you?  I feel better and have, via this writing, helped to reinforce what is needed to establish my SELF in the moment again.

I hope this writing has helped another soul who may be able to use and apply any thoughts within these paragraphs. 

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A Conscious Approach to Irksome People – Monsters Versus Aliens

Do you have a cartoon character in your life who is making you crazy? It happens sometimes despite our best efforts to be above it all!  I’m even sure there’s at least one Miss Piggy in every monastery… here are a few thoughts that may help you out in dealing with these situations.

There are many occasions in which the psychic reading client will ask me a question about another person in their life.  Sometimes it is a family member or someone they have to interact with on their job that nearly literally drives them crazy.   No matter what the relationship association or reason they come to me to ask what to do about such persons. 

It’s true, you know, that certain people just rub us the wrong way or irk the heck out of us!  Yesterday, I blogged about our psychological  ‘blind spots’ and if you read that post we could insert such an irksome person into that blog post and call him or her a blind spot awareness gorilla!

Now that we can rationalize at least one reason why they’ve shown up for us (again, see yesterday’s post), the question then becomes what to do next.

And for each person the answer differs – I’ve notice that as the psychic message-giver during readings.  The answers that come are not always the same and I never know what is going to be given until it arises in response to the question in the same second (and sometimes before) the question is asked.

But for generalized purposes and for the indiscriminate reader, let’s consult the I-ching Oracle for guidance.  Off we go to toss the coins… 

How do we handle our response to that irksome person who we would like to see vanish from contact with our life, LIKE NOW!?  Better yet, yesterday!

Finding out that you have become a pawn in someone else’s game is a rude awakening!  You want to divorce yourself from that person immediately, but sometimes this cannot be done.  If this is a family member or co-worker or group member or even your best friend or spouse—good luck.  It’s difficult in those situations to severe the ties overnight.  And it is not easy then to ignore or brush aside their existence. 

The thing to consider, says the Oracle, is that you have become too easily rocked by external experiences and the only way to change that is to turn inward… it’s called meditation.

Another bit of guidance here is to ask yourself if you have been unconsciously allowing yourself be put in an inferior position by this annoying individual.  Somehow you have gotten yourself into a position that you neither want nor need.  Was it your own desires (perhaps wanting to be liked or loved thereby compromising your personal authenticity) that has gotten you into the situation?  I’m just asking.  Where along the lines might you have compromised your personal truth?

In the end, the only way past it is through it.  Feel the pain of being compromised by the bothersome individual and take responsibility for your part in it.  That step renews your self-respect. 

What remains now is perseverance.  You can’t divorce your family member or co-worker and it’s not practical to change jobs just because of this one gorilla.   It may be best to deal with this person, at least mentally and emotionally within your own self, as if they will never leave!  I know, I know—gods forbid and perish the thought!  But doing that helps (trust me) to relax you into a state of peace and acceptance about it. 

And the funny thing is that once you go there and do that whole acceptance thing, they somehow either stop irking you or move or quit or give you the divorce somehow! 

These irksome people are usually weak with no power and feel threatened by you.  You’d like to put them in their place ten times over but you also know that to do so will cause resentment from that person, empowering them further, or those close to him or her could develop animosity toward you.

It’s one of those lose-lose situations. 

Keep Your Sense of Humor!

And…

…speaking of loose; the best advice I can give at the end here is not to lose your sense of humor!

Sometimes with humanoids it is like a movie of the monsters versus the aliens anyway, you know? 

Besides, there’s always a Miss Piggy in every group! 

Sit back, get a little distance and have a hoot! 

It’s all only the Monsters Versus the Aliens after all!  Remember?

Here’s Help for Earth Living Irritations and Frustrations from the Oracle! Noise, gentian, mastery, 3 of pentacles and mufflers all relate here!

Here’s Help for Earth Living Irritations and Frustrations from the Oracle!  Noise, gentian, mastery,  3 of pentacles and mufflers all relate here! 

Today I’m dreaming of… not a white christmas… I’m dreaming of a world of lawn mowers with mufflers!

Why in the world do those machines have to make such loud noise?  If we can put a man on the moon, we can make mowers that don’t break the sound barrier!  Can’t we?  I’ve asked myself the same question about motorcycles and 4-wheeler mountain bike things.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it is possible to quiet those machines but the men who make them and ride them (I suppose we should say people—it’s not always a gender thing)…. Anyway, they like the noise, the sound, the motor revving and all of that.

I mean just look at the NASCAR thing and I rest my case.  It is what it is.  But what about the rest of us who relish the gentle sounds of nature instead and feel invaded by these monster noises?  I’ve got to come up with a plan—spring and summer and stupid mowing season is just around the corner.

It actually arrived here yesterday and after dark and in the field across the street from my living room where the muggle man who massacred all the trees there last summer (his property – or so he thinks – so his choice).   I laugh at those who own property for all of this land was stolen from the American Indians who really couldn’t understand how anyone could own nature in the first place.  I’m of that mentality but back to the problem of the non-mufflered mower and the muggle man who is going to ride upon his all spring, summer and fall (thank goodness humans don’t mow snow!) and how I’m going to handle it!

Yeah, okay.  I’ll admit being spoiled by my peace and quiet here.  It’s been heavenly here—like I said quiet and peaceful—for the past eight years.  Now that’s changed!  And bless her heart!  I do wonder about the old lady who owned that house and property before the master muggle bought it–is she cringing from heaven itself!  As a medium I know that the who cross on the other side release attachments to earth possessions (for the most part anyway). Let us hope she does not see or care; her son told he how she loved her home and garden and the trees and flowers.

It used to be a shady and enchanting English bungalow or Tudor type architecture home and landscape until the muggle (who bought it after the elderly lady died) changed the whole look of the place.  Her beautifully landscaped trees and flowering bushes are ripped away and the house front is shingled with wood shingles that do not go along with the brick and the whole English Tudor look—gone. 

Well, how he changes the look of the house is not my concern really; I’m thinking about how I’m going to handle the…. Well, to quote the Grinch, “”Oh the noise, noise, noise, noise, noise. There’s one thing I hate, all the noise, noise, noise, noise!”

ENTER METAPHYSICS:

Now, we all know that what we focus upon expands!  The more we put our attention upon something, the more we experience it and not only that—the more real it becomes and then to top it off,  the more of it shows up in our mind!  Like weeds, it grows, like weeds!  (and muggles mow weeds–so this has to stop!  ha ha)

Knowing all that, I’m looking for guidance about how to deal with it within my own mind and heart.  “Nip it in the bud”, I say. It’s going to be a long and miserable mowing season for me unless I do!  The guy is already mowing his mud out there!  It’s just now turned March and we just had a snow storm last weekend.  Talk about early! It’s been raining like crazy and even if it wasn’t, the ground is soft–muddy this time of year!

Never mind that.  It’s a fact, they don’t make mufflers for those things because if they did nobody would like to ride them (riding mowers) and nobody would buy them.  They’re loud and they disturb the peace—it’s a fact.  Now, how am I going to handle it?

THE ORACLE ENTERS:

I need to turn to the oracle—need some inspiration, some guidance, some advice.  Well, guess what card I just drew?  I thought of the question and shuffled my tarot cards and what do we have but the 3 of Pentacles!

Let’s start with the basics.  It’s and earth card—pentacles equals earth and involves practical and earthly matters.  And this card is about (to me) lessons, earth lessons, and life lessons.  The person on the card always has me thinking of the word “apprentice” or someone who is still learning.  I suppose that would apply to both the muggle and me.

I will leave what he is learning to himself, his soul and the nature spirits. Not my business except for the fact that I need to remember that he is here learning as much as I am.  It’s obvious that what I’m still learning is non-judgment and tolerance. I must use this as an initiation or spiritual test—that’s what I’m getting so far as the oracle message goes as it applies to my question about how I am going to handle the muggle’s marathons mows.

Tolerance, patience and those things and mastery over myself in those areas.  I should feel thankful for the opportunity to practice every time the muggle’s un-muffled mower makes its mark on my ears!

After all, I am here to master my emotions.  This is the card of “work” and in that sense, his noise won’t really interfere with it—I work in the den which is a room farther away from the invading, intruding, insidious, irking…. Okay!  I need to stop that!

And yes, of course I know that blogging about the problem is going to add energy to it; yet, better to get to the core of it now and find a way to deal before a molehill becomes a mountain if you know what I mean.  Besides, if I share this with others in the cyber world maybe it inspire them regarding handling their own frustrations and irritations.  (That’s always my intention in sharing these things.)

Gosh, suddenly I’m remembering the good ole’ days when I used everything as grist for the spiritual mill.  Once when I was getting new tires put on my car (this was years and years ago) at a Wal-Mart, I was sitting in the little waiting area.  I’d already completed what shopping needed doing and besides, walked to the point of fatigue.  So I sat down to rest in the automotive waiting area.  There was a door that mechanics and were coming in and out of and each and every time they did the door slammed louder than any door I’d ever heard!

Each time I jumped even though I knew the slam was coming ahead of time.  There was some sort of motor that closed the door after someone went through it.  Anyway, I utilized the whole affair as a test for myself to see if I could not flinch and jump whenever it slammed.  It was a challenge!

Look at the card of the 3 of Pentacles; we see someone there holding a diploma with what appear to be (perhaps) spiritual teachers behind him.  Could I integrate the concept that the muggle is, in some way, a spiritual teacher that I’ve somehow called forth to help me… well, to help me graduate.  In looking at the 3 of Pentacles tarot card, I keep focusing on that diploma that he seems to be holding in his hand.

Patience and tolerance for people of earth! And their loud machines!  I need to develop a tougher outer skin especially where my sensitive ears are concerned.  I think that being psychic and “a sensitive” is something that plays into the equation.  I am very accustomed to listening to every single sound that comes to my ears which is part of being clairaudient in my profession as a psychic.

I will use this as a test so that I can retire into the west – I am suddenly thinking of that line from the movie, Lord of the Rings.  The Lady of the Wood was put through an initiation by the power of the ring and said, “I passed the test, I shall remain Galandriel and will diminish and go into the west.”  She passed her initiation and I will use that memory and the 3 of Pentacles to inspire me to pass this new test put before me.  I shall not fail this initiation.

The 3 of pentacles is also about the cycles of nature, reaping what you sow and working in the fields; in other words, doing your spiritual work on earth. 

And that spiritual work involves working with the reality at hand—whatever that reality happens to be.

As I think of ‘reality’, I am reminded of the Buddhist teaching about the nature of reality and no matter what challenge I have in life and of all of the teachings I’ve come across, these teachings are what always bring me back to balance and restore harmony.

We can, in fact, persevere through obstacles by remembering the true nature of reality—it is the combination of illusionary energy that is both real and an illusion at the very same time.  Ahhh, that though alone helps us lose our grip on temporary frustrations.  It helps us loosen our grip on any event, person, circumstance or experience that we tend to make too real and consequently causes suffering.

Gentian is the purple flower in the image to the right.

My Herbal Tarot deck (image above from Herbal Tarot and also the Connolly deck) recommends the use of GENTIAN which is a herb that helps to release frustrations and irritations.

As a tonic GENTIAN is used to treat hepatitis, jaundice and liver disorders.  As a FLOWER ESSENCE it is used for those who become deterred by setbacks.

Meditate with GENTIAN and it will help to open the 6^th chakra so that a deeper appreciation and insight into the mechanics and skill or situation will be revealed so that one can see one’s way through a difficulty.

Essentially, the 3 of Pentacles has a lot to do with releasing frustrations and irritations.  It was THE most appropriate card to pull today in my consultation of the oracle about my mowing muggle neighbor and those associated frustrations and irritations. 

When next I hear the muggle’s mower motor, I will remember the oracles advice and think of the 3 of Pentacles.  I will also think GENTIAN and perhaps order some of the flower essence to add to my drinking water!