Day 157 – Mother Moving House

6 June 2021

Day 157. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Stress. 2 is Influence No-thingness. 3 is Goal Consciousness. 4 is Distant Past Fighting. 5 is Recent Past Beyond Illusion. 6 is Future Energy Guilt. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Rebel. 8 is Others' Views The Miser. 9 is Hope & Fears The Burden. 10 is Outcome Trust

Moving Context

My husband and I have been thinking of moving (Day 120 – Moving or Renovating Dilemma), and so has my mother.  A move for my mother is a more challenging decision than the one for me.   Leigha, a friend of mine, who is in a similar family situation to me (mother, sister and father who has passed away), has her sister –Amy – living with their mother.  This living arrangement and my mother’s big house and yard have prompted my husband and me to consider a similar living arrangement to Leigha’s sister’s.

 

From our society’s point of view, moving in with my mother will be challenging. After having so much independence, my mum and I have developed our ways of doing things.  Plus, my mother and I appear to clash from an outsider’s perspective.  As others see it, the clash isn’t so much of a challenge for my mother and me.  We shrug it off. To us, it’s a normal mode of communication. However, this “clashing” can stress those not used to it, aka my husband.

 

If we buy a house together, whatever we look at buying needs to accommodate independent living areas.  Ideally, the house would have two wings with a central kitchen (I think) or having her move in next door (preferred, maybe?).  Anyway, it will require some consideration.  Financial implications for my mother also need to be considered.

 

Apart from the daunting possibility for both my mother and us moving in together, my husband and I spent some lovely autumn’s day hours in the sun listening to an audiobook.   

 

Disclaimer:  names used in this article are not real names, and the personalities could be constructs of different people I know.

Today's Cards

Day 157. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Stress. 2 is Influence No-thingness. 3 is Goal Consciousness. 4 is Distant Past Fighting. 5 is Recent Past Beyond Illusion. 6 is Future Energy Guilt. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Rebel. 8 is Others' Views The Miser. 9 is Hope & Fears The Burden. 10 is Outcome Trust. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

Two cards carried over from yesterday; Stress moved from Feelings to the Now, and Beyond Illusion moved from Outcome to the Recent Past position.

Cross

Stress moving from Feelings to the Now shows Stress arising from my feelings state and become a reality.  Today’s focus was on moving in with my mother; there’s Stress involved with moving in and not moving in with her.

 

No-thingness influences Stress meaning the potential surrounding the possibilities could be stressful, but for now, it’s the unknown that’s causing the Stress.

 

The Goal position is Consciousness, bringing to light the idea of sharing a house rather than keeping it in-house. 🏠

 

Fighting in the Distant Past is the underlying reason for the Stress.  But Fighting is more than about the clashes my mother and I have; it can also be about Fighting myself on how best to support her.

 

Beyond Illusion moving from Outcome to Recent Past indicates a chrysalis has occurred.  Sharing a house with my mother is a scary idea and obviously has been spoken about between my husband and me; discussions with my mother only took place today.

 

The Future Energy position has the card of Guilt.  Guilt?  I’m not sure how I can relate to this, but perhaps it’s feeling guilty about raising it, not speaking to my sister about it first. Or maybe about a whole heap of other things – after all, I had a partial Catholic upbringing, I can feel guilty about anything and everything!

Base

Feelings of rebellion alluded to in The Rebel card are more about going with the right thing to do (mentioning it), even if it doesn’t come to pass.

 

Others’ Views is that I’m The Miser.  Is this about me wanting to retain my own space while still living with my mother?  Is it about the type of house, or could The Miser card be translated to mean the “Selfishness” card?

 

Hopes & Fears is The Burden.  Now the topic of house sharing has surfaced, my fear is it will create a burden; my hope is opening discussions will lift it.

 

Trust is in the Outcome position and suggests there is not much to be done for the moment but Trust.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Day 120 – Moving or Renovating Dilemma 
End Day 157

Day 156 – Friends, Betty, & Audrey Visit

5 June 2021

Day 156. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Morality. 2 is Influence Adventure. 3 is Goal Clinging to the Past. 4 is Distant Past The Lovers. 5 is Recent Past Completion. 6 is Future Energy Comparison. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Stress. 8 is Others' Views Abundance. 9 is Hope & Fears Ice-olation. 10 is Outcome Beyond Illusion

Friends Context

Old Friends

It was a pleasant surprise to get a phone call from Betty. Betty thanked me for her birthday wishes and was glad I reached out, and she hadn’t lost me as a friend.  Betty then apologised for drinking while speaking on the phone back in January 2021 (Day 13).  It was something I was worried about too.  Thankfully, neither of us gave up on the friendship and said, “it’ll take more than that to destroy our friendship”.  That’s what friends are for, right?

 

 

At this point, Betty advised she had given up drinking and making phone calls.  Then she extended giving up drinking alcohol entirely.  You see, Betty is worried about losing her memory now that she is older and had slowly noticed some aspects getting a lot more attention than others.  The phone conversation ended when Audrey knocked on the door.  I‘m glad the conversation happened.

New Friends

Audrey dropped by; she was visiting from another state with her boyfriend, Sven (by now, you know that I’m not using real names).  I had heard a lot about Sven but hadn’t met him until today.  Sven’s friends picked Audrey and him up from the airport, and on the way to the Sunshine Coast, Audrey insisted on visiting me.   

 

This visit meant three people were visiting whom we’d never met, making for a tricky situation. You want to connect deeply with one person, but there are three unknowns, so the conversation is “small talk”.  Audrey had given me the “heads up” to avoid specific discussion topics, namely politics.  Sven was concerned we might judge him by his friends.

 

Judging people in the room with you when they are with their friends wouldn’t have me judging you by your friend’s behaviour.  Unless the friend was rude, and you supported the rude.  On the other hand, if we’d met the friends before we met Sven, it would’ve been a different story.

 

I sincerely hope to judge people as they are at the time of meeting them. Nobly I would like to say I reassess each time I encounter someone.  I said, “I’d like to” – not perfect!  Judgement is cumulative, averaged or both.  If, for instance, you made a wrong first impression by being uproariously and rudely drunk and late, I met you sober, I might put it down as a one-off. 

 

Suppose it was funny, kind and loving drunk that would offer up another interpretation. Nonetheless, I’d reserve my assessment of you until the next time we met.  If there’s no next time, I’m likely to keep one of two images of you, and even then, the “rudeness” meter would have to be at max.  It takes a lot to offend me.

First-time Friends

Audrey dropped by; she was visiting from another state with her boyfriend, Sven (by now, you know that I’m not using real names).  I had heard a lot about Sven but hadn’t met him until today.  Sven’s friends picked Audrey and him up from the airport, and on the way to the Sunshine Coast, Audrey insisted on visiting me.   

 

This visit meant three people were visiting whom we’d never met, making for a tricky situation. You want to connect deeply with one person, but there are three unknowns, so the conversation is “small talk”.  Audrey had given me the “heads up” to avoid specific discussion topics, namely politics.  Sven was concerned we might judge him by his friends.

 

Judging people in the room with you when they are with their friends wouldn’t have me judging you by your friend’s behaviour.  Unless the friend was rude, and you supported the rude.  On the other hand, if we’d met the friends before we met Sven, it would’ve been a different story.

 

I sincerely hope to judge people as they are at the time of meeting them. Nobly I would like to say I reassess each time I encounter someone.  I said, “I’d like to” – not perfect!  Judgement is cumulative, averaged or both.  If, for instance, you made a wrong first impression by being uproariously and rudely drunk and late, I met you sober, I might put it down as a one-off. 

 

Suppose it was funny, kind and loving drunk that would offer up another interpretation. Nonetheless, I’d reserve my assessment of you until the next time we met.  If there’s no next time, I’m likely to keep one of two images of you, and even then, the “rudeness” meter would have to be at max.  It takes a lot to offend me.

Today's Cards

Day 156. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Morality. 2 is Influence Adventure. 3 is Goal Clinging to the Past. 4 is Distant Past The Lovers. 5 is Recent Past Completion. 6 is Future Energy Comparison. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Stress. 8 is Others' Views Abundance. 9 is Hope & Fears Ice-olation. 10 is Outcome Beyond Illusion. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Completion moved from the Goal to the Recent Past position.

Cross

Completion moves from the Goal to Recent Past, which indicates something set as a Goal to complete has happened.

 

Morality is in the Now influenced by AdventureMorality is wanting and doing things correctly because the Adventure of meeting new people was happening. 

 

A nostalgic longing to have a casual chat with Audrey set the Goal of Clinging to the Past card.

 

The Distant Past card has The Lovers and represents teamwork and mutually beneficially cooperation.  

 

Completion in the Recent Past position is highlighting a couple of wind on the documentation side. 

 

Hmmm.  With all the new people, it was time to do the people version of what dog’s do (butt sniff) 😄.  Okay, Comparison is in the Future Energy card; we all begin to compare ourselves to see if they or we measure

Base

Stress in the Feelings position, and it is not a surprise to see it there.  Need I say more!

 

Others’ Views is that I was open, sharing and full of Abundance.  It’s what you want to seek in a card when you’re hospitable.

 

Hopes & Fears has the Ice-olation card.  It’s the fear of putting up a wall where people are afraid to open up.  At the same time, I hope I haven’t used Ice-olation at all.

 

Finally, is the Beyond Illusion card in the last position.  Beyond Illusion is about being on the verge of breaking through a barrier.  The barrier might be long or short, depending upon the team.  It’s all about balance.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 126

Day 155 – Time for a Review

4 June 2021

Day 155. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Control. 2 is Influence Guilt. 3 is Goal Completion. 4 is Distant Past Sharing. 5 is Recent Past Healing. 6 is Future Energy Rebirth. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Dream. 8 is Others' Views Harmony. 9 is Hope & Fears Courage. 10 is Outcome Ordinariness

Review Context

Distracted by an embarrassing earlier post with minimal details, I review Day 004 and Day 088.  After 155 days, I realise how big a goal I’ve set for myself.

 

 

While writing for today, I came across an early post (Day 004 – Compromise is a Bitter Pill) and discovered I was embarrassed by the quality of the content or lack thereof.  Disturbed by my husband’s lack of communication regarding the quality of the content, I raised it with him.  He pointed out we were both new to publishing for the web at the time, and it’s part of a learning curve.  His statement is, of course, true.   It didn’t negate my desire to review and rewrite Day 004, which I did.   It’s also true I wasn’t used to writing late at night.    

 

The discovery has prompted me to set a goal to go back and review some of the previous blogs to tidy them up.  Thank you for reading all the posts, and I hope my writing has gotten better as the year progressed.  Another post that got a review was Day 088 – Lockdown, The Eagles & Chicken Strips; it’s a fun one and didn’t need too much tweaking, but tweaking it got.

 

It was time for a review 155 days into the 365-day goal, and it has finally hit me how big the figurative mountain I’m climbing is. There are no days off, no weekends, no vacations and no time to get sick.  Yes, it’s a personal goal, and perhaps I should simply publish once a week, but this doesn’t change the need to write each day

Today's Cards

Day 155. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Control. 2 is Influence Guilt. 3 is Goal Completion. 4 is Distant Past Sharing. 5 is Recent Past Healing. 6 is Future Energy Rebirth. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Dream. 8 is Others' Views Harmony. 9 is Hope & Fears Courage. 10 is Outcome Ordinariness. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

There were no carry over cards from yesterday.

Cross

Control is in the Now influenced by Guilt when the Goal is Completion. In simple terms, by feeling guilty, I try to exert Control over something for the website to at least complete the day’s blog. 

 

The Distant Past position has the card of Sharing from a time when I felt I had more time and wished to share my curiosity about how 365 days of Tarot would work out.  It turns out it’s a higher hurdle than I thought.

 

In the Recent Past, I have undergone a period of Healing, which is true since I had broken my ankle back in January.  My time healing allowed me to start my adventure.

 

The Future Energy has the Rebirth card, possibly indicating that this is needed to continue the journey.

Base

The Dream card is in the Feelings position and represents self-delusion.  It is both a hopeful and hopeless romantic card.  Bluntly, I keep thinking I can catch up; to make up ground, keep everything else going, and add exercise, rest, sleep, spending time with my husband, and meditation to the mix.  It’s a pipe dream because every time I think the window of opportunity is there, it slips away like sand through fingers.

 

Others’ Views is Harmony, and I’m listening to my inner self and following my calling; I just feel a little overwhelmed with everything.

 

Inner Hopes & Fears has the card of Courage, and I hope to have some moving forward.  The Courage to follow my heart and pursue all I can without losing or letting down anyone, most of all myself (the fear).

 

The Outcome is of Ordinariness.  The advice is the simple saving adage: “watch the cents, and the dollars will take care of themselves”.  Stick to the basics of living, and your life will unfold as intended.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 155

Day 154 – Dental Day Bliss or Not

3 June 2021

Day 154. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Control. 2 is Influence Guilt. 3 is Goal Completion. 4 is Distant Past Sharing. 5 is Recent Past Healing. 6 is Future Energy Rebirth. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Dream. 8 is Others' Views Harmony. 9 is Hope & Fears Courage. 10 is Outcome Ordinariness

Bliss Context

A visit to the dentist gives me a pleasant surprise and instead of being a dental day blah it was dental day bliss.

 

 

Now that I finished with the invisible aligners and am using retainers at night, I need another dental visit to fill the food pocket on one of my back teeth.

 

For some reason, I got my days mixed up and whether I was seeing the hygienist or the dentist.  It turns out it was the dentist, and it was a short visit to get a minor filling (without a needle) and a bottle of brushing solution.  If it weren’t for the paperwork, I would have been in the surgery for a total of 20 minutes.  Yes. It was that fast!  Pure Dental Visit Bliss!

 

A quick word about the brushing solution and the dentist: when I lived in Sydney, a marketing course spoke of a dentist who greeted his patients dressed in a jacket and tie instead of the lab coat or dental uniform.  The clothing choice identified that patients were at ease with the familiar yet professional clothing, which wasn’t a lab coat.  The dentist was considered radical and ground-breaking with his thinking.

 

Years later, when I moved to Brisbane and sought a holistic dentist, having forgotten about the marketing course, the dentist in Queensland was the aforementioned radical.  While his surgery is expensive, it is also progressive, and there’s a genuine caring vibe about the place.  It took me a while to come to grips with you can have money and be caring (Day 151).

 

Ever the advanced, he’s developed a Brushing Solution which is a hydrogen peroxide-based mouthwash.  In the early days, it tasted disgusting. Now it’s still yuk but not as bad.

 

If you want to check out the solution for yourself, go to this Brushing Solution link.

Suburb Bliss

Every time I go to the suburb my dentist is in, I want to be a better person for my health.  The place connects to me; the supermarket, although like every other supermarket, simply draws me to the fruit and vegetable section and the bottled water or kombucha. Don’t worry; as soon as I get home, things settle back to normal very quickly.

 

Not only does the suburb influence me to want to eat better, but I also want to meditate.  Because the dentist visit was so quick, it allowed me to get the picnic blanket out and sit on the sand by the ocean and meditate for 10 minutes and consume the strawberries 🍓.  Being able to have this opportunity on a beautiful sunny day is bliss.

Today's Cards

Day 154. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Turning In. 2 is Influence Letting Go. 3 is Goal Adventure. 4 is Distant Past Conditioning. 5 is Recent Past Politics. 6 is Future Energy Abundance. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Traveling. 8 is Others' Views Intensity. 9 is Hope & Fears Stress. 10 is Outcome Moment to Moment. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Adventure moved from the Recent Past to the Goal position.

Cross Bliss

Turning In is in the Now influenced by Letting Go.  Oh well, I’ve turned in today with my meditation and the capacity for it was influenced by letting go of the idea that I need to head back to the office immediately.  The additional 40 minutes – I’d allowed an hour in the dentist surgery – was enough time to stop and smell the roses salt air.

 

In the past, I’ve hoped for the opportunity to have a mini-Adventure.  The very wishing for Adventure back then would have created today’s Goal.

 

Conditioning is doing the right thing and going back to work without reading the day.  At some point in the Distant Past, I would have begun breaking away from that Conditioning.

 

The Politics of wearing two faces to show one to the world and feeling the other yourself is in the Recent Past.  This kind of politicking usually happens to me when I visit the dentist.  In the past, it’s been around the question of have you been flossing?  To which the response was, “of course, mostly”.

 

Abundance is in the Future Energy position.  While it’s tempting to view Abundance in simply a financial light, the card in Osho’s Tarot is so much more.  By being generous and kind to myself, it enabled me to be more open with others.

Base

As I mentioned under the Suburb Bliss, when I travel to this location, caring for myself increases.  Knowing I’m Traveling to the area lifts my Feelings (the Traveling card’s position).

 

Others’ Views of me is Intensity, which is about going full speed in your direction. This perspective is certainly in line with what the dentist thinks of me.  (Not necessarily in a good way).

 

Hopes & Fears has the card of Stress.  I fear going to the dentist because I’m worried the Stress I’m feeling will create more problems than typically exist.  For instance, knowing I’m going to the dentist, I suddenly feel every ache in my mouth which I’ll swear wasn’t there before I realised it was dentist time.  I hope to avoid this Stress next time.

 

Finally, Moment to Moment is in the Outcome spot.  The outcome of today’s visit to the dentist was the moment I realised half an hour of my day was mine, and I seized it while the sun did shine.  

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 154

Day 153 – Push-ups for Mental Health

2 June 2021

Day 153. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Flowering. 2 is Influence Possibilities. 3 is Goal The Rebel. 4 is Distant Past Aloneness. 5 is Recent Past Adventure. 6 is Future Energy Mind. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Ice-olation. 8 is Others' Views Playfulness. 9 is Hope & Fears The Burden. 10 is Outcome Thunderbolt

Push-ups Context

The Push-up Challenge for Mental Health started yesterday, and I set about creating my plan to do push-ups to meet the challenge.

 

 

When I have a busy day at work, it’s incredible what a difference taking a moment to breathe can make in your productivity.  It also helps you refocus your priorities.

 

 

My energy was spread across multiple areas on the home front, mainly because I’ve agreed to do the “Push-Up” Challenge for Mental Health.  It’s a 25-day challenge to increase awareness for Mental Health by doing push-ups. 

 

 

Now, I’m going to get real with you; I won’t be able to do the number of push-ups required to reach the 3,318 over 25 days (I’m in a team of two, so I only need to do 1,659 or 75 per day if one day a week is a rest day).  However, my goal to do what I can.

 

 

My plan of attack follows:

  • Push-ups:  1 x day focussing on doing as many push-ups as I can
  • Squats:  1 x day focussing on squats as many as I can
  • Sit-ups:  1 x day focussing on sit-ups as many as I can
  • Repeat back to the start with push-ups

By the way, if you’d like to contribute to the Push-Up Challenge, simply click on the link or go to www.thepushupchallenge.com.au (oh no! The search engine thingy isn’t going to want that link spelt out in total).

 

Doing the challenge means my writing needs to be kept short, so I can go to bed early enough to wake at 5:00 AM to do the work.

 

So, let’s get straight to the analysis.

Today's Cards

Day 153. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Flowering. 2 is Influence Possibilities. 3 is Goal The Rebel. 4 is Distant Past Aloneness. 5 is Recent Past Adventure. 6 is Future Energy Mind. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Ice-olation. 8 is Others' Views Playfulness. 9 is Hope & Fears The Burden. 10 is Outcome Thunderbolt. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

No cards carried over from yesterday.

Push-ups Cross

Flowering is in the Now influenced by Possibilities. Since today and yesterday have been about mental health, and the push-up challenge is a new possibility for expanding my mental health.  It seems like a novel idea on how to get myself into better shape and get back into transforming my lifestyle.   There are different ways to tackle mental health.

 

The Rebel in the Goal position is about not following the Push-up Challenge to the letter by following it in spirit.  By the way, the site quite clearly states other forms of exercise are accepted.  It’s based on an honesty system anyway.  Today was my squats day, and they’re much more manageable than push-ups!

 

Signing up for the challenge was a bit of an Adventure (Recent Past) out of my comfort zone; since my karate years (teenage years).  The punishment for doing something wrong in karate or misbehaving were push-ups, and I’ve disliked them ever since.

 

In the Future Energy position is MindMind is ironic because it appears as the very opposite of mental health and representing mental disorder.  Bear in mind that not all confusion is detrimental; it happens at the beginning of learning.

Push-ups Base

Ice-olation is the card in the Feelings position.  In truth, my emotions are all over the place at the moment, up one day, down the next.  Ice-olation is holding back tears or masking tears, or diverting your attention away from what you should be letting yourself feel.  Hmmm… who has the time!  🥲  In Osho’s book, tears are the only things that can melt away the feeling of Ice-olation.

 

Others’ Views is that of Playfulness.  I haven’t paid much attention to how I’m perceived if I had to reflect on my interactions with the team … yep! There were undoubtedly some playful emails trying to coax a push-up out of the group – knowing full well it’s unlikely.  But, hey!  You can only offer. 😄

 

Hopes & Fears is that I hope doing the challenge doesn’t become The Burden (the card in the position) and fearing it will.  It’s only for 25 days – I can do it without dying!

 

Finally, the Outcome position has the Thunderbolt card.  Thunderbolt is about physical changes and appropriately describes what needs to happen for the push-ups to occur in my life. ⛹🏼.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. The Push-up Challenge
End Day 153

May Stats – Tarot Card Statistics

Statistics for May 2021

Overall Trend

It looks like the year is coming along nicely.  I’ve been looking forward to writing against the stats.  This month’s May Stats saw The Source and Friendliness reach the front of the yearly cumulative total with 29 appearances each, followed by Possibilities, hot on their heels.

 

So, what does this mean concerning the overarching meaning?  Or has a theme emerged?  Does it mean Friendliness underpins everything I do, and I’m able to foster it regularly?  After all, Friendliness is a regular visitor to all positions except for positions eight and nine who have had one visit each in Hopes & Fears and Outcome, respectively.

 

The Source‘s appearing in the past two months seems to indicate a trend toward connecting to what motivates me.  Each person has at their source a clay makeup. The card of The Source is like the clay a potter selects to make a particular work; different clays different results.  After a while, we might forget who we are and what makes us up, and it means returning or connecting to ourselves and our source (or soul) to remember.

 

When it comes to the Possibilities card, it always seems to be hanging around from my perspective.  However, its spread is mountainous across the positions and hasn’t topped any of the previous months.   Are the cards trying to show me, or me trying to show me, that Possibilities are always there? And is it just the type of year I’m having?  If doing the Tarot Days (or 365 days of tarot) wasn’t such a challenge to do with a full-time job and interstate relatives, I’d love to continue for another year.  Perhaps, I can still do the cards daily but do weekly summaries instead of writing a small essay daily.  Ah… my world is full of Possibilities 😉.

Distribution of Tope 3 Cards Against Position

Chart Top 3 Position Spread The Source, Friendliness & Possibilities

Top 3 Card Distribution Over the Months

Chart month by month spread Top 3 year-to-date @ May

Highest Cards from January to May (Top 3)

Table Top 3. January equals Moment to Moment 9, Flowering & Control 8, February The Rebel, Flowering & The Burden 7 each, March Postponement 9, Letting Go 8, third card spot blank, April The Source 9, Totality 8, third card spot blank, May The Source & Awareness with 8 each, third card spot blank

Year-to-Date

Chart year to date stats as at May. Top five are:The Source 29, Friendliness 29, Possibilities 28, No-thingness 27, Control & Harmony 27, Totality & Sorrow 26, Intensity 25.

May Stats - Cumulative by Month

May Stats Cumulative Graph Monthly
Cumulative Graph Possibilities to MaturityMonth by Month as at May

Trend for May Stats

As you can see from the previous months’ top performing cards (refer to the table titled, Top 3 Highest Cards from January to May), The Source has recently appeared, in April and May.  For the last two months, I have been thinking and acting toward reconnecting with my soul and remember its purpose.   Awareness points to an idea sitting at the fringes of awareness and sits “on the tip of your tongue”, but as soon as you focus on it, it slips away.  (April Stats)

Top 10

Chart May Top 10

Bottom 10

Chart May Bottom 10

Day 152 – Mental Health Awareness Talk

1 June 2021

Day 152. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Intensity. 2 is Influence Projections. 3 is Goal Moment to Moment. 4 is Distant Past Creativity. 5 is Recent Past Politics. 6 is Future Energy Receptivity. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Breakthrough. 8 is Others' Views Guilt. 9 is Hope & Fears Stress. 10 is Outcome The Lovers

Mental Health Context

It’s been a wonderful day.  A presentation I spent ages working on was successful. There was a Mental Health talk where I discovered I’d hovered on the border and avoided violating a person’s privacy.  Phew!

 

The mental health talk was fascinating, especially in the COVID/ post-COVID world.  COVID has dragged Mental health reluctantly into the limelight.  It’s a topic difficult to talk about openly because of the historical stereotyping of those with obvious mental health symptoms.  Those with quieter afflictions kept it to themselves because of the lack of understanding which surrounded mental health.

 

As a manager, it was good to receive information on what I can and can’t do in the work environment concerning helping someone who might be suffering.  The talk highlighted where I had almost blundered into a potential lawsuit – sometimes it’s lucky that I stall for time!  The problem is in seeking help for the person when the person doesn’t want help.  Not communicating even the awareness of the situation to other staff members for their understanding can be dangerous territory. 

Mental Health Tony

I arrived at the talk or meeting about 15-20 minutes late because of a previous meeting, skipping the start, and discussions were well on the way.  A guy (Tony is his name for the story’s sake) was sitting at the front of the room, conveying his mental health experience.  I instantly connected with the emotions and wanted to help in any way I could.

 

Tony said he was constantly tired, felt useless, had memory lapses, which contributed to his feelings of hopelessness and increased his despair. He didn’t want to socialise or go out. Tony began to compare himself to his former self of being outgoing and full of energy and wondered what had happened to him.  I’ve definitely been there!

 

At the time, there was a lot more on the topic I wanted to write but my notes for the day are short and sweet staring at me as if their very presence was all I needed.  The words were crystal clear when I wrote them, “Mental Health Talk”, and I didn’t think the import of what they were to convey would disappear.  Yet, disappear they did, but the feeling of the talk stayed with me, and that’s something quite difficult to describe in writing.

 

The end of the session had a twist for me when I congratulated Tony on his courage to sit out the front and share his mental health experience with an audience. While I was congratulating Tony, the psychologist and everyone laughed good-naturedly.  It turns out Tony was an actor, and the psychologist shared this with the group during introductions – which I missed because I was late.

Today's Cards

Day 152. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Intensity. 2 is Influence Projections. 3 is Goal Moment to Moment. 4 is Distant Past Creativity. 5 is Recent Past Politics. 6 is Future Energy Receptivity. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Breakthrough. 8 is Others' Views Guilt. 9 is Hope & Fears Stress. 10 is Outcome The Lovers. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

No cards carried over from yesterday.

Cross

Intensity is in the Now influenced by Projections with Moment to Moment sitting in the Goal position. Interpreting the first three cards in the context of the day is Intensity equals keeping the previous meeting and ensuring details got finalised– otherwise known as doing things my way.  Projections as the influence reflect how I connected to Tony’s mental health story.  Tony was the recipient of my projected emotions.

 

Moment to Moment is the Goal for the day; its success demonstrated by the way I moved from back-to-back meetings that day.

 

The Creativity card of the Distant Past leads to the Recent Past card of Politics. Politics is about portraying one face to the world while masking the real one.  When I displayed a cheerful disposition in the meeting, I was brighter than I felt (that was Politics) trying to lift Tony’s – and everyone’s – mood.

 

I move from blazing an individual path of Intensity to the Future Energy of Receptivity.  You can see this response just from telling the story today; I go from the hustle of one meeting into a meeting late, begin to listen, and then become receptive to new information.

Base

The Feelings position has a Breakthrough, and it links to when I learned Tony was an actor.  There could also be another more profound interpretation.  The meeting itself, with its contents, also helped me realise I’d narrowly escaped violating protocols, regardless of being well-intentioned.  Phew!

 

Others’ Views was I was wracked with Guilt, possibly over that exact situation I had escaped from violating.  Up until the moment of the Breakthrough, there was indeed Guilt and Stress.

 

The Hopes & Fears card shows the card of Stress and can relate to avoiding a misunderstanding of my role right up to a lawsuit.  The fear is that it will happen; the hope is that it doesn’t.   

 

The Outcome card has The Lovers, indicating two people working together in harmony and understanding one another’s uniqueness.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. The Push-up Challenge promotes Mental Health Awareness and started today
End Day 126

Day 151 – Peddler of Hope

31 May 2021

Day 151. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now The Miser. 2 is Influence Patience. 3 is Goal Letting Go. 4 is Distant Past Existence. 5 is Recent Past Sharing. 6 is Future Energy Understanding. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Fool. 8 is Others' Views Thunderbolt. 9 is Hope & Fears Courage. 10 is Outcome Flowering

Peddler of Hope Context

After 20 years the lotto lady retires from her indefatigable effort as our peddler of hope.  If only she was able to provide us with more.  

 

Today marks the day when the lotto lady at work retires. Lotto lady, aka Peddler of Hope, has tirelessly worked for her colleagues week-in and week-out, religiously collecting funds, going to the newsagent and placing our entries into the lucky dip of pooled money.  On reflection, it’s been about 20 years of her doing this, always wishing us luck and asking us to cross our fingers.

 

 

Hmmm.  The calculations on the amount of money the lotto lady collected from me at five dollars a week for 20 years equals about $5,200 – give or take a week.  It’s a decent amount of money.  Was it worth it?  After all, I’m still working!  The early retirement plan hasn’t quite worked out for any of the participants.

 

 

Now, somewhere I read (sorry, I couldn’t find where), giving money to the lotto is an affirmation reinforcing that you are poor.  In a way, I guess that’s true; otherwise, you wouldn’t be putting money into a lotto syndicate in the first place.  Guess that’s about to change since I will be gaining $5 per week from today onward.

Reasons to give to the Peddler of Hope

Yes, you could argue that I’m not lacking, which I’m not.  The absence of five dollars a week, to me these days, is barely noticeable.  So, why do I do it?  All these years, a charity could have been receiving the same money from me.  However, part of the reason was I got to see and catch up with a woman I liked once a month when I dropped off my funds.  It was an opportunity to converse on her health, kids, work gossip, and how her retirement plans were going (well, the latter more recently). 

 

Also, you may have noticed me referring to her as the Peddler of Hope; this is because perhaps one day I might discover that I have enough money to buy in the area we want to live in and live in the way we want to live.  At the very least, in the way we imagine living in the area.   There are also some aspirations I have regarding how I would like to spend excess money.

 

Now that my peddler of hope has retired, I will miss her, and my very best wishes go with her for a beautiful future full of health and happiness. 

Peddler of Hope & Personal Guilt

For many years, guilt was my companion.  The guilt was around me earning a good wage.  I would often sabotage myself from better positions believing that being poor made me richer in spirit and heart.  It’s that age-old dichotomy or false competition to have one means you can’t have the other.  The sabotage played itself out as bitterness toward other people’s successes, and confelicity was difficult to muster.

 

Perhaps others feel similarly, especially those who enter the syndicate to win a big prize, believing that only the lucky get to have both.  Personally, I think we all deserve happiness and riches because you can be rich and have enjoyment.  Movies don’t usually show joy and rich because it doesn’t make for good storytelling.

 

When I resolved that you can have both, parts of my life changed. There are still moments of bitterness or resentfulness when I haven’t gotten a job (not all resolved yet).  Then I went to see a kinesiologist to find out mentally where I might begin to determine whatever ailment I had at the time.

Thoughts on Kinesiology

Usually, I visit Wikipedia for general perspectives, but the thoughts on applied kinesiology “factualised”, invalidating the therapy.  However, my experience didn’t align. After all, I did not seek out chiropractic or diagnostic help for any ailment, although there was a condition.  My kinesiology visits had been on a more psychological-spiritual bent. 

 

Because I believe the body reflects our mental and spiritual well-being, or at the very least, it provides clues to what might be going on in your head.  So, if I have a body part playing up but not worthy, to my mind, of a doctor’s attention, I visit a kinesiologist.  Let’s put it this way: my GP and I agree; I will first go to her with a plan of attack; she performs her assessment, then we agree, modify or do otherwise.

 

Rather than Wikipedia, part of the Victorian Government’s Better Health’s description is:  “a kinesiology is a form of therapy that uses muscle monitoring (biofeedback) to look at imbalances that may be causing disease in the body.”.  It further clarifies that kinesiology does not diagnose disorders. Happy with that!

 

My reason for visiting a kinesiologist is that I’m unable or unwilling to look at an issue during meditation or self-reflection.  A good kinesiologist is a gentler psychologist.  What I mean is before going to a psychologist, I try a kinesiologist.  It’s kind of using the right tool for the right job approach.  Using a psychologist is like buying an industrial strength cordless screwdriver from a specialist trade store to put together a piece of easy flat-pack furniture when a home-style screwdriver from the local hardware store would do the job.

 

Oops!  Got carried away with that one; I hope it was helpful 😁.

Today's Cards

Day 151. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now The Miser. 2 is Influence Patience. 3 is Goal Letting Go. 4 is Distant Past Existence. 5 is Recent Past Sharing. 6 is Future Energy Understanding. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Fool. 8 is Others' Views Thunderbolt. 9 is Hope & Fears Courage. 10 is Outcome Flowering. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

No cards carried over from yesterday today.

Cross

The Miser is in the Now influenced by Patience.  Could this be me feeling possessive of the five dollars I gave to the lotto and am planning to put toward a charity?

 

Letting Go is in the Goal position and means I’m sad to see the lotto lady leave.  That’s a chapter in my life disappearing.  In the Distant Past is Existence, where recognising your uniqueness is all you need to understand.

 

Recent Past’s Sharing card leads to a Future Energy of Understanding.

Base

My Feelings on The Miser card shows up in the card of The Fool.  My initial reaction to the two cards is that I would be a fool to get miserly over the five dollars, although I’m not one hundred per cent sure this is the interpretation I would die by.

 

Others’ Views is the card of ThunderboltThunderbolt is a dramatic physical change; perhaps it’s the 20-year routine changing and being noticed.

Hopes & Fears has the card of Courage. On the inside, I’m hoping I have Courage to move forward in my way without having someone do the running around for my “hope”.  My fear is freezing in indecision or not having the Courage to pursue a path with consciousness – fundamentally, just ignoring it.

 

The Outcome position has Flowering, which is about embracing who I am and blossoming.  Flowering echoes the Sharing card sitting in Recent Past, and Flowering is what needs to happen before you can share.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Kinesiology, Better Health, Victorian State Government, Australia, Published Online 

     

    Word Definition:

  3. Confelicity:  joy in another person’s happiness. Susie Dent, Twitter feed, 13 Mar 2021 

End Day 151

Day 150 – Video Stress

30 May 2021

Day 150. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Moment to Moment. 2 is Influence Postponement. 3 is Goal Laziness. 4 is Distant Past Sorrow. 5 is Recent Past Ordinariness. 6 is Future Energy Breakthrough. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Comparison. 8 is Others' Views The Outsider. 9 is Hope & Fears Stress. 10 is Outcome Aloneness

Zoom Context

My husband catches up with a Victorian in lockdown using video. There’s an expectation for me to join, but I hate doing my hair on Sundays.

 

 

From most Australian’s perspective, covid-19 has been a nuisance but not detrimental. The devastation which has occurred around the world, particularly in India, is shocking. For Australia, at least, it’s like being inside while there’s a blizzard outside.  Sure, we get bouts of the chill air when we open the door, but we’re safe for the most part.  When the state of Victoria went into lockdown, it reminded Australians of the grim reality that it is indeed “cold” outside our doors.  Victoria zoomed to close its doors and began contact tracing.

 

Communication during this time is essential between people.  My husband’s friend Vicki (not her real name) lives in the state of Victoria and is old enough to be his mother. The extensive lockdown of 111 days was hard for many Victorians and Vicki among them. 

 

Since the “long lockdown”, the state has been operating effectively.  Residents coming home from overseas are always going to introduce the risk of the virus spreading.  Technology alleviated the lack of human contact in the lockdown circumstances, or at least for those that embraced it as a substitute for human physical contact.

 

Zoom was the platform of choice for our video contact with Vicki today.  It’s incredible what a difference it makes to have Vicki connect with close friends visually.  Vicki always likes to look fantastic and enjoys the process of getting ready to engage with the world (makeup and lovely clothes).  Video allows Vicki to continue with her makeup and clothes routine.

Video Conferencing

Before COVID, a phone conversation without visuals was quite the norm, as well as lengthy discussions.  However, the longer a lockdown persists, the greater the need for sighted people and especially older people, to connect visually virtually, as indicated in Hajek (2021). 

 

I dislike video conferencing because the pressure to “change what I look like” feels stronger.  It also means the screen gets my undivided attention.  For instance, if I am on the phone with my mother, I can play a jigsaw puzzle while conveying her story. 

 

A jigsaw doesn’t take much of my attention away from my mother’s conversation, but it keeps me focussed on the exchange. When my mother, or others, go into a story-telling mode, they tend to look into the distance to recall the details better anyway. 

 

Images of myself and/ or my mother can distract me when video conferencing. When this same conversation happens in a face-to-face situation, the recall still occurs but ever so briefly.  The need to look off into the distance is more infrequent; at the very least, eye contact seems more frequent.

Video and Sense of Smell

I’m typically not as sensitive to smell as others in my friends and family community, for the record.  My sense of smell is there; I’m just not as receptive to its subtleties unless I make myself tune into the scent.  It’s like selected deafness but with a sense of smell.  The smell must be bad for me to verbally acknowledge it as either “oh pfhoo” or “wow”.  Seriously, unless breaking wind produces a foul odour, it won’t bother me; even then, it’s not a bother.

 

If our connection to the world hinges on a sense of smell, subtle though it is when we mingle with others?  Essential to our memory and ability to recall information, even when we’re unaware of its import in our daily lives (Sarafoleanu, 2009). 

 

What I’m trying to say are people less likely to get depressed if there’s a sense of smell from fellow human beings?  Since video chatting and regular technological socialising, depression is still prevalent. Could the difference be scent?

 

Anyway, that was me just idea-slinging.  When I found a bottle of Australian Bush Flower Essence with the “Calm and Clear” smell, the idea came to me.  After applying the face gel, the scent transported me to paradise – figuratively speaking. 😇

Today's Cards

Day 150. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Moment to Moment. 2 is Influence Postponement. 3 is Goal Laziness. 4 is Distant Past Sorrow. 5 is Recent Past Ordinariness. 6 is Future Energy Breakthrough. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Comparison. 8 is Others' Views The Outsider. 9 is Hope & Fears Stress. 10 is Outcome Aloneness. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

Two cards carried over from yesterday; Moment to Moment moved from Recent Past to the Now, and Laziness moved from Outcome to the Goal.  Did I not wish for Laziness to be a goal yesterday? Gotta be a-careful with the wishin’.

Cross

Being in the moment prompted the Moment to Moment card in the NowPostponement is in the influencer position, suggesting I’m ignoring or delaying activities on my to-do list.  Most likely, participating in the video chat. Did I mention I don’t like them?

 

Oh, look! It’s the Laziness card in the Goal position.  Sundays are a day I strive for Laziness; when you have a video chat, Laziness goes out the window.  It’s also a carryover from yesterday, but I think this is more the universe giving me what I wished 😁.

 

Sorrow is in the Distant Past.  If today was all about the video conference (there wasn’t much else on). In the past, I’ve often – like many – judged myself unfavourably in video chats; Sorrow could stem from there. The judgement would have been me of myself.

 

Ordinariness in the Recent Past is about paying attention to everyday things, and perhaps the Ordinariness of the day changes with a change in routine.

 

Future Energy has Breakthrough.  Looking back, I did have a Breakthrough on the video front; I’m okay as long as I resign myself to the interaction.   The resignation is not something I’ve recognised in myself before, so this is a helpful thing.

Base

There you go, Comparison is in the Feelings position.  The Comparison card in the Osho Zen deck advises that comparison is silly because it’s like comparing which is better between an oak or a bamboo tree.  Both trees are helpful and have different purposes, although some of the uses overlap.  Both provide shade, help build things, but the climates in which they’re grown vary.

 

Others’ Views, in this case, Vicki’s view, I am probably seen as The Outsider.  Vicki has known Mark all his life and only me in his later years. The connection is civil and amicable, and if I changed myself, I would be accepted more easily.  However, Vicki would be devastated if I changed myself for her.

 

Hopes & Fears has the card of Stress.  My fear is the Stress of the video-conferencing situation, and I hope the video conferencing doesn’t work to remove the stress 😏.

 

Finally, the Outcome position has Aloneness.  The result of the video conference is me feeling alone in my response.  It’ll pass.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. 2020, Covid in Australia: Melbourne to exit 112-day lockdown, BBC, Published Online 

  3. Faf Y., 2021, How can technology help people overcome the covid-19 pandemic?, Startups Magazine, Published Online 

  4. Gabbiadini A., Baldissarri C. Durante F., et al., 2020, Together Apart: The Mitigating Role of Digital Communication Technologies on Negative effect During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy, Published Online

  5. Cheng A., 4 Statistics that show the True impact of video conferencing, RingCentral, Published Online

  6. Hajek A.· König H.-H. 2021, Social Isolation and Loneliness of Older Adults in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Can Use of Online Social Media Sites and Video Chats Assist in Mitigating Social Isolation and Loneliness?, Karger Online, Last viewed 4 Jun 2021 

  7. Sarafoleanu C, 2009, The importance of the olfactory sense in the human behavior and evolution, J Med Life Published online 

End Day 150

Day 149 – Scarcity Utilisation in Real Estate

29 May 2021

Day 149. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Moment to Moment. 2 is Influence Postponement. 3 is Goal Laziness. 4 is Distant Past Sorrow. 5 is Recent Past Ordinariness. 6 is Future Energy Breakthrough. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Comparison. 8 is Others' Views The Outsider. 9 is Hope & Fears Stress. 10 is Outcome Aloneness

Scarcity Context

Today, we visited an open house suggested by our real estate.  The tactic at present is to encourage the feeling of scarcity.

 

There were a couple of things on the to-do list today.  First was visiting the house the real estate agent recommended; the visit was around lunchtime.  The current sell strategy used by real estate agents is to build the volume of people going through to create a “panic buy” environment.   It was used for rentals to “encourage” renters to pay more.

 

Some real estate agents are all about good sales, but one of the strategies is to have “no private inspections before the first open house.”.   By constraining viewing times and not advertising a price, and waiting for offers, triggers the scarcity mentality, and people will pay more for a house or buy a home even if they are unsure of the purchase. So, buyers, beware.

 

Guess all is fair in love and real estate. Just imagine the saying could be “in real estate and war”.  Actually, it doesn’t matter either way isn’t good.  The scarcity mentality is helpful for individuals competing and striving to win a medal, but encouraging purchases in real estate seems wrong.  In any case, being aware of the tactic goes some way toward reducing the temptation.  The other things that work are not having to move or need a place to live. 

 

The property was too big for us and didn’t click with us.  Again, the approach is the right property will come to us. There’s no rush. Secretly, pleased the house wasn’t the one.  Moving is a big decision, and it’s the beginning.  There may never be a righter place than the one we’re in now.  Visiting the open house made me realise how much I enjoy our home.

Scarcity of Macaron Success

Another area of scarcity is my success with macarons.  After having no success last weekend and previously only ever having failed once before this week, the macarons need reattempting.  I got further than last week, but I broke the egg mixture, and the macarons flopped in the oven.  We did end up with a lot of “almost” macaron shells, which I’m sure we’ll munch on over the week. 

 

Now onto the cards!

Today's Cards

Day 149. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Celebration. 2 is Influence Thunderbolt. 3 is Goal Slowing Down. 4 is Distant Past Integration. 5 is Recent Past Moment to Moment. 6 is Future Energy The Source. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future The Rebel. 8 is Others' Views Friendliness. 9 is Hope & Fears Patience. 10 is Outcome Laziness. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Integration was in the Distant Past and remained in the Distant Past.

Cross

Celebration is in the Now influenced by Thunderbolt.  Okay, I’m going to see the Celebration of having the courage to move out of our comfort zone.  Thunderbolt is the card that tells you some physical change is afoot.  By the card being in the influencer position, Thunderbolt is simply saying it’s the act of looking for a home, not moving yet.

 

The Goal card is Slowing Down, which is what I’m hoping will happen. 

 

 

Integration sits in the Distant Past and hasn’t moved from yesterday (Day 148).  All that means is the same situation in the past contributed to today’s Celebration as it did to yesterday’s Ripeness.  It kind of makes sense if part of the reason we’re looking to move is from the tension around the cats, and yesterday’s blog was indeed about our cats.

 

 

In the Recent Past, presumably around inspection time, was us taking things from Moment to Moment.  Not having expectations one way or the other of the real estate visit and not being drawn into the scarcity environment.

 

 

The Future Energy position has The Source card. Taking the time to work out what we want, and perhaps it means looking at what we will and won’t accept in a future home.

Base

My Feelings are those of The RebelThe Rebel is not behaving in the way expected unless it’s what you want to do.  More simply, it’s “just because you are moving in the same direction as the sheep doesn’t make you a sheep.”.  You see very few, if any, animals running toward a bush fire.  Those running away from the fire are not all the same animal. 

 

Others’ Views is the card of Friendliness.  It’s a good thing for this reading for this card to appear in this spot.  The real estate agent we seem to have attracted is pleasant, and we are on friendly terms.  On the upside, she’s not pushy either – there appears to be plenty of work available for her.  The availability of work means she’s not operating on scarcity and can leave the universe time to work for us. Hmmm. Maybe that is the universe working for us 🧐

 

Hopes & Fears position sees the Patience card reflecting the same idea of hoping things move slowly, echoing the Slowing Down card in the Goal position.  Not so much “slowly” as waiting – there is a difference.  The trick with waiting is you’re not always sure something is happening, which is the fear aspect of Patience.  

 

Laziness is in the Outcome position.  Perhaps the card is a warning not to rely too much on Patience and Slowing Down and using these terms to disguise being lazy.  Augh!  That’s not fair!  I like lazy.  Maybe I should make being lazy a goal – how easy would it be to reach?  😇

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 149

Day 148 – Catty Community

28 May 2021

Day 148. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Ripeness. 2 is Influence Existence. 3 is Goal Awareness. 4 is Distant Past Integration. 5 is Recent Past Silence. 6 is Future Energy The Fool. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Control. 8 is Others' Views No-thingness. 9 is Hope & Fears Guidance. 10 is Outcome Guilt

Catty Context

It was a beautiful sunny day, and I wanted to see where Dobby was hanging out.  Cats not being herd animals still seem to be “social” or at the very least “nosy”. Oh, look!  It’s that curiosity thing cats get labelled with all the time.  Are our felines mixing it up in a catty community?  The cats couldn’t be doing the female dog thing of “bitchin'”, so it must be catty.

 

The stroll was incredibly serene; there was a light breeze, and the soft autumn sun was on my face as I tracked kitty-cat number two via the Apple Airtag.  The Airtag follows non-moving items; after all, that’s its design.  Cats (and dogs), in case you hadn’t noticed, are sometimes moving objects. 🙂 However, it’s enough to identify the approximate location of said “object”.  That is, did Dobby go left or right from our place.

 

We had tried putting another Bluetooth tracker on them similar to the one listed in references in the past.  The tracking device had a red, amber, and green light range, indicating you were either getting warmer or cooler depending on how near your pet you were. On the cat, the device dangled, and while our cats are of the big domestic housecat variety (6.9kg/ 15lb and 5.8kg/ 12lb kg), the collar with the trackers quickly became “lost”.

 

The lost collar was a concern when we purchased the Airtags. The good thing about the Airtag is its area is easily identified and doesn’t rely on walking a 100m (328 feet) radius to find the missing collar and tag.  While researching pictures of hanging tags or pet tags, there was one that looked good – I wish I’d seen that one earlier!

Catty Community

When I finally reached the area where Dobby was hiding, Jennifer, a local, enjoyed the sunshine out with her two six-month-old kittens.  While the kittens were out exploring, Jennifer kept a watchful eye. The two kittens were so adorable you want just to cuddle them!  I want to do this with most animals, usually dogs since they’re most likely to be about on my walks.  Dobby kept clear at a safe distance of his catty felines, despite visiting to be near them 🤔.

 

At that moment, Jan (not real name), another local, appeared from a neighbouring house, waiting for her Uber.  We three conversed and discovered Jan has an older cat named Max.  Max sticks to the letterbox and its surroundings, and it made me feel less alone regarding cats. It was a lovely conversation in the afternoon.  Jan mentioned that Valentine was always up there looking for a fight.  He must be good since he doesn’t come home with scratches.  Maybe Valentine had one or two scratches this year.  It saddens me if it’s true.

 

The subject arose, and I mentioned I’d used the Apple Airtag to track the cats’ basic whereabouts – “what a good idea”, they cried.  Max’s owner asked how we kept the collar on; simple.  Just keep a stash of collars on hand, so when initially the cats ditch them thinking they’re free of them, you simply grab another one and put it on. 

 

We chatted amiably and tried not to get too catty when it came to council issues.  The sun had moved, and it was cooler now.   Jenny grabbed her kittens, Jen grabbed Max, and I captured Dobby, and we all went our separate ways, feeling I hope better for the interaction with fellow beings who have shared love.

Today's Cards

Day 148. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Ripeness. 2 is Influence Existence. 3 is Goal Awareness. 4 is Distant Past Integration. 5 is Recent Past Silence. 6 is Future Energy The Fool. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Control. 8 is Others' Views No-thingness. 9 is Hope & Fears Guidance. 10 is Outcome Guilt. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Guilt moved from Hopes & Fears to the Outcome position.

Cross

Ripeness is in the Now influenced by ExistenceAwareness breaks into the Goal position, and Integration is in the Distant Past.

 

The card of Silence in the Recent Past echoes the Existence card meaning Silence has made way for Existence and created the right circumstances for the cat owners, aka the catty community, to meet.    Future Energy has The Fool meaning, and I came away with happy thoughts, where that will lead no one knows as yet.

Base

My need to Control in the Immediate Future position encouraged me to wonder where Dobby had been. It was the right time (Ripeness) for the situation to manifest.

Others’ Views is of No-thingness or potential.  Is this the potential for an aloof but supportive catty community?  Who knows?

 

My Hopes & Fears has the card of Guidance.  I hope I was guided to the meeting for the friendliness and fear that it was a “chance” encounter of little ongoing significance – guess we’ll find out!

 

Here Guilt is as an Outcome card.  Well, I feel sort of guilty now talking about the Apple Airtag and cat tracks.  Sometimes Guilt plays a role most stupidly, particularly in situations where logic dictates its silliness. 

 

Still, when I “repurpose” something, I am aware a gadget designed to hold outdoor furniture together is not a taco holder.  And while I would use the device this way around because it’s sturdier than it needs to be to hold a taco, I wouldn’t use a taco holder to keep outdoor furniture together 🙂.   

 

Not knowing the people I impart knowledge to can make me feel guilty.  Not that, on reflection, this would cause any harm – to my way of thinking.  But I can be a fool at times. 

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Pet Smart GPS Tracker (hanging version)
  3. Cat GPS tracker locator device for pets (integrates with a collar)

Airtag on 5.6 kilogram cat

Airtag on 6.8 kilogram cat

Larger cat, Valentine sleeping with Airtag
End Day 148

Day 147 – A Day at the Hairdresser

27 May 2021

Day 147. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Intensity. 2 is Influence Moment to Moment. 3 is Goal Sharing. 4 is Distant Past Transformation. 5 is Recent Past Comparison. 6 is Future Energy The Rebel. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Totality. 8 is Others' Views The Lovers. 9 is Hope & Fears Guilt. 10 is Outcome Traveling

Hairdresser Context

Going to the hairdresser is great until you realise you had forgotten you booked in for something different today.  And different it was!

 

Even though I slept well, I was still feeling tired and irritable.  Once again, I had plans for a big productive day, and with a good chunk allocated to me.  You see, it was hairdresser day!  Woohoo!  Love hairdresser day.  While the colour is in my hair, colourin’, I can sit and relax while the hairdresser is busy with other customers.  This “free” space leaves me time to get writing or learning or simply whatever.  It’s pure bliss!  It’s just like waiting for an aeroplane to depart at the airport. 

 

 

What I had forgotten today was “big” colour day.  Several hairdresser visits ago, a comment made by me suggested I wanted to go a “mushroom brown” colour.  It’s the shade of the “brown dry shampoo” sprayed onto my darker hair before I’ve worked it into the ends.

At the Hairdresser

I was greeted, as ever, by the lovely Caty, Keely and Chris, who primarily works on the barber’s side but is also a fully trained hairdresser in his right (by the way, not their real names).  The change in hair colour is my strategic move to ease me into the greying process.  Mushroom would blend in with my natural greying roots and not look like a reverse GT-stripe.   It would also accustom others around me to a lighter shade of brown.   The aim was to own my age – eventually.

 

Caty, the Colourist, was very excited because she doesn’t often get the opportunity to play with her colours.  It wasn’t the fashion “grey” going around. Since most people, I mentioned the colour to refrained from commenting anything apart from “that’s interesting”, it challenged Caty.

 

After making the appointment, I promptly forgot all about the conversation. The hairdresser hadn’t.  So, today sat at a different chair and discussed what needed to happen, and Caty went to get the price.  Luckily for me, I was sitting down!  It was double my regular colouring treatment. The change in the chair and the cost had me on the tired back foot.

 

I could back out of the colour, but you know the saying, “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten”. The phrase was utterly relevant to today’s hairdresser visit.  So, regardless of cost, I progressed with the request. 

 

The colour foils took forever.  My free space had gone, and when the colour was left to “percolate” under the sci-fi brain-sucker hair heater, I was too far away from the counter to type.  In the end, I sat back and stopped fighting the process. 

Hairdresser Swap Out

In addition to the hair treatment, the eyelashes and eyebrows get tinted.  In the excitement, this got forgotten.  On top of the forgotten hair colour, I was surprised to see Chris, with scissors in hand at the ready, when it came to the cut.  Double-take, I said (internally), “what?”.  Okay. Something of the internal monologue may have spilt out onto my face because there was a hurried, “are you okay with that?” from Caty.  A little belatedly and put on the spot, of course, saying no was going to be awkward. 

 

Without the surprise, I would be okay with any one of the skilled staff cutting my hair.  It was a surprise on top of a few other surprises already, and my tiredness didn’t help my response.   Since Shelley left, Keely had been my hairdresser.  Keely or someone would advise if she had been double-booked or couldn’t do the cut.   This simple act of someone letting me know was what was needed.  Caty did apologise, although not convinced she understood entirely why.

 

On the back foot, yet again, I “lashed” out with a comment similar to, ” I finally had gotten Keely to understand the haircut I wanted,” energy drop and mumble.  The second the words escaped my mouth, I wanted to bring them back.  It wasn’t an accurate or fair comment on either Keely or Chris or the circumstance, for that matter.  In one silly statement, I undervalued Keely and Chris’s hairdressing capabilities.  At the same time, under-mining Caty’s skills as a salesperson.  Argh!  😟

Hairdresser Colours

It’s weird; even with the awareness of me being whiney, I couldn’t prevent the words from escaping from my mouth.  My approach was passive-aggressive, which I disliked even more.  Why do we sometimes trap ourselves so?

 

Finally, it was time to unveil the colour.  The colour was pretty, but I was unenthused.  There was too much change happening to me for me to appreciate the beauty fully.  The eyebrows got done but were too dark or my hair too light.  Feeling bad for Caty, who was enthusiastic about the colour, I tried to muster the joy I would feel at a future point in time.  My ability to tap that far into my future today just wasn’t coming to the party.  

 

To save me from completely being rude and without lying before I knew how I felt about my hair, I desperately searched for any little thing I liked.  It turned out to be a slight flick at the bottom hair, the beginnings of an appreciation for the haircut itself.  It wasn’t much; once Caty went to get her camera to take a photo, I took a moment to compose myself and look at the colour properly without Caty’s expectations.  My hair was different, but it was beautiful, and I couldn’t stop looking at it.  When Caty returned said as much to her.

 

As a final comment, it’s been a long time since a hairdresser has thrown me back into hairdresser “dislike” mode.  Today reminded me of the reasons why colouring your hair is beneficial – you’ve got complete control at a much lower price. The next visit will be similar in terms of time and cost; now that I know Chris or Caty will be doing the cut, I’m cool with that.

Today's Cards

Day 147. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Intensity. 2 is Influence Moment to Moment. 3 is Goal Sharing. 4 is Distant Past Transformation. 5 is Recent Past Comparison. 6 is Future Energy The Rebel. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Totality. 8 is Others' Views The Lovers. 9 is Hope & Fears Guilt. 10 is Outcome Traveling. Shuffle method was Fan Selection

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

Only one card carried over from yesterday; Totality moved from Others’ Views to Feelings or Immediate Future position.

Cross

Intensity is in the Now influenced by Moment to MomentIntensity equals going your way, and Moment to Moment is the “no longer fighting the process” mentioned in the Hairdresser Context.

 

The Goal was that of Sharing, and Sharing is about finding generosity of spirit that you can give because you have plenty.  An admirable goal, but I think this was a failure for me today – saved a little at the end, maybe (?).

 

Transformation in the Distant Past indicates when I decided to agree to the change in hair colour.

 

Recently (Recent Past), the Comparison between old and new colour or perhaps it’s the way communication. It was different from the past.  In either case, it was a pointless comparison to make. 

 

The Future Energy card has The Rebel, which echoes and supports the Intensity card. It’s almost the same thing, except The Rebel is unhindered by the usual emotion, physical or guilty constraints.  Intensity is the desire to break free, and The Rebel does it without consciously trying to be The Rebel.

Base

Wow!  Totality in the Immediate Future or Feelings position is about letting the process play out.  Committing to the process is what did happen, albeit begrudgingly end up happening 😇.  Moving from yesterday’s Others’ Views might be others seeing me throw myself into the haircut.  It’s unlikely since I hadn’t been advertising the change because I’d forgotten it was going to happen.

 

Others’ Views is The Lovers.  It’s comforting for me to see this in this position because it means the hairdresser saw me as cooperative and with constructive feedback.  Phew!

 

In the Hopes & Fears is Guilt.  It is unsurprising since it’s how I felt and feared I’d let on during the day when I was undergoing adaptation.  The hope was to hide it and not extend it beyond my internal headspace, and the fear conveyed the disapproval it was, which would make me feel Guilt over again.

 

Finally, the Traveling card represents physical journey in the Outcome position.  Today, my husband and I began to talk about a vacation.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 147

Day 146 – Unexpected

26 May 2021

Day 146. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now The Burden. 2 is Influence Understanding. 3 is Goal Friendliness. 4 is Distant Past Change. 5 is Recent Past Postponement. 6 is Future Energy Inner Voice. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Awareness. 8 is Others' Views Totality. 9 is Hope & Fears Exhaustion. 10 is Outcome Harmony

Unexpected Context

We’re starting to think we might move, but to avoid the unexpected, we get prepared.  Betty’s birthday prompts a spontaneous action by me.

 

With the long-term cat-neighbour issue, we’ve been thinking of moving.  Of course, there are other factors to the move, like increasing lifestyle benefits.  There are a lot of things to consider when moving.  A couple of items on the to-do list are: check what you’re able to borrow and how much you’ll get for your current property.

Unexpected Difference of Opinion

A quick call to our broker confirmed we were okay with the intended price range.  We then range the real estate agent.  We’d bumped into her when I sent an inquiry about a house we saw for sale, which we loved.  Part of the real estate tools of the trade is to offer a free evaluation of your property and what it might fetch on the market.

 

 

It was challenging to set up a mutually beneficial time, but we had, and here we were three weeks down the track.  Needless to say, there had been a burst of scurryfunge before the real estate agent arrived at the front door.  In truth, ever since I’d made the appointment three weeks ago, I had begun to stress, and for one reason or another, the spotless clean I wanted to occur hadn’t happened.

 

 

My husband, on the other hand, while helpful when asked to help out, remained non-plussed.  He didn’t understand the reasons for the scurryfunge usually reserved for visitors such as his mother.  From my perspective, it was a case of “you only get one opportunity to make a first impression” and was stressing me a little.  Even if we hold all the cards now since we’re not in a hurry to move and have decided to have the right place or circumstances find us.   At least, if I asked him to help, he did it straight away – not a hindrance then.  😉  He got it!

Asking for the Unexpected

Ideally, we would build on a block of land with enough money to not impact lifestyle or retirement plans.  While that likelihood is just about non-existent, it doesn’t hurt to put it out to the universe to “see what happens”.  To be clear, the area we’re hoping to get into has some beautiful homes that wealthy people have renovated.  Alternatively, the established housing area previously “out in the sticks” (a long way from the city) has older homes owned by people who had always been there and aren’t wealthy enough to renovate. 

 

Previously in my life, I had made sweeping statements like the one above about us not moving into an area.  When my husband suggested we move to a particular suburb, I indicated it as being off-limits.  He said, let’s just have a look.  My response to him was akin to, “no way, José! We can’t afford to move there. These homes have pools encroaching into their living rooms – and not the natural weather phenomenon kind!”.  Right after those words, I smiled lovingly and condescendingly at his unfamiliarity with Brisbane.  You guessed it; we moved there.

 

That was renting; this is different.  We have driven the area, and there are very few available plots of land.  Even if we could afford the property, we probably couldn’t afford to build the house we wanted – especially in the current market.  The same goes for buying a place that’s ideal or something we would need to renovate majorly. 

 

Back to the visit, the beautiful real estate agent visited and liked the place.  Then she gave us an approximate estimate better than anticipated; it was totally unexpected!

Other Unexpected Activity

Back in January, Betty – a friend of 30+ years – and I had a falling out (Day 013).  Today was Betty’s birthday.  Unexpected even to myself, I decided to send Betty’s husband a text message to pass on my/ our birthday wishes if Betty was receptive to them.  If Betty wasn’t, then that was okay too, just let me know, and I will step back from their lives.  This step-back is because I don’t want to be in someone’s life if they don’t want me.  It would only make both our lives miserable.

 

I sent the message in the morning.  The response came late in the day, and it was one from Betty’s husband advising that Betty thanked us for her wishes, and they would stay in touch.  It’s a glimmer of hope. 

Today's Cards

Day 146. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now The Burden. 2 is Influence Understanding. 3 is Goal Friendliness. 4 is Distant Past Change. 5 is Recent Past Postponement. 6 is Future Energy Inner Voice. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Awareness. 8 is Others' Views Totality. 9 is Hope & Fears Exhaustion. 10 is Outcome Harmony. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

No cards carried over from yesterday.

Cross

The Burden is in the Now influenced by Understanding. Today’s Burden is a clean house, and the Understanding is me recognising the importance of a first impression.  Friendliness is in the Goal position and was my goal for the day in all aspects of my life.  The real estate agent and I did have friendly banter and connected.

 

Both unexpected events result from a Change in the Distant Past. With Betty, it was Day 013‘s event.  Moving house was probably from the moment we decided to build our home.  You see, we had a plan to build and move within a year, but we had good neighbours, and like family, you can’t pick them.  If you get good neighbours and you get along with them, even better!

 

In the Recent Past is Postponement. Perhaps it was the Postponement of the visit by the real estate and my contact with Betty.  To escape the pitfall of Postponement and The Burden the Future Energy is about listening and staying true to my Inner Voice.

Base

The Immediate Future/ Feelings position has Awareness that can bloom from listening to my Inner VoiceAwareness is the glimmer of an idea that has been sitting in the back of your mind, elusively avoiding identification.  By listening to Inner Voice, it becomes more apparent.

 

Others’ Views has the card of Totality which conveys others view me as totally committed to making a move happen, and at some point, we’re going to have to decide.  This view is unexpected to me because the relocation is in its embryonic stage.

 

My Hopes & Fears is that of Exhaustion.  If I hope for the move and it happens soon, there will be house packing.  House packing is exhausting, and I fear Exhaustion while finding something we like will also be worth it (hope).

 

The Outcome position is Harmony. Harmony is an echo card because it supports the Future Energy advice of listening to Inner VoiceHarmony follows listening to your Inner Voice; it’s a feeling of peace knowing things are working as they should. 

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Max Real Estate, Things to do before buying a house 
Definition:
Dent, Susie 2021, Scurryfunge: to frantically attempt to tidy up before visitors arrive (18 May 2021), Twitter feed.
End Day 146

Day 145 – Donation Dilemma

25 May 2021

Day 145. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Completion. 2 is Influence Adventure. 3 is Goal Sharing. 4 is Distant Past Abundance. 5 is Recent Past We are the World. 6 is Future Energy Breakthrough. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Aloneness. 8 is Others' Views Transformation. 9 is Hope & Fears Fighting. 10 is Outcome Mind

Donation Context

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser was today & my first in helping setup, but giving a donation can be tricky. 

 

For many years I had a donation dilemma.  Many of you may have experienced the same thing.  You hear about the administration costs of organisations but want to get your funds to the right place; that is the cause you’re trying to support.  It took me many years before I realised this was an excuse for me not to donate.  This reason may not be your reason, of course.

 

It occurred to me the administration charges are paying someone in Australia, paying a middle person in another country and getting the money to the frontline. That’s three people at least benefiting from my one donation. I began to ask myself:  did I want to deprive an Australian working in a non-profit organisation of a proper wage just to get money to someone else?

Donation Funds Go Further

My travel experiences in developing countries also taught me that money has different values in different countries.  Not just in a dollar for exchange rate situation, although that is true. But even the value based on the lifestyle of the country’s inhabitants adds a different value to their money.

 

For instance, in the year I visited Nepal (in the early nineties), I got 33 Nepalese Rupee to the Australian dollar.  Think of it this way, that’s $33 local money to one Australian $1.  At the time, a week’s Nepalese wages was about AU$24 or Ns792 (Ns = Nepalese Rupee).  My wage was about AU$700 or Ns23,100 per week.   In two weeks, I would have made a year’s Nepalese’s wage.  The conversion rate had me looking like a multi-millionaire each fortnight!   The tour group I was with reasoned that’s why many travellers in the 60s sold their return tickets to stay longer. 

 

As you may have worked out, money in a developing nation goes further.  For a total of two Australian dollars, I was able to purchase: breakfast and dinner in a fancy restaurant, three t-shirts, lunch at the market, catch two taxis at tourist prices, bangles, snacks, bottled water, visit a temple (free), make a donation of Ns10, and a puzzle book.  All the purchased stuff would still cost more, even if it had been AU$66.  The fancy breakfast alone would have cost AU$25 or a Nepalese’s full weekly wage.

Something of a Donation

So, money is simply different.  If I gave $100 a month to a charity and the organisation used $10 for the Australian employee, $30 for the “doctors, nurses, teachers, without borders” type people to be there. Then sadly, $20 for bribes in the local country or anywhere in between. 

 

That means $40 is still getting to where it needs to go.  If the money were going to a country like Nepal in the early 90s and converted at 33 to 1, it would be nearly three weeks’ wages (Ns2,310 or $2,310 local currency). I’d be happy if even a week’s local wages made it there, I would be satisfied.  The help staff could purchase a lot for the communities with a week’s local wages.

 

On the topic of bribes, yes, it shouldn’t happen.  But it’s a way of life in some parts of the world.  You need to decide whether you want something to get to the people or nothing; if you were to get principled, the needy would get nothing – I eventually opted for something.

Donation to Cancer

For many years I didn’t like the idea of giving money to pharmaceutical companies to do cancer research into drugs that “would keep people alive” while it pretended to look for a “cure”.  Cures are bad for pharmaceutical businesses; helping keep people alive, supported and pain-free that’ll work too.  I disagreed with the developed wonder drugs being too expensive for the people who help fund the research.  

 

The Australian Cancer Council is not a government-funded organisation.  It’s a standard response for people not to trust our government, but our government is the only thing they have any control over.  I don’t like them; that’s fine, but we put them into office, and we can vote them out of office if it doesn’t look after all Australian citizens. I’ve got a whole rant on the “role of government”, as I see it somewhere – I’ll drag it out and post it – when I find it.

 

I believe the government being voted in by its citizens should be looking after those very citizens.  That includes those in regional Australia, those who are rich and those who are poor because each contributes to Australia’s function as a whole. 

 

Therefore, cancer research funded by it should result in a product or a cure available to all Australians.  If you have an organisation with a raft of contributors, but some are business-minded, then it’s going to be about making money and profits that go to shareholders.    

 

Again, it’s better to give something to research than not have any research at all.  Eventually, a business has competition and competition can reduce the price.

Today's Cards

Day 145. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Completion. 2 is Influence Adventure. 3 is Goal Sharing. 4 is Distant Past Abundance. 5 is Recent Past We are the World. 6 is Future Energy Breakthrough. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Aloneness. 8 is Others' Views Transformation. 9 is Hope & Fears Fighting. 10 is Outcome Mind. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Mind moved from the Now to the Outcome position. The significance of the move doesn’t affect the reading, but confusion is certainly an undertone.

Cross

Completion is in the Now influenced by Adventure. This year was my first year helping to organise “Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea”. Today was the Completion of all the lead-up activities for the event – I’ve been looking forward to this being over but excited by the Adventure of seeing how it would turn out.

 

The lead in the committee didn’t have a lot of faith in people turning up to the event, let alone meeting the donation goal the team had set ourselves (based on her experience).

 

The Goal of Sharing is undoubtedly what the morning tea was about at the office.

 

I can guess why I ended up helping; for some strange reason, I felt I had an Abundance of time and energy in the Distant Past. The Abundance around my mindful and meditation sessions roped me into being part of the Wellness Committee.  Hence, the We are the World card’s appearance in the Recent PastWe are the World being the card that represents working together for an altruistic cause.

 

The event was quiet, as predicted by our lead. Still, we had a Breakthrough (in Future Energy) when one of the attendees began walking around her floor desk to desk collecting donations from those who had wanted to attend but couldn’t participate due to work commitments.  We ended up reaching our donation target.

Base

When it came to pack-up the event, while the team were out visiting desks, I was embracing the position of Feelings and the Immediate Future card of Aloneness. It was me packing up, and I loved every minute of it. It was rewarding.

 

For some strange reason, the Others’ Views of me is a change in their perspective.  The Transformation card certainly reflects that change.  Maybe they’re just seeing me in a new and different light.

 

As I’ve mentioned in the Donation Context above, raising funds for cancer has been a sensitive issue because I don’t’ really know how I feel about it.  But I’ve adopted the “something is better than nothing” approach because the funds also support the sufferers of cancer and their families – this is something with which I wholeheartedly agree.

 

The Hopes & Fears has the Fighting card, which is about being hypersensitive to anything triggering an explosion.  I hoped to get through the day without feeling the need to explain my situation, and I feared I would be unable to take a stance if I supported the cause, which might put me on tenterhooks.

 

It seems by the end of the day, and the Outcome is Mind.  Mind in Osho is about confusion and lack of clarity.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Affiliations, Cancer Council Australia collaborates with a range of professional bodies

  3. Cancer Australia’s review of funding to research projects in Australia 2016-2018

    Definition

    Altruistic: “selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish.”

End Day 145

Day 144 – Why I Stay Fat

24 May 2021

Day 144. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Completion. 2 is Influence Adventure. 3 is Goal Sharing. 4 is Distant Past Abundance. 5 is Recent Past We are the World. 6 is Future Energy Breakthrough. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Aloneness. 8 is Others' Views Transformation. 9 is Hope & Fears Fighting. 10 is Outcome Mind

Fat Context

When I was younger, I vowed not to get fat.  Now that I’m older, well, I’m overweight – aka fat.  Sometimes you ask yourself how you got there.  The good natural nutrition gene wasn’t part of our household. We used to say we were hiding behind the door when God handed out the good nutrition gene and the discipline gene!  The latter, when it came to diets, dieting and fat removal.

 

Looking back, I realise that I also didn’t give my body the right opportunities to stay thin. Primarily, I relied on my natural metabolism, my sporting and active natures. What you don’t know is hormones play such an essential role in your metabolism.  The other thing that plays a part is triggering bad muscle memory for your body by constantly going on “starvation” diets or eating less while working out (Fitbodz) or, at the very least extreme dieting.

Your Body Remembers Fat

Your body remembers because you remember, or a small part of you does at least. You should teach yourself to say “no” to junk food from loved ones when you’re sad.  It’s like you should only ever drink when you’re feeling good within yourself, not when you’re trying to mask something.  It’s easy to say, how do you know when that is, but you know.  If you were to stop and listen, you’d know. 

 

I get it; you don’t think you’re doing a yo-yo diet because it’s just to get you back down to the ideal weight, and you’ll maintain from there.  Right now, The Dream card would appear; for most of us, that’s a pipedream.  In my head, I trick myself into believing I don’t need to calorie or kilojoule count anymore.  Then I do the “It’s only one more” or the “I’ll be good tomorrow” thing.  And before I know it, I’ve consumed more naughty food – after all, it’s so tiny – than is healthy.  

 

If you extrapolate that to the rest of the week/ month/ year unchecked, and I wind up beating myself up for letting myself down, over and over and over again. Then you eat because you get a “what the hey” mindset or a “what’s one more?” moment. 

Fat and Getting Older

However, if you were young and disciplined to eat good foods (aka not junk foods loaded with sugar, as is my want 🍫), as you got older, your weight would be easier to manage.  The word “diet” in terms of losing weight would simply apply to other people.

 

Alternatively, there’s a part of me that as the hormones begin to disappear and “bits” begin to droop and drop, that is holding onto whatever plumpness I have, even if it is fat.  Muscle tone is good, but that requires – you got it – discipline. If I do happen to discover the “box” discipline came in and it’s not empty, I give dieting a whirl. 

 

Don’t get me wrong; you feel fantastic!  Being on a diet gives you energy, clothes fit well, and providing you’re wearing the right bra and underpants, everything looks good. But naked, that’s another story. Muscle tone might be there, but skin simply sags, even for fit people– just a little less saggy. 

 

When you gain a little fat and sit at the heavier end of the ideal range or the bottom end of overweight, aka just past the saggy state, everything just looks fuller. Providing it’s just a little weight, you still look good in photographs. 📸

Today's Cards

Day 144. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Mind. 2 is Influence New Vision. 3 is Goal Intensity. 4 is Distant Past The Outsider. 5 is Recent Past Possibilities. 6 is Future Energy Totality. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Awareness. 8 is Others' Views Flowering. 9 is Hope & Fears The Source. 10 is Outcome Turning In. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

Two cards carried over from yesterday; Mind moved from the Distant Past to the Now, and Intensity moved from Others’ Views to the Goal position.

Cross

Mind is in the Now position influenced by New Vision. The Intensity card in the Goal position reflects the passion I want to have when I set about a healthy mindset for weight management.

 

In the Distant Past, I’ve always felt like The Outsider regarding weight management.  It’s challenging to maintain momentum probably because I find it challenging, and when a distraction comes along, I usually jump onto the bandwagon. 😃🥁

 

More recently, in the Recent Past, Possibilities have opened up, and I’m speaking from my Mind’s perspective.  Over the years, I believed many things other people have told me in this space, and I now have so much information that some of it is either irrelevant to me or conflicting.  Trying to resolve some of those conflicts will open up more options. 

 

The process of resolving will need me to trust and let go in Totality, which is the card sitting in the Future Energy position.

Base

Confusion (Mind card in the Now position) is always a good indication that something new is trying to find a home in your head. Amid the chaos, you can find a “light at the end of the tunnel”, and the light is what Awareness is in this situation.   Awareness of the Feelings or Immediate Future spot echoes the Possibilities card, indicating the shift is still in progress.

 

The Flowering card is in the Others’ Views position, possibly reflecting others believe me to be entirely comfortable with my body and who I am – valid for the most part.  It’s the only body I’ve got; I might as well make the most of it.

 

Hopes & Fears position has The Source or getting back to basics.  Darn.  I feared as much. Fat management is about getting back to basics; remove junk food, increase nutritious food and now that the ankle is better, move a little more.  The hope is that the confusion is evident, and my path will give me discipline and consistency.

 

To make weight or fat management successful, I need to know myself and make myself disciplined; no one else can do it for me.  Hence, the Turning In card sits in the Outcome position. Grumble, grumble, grumble….

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Fitbodz Fitness Centre, 2017, Why Starving Yourself is Bad for Weight Loss,  last viewed 28 May 2021

  3. Trifecta Nutrition, 2019, How to Not Be Hungry on a Diet: 12 Tips Backed by Science,  Last viewed 28 May 2021

  4. Lawler, Moira 2019, 5 Reasons It’s Harder to Lose Weight with Age, Everyday Health , Last viewed 28 May 2021

End Day 144

Day 143 – Macarons, Trying and Failing

23 May 2021

Day 143. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Understanding. 2 is Influence Abundance. 3 is Goal Success. 4 is Distant Past Mind. 5 is Recent Past Letting Go. 6 is Future Energy Participation. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Maturity. 8 is Others' Views Intensity. 9 is Hope & Fears Patience. 10 is Outcome Fighting

Trust Context

On Tuesday, there’s a cancer fundraiser activity called Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.  At work, our Wellness Committee is attempting to raise funds by having a morning tea.  Participants need to bring a plate of food to share.  My contribution was going to be macarons. They’re a little fiddly to make, but I’ve had a lot of success with them in the past.

The Macaron Journey

Macarons need a lot of egg whites since they are essentially meringues.  I usually feel guilty if the egg yolks don’t get used.  There are other biscuits (cookies if you’re American) that use yolks, but that’s double the amount of work I wanted to do.  So, we purchased the bulk egg whites.  If you don’t know what this looks like, it’s egg whites in a carton, with “nothing but egg whites” written on the box.

 

The egg whites looked strange, but they whipped up okay.  So far, so good. It was then the sugar’s turn, and for clarity, I use the Italian meringue recipe. Italian meringue uses melted sugar streamed into rotating beaters.  The meringue becomes smooth and silky – typically.  But not today, with the eggs collapsing into a thin watery mix.

 

Brushing the failure aside – it happens, and I’m not one to be put off by something not working the first time (anymore 😁).  If, at first, you don’t succeed, try again.  Try again; I did. Put the eggs in a bowl; then it was “beat, beat, beat” until they were at the soft peaks stage.  At this stage, I slowly poured the sugar syrup in and kept beating. Once again, the eggs collapsed into a soupy mix without any hope of resurrection.  Before I could try again using real eggs, the thermometer case melted.  As it turns out, the thermometer wasn’t a candy thermometer. After all these years, too!

 

Not succeeding at making the macarons, and despite my brushing aside failure the first time, I don’t like not accomplishing something I’ve set out to do, especially if we forslothed the morning (refer to References for what forsloth means).  If I forsloth, I tend to get angry at myself about the lost time – too much of my mother’s words drifting through my head from my teenage years.  Stuff like “you’ll waste your life away if you continue to lie/ sleep in any longer!”.  

Today's Cards

Day 143. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Understanding. 2 is Influence Abundance. 3 is Goal Success. 4 is Distant Past Mind. 5 is Recent Past Letting Go. 6 is Future Energy Participation. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Maturity. 8 is Others' Views Intensity. 9 is Hope & Fears Patience. 10 is Outcome Fighting. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carryover Cards

There were no carryover cards from yesterday.

Cross

From a weekend of freedom and “unlimited” time on our hands (Understanding and Abundance cards), the Goal was to reach our Success regarding “one day we’ll get to it” tasks.  Letting Go enabled me to move on from the confusion of the Mind, which was in the Distant Past.  Perhaps the Goal of Success was to recuperate, and Letting Go was about not trying to do everything every weekend.  Letting Go then enabled us to participate in life (Participation in the Future Energy position).

Base

My Feelings/ Immediate Future position has developed a sense of Maturity with Others’ Views seeing me as a person who does her own thing her way (Intensity).

 

The Hopes & Fears has the card of Patience, indicating that I wish (hope) I had more time while fearing things not done quickly enough.  A case of “hurry up and be patient” or my favourite parental line to children, “you can do it at any time, as long as you do it now”. 😁

 

The Outcome position has the Fighting card, meaning I’m on tenterhooks.  The failed macarons would probably be the cause.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. “Forsloth:  To forsloth (money/ day/ lifetime) is to waste it through idleness.”.  Susie Dent‘s Twitter Feed 14 Apr 2021.

End Day 143

Day 142 – Vitamin D

22 May 2021

Day 142. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Moment to Moment. 2 is Influence New Vision. 3 is Goal Totality. 4 is Distant Past The Dream. 5 is Recent Past Conditioning. 6 is Future Energy Beyond Illusion. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Receptivity. 8 is Others' Views Exhaustion. 9 is Hope & Fears Politics. 10 is Outcome Suppression

Vitamin D Context

An uneventful day sees my husband, and I capitalise on the rare window of opportunity to seek out some autumn sunlight and vitamin D.

 

Today was a simple day full of household activities, and I don’t have anything to write about.  It’s one of the beautiful things about a diary come personal blog; when you have nothing to write about, the mind and page remain blank.  One of the beautiful things we managed today was to go oceanside and get some vitamin D.    

 

Autumn (fall) is a beautiful time of year for weather in Queensland.  The muggy humidity and heat of the earlier months drop so much that it lands into many people’s idea of the “perfect” temperature. And so, the temperature today fit into the ideal range.

 

We grabbed a picnic blanket, an audio splitter to listen to an audiobook, water and, as a treat, a doughnut.  It was nice to know that it was all in the name of getting vitamin D and improving my bone density.  It was nice to take that time out in what seemed like forever since we had some “us time”. 

 

Sure, there was housework to do; there always seems to be housework to do!  After all, the real estate agent is visiting on Wednesday to appraise the place, and you want the house to “POP” instead of simply “pop”, but we may not get there.

 

The sun began to drop, and the wind picked up; the time for apricating and soaking up vitamin D was over.  It was time to return to daily life.

 

On researching vitamin D and whether we did get sufficient vitamin D levels to avoid taking a supplement, Healthline advised we did not. According to Healthline, when we went oceanside, we would need to be in the sun with a tank top and shorts for 10-30 minutes at midday to get sufficient amounts of vitamin D.  Unfortunately, we were fully clothed. It was around 3:00 PM, so probably no vitamin d, just lots of apricating.   Back to the supplement for me.

 

Thank you for reading. 🤗

Today's Cards

Day 142. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Moment to Moment. 2 is Influence New Vision. 3 is Goal Totality. 4 is Distant Past The Dream. 5 is Recent Past Conditioning. 6 is Future Energy Beyond Illusion. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Receptivity. 8 is Others' Views Exhaustion. 9 is Hope & Fears Politics. 10 is Outcome Suppression. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There one card carried over from yesterday; Suppression moved from Recent Past to Outcome.

Cross

Moment to Moment is in the Now position influenced by New VisionTotality is the Goal, and The Dream is in the Distant Past.  In the Recent Past, we broke Conditioning to living in the moment.  Future Energy transformed like a butterfly from a chrysalis, as shown in Beyond Illusion, by simply living in the moment.

 

Because there was nowhere to be in particular today, going Moment to Moment was easy; New Vision is the “new way of looking at the world,” which we did when we visited the beach to relax.

 

The Goal of Totality means that we aimed at visiting the beach more often, and it’s always been The Dream. “Self-inflicted” obligations stopped us from fulfilling our desire, duties like housework, gardening, and household projects. 

 

In the Recent Past, we broke our Conditioning and did something wonderful on the spur of the moment.  The reason was to get some sun (alas, getting vitamin D this way wasn’t the best approach, according to Healthline).   

Base

My Feelings/ Immediate Future position has the card of ReceptivityReceptivity is an echo to the Moment to Moment card in position one.  The echo picks up the mood of the questioner; to follow the moment where it leads to being open to new experiences is essential.

 

Others’ Views is that of Exhaustion.  Others, in this case, my husband, probably think that Exhaustion drove the decision to take the break.  He’s not wrong.

 

Hopes & Fears has the card of Politics which leaves me scratching my head trying to figure out how this relates to the day. Ah, there it is … nup, lost it.  Sorry, absolutely nothing. 🧐

 

Finally, the Outcome position has Suppression.  The Suppression for today does not relate to yesterday’s Suppression, and here’s why “yesterday was work-related” today, I didn’t need to go to work. Could Suppression me my want to do housework and I went to the beach instead? 

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 142

Day 141 – Colleague at Work

21 May 2021

Day 141. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now Moment to Moment. 2 is Influence New Vision. 3 is Goal Totality. 4 is Distant Past The Dream. 5 is Recent Past Conditioning. 6 is Future Energy Beyond Illusion. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Receptivity. 8 is Others' Views Exhaustion. 9 is Hope & Fears Politics. 10 is Outcome Suppression

Colleague Context

The final day of the week throws up a problematic workshop, and it makes you appreciate the benefits of having a great work colleague.

 

Thank goodness it’s Friday!  Here in Australia, if you work in business in a head office or non-retail, Friday marks the last day of the working week.  If the week has been a long week, then like The Cure would say, “Friday, I’m in love!”.  So, it’s just one more day to get through before I can relax.  This afternoon we, (my work colleague and me) facilitated a workshop. 

 

The thought was it was a Friday afternoon, and like many workshops run at this time of day, the participants are trying to cut out at 4:00 PM, meaning we can pack up by 4:30 PM, and we can go home on time.   As you’ve no doubt gathered, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”.

 

At the break, the session got rearranged to suit the outputs from earlier.  Actionable tasks were the aim.  However, the initial “what” questions elicited anything from actions to philosophical statements.  Our mission then was to “taskify” the groupings instead, which fell flat.  Instead, we got a lot more information from a brainstorming situation.

 

In the end, it was creative and valuable but not where we thought we ended up, plus participants opted to stay longer! On a Friday afternoon? Really?

 

It was a big day; if it weren’t for my colleague being fantastic, things would not have gone as well.   It’s situations like this when flexibility and patience pay off.  My colleague recognising that I was in trouble with my ankle during the session, carried a part of the burden.  At one stage, my back had even given me a hard time.

 

What a great day and a great colleague!

Today's Cards

Day 141. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now Consciousness. 2 is Influence Laziness. 3 is Goal Going with the Flow. 4 is Distant Past Intensity. 5 is Recent Past Suppression. 6 is Future Energy Integration. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Patience. 8 is Others' Views Experiencing. 9 is Hope & Fears Guilt. 10 is Outcome Awareness. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Awareness moved from Others’ Views to the Outcome position.

Cross

picture or how the day would play out, the whole time wishing for the lazy option.  The lazy option in today’s scenario would have been to follow the carefully laid out plan.  Changing from that meant trying hard to channel it to the outcome initially identified. 

 

Fortunately, Going with the Flow was the Goal, translating for flexibility in the schedule and remaining adaptable to the circumstances.  The intensity card in the Distant Past was all about abandoning traditional approaches and “thinking outside of the box”. 

 

In the Recent Past was Suppression.  The ability to suppress, although not healthy in the long term and is not what Osho recommends, is a crucial skill.  Particularly if you’re frustrated by people or circumstances, and you don’t want to make a career-limiting move.  Alternatively, helpful if you don’t have career aspirations and just want to keep your job.   

 

In the Future Energy position is Integration. Integration is about moving through Consciousness and past the desire to take the easy way out and finding a way to make it work out.

Base

My Feeling was that of Patience going into the day and proved to be helpful.  Patience echoes Laziness in that Laziness is the avoidance or lack of awareness of a situation where Patience is aware and observing for the right moment to act.  The observing element echoes Going with the Flow.

 

Others’ Views is that I am Experiencing every moment as it arrives; this is on par with Going with the Flow.

 

Guilt is in the Hopes & Fears position, which means I fear I feel guilty over not assisting my colleague as much as I would have liked in the clean-up.  My hope in this situation is that my Guilt is unfounded.

 

Awareness is in the Outcome position, indicating almost a full circle of where I started with Consciousness.  It’s like Marcel Proust said, ” The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” (brainyquotes).

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 141

Day 140 – Birthday Clumping

20 May 2021

Day 140. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now The Fool. 2 is Influence The Outsider. 3 is Goal Breakthrough. 4 is Distant Past The Source. 5 is Recent Past The Miser. 6 is Future Energy Participation. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Friendliness. 8 is Others' Views Awareness. 9 is Hope & Fears Control. 10 is Outcome Projections

Birthday Clumping Context

Why does birthday clumping happen in our lives?  While I don’t think I have the answer, you might find some of the musings interesting.

 

In my mind was the topic of birthdays. I’ve noticed that birthday’s clump together for different people, and for me, my mother’s, close friends, my brother-in-law’s, and my sister’s birthday are all around April-May.  It’s fun to observe how closely bundled birthdays can be.  For instance, one of the loans managers at the bank, his family’s birthdays all seemed to happen around June.  A friend at work mentioned birthdays for him were all in the January-February period.

 

 

What is it that sees family birthdays clump together or happen at the same time of year?  Is it just the need for our hunter brains to seek out patterns in behaviour (Lang 2018)?  Is there a connection? These questions are all questions I’ve been asking for years.  Often I play with a mish-mash of ideas and think I come up with a suitable answer, then five minutes later, the answer is out the window.   

 

 

Suppose I used the reincarnation and karmic path model where we owe each other a debt of service or gratitude. Debts create obligations, and obligations need fulfilment.  The souls who need to repay the life experiences are born together to facilitate repayment. 

Birthday Clumping and the Same Days

But why around the same time of year?  To illustrate this point, I use ANZAC day (Day 115) as an example.  Many souls shot were linked to Australia, and the number of souls Australia had lost but should have had was X many; it always seems Australia has a high percentage of births on ANAZC day.  Are ANZAC day souls who were shot on that day returning to Australia on the same day? 

 

Another example of this birthday clumping but over a broader period, covering years rather than a day, is the baby boomer bubble.  The reason I began thinking these creative thoughts regarding clumping birthdays in the first place was the “baby bump” of the boomers, taught to me by my Geography teacher in high school.  Are the baby boomers a group of souls reincarnated from the fields of the first and second world wars?  Could it be argued in a fun way that the souls who had experienced the trauma of war returned to promote?  It might explain why there was such a peace movement. 

 

There’s, obviously, a far more logical argument to the baby boomer birth balloon on the current plane of existence.  You know the war ended; men were no longer on the front. They were at home, and the world seemed safe again for people to have families.  There were a lot of returning soldiers!  If this is the case, then other “birth bubbles” may reflect similar times throughout history. 

Today's Cards

Day 140. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now The Fool. 2 is Influence The Outsider. 3 is Goal Breakthrough. 4 is Distant Past The Source. 5 is Recent Past The Miser. 6 is Future Energy Participation. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future Friendliness. 8 is Others' Views Awareness. 9 is Hope & Fears Control. 10 is Outcome Projections. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

Three cards carried over from yesterday; The Outsider moved from Goal to Influence, Awareness moved from Hopes & Fears to Others’ Views, and Control moved from Others’ Views to Hopes & Fears.

Cross

The Fool is in the Now, influenced by The Outsider, transformed from the Goal position yesterday.  Breakthrough is in the Goal position with The Source in the Distant Past driving The Fool onward.  In the Recent Past, The Miser sits with misery clasped and walled in by lack of generosity.  The Future Energy looks brighter with Participation.

Base

Friendliness in the Feelings or Immediate Future position supports the ParticipationFriendliness is between two, and Participation is with more.

 

Others Views’ has the Awareness card and indicated others see me as coming into my confidence and element.  Awareness has gone from an internal understanding to one that is now showing on the surface (moved from Hopes & Fears yesterday to Others’ Views today).

 

Hopes & Fears has the card of Control, which incidentally has taken over the number one spot for the most number of appearances.  The card was also present yesterday in Other’s Views and has swapped with Awareness to move away from being externally enacted to simply an internal struggle.  I hope to remain in Control of myself and fear that I will exercise Control over others instead, through my insecurity.

 

The Outcome position has ProjectionsProjections mean that I may be inclined to interpret circumstances through “Michaela Vision” instead of seeing them for what they are.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Lang, Stephen D J,  Mann, Richard P,  Farine, Damien R 2018, Temporal activity patterns of predators and prey across broad geographic, Oxford Academic, Online, Last viewed 20 May 2021 scales 

End Day 140

Day 139 – Go fetch and Micromanagement

19 May 2021

Day 139. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Change. 2 is Influence card is Mind. 3 is Goal card is The Outsider. 4 is Distant Past card is Morality. 5 is Recent Past card is Completion. 6 is Future Energy card is Beyond Illusion. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Celebration. 8 is Others' Views card is Control. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Awareness. 10 is Outcome card is Ordinariness

Go Fetch Context

Today, a well-meaning colleague wants to get over-involved in an idea. I try to implement a “go fetch” with some success.

 

If you’ve worked in business, you’ve probably been there; you’ve chewed over an idea for days and are finally clear on what you need to do. You’ve fleshed out how you need to go about implementation.  Just as you begin, another person with skin in the game, who isn’t your manager, gets involved.  They begin to take over the “how” of what you’ve agonisingly thought out, and suddenly your idea begins to decompose.

"Go Fetch" History

You cannot deliver your idea because managing the micromanagement takes up time otherwise spent on the outcome. And yes, it happened to me today. Frustratingly, I rang my manager and vented.  I asked if he had any ideas for, what I call, a “go fetch”. 

 

Don’t worry; he gave me that puzzled look you’re probably wearing at the moment.  A “go fetch” is a diversion.  For those of you who own dogs whom you have to exercise, you may understand the term.  It’s the throwing of the stick, or ball, for the dog to chase.  It makes the dog happy and lets you do something while he’s chasing the object.

 

“Go fetch” is also a technique you can use on children – go see what insert name of person furthest away from you in the house is doing; they might be doing “insert kids’ favourite activity here”, which could buy you enough time to get in the car and go to the shops without them.  

 

Thinking back to my school years, it’s what the science teachers used to do to this poor, beautifully naïve girl.  Sometimes, the teachers would send her to the different departments to obtain things like, at the time, a non-existent tin of spotted paint, a jar of skyhooks or a couple of long or short ‘waits’.

 

Juliette was incredibly good-humoured when the joke eventually dawned on her.  At least the Art Department took pity and put some spots on a can of paint for her to take back to the Science Department.

Go Fetch Applied in the Business World

A practical example to illustrate “go fetch” in business goes like this: my project needed to move data from one old website management system to another. There was no easy way to port the data across, and the business needed to get its’ rewritten content approved. The customer became nervous when I mentioned we missed setting up a routing element* and it would need to go into the next sprint cycle – not far away. Needless to say, the issue got escalated, and the molehill became a mountain. 

 

Luckily, I advised and fortified my management before the issue got to them.  Investigating the business’s approval process by simply asking discovered the customer’s process would take twice as long as for us to set up the routing element. Having the routing in place would not help the business since there was no approved content to move across. 

 

My management could go back to the customer and say, come back to us once your content is available.  This pushback style is what I call a “go fetch”; the ball or the stick is the customer’s approvals they need while we’re busy setting up the routing.

  

* It was all too technical for me to remember.  I only remember what I need to remember at the time I need to remember it.  Once a project finishes, most of the technical details wash away, simply leaving concepts behind.

Go Fetch & Micromanagement

Smithy was under pressure to produce, and micromanagement described as “control over every part, however small, of an enterprise or activity.” When I told him about my idea, Smithy was excited about it. Smithy just wanted to help; they were helping too early.  To get where Smithy can help, I needed to get a product suitable for him to work with.  

 

The situation got worse the more I explained my idea to Smithy (not real name).  Smithy then began to tell me how I could better progress the idea.  I needed visuals, and I needed them now to show how my concept would work rather than tell.  Oh wait, that’s what was happening when Smithy rang!  Suddenly, invites arrived on how to work with XYZ product, which our area doesn’t use – even if the product looks great.

 

So, then the implementation of my idea got hijacked. I contacted my boss for a go fetch when I was unsuccessful in diverting the well-meaning attention of Smithy.

 

“Dear Boss”, do you have a go fetch or a delay tactic because I need time to get what I’m trying to achieve down?  Once I got the idea down, Smithy would be engaged, and at that point, his input would be beneficial – just not yet. 

 

Hallelujah! My boss had both.  He was away for a week, and he needed to be in the meetings.  The boss then produced work done before Smithy was on board that Smithy was required to be across before discussions could progress.  The documentation contained background.  Yippee!  The go fetch would work beautifully. That was until Smithy organised a meeting to discuss the background document, which didn’t need my boss. 🤔

 

Okay, I give up, “Next!”.

Today's Cards

Day 139. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Change. 2 is Influence card is Mind. 3 is Goal card is The Outsider. 4 is Distant Past card is Morality. 5 is Recent Past card is Completion. 6 is Future Energy card is Beyond Illusion. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Celebration. 8 is Others' Views card is Control. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Awareness. 10 is Outcome card is Ordinariness. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

One card carried over from yesterday; Beyond Illusion was in Feelings and moved to Future Energy.

Cross

Change is in the Now position influenced by MindMind is about confusion and things becoming confused. Wow! It matches my day with little massaging.

 

The Goal position has The Outsider; this is me trying to distance myself using “go fetch”.  I was aiming (Goal) to be out of the conversation.  

 

Morality in the Distant Past says that I’d done the morally right thing at some point, but it is now coming back to haunt me.  It haunts me when I had finished evolving my idea in the Recent Past and brought it to Completion.

 

Beyond Illusion is the card of the chrysalis and sits in the Future Energy position, indicating something beautiful will emerge from the cocoon.

Base

Hmmm, it appears my Feelings encompass a degree of Celebration.  My guess is the Celebration has to do with the change to an idea coming to fruition and working. 

 

Others’ Views has the card of Control.  I’m confident that Smithy would see me as wanting Control over my idea with the tactful yet firm pushback he encountered.

 

The Hopes & Fears position has AwarenessAwareness is the recognition of something I’ve previously ignored. In amongst the pressure, I realised there’s also an internal shift.  I hope that the inner change shows me I’ve grown; the fear is that it is so subtle it is unidentifiable.

 

Finally, the Outcome position has Ordinariness.  Is this the cards having a bit of fun with me, in saying, “it’s just another day”?  You know, me tending the herds or ploughing the fields.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 139

Day 138 – Self-pity Moments

18 May 2021

Day 138. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Playfulness. 2 is Influence card is Thunderbolt. 3 is Goal card is Abundance. 4 is Distant Past card is Projections. 5 is Recent Past card is The Dream. 6 is Future Energy card is Compromise. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Beyond Illusion. 8 is Others' Views card is The Fool. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Postponement. 10 is Outcome card is The Master

Context

You know how yesterday I thought the cards were saying that Sorrow is in the Distant Past, and that meant I was over the worst of the cold.  Not so. I couldn’t work today; the head cold had set in so much.  From a writing article perspective, my mind has also left the building.  You probably don’t want to read about me feeling sorry for myself. Although I think a good dose of self-pity can go a long way to healing whatever ails you – otherwise, why have self-pity, right?

 

There’s a fine line between self-pity and self-indulgent sorrow. Let’s look at the difference. If we look at the first couple of words under the definition for “pity” in the Apple Dictionary app, it’s about “compassion, commiseration, condolence …”, and then we look at “sorrow”.  Sorrow begins with “sadness, unhappiness, dejection, regret, depression, misery …”.  Although pity includes sorrow, sorrow doesn’t have “pity”.

 

I’m choosing to interpret the distinction between pity and sorrow, from a purely individual and subjective perspective, is pity has kindness, and kindness has compassion. “Compassion, on the other hand, gives us inner strength. It opens our ‘inner door’ and brings about better experiences.”, writes the Dalai Lama (2000, p.43). 

 

As I’ve indicated pity, also contains sorrow; if embraced, it can lead to negative emotions. It’s fortunate that the page in The Transformed Mind I landed on captures this nicely, “[n]egative emotions negate … possibility.  One then deliberately isolates oneself from the rest of humanity, and as a result, resentment, loneliness, fear, doubt, hopelessness and depression arise.” (2000, p.42-43).

Breaking through Self-Pity

Sometimes I like going to the depth of my misery. It’s good for me to plumb to the depths of my psyche.  At one point in my life, it terrified me; dark thoughts of so many things, killing people, ways to commit suicide without impacting those I cared about; I didn’t need horror movies. My creativity could make up a scenario when visiting these depths.  

 

Over the years, a few subtle prompts or advice in the form of books, songs, or random chats, and quite possibly a smattering of creativity helped build a safety net.  After all, creativity wasn’t a bad thing; it was always there, good or bad, helpful or unhelpful.  The advice I got advised me to lean into the depression. 

 

Before anyone gets funny about that last statement, it’s about imagining the depression to its end and feeling it – not, and I repeat NOT, acting upon it.  Hercule Poirot spoke about the difference between kicking a table and a person. “I enrage myself with an imbecile. I say, ‘I would like to kick him.’ Instead I kick the table.” (Christie) – big difference. 

 

In one of my black moods of self-indulgent sorrow, I imagined going to the nth degree with the black mood, and when I got there, I realised I wouldn’t follow through.  There were tears when I broke through the barrier.  Then there was a feeling of immense joy, conquering my fears of the worst of my depths and coming into myself.  From that point on, depression didn’t scare me; I simply embraced it. 

 

Strangely, when I am depressed, there’s underlying happiness also because it means I can feel.   Going to your emotional depths is like riding the waves at Peahi, Maui, Hawaii; it’s scary and exhilarating at the same time.

Dealing with Unwanted Self-pity or Emotions

When wallowing, try to show yourself kindness.  Self-help books are great, but at times they can burden you when you’re low.  Some try to steer you away from “negative” thoughts, but the trick is to acknowledge and move on.  If you can’t move on, recognise you can’t move on.   But remember, the moment will pass.   Once you’re past your depression, work on positive thoughts. 

 

Having negative thoughts helps you process; Bjork’s Hyperballad song metaphorically describes how she unloads unwanted emotions:

Every morning I walk towards the edge

And throw little things off

Like car parts, bottles and cutlery

Or whatever I find lying around

It's become a habit

A way to start the day (genius.com)

Bjork talks about sides you hide from your partner. The lyrics can apply to everyday life.  I don’t recommend Bjork’s release method: “So, you end up having to unload your aggressions at a bar … So, you can come back to your loved one, kiss him sweet on his cheek, and say happily, ‘Hi honey.’ (genius.com).  Meditate instead; it helps clear your head, lean into your self-pity every morning if you like!  Meditation isn’t about suppressing thoughts; it’s about recognising, being okay and moving on from them.  

 

But you don’t have to meditate to acknowledge your feelings; if you’re out and about and you “feel the rise of unpleasant emotions, take a moment and make an effort to identify their source. … Accept such feelings as your own in the moment.  Do not shove them underneath, ignore them or try to substitute what you think of as good thoughts.” (Roberts, p.199).  The key message is to remember it’s in the moment.  Have you ever marvelled at a child flitting between emotions; sad, happy, grumpy, happy?  That’s a child showing emotions without filters. Each moment different.

Today's Cards

Day 138. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Playfulness. 2 is Influence card is Thunderbolt. 3 is Goal card is Abundance. 4 is Distant Past card is Projections. 5 is Recent Past card is The Dream. 6 is Future Energy card is Compromise. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Beyond Illusion. 8 is Others' Views card is The Fool. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Postponement. 10 is Outcome card is The Master. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There were no carry over cards from yesterday.

Cross

Playfulness is in the Now influenced by Thunderbolt with the Goal of Abundance.  My Projections onto others is in Distant Past, and self-delusion reflects in the Recent Past by The Dream card.  Playfulness appears misguided if Compromise sits in the Future Energy position.

 

Against context, the change in the physical way Thunderbolt impacts a situation is not about depression but my new writing arrangements.  Abundance as the Goal is an echo card of Playfulness, and both have a desire to share their joy.  The Dream could be saying “I was dreaming” or have a romantic vision of my new format discussed on Day 137.

 

The Dream has passed, and the Compromise card represents grudgingly sacrificing something for the sake of progress.  Compromise in the Osho cards always strikes me as a lose-lose arrangement, even though it is a win.  Compromise can sometimes trigger sadness and some self-recrimination or self-pity.

Base

Beyond Illusion sits in the Feelings/ Immediate Future position; it indicates my feelings toward Playfulness or those encouraged by it as a transformation similar to a caterpillar and a butterfly. 

 

Others’ Views see me as The Fool.  The Fool is about new things, and there’s a risk in the new arrangement that might see me sleep in and miss the publish time. 

 

My inner Hopes & Fears reflects Postponement.  I hope to move past any Postponement, which has already happened today in writing (my fear).  The hope is the Postponement does not affect anything.

 

The Outcome position has The Master, who is taking a higher spiritual path unaffected by social conditioning – not sure, all I know it means is things tend to move more quickly when I’m in the presence of The Master.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 2000, The Transformed Mind – Reflections on truth, love and happiness, Penguin Books, Great Britain, ISBN 0340-76948-3

  3. Christie, Agatha 1941/2019, Evil Under the Sun, Harper Collins Publishers, London, quote from Goodreads quotes, last viewed 20 May 2021 

  4. Genius Lyrics on Hyper-ballad, Bjork 1996/ 2002, Hyper ballad

End Day 138

Day 137 – Nose drip & Revisiting Old Posts

17 May 2021

Day 137. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Playfulness. 2 is Influence card is Thunderbolt. 3 is Goal card is Abundance. 4 is Distant Past card is Projections. 5 is Recent Past card is The Dream. 6 is Future Energy card is Compromise. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Beyond Illusion. 8 is Others' Views card is The Fool. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Postponement. 10 is Outcome card is The Master

Context

Here I am again with a nose drip and not feeling like concentrating too hard.  Instead of coming up with new information, which may or may not be helpful, I opted to revisit an old post and tidy up the grammar and formatting.  🤧 The best way to think of this blog post, Day 137, is to treat it like a band’s “best of” album or a TV show’s “memories” or “flashback” episode. 

 

You know, the kind of episode where you spend most of the time looking at the footage you’ve already seen before – some of the footage is nostalgic, sometimes it even progresses the storyline (not that often in my humble opinion).  It’s probably due to a key actor, or someone caught off guard but the show had a deadline to meet. 🤧 

 

When I reviewed Day 007, it made me realise just how new to writing a blog.  It also made me realise that my husband was too polite in giving me constructive feedback.  For instance, Day 007 spoke about trying to get some equipment, but I didn’t mention what gear I was on about – by the way, it was lighting equipment.  🤧 Amendments to Day 007’s post kept to a minimum while staying true to the original post.

 

Okay, this is where I’ve gotten to on the daily context because there’s really only so much I can do with a runny nose and its nose drip. 🤧🤧🤧

Today's Cards

Day 137. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is The Source. 2 is Influence card is Participation. 3 is Goal card is The Rebel. 4 is Distant Past card is Sorrow. 5 is Recent Past card is Integration. 6 is Future Energy card is Letting Go. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Past Lives. 8 is Others' Views card is We are the World. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Control. 10 is Outcome card is Breakthrough. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There were two cards that carried over from yesterday: Sorrow was in Future Energy and moved to the Distant Past, We are the World was in the Distant Past and moved to Others’ Views position.

Analysis

The Source is in the Now influenced by ParticipationThe Rebel is in the Goal position, with Sorrow sitting in the Distant Past.  A Recent Past of Integration led to reconnecting with The Source and is about Letting Go in the Future Energy position.

 

So, what does that mean?  According to Louise L. Hay, colds reflect the thoughts cycling around, “Too much going on at once, Mental confusion, disorder. [and] Small hurts. “I get three colds every winter,” type of belief.”.  Sadly, I can identify with this, in part at least.  With colds comes nose drip 🤧 (am I belabouring the point?).  What does this have to do with the cards?  Good question.

 

As mentioned in other posts, The Source is the clay and The Creator the potter.  Hay’s statement holds for me because I feel there has been too much going on at once.  There was work at work. I wanted to give attention, and there was home.  The Transformation spoke about on Sunday, Day 136, in my Hopes & Fears and its Outcome being listening to my Inner Voice.

 

Well, on Sunday night, I changed how I was going to write and post the blogs — fed up with writing about being tired all the time, a change needed to be made to when I wrote.  I wanted to go to bed when my husband went to bed and wanted to be fresh with a clear mind when writing. 

 

Finally, the best solution or at least a solution to give a go was to wake up earlier in the morning (4:30 am) and go to bed at 10:00 pm.   It’s been great!

Cross

Now 🤧 The Source is about getting back and reviewing the foundations.  The foundations got examined, from the perspective, I wanted to Participate in my life.

 

The Rebel is all about doing things to suit himself, as he is unfettered by conditioning or constraints.  The Goal position occupied by The Rebel card highlights this aspiration.  Sorrow moved from yesterday’s Future Energy position to be in today’s Distant Past.  Yesterday, I spoke of him looking like me with the runny nose, and I’m glad to see Sorrow move to the Distant Past, indicating the worst of the cold is over.

 

Whatever had been going on in my life has now been addressed.  The result of which is the Integration card’s appearance in the Recent Past.  Whenever you’re tidying up, there has to be some clearing out, even in the realms of mental confusion.  Cleaning up also means Letting Go and Letting Go is in the Future Energy position indicating the cold should go.

Base

In the Feelings/ Immediate Future position is Past Lives.  Past Lives, in this case, is me going back to Day 007 because I wasn’t up to writing a lot (she says and looks at today’s post 🙂.

 

Others’ Views has the card of We are the World, meaning that others think I’ve been working collaboratively to resolve issues, and yesterday this was in the Distant Past.  The We are the World card echoes the Integration card in the Recent Past, and I can assume some of what I have been doing appears this way.

 

🤧is in the Hopes & Fears spot and probably means I want to get a grip on the cold and have it over with …. RIGHT NOW!  That is hope. Fear is not having any Control over it.

Breakthrough and Letting Go work together and are complementary and supportive, especially in the Outcome and Future Energy position.  Breakthrough breaking through an area that has been a struggle.  Letting Go is finally moving on from what has been holding you back from that Breakthrough.

 

On a cheeky note, perhaps the cards are saying that the nose drip IS letting go!  🤧🤧 Not wrong, I’m certainly letting go of something!

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Hay, Louise L. 2002, You Can Heal Your Life, Palace Press International, China, ISBN 1-561-70-628-0
End Day 137

Day 136 – Cold or Flu

16 May 2021

Day 135. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Completion. 2 is Influence card is Mind. 3 is Goal card is Comparison. 4 is Distant Past card is Thunderbolt. 5 is Recent Past card is Compromise. 6 is Future Energy card is Possibilities. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is The Dream. 8 is Others' Views card is The Master. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Projections. 10 is Outcome card is Creativity Day 135. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Completion. 2 is Influence card is Mind. 3 is Goal card is Comparison. 4 is Distant Past card is Thunderbolt. 5 is Recent Past card is Compromise. 6 is Future Energy card is Possibilities. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is The Dream. 8 is Others' Views card is The Master. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Projections. 10 is Outcome card is Creativity. Shuffle method was Washing Machine Completion, Mind, Comparison, Thunderbolt, Compromise, Possibilities, The Dream, The Master, Projections, Creativity

Cold Context

The weather has suddenly turned cold with it comes either a cold, flu or both.  In today’s world, a sniffle means going to get a COVID test.  How can you tell it’s not just the chill in the air?  The advice is to go and get tested or at least isolate or wear a mask.  Once inoculations against the worst symptoms of COVID have taken place, life may get back to some normality.  My guess is as long as Australia is getting visitors, we will still need to have some testing.

 

Nonetheless, what are the typical symptoms of whether you have a cold or flu? According to The Herbal Drugstore (White, p.176), which provides a lovely concise table – pictured below -making it easy to tell the difference.  The intro to the table says: “Cold symptoms restrict themselves to the upper respiratory passages, in other words, from the shoulders down, you feel pretty good.  The flu comes on quickly and produces an all-over sick feeling.”.

Image of Cold and Flu Symptoms

Table with Symptoms. Colds are a gradual onset, drippy nose, scratchy throat, slight cough as wanes, maybe a light headache, no symptoms for muscle aches, sensitivity to light, fatigue or appetite loss, and if there's a fever, it's low-grade. Flu has an abrupt onset, nasal congestion, sore throat, severe cough which can linger, headache; there's fatigue, appetite loss and usually muscle aches, fever &/or chills, sometimes sensitivity to light.
The Herbal Drugstore, page 176

Below is a COVID updated one modified from the World Health Organisation’s site and circulated by Priceline Pharmacy (March 2020).

Cold & Flu Updated for Coronavirus

Table. Column headings: 1. COVID symptoms from mild to severe, 2. Cold - Gradual onset, 3. Flu - Rapid onset. Rows: Fever: 1. common, 2 rare, 3 common. Cough: 1. Common (dry & continuous), 2. Mild, 3. Common (dry). Shortness of Breath: 1. Sometimes, 2. No, 3. No. Headache: 1. Sometimes, 2. Rare, 3. Common. Throat: 1. Sore sometimes, 2. Scratchy, 3. Sore sometimes. Nose: 1. Rare, 2. Runny, 3. Congested. Sneezing: 1. No, 2. Common, 3. No. Aches: 1. Sometimes, 2. Common, 3. Common. Fatigue: 1. Sometimes, 2. Sometimes, 3. Common. Diarrhoea: 1. Rare, 2. No, 3. Sometimes for children
Priceline Pharmacy email Update March 2020

Maybe I have got a cold coming on, or perhaps my runny nose is simply the weather changing.  The nose running makes it hard to type more than a few words without putting a tissue to it.  🤧 For my sanity, this is where I stop writing and simply finish off with the analysis.

 

Let’s see what the cards say.

Performance

Data

Today's Cards

Day 136. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is The Creator. 2 is Influence card is Ice-olation. 3 is Goal card is Friendliness. 4 is Distant Past card is We are the World. 5 is Recent Past card is Innocence. 6 is Future Energy card is Sorrow. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is The Outsider. 8 is Others' Views card is Politics. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Transformation. 10 is Outcome card is Inner Voice. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There were no carry over cards from yesterday.

Cross

The Creator is in the Now influenced by Ice-olation.  The cards make sense considering my physical state.  Beginning to come down with something hasn’t affected my ability to be me; it forces me to reflect on myself and my mood.  It makes me take stock of what I have going on in my life.  In any case, it’s about all I can do since I’ve started distancing myself from my husband (isolation) – one of us has to work!

 

Friendliness is in the Goal position and marks a worthwhile Goal – perhaps it’s a withdrawal from Friendliness which was the Goal.

 

We are the World forms the foundations of the Distant Past, where working together with others has led to me becoming The Creator.  In Osho’s book, The Creator “works on himself” (p.49), working on the subject, not on an object. 

 

In the Recent Past is Innocence.  Getting back to Innocence is described by Osho (p.41) as dropping all the things about others, and you think about you. Letting them go and simply being – a phrase often used in my head is “what does it matter” or “storm in a teacup” or “don’t sweat the small stuff” or “let it go”.

 

The card of Sorrow having Gautam Buddha’s friend, Ananda, weeping makes me think of myself today, feeling sorry for myself.  Is this a prediction of my Future Energy? In a nutshell, it is a cold not, just a runny nose due to weather changes?

Base

My Feelings/ Immediate Future position has The Outsider, and this card echoes the influence card of Ice-olation.  Today it makes sense since being The Outsider and keeping my distance is self-inflicted isolation.

 

Others’ Views is that I’m playing Politics and perhaps this is true.  Again, today’s social pool has been my husband, and maybe he thinks I’m two-faced or hypocritical about something, but he’s not around to ask; take a deep breath, let it go.

 

Transformation is in the Hopes & Fears position.  Sometimes when I see the Transformation card, I think, “what now?” with a sense of trepidation.  The fear of what’s going to change, knowing full well that I’ve been the instigator of the change.  On the upside, I can also be quite excited by the prospect of things changing.  Colds are usually a sign that I’m overcommitting. 

 

The Outcome position has me listening to my Inner Voice, and since I flicked open to Osho’s book for Inner Voice, I’m going to use his last phrase, “a ray of light coming from the beyond into the darkness of our world”.  It’s beautiful 🌦🌈.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. White, Linda (M.D.) & Foster, Stephen 2000, The Herbal Drugstore, Rodale Inc. United States, ISBN 1-5954-134-8

  3. Priceline Pharmacy 2020, An update from Priceline Pharmacy – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – your questions answered, Priceline Pharmacy, Australia.  Data modified by Priceline Pharmacy from the World Health Organization

End Day 136

Day 135 – Pink Tax

15 May 2021

Day 135. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Completion. 2 is Influence card is Mind. 3 is Goal card is Comparison. 4 is Distant Past card is Thunderbolt. 5 is Recent Past card is Compromise. 6 is Future Energy card is Possibilities. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is The Dream. 8 is Others' Views card is The Master. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Projections. 10 is Outcome card is Creativity

Context

We recently had visitors, okay not so recently, nonetheless our visitors like watching one of the morning shows.  On one occasion, I managed to catch a snippet of this lady commenting on the “pink tax”.   I do not remember the woman’s name or the morning show, so her name will be Sue.  

 

Sue was commenting on the bizarre nature of the “pink tax”.  Those reading who are unaware of what the “pink tax” is, it’s a tax applied to goods marketed to women.  Usually, there is a similar or equivalent product in the market for men.  The product sold to women costs more than its male counterpart for no discernible reason; this is the pink tax.  In the end, it boils down to price discrimination for profit.

Where Pink Tax might be okay

In some areas, it is reasonable to expect an additional charge for the colour of a product—for instance, masculine colours used for trade tools.  To gain a niche in the market, a company decided to gamble in the trade tools area and sell pink tools. After all, the company was venturing into the world of the unknown, “how many female tradies would purchase pink tools”?  

 

Producing the pink tools was most likely a limited run.  The packaging needed development, and a marketing strategy applied.   From a risk perspective, to recapture establishment costs, a company might put a higher price on the pink product.  Even moving forward in this area, providing the pink product doesn’t become the bigger seller of the two, it is reasonable to have a slightly higher cost.

Thought-provoking flip on the Pink Tax

Sue recommended purchasing pink razers to simply go to the men’s section and buy the men’s razor.  This recommendation is sound advice from a financial perspective, but it does not address the problem.  Thea’s, Tilly Money, recommendations were the same Thea also added calling the product out on social media, contacting the company to ask for an explanation, and asking the company to do the right thing (McLachlan, 2020).  

 

To be clear, I fully support the recommendations put forward by Sue and Thea if you are going to be financially wise.  The argument against pink products comes when you look at the fact that women “care” about the products they purchase.  Women are discerning consumers, and therefore care more about what they buy.

 

Let’s assume a women’s range happily exists, and on a thought-provoking tangent, a men’s range didn’t exist yet.  I’m thinking of the men’s facial care products and shampoos in particular. 

 

In my experience (I’m in my fifties), men didn’t care too much about face creams or skin-conditioning products.  Heck, they didn’t even care about the shampoo they used.  Conditioner?  What’s that? Let’s say the women’s price was always $10 for a jar of beauty cream.  To get a men’s market for the company and men to buy a rebadged woman’s “face cream” or hair shampoo means the men’s product has to be cheaper.  Now, is that a pink tax or simply trying to get two products into the same home but under another name?

Pink tax for the needy or those that want something special

When it comes to shavers, Maria was the mother of four boys with a husband.  Anything she bought for herself, such as razors, got appropriated by the boys.  She then began purchasing pink razors to identify them as hers and sending a message out not to touch.  The boys, admittedly, used their stock first, but when the money ran out and they needed to shave, they simply grabbed mum’s pink razors. 

 

It was only a matter of time before Maria found out.  But when Maria found out, the boys didn’t hear the end of their tampering with HER “expensive” razors.  Maria and my mum also did this with THE good scissors.

 

The problem I have with the “pink tax” is how it has so insidiously assimilated itself into our or, at the least my, life.  For many, many years, I HATED the colour pink.  To the point where I didn’t even eat pink ice cream for the simple reason, it was pink.  The anti-pink obsession wasn’t doing me any favours, and I learnt to deal and then love the colour.  I learnt to embrace the colour and to embrace myself at the same time.  It wasn’t just pink; khaki was right up there with the colour pink to dislike and avoid.   

 

Part of me wishes I still disliked; purchasing products with pink no longer worries me from a colour perspective; now I worry about being ripped off.  Why do I need to buy the man’s version just to be better off financially?  Humph.  Guess, as long as I’m willing to pay the price of the pink one, the companies will keep making them and charging what they charge.  Why do I need to give up my femininity to save money?  I’ll have to ponder that one some more.

Today's Cards

Day 135. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Completion. 2 is Influence card is Mind. 3 is Goal card is Comparison. 4 is Distant Past card is Thunderbolt. 5 is Recent Past card is Compromise. 6 is Future Energy card is Possibilities. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is The Dream. 8 is Others' Views card is The Master. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Projections. 10 is Outcome card is Creativity. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There were no carry over cards from yesterday.

Analysis

Cross

Completion is in the Now position influenced by Mind, which I’m taking to mean that the Mind being full of confusion is having difficulty with something ending.  Alternatively, something ending is causing chaos in the Mind.  If the last were the case, then the two cards would be the other way around.

 

Comparison in the Goal position means I’m trying to sort out how to get past the confusion by making comparisons against others. 

 

The Distant Past is Thunderbolt, and in the more Recent Past is the card of Compromise.  In my experience, Compromise isn’t a win-win situation and is bound to contribute to confusion.  Hopefully, this is at an end.

 

The Future Energy has PossibilitiesPossibilities are about opening up and shows the Completion card in a positive light.

Base

The Dream in the Feelings position shows that I have unrealistic expectations surrounding the card of Completion – a bit of illusion or self-delusion, if you will.

 

Others’ Views has the card of The Master, which seems to indicate that to all appearances, I’m handling the Completion quite well in amongst a whirlwind of confusion in Mind.

 

Hopes & Fears shows Projections, meaning that I’m afraid (fear) that what others are seeing is simply a reflection of themselves, as in the Feelings card, The Dream that I am projecting is nothing but illusion instead of reality.  My hope, however, is that projecting Completion and being The Master, that is, in control and unaffected by petty grievances, doesn’t affect me. Not true because the Comparison card is in the Goal spot. .

 

The Outcome position has the card of CreativityCreativity is like the big sibling card to Possibilities, and it too symbolises positivity.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. McLachlan, Thea 2020, The Pink Tax, Tilly Money, Online, last viewed 15 May 2021

  3. Wikipedia, Pink Tax 

  4. Broadway, Anna 2013, Pink Wasn’t Always Girly, The Atlantic, Online, last viewed 15 May 2021 

  5. Harmann, Margaret 2011, The History of Pink for Girls, Blue for Boys, Jezebel, Online, last viewed 15 May 2021

End Day 135

Day 134 – Making Sense of Bitcoin

14 May 2021

Day 134. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Morality. 2 is Influence card is Patience. 3 is Goal card is Clinging to the Past. 4 is Distant Past card is Success. 5 is Recent Past card is Harmony. 6 is Future Energy card is Letting Go. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Completion. 8 is Others' Views card is Inner Voice. 9 is Hope & Fears card is No-thingness. 10 is Outcome card is Flowering

Context - Bitcoin

Following on from yesterday’s discussion with Sandy regarding bitcoin, I set about demystifying my ignorance, at least to my satisfaction. For those reading this post, the sources I’ve used only provide me with sufficient knowledge to grasp the concept.  Wikipedia and my husband are my go-to’s for an overview of the topic at hand.  These sources are not bitcoin experts.  The person I know who is a bitcoin expert keeps it shrouded in mystery, not intentionally.  Jay (not his real name) probably isn’t patient enough to explain it to someone who might take a while to get it. 🤷🏻I get it! Not bitcoin, not yet.

 

So why do I use my husband?  Firstly, he’s constantly researching information and keeping his knowledge of the world current, not confined to social media, but across various news sources, current affairs, history and other creditable sources. In a sense, he’s my walking Wikipedia; a good starting point.  For you, as a reader, this means further research if it’s something you’re interested in, and I have provided a link in the references area.

Bitcoin Jargon

When delving into a new area, you’re bound to come across jargon – Bitcoin is no different. Here are the terms I’ve found and my interpretations applied.  Remember, I’m new to this stuff and might be wrong.  Links provided below in the References area:

 

Cryptocurrency – Cryptocurrency is a currency that is electronically encrypted and stored.  Later, a cryptocurrency owner (bitcoin) can convert it into standard funds.

 

Blockchain – If you imagine 1 cent is a block, and 100 cents is a blockchain.  However, unlike dollars that have defined denominations, blockchains appear to be unlimited.  Each “block” has a value, and its value depends on what the market is willing to pay.  Bitcoin seems a lot like shares.

 

Ledger – like anything financial, there needs to be a ledger to record the balance. Your bank’s statement is a ledger.

 

Decentralisation – hmm.  Right. The best way to describe it is if you’ve been shopping and bought more than you can carry, which typically means organising delivery or a courier. Unless, of course, you can find someone heading in the same direction – for demonstration purposes, let’s say your neighbour.  In this case, you ask if they can take some items home for you.  You offer to pay them a small amount for fuel. 

 

It’s a win-win. You win because you get your shopping without needing to organise a courier or delivery driver.  Your neighbour wins because they get money for expending minimal energy and doing what they would have done anyway. 

 

Now imagine this in terms of mathematical calculation effort. You store an app running in the background of your device for processing said calculation.  The processing effort doesn’t impact your device, and you charge your device each day like usual, plus you’ve made money at the same time.

More Bitcoin Words

Cryptography – the process of “writing or solving code/s” is that mathematical calculation I referred to in the above paragraph.  I wonder whether the code is The “Bitcoin”.  Several codes might be Bitcoins, interesting.

Digital Money – this is the currency generated by an application and its energy use.

Proof of work – I’m guessing here, but I think this might be referring to evidence that the application has been in operation on your phone.  Another guess is the application will have some reporting function built into it to prove it has been working.

Mining – this is the application’s process on your device, aka the work in finding the code or puzzle using your device’s energy, hence the word mining substituting for work.  If you have the application on your device, then that makes you a miner.

Reward and fee – Presumably, the reward is the money (bitcoin) you get for the use of your device.  Not sure where the fee comes in. Perhaps that’s the person who uses your device’s energy to process their code, making it their cost and your reward.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. Image has large Cryptocurrency word acting like an umbrella over words. The words are linked to bottom. Words from left to right are: blockchain, ledger, decentralisation, cryptography, digital money, proof or work, mining, reward and fee.
Cryptocurrency banner icon set, blockchain, Ledger, decentralization, cryptography, digital money, mining and fee.

Final Comment on Bitcoin

Wow! That’s a lot of information to take in for one day.  Oh, by the way, here’s a picture I got from Shutterstock that kind of highlights the Cryptocurrency process.  I have concerns about the code which the cryptocurrency is trying to solve, but that’s a discussion to cover in another post – maybe tomorrow’s, we’ll see.

Now to the cards.

Today's Cards

Day 134. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Morality. 2 is Influence card is Patience. 3 is Goal card is Clinging to the Past. 4 is Distant Past card is Success. 5 is Recent Past card is Harmony. 6 is Future Energy card is Letting Go. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Completion. 8 is Others' Views card is Inner Voice. 9 is Hope & Fears card is No-thingness. 10 is Outcome card is Flowering. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There was one card that carried over from yesterday; Morality moved from Others’ Views to the Now position.

Analysis

Cross

Morality is in the Now position, which is probably me trying to work out the right thing.  The Now is influenced by Patience, and Clinging to the Past is in the Goal spot.  Interestingly Clinging to the Past has come up; it was the challenge I faced yesterday (Day 133).  Being in the Goal position, and based on today’s Context, the Goal was to leave Clinging to the Past in the past – my way of saying “challenge accepted!”.

 

In the Distant Past is the card of Success.  The Osho book warns not to cling to the moment of Success for “it too shall pass” (p.88).  Success has continued in a fashion in the Recent Past card of HarmonyHarmony is about the connection between following the heart and life, which is the connection I feel with both my sister and, in this case, Sandy.

 

The Future Energy spot holds Letting Go, which seems like the Goal is progressing nicely.

Base

My Feelings or Immediate Future position has the Completion card, which follows through on the Letting Go card in Future Energy. Woohoo!

The Views of Others has Inner Voice and indicates that my personal view (Harmony) is consistent with how others see me.

Inner Hopes & Fears has No-thingness, which was also present in this position on Day 131, for different reasons.  Nonetheless, No-thingness is a blank slate full of potential.  In light of today’s topic, I hope to be able to use bitcoin and without trepidation.  The reverse is then true; I fear using it will have moral implications (ooh, maybe that’s where Morality fits in).

The Outcome position has the card of Flowering, suggesting that my knowledge on the topic has flourished and confidence attained.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Rosic, Ameer 2020, What is Bitcoin, BlockGeeks, Online, last viewed 14 May 2021 

  3. Euromoney, 2020, How does a transaction get into the blockchain?, Euromoney, Online, last viewed 14 May 2021 

  4. Weerasooriya, Nayomini, What is bitcoin?, Vapara (image BlockGeeks), Online, last viewed 14 May 2021 

End Day 134

Day 133 – Feeling Inadequate

13 May 2021

Day 133. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Morality. 2 is Influence card is Patience. 3 is Goal card is Clinging to the Past. 4 is Distant Past card is Success. 5 is Recent Past card is Harmony. 6 is Future Energy card is Letting Go. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Completion. 8 is Others' Views card is Inner Voice. 9 is Hope & Fears card is No-thingness. 10 is Outcome card is Flowering

Context

Feelings of inadequacy and adequacy both existed today. In a meeting at work, I realised others were struggling with our workload.  On the home front, I struggled with the changing world.

Feelings of Inadequacy on the Work Front

The feelings of inadequacy at work were off set in the meeting because it became clear I wasn’t the only one struggling; and by comparison, I was doing better than I thought – it was comforting to know. 

Every now and again comes a moment when I struggle to keep up with the work on my plate.  Prioritising is the key.  So, it’s refreshing to find out you’re not the only one with feelings of inadequacy – this was evidenced in a team meeting today.  Sometimes the struggle and expectations of yourself can weigh down your emotions.

The other side-effect when you get feelings of inadequacy, for me at least, is that I take on extra work to compensate, which in turn compounds the issue.  In a pre-COVID world, a colleague would tell me I was taking or doing more than I needed to do.  It’s great to get candid feedback. 

When working at a computer company in the 90’s the Managing Director kept some of his favourite quotes from Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts handy.  One of those quotes was: “A king with chieftains who always agree with him reaps the counsel of mediocrity.” (p.101/119).  Ever since I read the quote, it has been a guiding principle for paradigm shifts over the years (refer to Day 129 for one probably based on this quote).

Feelings of Inadequacy on the Home Front

While I felt better after the meeting at work, later that day, I felt myself being challenged by new and upcoming things – like bitcoin.  The challenge happened when Sandy had given me a call after a couple of drinks.  Sandy was excited by her latest discovery (love it, love her!) and was at her “fourth drink”.  Being at her fourth drink typically means she repeats herself. 

Bitcoin has been around for a while now, but it has had little impact on my life.  I’ve been curious, of course, but not enough to seek it out – who has the time? Sandy was all a-buzz about bitcoin and Doge.  Her enthusiasm on the first listen bolstered me and on the fourth listen had me tuning out.  Then I felt rude because I was tuning her out.  All I can say is that she would probably wind up with a headache the next day; mind you see she, rarely suffers the effects of alcohol – good liver?

When Sandy was trying to “inexpertly” explain bitcoin and Doge, I began to feel my age. Is this what it felt like when younger? I tried to explain things to those older than me, and they shut me down?  Were these poor victims of my youthful enthusiasm shutting me down to buy time to get up to speed on the topic?  If so, OMG! I’m so sorry.  I felt out of my depth and realised I was struggling to cope with Sandy’s inebriated state. 

Struggling with Sandy’s inebriated state also made me feel inadequate.  So infrequent has been my experience been that it has thrown me off-guard.  It made me wonder whether this was what happened to Betty when talking about Twitter, creating websites and the friendship I have with my husband (refer to Day 013). 

Today's Cards

Day 133. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is The Lovers. 2 is Influence card is Silence. 3 is Goal card is Stress. 4 is Distant Past card is Innocence. 5 is Recent Past card is Thunderbolt. 6 is Future Energy card is Ice-olation. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is The Outsider. 8 is Others' Views card is Morality. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Schizophrenia. 10 is Outcome card is We are the World. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There were no carry over cards from yesterday.

Analysis

Cross

The Lovers are in the Now position influenced by SilenceStress is the Goal, an unusual goal – if I do say so myself.  Stress and was borne out of Innocence from the Distant Past.  In the Recent Past sits Thunderbolt, which is the radical changing and shifting of physical characteristics in my life.  The Lovers, influenced by Silence, looks like the calm after a storm. 

 

However, Future Energy has Ice-olation, and the line from Osho says, “It’s okay to cry, and there is no reason to feel ashamed of your tears. Crying helps us to let go of pain, allows us to be gentle with ourselves, and finally helps us to heal.” Implying healing energy is coming up.

Base

Another card that has the feeling of isolation is The Outsider card.  It is in the Feelings/ Immediate Future position, implying I still feel left out of the conversation.

 

The Others’ Views position has the Morality card, indicating others were seeing me do the right thing or being prudish.  Maybe I’ve turned into a prude as I’ve gotten older, especially where drunken friends are concerned.  I just don’t know what to say in that situation.

 

The Hopes & Fears, the position is SchizophreniaSchizophrenia is about being in two minds. One is Hope that my friend was too intoxicated to notice my confusion on the bitcoin and I wanted time; two is the fear that my confusion showed.

 

We are the World is in the Outcome spot. It represents working and collaborating for or to a common goal, this could be Sandy and I expunging my feelings of inadequacy.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Roberts, Wess Ph.D, 2009, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, HachetteBookGroup.com, USA, last viewed 13 May 2021
  3. Day 013 – Betty, Dobby, Transforming a New Vision
End Day 133

Day 132 – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

12 May 2021

Day 132. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Compromise. 2 is Influence card is Beyond Illusion. 3 is Goal card is Traveling. 4 is Distant Past card is Inner Voice. 5 is Recent Past card is Ripeness. 6 is Future Energy card is Moment to Moment. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Receptivity. 8 is Others' Views card is Adventure. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Aloneness. 10 is Outcome card is No-thingness

Context

Day 132 – Personality Tests

My creativity and ability to think differently is being recognised instead of being thought of as weird.  A process that had me baffled for a few months suddenly became clear when I began communicating it. You see, sometimes I’m an external processor.  External processors, according to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), need sounding boards or people to act as a sounding board so information squashed into their heads can have the room to associate with one another freely.

 

Internal processors access information from external sources but bring it into their minds and chew on the ideas, mix and match them, drill down into them to form linkages.  One day a friend of mine commented she was worried about her child not talking since he hadn’t been talking much at all.  That day, little Mikey came out with a complete sentence and declared that he thought a hippopotamus looked like a dinosaur.  My guess is he was an introvert.    

 

Note being an Introvert in the MBTI system does not make you shy, reclusive, or a wallflower.  Likewise, it does not mean an Extrovert is boisterous, loud, constantly chirpy, or over-confident.  Introversion and Extroversion in the MBTI describe your preference for receiving and processing information.    

 

When talking about internal and external processors, I’m talking about people, not computers.  In the Myers Briggs Type-Indicator (MBTI), this would identify me as an External or subject to extroversion.  This indicator is valid for me when I’m unable to resolve it by being quiet 🤫 and happens in moments where I’m stuck on an issue.  It’s at the very moment when I open my mouth, and words begin to spill when the connections start to happen; it’s like my head has information overload and needs room to process an idea.  The mental version of “biting off more than you can chew”.   

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Use

The MBTI instrument has had a log of criticism; refer to the Wikipedia blurb for details, but I have found MBTI quite validating and reassuring.  It has provided me with ways of working on aspects I didn’t like about myself.  It also explained why under pressure, I become my polar opposite.  Quite often, such tools get repurposed to measure other things. The MBTI site stipulates, “The MBTI instrument sorts for preferences and does not measure trait, ability, or character”.  

 

When a tool is searching for preferences, we all know tastes change.  When answering “secret security questions”, one of my dislikes was the question asked about your “favourite” this-or-that item. My favourites even, of all time, are likely to change.  The colour blue might be on the favourite list today, but tomorrow it might be turquoise.  And the most significant criticism of the MBTI seems to be it changes based on your preferences changes.  Forgive me; this seems to be the point.

 

The next bit of information I am about to use comes from discussions with a learned friend, who I’ll call Shiloh for storytelling purposes.  Shiloh worked in Human Resources and was au fait with the MBTI instrument, so she ran internal informal company sessions.  One of the techs was able to whip up a program to ask the questions and spit out the response.   Enthusiastically, the team embraced the program.  It was initially used daily, then weekly and eventually not at all.    

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Criticism

The other criticism of MBTI is the “type” system was thought to identify extreme preference types but found most participants would sit in the middle range.  Just quickly, there are four categories: Introversion-Extroversion (I or E), Sensing- Intuitive (S or N), Feeling-Thinking (F or T), or Judging-Perceiving (J or P).  Typically, you would fall into one or the other of each of the initials, which would get joined to make up 16 different preference categories.  For instance, ISFJ would be Introversion-Sensing-Feeling-Judging – one of the 16. 

 

As Shiloh explained, the whole point was to help you obtain a balance.  From memory, the middle of the balance point used the letter X.  Shiloh mentioned; some people had an extreme.  Shiloh herself was very high on introversion.   My extreme letter was, well, was all of them except for extroversion.  I know you’re thinking, “really?” and you would’ve thought, based on my example above, it was “out there!”.  You’re right; it was.   Age has mellowed me in this category.

 

Shiloh’s point was, change and growth are things that need to happen. Your preferences result from your experiences, and having paradigm shifts, like on Day 129, is part of what promotes these changes.  Where you sit on the MBTI scale at a point in time can show personal growth.  The aim is to head toward the middle ground.

 

It seems I am a proponent of MBTI, and it could very well be the case.  However, having completed a couple of personality type tests like DISC, ViaMe, ASQR, plus a couple more, I still come back to the MBTI.   Sure, there was stuff in there I didn’t like or agree with (possibly because I didn’t like what I heard 🤔), but it was helpful, and I’ve worked with the strengths and weakness outputs.

Summary

These days, I’d like to think I’m more well-rounded with fewer extremes, and there is more of an introvert in the process of being developed with all the midnight writing I’m doing.

Today's Cards

Day 132. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Compromise. 2 is Influence card is Beyond Illusion. 3 is Goal card is Traveling. 4 is Distant Past card is Inner Voice. 5 is Recent Past card is Ripeness. 6 is Future Energy card is Moment to Moment. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Receptivity. 8 is Others' Views card is Adventure. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Aloneness. 10 is Outcome card is No-thingness. Shuffle method was Standard Shuffle

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There was one carry over card from yesterday; No-thingness moved from the Hopes & Fears to the Outcome position. 

Analysis

Cross

Compromise sits in the Now influenced by Beyond IllusionBeyond Illusion as an influence on Compromise means the Compromise reached is temporarily beneficial for me.

When the Goal is Traveling, I’m looking to get away in a physical sense. 

 

The idea to travel formed when listening to my Inner Voice in the Distant Past.  Up until now, to travel anywhere has been a compromise. Still, there is some confidence in the intra-Australian travel market. Possibly international travel to New Zealand, at least now, seems possible.

 

The time and Compromise are ripe, as shown by the Ripeness card in the Recent Past position.  From a no-win situation of Compromise, I need to travel Moment-to-Moment; well, that’s where Future Energy thinks I’m going to go.

Base

In the Feelings position is the card of ReceptivityReceptivity is probably a better description of the tricky situation than letting go because it implies an openness to change – even if it does leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

 

Others’ Views has the Adventure card meaning others see me as curious and new to the world I find myself in.  It might also be indicating; you think I’m in over my head. 🙆

 

Aloneness is in the Hopes & Fears position and has a darker tone than the cards around it. Hope is for me to have some assistance and companionship on my journey, and the fear will likely be the reverse.

 

The last position is Outcome with the No-thingness card. No-thingness is the potential to use creativity and form a future, which typically is unknown. 

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Myers-Briggs Chart of Types, Wikipedia,   Last viewed:  13 May 2021

  3. The Myers & Briggs Foundation, MBTI Basics,  Last viewed: 13 May 2021

End Day 132

Day 131 – Sister Tech Support

11 May 2021

Day 131. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Compromise. 2 is Influence card is Beyond Illusion. 3 is Goal card is Traveling. 4 is Distant Past card is Inner Voice. 5 is Recent Past card is Ripeness. 6 is Future Energy card is Moment to Moment. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Receptivity. 8 is Others' Views card is Adventure. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Aloneness. 10 is Outcome card is No-thingness

Context

My sister rang me today for tech support.  It shouldn’t be surprising to have my sister ring for tech support, and for the most part, it wasn’t.  The call did put me in mind of a time, of back in the day when I was younger, more resilient, and needed to prove I knew stuff, especially to my younger sister.  In particular, now that we were out of school and had been working adult jobs. 

 

It’s weird how as the older sibling, you became conditioned to feeling superior to your younger sibling for many years.   After all, you were always a couple of years ahead in school.  It’s not until you’ve both left school when the disparity disappears.  Then one day, you’re forced into a paradigm shift, either big or little, and you realise your younger sibling is also intelligent. Depending on where you sit with your sibling, you might even begrudgingly be impressed.   

 

If you flip this one around, one day, your younger sibling must have realised you’re not as clever as they always thought you were! 🙀 Now, there’s a paradigm shift that keeps therapists in business.

 

Those who knew me when I worked on the IT Service Desk (many years ago) would probably describe me and my IT knowledge as “having the confidence of an expert but only enough knowledge to be dangerous.”.

Sister to the Rescue

So, my sister had a computer problem, and I had computer problem-solving knowledge.  It was a match made in heaven!  I sat down, the computer and I stared each other down (figuratively).  Every bit of computer knowledge I possessed I tried, to no avail.  The computer was playing hardball, but I had confidence on my side! One more trick up my sleeve. I’d been reluctant to play it, and my doubt about its use may have been voice but got drowned out by reassurance.

 

With figurative guns a-blazing and a swagger of the hips, I cracked my knuckles, pushed out my hands and arms, flipped up the tail of my coat and like a maestro at the piano, proceeded to delete the entire contents of her hard drive.   Whoops!

 

Needless to say, if my sister had to have a paradigm shift about her older sister being the smartest person she knew at that moment, her world would have crumbled. Luckily for me, she’d ditched that belief long ago.  Here, she was simply disappointed that the hype didn’t live up to its name!  Don’t worry; my sister brings up my words of confidence, used at the time, whenever fixing a computer is involved. 

 

Of course, when she rang today for support, the phrase cropped up, and she asked where that confidence had gone when it came to tech support.  The standard response for the last 20 years was, “I went to project manager school and had the part of my brain that lets me say I’m an expert in anything removed.”.

 

By talking about the problem, my sister got a different perspective which put her on the path to solving her computer problem.  All hard drives and “unsyncing” mailboxes are safe!

Today's Cards

Day 131. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Innocence. 2 is Influence card is Creativity. 3 is Goal card is Success. 4 is Distant Past card is Control. 5 is Recent Past card is Mind. 6 is Future Energy card is Maturity. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Ordinariness. 8 is Others' Views card is Sorrow. 9 is Hope & Fears card is No-thingness. 10 is Outcome card is Sharing. Shuffle method was Fan Selection

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

Two cards carried over from yesterday, Innocence moved from the Feelings to the Now position and No-thingness moved from Others’ Views to Hopes & Fears.

Analysis

Cross

Innocence in the Now is influenced by CreativitySuccess in the layout is in the Goal position.  The Recent Past has the Mind card representing confusion resulting from the need for Control in the Distant Past.  From the Innocence of Now to Maturity sitting in the Future Energy position.

 

My guess on what is transpiring here could be that the computer incident with my sister comes from when I wanted to Control the situation.  It was born of Innocence, and with a similar scenario presenting itself today, my response was that of Maturity.

Base

The Feelings/ Immediate Future position has the card of OrdinarinessOrdinariness is tackling my sister’s issue with a “down to earth” mature approach.  No more fanfare – at least not this time 😉

 

Others’ Views is that of Sorrow.  Not sure whether they are sorry for me or because of me.  I will leave it to you to figure out.

 

Hopes & Fears position has the card of No-thingness or the card of potential or nothing.  My hope is for my sister’s issue to resolve itself, and I fear I can do nothing to help.

 

Sharing is in the Outcome position, indicating openness and warmth reaching out to everyone.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 126

Day 130 – Ankle Pain is Back

10 May 2021

Day 130. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Projections. 2 is Influence card is Harmony. 3 is Goal card is Trust. 4 is Distant Past card is Totality. 5 is Recent Past card is New Vision. 6 is Future Energy card is The Outsider. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Innocence. 8 is Others' Views card is No-thingness. 9 is Hope & Fears card is The Miser. 10 is Outcome card is Ice-olation

Context

Sometimes, it’s good to take time out.  Today my ankle pain had come back, and it had taken its toll on my energy. So, to be clear-headed when this happens, I take a 20-minute nap on the lounge to give myself an energy boost and mental clarity.  Unfortunately, it was one of those days when I continued to sleep instead of waking up after 20 minutes. 

 

The surprising thing about the broken ankle pain returning is that it had been healing, oh so wonderfully, then it seemed to regress.  A resurgence in ankle pain could be the result of the first intentional walk as exercise since January. This walk included a steep gradient which the Apple Watch Activity app told me was the equivalent of seven flights of stairs.  It’s also a pretty long gradient. 

 

That said, I take notes each day to make it easier to write and catch up. I’d like to say the content of this post will get updated on the weekend, but the weekends are so busy already, so this one is unlikely to go beyond what it contains. 

 

Your understanding is very much appreciated. 

Yours soulfully,

Michaela

Today's Cards

Day 130. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is Projections. 2 is Influence card is Harmony. 3 is Goal card is Trust. 4 is Distant Past card is Totality. 5 is Recent Past card is New Vision. 6 is Future Energy card is The Outsider. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Innocence. 8 is Others' Views card is No-thingness. 9 is Hope & Fears card is The Miser. 10 is Outcome card is Ice-olation. Shuffle method was Fan Selection

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

There was one carry over card, New VisionNew Vision moved from the Distant Past to the Recent Past.  There’s a natural order to these things, hmmmm.

Analysis

The Projections card is in the Now influenced by Harmony.  Harmony, although usually an expansive card, is acting as a blocker style of influence.  Projections is when you perceive the other person to have traits you want them to have. Osho describes Projections as “when you find a judgement arising about another, turn it around: Does what you see in others really belong to you?” (Osho, p.110).  The projection can be complimentary or unflattering; it is a projection, nonetheless.  That’s why when Harmony is in the Influence position, it fits into the flattering Projections category.  

 

The Goal spot has Trust, and the Distant Past has Totality. New Vision sites in the Recent PastThe Outsider’s card in the Future Energy place indicates my desire to share an experience and trust somebody with Totality.  The Outsider is when I discover that my projection of the desire to find somebody like-minded makes me feel like The Outsider—not realising that there was an opportunity open to connect.

Base

My Feelings are those of Innocence.  Invariably, those opportunities to connect are because of my clouded perception of others not possibly be interested in my ideas.  Wow!  Believe it or not, I’m learning a lot about myself when I type these posts.

 

No-thingness is in the Others’ Views position.   The No-thingness card here indicates the possibility others think there is a potential connection as well.  So, it’s not all one way, but I wouldn’t be able to see that because of the cloudiness of Projections.

 

In the Hopes & Fears, the position is The Miser.  The Miser is about keeping things to yourself; it’s shrinking away from a situation.  My fear is this will happen if I open up and discover we are not on the same page.  Alternatively, I hope The Miser card controls me if I get over-exuberant.  

 

The Outcome then is Ice-olation, which is a big sign that The Miser fear will most likely dominate; in the process short-changing myself.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
End Day 130

Day 129 – Paradigm Shift

9 May 2021

Day 129. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is Ordinariness. 2 is Influence card is Flowering. 3 is Goal card is The Source. 4 is Distant Past card is New Vision. 5 is Recent Past card is Clinging to the Past. 6 is Future Energy card is Transformation. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Patience. 8 is Others' Views card is Friendliness. 9 is Hope & Fears card is The Creator. 10 is Outcome card is Morality

Context

My husband and I watched Cinema Therapy’s YouTube post on the Wonder Woman 1984 movie.  At about the minute and a half mark, Decker defined the paradigm shift as being “a fundamental change in perspective, beliefs, or world view.”.  It got me thinking about work and the Tarot indicating growth or Transformation was due.  Emotionally I was sensing it too.  You know, there’s a bit of unexplained tiredness; you’re off your game, perhaps feeling an inexplicable desire to weep for no readily available reason.

 

Last night, I had an epiphany and my new role of work suddenly made sense.  Whatever I’d been holding onto probably from some misguided loyalty or security net had gone and the clarity or acceptance of the new role connected.  Reflectively, I have been slow on the uptake. But now, there’ll be no stopping me!  The sad part about having the epiphany is it reflects backwards. There’s the realisation other people have known for some time, just unable to communicate it.

Some people are catalysts for paradigm shifts

Some people make you better if you’re prepared to listen with your ego set aside.  It’s not that I didn’t listen. In fact, I was reasonably good at it.  The other thing I knew was that there was always a greater and a lesser skilled person than me in XYZ activity and area.  Most of the time, my knowledge was reasonably current. I learnt and adapted quickly and fell into the late 20’s early 30’s bracket, making me young and experienced.   My confidence in my capabilities was high.

 

Then one day, a new, younger person started at work. Krystal was intelligent, vibrant, witty, likeable, and also adapted quickly.  Everything about her spelt threat, especially when vying for the team’s “cleverest person” award.  A paradigm shift was due, and in this case, it was going to be accompanied by a down-pegging (taking me down a peg or two). 

 

By the way, there wasn’t an award; it’s just the subtle rivalry you might come across in a work environment – almost sibling rivalrous.  On the help desk, we often consulted with other help desk officers about this-or-that knowledge, Krystal was able to contribute equally.  It wasn’t until she contributed to “MY” speciality area when I hackled.

The paradigm shift moment

Typically, the hackles would turn into passive-aggressive moments, and the interaction would become strained.  It was then I realised Krystal was my greater in some areas of my areas of expertise!  What I thought was uniquely mine – think about it, mine. Really?  It was nowhere near logical! It was an IT problem to solve. After all, the knowledge already existed. That’s how I got it!

 

It was a secretary thing in me, or at least it was with some of the ones I studied with and met when relieving in numerous secretarial positions as a contractor.  A lot of secretaries liked to think they were indispensable.  It made us feel important.  In our heads, it meant job security – or so we thought!  My boss at the time said when I put in for nine weeks’ vacation, “if no one else can do your job, you can’t go on vacation.”.  Did I make myself replaceable?  You bet! 

 

The Krystal moment was a paradigm shift for me.  It took me by surprise when after stepping back from the moment, I didn’t mind.  Compassion and logic joined forces inside me.  Of course, you’re getting older, and young people can be smart too – remember the moment you realised your younger sister was smart too? – it’s good to see the world with intelligent, lovely people.   From that point on, I no longer worried about people being better than me.

Today's Cards

Ordinariness, Flowering, The Source, New Vision, Clinging to the Past, Transformation, Patience, Friendliness, The Creator, Morality

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

Two cards carried over from yesterday; Ordinariness moved from the Influence to the Now position.  This movement signifies a subtle move by Ordinariness becoming the now, means simply focussing on getting the job done.  

 

The Source moved from the Recent Past to the Goal position.  Suggesting a desire to revisit of basics, and simply focus on the Now. 

Analysis

Cross

The Ordinariness card is in the Now influenced by Flowering. The Source sits in the Goal position with the New Vision (yoga card 😃) occupying the Distant Past.  In the Recent Past, there is the Clinging to the Past card.  From the influence of Flowering on Ordinariness and getting back to basics (The Source), the Transformation card appears in the Future Energy position.

 

Well, what can I say? I knew Transformation was around the corner; I wasn’t aware it was going to be today.  The significance of epiphany didn’t occur to me until later in the day (the future from when I shuffled).  By the way, Transformation is another word that describes a paradigm shift.

Base

My Feelings on the shift from the ordinary to the Transformation is, “it’s about time”.  I’ve been patient, and perhaps that’s why the Patience card has shown up.

 

Others’ Views in response to the shift is one of FriendlinessFriendliness could be appropriate because my energy and enthusiasm are up. Luckily for me, most will see the mood as me recovering from an ankle injury.

 

In the Hopes & Fears position sits The Creator.  The Creator is the potter working on new clay or reformed clay.  The reshaping skill of The Creator is what I hope to have and use well.  On the side of fear, it is the possibility of reshaping something into being unhelpful.

 

Morality is in the Outcome position and suggests that I’m now going to do things “properly”.

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright, WONDER WOMAN and Coping with Paradigm Shifts, last viewed 11 May 2021
End Day 129

Day 128 – Sleep

8 May 2021

Day 128. Celtic Cross Layout: 1 is Now card is The Master. 2 is Influence card is Ordinariness. 3 is Goal card is Guidance. 4 is Distant Past card is Existence. 5 is Recent Past card is The Source. 6 is Future Energy card is Politics. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Completion. 8 is Others' Views card is Fighting. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Breakthrough. 10 is Outcome card is Rebirth

Context

With mental health becoming a significant focus and will become so over the next five to fifteen years, there will be many theories popping up on how best to negotiate healthy living.  One of the big drives for better mental health is getting enough sleep.  Usually, the seven to eight hours being ideal.  The focus of when to go to sleep will also feature.  So, how much sleep do you need?

Happy Short Sleep

Over the years, I met people who have survived on very little sleep without appearing pre-maturely aged, tired, overweight, or unhealthy.   For instance, Helen had trouble getting her son, George, to sleep through the night during his school years and tried many techniques, even occasional shouting, which only stressed both of them.  She sought recommendations from the family doctor.  The doctor responded if George performed well at school, was healthy, and maintained good humour and temperament; the doctor said not to worry because everybody was different.    

 

Another instance was when I worked for a multi-national computer company the accountant only ever slept three hours a night!  He was intelligent, good-humoured, had published several books in multiple languages.  He said he survived on naps.

 

When working on the Service Desk, Shirley would awaken randomly at three in the morning.  Shirley used to try to go back to sleep, but she was wide awake.  In the end, she said she got up and worked on her investments, finances or read a book until she was tired again.  Then went back to sleep, wake and go to work.  She retired to a Melanesian country to enjoy her old age.  All these people were in a healthy weight range, looked young for their age and seemed happy.

 

Another amazing woman Amy gets up at three in the morning, and instead of fighting the awake state, she would perform research, writes papers, and update documentation.  Shaun wakes up to meditate, and Steve wakes at six regardless of when he goes to sleep.  Michael wakes after six hours and works out in his home gym. The shortened sleep periods seem to be supplemented by most of them with naps when they feel overtired. 

Sleep Studies

There was a study by Oxford Academic (Wild et al., 2021) with over 10,000 participants from various age groups. Tests in cognition of Short-Term Memory (STM), Reasoning, Verbal and Overall.  The research concludes everyone needs seven to eight hours of sleep to be intelligent and productive human beings.  There are many other studies to support this stance. 

 

You can call me a mumpsimus (Dent, 2021).  Mumpsimus is a 16th-century word for “one who insists that they’re right, despite clear evidence that they are not.”.  Firstly, I’m not insisting that I’m right by touting an alternative point-of-view and some areas where a paradox exists contrary to the research. 

 

On a planet with 7.9 billion people (worldometers.info), a study of 10,000 from predominantly English-speaking cultures seems assumptive.  Understandably, it would be challenging to perform more extensive research and perhaps even prove redundant.  Other studies like the one by Hirshkowitz in 2015 broadened the research.   Both the Wild and Hirshkowitz studies focussed on everyday sleep patterns and tested everyday STM, reasoning, verbal, and overall responses.  The best results showed between seven to eight hours, broadly speaking (it varies by age) produced the sleep recommendation baseline.

Further Investigation into Sleep

Firstly, these studies did not include Buddhist monks.  Buddhist monks typically sleep six to six and a half hours; from my minimal experience with Vipassana retreats.  It was required for practitioners to go to bed at around 9:30-10:00 PM and waking at 4:00–4:30 AM.  Personally, using a group of people with a routine of this description might work as a control group to provide a comparison.  Arguably, meditators work on their mental health and typically do not display the signs associated with sleep deprivation.

 

If this is the case, it may not be the lack of sleep contributing to the “effects of sleep deprivation” but the lack of meditation and mindfulness exposure.  From reading the two studies from Wild et al. and Hirshkowitz et al., the initial questionnaire was missing, so I could not determine whether there was a question asking participants how much meditation each participant practised.

Participant Sleep Expectations

Having read many self-help and new age books, if belief drives a large part of our reality and how it unfolds, the question asking the participant about, “how much sleep do you believe you need” could provide insight into their paradigm.  An article in the Science Daily titled “How expectation influences perception” talks about research by MIT Neuroscientists.  Its study showed how if there’s an unknown factor, the responses by people and animals used a strategy of bias toward the middle range of responses (2019 Online). It’s a sort of Goldilocks approach; if you’re unsure of something, you err on the side of the middle because committing to an extreme position is riskier.

 

You’re probably thinking, “how does this apply to this argument?”.  Excellent question. The research compiled would have used objective quantitative and qualitative data.  The process was logical, the statistical method unquestionable, from what I know of statistics – which isn’t much – so I’m assuming it’s credible.  The argument I have is regarding identifying the participant expectations on the number of hours they sleep and expect to sleep. 

 

A book by Jane Roberts (not research), where it suggests, “there is a give-and-take chemical reaction, or rather chemical rhythms of relations, that are far more effective in the shorter sleep periods.  Many of you sleep through periods that should be those of your greatest creativity and alertness, in which the conscious and unconscious are most beautifully focussed and at one. (1994, p.260)”.  The recommendation for “shorter” sleep periods by Roberts is four to six hours instead of eight hours.  Supplemented by naps when necessary, to be a maximum of two hours. 

End

For my point, the majority of people’s minds are like that of an untrained five-year-old.  When a five-year-old doesn’t get enough sleep, all those elements described as symptoms of sleep deprivation arise, except for hallucinations.  The test of how much sleep an adult with an untrained mind or a mindfully trained adult might show that it’s not the lack of sleep, just the lack of mindfulness. Much like unused muscles atrophy, so too an unused/ untrained mind might atrophy.

 

Yes. I’m aware of the irony in the argument as I sit here complaining about my lack of sleep. 😃

Today's Cards

Day 128. Tabled list: position number, description, and daily card.1 is Now card is The Master. 2 is Influence card is Ordinariness. 3 is Goal card is Guidance. 4 is Distant Past card is Existence. 5 is Recent Past card is The Source. 6 is Future Energy card is Politics. 7 is Feelings or Immediate Future card is Completion. 8 is Others' Views card is Fighting. 9 is Hope & Fears card is Breakthrough. 10 is Outcome card is Rebirth. Shuffle method was Washing Machine

The Cards - Analysis

Carry Over Cards

Two cards carried over from yesterday; Guidance moved from Outcome to Goal, and The Source moved from Feelings to Recent Past position.

Analysis

The Master is in the Now position influenced by OrdinarinessGuidance sits in the Goal with Existence in the Distant PastRecent Past has The Source card, which is making its second appearance.  All of the cards mentioned lead to the Future Energy of Politics.

 

Ordinariness in the influence position over The Master is acting like a pane of glass.  There is a subtle noticeability, but the fundamentals remain unchanged.  The Master is, in this case, about the need for continual movement – keep on moving.  To keep on moving, I need to seek Guidance.

 

Connecting to the universe as myself and simply being was Existence.  By recently getting in touch with The Source and becoming The Master, I’ve needed to be diplomatic (Politics card) moving forward.  The lack of sleep needs me to be on my guard when dealing with others on a sensitive issue.

 

Completion sits in the Feelings or Immediate Future position and suggests The Master energy I’m in is also an end to “something”, just not sure what yet.

 

Fighting is in Others’ Views. Perhaps I’m not disguising the sleeplessness as well as I’d hoped.

 

Hopes & Fears has the card of Breakthrough.  Oh please! Let there be a Breakthrough (hope).  Fear is that everything will remain the same.

 

Finally, Rebirth is in the Outcome position. Rebirth is also about continual movement and changes, even if you’re feeling down.  It involves disconnecting from the ego to allow for growth.  

References

  1. Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
  2. Wild C., Nichols E., Battista, M.E., et al., 2018, Dissociable effects of self-reported daily sleep duration on high-level cognitive abilities, Oxford Academic, last viewed 9 May 2021
  3. Healthline, 2019, quoting Wild’s research 

  4. Medical News Today, cites Hirshkowitz 2015 research

  5. Worldometers, 2021, Current World Population, Online,

  6. Hirshkowitz M. et al. 2015, National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary, ScienceDirect, Online

  7. Sleep Health Journal, (quotes Hirshkowitz 2015 study), sorry – no link. Last viewed 8 May 2021

  8. Roberts J. 1994 ISBN 1-878424-16-8, Amber-Allen Publishing and New World Library

End Day 128
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