14 Days

14 days ago, I did an exercise to find more time in my day and made two resolutions to create that time and devote it to spiritual pursuits.

I’m not one to keep resolutions, I have no will power. That said, this time has been such a success that as I sat down to write this progress report, I was obnoxiously proud of myself.

I never thought it would happen but I have managed to successfully live without the white noise of the television. Eliminating the distraction of the tv and refraining from needless net surfing has freed up more time than I ever thought I had. Because I can finally focus, tasks are being completed more quickly which has freed up even more time.

The hour I resolved to devote to spiritual study on a daily basis has grown from the minimum to “whenever I get done what I am doing” without conscious thought. I have re-discovered a joy to learning that fuels me to do more and when I finally do glance at the clock, I am surprised to see how much time has passed.

Because the last 14 days have gone so well, I am tempted to add resolutions to the list, but I must not. To feed a tender flame too quickly smothers it. I may also be surprised to find where I am and where I am inspired to go at the end of the next 14 days.

 

5 7 9

Why don’t messages ever come through as clear as a phone call? Five times in my life they have, but not this most recent one. Instead of words, this message came in the form of numbers while I was working a divination exercise.

5 7 9 appeared. I ignored it because it made no sense, I was wondering which project I should focus on / direction I should go and I get a bunch of numbers…what the heck is 5 7 9? What happened to 6 and 8? or 1-4? (I can be a bit of a smartass)

It came back again and again without variation. Finally I decided to pay attention and try to determine what these numbers could signify. I felt sure the numbers needed to appear together, as a unit and in order. I won’t bore with the failed attempts, just the one that is beginning to make sense.

I find it odd that the answer was found in the tarot since I rarely use the decks I have and I wasn’t using tarot cards at the time, but it was.

5 = The Heirophant
7 = The Charioteer
9 = The Hermit

I knew the general meanings of the cards but I am not overly confident in my tarot knowledge. Instead of rushing to find another’s interpretations of the cards, which I would do later, I first spent time looking at the cards to see which elements popped out at me. This is an old exercise that is used to tell the reader which elements are most significant.

5 - I saw the sign of blessing first.
7 - Urim and Thummim
9 - The face and white beard.

Next I looked up Waite’s assessment of each card because I used his deck. I also looked into the GD’s Yetziratic Intelligence and the Alchemical name for the card just as points of interest.

5 - The Heirophant represents the structure of religion and the value of tradition. Though he has come to be associated with repression and dogma, he is a spiritual teacher, one who gives advice to seekers. According to Waite, “he symbolizes also all things that are righteous and sacred on the manifest side”, but “he may forget the significance of this his symbolic state and acts as if he contained within his proper measures all that his sign signifies”

Yetziratic Intelligence (GD) - Triumphant and Eternal Intelligence
Alchemical Name - Congelation

7 - The Charioteer is as Waite says, “He is above all things triumph in the mind” but “the liberation which he effects may leave himself in the bondage of the logical understanding”. Also his triumph should be understood as only a part of the battle, “He has thus replied to the sphinx but the question of the sphinx is concerned with a Mystery of Nature and not of the world of Grace, to which the charioteer could offer no answer.”

Yetziratic Intelligence (GD) - Intelligence of the House of Influence
Alchemical Name - Separation

9 - The Hermit is not a wise man in search of truth, nor is he an example of experience, instead “His beacon intimates that “where I am, you also may be”.”

Yetziratic Intelligence (GD) - Intelligence of Will
Alchemical Name - Distillation

Interpretation

As with all divination, the results need to be interpreted in the light of the question(s) being asked. What seems to jump out at me most as I work through the message is the Alchemical names: Congelation, Separation and Distillation.

Congelation as the structure and tradition that the Heirophant embodies. This being beneficial and necessary to the next steps and particularly poignant as part of my wonderings dealt with a hierarchical system.

Separation as logic, material knowledge being separated with the sword of the victorious Charioteer.

Distillation as in the purification and concentration processes that obtain the essential properties that allow the Hermit to be where he is, though he is not the conclusion of the process.

 

Time Assesment

Since my last post, I’ve been looking for time in my day that I could devote to more productive and/or spiritual pursuits in the hopes of strengthening my footfalls on my chosen path.

I used the tips from my last post as an exercise over the previous week and I’m completely embarrassed at how many hours I waste while at the same time managing to complain that I don’t have enough time.

• Look at how you spend your time.  Can you get up 15 min earlier to meditate?  Are you wasting time watching crap on tv? chatting/posting on the net?  taking 45 minute showers?

First, I have to say that I definately think that enjoying yourself is an important part of life, so is relaxing and simply doing nothing. It helps rejuvenate me to veg out in front of the tv and sometimes I get great (and not so great) ideas when I’m just sitting around by the pool.

But, and this is a huge BUTT, I never noticed how often I watch tv until I tried this exercise. I actually watched Lets Make a Deal from 197-something yesterday. That’s terrible and by that I mean both my sitting there and the show itself. Yikes, what was going on in the 70s?

I estimate, because I wasn’t anal retentive enough to actually log the hours, that I wasted 20 hours last week watching tv shows I don’t even like. That’s almost a whole day!

• Turn off the tv, pc, radio, phone, etc. This is your time, don’t let intrusions derail your commitment.

This goes along with the above, I don’t turn off the tv…If I’m in the house, it’s on. This odd quirk, which annoys my husband to no end, is because of my erroneous belief that I need background noise to survive.

I turned it off yesterday and actually commented on how quiet it was and how much work I had gotten done in the previous hours.

• If you aren’t wasting any time in your day (really? Kudos to you then!), Make the time. Spiritual pursuits aren’t usually considered “high priority”, other things are always more important.

As I’ve already learned, I am wasting time so obviously that means that I do not consider spiritual pursuits a high priority. Quite simply, this needs to change.

• Figure out the best times of the day for you to meditate, study, whatever makes you feel more connected to your spiritual path.  Always do exercises, etc during this time, it will help your brain and body become accustomed to your new pattern.

I meditate in the morning just after I wake up and I can attest that doing a task at the same time every day causes the body and mind to expect it because on the rare day that I skip it, I’m a mess most of the day.

With this in mind, I took note of how my energy level goes during the rest of the day. I’ve noticed that I am most attentive in the wee hours of the morning. During the summer months, I prefer to be outside as much as possible.

Resolutions

This exercise was extremely enlightening and it wasn’t particularly easy to face the results and admit how little emphasis I place on something that I claim is such an important part of my life. Obviously things will need to change. To that end…

I will devote more time and attention to things I find spiritual as well as looking for ways to make common tasks magical.

The tv will only be on if I am watching a show and its actually a show that I want to watch, which I have discovered is only 7 regular shows anyway.

An hour of daily study will return to my late night hours. I used to do this regularly, but have fallen off the bandwagon in the last month. My determination to be outside during the summer can be transformed easily into a spiritual moment. Sitting at the pool can be a time for meditation or reading one of the books I swear I’m going to read, at least part of the time.

I heard that it takes 30 days to form a habit so over the next 30 days I will create within myself the habit of making spiritual pursuits an important part of everyday life. I also heard that it only takes one day to break a habit that is in the formulation stage, should that occur, I will not let it derail me.

 

Found Time

In my last post, I pointed out that the number of exercises and the perceived amount of time they would take from a day can be the reason that some people do not pursue some form of spiritual work every day.  This is especially the case for those of us who are taking a class or workshop and receiving new exercises with each lesson or those of us who are just starting out but it is also the case for those of us who have been on our path for some time.

Speaking for myself, it is important for me to meditate and cook everyday and also to spend time reading, studying,  creating a new rite or writing/researching for the Book of Light.  Part of the importance is that it forces me to have self-discipline and to improve and learn.  It is also a manifestation of the commitment that I expressed during my dedication ritual.

Last night I found myself watching Comicon 08 on G4 because there was nothing better on tv.  I’ve never been to Comicon, I don’t really have an interest in going.  While I liked Batman and Ironman, I’m not that interested in watching two hosts wander around a convention hyping the new comic-based movies coming out.  So why was I sitting there watching it?

Midway through, I wondered this allowed to my husband, who asked if I had something better to do.  Of course I did!  I could have been outside in the garden under the new moon, writing the material for a new class, writing/researching new articles, working on a new full moon ritual, relaxing with a book, not to mention more mundane chores I could have been vacuuming, cleaning the stove…I could have been doing a million other things.

I’m saying that we do have time if we look for it.  I found an hour yesterday and I bet if I paid attention, I could have found more.  Here are some common time management tips:

• Look at how you spend your time.  Can you get up 15 min earlier to meditate?  Are you wasting time watching crap on tv? chatting/posting on the net?  taking 45 minute showers?
• If you aren’t wasting any time in your day (really? Kudos to you then!), Make the time. Spiritual pursuits aren’t usually considered “high priority”, other things are always more important.
• Figure out the best times of the day for you to meditate, study, whatever makes you feel more connected to your spiritual path.  Always do exercises, etc during this time, it will help your brain and body become accustomed to your new pattern.
• Turn off the tv, pc, radio, phone, etc.  This is your time, don’t let intrusions derail your commitment.

In the end, our instructors and books assign exercises because they are valuable learning tools, it is up to us to find the time to do them.  If we do, we will be all the better for it.