Alana Sheeren, words + energy

Oracle Sunday: The difference is in the details

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From The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid
From The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid

My husband’s family is in town this week and we’ve rented two homes in a nearby beach community to accommodate all of us. While both houses are beautiful and in lovely locations, they feel different for reasons that all come down to details.

One homeowner communicated clearly, kindly and well in advance of our arrival date. The second homeowner was unresponsive and abrupt. Though each house is beautiful in its own way, we arrived with distinct feelings about both and there was already talk of the different reviews they’ll receive online afterward.

I’ve stayed in a number of rentals through Airbnb or VRBO and it’s interesting to notice how much care and thought owners put into making their guests comfortable. Little details like having necessities in the pantry, propane for the grill, and notes explaining how things work, make a big difference.

The same holds true for business transactions, dining out, or deepening friendships.

We notice the details.

Stressing and obsessing over them can be crazy-making (just ask any bride-to-be). That’s not what this card is about. Instead it’s a reminder to pay attention and be thoughtful, clear and heartfelt with little touches that feel important to you.

A handwritten note.
A small gift, just because, with no expectation of anything in return.
Remembering an important date, or a customer’s name.

This card also wants you to pay attention to the details that you’re presented with. Body language. Statements made under someone’s breath. The restaurant owner who comes over to talk with you and brings something special for you to try. These things speak volumes.

Pay attention to details this week. Let yourself focus on them, enjoy them, be clear about them. If you’re signing anything legal, read the fine print. If you’re working on a project, get specific about the little things for a while.

Spend some time thinking about another person’s experience of who you are or what you offer.

There’s magic and power there.

Card copyrights belong to their respective authors, artists, and publishers, and are used for example purposes. I encourage you to purchase the deck(s) that speak to you and get to know them on your own.

Oracle Sunday: Demeter’s Blessings

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From the Goddess Knowledge Cards by Susan Eleanor Boulet Trust & Michael Babcock
From the Goddess Knowledge Cards by Susan Eleanor Boulet Trust & Michael Babcock

Demeter is the Greek Goddess of the the earth, of harvest, fertility and the cycles of life and death. Her grief over her daughter Persephone’s forced time in the underworld is responsible for seasons of lack and her joy at Persephone’s return heralds the new life and abundance of spring.

In this card, Demeter’s grief is about to end and the fullness of her body means a time of abundance, joy and hope is beginning.

Grief and hope walked hand in hand here in the United States this past week and other countries around the world. The aftershocks of the Charleston shootings. The Supreme Court ruling to expand the definition of marriage.  The apology to First Nations peoples in Canada. The terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait. It’s a messy time to be alive, terrifying, joyful and everything in between.

This card is here to remind us to hold on to hope, to believe that grace and goodness can walk hand in hand with grief, to stay open to possibility.

As you navigate your life this week and watch events playing out on the world stage, remember this message. Be brave enough to believe in tomorrow, to take action on your most heartfelt beliefs, and to speak your truth, with as much empathy and compassion as you can muster.

Card copyrights belong to their respective authors, artists, and publishers, and are used for example purposes. I encourage you to purchase the deck(s) that speak to you and get to know them on your own.

Oracle Sunday: Drop it like it’s hot

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From the Energy Oracle Cards deck by Sandra Anne Taylor
From the Energy Oracle Cards deck by Sandra Anne Taylor

This card is here to tell you to let go of any jealousy, envy or lack you’re feeling. You don’t need it and it doesn’t serve you.

It’s one thing to know what you want and still feel gratitude for all you have. It’s quite another to ignore the riches in front of you because you’re too busy coveting what’s out of reach.

Take a look at your life right now. What’s good in it? What do you love about it? What are you thankful for?

The next time you find yourself on Facebook, or someone’s blog, or in the break room at work and you notice yourself being tugged by jealousy, see if you can switch the thought around and actually celebrate his or her success. Because the fact that it exists for another person means it is also possible for you. It won’t happen in exactly the same way, but holy cats, isn’t it more fun to focus on the possibility than the lack?

Lack, envy and jealousy make us small, pinched, ungrateful, and often unkind. They hurt us when we allow them free reign. Notice them when they show up. Pay attention to what they’re telling you, but don’t let them take over.

Do what you can with what you have right now. Let it be enough for this moment. Let yourself find some happiness, some satisfaction, some enoughness, in whatever is showing up for you. Celebrate the little things in your reach while you keep your eyes gently focused on your dreams.

Card copyrights belong to their respective authors, artists, and publishers, and are used for example purposes. I encourage you to purchase the deck(s) that speak to you and get to know them on your own.

 

Oracle Sunday: Be Here, Now

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From The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid
From The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid

This card is a reminder that we cannot live in the past nor in the future. They are ghost lands. The only place we are alive is in this moment, right now.

The past holds memories both beautiful and painful. We can spend a moment there but then we have to come back to now. Longing for what used to be keeps us as stuck as defining ourselves with our victim stories. We can’t live there anymore.

The future – a place full of hopes and dreams and fears – is just as ephemeral. Keep dreaming, keep taking action towards those dreams, but don’t live there either.

Live here. In this moment.

Be present with your crying child or your dying parent or your excitement, your joy, your hunger. Be with whatever life is handing you. Breathe into it and know that you have the tools to stay in it, to grow through it, to fully experience it.

Let the lessons of the past inform your present. Let the hopes for tomorrow guide today’s choices. But above all else be here, now.

If you find yourself escaping your life on a regular basis, it might be time to dig a little deeper into why. What’s wrong with what you’re experiencing now? What do you want instead? What’s one little baby step you can take today toward that desire? Will you take it?

Here are three simple ways to come back to the present moment if you find yourself checking out.

1. Breathe deeply and engage your five senses. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you feel against your skin?

2. Doodle, draw, or color in a coloring book. This is a great way to bring yourself into this moment, even if “art” isn’t your thing. Don’t try to figure it out in your head. Instead follow your impulses with no attachment to what the final picture looks like.

3. Do something physical. Dance it out. Shake it off. Do some pushups or a sun salutation. Wiggle your body. Roll around on the floor with your kid or your cat. It doesn’t matter what you do. The point is to get out of your head and into your body.

Once you’ve found yourself back in the present moment and before you re-engage your mind and move on, ask yourself a simple question. Something along the lines of What do I want to do now? or What does my body want right now? or What can I do next that will keep me in this moment? Whatever comes to you is fine.

Repeat the process as necessary. Try to enjoy it. This is it. This is what we have. Now.

Card copyrights belong to their respective authors, artists, and publishers, and are used for example purposes. I encourage you to purchase the deck(s) that speak to you and get to know them on your own.

P.S. Want some help remembering to be here, now? Check this out. So fun.

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