Transparent Oracle Sunday!!  My cards: 

63, Touch (and Taste) (Within). Within is the direction of the Self, and thus the cards associated with this direction deal with the ways our Self connects to the world and perceives the world, and the Self.  This direction is mostly abstract, and yet is our bridge to the Universe around us.  Our senses connect us to the physical world, and the sense of Touch is the most solid and least deceptive sense; touch is the method we use to find our way around and to dispel illusion.  Taste is a part of Touch, for it is by bringing things into contact with our tongues that we Taste them.  Contact is the key here, and connection; they can be pleasant or violent.

33, Element: Earth (North). North is the direction of Earth, and thus of the physical or physically formed or manifested world, and of nurturing, health, finances and security, and the wisdom associated with living simply, being well-grounded, and being in touch with our physical body.  Earth represents stable, material, practical energies that are slow to change; its dignities are cold/binds and dry/shapes.  Earth is the element of form and substance; it is connected to physical health, to material world security (and even wealth), and to our physical bodies and physical senses, and the pleasures and pains they bring.  Earth represents the fertile, nurturing and serene side of Nature, and it represents the tangible end result of our labors.

41, Gateway: The Celestial Realm (Above). The direction of Above takes us up and out of the four traditional elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, and reminds us that we are but a small part of the Cosmos.  Above also reminds us that while the Machinery of the Universe is huge, it does have an effect on each of us, and each of us is an important part of the workings of that Machinery.  Both our solar system, and the vast reaches of space beyond, have an effect on us, and we need to acknowledge this effect and be aware of it.  While we should not allow only these effects to control our choices and actions, they are valid, and there can be higher meanings to seemingly mundane events at this time.  But if I don’t look up into the night sky, these events will happen without me knowing about them.

Hmm . . . .  I then built my mandala; talk about a compact image!  And a simple message, at least on the surface: close your eyes and sense the new growth around you, and you will be transported beyond the physical world.  The Gateway image is a 7-pointed star.  In Sacred Geometry, the 7-pointed star actually does not exist in a literal sense; because each side has a fractional measurement (some version of 14285743; for instance, if the total perimeter measures 100 inches, each side would be 14.2857inches in length), and not an even number, it cannot be drawn, and 7-sided shapes don’t occur in Nature. The processes of Nature just can’t create a shape with sides of 14.2857 inches.  LOL, at least in the Nature associated with the physical world.  What am I being told here?  I am a physical being, so my physical senses are important.  One effect my physical senses are able to create is contact with others, reaching out and touching someone else has power, both good and bad power.  The physical senses can also be a ball and chain; after all, they are LOUD, and they often distract us from the Other World, that place that can only be seen if we are able to cancel out the messages of our physical body (which messages are, after all, limiting us to physical world experiences), and fly above this physical world existence into an universe that is without limitation.

“Curiosity, breath, and presence can take me through almost any challenge. Those three things ensure that I will learn something, often something very subtle and important. I follow the lead of my instincts that tell me ‘Go to class. Now’ even when I would rather stay home and read a book. That inner voice is the voice of my teacher. It leads me to the teaching all around me. My life is better for it. My life is better, even when part of me complains again, ‘I hate this.’”

Isn’t that awesome??  Those are the words of T. Thorn Coyle, a wonderful blogist and activist.  Coyle mentions teachers in that post, and how important teachers are to her.  Sometimes we need the challenges presented to us by our teachers.   Hold the pose a bit longer, just one more breath.  Straighten up a bit **here** and relax these muscles **here**.  And breathe!  Don’t forget to breathe.  Teachers keep us honest and teachers keep us striving. 

I have many teachers in my life, and I am very, very lucky.  All around me are people who inspire me.  All around me are people who are accomplishing amazing things.   I am open to the lessons that are being presented to me, and I am blessed.

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