Walking the Path Radio

 

One of the best bits of tarot advice that I have ever received came from a neat little book called "The 2-Hour Tarot Tutor" by Wilma Carroll:

"Look at the cards and SAY what you SEE". 

This concept is so simple, and yet when followed, can result in limitless possibilities.  Gotta love that! 

Taking the idea a step further, I recall finding myself sitting just feet away from the revolutionary and illuminated mind of Tarot Grandmaster Mary K. Greer at a Wisconsin reader's workshop several years ago.  As Mary instructed us to go out there and "break all the rules", my smile widened.  Again, such simple words, and yet so hard to do!

Typically new readers are determined to learn and memorize all the meanings of each card in their tarot deck.  Some are successful in this endeavor and can eagerly recite a list of book meanings upon request.  Other would-be readers become so discouraged at attempting to memorize 78 possible meanings that they end up tossing their card decks into a drawer or closet, never to be used again. 

For all of you reading this regardless of how long you've been acquainted with Tarot, I offer this simple exercise to help you break out of any existing comfort zones that you may have (consciously or subconsciously)established.  Some of what you come up with will make you giggle, while other ideas will be so profound you'll knock your own socks off!

Intuitive Tarot: Breaking the comfort barrier

Pull out a card from the nearest deck and look at it. Really look at it, as a child looking at a storybook page and trying to understand the story would do.  Forget what you know and focus on what you feel.  What is the first thing that comes to your mind as you do this?  Write that down in your tarot journal.   

Now without fear of being silly or being wrong, keep going!  Describe the picture you are looking at.  Break the picture down into smaller pieces.  Get creative!  How might a 6 year old look at that same picture? 

As an example, the card I have pulled is the 2 of Pentacles from the classic Rider-Waite deck.  Forgetting what I know, some thoughts I have are:

"Wow, he's wearing a huge hat.  Must have a lot on his mind!"

"Why is he playing around with his money?  He should put it in the bank where it's safer."

"He's standing on one foot while juggling.  That's tricky!  How in the world can he balance himself while doing that?"

"Hey, that figure eight thingy (lemniscate) reminds me of a pair of eyeglasses. Maybe he needs to take a closer look at things going on around him."

"With the ships in the water behind him and this guy dancing around, I feel dizzy looking at this picture too long.  Lots of movement going on, lots of energy being balanced".

"This is the song that never ends..yes it goes on and on my friends.  Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends..."

"The neverending stooooryyyyy..."

"Who is this guy entertaining?  Looks like he's standing on a stage."

"His shoes don't match his clothes.  Maybe he was really busy this morning and had no time to think about putting together a decent outfit." 

OK enough.  You get the idea.  Just let your mind wander and see where it takes you! 

Now go on out there, write your own book, break all the rules, look at the cards and forget about being "right"...just SAY what you SEE!  :)

In my area, and probably yours too, sometimes volunteers will stand at the busy intersections and accept donations from passing cars for various charities.  As I dropped my pocket change into one of their collection buckets recently, in return I was handed a flyer with this sweet little story on it.  I hope it touches your heart as much as it did mine.  Enjoy!

Back when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table.  A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.  "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents", replied the waitress.  The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.  "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.  Some people were waiting for a table now and the waitress was impatient.  "Thirty five cents" she said angrily. 

The little boy again counted the coins.  "I'll have the plain ice cream".  The waitress brought the ice cream, left the check on the table and hurried away.  The boy finished his ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. 

When the waitress came back, she swallowed hard and began to cry at what she saw.  There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, was fifteen cents - her tip. 

~author unknown 

Hi Folks,

Just wanted to chime in here really fast and let you know about a few recent additions to DawnandLaura.com. 

First and foremost, I am SO excited that Laura and I are now offering TEAM READINGS on a private basis.  This is something incredibly unique that we haven't seen offered anywhere else...an opportunity to have a personal intuitive consultation with 2 readers at once!  Right now we are only doing this on a limited basis as our schedules allow, so make your appointments early.

We are also pleased to announce that Weekly Insights are back...after careful consideration we are going to be posting them here on our website so that you can go directly to your personal forecast for the week ahead without having to sit through all the others.

Also, I've just posted an article on Tarot Birth Cards.  This is an interesting concept that I have found to be very spot-on.  The general idea is that we are all born with certain soul and personality vibrations that can be read through the cards...combining tarot and numerology to come up with personal cards for each individual.  As with the life path number, this involves some very simple math and the numbers do not change. 

And finally, I invite you to check out the new intuitive tarot TELECLASSES that are now open for July and August.  I personally teach these classes over the phone and we have a lot of fun (and learn a great deal in the process).  They all take place on Sunday evenings which will hopefully be more convenient for most of you.  Spaces are filling up so register today if you are interested...each class session is limited to 10 students. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I wish you many blessings as you walk your path today...

Dawn :)

 

In honor of Father's Day I thought I would honor my father's memory by sharing the story of how he helped me find my way through a very difficult time in my life. 

Aside from my husband, my Dad was my very best friend;  we always had this deep connection on a soul level.   He was lots of fun to be with and an incredible grandfather to our oldest son;  just the best.  I vividly remember how happy he was when we announced that we were having a second child.  Just days before I was scheduled to have an ultrasound test that would indicate the baby's gender, Dad passed very suddenly from a massive heart attack.  He was much too young...only 48 years old.  Our whole family was devastated; and I was absolutely crushed. 

When someone you love passes unexpectedly, someone who is so close to you and such a tremendous part of your life, there aren't words to adequately describe what you go through, and to each person it is a different journey.  During my own personal journey,  I felt as though everything I had ever believed in was questionable.  If Dad could be ripped from my life and the lives of our family, of our children who would not know him except through stories and memories...then what could possibly make sense in this world?  

I was soon to find that Dad and I had an unbreakable bond, even after he passed.

Like many people do after someone so close to them passes, I withdrew from participating in life for a long time afterward.  I ate, slept and went to work, took care of my husband, the kids and my home...but it was just going through the motions of life.  Dad seemed to constantly make his presence known in subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways.  There were special songs that would play on the radio at moments when I'd be in deep thought about him.  There were intense dream visits.  There were flashes of bright white light that were seen by multiple people.  The date of his death would pop up all over the place.

Flipping through the TV channels one day during this time,  I came across a show featuring a medium who claimed to speak with the dead.  To me at the time, it appeared to be some kind of carnival trick but I quickly became intrigued when the things he was saying to people were apparently ringing true with them!  There were a few options that I could think of to explain this away.  Either he was "planting" these folks in the audience and paying them off , or he was really making a connection with the deceased loved ones of the people he was reading for. As days and weeks progressed and I watched the show many times, I was forced to conclude that there was something unexplainable going on here... there were simply too many people validating the messages that were coming through...and those messages were so specific!  Things like "he used to eat live moths dipped in cocktail sauce", and "he is showing me false teeth hanging from a Christmas tree like an ornament".  Who would KNOW things like that?!  I was hooked.  This was just incredible. 

I decided to investigate this whole "mediumship" thing more closely.  Reading everything I could find on the topic, I came across a development program where the author suggested working with Tarot cards as a way to  "open up" psychically and develop one's skills. I ran out and bought my very first deck the next day and began working with them, learning the deep symbolism and "bonding" with my cards.  Once I became comfortable using the cards for self-readings, I began doing readings for family and friends and eventually, student readings on the internet as a way to practice and develop. 

Not long after that I began questioning my path. Was it "okay" for me to be doing this, or was it the work of the "devil"?  I certainly didn't feel that it was...in fact I felt completely the opposite.  When I read the cards it was very light and for lack of better words, I felt like I was operating on a higher plane somehow.  Of course I meant no harm to the folks I read for...quite the contrary in fact.  But was it right?  Is this what I should be doing?  Would there be some major consequences for my actions when I got to the Other Side someday?  How could I ever be sure?

One night during this time I was washing dishes after supper.  I had just packed my husband's lunch for work the next day.  He normally carried his lunch in an insulated bag but that particular day he left it at work, so I just grabbed a plastic grocery bag and wrapped his lunch up in it and quickly tossed it in the fridge.   As I washed the dishes, I mentally connected with my Dad and began speaking to him in my mind.  I explained how I was feeling.  I said "Dad, you have a much better perspective on things right now than me, I need to know from you.  Am I on the right path, should I be reading cards, going to seminars and studying mediumship...is this all okay?   I need to know.  I need a sign.  And it can't be a weird shaped cloud in the sky or a song on the radio or anything else that might be a sign...I need something concrete and tangible and very very specific, from YOU. "  I silently pleaded with him.  Afterward I wiped down the counters and put everything away and just left it in his hands.  Not 2 hours later I went to the refrigerator to get some water.  Opening the door my mouth hung open and I felt the color leave my face.  Staring back at me was the plastic bag that contained my husband's lunch.  Printed across the bottom of the bag, typeset in bright red, bold capital letters was MY DAD'S FIRST AND LAST NAME!!!!!  And almost as if he knew I would somehow try to explain it away I found a second one the next day.  Now I have to tell you that I am not one to examine plastic grocery bags.  In fact I can't remember ever looking to see who manufactured a bag....I mean, who does that?  And no, his name is not a very popular one.  I am still to this day dumbfounded trying to explain this away. 

So that is the story of how Dad guided me at a point when I was truly lost and the path ahead became unclear, and how my life was changed by something as seemingly insignificant as a plastic grocery bag.  I have no doubt now that this is what I am supposed to be doing, and I know that he is right there by my side, helping me use my experiences to help others navigate their own paths a bit easier.  Since this whole crazy journey began I have learned so much  (mostly that I have so much to learn), and these things are certain: we are all connected, and we are here to assist each other whenever possible.

Happy Father's Day Dad, I love you! xoxo

 “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute  of the strong.”  ~Mahatma Gandhi    

“We achieve inner health only through forgiveness - forgiveness not only of others but also of ourselves”   ~ Joshua Loth Liebman 

 
We've all heard the famous quote, "To err is human, to forgive Divine".  But what does it really mean?  Ever thought about it?


It's my belief that as souls, we choose our lives before we are born, and that those of us who chose to be born into a life of difficulty and hardship have chosen to do so in order to either work off some karmic debt or to learn major soul lessons through the experiences and relationships we have.  In other words, we are all students and we get to pick and choose our classrooms, our teachers, our desks and even our school supplies long before our first day begins.  Some have chosen harder classes than others, but if we pay attention to the lessons, we'll do just fine.
 
A while ago, a friend and I were talking about forgiveness.  She regrets not being as emotionally available as she'd have liked for several family members towards the end of their lives, and was having a difficult time forgiving herself.  I think that this is a position that many of us find ourselves in.  We look back and beat ourselves up over things we've said or done in the past and end up with feelings of guilt.  The trouble with that is, we can't go back and change it!  If we spend our time focusing on things that we did yesterday, we will never truly experience today, and the cycle of guilt continues.  Often carrying around these feelings of guilt can lead to difficulties in our current relationships.  We need to embrace today as a new opportunity to build healthy, happy memories for the future. 

Letting the past go can be a difficult thing to do.  If we've made mistakes (and who hasn't?) we have to forgive ourselves and allow ourselves the permission to have been wrong, and to have been human.  Every challenge that we have faced in the past was a learning experience; so ask yourself what you learned from it and what positive experience you can create from it.  Maybe you learned to be more of a good listener and source of support to someone who is ailing, or maybe now you know how you'd handle that same situation if it ever came up again. 

To err IS human, it's where we learn, it's where we grow.  If we had no adversity, we'd never know our own strength.  To forgive ourselves for the errors we make, however, truly is Divine.  

From "The Edgar Cayce Handbook" by Mark Thurston, Ph.D. and Christopher Fazel :

"Your mind is like a tree, and the thoughts are like birds. It's not so important which birds land on a branch of your tree for a moment and then fly on. What matters is which birds you allow to build a nest in your tree and make a home there."

I love this quote. Particularly because lately I have really been conscious of the "mind chatter" that goes on in the back of my mind lately.

By "mind chatter", I'm referring to the stuff we think about under the surface of our conscious thoughts. Does that make sense? Surely not all of it is negative, but some of the constant mental messages we tell ourselves such as "I am too fat" or "There is no way I can do this, what was I thinking?", etc. are really the ultimate form of self-sabotage. So I am consciously working now to create some better, more positive mind messages to replace the old, counter-productive negative ones that repeat over and over like a dusty old cassette tape in my mind. I am a true believer in the Law of Attraction, which states that we are responsible for creating our own reality, through the power of our own thoughts and intentions. It's tough, because we tend to be our own toughest critics, but very possible to turn our thoughts to positive and useful messages. To me, the quote basically says that though we all have fleeting moments of negativity or self-doubt, the messages that keep repeating are the ones that can be most detrimental - or helpful - to our desired outcome.

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
                                                                            ~Henry David Thoreau



Surely we've all encountered a "negative Ned" or a "negative Nelly" at some point.  These are the folks who always see the glass as half empty...the eternal pessimists who identify primarily with others through their own unconscious motto: "misery loves company".

We all have bad days, but I'd like to invite you all to STOP today, for just a moment, and consider the messages that you repeat to yourselves each day.  You may find that you are sabotaging yourself with your own thoughts! 

Because thoughts are energy, there is great power behind them.  The images that we paint are the ones that we become; this is the Law of Attraction in action.  Our thoughts draw energy our way; therefore if we think positive thoughts, we attract positive energy into our lives.  Unfortunately the same holds true for negative thoughts, and the surest way to get exactly what you don't want is to put a lot of thought toward it.  Acknowledge your fears, but don't allow them to dominate your thoughts. 

Consider where you hope to be in life, 5 or 10 years from now.  Visualize what you will look like, how you will dress, what you'll feel like, what work you'll be doing, where you will live, what kind of car you'll drive, what types of friends you'll have and people you'll associate with.  Do this often and in great detail...you will be painting an image for yourself to become, and actively creating your own reality!

Synchronistic events never cease to amaze me.  A recent chain of events has brought this to the forefront of my mind so I thought I'd write about it.

Roughly a month ago I was feeling very much at a crossroads.  I had a lot of decisions to make and was at a point where in order to move in any direction I simply had to make a choice.  So, because I was feeling lost, my choice was to call upon the help of my guides during a meditation, asking that they point me in the right direction.  I asked for very specific symbols to be shown to me repeatedly to confirm when I was headed in the right direction.  Specifically, I asked for monkeys.

Monkeys!?  Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous.  But it was the first thing that popped into my head so trying to be a healthy skeptic, I went with it. I wanted to be shown something that I didn't normally see or bump into by accident in the scope of everyday existence.  I live in suburban Illinois...we don't see many monkeys out this way ;)

So anyway, have I mentioned that my guides have a great sense of humor?  I have since seen monkeys everywhere, whenever I "happen" to be thinking about the issues I asked for confirmation about. 

At the library, there were stuffed monkeys as prizes for a children's reading club (the theme of which had nothing at all to do with monkeys, I might add.)  A flyer for a local music program featuring a band with "monkey" in their name.  At the grocery store a string of stuffed mini-monkeys wearing birthday hats greeted me as I walked down the baking aisle.  Facebook friends' status updates featuring monkeys.  Monkeys on junk mail.  Monkeys on my son's birthday card.  The cherry on top of the cake was the license plate that read "U MONKEY".  

Bananas, isn't it? 

So I've heard this myth many times over the years.  If you are a reader you most likely have too: 

"You MUST receive your tarot cards as a gift!" 

So where did this silly notion come from?  No clue.  But it is a fairly common belief for those who are new to the world of Tarot. 

My thoughts: if we were to wait around for someone to think: "Hey, what can I buy as a gift for the guy/gal who has everything?  I know!  A deck of TAROT CARDS!"...well, we'd probably be waiting a long time.  In my experience, it probably wouldn't happen.  In fact, there are many readers who feel exactly the opposite of this is true; that you should never accept cards as a gift.  Why?  Well, let's explore that, shall we? ;)

Tarot cards are energy tools.  As such, they carry energy.  If we seek to use them for their intended purpose, then we need to make sure that our energy and their energy are compatible.  If someone gifts a deck to us that we didn't choose, then how can we be sure that we'll relate to the images they contain? 

Food for thought:  Everything holds energy. This theory holds especially true with used decks.  Although I believe that used decks that we choose are fine (provided that the giver is someone with whom we associate positively, of course), extra care is needed to thoroughly cleanse those cards before using them.  Did you ever receive hand-me-downs as a kid?  Remember how it felt putting on "someone else's clothes"?  How about something from, say, a thrift store or garage sale.  Wouldn't you wash an item before using it?

When browsing the shelves at your favorite new age store or bookseller for a new deck, it is helpful to take a few deep breaths, open your energy centers and allow yourself to be intuitively drawn to the cards that best align with your energy.  They should appeal to you visually, of course, but also energetically.  You should feel a connection on some level to the deck you choose. 

Understandably, most (if not all) stores will not allow you to open the new decks.  But they usually will keep sample decks around to peruse through; just ask!  Even if you can only see of few cards from each deck at least you'll be able to get a feel for them.

So... why are you still sitting there reading this?  Go on, stop waiting around for someone to drop a small, neatly wrapped package in your lap containing the most beautiful cards you've ever seen, and go out there and choose your own!  :)

 From the article “Karmic Astrology” by Martin Schulman: 

“To you, Gemini, I give the questions without answers so that you may bring to all an understanding of what man sees around him. 

You will never know why men speak or listen, but in your quest for the answer you will find my gift of Knowledge.”

People born under the sign of Gemini are highly communicative individuals.  They are incredibly entertaining, curious, talkative and just love to play!  My Gemini son, for example,  has always been a keenly observant, non-stop talker, and the older he gets, the more he loves to discuss anything and everything under the sun!  In Tarot, the Lovers card beautifully corresponds to that communicative, airy Gemini energy.    

The Lovers card is about important life choices, communication and spiritually motivated decisions.  The differences between a couple are to be praised and celebrated, for each needs the other.  Notice how the male looks to his female counterpart, as she seems more receptively connected to Spirit.  This is a card of consultation with Spirit,  joyful unions, and the conscious mind connecting with the Higher self.

The symbolism contained in the traditional Rider-Waite card depicts Adam and Eve standing beneath the wings of Archangel Raphael, whose name means “God has healed”.  Raphael rules travel, healing, commerce, the media, math and science, communication, perception, wisdom, writing…you get the idea.  There is a choice to be made here…and Spirit is calling for a decision to be rendered. 

Karma, Love at first sight, and Sacred Contracts

Another aspect of this card has to do with finding that special something (or someone) that your soul needs.  The idea is that our soul knows what it wants and needs, even if it makes absolutely no sense to our conscious mind.  The lesson here is that we must trust ourselves to choose to pursue that person, place, thing or idea which we are strongly drawn to, regardless of  how scary or irrational it may seem to do so; because if we fight it or work against that connection that is so deeply embedded in our soul, we can never be truly complete.  Romantic, no? 

The bottom line here is this:  We have to trust that our souls know what they need.  They know our own individual mission in this life (even if we are not consciously aware of it), and it is our job to honor that as we go about our daily activities.  Take some time each day to connect with Spirit through meditation, and this connection will make it easier for you to identify synchronicities in your own life that will act like road signs, letting you know you are heading in the right direction as you walk your path.