Card of the Day: Father of Swords

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The Wild Unknown Tarot [/caption]

He is the maturity of the swords suit that manifests as action in the world. That airy realm of ideas, logic, rationality, analysis, discernment, and communication. This energy is best honed, I think, through some kind of contemplative practice or meditation. Whatever it is that lets one put some space around their thoughts.

The beginning instruction in meditation I received at Zen Center of New York City from monastic Jimon in 2004 was like being handed a jewel that has never stopped showing new facets. See the thought, let it go, come back to the breath. So simple, so portable, usable. So mystical and mysterious. So unknowable. The space surrounding a thought—to be able to experience it as the fleeting sensory phenomenon it is, like a sound or smell—can be the difference between heaven and hell.

It seems like a good time to be a ferocious guardian of one’s mind. The culture is like a runaway monster seeking to hijack our attention 24/7/365 with things that either aren’t actually important, or that are really important but that we don’t have any control over. And don’t forget all the things you need to buy and all the pills you need to take to be okay. It’s not enough to meditate. I also have to exercise the faculty of discernment to know what is helpful to let into my experience and what is going to make me feel anxious, enraged, powerless, and dispairing.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge proponent of letting oneself feel grief and rage (along with joy and pleasure, especially if you’ve been socialized as a woman), but I’m sincerely tired of inflaming and scaring myself unnecessarily. There are so many things happening much closer to home that require my attention and care, things that I actually have some influence over. There will be time enough for navigating crises. But this morning, I’m enjoying the birds and the sound of tires on wet road outside my window.