How the Tarot Saved My Life

For those who may be new to my blog, in my first post I said that I would share any profound experiences in my life regarding dreams, Tarot, or both. Well, this post is going to be one of those times.

Recently, I was driving to my “day job.” I had to be at work at 7 am, and it was going on 6:50. I then began, in my mind, to see myself having a conversation with another person regarding Tarot (don’t worry, this didn’t impair my driving in any way). In this “conversation,” the person had asked me about ever seeing a car accident in the cards, and how I would approach telling this to the querent (which is a nice word that refers to the person having his or her cards read). I then saw two cards: the Chariot and the Tower, which, as a combination, can suggest the potential for a car accident. I told the person I was conversing with that I wouldn’t put it to the person that he or she would be in a car accident per se, but I would suggest possibly making sure the car is in working order; encourage him or her to watch the way he or she drives; and to be mindful of those other drivers around him or her. You never, ever want to instill fear in a client, and let the client leave your office shaken up (for that will most certainly produce the experience of being in an accident).

And then, just at that instant, I realized that I was driving straight into an accident! It seemed to come out of nowhere. In the lane of the two-lane road I was  driving in, there was a vehicle straddling the lane. Glass and debris were scattered all around, and people were rushing to the vehicle to see if the driver was harmed in anyway. From where I was sitting, the car looked to be totaled. And, I had a good view, as I was thisclose to it!
As luck would have it, there was an opening to a parking lot to my immediate right, so I could turn off and be re-routed back to the main street to continue on my way. By the time I got back onto the main road, the police and EMT personnel were on the scene.

Reflecting on it later, once I was safely at work (and was only 6 minutes late, to boot), I wondered about the “conversation,” and the sheer timing of it. It could be chalked up to my intuition “speaking” to me, and, for me, that would be a valid assumption. But I also want to believe that someone was watching over me, in a big way.

May all your travels be safe…

James

The Complaint-Free Life

A few weeks ago, the minister of my spiritual home (church) began a series based on the book “The Law of Attraction” by Esther and Jerry  Hicks. I serve my church in a couple of capacities (I am its bookstore manager, and I am a Sunday School teacher for its teenagers), so I don’t always get to attend a service.

As fate would have it, I happened to be free to actually sit in on a service. The topic was “Living a Complaint-Free Life.” My minister wanted to initiate a program for Lent. Everyone in attendance was given a magenta wristband with the word “INSPIRED” etched into it. The program goes as follows: You choose to wear the wristband and make a commitment to live a complaint-free life for either 21 or 40 days. If you complain about something, you switch the band to your opposite wrist, and you start over again at day 1. The word “INSPIRED” is to suggest that you think of something inspiring to say rather than complain.

I was all for this. I wanted to fast from negative thinking, and this program would give me the opportunity to work on it. Well, I wound up changing the band twice the next day. What happened? I got in the car, that’s all. Both the commute from home to work and from work to home was all it took. The complaining manifested itself in such a small way; each time, I commented on how slow the person in front of me was driving. I like to drive, as it makes me feel a sense of freedom (the idea of going anywhere I want, when I want), so this came as a surprise to me.

At my “day job,” some of my co-workers would try to get me to complain when they found out what I was working on within myself. Sabotage? Can you believe it? My tag line, as a result, would be, “It’s not a complaint, it’s an observation.” Who was I trying to kid? Myself, of course.

I have managed, since I began this, to keep myself from complaining at least 3-4 straight days before having to start over.

And then there was today. All I found myself doing at my “day job” today was complaining. I wound up going back and forth with the wristband so often that I don’t even know which wrist it’s supposed to be on at this point!

I contemplated giving up on trying to live the complaint-free life. While I am trying not to be rooted in negativity or negative thinking, I find that complaining is an intrinsic part of my nature. It’s just a part of who I am.

I remembered that I drew the 8 of Cups as one of the three cards in my daily reading today. One of the keywords associated with this card is “abandonment.” The card was also in the “spiritual” position of the spread. How fitting, it seems.

They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit, but I can’t even make it a week! So, I think it’s time to retire the wristband, and give up on trying to live the complaint-free life.

Until next time…

James

The Big 4-0

Well, today’s the day. It’s March 7th, and it’s my birthday.

While I think every birthday is grand, this is one of the big ones. Today I turn 40.

This has been on my mind every so often for the last few months. I know that for some people certain ages can be somewhat traumatic. Like turning 30, for instance. And turning 40 would be another.

I’m different in that regard. When I turned 30, I was somewhat ecstatic, especially to leave my 20s behind me. My trauma came five years prior, when I turned 25. At that age, I was in my “comparison mode,” if you will. I spent the day somewhat depressed, looking at all the things I hadn’t accomplished. I compared myself to all the people I had gone to high school with, imagining they had all gone off to college, graduated, moved on to the professions they had gone to school for, and were leading successful lives. I had not gone on to college, and I was still working the same job I had when I turned 17, still in high school. My life, to me, seemed to be going nowhere. The funny thing about that now is this: how exactly did I know that everyone but me was this huge success? And who defines what is exactly successful, anyway?

I had moved to more existential thinking by the time I was 30. I was motivated by an inner need to know what my purpose, my calling was; exactly, why was I here, and what was I to be doing?

And it was that way for the next 9 years and 6 months. Then, a depression kicked in once again. I look back on it now as having my “mid-life crisis” early. One of the symptoms this time was the sense that I’d somehow made a wrong turn in life, and was now wandering aimlessly, with no sense of direction.

Now, by this time I had gone to college and gotten an Associates in Arts degree. I overlooked this achievement with the fact that I hadn’t pursued my education further, because of uncertainty as to what it is I ultimately want to do. It sounded like I was in my 20s all over again.

Another thing was that I am now in my other job, in the same position I was when I started at this company 12 years ago. My managers all hope I will one day move up the ladder, but I have no interest in that. And life is an interesting thing. People seem to come to you asking the very same questions you have in your mind: How long have you been here? How long are you going to be here? Do you still want to be doing this type of work when you’re 60? Why are you wasting yourself here? When are you going to go into management? 

Once again, I was faced with this feeling of being stuck, of being uncertain as to what I was doing here. One of my managers asked me if I was having a “career crisis,” when he found out I was contemplating a transfer to another department in the company. It was something he said, during the course of our conversation, that struck me; he said, “Whatever it takes to make you happy, I am willing to do it, and to support you in that.”

It begs an interesting question: do we actually know what would make us happy? I consider myself one of those people who can readily tell you what makes me unhappy, but to tell you what makes me happy requires some serious thought.

So, turning 40 is now a quest to find out what makes me happy, and to do it. I started my own business a few years ago, and it brings me happiness, the type my “day job” has never seemed to do. I’m one of these people where I want to find work that is meaningful, that has a sense of purpose, that is something I have been uniquely called to do (which sounds familiar, as this was the same theme when I turned 30; it must be a cycle I enter into every decade).

In Kabbalah, it is said that 40 is the age of enlightenment. In Christianity, the number 40 is associated with being in the wilderness. I think that’s where I’ve been, so let’s hope I’m moving out from the wilderness, and into some enlightenment.

Until the next time…here’s hoping you find your own light.

James

Writing on the Clock

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about for my next entry, and had been contemplating it for the last couple of days.

I thought, at first, that I would probably talk a little bit about my newest Tarot deck acquisition, the Manga Tarot by Selena Lin. I’ve seen it in the bookstores when it was first released, but passed over it, opting for another deck with the same name, by Lo Scarabeo, an Italian Tarot deck publishing company. And then I saw Lin’s deck at my monthly Tarot group meeting. A new person brought the deck with her. Once I saw the entire deck, I had to have it. This phenomena happens quite a bit with me. You see, I’m what’s known as a Tarotholic. Yep, addicted to Tarot.

But I’m digressing. Earlier today, as I said before, I was contemplating what to post next. And then, while folding a load of laundry (I get the most wonderful insights doing mundane housework), it came to me. I realized it is March, and my birthday is right around the corner (it’s the 7th, and I’ll be the Big 4-0). I recalled a dream I had that prominently featured the month of March in 2007. This is the dream, exactly as it appears in my dream journal:

Date of Dream: March 17, 2006

Time: 4:31 AM

Dream Title: Writing on the Clock on the Wall

I am with two other people. We are walking down a wide corridor. We stop at a circular clock on the wall of the left side of the corridor. The face of the clock is white, with black numbers and hands. The frame of the clock is black also. I have a Sharpie permanent marker in my hand. I use it to sign my name on the outer covering of the clock’s face. I write, in script, James Mitchell, with March 2007 beneath it. I write this on the right side of the clock, right at the number 3. The other two people look on, seeming to like what I’ve done.

I remember thinking, when I first woke up from the dream, that it might be significant, since there was a reference to time, and exactly a year later. I was thinking that March 2007 would be my “time,” in some way. In some capacity, the “time” (clock) would be “right” (right side of clock; “write” is a pun for right) for me to make a “name for myself (signing my name on the face of the clock).”

And, I didn’t think any more about it, until it struck me while folding the laundry. Here it is a year later, and I began thinking about what I’m currently working on. As I said in my last post, I just launched my first website, in the hopes of getting what I do out to a wider audience. Thinking along those lines, the hoped-for visibility is like putting my name on the clock for all to see who should happen to pass by (also symbolized by the two companions looking on). Oh, and incidentally, today just happens to be the third day of the month; in the dream, I signed my name and the date by the numeral three of the clock.

I guess, as the saying goes, only time will tell.

And for those of you wondering about my assessment of the Manga Tarot, I’ll save that for another post.

Until then…

Blessings,

James

Hello world!

My name is James Mitchell, and this is my first blog post.

This is a period in my life where I’m doing things for the first time. I have a small business, Dreams and Visions (hence the title of the blog), and with that have come most of these first time experiences.

I just created my own website. First time ever doing that. First time with web hosting. First time blogging. You get the picture. It’s been very exciting.

My intention for this space is to share my experiences with dreams and Tarot. I want to share the moments when a dream, a Tarot reading–or both– has had an impact on my life.

That, and perhaps some other things, too.

You can check out my site: www.jameshimm.com

I’ll be back here soon!

James