Make Your Own Divination System

I have discovered that the universe will talk to us in any language we understand. All you have to do is define your language. It can be as complex or as simple as you like. The important point is to make it meaningful to you.

I've used Tarot cards, runes, I Ching (coins and sticks), Ouija, astrology, the flight of birds, ordinary playing cards, random signs, crystals, and the pendulum. I've consulted mediums and gone on Shamanic journeys. Except for the crystals and the pendulum, they all worked for me.

Probably the best example of variable meanings is Tarot cards. Over the years, I've used three decks: Rider Waite, Motherpeace, and Circle of Life (which is the one I use now). I learned a lot about the meanings of the decks. And you should. Deck creators have specific symbols and meanings in mind when they make the decks. Also, you should study the cards to get clear on what the images mean to you. As my understanding or interpretation of a Tarot card changed, so did the answers I received.

There's a great book for delving into your personal meaning of the cards: The Heart of Tarot a book by Amber and Azrael Arynn K. For plunging into historical symbol construction try The Ancient Tarot and Its Symbolism by David LeMieux. There's an online class offered through DailyOm, Create Art for Your Soul, that guides you in constructing your own cards from contemporary images.

Symbols
Choose symbols that mean something for you: stones, cards, pictures, sounds, odors, the direction of the wind, etc. Important to get in touch with your intention. When you develop this language for the universe, you need to be clear on what the symbols intend. Think of Lyra and the Aleithiometer. One symbol, a bee, can stand for industry, community, communication, food, etc. Don't lock down your symbols. Leave a little fudge factor because language is imprecise.

Yes/No
A simpler system is yes/no or heads/tails. You could use coins, sticks, or beads. Those prayer beads commonly used by Buddhists are divination devices as well consulted by shaking, random grabbing, and counting down (an odd number remaining means "no" and an even number means "yes"). Yes/No divination is what the I Ching is based on (yin and yang lines). You can do Yes/No with the Tarot by pulling three cards at random and letting the appearance of a Court Card mean "Yes." No court cards means "No." And there's the old standard flip-a-coin: heads=yes, tails=no.

Get Answers
Once you have your system, find a way to let the symbols come to you randomly. This opens your system to the universe so it can use your language. A caveat about answers: they are not final or inevitable. You always have choice. Think of your answers as warnings, advice, hints, or possibilities. Use the knowledge wisely. Don't over ask or ask the same question repeatedly. The universe may give you garble out of frustration. And don't ask a question to get a particular answer. Keep your mind open to possibilities. As a friend once said to me, "Sometimes the answer is neither A nor B but Q."

One Mystical Boat

In her book, The Wisdom of No Escape, Pema Chodron writes about sticking with one boat, going deep along one path instead of shopping religions every time you come up against pain. During one of my recent stays at Yogaville, I had a consultation with Mataji (Swami Gurucharanananda) who advised me that “sampling here and there is not a path.”

My first path was Catholic. I had nothing to do with that. I was born Catholic and followed that path for 18 years until one day I looked at the genuflecting congregation and saw that they were just following a routine. There was no spirituality involved.* They had this memorized routine for mass: words they said, sitting, standing, kneeling. None of it was spiritual. I could see right through them. That was when I decided to go on a spiritual quest.

I began my quest by partying because I was a freshman in college and that’s what freshman do. After a couple of deathly experiences, I began investigating the Mormon church because my best friend and everyone we knew were doing that. So, I “investigated” and “prayed about it” and “received a testimony” that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was the one true church.

I transferred to Brigham Young University. I met a man and got married in the temple and brought my children up in the convenant. I was a Mormon for 18 years. And then one day it hit me that there was no spirituality in my path and I left that church.

For years I wandered with no path until I met a group who had decided to make up their own religion. So I did, too. I created my own goddess. From there I began investigating the basic and ancient religions, and acquiring gods and goddesses. After 12 years of snatching the best bits from other religions, I finally wanted to know what I really believed. I took the famous Belief-O-Matic quiz and learned that I was first of all Neo-Pagan, second New Age, third a Liberal Quaker, and fourth Unitarian Universalist (UU).

I had heard murmurings of Neo-Paganism in the various online discussion groups over the years but figured that real pagans were hard to find——what with the Inquisition and all. I felt I had a grasp on New Age and wasn’t interested in Liberal Quakers because sitting around not talking didn’t seem like a good way to investigate spirituality.** There was a UU church I drove by frequently and that seemed a convenient place to start.

In the Sunday services I found the first spiritual lectures I could relate to. The minister spoke from experience with facts and research. It was a thoughtful approach with nuggets of wisdom that catalyzed my quest. I joined the local UU congregation and plunged into a plethora of small groups investigating various spiritual paths i.e., Taoism, Buddhism, Humanism, and Yoga.

This led me into the wider community where I joined a local Buddhist group, a local pagan church, and a Shamanistic journeying group. This has been my path for five years: investigating and living various paths in an earnest effort to walk my own personal path. Which is what led me to Pema Chodron and Sri Swami Satchidananda. UU reorganized and focused my spiritual quest.

I am in one boat. A boat of my own device. A boat that lets me investigate creeks and rivers, canals and oceans. With it I’ve discovered there is only one path: the path to my own true nature. This is what Buddha, Jesus, Patanjali, Guru Nanak, and Mohammed were all talking about. True spirituality is the path to one’s true nature. The one and only boat. Or in Yogaville parlance: Many Paths. One Truth.

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*As part of my investigations through my UU membership, I have reclaimed the parts of Catholicism that are good and precious to me.

**It’s ironic about my aversion to Quaker silence because that’s a big part of my practice now: meditation. Sitting around quietly, breathing and noticing. Also, the Richmond Quakers sponsor the Dances of Universal Peace. Shows what prejudice will keep you from.

Temporarily Off Grid

There hasn't been a Flower-A-Day for five days, so far. I've been off-grid in Yogaville. And my phone died. If I had thought about making photos of the lovely flowering plants at the ashram, I couldn't have anyway. The Yogaville phone system was also offline and I didn't inquire about using the internet as I was totally offline myself, deep in spiritual experiences and in recovery from clearing out and leaving my home. I plan to post today's flower later and continue this fun and inspiring daily series.

365: Sky 33 - green sky

Something yukky and appropriate for Good Friday.

Believing the Grass is Green Now

Crocus, early spring

In the coffee shop, the man across the table made a couple of phone calls explaining he was drunk and needed detox. He said he was a week behind on his rent. He said he would walk in. He said he was located three miles from where we were sitting.

I got up to leave. He said, "I've got a situation here."

I said, "We all have situations."

He said, "I'm about to fix it."

I smiled and said, "Good luck with the fix," and left.

All addicts think that everyone else has a perfect life and they are the only ones to fail. This is an illusion we all share, to some extent. Everyone thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. It's not.

Everyone has an extraordinary life. Everyone has problems and situations. We spend all of our time "fixing" things to make them right, or quiet, or peaceful, or better, or whatever.

The fact is we live in a river of events. There is always at least one situation to fix, usually more. There is no escape. There is no fix.

There is only the way, the path, fate, a higher power, faith, or whatever spirit brings you assistance. Some times it's harder than others to keep that belief, to go on. This doesn't mean believing is wrong or that we haven't got enough belief. It only means that things are really, really difficult at this moment.

And, as we know, this too will pass.

Yes, that's my minister ..