Premises of Circle Ways (and James)

Just so you know where I’m coming from, whether in my work with you or in my casual interactions with you, here’s a list of some premises which guide me.  It’s not dogma, but rather what I’ve discovered on my journey thus far.  As I grow, shift, and evolve, so will they (one hopes).  I don’t ask you to conform to anything written here, simply know what my outlook is and to respect that to the best of your ability just as I will do my best to respect your philosophy.

• We have choices about how to live and respond to life.  Life neither punishes nor rewards; it simply is.  We can choose to either keep or adjust our perceptions of the past.  We can choose to either let the future just happen to us or to consciously select possible futures.
• Every being, human and more-than-human, is inherently creative, resourceful, wise, and whole; therefore, all beings and events we encounter, if we choose, are potential sources of feedback to help us remember our personal and planetary maturity.
• Life’s helpful feedback is more apparent to us when we consciously slow down to pay attention to it.
• Questions and listening call forth wisdom.  Definitive statements lock wisdom out.
• We are not called to be super-human 0r transcendent, but rather we are summoned to be fully human, present, and embodied.
• The Earth is not a sinful “vale of tears” from which we need to escape, but rather the Earth is a beautiful expression of the Whole which needs to be embraced.
• Belief is not enough.  Practice is what counts.

“Circle of Cards” workshop changed to March 6th

Dear Fellow Lovers of Life,

Regretfully, there were not enough participants to hold this weekend’s workshop at the Earthsong Mysteries School in Maple.  Though others indicated interest, only four people were able to come… not enough for a full workshop.  We require a commitment from six to twelve eager participants who deeply choose to explore personal and planetary healing through tarot and circle process.  I guess many of us are still in that Hanged Man mode I mentioned in my winter newsletter.

Both Andrea Mathieson (my wonderful host) and I were a bit disappointed, but in taking the pulse of the event with the assistance of the I Ching, we realised it was best to postpone for now and hold it a month later, Saturday March 6th.  Please chisel this into your  calendar, let us know you’re attending, and come for a lively and rich time together in a month!

Remember the “Tarot For Relationships” evening in my Toronto space on Feb. 18 and the introduction to circle process, also in my space, on Feb. 25.

Blessings,

James

Brigid’s Blessings

Today, February 2, we remember the goddess Brigid, keeper of the flame/hearth, keeper of the well, inspiratrix of creativity/poetry, healer, and more.  Her name means Fiery Arrow.  The day is known is Imbolc, meaning either “ewe’s milk” or “in the belly”, both motherly references.  Some groups mark this date by offering initiations into their traditions.  Others light candles to honour the spark of approaching Spring.  Below is a series of questions for you to answer in whatever way suits you: journal, tarot reading, circle discussion, or other.

1. What does my well of creativity look like?
2. How can I best tend that well?
3. How can I quench my spiritual thirst?
4. What fires me up?
5. How can I best channel that fire?
6. How can I get more passionate about our beautiful world?
7. How can I contribute to my healing?
8. How can I contribute to the world’s healing?
9. If I were a poem, what would I sound like?
10. Into what Mystery is Life now initiating me?

Last Night’s Wisdom Readings Show

Rachel, Donnaleigh, Dawn, and I had a tremendous time on last night’s radio show.  We talked about wisdom readings in general, then did a few.  Our topics included:

• the Tao
• interconnectedness
• the current economic situation
• spirituality, religion, and what links them

It was a fruitful on-air council with cards.  The various styles of reading and four different decks (Shining Tribe, Medicine Woman, Legacy of the Divine, and an angel deck) wove a lush texture and demonstrated that there are many ways to work with tarot and that’s OK.  Thank you to Rachel, Donnaleigh, and Dawn for such a delightful and content-rich hour-and-a-half that felt like only 15 minutes or so.

What wisdom is calling to you?  How will you respond?

Wisdom Readings

     Renowned tarot teacher Rachel Pollack and I will be on Donnaleigh de la Rose’s show on blogtalk radio this evening to talk about wisdom readings.  What are they?  For me, a wisdom reading takes tarot (or whatever tool or process one uses) beyond ourselves.  It reminds me that there is an intelligence and organising principle in everything.  This is not, I hope, about anthropomorphising objects or the more-than-human part of the universe community.  The last couple of thousand or more years have shown how unhealthy it can be to say there’s an invisible man floating around in some invisible kingdom in the sky.  What I’m talking about here is getting out of the idea that we humans are the only intelligent creatures on Earth (or in the cosmos) and that our own annoyances and successes are the only things worth noticing.  Wisdom readings take into account that all of life matters and that all of life is wise.  Who better to ask about pine trees than a pine tree?  Who would know more about pods of orcas than orcas themselves?  Instead of taking a theologian’s word for what the nature of Divinity is, why not ask Divinity Itself?  And a chat with a supernova will educate me more about it than my high school science books.  The trick is to slow down long enough to really be present and to listen.  A wisdom reading is an exercise in council mind, the capacity to be a compassionate, curious, and attentive witness and container and to respond with intentional speech and action that contributes to the well-being of all concerned.

What in this universe makes you curious?  What are you burning to ask it?  How might a dialogue with/about it contribute to the well-being of all the beings?  Get out your chosen wisdom tool, do a reading with it, and please post it in the comments.  We all want to learn from you.

A Healing Circle of Tarot Cards — Please Come

CIRCLE OF CARDS: A HEALING COUNCIL WITH THE TAROT
with James Wells, founder of Circle Ways

at Grey Heron, Maple, ON

(details below)

Engaging with tarot symbols calls forth our soul wisdom. Being in circle unites ancestral council with cutting edge leadership. Deepening into our bodies connects us with all of life. Bringing these elements together (tarot, circle, and body) we weave a heart-centered container for stories and questions that catalyze personal and global healing.

Through image, movement, and conversations that matter, you will gain insight into your role in this process while sharing inspiration with your peers.

Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010; Time: 10 – 4:30 p.m. Cost: $125. Bring a bagged lunch, a tarot deck, a notebook, a curious mind, and an open heart. (Soup and snacks will be provided as well as additional divinatory materials.)

Why Reiki Shares Matter

Today, I hosted a reiki share for people who have trained with me and one fellow who trained with another teacher.  We held council around a quote by Teresa of Ávila that speaks of being the body, hands, feet, and eyes of the Divine in the world.  We did hatsurei ho, the traditional energy-generating meditation, to keep our minds centred and our energy channels clear.  I offered reiju, often called an attunement in the West, to all participants to help support the remembering of their awakened selves and whatever blessing they needed in the moment.  Breaking into small groups, attendees offered energy treatments to one another, two practitioners on one recipient at a time.  Afterwards, we enjoyed each other’s company over a pot-luck lunch.

This reiki share was a possible world in miniature.  What if we kept asking ourselves how we can be the embodied Divine in our world?  What if we remembered our most whole or awakened Self every day?  What if we opened to offering whatever energetic and tangible blessings were needed in the moment?  What if we got to know people over food and conversation?  What if we offered the touch of healing to the people around us, whether or not they were known to us personally?

We’re invited to BE Reiki, to be the Divine life-force in the world.  Can we hear and accept the invitation?

If you’re a Reiki practitioner and if you know of a gathering or share that you can attend, please do.  Each time such a meeting takes place, the world becomes a little better.

Strong No, Strong Yes

Yesterday, during our mastermind gathering, I became aware of how my strong “no” to some previous suggestions gave me vast clarity about what my strong “yesses” are around a particular project.  How might we transfer this idea to other tools and processes?  During a therapy session, tarot consultation, astrological appointment, conversation, or whatever, something may be said that absolutely does not ring for us or it ticks us off completely.  This moment of “No!” can be a threshold into what “Yes!” looks like for us, a revelation of the next right thing, an “Aha!”  For example, if I don’t feel as though I want to produce an instructional DVD , I feel clear that I prefer to write a book.  If I strongly object to someone else writing promo material for me, it means I’m happy to be my own printer of brochures.  Astrologically, one can look at where Mars is in one’s chart to see one’s strongest No and strongest Yes reflected.  Mars relates to the Tower card in the tarot, a card of strong catalysts and reforms.

What is your strongest No?  To what Yes does it propel you?  How is this a catalyst for extreme reform?

I look forward to hearing your responses.

Deeper Layers

Yesterday, I worked with a delightful client over the tarot.  We explored three aspects of hir life — career, living space location, and intimate relating.  Together, we designed layouts (maps for the session) that, when combined with whatever cards came up, would illuminate these arenas.  What I loved about this session was that in all three spreads a common theme began to develop.  Even though we began by assessing and strategising around the topics chosen, a deeper lesson or message bubbled up from each.  The client got a catch in hir throat as s/he took this in and responded to it. 

No matter what we choose to look at on the surface, if we stay still long enough and really look and listen, we’ll notice that Life is doing Its best to offer us something richer that will help us to mature and thrive.  This guidance may come as clear answers or it may be in the form of more questions to take us further along the path of self-knowledge.

What about you or your life makes you curious?  What are the questions that it invites?  If you take the time to sit with these questions, what deeper layer(s) might emerge?  What will you do with this deeper message?

Community at Its Best

Yesterday, through two contrasting events, I witnessed circles of community weave their support for people. 

In the morning, I was at a funeral in Greenbank, ON.  My friend Cathy’s mother died on New Year’s Day.  It was beautiful to see people from this small town and its church do their bit to make sure that Cathy, her siblings, and her father were held and helped in many ways — prayers, lunch, supportive words, and presence.  To spend time at the house afterwards was like an informal council — stories, jokes, and just being with one another over a glass of wine.

In the evening, I was back here in Toronto and attended the opening of an art show in which my friend John C. has a piece hung.  The sense of celebration and the desire of each artist to help the other — showing people each other’s work, obtaining sticky tape, and stating what was good about each painting — was heartening. 

In an age of tweets, sound-bites, and instant gratification, I’m encouraged by what happened in both places yesterday.  The circle is alive and well in the hearts of humanity.