Showing posts with label Mindefulness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mindefulness. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2012

No Powering Through

I have been working on another installment of Runes 101 - Runes in Mythology, but it's not quite ready yet.  I'll plan on that one for next week, so stay tuned.

This week, I realized that, very soon, a couple of the major projects I started this year will be coming to an end.  This got me wondering what we do at this point in a process.  When we realize things are almost over, how do we finish them off in an appropriate manner?  How do we keep up the level of attention and detail they require?  The "final push" with a project at work or to complete a class or deal with guests who have over-stayed their welcome can be challenging, especially when we know that, once these things are over, we can move on to something new or something that we enjoy or is more fulfilling.  However, simply powering through the process is not a healthy approach.  There must be a way to get through this circumstance without getting stressed, ignoring our own emotions and possibly creating conflict.  How do we stay composed, maintain quality and not become a giant ball of stress?

Perthro/Perth provides the overview for this situation.  Traditional and contemporary interpretations of this Rune do not seem to align very well.  Still, they complement each other in this instance.  Traditionally, this Rune is referred to as the Rune of Friendly Competition and socializing.  New Age definitions call it the Rune of Initiation or hidden secrets.  If we look at this situation as a game, a coming of age in some way, we can see how it is an initiation.  Where do the hidden secrets come into play?  Again, there is a link in the definitions.  Through this process, we are cultivating relationships (potentially even friendships) and their wyrd (fate or destiny) affects ours and that is where the secret lies if we are not aware of it.  A positive outcome from the class or project or visit will affect what happens next.  This is why we must figure out how to finish this situation with the same quality or hopefulness under which it began.

Of course, there is a challenge in every situation and in this one our challenge is Sowilo/Sowelu.  Sowilo is the Rune of the Sun, good fortune and wholeness.  In Germanic tradition, the sun is feminine and its light a sign of victory.  In today's world, Sowilo is aligned with wholeness and the search for what we are already.  To me, this means that our challenge is to be ourselves in this final stage, to continue what we have been doing, for that is what will bring us victory or satisfactory completion and help us to recognize the wholeness.  With regard to the Sun and feminine qualities, this is a very timely distinction, for it addresses our goal perfectly.  The idea of powering through is a masculine quality, so Sowilo serves as a good reminder that powering through is not what we need to do here, rather our challenge is to disregard that instinct and maintain a consistent pace to finish our project.

But how?  Honestly, when this question came to me, I thought I would draw Uruz, the Rune of Strength and the wild ox.  I thought, if not, which one would I draw?  I drew Teiwaz/Tiwaz, the Warrior Rune, Týr's Rune.  This Rune requires self-sacrifice and mindfulness.  We must focus on and commit to finishing the project strong, because that will work to our favor, if not immediately, then in the long run.  We're almost done.  We can do this and do it well.  Perhaps then, we will draw Othala and/or Gebo and be able to enjoy the fruits of our efforts.

What project or situation are you finishing soon?

Monday, August 1, 2011

...Now Stand on One Foot

In today's world, we are overwhelmed with distractions and demands that we allow others to put on us.  When we take on too much - hold this, take this, do this for me, you have a free hand? do this, carry this, now stand on one foot - at one time, we lose more than balance in our lives.  We lose mindfulness and, in return, we gain stress, tension, anger, frustration and so on.  So, how do we find a balance again?  How do we stop doing more than we can manage reasonably?  How do we become mindful in our choices?

I asked the Runes for some guidance on this front and, as usual, they did  not disappoint.  The three Runes that I drew were: Nauthiz reversed for the overview, Hagalaz for the challenge, and Kano for the action.  What guidance is found in this draw?

Nauthiz is the Rune of Constraint, but, in this role, it does not mean do nothing or refrain yourself.  Reversed, it warns us that growth is not easy and sometimes must occur within certain limits or pain.  Moreover, it may be that many of us can see the light only when we are here, in the dark, a great darkness.  When we see that light from our dark place, we see our own true creative abilities and that is what we want to follow.  In essence, through this Rune in its reversed position, we must undergo a cleansing to find a balance.  If your plate is full, you must remove something before you can add something new.  Piling is not beneficial.

Hagalaz is one of my favorite Runes, because so many people shrug with disappointment when they draw it.  However, the Rune of Disruption offers so many positive things.  It allows us to break free from our stale routine.  In fact, it liberates us from it.  It may show us a change that is gradual or it may side swipe us, but through this process, Hagalaz tells us it is time for us to grow.  We are ready, whether we believe it or not.

The action in this draw, for this question of mindfulness and balance, is perfect - Kano, the Rune of Opening.  Remember that darkness that Nauthiz reversed told us about?  Well, that may well be where we are, but with our challenge being the forced growth of Hagalaz, Kano assures us that we are ready to step out of that darkness, cast off those things which are weighing us down, making us unhappy.  Kano provides two important perspectives to accomplish the step into the light.  First, Kano reminds us that, with more light, we can see things better.  This should make it easier to cast away those things which matter so little.  Kano's second point is that we must focus on our intention and make it clear.  This is how all new endeavors begin.

So, let's all take a moment to breathe, reflect and release those burdens that bring negativity into our lives.  What a wonderful way to start the week.