Greetings Sunny Buddies,
As I begin to write today, the sun is streaming in my window. Just lovely!
There is something so powerful about sunlight. It lifts our spirits as it brightens and warms our day. Sunshine carries messages of love from the Divine to nurture us and sustain our optimism. In this moment, I invite you to sit back, relax into this gift, and know that it is unconditional. A big smile as I see you sitting with your face turned to the sun.
Divination Cards as a Source of Inspiration
As I was thinking about messages from the Divine, I looked over to my bookshelf. My eyes alighted on an array of inspirational cards that I have collected over the last 30 years or so. The cards evoke curiosity and inquiry that can help me be more at ease with my current reality. I love them!
Divination cards assist us in moving beyond the rational and in touching into more intuitive aspects of ourselves. They usually combine a beautiful image with related words and phrases that encourage us to question what might be going on for us. The messages guide us to consider what is possible to bring more balance to our lives.
And they are fun to do. Here is a wee selection that I like:
Angel Cards by Cathy Tyler and Joy Drake
Ask and it is Given by Ester & Jerry Hicks
Animal Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams & David Carlson
The Mayan Oracle Cards by Ariel Spilsbury & Michael Brynes
Do you have any favourite inspiration cards that you would like to share?
As always, I would love to hear from you:)
Flower Spirit Cards from Melanie Eclare
When my Mum-in-Law, Joyce Kell (1920 - 2016), approached her ‘passing’ time, she could get a bit agitated. We appreciated what she was going through. It was not for us to tussle with her over her frustrations with ageing. We wanted to have loving ways to be with her that were not about ‘fixing’ her situation.
I wondered how best I could help her.
One day, it came to me to gift her a Flower Spirit Cards pack by the amazing garden photographer Melanie Eclare. David and I met Melanie, and her husband Tom, in 2011 on a trip to attend the annual Danish Summer Prayer Dance. In 2014 we went to Totnes to visit with Carlos and Sue, who introduced us to Melanie and Tom. They took us to a beautiful bookshop called Arcturus, and it was there that they pointed out Melanie’s cards. The cards are a delight. The photography is stunning. The wisdom that Melanie captured of each flower’s spirit is profound.
Mum-in-law was very diligent. Every morning after her breakfast, she would draw her card for the day. She would often report to us the guidance she had received and how she was going to be for the day. The delight in her was lovely to see. They gave her a focus for each day. I marveled that at age 95, she was open and curious about what the card meant for her.
It was not always positive. Joyce would sometimes wrestle with the card. For example, with the Californian Poppy above, the message from the flower is;
‘I look for the best in everyone and everything.’
Like many of us, she would not always be able to do this. What the card enabled us to do was be with her exploration of the challenge in a more gentle and appreciative way. The conversation was between her and the flower rather than with us — a delightful process.
It was with real sadness that we heard of Melanie’s passing in 2016. I wish I could have told her the joy her wisdom cards brought to our family and me — what a remarkable legacy.
Four Card Spread
In a four-card spread, the process begins with finding a question that feels worthy of exploration. Then you move to select four cards for the Past, the Present, the Future, and the True Self. There are 44 cards in the pack divided into four sets of eleven:
Bulbs: The Past
Annuals: The Present
Perennials: The Future
Wildflowers: The True Self
In the process, you lay the cards in front of you, close your eyes, and run your hands over each group of cards to find a vibrational match for the spread's four aspects.
Here is a bit of fun I had today with the four-card spread above to the question.
Where next for The Sunny Optimist?
The Past (Top)
I experience freedom by becoming aware and having compassion.
The white flower is called the Nomocharis, which Melanie says 'oozes contentment, liberty, and openness.'
When I stepped into writing The Sunny Optimist six months ago, I moved out of feeling trapped by the lockdown. I was not alone, and I was out in the world in contact with friends and family. I was free to be me and much more aware of how we are coping with life as it is at the moment.
The Present (Right)
I find a deep connection with spirit by accessing my vulnerability.
Here the flower is the Opium Poppy which talks about 'feeling safe enough to reveal our whole selves.'
Now that is interesting. With The Sunny Optimist, I am putting myself out into the world and sharing my stories. I sometimes wonder what people think of me, but I am more connected and alive from this adventure than I would have ever thought possible. Being vulnerable is not a weakness.
The Future (Bottom)
I deserve exuberance and joy in my life.
The Lychnis speaks of 'mischevious delight and stillness within.'
I recognise that I have the joy of considering myself a writer. I feel very settled in this identity, and it makes my heart sing. My passion for The Sunny Optimist remains a constant source of delight. The new ideas I have for 'where next?' is exciting and takes me into the stretch of technology which is a lovely sizzle in my life.
True Self (Left)
Beyond Resistance, I find my own bliss.
The Ox Eye Daisy says to surrender to life to 'access a deep calm and tranquility.'
I have learned to appreciate that to surrender is to move beyond fear to a certainty that all is well. As I head for being 70 this year, I know that I have let go of my achiever patterns and habits. The success I seek for The Sunny Optimist is the ongoing friendships that it brings me.
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And so for this week, I am complete:) Any comments always welcome.
Ann
We are headed soon to our new volunteer commitment at the park near us, Easter Lake. We are on the garden care volunteer group that cares for all the flower gardens in the park. We love the park. It provides so much joy, interaction with nature, opportunity for exercise.
I’ll let you know about the cards. Thank you!!!!
Hmmm. The flower cards are sweet, simple and thought provoking. Thank you for introducing me to them. I have played with the Animals Medicine cards and another called The Way of the Horse by Linda Kohanov and Kim McElroy.
We are still having snow fall here in Montana and expect some again this coming week, so the idea of spring flowers is something we here are all longing to see. Thank you for bringing a bit of flower energy into my day.
Warm wished Christine