Four of Swords - The Antidote to Self-Doubt - The Authentic Turn-On

Tomorrow I have an ultra sound. I've been stressing about it, along with the impending Winter, which of course is such a useless waste of my energy. I get frustrated and impatient with myself when I worry, and start spinning my wheels.
So after some reflective reading I've come to a more peaceful place in my mind, and am feeling better in knowing I can trust myself to be strong and overcome my self-doubt.

Something I received this morning was these wise words of Regena Thomashauer ( Mama Gena ). I don't know where she finds this wisdom, but I am grateful she does because her words, are timely and much appreciated. The email was about the antidote to self-doubt, and this morning I drew the Four of Swords, that indicates the following. characteristic behaviours.

• Inner reflection
• Balance
• Clarity of thought
• Wholeness
• Contemplation
• Letting go
• Introspection
• Inner vision

Here is what Regena Thomashauer means by having an authentic turn-on, and it is the antidote to self-doubt.

"But the experience of authentic turn-on goes much, much deeper:

• You feel a sense of your own aliveness and your life force
• You know that your spirit and your body are one
• Your native enthusiasm is intact
• Your ability to reach for pleasure is on—especially when it seems hard
• You’re in your right mind and your highest power
• You’re you—full, complete and whole

Once planted in her authentic turn-on, a woman begins to grow. Kind of like the way you just trust a tree to grow.

A turned on woman learns she can deeply trust herself. She pays attention to her desires, and treats them as her road map.

Indecision vaporizes.
 
She can truly feel her deep yes and her deep no.
She relaxes into the unknown, rather than forcing or muscling her way through life.
She knows she can handle obstacles, and understands that each one forces her to expand in new ways.
She experiences the divine in everything, especially herself.

Within you, within me and within each woman is the source of our own power. 
 
She is our antidote to shame, and the wellspring of our deepest intuition.
She is our divinity, our spiritual center, the timeless point of our attraction, and our power source.
She teaches us that our joy is serious business.
She is anchored to our truth.
She teaches us our unshakable confidence."



The divinity and our spiritual center Regena Thomashauer speaks of, is The Empress, the Great Earth Mother.

Four of Swords - Reflection

My immediate impression of this card, the Four of Swords is one of the wholeness that comes from being centered through meditation, giving focus and clarity of thought.

The breath is essential for relaxation, because we need more that 80% of our oxygen for our brains to function properly and this gives us the ability to concentrate. Many of us breath shallowly from  the top of our lungs instead of diaphragmatic breathing which gives an optimum amount of oxygen.

The Four of Swords brings the four directions and the four elements to my mind, all that give balance, and strength. In the business of life it is more often than not, that we either think we can't, or don't take or make the time to get centered so we can find some good, orderly, direction, through withdrawal and reflection. It is a good habit to develop and one of the main reasons I have journaled for over thirty years.

Here is Oretes is in exile in Phocis. He has been forcibly exiled, regardless is peaceful and contemplates the four swords set in a pattern before him. Whether we are forced into some kind of exile or if it is voluntarily, we can choose to take advantage of this time for reflection, meditation and some self-examination, and hopefully return as a better person.

I think of Nelson Mandela who spent so many years in exile, only to return to society as a person who set a great example and mentor to so many.

"Especially for those of us who lived in single cells, you had the time to sit down and think, and we discovered that sitting down just to think is one of the best ways of keeping yourself fresh and able, to be able to address the problems facing you, and you had the opportunity, also, of examining your past." - Nelson Mandela

The World - Transcendence

Wow, I drew the World this morning! This card always makes me feel good. It gives a great sense of wholeness, represents spiritual rebirth, and transcendence. I believe we are always transcending in one way or another. Some of us are moving at a faster pace, some slower, and at varying times, and stages. It's not a competition, thank God for that.

Achievement and integrating our mind, body, and heart  is what connects us to the Divine, enabling us to  experience life as being fully alive.

The World is an ideal goal rather than something that we can completely possess. This card brings us back to the bond and connection with the Fool's journey of discovery, through the opposing forces of one's human nature, the conscious and unconscious.

The great cycle ends where it begins, like the World Snake, completing the circle. Just when we think we have arrived, another challenge along our life journey arises, and we continue to grow and change.

The world and what is happening in it, can weigh us down, if we let it, depending on our perception and our attitude. I am most fond of this quote that I am happy to share with you.

" Wearing the world as a loose garment means not being upset by the surface wrongness of things but feeling deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose of the universe"