Alysse Aallyn

Category: #Warrior

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    1. Spring – Hope:

    If This Card Chooses You – You Have Reason to Hope. You Cannot Be Too Hopeful. Is Spring your favorite season? Do you dream of unfolding buds and exploding flowers? Is “the mustard seed” your favorite parable? Spring Always Follows Winter – after dormancy, now arrives the season best calculated to provide ideal conditions for growth. Spring is beginning, freshness, newness. It starts small – barely recognizable – the tiniest frond of green among the blackness, calling forth an answering shiver from somewhere deep inside us. We are told that very cell in our body replaces itself in seven years, so springtime is a constant within us. Hope courses through your body with every flush of oxygen and blood empowering our systems.

    Hope is Warriors’ fuel. Hope is eternal. Do you dream of uncovering buried truths? What is your quest? Will it ever be over? Hope is not about “resolution” but about envisioning a future you have a hand in promoting. You feel a sense of awe, but also ownership and some pride. This is YOUR discovery. Now you want to share it with the whole world.

    Warrior Challenge – Don’t waste your imagination on games. Games can be a training ground but all too often our society seeks to harness and entrap your energies onto a treadmill that benefits only the few. Your dreams, your aspirations, your thirst for knowledge, is wider than this. You know the complexities of the universe are even more amazing than anyone has guessed and you want to call attention to them. You need to learn how.

    Hope Is a Sacred Obligation – Life persists in spite of entropy, In spite of darkness, in spite of destruction. Life is a perpetual motion machine fueled by hope, and warriors are the priests of life.

    Warriors Nurture Hope and Pass It On – Hope is the condition of believing better things are possible. It is mandated by the fact that all growing things need nurturing if they are to flourish. Warriors are the mothers of the universe.

    Warrior Dangers – include tunnel vision, paranoia and megalomania. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Obsession becomes obvious when harms become visible. Don’t “give up” because you can’t seem to impose your vision on the world. Are you eating and sleeping? Maintaining your relationships? You can’t achieve bigtime without a team and you need to keep your team happy & nourished. Conflating the majesty of discovery with your own personal majesty – needing that majesty – separates you from human kind and that can’t go well. It blinds you. Paranoia seeds fears that others are stealing from you, riding on your coattails, tarnishing your legacy. But each patch of fresh ground leads to more discoveries. The astonishment – and the astonishers – never stop! Practice humility and gratitude. Aren’t you lucky to be a part of all this? Isn’t it wonderful?

    Warrior Opportunity – Assembling a “team” is critical. TEAM isn’t a formal concept and it doesn’t mean maintaining a payroll. It requires finding the energy to keep your hope alive while keeping it realistic in the community. This implies explaining yourself over and over, developing your idea. Allow others to offer the energy of their perspectives. Even when you see them as wrong-headed, they can operate as whetstones, sharpening our vision. Most important are supporters who catch a “contact high” from the joy of your insights. This happiness creates a nourishing environment that powers us forward. Move confidently in the direction of growth and away from diminishment.

    Models & Mentors – “Hope is being able to see there is light in spite of the darkness” – Desmond Tutu

    “What I try to cultivate is not blind optimism but radical hope” – Junot Diaz

    “Everything that is done in this world is done by hope” – Martin Luther

    “Only in darkness can you see the stars” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

    #Haiku: Altruism

    Crows call “Come Eat!”
    Across trees in hope
    Someday strangers
    Feed baby
    Crows.

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Aspiration – The Future:

    If This Card Chooses You – Time To Make a Plan. Time to focus your desires. Do you dream about the future? We know the future is real – it keeps arriving every second! But how often does it match our aspirations? Does that even matter?

    Warriors Aspire – To aspire means to yearn for something better, to be able to imagine something better and to begin to mentally create a pathway to improvement. To eternally yearn for improvement means the ultimate can never be reached, and it is the process itself – the devotion to that process – that becomes the religion of the Warrior.

    Warriors Plan – Nothing comes to reality without a Plan. This is a main argument for the existence of God – a Planner of bluebells and quasars seems so real to us and the scope of the universe, its chemistry, math & physics, so orderly. Even the people who see only “chaos” don’t actually want chaos in their own lives. Is our mind greater than the universe? Clearly not. No single brain has been able to encompass the universal design – not even Einstein’s. Wishing is helpless and works out so seldom it leaves us worse off. But plans evolve, along with us, and even when they fail, WE succeed. Edison said he hadn’t failed at anything, he simply found “ten thousand ways things don’t work.” That’s the “empiric method.” It’s called knowledge!

    Warriors Take an Active Role – Don’t bother investing pride and honor in being “right” – with a universe this complex, NOBODY’S right. Invest instead in having a good, flexible plan that evolves along with you. Plans are adaptable – they must borrow from all disciplines. Plans can be Art – art is what this universe IS – including the people in it. Give your Plan room to grow.

    Warriors Create a Future Worth Having – Without this effort all our futures would fade into entropy, a constant winding down into muck, inertia and dissolution. Understanding the Warrior’s commitment to betterment means accepting our obligation to advance the lives not only of ourselves and our loved ones, but unmet and even unborn others.

    Warrior Danger – Never forget Fundamental Attribution Error. There’s a lot of coincidence and happenstance, which is what the phrase “Being in the wrong place at the wrong time” expresses. So our plan must always be modified to deal with tragedy –the ongoing and universal tragedy of illness, war and disaster. Warriors try to avert these things, will continue learning how better to avert them – but everything isn’t up to us. There are perverse, dark forces at work that enjoy harm and destruction. We can’t become over invested in “winning” because we can’t see or know everything.

    Warrior Faith – This is where Faith comes in. Jesus said evil will not win, and that’s good enough for me. Find your own mantra to help you stay strong and to keep working on a healthier you by designing a healthy plan and promoting people around you who can make your plan better. You will also be contributing to their plans – and that’s gratitude. And love. Win-win!

    Self-Definition is a Joy – Even though the Ultimate can never be reached by in this lifetime and is always just ahead, it gives us a concept of Paradise we can work for. This work provides the deepest pleasure and connection between persons that is achievable on this planet.

    Models & Mentors – “The future is completely open and we are writing it moment to moment” – Pema Chodron

    “The future starts today, not tomorrow” – Pope John Paul II

    “A good education is the foundation of a better tomorrow” – Elizabeth Warren

    “An uncertain future is not oppressive when Hope guides us” – Charlotte Bronte

    #Haiku: Freshness

    Each nonpareil moment
    Liquefies,
    Cascades into
    Flowing future

  • Becoming a Warrior – The Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Persistence – Commitment:

    If This Card Chooses You – Don’t Be A Flibbertigibbet. Do you dream of rings? Tokens? Trophies? Collecting and collectibles? Antiques, graduations, pawn shops, art museums? Ceremonies? Awards? Rewards? You are longing for the symbols that consolidate desire. But desire is nothing without will. What is your conscious will? Subconscious? Unconscious? Collective conscious will? What ignites you? You are a creature of Now, a chip on the whirlwind, but you will soon manifest power over yourself and the future.

    Warriors Are Athletes – Our skills aren’t very good at first. We know there’s nothing “magical’ about becoming a pro! Who said it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be good at something? Isn’t that, like 27 years? In other words, when you really want something, you’re going to have to make a major life commitment to make this possibility a part of yourself.

    Warriors Hang In There – Being committed means you already know it will be difficult and you will have to push through. Warriors do their best to inform themselves of the challenges ahead and to brush up all their skills, but nothing substitutes for dogged day to day stick-to-it-iveness.

    Warrior Challenge – Are you up for sacrifice? Not many people are! You’re going to have to skip the easy, tempting treats – physical, spiritual, emotional – to satisfy the demands of your training. There’s really only one way to do this. You’re going to have to change into a person who LIKES and PREFERS the goal-driven lifestyle. It’s easier if the lifestyle’s not TOO restrictive. By that logic, you can see that it makes sense to start off slow and build – just like you would in the gym. No sense overwhelming tender muscles with weight they can’t handle!

    Warriors Never Surrender – Retreat is only a re-framing. You wait to see a better way to reach your goal. And sometimes new information makes for a goal change. No shame, there! This is the sign of lifelong learning. Warriors are life-long learners.

    Warrior Danger – There’s the risk that our self-control will be sabotaged. Addiction. Getting obsessed by something that may have started off healthy, even noble. Suddenly you’re in a downward spiral.

    Admit when you need help. Is your obsession interfering with work? Relationships? Health? Are friends and family intervening, starting to talk? When a commitment turns deadly – and we know even romantic relationships can do so – reach out to someone with a balanced perspective. Likely there’s a plan already developed to get you back on track without losing the gains you’ve already made.

    Warrior Opportunity – Persistence in a healthy commitment is the best path to transformation there is. You truly can become a different person, the person you always wanted to be, over time and in tiny steps. When I wanted to give up sugar, I consumed a lot of fake sugar at first, then less and less over time, until now I can’t believe I ever liked or was satisfied by that stuff – real or fake. My palate has changed, so has my health and so have I. That doesn’t mean I don’t eat the occasional wedding cake! I enjoy my new-made self, and so can you.

    Find a buddy on the journey – a tried and true pathway. Use mindfulness to examine cravings, release them and calmly set yourself free. Track everything in your Training Journal.

    Warriors Honor Their Contracts – Warriors make alliances and promises. Some promises conflict with each other. Some contracts we end up not wanting to fulfill but there is just no way out but through. Warriors know how to concentrate on the future and keep trying to negotiate win-win modifications to ease everybody’s ride.

    Models & Mentors – “Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent” – Steve Martin

    “Failure is a requisite for success. If you want to succeed, double your rate of failure”

    – Brian Tracey

    “Success is the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes on something others would give up on after thirty seconds” – Malcolm Gladwell

    “Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perseverance and self-criticism”

    – Albert Einstein

    #Haiku: Commitment

    Means you don’t give up
    Just because you want to
    Grit teeth
    Point jaw
    Plunge
    On

  • Becoming a Warrior – The Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Nurturing – Growth:

    If This Card Chooses You – Your caterpillar is bursting its cocoon. Have you been dreaming about pets? Little wild animals? Gardening? Shepherding projects through to completion? These are Nurturing dreams. Just like a child with totemic objects you long to care for another entity and encourage it to flourish to its fullest potential. You long to protect and succor and at the same time, protect, succor and nourish the lost, frightened, wild, shy, needy parts of yourself.

    Warriors are Anointed to protect the growth pattern of the universe. Through our bravery, intelligence and commitment we nurture the world and make the world safe for the magic of growth.

    Warriors Are Stewards – Anxious about climate change? Are you vegetarian or vegan? Find yourself enraged by animal abuse, factory farming and climate denial? Having nightmares about tsunamis and volcanoes? Do you see the whole of Mother Earth in your care?

    Warrior Challenge – You can stand up for your beliefs and test them. You will make a difference. Remember the legend of the one starfish the little girl saved? She couldn’t save all the starfish, but that one she freed made all the difference. Think about karma. Karma is your cosmic bank account. When that little girl gets to heaven and that starfish testifies, she is Good to Go.

    Warrior Danger – The only danger here is that you will forget to apply your own oxygen mask BEFORE you go seeking oxygen for everyone else! Rookie mistake! Also, a “gathering” signal to predators everywhere that you will neglect your own needs to give to others. A moment’s thought tells you this is a zero sum game where everyone, ultimately, loses. Replenishment is key. Give a man a fish and you have one less fish. Teach someone to fish and you’ve upgraded a human. Develop a method of fish replenishment and you’ve got a sustainable economy.

    Warrior Opportunity – Warriors balance the system. As in the fishing analogy, you are being offered endless chances for Learning, Invention and Creativity. You are lighting one candle after another in a very dark world, to the benefit of everyone who comes into contact with you.

    Warriors are Entitled – To be effective, Warriors must learn the paths of growth. Warriors become expert at detecting causes of destruction and disability. To see this, Warriors must acquire the Wisdom of the Ages, thus giving themselves the greatest benefit the universe can confer: becoming Visionaries and Old Souls who are the keepers of universal order.

    Warriors are Humble – The temptations of power are the number one cause of degradation, destruction and disablement. Warriors are constantly offered opportunities to interrupt the growth cycle and harm others. Humility keeps us sane, modesty keeps us honest and fellowship keeps us free.

    Receiving in Love, Warriors Will Be Received – Warriors are certain of their reward. When Love is the light you live by, you become a conduit for intergenerational, even interplanetary Love. Your faith ennobles you. The love of a child for trustworthy parents is the model Jesus set forth for our relationship to God.

    Models & Mentors – “The only limitation to our realization of tomorrow are the doubts of today” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

    “A tiny change today brings a dramatically different tomorrow” – Richard Bach

    “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, “I’m Possible.” – Audrey Hepburn

    “If a problem is fixable, there is no point in worrying. If a problem is not fixable, there is no point in worrying.” – The Dalai Lama

    #Haiku: Nurturing

    Loving attendant
    Blesses tender moment
    Refreshing
    Survival

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Meditation – Mindfulness:

    If This Card Chooses You – That means it’s time to access your Inner Wisdom and open your Third Eye. We may physically live in the Now, but it is our greatest good fortune as a species that we can enrich our present with powerful visions of past and future. In our dreams, we can expand this to universal pasts and futures. “Now” serves as the lens through which our Body stays focused. To be absent from the Now is to miss the key to ecstasy that is our birthright.

    Patience Multiplies Wealth – Wealth can be psychic, emotional, spiritual as well as physical, financial and actual. Eating unripe fruit robs us of our harvest. Therefore, we learn to settle into the Now, line up our Past, Present, Future with our Conscious, Subconscious, & Unconscious levels. It’s a trick we master through the practice of meditation, which is the opening the Third Eye. The first step is Emptying. Push your thoughts, memories, worries away. Concentrate solely upon your breath. If this is too hard, choose a mantra (such as “Thank You” or “Namaste”) or a piece of music without lyrics (Marconi Union’s Weightless is fabulous for this.) Just celebrate the emptiness, the Nothingness. As thoughts come to you, release them like balloons. Celebrate You.

    In the control of your own mind lies all freedom. Without it you are a slave, whatever the world may think. Buddhists call your mind a “wild horse” that must be tamed. Learn to greet the Now as an old friend who knits everything that is “you” – all the scattered psychic pieces – back together. You can FEEL the healing.

    Risk It – In our new digital world it’s very difficult to claim Time for yourself. Can you turn off all the flashing lights, the alerts, the signals, the seductions, the threats? You absolutely must learn to do that, you must feel “important” enough to do it. It’s a lifelong job that soon becomes a respite you greet as an old friend. Turns out, feeling entitled is the most difficult part of the task. Tell others, “This is my recharge time. It’s absolutely critical.” Twenty silent minutes per day. Alone. You. Finding Eternity – and the Eternal You – through the Now. It doesn’t come easily. It comes through your infinite willingness, your scrupulous patience, your holy dedication. Don’t give up on You.

    Give up your competitiveness. Nothing happens. Nothing happens. Nothing happens. Surrender your expectations. Push away the sadness, the depression, the loss, the anxiety, the rage, the worry. All can be released into the universe, floating away from you to pop harmlessly in the stratosphere. You are alone now with the infinite. Slowly you begin to feel the pleasure, an indescribable ecstasy in which your ordinary human body becomes incandescent. Suddenly you want better things for yourself. More sleep. Better dreams. Healthier food. A world of love and joyous possibility. Dip your toe in that completeness, twenty minutes per day. (Or more, if you can.) Now you have a glimpse of Heaven.

    Warriors Tune In to their Energy Source – Warriors learn to treasure their peaceful daily meditations as a source of strength. If you allow the pool of your mind to settle, you will be able to see deeply. I personally prefer eyes-closed meditation. Concentrate on your slow deep belly breaths. If a thought jumbles past, think the word, “Clear”. Keep breathing. Keep clearing. You will feel rooted to the soil, grounded on the earth. The energy will start to bubble through you.

    Warriors Stay Focused – Split focus – sometimes called “multi-tasking” – is the current work modality for a reason, and the reason is that it diminishes your psychic power. If you focus your full attention on anything or anyone, you will begin to feel the power flow between you and this object/idea/person. This is scary at first, but you will get used to it. Living beings (plants included) flourish under this attention and the connections that are made last forever.

    Warriors are Mindful – Understanding the power of the Now is your warrior strength. You are entirely here, entirely present in this moment. You have completely accepted your current incarnation. There will be time, alone with your Training Journal, to savor the past and call upon the future, but for this moment you know how to be entirely present in the Now. It is unbelievably powerful. It feels like Love.

    Models & Mentors – “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you become” – Buddha

    “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn how to surf” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

    “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a world where exhaustion is a status symbol” – Brene Brown

    ‘You are the silent watcher of your thoughts. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the joy beneath the love and pain” – Eckhart Tolle

    #Haiku: Meditation – Mindfulness

    Joyous
    Breath
    Supports
    Eternal now:
    Blossoms spirit;
    Sparks
    Thoughts,
    Shared
    Dance

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Waterfall – Change:

    If This Card Chooses You – You Instinctively Resist Stagnation. Your conscious mind seeks stasis, which it interprets as “security”, but your subconscious rebels. It demands change! In the meanwhile, outside of your awareness, your unconscious IS changing, evolving fiercely along with the drama playing out in the entropical human race. Tune in!

    Consult Your Dreams – Dreams signal a desire for change. When was the last time you had a falling dream? Or a rushing water dream? A surprise dream or an accident dream?

    Change Is Inevitable – Not just change, but revolution. Revolution is what we warriors are all about. Cultivate flexible thinking. Don’t invest psychologically in rigid, one-way requirements.

    Thought Exercise – What if everything were completely different? What if things turned upside down? This is the kind of planning and strategizing asked of warriors. What’s the “Last Best Option?” Shape your change towards growth by asking, is this making me a better, stronger person, or a more fearful person? More competent, less dependent, more unique, less compliant, more imaginative, less angry, more joyous, less envious? Evolve with me! Let’s streamline!

    Fundamental attribution error says we blame ourselves for world conditions over which we have no control. Check your guilt/anxiety levels. If they are raging, is there anything you can do to ameliorate the causative circumstances? Being without guilt or anxiety is NOT the goal – that would describe a sociopath! But being crippled by guilt OR anxiety when there’s nothing you can do about it is disabling. And we’re in the empowerment department here.

    Manage Your Evolution, or you’re headed downhill. Traveling ever upward along the spiral. What are the attributes you admire? Develop a picture of yourself as a wise being emitting light. Nurture calm, contentment, gratitude – in the midst of a thirst for new ideas and experiences to add to your expanding galaxy of knowledge.

    Be Ready for Anything – Play out the scenarios in your Training Journal. Have a plan A, B, C. Learn chess to help with thinking of several moves ahead. Ask others, “What would you do?” As you read/watch a piece of fiction, imagine yourself inside this problem. You can also learn a lot from history. Start a “What IF? Club” in which members dream up survival scenarios. Play the game Worst Case Scenario.

    Models & Mentors – “Progress is impossible without change” – George Bernard Shaw

    “Change is the law of life. Those who look only to past and present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy

    “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes after continuous struggle.” – Martin Luther King

    “It is not the strongest of our species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin

    #Haiku: Unwanting

    Curbing desire
    Won’t work;
    Evolving desire will.
    Admit it:
    We’ve changed

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle

    The Bridge – Discipline:

    If This Card Chooses You – You’ve fatally confused discipline with punishment and now feel too debilitated to escape. Uh oh!
    From our subconscious we summon a rescuer. That rescuer is OUR ESSENTIAL SELF. In dreams sometimes it’s a hero, a fictional or historic figure or a spirit animal. Try reading folk or fairy tales right before bed. Fall asleep imagining strengthening muscles – physical, spiritual, emotional – growing inside you.

    You are Jack AND the beanstalk! No giant can stand against you. Even the laziest, cruelest corner of the self ultimately collapses to reveal a Tiny Child yearning for effective mothering. Time to mother yourself.

    Discipline is the only path to achieving what we want. Nothing is achieved (or appreciated!) without discipline, which only means conforming your behavior to a previously conceived pattern. What ideas spring up when you think about this? Is “discipline” always cruel? Painful? Is it one of your fears? Or is it the map to the orderly life you long for?

    You Are Your Best Friend and Best Parent – Nothing works in your life until you learn delayed gratification and stick-to-itiveness. But first you must experiment with other patterns – some of which –depending on your upbringing – can be hellish. So you have THAT to get past. You will definitely need to harness all your dream power to get yourself over the finish line.

    Adapt discipline constantly to enhance thriving. But who’s doing the adapting – the Cruel Taskmaster, the Disgusted Lover, the Generous Parent or the Permissive Saint? You contain all these (and they live in your dreams) so which will you listen to? Who do you feed? The one with more power controls your future. Consult appealing patterns that have worked for others and blend to taste. Realize it’s a process; a series of moments. Develop a sophisticated discernment you can trust to guide you.

    Warriors Set Marks and Hit Them – Forming habits is easier than breaking them apart, so warriors know that preventing bad habits is the core of discipline. But bad habits sneak up on us, they will form anyway, so part of your discipline will always be turning away from something that was formerly pleasurable. Enjoy the peace that comes with each small step.

    Warriors Know How to Keep Going – Discipline is the bridge that gets you from where you are to where you want to be. Always use a “spotter” – a professional who’s “been there” and who can keep you from going over the edge.

    Warriors Celebrate Their Discipline – Self-acceptance comes from experiencing our humanity to the fullest. We are “parenting” our much-loved and respected self, the one who starts out as a toddler with no self-control whom we’re trying to keep out of the fire. Forgive yourself. And keep going.

    Make Discipline Visual – Charts, maps, graphs and lists that hearten & cheer are key to purposeful pathways. Figure out a way to picture your values. Checking off boxes and cherishing the “proof” of a successful day becomes your joy.

    Models & Mentors – “Through self-discipline comes freedom” – Aristotle

    “Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you going” – John C. Maxwell

    “All success begins with self-discipline. It starts with you.” – Dwayne Johnson

    ‘Day by day – what you choose, what you think, what you do, is who you become” – Heraclitus

    #Haiku: Discipline

    Discipline is
    Choosing
    Between what you want now
    And what you want
    Most

  • Becoming a Warrior – the Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Children – Legacy:

    If This Card Chooses You – Time to think about what you will leave behind when you’re gone. Dreaming of pregnancy? Parenthood? Do you fantasize nostalgically about your own childhood? Do you dream of establishing a foundation, benefiting the community? Do you dream of death, funerals, will-making? Your subconscious is considering the legacy you will leave behind – how to live on forever when you’re no longer here.

    You Are the Future – Contributing to forming and shaping young lives is a key way we “replicate”. Hearing your own ideas advanced and improved upon is a unique thrill. Generativity is the necessary completion of the formation of Self. Super-Therapist Erik Erickson posits “Generativity versus Stagnation” as the stark choice facing us as we grow older.

    Warrior Challenge – We’re usually full of criticisms of our own upbringing – behaviors we do NOT want to replicate. What would you change? What difference do you want to leave in the world? In our capitalist world we always think a legacy is “money” but money is a thorny gift. Think how easily it is lost, misused, wasted, stolen. A better legacy is wisdom: a codebook, “cheat sheet”, a treasure map, the ability to recognize and ENJOY treasure once it is located.

    Warrior Danger – We all know about the monomaniacs who want to rebuild the universe in their image. Their view of possibility is restricted to what THEY want, what THEY can do. Time to consider whether our Legacy is just an ego trip. Did we consult anybody else? Will this contribute to a universe others want, need and can enjoy?

    Warrior Opportunity – Once again we are offered a magical chance to increase our range, magnify our grasp and celebrate and share our unique joys and gifts. Leaving Granny’s plates or a recipe book to a relative in a will is so unrewarding compared to giving a party. Is there any way we can turn the struggles of ordinary existence into a joy for anyone else? Find out what others need. Think about your own luck and good fortune. Usually we can see a way the path can be smoothed for others. Then we can spend our golden years getting feedback (and usually thanks!) and fine-tuning. What a pleasure!

    Warriors Preserve Value – Warriors exist to increase safety where all living things can grow and flourish.

    Warriors Create Worth – In an atmosphere of respect, value is created. When humans are free to explore, imagination is unleashed. In a time of peace, playfulness and joy are prime.

    Warriors Understand Tradition – Warriors are hard-tested. They love to pass on what is valuable. Sharing skills and preventing common errors is the pride of their acquired wisdom. Our heirs are everyone on the planet.

    Warriors Enhance Sharing – understanding maps, history, techniques and strategies gives warriors a special interest in the experiences of others. You are never too old to learn.

    Warriors Deepen Relationships – It is beneficial for the young to see their elders’ humility as well as knowledge, kindness as well as determination and playfulness as well as persistence.

    Models & Mentors – “Every child is born a genius” – Buckminster Fuller

    “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children”

    – Nelson Mandela

    “Children make your life important” – Erma Bombeck

    “All kids need is a little help, a little hope and someone who believes in them” – Magic Johnson

    #Haiku: Hope Chest

    Halted at the steep cliff of 
Parental reason;
    Children
    Forge
    Launchpad.

  • Becoming a Warrior – The Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Earth – Resources:

    If This Card Chooses You – List your resources and prepare for a surprise. They’re always more than you think.

    Do you dream of wealth? Storehouses of goodies? Digging in the earth and finding treasure? Gold at the end of the rainbow? These are “resource” fantasies. In Warrior Oracle, the “Earth” card represents resources because Earth is the source of everything mortal that is valuable to us. Where we are born determines the very language we will use to quantify, remember and share our world.

    You are a Wealthy Heir – We are all born into fabulous possibility. However, the fear of emptiness and the dread of exclusion also start immediately. Focusing on the wealth we DON’T have prevents us from identifying the resources we possess now.

    Warriors Are Anointed – We are warriors BECAUSE we recognize the sacredness of the every day. One day while swimming, sailing, sunning, soaring or dreaming WE FELT THE UNIVERSE LOVE US BACK. We were anointed warriors in Her honor on that day.

    Let’s figure out what we’ve got going for us. Health? Youth? Sight? Hearing? Intelligence? Talents? Love? Education? Family? Community? Faith? Roof over head? Food on Table? Money coming in? People we can depend on? Is there a patch of sky where we can see the stars? Is there a patch of ground where we can see the flowers?

    Sheltering & Mustering Resources is Key – “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” says Shakespeare’s Richard III. But he doesn’t have a horse and his kingdom is lost. “A stitch in time”, etc. etc. Strategy is nothing without resources and resources are nothing if you waste them.

    Warriors Nurture What They Love – Warriors care for their equipment, their animals, their people and their environment.

    Warriors Cultivate and Improve – We bring gardens where once were deserts, we bring children where life was future-less, we speak to animals and we communicate with trees.

    Warriors Celebrate the Spirit of Life – We don’t mark joy with “getting wasted.” We nestle instead in the beautiful cradle of the universe we have helped to provide.

    Warrior Danger – There’s no question all our benefits can be improved upon. They are also subject to depredation, depreciation and degradation. It is a positive force to desire improvements, but it is dangerous to turn “wants” into rage.

    Warrior Opportunity – Often the one difference between happiness and misery is gratitude. Are you grateful for all you have been given? Do you feel lucky or fortunate in any way? To put things in perspective, lottery winners one year out are usually NOT AS HAPPY as those who have been in a serious accident one year previous!

    The secret is perspective. The lottery winners thought a pile of money would “solve” everything, the accident sufferers thought they were destroyed forever. Lottery winners learned how wrong they were about what they needed, while accident sufferers were focused on what they still had and what new caring relationships came into their lives. Begin to cultivate a practice of gratitude. It starts with a “Thank You.”

    Models & Mentors – “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” – Carl Sagan

    “I only feel angry when I see waste, people throwing away things we could use” – Mother Teresa

    “Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s need but not everyone’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi

    “The Earth has music for those who listen” – Shakespeare

    “Earth sustains us and we must sustain her” – Chief Dan George

    #Haiku: Delayed Gratification

    Lifetime threat dodging and
    Garden planting
    Grants pleasure
    Embracing
    Now

  • Becoming a Warrior – The Warrior Oracle by Alysse Aallyn

    Age – Wisdom:

    If This Card Chooses You –You require an experienced hostage negotiator to help free you so it is time to make peace with your elders. Have you been dreaming of old people? Funerals? Aging in general? Dreaming of gurus atop mountains? Buddhas, caves, palaces of wisdom? Or are you fixating on a specific elder who had an influence – bad or good – on your young life?

    Warriors’ Effort Is Sacred – Failure is when you don’t try. Experience is the great teacher. Bad Judgment leads to Experience which leads to Wisdom which leads to Good Judgment.

    You Are Wiser Than You Know – Contrast elders you admire with those you avoid. Aren’t the latter complainers who stress to everyone they meet what a bad hand life has dealt them? They complain about their health, politics, the weather, other people – whatever crosses the windscreen of their increasingly tightening minds. In their world children never call, doctors don’t help, media is lying, weather’s getting worse, food is adulterated and we are all going to hell. This person is clamoring ever more loudly for ego strokes without apparently noticing the discomfort and distaste of those around them. Rather than trying a new strategy, they step up their whingeing.

    Read the room! Is what you want to scream at them but you realize they can no longer “learn.” This is the opposite of wisdom. This is senility. A brain is shutting down, a personality is beggared and no one wants to be around it.

    Think of an elder you admire. Nelson Mandela, Joe Biden, Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, Pema Chodron, the Pope? These persons are Ego-Less. Someone who talks about others, not themselves. They authentically care for others. They discuss ideas rather than gossip and have a long memory of problems, solutions, trial and error. They keep themselves “young” in all the ways that matter. People flock to them.

    There’s an old Cherokee story about how each of us is born with a good wolf and a bad wolf inside of us. The one that gets stronger and takes control is the one you feed. Your challenge is to figure out how to practice your increasing wisdom every day. Accepting your dreams and encouraging their deepening understanding is the beginning of wisdom.

    The pursuit of gurus is inherently dangerous because there are a lot of con artists out there seeking hostages and slaves. Avoid dominance/submission games and people who use:

    1. Projection – People unwilling to see their own shortcomings use everything in their power to avoid being held accountable. Projection is a defense mechanism used to displace responsibility of one’s negative behaviors by attributing them to someone else. It acts as a digression avoiding ownership and accountability.
    2. Nonsensical conversations from hell – Word salad, circular conversations, ad hominem arguments, projection and gaslighting will disorient you and get you off track should you ever disagree with them or challenge them in any way.
    3. Blanket statements and generalizations –
    4. Misrepresenting your thoughts and feelings to the point of absurdity 
    5. Nitpicking and moving the goal posts 
    6. Changing the subject – never discussing the elephant in the room
    7. Covert and overt threats 
    8. Name-calling – stigmatizing, patronizing, labeling
    9. Destructive conditioning – They condition you to associate your strengths, talents, and happy memories with abuse, frustration and disrespect. They do this by sneaking in covert and overt put-downs about the qualities and traits you once idealized as well as
    10. Sabotaging your goals, ruining celebrations, vacations and holidays. They may even isolate you from your friends and family and make you financially dependent upon them. Like Pavlov’s dogs, you’re essentially “trained” over time to become afraid of doing the very things that once made your life fulfilling.
    11. Smear campaigns and stalking 
    12. Playing the Martyr or victim
    13. Demands Immediate Unthinking Fealty – When someone stresses the fact that they are a “nice guy” or girl, that you should “trust them” right away or emphasizes their credibility without proof, be wary.
    14. Baits and badgers you – Then feigns innocence
    15. Boundary testing – You are not allowed to have boundaries or even triggers
    16. Aggressive jabs disguised as jokes 
    17. Condescending sarcasm and superior tone 
    18. Belittling, degrading, shaming

    Our Scars Are The Definition of Beauty -You can see this is all about Control. Avoid those who seek to control or dominate you. Revered Elders such as those mentioned above would not do that.

    Warriors Know Their Allies – Warriors don’t fear becoming experienced. We seek it. People come and go, but the right ones stay. Time shows you the difference between the strength and honor of another’s heart. Warriors share their knowledge.

    Warriors Can Read the Signs – If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Train yourself to trust yourself. You can read and write maps, you can interpret Nature, you see Red Flags before they wave for others.

    Warriors Earn Peace – Random acts of kindness make everyone feel better. Warriors’ “can do” attitude spreads peace. Warriors welcome other peaceful spirits. We challenge the troubled to take their drama elsewhere.

    Models & Mentors – “You can’t control the wind but you can learn to adjust your sails.”

    – Jimmy Dean

    “It always seems impossible till it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

    “Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens” – Jimi Hendrix

    “I am thankful to those who said No. Because of them, I did it myself.” – Albert Einstein

    “Experience is not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you.”

    – Aldous Huxley

    “It is never too late to be who you might have been” – George Eliot

    ‘Wisdom is the journey no one can take for us” – Marcel Proust

    #Haiku: Noble Heart

    Sit
    In peace
    Regift
    The rubble of your life:
    Wreckage
    Belongs to All.