Last night I read Tarot cards for graduating seniors at a local High School. It was a typical graduation event; lots of students lined up eagerly awaiting a turn, allowable time per reading becoming more compressed as the night wore on so I wouldn't have to turn away anyone already in line.
The issues were typical of graduating seniors about to embark on their new post-high school lives. What did college and their futures hold? In a few cases, it was an upcoming stint in the Marines that beckoned.
But a typical and exceedingly popular topic was "relationships." In some cases, the student was in an active relationship, in others, the student was going through a dry spell.
But I recall a piece of advice I had offered to one young woman inquiring about her future with her partner. She had a lot of ambivalence and she was looking for guidance.
The three cards she pulled were the Queen of Cups reversed, the 9 of Pentacles upright and the Knight of Swords reversed. Her emotional energy fueled the relationship and afforded it with whatever stability it had, but she was getting nothing back. As a result she was feeling drained.
I asked what she was feeling when she was with her partner. And how did she feel afterwards and how did she feel when she anticipated the next contact? Did she feel comfortable or did she feel guarded? Did she feel tight or did she feel at ease?
I advised her that people who truly care about you look out for your interests and are interested in your well-being. You won't worry about what you say or how you look because you are accepted.
Young adults on the cusp of high school graduation have had limited life experience and they feel the pull of hormones. They are still figuring out who they are and where their place is in the world. These factors make it difficult to look at a relationship objectively.
And then there is social pressure from peers, and sometimes family, to be part of a pair.
Such a person is to be excused if he or she can't hear themselves think. But 18 year-olds are hardly the only people to have such difficulty.
Taking note of your body's reactions and your emotions will cut through the noise. In the Abraham-Hicks material this is called paying attention to your emotional guidance system."
When you feel trust and acceptance your body responds by being relaxed, comfortable, at ease. You feel contented, happy. But if you find yourself feeling angry and on-edge, you are reacting to poor and disrespectful treatment even if it is cloaked in sweet words. If you close down, tense up, start to feel guarded... pay attention. Your emotional guidance system is giving you a warning.
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