Create An Authentic Life

It is meaning to our lives that we look for. We strive to give purpose to the circumstances we find ourselves in from moment to moment. Street Tarot serves as a frame of mind to view the world and glean information about your experiences. Awareness in the everyday waking state can expand if operated with insights arising from meaningful coincidences, our collective unconsciousness and your psyche. Armed with an inventory of traditional symbolic attributions and personal signs and wonders, you can better assess matters and make plans to shape your unique future.

Street Tarot is a mental tool to sharpen your awareness. Its utility relies on your curiosity, to do research, and to pay attention to your dreams and synchronistic occurrences, or those seemingly improbable but highly meaningful coincidences. Also, contemplate symbols which resonate with you, don't feel threatened by the non-ordinary instead learn from it, look deeper into your affinity to fictional or mythic characters, and notice when you well-up with a positive emotion. Permit these types of phenomenon and sensations to come to the forefront and then act on your insights and intuitions. I followed my inner voice of wisdom and symbolic trails to become a hand bookbinder and then master six divine directives. One was to become a lawyer and I fashioned my career as a federal criminal appeals attorney after Sherlock Holmes. If you don't already know, he is the world's first consulting detective and a fiction. Meanwhile, that legal practice of mine laster almost 14-years. So, whether you’re concerned about the next 5-minutes or have a long term plan, it is paramount to put your new found knowledge into operation. Talk to people and share with them about your multi-faceted realms of experience. With details from your archetypical makeup, your dreamscapes, personal heroes, and symbols, you're more able to evaluate and discern the next step to create an authentic lifestyle for yourself.

"You must have self confidence, no matter where you are" is a quote attributed to Ip Man, a Grandmaster Martial Artist and teacher of Bruce Lee. However, it is not easy to be so self assured. Life changes, conflicts occur, there are disappointments, seemingly few rewards, sad times and unfairness in the world. The going can get rough, which makes Street Tarot a continuing endeavor. You may feel you're in a rut or almost defeated without a well worn path to follow. I am fortunate to have a loving and supportive family, but it happens to me too. Not being a pious person, I must develop my faith and the fortitude to stay true to myself. When inclined to abandon my efforts, an affirmation pushes me forward, "The Divine will help me make a way where there seems to be no way. The Divine helps me take the right turn in the road".

A key component to Street Tarot is to acknowledge "the self does not stop at the skin”. I first heard the phrase from Charles Laughlin, an anthropology professor at Carlton University, in Ottawa, Canada, who was integral to my academic and mystical growth. I implicitly understood what his saying meant. As an identical twin there is a seemingly ethereal bond between my sister and me. It extends to all of us and joins us to each other. Because the mind is non-local, we are not completely contained in our brain or by our skin. We are social beings, who do not naturally hibernate or stay alone for long periods of time. For sure, aloneness can reveal us to ourselves. In some instances it is a must. But loneliness is a difficult way to know oneself. Apparently, a more attractive approach is through the “Other’.

Street Tarot relies on this transpersonal connectedness to receive impressions, and then make inferences. Some believe we are thusly joined to all sentient beings. Utilizing Street Tarot's methodology will create compassion for all life forms and forge a moral compass to further guide you. With a proper attitude new non-human associations can "come alive" to aid in the "reading" of a symbol or coincidental event. Although everyone has the capacity to be a tarot card reader, many do not have the time or inclination to do so. You don't need to. Street Tarot is a term of mine. A professional reader for over 40-years, I do suggest getting a good reference book such as; J.C Cooper's 'An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols'. Along with some research and lots of practice you can develop your own subjective meanings to enhance common interpretations. I'll post some insights at the first of each month here too, or more if current events require a posting. So, please check-in.

A second key element is to be ruthlessly honest with yourself. This means a healthy dose of skepticism is recommended. For Street Tarot to really work learn to trust your intuition. Don't let stupidity run deep and delude yourself about what's meaningful and what is not. The tarot card often associated with delusions is the Moon, which cannot generate it's own light and is either dark or reflective of the sun. In practical terms if your insights are not based on credible grounds than you're in the dark and headed for trouble unless you act discerningly. Here are two examples to illustrate my point: 1) if your ex-boyfriend now suddenly parts his hair on the left, it isn't necessarily a symbolic gesture to get back together after a17-year breakup; and 2) if a person tells you the wind said the 2020 election was stolen because Dominion voting machines were rigged by Venezuelans to favor Joe Biden, you should reconsider them reliable.

Street Tarot engages with the ‘Other’ to learn, grow, and blossom, not to deceive and defraud people. Requisite to forming a relationship with another is to first perceive them, focus on the moment, and then contemplate on whether to integrate them directly or symbolically into your life. In this co-dependent sense of process, we must see each other as having a soul, that spark of divine light. Animals, birds, plants have a soul too, and even the most evil person has a smidgen of one. Most important is to try to honor all beings. In Hebrew this is known as Kavod, which translates directly as weight; as in giving weight or honor, and respect. Kavod is a mysterious word because it also recognizes the glory of God. It implies transcending a personality consumed with self-centeredness to acknowledge the ‘Other’. Of course, to wholesomely honor yourself is a must.

Street Tarot

Spark of Light!

Statistics are in. A high percentage of Americans feel lonely. Although a majority of government mandated shutdowns occurred over 2-years ago, people established new ways of living; such as working from home, and relying on TikTok to stay connected. I was ready when Covid forced us into the proverbially "cave". I am always ready. Perhaps, many of you feel the same. Our inner universe is compelling and vast. We know that darkness is not the absence of light but a thing in and of itself that can helps us see even a speck of luminosity. Similar to a contemplative monk or rabbi, we find some comfort in shutdowns and take the opportunity to focus on our internal work. For me, it's through Torah studies, teaching myself Hebrew, and delving into The Zohar or Book of Radiance, an important Kabbalistic text, and other sources.

There are benefits to shutting out the world but the Covid pandemic had a harsh reality. Broadcasts of death tolls caused by the virus reached globally into the millions. People became afraid. I was fearful too. This is when aloneness turns into loneliness, darkness becomes a scary place, and troubles begin. The tragedy also created an ethical dilemma for many, as it did for me. Mine concerned a budding career as a nationally recognized self-published author, and wanna-be marketing maven snipped short. I cut it short. The reluctance centered around promoting my book whose title contains the word “death” while the victims of Covid were skyrocketing, even though my true crime story with a mystical twist contains a powerful message. But that was then. Now, I am called to share my spiritual insights.

While deep in study something seemingly miraculous can arise. In the metaphorical dark cave of contemplations an oh so fleetingly flicker of light appears. It is a flash of awareness. One's mind fills with new ideas. I can feel a flow of heightened energy coursing through me. My body heats up in its rush. To fully appreciate this phenomenon of pure joy, derived from a keener understanding, one might have to shut out the world. Closing off can help us to be aware of the subtle, sublime spark.

Kabbalists say those flashes of insight are how we perceive God's presence. This feminine aspect of the Divine is known as the Shekhinah or dwelling, amongst us. We all have the capacity to enhance our awareness to see her, the flicker of light, if our intention is to do so. One's state of mind must be factored in. Only then can the spark of light, or “ah ha” moment be noticed, be seen. Only then can the possibility of a new comprehension be furthered, otherwise it’s potential may be lost. Whether we are making art, practicing law, a creative scientist, a seeker, or writer, our perception is what matters. The spark can come while contemplating and studying inside the cave, or from our dreams, meditations, musings, revelations, and synchronistic occurrences. The lightbulb in your head can turn on and enlightenment may come while on a walk in nature, playing music, attending a great lecture, or talks in studies groups. The process is of little importance if you do not pay attention.

Honestly, it's not always easy or fascinating in the cave. The isolation seems to have stayed with me long after the Covid shutdowns were lifted. In that loneliness, my thoughts were consumed with personal disappointments. They manifested through obsessive compulsive loops; my memory dredged up past mistakes, ruminated about hurtful words said by others, or my own missteps, and basic stupidity. Kabbalah calls this worrisome state of being, Tikkun HaNefesh, or correction of the soul. It's an essential step in repairing the world, Tikkun Olam. First we must scrub our psychic-mind-body clean of negativities, harmful traits, or disease. We must try to undertake this in a healing manner with an attitude of loving-kindness towards ourselves, rather than mimic a brutal prosecutor, judge, or prison warden. We must move forward, out of the past. Psychically bleeding, like a warrior wounded in battle, we remain undefeated and undeterred in our spiritual studies, meditative practices and rituals. I've studied Torah since childhood and know contemplation and self-reflection are good habits. However, there are sad effects from over-thinking and giving hospitality to other people's negativity.

In early February, I was ordained as a minister in the Universal Life Church. My calling is to teach an accessible and practical Kabbalah through an honest and intimate look at my spiritual studies and practices. Hopefully, up-coming monthly blog posts will help guide others to follow their sensibilities and see the signs and wonders in their lives. There is a soul-component to our experiences if we stop to recognize and "read" the moment. This is what I call Street Tarot.

Street Tarot

Why I Am Thrilled To Be a 2020 NIEA Finalist

Insight Institute Press is the imprint of author and publisher, Myra Mossman.

My thirst for knowledge and understanding goes hand in hand with reading, and my love of books. It goes all the way back to when I was a little kid standing in front of the stationary and journals section of our local department store. I fantasied about being an author. Eventually, I grew up to become a hand bookbinder, a paper restorer, and then write legal briefs as an attorney in my federal criminal appeals practice. But writing a memoir is different, which drove me to study and take creative non-fiction writing classes. After many drafts, I worked closely with my editor. Then I was ready.

I knew what I wanted. Thoughts of handing over my voice to a book agent, or creative control of the cover designs and interior aspects of my memoir made me feel unwell. Nor did I want to let a publishing house define the marketing content and strategy. So I collaborated with professionals and became an independent book publisher.

This is why being a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards is such a honor. It recognizes high-quality writing plus the whole look of the book, "excellent presentation in every facet of the final published product." Also, I am thrilled my memoir is a 2020 NIEA Finalist in the true crime category. It is a highly competitive genre these days.

My Random Death-A Memoir is a 2020 NIEA Finalist -True Crime Category