The Hermit Now

 The Hermit: In the NOW and what is

 

Someone told this joke recently: “A man goes to his Guru and asks: ‘What is the meaning of life’? The Guru answers and says, ‘I don’t know, the internet is down.’” One of the definitions for The Hermit card in Tarot is about a person who meditates on “the meaning of life.” Usually, we think of a hermit as a person who withdraws from busy societal activities, family goings on, etc. (and the internet).We envision an isolated person who sits in meditation or contemplation somewhere in a cave seeking enlightenment. In modern Tarot interpretation, such as Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness, to receive The Hermit card in a reading is to consider what it means to be an illumined person on the path to self-knowledge; one who seeks liberation from any mental charades and travesties of one’s internal “monkey mind” whirling around in their head. It means taking time-out from the usual hubbub of daily routines in order to rejuvenate oneself and to ponder the deeper meaningof life—the what is.

Upon return, one is refreshed with new inspiration and wisdom to share with others. 

 

“As an emblem of personal development rather than a guide, The Hermit symbolizes the idea that only by withdrawing from the outer world, can we awaken the inner self.”

Rachel Pollack, 78 Degrees of Wisdom(Aquarian Press 1980)

Meditation:

The ideal condition for understanding oneself is found in experiencing the transformation achieved through meditation and mindfulness. By aligning oneself in oneness with the Universe, we find a much bigger, grand, cosmic concept of life beyond “little ole me.” The aim of meditative practices in Buddhism and other similar traditions, is liberation from the limited confines and acquired attitudes of the Ego-self. By concentrating on silencing the endless jittery, chattering of ones’ internal thought processes, we can break away by meditating in a tranquil state of stillness and calmness. The intention of meditating is to understand and conquer the demanding impulses of desire: “—I want—I need—I wish for, gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!” (And give it to me right now!) In the best sense, everyone needs an occasional meditative retreat as a respit from worldly goings on. When you find the right place for meditation, begin to work on overcoming any anger and fear: such as fear of responsibility, fear of failure, fear of people, or anger and fear of just living one’s daily life. This is your opportunity to get in touch with the reality of every moment—to live in the NOW. So, what are you doing right now?

 

“Thinking is at the base of everything. It is important for us to put an eye of awareness into each of our thoughts…If we create true harmony within ourselves, we will know how to deal with family, friends, and associates.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, For a Future to Be Possible (Parallax Press, 1993)

 

 Liberation from mental intrusions comes when you are in a state of timeless contemplation and
the “monkey mind” is no longer babbling away—freeing one’s effort to overcome distorted thinking, desires and greed. Then, “much ado about nothing” is gone. By counting the breaths in meditation, a Yogi or Swami renounces the daily churning of events and seeks liberation from the unreal world of Samsara and illusions. The Buddha lived in hidden seclusion in a forest for years where he dealt with the deeper causes of suffering. In Buddhist teachings, everything in the life of the self is temporary, impermanent. “Here today and gone tomorrow,” so to speak. In Christian meditative practice, we hear stories of the struggles of Saint Anthony (251-356) who meditated in a cave in the desert. Here, he dealt with outlandish temptations from devious monsters spinning in his mind and, later, he wrote about his liberating experiences in a book: The Sayings of the Fathers. 

Hermit by Hieronymus Bosch

(See my previous blogs on The Hermit: The Path to Enlightenment (11/17/2011 and The Hermit and Monsters (01/04/2018)

 

Mindfulness:

When you are sitting quietly in contemplation, ask yourself: “What are the only things I am experiencing”? You are breathing, and you never stop breathing (unless you have departed from this existence). Your heart is beating. Your mind is probably filled with inconsequential thoughts, and you can hear sounds in the background. That is the reality of your meditative focus. Nothing else. As you count the breaths, focus on gratitude for the blessings of the gifts of Life and become aware of all the day-to-day processes we take for granted. To arrive at a peaceful state of mind, you need to be in touch with the reality of the present moment through the logic of practicing mindfulness. Ask yourself: “What is happening right now”? This process consists of calming the busy, noisy, inner mind in silence. Rehearsing old memories of the past that no longer exist is not the present reality. Drumming up fears for the future and imagining circumstances that might “would a/could a” happen is not the present reality. Your only reality is to be mindful of what is happening now and just live in the constantly changing NOW moment—which is.

 

“What is important is to keep our mind high in the world of true understanding and, in returning to the world of daily experience, to seek therein the truth of beauty.”

“This basic form of meditation is concerned with trying to see what is.”

“In fact, it is the very essence of meditation”

“Blue sky consciousness”

Chogyam Trungpa, Meditation in Action (Shambala, 1969)

 

Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness:

Triple Spiral 

            The painting of The Hermit card in the Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness deck, was inspired by research and views of ancient megalithic sites such as the interiors of the New Grange Tomb in Ireland and the Gavrinis Passage Tomb in Brittany. Inside, the inner walls are lined with great stones which are covered with swirling, spiral carvings. From the ancient past to today, on the Solstice, December 21^st, the midwinter sunrise shines into the tombs and illuminates the spiral designs on the walls. Spring is on its way! The timing and placement of the tombs and spiral carvings seem to show early people’s awareness of celestial phenomena. Mother Earth’s natural forces are bringing new light—and those people may have recognized the seasonal indications that life is cyclical and celebrated the promise of renewal of each new year. 

  

The Hermit TOCC

In the profound book, Meditations on the Tarot, (Penguin Putman, 1993) the “Anonymous Author,” says about The Hermit: 

“…he has the faculty of separating himself from the collective moods, prejudices, and desires of race, nation, class and family—the faculty of reducing to silence the capacity of collectivismvociferating around him…He traverses the way of peace between opinions, beliefs and experiences.”

 

   What about the Hermit card In a Reading?

            When you receive this card in a reading, ask yourself how you are dealing with the “monsters” of our modern age: hackers of our computers, spyware, conspiracy theories filled with lies, hoaxes, untruths and false beliefs; extremist war-mongering men who desire power and dictatorship; the perpetual continuing wars. And yes, the threat of nuclear war is still ongoing. What about a government trying to control people’s privacy by taking away their autonomy? 

The Hermit card signals that it is time for reflective thought. Stop “doom scrolling” and having your thoughts and passions twisted every which way by the “daily horror”(aka: the Daily News). How can finding stillness of mind help your attitude toward life and these daily experiences?When you receive The Hermit card in a reading, it indicates that it is time to put aside your daily routines and activities and retreat in meditation to rest and rejuvenate.  

 

Ask yourself:

What is most important for you in this life”? 

What really matters”?  

What is your concept of finding meaning in this life?  

What are your intentions? 

Are you taking time out often to clear your mind of trivial pursuits and useless information?

Are you tired of feeling “brainwashed” by incessant political propaganda?

What are situations that need to be resolved? 

How can finding stillness of mind help your attitude toward life and daily experiences?

Are you affirming gratitude for your gifts of life and every day blessings?

Are you working to overcome anxiety or sorrow and painful memories as you gain insight into your true spiritual selfhood? 

How are you doing at expressing mindfulness, generosity and responsible behavior? 

How are your actions affecting everyone else?  

            

 

References:

For a Future to be Possible, Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax, 1993)

Zen and Reality, Robert Powell (Viking Press, 1975)

Meditation, Sri Swami Satchidananda (Integral Yoga publications, 1975)

Meditation In Action, Chogyam Trungpa (Shambala, 1969)

Knights: War/Peace

Knight of Swords: More War—or Peace on Earth 

     Samson, the Israelite, went to Gaza and tore down the temple and buildings and killed a lot of people including himself—all aimed at retaliation against Delilah, the Philistine woman who betrayed him. Sound familiar in light of what is happening today? Only, this is a biblical story about Israeli/Palestinian strife in Gaza over 2,000-years-ago. (Judges 13–16 ). Today’s conflict is nothing new. It obviously began long ago. 

    Some of you may look at the title of this essay and think, “Peace on earth? Forget it! War has continued non-stop somewhere on earth for centuries, it’s the human condition. There is no Utopia.” (See “Taming Humanities Urge for War” (Scientific American May 2009) 

    As we know, splinters of war still continue today in several places on earth: Ukraine/Russia; Israel/Palestine; Sudan; Yemen; Syria; Somalia … and so on. We’ve been hearing/seeing the TV reports of atrocities every night for months now, going on years. The latest mind-numbing causalities are happening in Israel and Gaza beginning with the Hamas terrorist invasion of Israel and the murder of 1,500 civilians at a concert. At the same time, they killed people on Israeli's farms and kibbutz’s and captured 250 hostages. This kind of terrorism has resulted in retaliation from Israel, which is now blasting and bombing Gaza every day into gruesome bloody piles of rubble, including killing Palestinian civilians, women and children. Could we say that this is just a continuation of over 4,000 years of miserable conflict in the Middle East? Is this something new? Where is this supposed to lead? What will be the outcome? Peace?

 

     Is this what “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” really means? According to the Harper’s Bible Dictionary, this statement originally meant the judicial policy of Israelite’s justice system where the sentencing and punishment fits the crime which was determined by a judge (Mosaic Law, Exodus 21:23–25). But today, this concept infers that enemies and their armies can descend into disastrous acts of revenge and angry violence at will. With US money, guns, bombs, tanks and war equipment, the US has helped Israel retaliate and, so far, they have killed more than 20,000 Palestinian civilians, including innocent women and their children. Yes, the distrust and hate from both sides has led to a catastrophic inferno of war. Why do war-mongering men of the world continue on a path of total destruction of countries, land, property, and people, all the while manifesting the signpost of kill, kill, kill? Peace, Peace! Will there be peace in the end? It isn’t a matter of who’s right and who’s wrong, it’s all about the hate and murder of those you perceive to be your enemies. 

     “We should be dismantling the war machine and rolling back the conditions that led to it. True feminism which is interested in guiding the world toward health in a way that benefits women and their children, would make this a priority."  Caitlin Johnstone, Australian Independent Journalist 

                                 

Knight of Swords
TOCC

   Knight of Swords
   I’ve chosen the Knight of Swords for the discussion because most Tarot decks include  four Knights who are the remains of a bye gone era of royal rulers—Kings and Queens of many old Kingdoms around the world, some of whom ended their reign in WWI and WWII. In earlier Tarot decks, Knights still represent soldiers and warriors skilled in the military conduct of war. These were Medieval Knights on horseback who brandished swords and weapons used for maiming and killing. Many kings’ armies engaged in wounding and killing people in an effort to put down European peasant rebellions in the 15th to 16th centuries. Military knights also participated in the conquest of other countries and plundering of their cities, such as the knights of the Crusades. 

  (See my blog: The Chariot: Wars and Heroes, July 7, 2017) 

 The Knight of Swords in Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness has a more symbolic esoteric meaning. In the painting, a well-aimed sword swoops down over a tessellated dark and light background. The Knight is not there. Instead, this Knight card symbolizes the action of conquering the duality of opposites where the skill of the Knight is embedded in a sense of determining truth from lies; dealing with the positive vs the negative; good vs evil; love vs hate, and so on. The double-edged sword is symbolic of focusing and cutting through hostilities and duality, exposing falsehoods and misinformation in order to reveal the truth.  

    “Polarized thinking encourages our sense of separation and deflects our vision from the world’s —and our own —inherent unity.” (Michael Schneider, Beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe, Harper Perenial 1995 ) 

Hope for Peace on Earth 

    How are we to find peace in all this man-made chaos? Some may think the hope for peace is just a utopian fantasy that never comes and never will. In the last century, many world leaders, both political and religious, advocated for non-violent means to solve the disasters of endless wars. Gandhi led the non-violent movement in India that eventually freed them from the British Overlords. His example and steadfastness has provided strength for the efforts of others to stop the violence. Here’s some of what he said: 

 “There is no half-way between truth and non-violence on the one hand and untruth and violence on the other. We may never be strong enough in thought, word and deed. But we must keep non-violence as our goal and make steady progress towards it.” Gandhi on Non-violence, Ed. Thomas Merton (New Directions Publishing, 1965) 

  Ask yourself these questions when you get the Knight of Swords in a reading: 

1. How have I dealt with animosity from others? 

 2. Am I expressing my true inner strength in dealing with, or preventing evil violent conflict in my home,         at work, in my country? 

 3. How can I work to liberate both the oppressor and the oppressed? 

4. Am I able to forgive those who show remorse and ask forgiveness for wrongful hurts? 

5. Am I expressing kindness and compassion for those suffering from the burden of evil-doers that cause chaos in their lives? What is the best way to help? 

6. Am I finding and working with others who are training and providing guidance for others on the same path of ending violent conflict. 

 7. Do I have a plan to share that will end war once and for all and establish peace on earth?