Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett have created The Journey Cards as a spiritual tool to awaken and open you into the boundless presence of Grace within you. Gently, they will guide you to uncover your own truth, find answers deep within yourself and, ultimately, leave you resting in the infinite awareness of your Self. Here are are a few of the texts on the cards for you to sample:
Laughter
Have you been taking yourself and your story of ‘me’ and ‘my life’ too seriously? Have you been frowning or scowling recently? Has your sense of humour become a stranger in your life?
Give yourself a break. It's time to lighten up and bring lightheartedness into your day. What if you let Grace handle all your difficulties?
Start by listening to the laughter of children. Be childlike and get physically active in a fun way. Loosen up, let go and play. Be silly.
Then notice that there's laughter in everything around you - in the wind, the birdsong, the breaking waves, everywhere. Feel how fabulous laughter makes you feel. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Lighten up and laugh!
Compassion
Sometimes it's more important to be kind than right.
Are you being hard on yourself, or perhaps a little hard on someone else? When someone's behaviour causes you to judge them harshly, stop for a moment. Is it possible that person may be hurting inside and trying to deflect or dispel their pain?
Projected pain comes out in a myriad of unattractive ways. Take a moment to look beyond the surface behaviour to their deeper Self. See how they are really feeling. Rather than turning your back in judgement, reach past their protective armour and offer a loving hand. Choose compassion. Open to your own humanity.
As you find compassion for others, you'll find compassion for yourself comes more easily and naturally.
Honesty
This card is inviting you to examine your life right now. Are there emotions coming up that you’ve shoved aside or pretended you didn’t feel? It's time to drop the pretence. Ask for the real truth to be revealed.
Now allow your awareness to become spacious and vast all around you, free to all sides. From this vastness, put out a fervent prayer, invitation, or simple welcome. Let your inner Being know that you are open, willing to listen to yourself, willing to feel. Then invite the hidden feelings that you’ve previously denied into the vast embrace of your awareness. Let this embrace be large enough to include the secret emotions. Welcome the feelings you pretended to yourself didn't exist.
Your feelings will feel so welcomed, they will arise. Naturally, they will come and they will go – and what will remain is your own vast acceptance. Notice how your essence is untouched by anything that comes through it.
Be honest with yourself. Be willing to feel the truth of your inner life.
Discernment
Truth is calling you to be more vigilant in your discernment. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the confusion of the mind. ‘Should I do this or should I do that?’ The mind is a tricky place to dwell. It’s always changing. It's a morass. Trying to be discerning by checking your thoughts is like walking into quicksand: you get sucked into a desperate struggle that usually ends in disaster. Stop looking in your mind for answers.
Instead, place all your awareness on your body. The body is the barometer of your Soul. If you have a question, ask it and then breathe into the front of your body. If your body remains relaxed, neutral or easy, feel free to take the plunge or take the action needed. If your body signals you with a glitch, or if your breath catches, or you feel uneasy, do not take the action.
To be truly discerning, listen to your body – it never lies.
Rest
Grace is inviting you to take time to rest deeply. Your body and Being require rest. As you prepare to sleep tonight, choose to read words born from silence, or listen to a calming meditation tape or music that gently carries you into Stillness so that you fall asleep in the nourishing embrace of Grace.
Before you drop off, consciously release the stress of the day. Take a long deep breath in and breathe out any stress, letting it waft out of the door. Take another slow breath and release the tension in your body. Take another slow breath and let go of any questions, letting them dissolve as they drift away.
Become aware of the Stillness present in the spaces between your breaths. Feel yourself relaxing and expanding into spaciousness as you fall asleep in the deeply healing presence of Stillness. You will arise deeply rested.
From The Journey Cards, text copyright 2004 by Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett, published by Element.
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