Changing Flow

This week I'll be using the self-published Wayfarer Tarot, created by Stacy Salpietro-Babb with Margaret Shipman. I'll also be drawing from A Curious Oracle, self-published and created by Holly DeFount. Today's draws are Six of Air (Swords) and 'The Torch:'

          These birds appear to be migrating to a nearby island. Their flight reminds me of the huge flocks of blackbirds that come to the southern U.S. in autumn. Over farmlands and neighborhoods, hundreds of birds can be seen in the sky undulating like a black ribbon fluttering in the breeze. Because they are unlike geese who fly in a V formation and honk loudly to each other on the wing, researchers have been puzzled as to how blackbirds are able to stay so closely together. Thanks to high-speed imaging and algorithms, scientists discovered that each bird keeps track only of its six neighbors and coordinates its movements with them. That fact made me question how many thoughts I am consciously aware that I'm thinking. Could I tell you the last six thoughts I had? It's doubtful. But if I could (meaning paying more attention), I might be more willing to migrate from them to more wholesome and beneficial thoughts if necessary. The Torch has been given the keyword 'intentions,' which is like a map of how to move in the direction of one's aspirations during any given moment. Meditation teacher Phillip Moffitt explains it much better than I can:

Setting intention, at least according to Buddhist teachings, is quite different than goal making. It is not oriented toward a future outcome. Instead, it is a path or practice that is focused on how you are "being" in the present moment. Your attention is on the everpresent "now" in the constantly changing flow of life. You set your intentions based on understanding what matters most to you and make a commitment to align your worldly actions with your inner values.