The Illusion of Separateness
Our brokenness is breaking it
I wasn't lonely. Loneliness, I think, has very little to do with location. It's a state of mind. In the centre of every city are some of the loneliest people in the world. If anything, because our whole planet was just outside the window, I felt even more aware of and connected to the seven billion other people who call it home.
― Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
You may live in a location that experiences microclimates, where the temperature and precipitation can vary across a fairly small geographic area. I live between the Olympic Mountains and the Cascade Mountains, and it is not uncommon for it to be pouring rain where I live 15 miles southwest of Seattle, while my friend in North Seattle is texting me about the sun being out (inevitably, not for long).
I have a similar feeling these days, and not just about the weather. It seems that our individual experiences are varying to a greater degree than I can ever remember.
Perhaps this is why US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has called lonliness and social isolation a serious health risk.
And why so many have felt called to find their people over the last couple of years - to have others who are able to validate their experience.
It feels disorienting to see the obliteration of neighborhoods and landmarks by the fires around Los Angeles. It is almost incomprehensible to think that war continues in the Ukraine nearly three years after it began, and in the Middle East fifteen months later.
Today, January 20th, will likely prove to be another disorienting situation, as some participate in marches commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. and/or in protest against the incoming US President, while others celebrate the US President and what he represents, and still others can only look on from other countries or life circumstances.
The only means of orienting yourself is to know exactly where you stand.
To know where you end and others begin.
Yet with the understanding of oneness.
Holding the knowledge that there is only the illusion of separateness.
As an astrologer, this feels very on brand for the Piscean energy which is a focus lately, and for the Mars slog through Cancer and Leo in retrograde. If you are not an astrologer, perhaps think of how an astronaut could hold the view of the Earth from space in their mind while riding on a city bus, visually seeing that same Earth differently (this larger impact to an astronaut’s perspective of humanity and life is called the Overview Effect).
We are all in this together, whether our current perspective reveals it or not.
Weekly Oracle Card Pull
If you gave last week’s spread some space in your life, I would be interested to hear how it went in the comments. I had a significant insight from living with those cards, which led me to decide to make a solo, silent-ish retreat to a monastery the last three days of this month. I also experienced a near medical miracle that reinforced my self-trust, and my trust in plants as healers.
Here are this week’s cards, their messages, and invitations for supportive practices (free subscribers, you can see the cards and haiku here):
Card 1. Clarity on last week: The Magic of Nothingness (#34 of Intuitive Whispers Oracle by Maude Hirst).
This card is what Hirst calls an Action Card, and invites us to pause from our life and spend 10 minutes doing nothing. It is likely that our fingers will itch for our phones, that our minds will jump to what we *should* be doing. Instead, just make space for non-judgment and observe.
The clarity this brought me about last week:
I made the decision this week to pause for a 3 day solo retreat at the end of this month, prompted by a series of four synchronicities in the space of four days on the topic of solo retreats.
As I checked in with my higher self on Saturday in my morning meditation about seeing these signs, I was told that I am being called to do this because I am ready now. There is no thing/nothing I am seeking, which is exactly the right frame of mind for me to do this (even though I am a bit scared).
Card 2. Help bridging last week to this week: Begin with Faith in Spring (#19 of Guides of the Hidden Realms by Colette Baron-Reid).
This echoes Card 1 from last week’s spread. We are invited to be optimistic, to hold a beginner's mind and trust that what we plant this year or season of life will bear fruit. I can see synergy in adopting the practice in Card 1, as leaving some free space each day means there is room for your intuition to drop in with guidance on your new endeavor(s).
Card 3. Something to look for this week: Thunder (#56 of Mystical Shaman Pocket Oracle by Villoldo, Baron-Reid, and Lobos).
It is a good thing last week’s Card 3 was about the support of the Universe, because this card speaks of dramatic moments in the world or in your life which change everything. From the guidebook:
“Qualities you’ll need now more than ever are flexibility, dexterity, and a willingness to experience it all without dictating from where or in what form opportunities will come. Your destiny is arriving. Be ready!”
I can’t help but think of where I will be tomorrow (Monday) at this time, marching with two of my adult children as part of a Filipino group opposing Trump’s agenda, alongside the larger Seattle MLK, Jr. Coalition.
Yes, the thunder can strike, however, by drafting with its energy, perhaps we have some influence in the storm’s lasting impact.
I wish you health, joy, peace, and love this week.
Maria Luz