Loving Kindness
Monday Mettā
A new + beautiful way to experience Mondays.
It’s St. Valentine’s Day tomorrow. So today’s mettā celebrates love.
May I fall in love today. May all beings fall in love today.
Say it a few times, breathe deep, hand on heart, and let the person you are fall in love with you. That’s what mettā is all about, anyway, and this simple sentence is a simple reminder. Let today be the day you fall in love with yourself!
Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️
✨
So glad you’re here.
Intuitive Tarot Card Reading
Use your intuition to guide you to a specific card below. Choose the card with the crystal on it that calls to you. At the end of this newsletter, you’ll see the cards flipped over, with a reading for each one. The card that you choose here will have your reading for the week.
Card 1: Blue Apatite Choose this card if apathy has been your thing lately.
Card 2: Citrine Choose this card for some motivation.
Card 3: Jasper Choose this card for help in a conflict.
Wait to scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter until you’ve chosen your card!
Yoga Classes:
1/2 hour yoga sessions, personal and on demand. Book your online yoga session here.
Noon on Mondays: a 45 minute flow with Yin elements.
New! 🌕Full Moon Yoga🌕
March 7 at 8pm Leonor Daley and I will lead a gentle yoga flow, with yin poses and journaling, to honor the full moon. This class is tailored for teens and adults, but feel free to bring the whole family! (Your little ones might surprise you.) Bring something to write with. Class time is 45 minutes, $15. Register here.
Email me for the yoga zoom link! All classes are in USA Eastern time.
What is Mettā?
A bunch of you are new here, and welcome! I have been sending out my Monday Mettā newsletters since 2021 and along with some musings and an intuitive tarot reading, I make sure to include a loving-kindness statement each week.
The Pali word Mettā (in Sanskrit, Maitrī), means “loving friendliness” or “loving kindness.”
Mettā is one of the four sublime states defined by the Buddha. The other three are compassion (Sanskrit: karunā), appreciative joy, and equanimity. In Buddhism, all four states develop together.
Practicing mettā allows us to banish our outward and inward hatred and neglect. It helps us to find genuine love, kindness, friendliness for ourselves and others. It’s a daily (or weekly, thanks for reading!!) practice that starts with the self first.
I’ve written a lot here about how hard it is to love ourselves. In fact, many of us believe we shouldn’t. I used to think that people who actually liked themselves were delusional, toxically positive, and incredibly selfish. What I have come to see now is that loving kindness towards myself is a practice, a daily routine that helps me see the joy in my life and celebrate that joy in all others.
Mettā’s short sayings help to feel more calm, joy, peace, and love. Even if you don’t believe them at first, you might try them out anyway. May I feel love today is a nice antidote to all the negative stuff our brain throws at us by the minute.
With Gratitude,
There are three beautiful ways you can support my work writing and teaching!
Make a micro-donation, either through Buy Me a Coffee (or in my case, a love note), or after you’ve listened to one of my meditations on Insight Timer.
Book a personalized yoga class, contact me for a Tarot or Akashic Records reading, or come to a 🌕Full Moon Yoga🌕 or a Monday Noon Class.
Forward this newsletter on to anyone who might want a little love! Ask them to subscribe! Tell them you love them!
Thank you thank you!
Much love and gratitude,
Rachel xo
PS- I love hearing about the cards you pick and your related experiences. Please email me or comment below to share what came up from your card reading this week🔮
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Blue Apatite // Two of Swords
It’s time to remind yourself of who you are. Notice the figure’s eyes are shut—this is a call on you to meditate on who and what you are instead of taking what other people say about you as truth. It’s important, too, to do some writing about this. The swords represent communication and inner truth, and this means it’s doubly important to communicate with yourself right now. How you talk to yourself will get you out of your apathy and into a more passionate place.
Card 2: Citrine // The Star
This is a funny card for motivation. We tend to think of motivating words as active, full-on, and energetic. The Star card is a little more introverted—telling you that as you step into something new, expect change to happen slowly. This change will begin subtly, symbolized by the ripples in the pond, and move towards full transformation, symbolized by the butterflies around the figure. So your motivation is this: start slow, stay inward, let yourself be guided by your “North Star.”
Card 3: Jasper // Ace of Pentacles
Your meditation practice this week might benefit from a visualization practice. Visualize yourself experiencing the opposite of conflict. This may mean peace and complete understanding. This may mean telling your side to a receptive audience. This may mean backing away completely from the situation. Whichever scenario rings truest for you, that’s what you manifest. Although your real-life conflict may not go exactly how you imagine it, it will feel more authentic after you’ve experienced it in your head.
✨I use House of Intuition’s Crystal Encyclopedia and Judy Hall’s Crystal Bible to interpret the crystal meanings. Intuitive tarot inspired by Sarah Greenman, who was in turn inspired by Chris Corsini, because inspiration is contagious✨
Hey that photo is from my from porch! And I still have all of those rocks 🤣