Lessons Learned From RS10

I am currently back home after an eventful week at the Reader’s Studio.  What a week it was!  New faces, old friends, lessons…so much to digest.  I am sure it will take me  while to process this life changing conference!  Even the last day had plenty to do.  I started out my morning attending Donnaleigh’s Breakfast Roundtable.  She gave a lively lecture about “tarot bridges” and explained how the cards can connect with each other to provide insights.  This did not disappoint – she had a lot of information to pack in an hour but seemed to do it seamlessly.  (I must confess that I really enjoyed the Roundtable events – both Donnaleigh and Paul Quinn had a lot to share!)

Donnaleigh teaching about tarot bridges

Afterwards, we met up with our original partners for the “Foundation Reading” to revisit the original reading we did for each other and see how the new insights we learned at the conference enhanced our interpretations.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that what I had learned from these different teachers did indeed add a lot of depth to my reading!  Wow.  That was a powerful revelation to me.  Although I have been reading for many years, this was an eye opener.  It clearly pointed out that tarot has many layers and one can never learn enough!  (I was also happily surprised to discover that Andy and I had the same penchant for industrial music which helped me to see him as a kindred spirit in addition to being a reader that I respected!)

Myself with my tarot partner, Andy Matzner

The day finished with a ceremony to hand out certificates and prizes.  Ironically, I won a membership into a tarot organization which was the universe’s way of winking at me.  I am not affiliated with any tarot organizations as I am a lone wolf and have no intention of joining any group.  So, I had to laugh out loud at this turn of events.  What kind of cosmic joke was this to my anarchist nature?  Hmmm……I think I’ll have to ponder that a bit before I come to a conclusion.

After saying my goodbyes, it was time to head to the airport and get home to a very needy (and messy) household.  Although I am glad to be home, I am grateful for all the things I learned at the conference.  Here’s my epiphanies:

Mary Greer, Robert Place, Dr. Elinor Greenberg, Ruth Ann Amberstone

1.  You can teach an old dog new tricks. I’ve been at the tarot game for almost 3 decades and have never had any formal training.  While I do believe I know the tarot pretty well, these classes all gave me new tools.  The class with the Amberstones revealed symbols and subtleties that I took for granted.  Dr. Elinor Greenberg pushed me outside my comfort zone with a therapy technique that challenged my beliefs (although it was not my cup of tea, I will be first in line to buy her book “Tarot Counseling” when it is published next year as I now realize that what she is teaching is groundbreaking and invaluable).  Robert Place humbled me with his vast knowledge and is making me rethink some of my assumptions about chakras.  And Mary Greer is a delight.  I have read Mary’s books in the past and thought her interactive method of tarot reading was too different from my “style” to incorporate into my work.  Lo and behold, this wise woman taught in a surprisingly effective manner and I may never look at tarot the same way again.  She’s amazing and now I can’t wait for my next opportunity to learn from her!

Myself with tarot author Mary Greer

2.  Resistance limits you.  I’ll admit that I am rather set in my ways.  In fact, I am rather fond of my own opinions.  The RS10 challenged me to rethink some of my own beliefs.  That doesn’t mean I am going to abandon my ideals but I am certainly going to open my mind to new insights.

3.  Twitter is a great place to make friends. One of the coolest things about RS10 was meeting many of the friends I have met through Twitter.  Yup, lots of tarot peeps like to tweet.  How cool it was to finally put faces to the names!  I had always been skeptical about meeting people online but this whole experience taught me that there are super people out there and it is worth venturing out of my cave to connect!

4.  Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone are the bomb! I can’t believe what a major effort these two put into this conference.  The Amberstones were a joy to be around – they are approachable, knowledgeable, friendly and really know how to make you feel welcome.  I have the utmost respect for them and intend on learning more with them.  How nice to finally find some mentors that I can look up to!

5.  Room service rocks! For the last four years of my life, I have been busy with care taking.  This was the first time I have ever been in a hotel that had room service as I tend to go the uber cheap route when I travel.  As lame as it sounds, having someone wait on me for a change was a joy.  As the waiter said to me when he brought up my requested glass of wine “You deserve this.”  That was the biggest revelation of all – I do deserve to hang out with cool peers, learn from the best, enjoy my life and be treated well.  This conference has changed me in more ways than one.  I definitely plan on making this an annual retreat.

But now….back to my regular life and my needy cats, my hungry husband, my messy house and my awesome clients.  After the conference, the laundry so to speak.

Blessings!

Theresa

thetarotlady.com