So, today marks the second installment in my oracle card challenge, with a summary of days six to ten using the Enchanted Map Oracle Deck. Starting tomorrow I will be using Nature’s Whispers Oracle Deck by Angela Hartfield for the next ten days. It is hard to believe that it has already been ten days into the challenge—and only another 110 (or possibly 568) more days left.

The card for day six was making a choice (card thirty in the upright position). It is a reminder that we have a choice to be either an active player in our own lives or passive players allowing others to make the choices and just going with the flow (either intentionally or unintentionally). I’ve been a somewhat passive player in my own career fluttering from position to position without really asking myself if this is something that will make me happy in the long run.

I am at the ‘proverbial’ fork in the road, and am taking the route of using my education in a different manner/direction. While the bench will always be there, now is the time to edge away and find the enjoyment again in writing, looking at data, picking up the camera, and all the other ideas that are bouncing around in my head.

It will take awhile to get everything lined up—but I’m going slowly down the path (knowing that I can jump over to the bench, or even some other ‘physical’ job if needed).

The card for day seven was cleaning house (card thirty-seven in the upright position). I found it slightly funny pulling this card the other night, as I’m also reading a book on minimalism (More of Less by Joshua Becker) right now as well. This is something that I’ve slowly been working on for quite a while, as I’ve realized that once I do have things in place career wise and then start thinking of moving—I have way more stuff than I really need.

I’m slowly ‘cleaning house’, mainly because most of my stuff is still in storage. What am I doing—downsizing the number of items that I currently have around me daily. I know the areas that I can go ‘minimalistic’ in, and I also know the areas that I won’t be going ‘minimalistic’ in as well—it is all about balance.

The mental decluttering will take a little longer (namely the negative stories, self-doubts, and those things), but it is something that I’m working on.

The card for day eight was the sacred pool (card forty-seven in the upright position). It asks of us to do a detached self-examination that is made with rigorous honesty, but also acknowledges how far we’ve come through the years. It is time to focus on self-love and self-esteem.

These are areas that I work on daily—I’ve always been proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish, but there are times when my self-esteem hits rock bottom. It is never easy to change paths, directions, or callings and is even harder when you’re an introvert with social anxiety. The though of reaching out to others is nerve wracking (and brings about all those negative self-esteem thoughts).

This is something I’m working on changing. I’m slowly developing several ideas I have for articles/posts for the blog, LinkedIn, and possibly other sites as well. Improving one’s self-love and self-esteem should always be daily goals in this day and age.

The card for day nine was the dry desert (card thirty-one in the upright position). This is a card that I feel has the same message no matter the direction you draw it (upright or reverse). It is reminding us that we can survive what life throws at us—we’re resilient and adaptable. Self-reflection helps in any situation (regardless of how the situation turns out).

Looking inward, remembering childhood dreams, and such are several ways to help reconnect with things we enjoyed doing at one point but may have forgotten about them, as we got older.

Self-reflection is almost a daily habit, and I’ve remembered things that I had enjoyed doing at one point—learning, writing, reading, and doing research. Research doesn’t have to always be done at the bench—it can also come from a book, a paper, or elsewhere. All of these things can be merged into an online (or in-person) career, I just need to place the pieces of the puzzle or perhaps find those last few missing pieces.

Today’s card was the gentle gardener (card two in the upright position). She is a reminder that our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs help to create our reality. All feelings are valid and should be acknowledge. Give them room, sit with them, work through the emotions, and try to find the sliver lining in the situation.

I have the tendency to let my thoughts spiral out of control, and at times jump to the worse case scenario, both of which spend my anxiety spiking, my stomach rolling and has me questioning what I’m doing with my life. All of which makes it harder to see the ‘rainbows’ through the storm clouds.

I’m getting better at not going down those dark ‘rabbit holes’. I realize that I’m not going to be pleasing everyone in terms of what I write, how I write, or even what I decide to write about. Which is fine—I think that it is time that I start living my life for myself and not for other people.

One of the many mental health goals moving forward is to tend my mental garden and nourish the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that will help me move forward and gently remove the ones that are keeping me stagnant.

So, today marks the ‘end’ of the first ten days of the challenge and using the enchanted map oracle deck. The past ten days have shown me that I do need to make a choice in terms of life and career—being an active participant over a passive participant. In choosing to do an online career shift, I need to start slow—build a good foundation before trying to go in several different directions at once. Writing will probably be that base—with a good chunk being science communication and education. The rest of the base will go between personal/professional development and hobbies, with a touch of other educational subjects as well.

What is one science topic that you wished was written in a way that the general public could understand it better?