When you're feeling blocked

These are some things I've learned as I've worked my way through layers and layers of issues on this journey:

1. Is your god trying to speak but you're not listening? The more blocked you are, or the more you resist, the harder they're going to push. Figure out who it is who's trying to manifest in your life. Look at their story... and how amazing their manifestation can be when the channel is clean and clear. Once you take the first step they will come running towards you - they want to connect with you. That's what all that pathology is about - they're just trying to get your attention. And if you don't pay attention to their whisper, they're going to be forced to pull out the two by four. But once they start to be heard, amazing things will begin unfolding in your life. (How do archetypes heal us?)
2. Are you trying to block out any of your feelings? This one hit after I'd made the breakthrough to the goddess - all of the sudden, the joy I'd been flooded with drained away and I was emotionally flat. I realized I wasn't letting myself feel some painful and ugly feelings. Alternatively, you might be thinking that some of your feelings are "wrong," for whatever reason. The point is not to judge yourself or your feelings. The point is to experience them, and move through them. It's going to be ok - you're never given anything you can't handle. So, the next time you feel compelled to do something, instead of caving into the compulsion stop for a moment. Feel those feelings instead - feel them, let them wash over you, and then let them go. (What's up with my energy? and Wrestling with angels)
3. Or are you getting stuck in your "ugly" feelings? Do not fear "the crazies" - and everyone's got them. Every archetype has their own version: for Persephone it's her neediness and violent emotional eruptions; for Hera, her jealousy; Demeter, her passive-aggressive neediness. Everyone has the crazies, but our crazies are our friends - it is in our wound itself that we find our cure. It's only by traveling through those difficult, usually self-made emotional crises - consciously, and with compassion and presence - that we finally find that we've come out the other side. In truth, our craziness is itself the path... and that path leads to the gifts that are pushing for expression in our lives. If you find yourself repeated the same, sad, sorry mistakes over and over again, see if it isn't your archetype offering you the opportunity to grow. (Picking up after the hurricane)
4. Are you using others? Or connecting with them? Another lesson I've learned - to hold onto others in my life as if I was holding a small, delicate bird, or a butterfly. Gently, with complete presence, and awe and wonder at its beauty. To grasp onto people possessively is not only wrong - people are beautiful fellow travelers, not possessions - but kills your soul and something in theirs as well. Go out into the world with a heart open to all the connections and the joy of those connections. Go out and be moved to reach out to connect... and perhaps to help them. Go out of yourself and out into the world, where you belong, and live out your story. (Working in the world... in a spiritual way)
5. Is it time to go out into the world with what you've learned? There's a time for navel gazing, and a time to take all that hard won wisdom and live your life. Scientists know that understanding grows through the endless cycle of theory and practice - go inside yourself to learn what it is you need to learn, then go out in the world to practice what you've learned... and to experience more things that you can take back inside yourself to advance your learning. (Quick reading: feeling anxious again)

Listen to your feelings - when necessary, they will let you know if you need to stop, listen and learn a vital lesson. If you're feeling "negative" emotions - anxious or emotionally flat - that's a sign that there's something you need to learn. The same if the universe is hitting you upside the head with the metaphorical 2 x 4 (although if you've learned to pay close attention to your feelings you should be able to avoid that, by and large.)

Do whatever it is you need to to connect with your avatar, spirit guide, God(dess), subconscious, whoever - using the tarot, I-Ching, runes, whatever. Personally, I think that getting that wisdom from something external, like the tarot, is preferable because it creates a sense of distance, of wisdom coming from outside of yourself. This way you can avoid having your feelings and possibly faulty understanding prevent you from getting clarity on the issue. Other than that, just do whatever works for you, whatever you find you have an affinity for. And don't forget - sometimes messages come from unexpected places; something you read, or something that someone says. So long as you listen to your heart, and the universe, and keep the channel open, you will be okay.