Tarot Strategies for Life Change

Meditation is Finding Respect in the Medical Community For Its Many Benefits

Meditation has long been associated with many spiritual and religious practices coming from Eastern traditions where it has been practiced for centuries. While it is widely used for spiritual enlightenment, in the West it is even more widely used for health and wellness purposes.

Meditation works by calming and centering you. As you fill your lungs with air, your heartbeat slows and that relaxes the body. You pull your mind inward. Over time you come to realize you are not the same as the mindless chatter running through your head.

The effect is to reduce stress, an aggravating factor for many mental and physical problems. People seeking relief from physical ailments as diverse as fibromyalgia, heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses report relief from meditation.

Also, meditation finds itself in the arsenal of those trying to manage pain, insomnia, anxiety and depression.

The scientific community is convinced that meditation is a useful tool. And except for a small number of people with certain psychiatric conditions, it is considered extremely safe.

Nonetheless, researchers have not been able to figure out conclusively why it works although they have found a relationship with meditation and changes in brain function.

Respected sites such as WebMD speak highly of meditation. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, an arm of the National Institutes of Health, has long been studying it.

They think that meditation might work by slowing the sympathetic nervous system which mobilizes the body for action and increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system which causes heart rate and breathing to go down.

With such strong physical and psychological benefits and so little risk, there is little reason not to meditate. Here is one source to learn how to use it for its physical benefits and spiritual growth.

Meditation - How to De-stress

Meditation is a wonderful tool to de-stress. It has many advantages--it does not cost any money, requires no special equipment, and, unlike medications, has no harmful side effects. And the best advantage is that it can be done anytime and anywhere.

That is particularly important now that we are living in times of fear and uncertainty. Many of us are experiencing difficulty and wrenching change. While you may not be able to control external events, you can control your reactions. The deceptively simple techniques of meditation are a powerful way to gain control of your emotions to help you cope. People in very difficult conditions such as prison report using meditation to successfully help them cope with the pressure and the chaos.

When you meditate you breath deeply to fill your lungs with air. Then as you breathe out slowly, your lungs empty. Simply sit in a still position or lie down if you don't think you will fall asleep and begin the deep breathing as you empty your mind. 

Simply brush away stray thoughts, and there will be stray thoughts. Some teachers advise taking note of the thoughts so you will get a handle on what is worrying you and eventually come to realize that you are separate from your thoughts. Once you understand that, it will enable you to exert control over your life.

Since much anxiety is a reaction to lack of control or powerlessness, real or perceived, this knowledge is very powerful. 

As an additional benefit, the simple act of deep breathing will, in of itself, also relax you. 

Meditation and Its Role in Psychic Development and Mediumship

Do you want to open up your intuitive and psychic abilities and connect with spirit? Nearly every teacher of psychic development will advise you to set up a regular meditation practice. 

In order to connect with spirit you have to raise your vibration and become a clear channel. Mediation over a sustained period of time will help you do that.

First, set aside a regular time every day to meditate. If you can only muster 20 minutes, that will do. There are various techniques and various preferences. It's best to be seated in a comfortable position with your back supported and upright. But your eyes can be open or shut. You can choose to listen to music, a guided meditation tape, or enjoy silence. You can focus on an object such as a burning candle, a favorite Tarot card, a crystal. You can choose to burn incense if you like. 

But, what these teachers will tell you, is that a regular meditation practice, silences the mind and allows you to focus on the stillness within so you can hear the quiet voice of spirit.

If possible, it is good to meditate at the same time every day. Setting aside a special time for mediation ties it into your routine and sends a signal to spirit that you are open to receiving. You will also learn that you are not the endless mind chatter that you will hear when you do try to still yourself.

When you do hear mind chatter, don't let it bother you. Just gently brush it away and go back to meditating.

Some teachers will advise you to follow the rhythm of your breathing. Breathing is a natural function and the very essence of life. By focusing on your breaths, you are grounding yourself and demonstrating to yourself in a concrete way, that the essence of you are much more than your random thoughts.

The Sun, Leo, and The Sun card

This past Tuesday night, we experienced an intense solar eclipse in the very, very last degree of Cancer. We will not experience another solar eclipse of this intensity until 2032.

It is no accident that fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) follow water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). Water signs focus on feeling and emotion. Inner planet transits through the water signs mark excellent opportunities to do introspective, clearing, emotional work. When we finish the reward is often a surge in energy and a feeling of being refreshed. 

I liken it to going outside to revel in the clean air after a turbulent thunderstorm. 

But no sooner did the Sun and Moon begin to separate than the Moon, and later the Sun, enter Leo. So if you've done your emotional work well, you are feeling cleansed, energized, and ready to get down to business in the area of your chart in which Leo falls.

Later today, (mid-afternoon for those in the Eastern time zone), the Moon will oppose Jupiter and Neptune. This is not a great time form making far-reaching financial decisions, but a wonderful opportunity to take a time-out for meditation. 

I recommend using The Sun Tarot card as your focus. The Sun captures the direct, clean energy of the fresh Leo energy.

The card shows a sun filling the upper half of the image shining brightly. Sunflowers line a brick wall behind a smiling, nude child astride a white horse flanked by a red flag. Red is the color of vitality, white purity. The child himself is pure and direct-one reason he has no need of clothing as a mask. 

You may find it useful to keep a journal by your side after meditating to record any thoughts that come up.

A Meditation for Tonight's Eclipse

In a total eclipse, such as the one occurring tonight, the Sun's light is blocked. While the resulting darkness is disconcerting, the Sun's normally bright light can obscure. 

This is a roundabout way of saying not to be surprised as  things well-hidden come to light-or you get a flash that helps you put the pieces of a puzzle together whose parts were in plain view all along.

This eclipse takes place at the very, very end of the water sign of Cancer. Both the Sun and the Moon will enter fiery Leo within hours. To me, this suggests the metaphor of bringing things from darkness into the light.

This is a very powerful time to meditate. I recommend using the Tarot card The Moon as a focus. 

In the Rider Waite Smith decks, the image depicts a solar eclipse. Primitive sea creatures rise out of the murky waters to begin a long journey to the light. What will be uncovered in your life when the bright light of the Sun is obscured?

The 5 Minute Meditation

If meditating is difficult for you, perhaps it is because the challenge of stilling your active mind seems daunting. After all, it sometimes seems that just as you sit yourself down to meditate, that’s when you suddenly realize that’s when the phone rings, or you realize that you must enter that appointment into your appointment book before you forget it… you get the picture.

You don’t have to sit for hours like a Buddhist monk, although that certainly has its benefits.

Sometimes when a task seems too daunting, the answer is to break it down into bite-sized pieces.

If an hour of meditation a day is too much, try for 30 minutes. If 30 minutes is too much, try for 20, or 15, or… 10 if that is all you can muster.

But I like this technique for restless minds filled with chatter. Developed by Yanni Maniates, it’s short, sweet, and you can do it just about anywhere. 

I call it 10 breaths. Your goal is to still your mind for the time it takes you to breathe in and out 10 times. Even a person with attention deficit disorder can probably handle this one and it only takes 5 minutes.

Here is how it works. 

Ideally you want to sit in a straight backed chair or yoga position in a quiet place although you can perform this meditation standing in line at the bank, walking down the street, or sitting in a doctor’s office.

Begin by taking three deep breaths. As you breathe in, breathe all the way down past your lungs to your belly and down to your abdomen. Hold the breath for a few seconds, then exhale.

Then resume a more normal pattern of breathing. Focus your attention to each breath and begin to count. Count each time you breathe in and out as one breath until you reach 10. If you become distracted, just calmly begin counting again. 

While you do this you want to gently push away your mind chatter; that is thoughts, emotions and distractions. Instead, focus on your abdomen and the rhythm of your breathing.

After you’ve reached 10, you can go on. As you do, your breaths become deeper and your heartbeat slows. When you’re ready slowly open your eyes and enjoy how good you feel.

Artful Meditation

Last week when I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show, I watched a couple botanical artists carefully render flowers with water color and colored pencil. They were promoting the work of local botanical artists whose work was displayed nearby. 

It got me to reminiscing about art classes taken years ago. Oftentimes in my prior life in Corporate America, I'd take drawing classes at the Arts Students League. The organizational politics of the workplace often left me feeling as tense as a violin string. Yet, the act of focusing and drawing put me in an alternative space. 

It was rare that I didn't leave class without a contented smile. It was clear that the botanical artists at the Flower Show experienced the same effect. 

Call it another technique of mindfulness meditation.