Meditation: New Poll

[Joan Marie]

Meditation can be used in a lot of ways in your Tarot practice.

It can help you focus, bring you into a trance state, increase receptivity, spark intuitive skills, or simply relax you.

Do you use meditation in your tarot practice?

In the poll you can answer that question.

Also, if you'd like to share your practices or techniques or ask questions about it, just reply to this post.

[katrinka]

I do meditate, but it's not a part of my Tarot or cartomancy.

Crystal gazing is meditation on an object, and I do that. Do it regularly in dim light, and you really will get crystal visions. This will get you there if you just keep working at it! https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26622

I do mala practice off and on, reciting mantras, and though I've been delinquent in this area of late (job! housework! tired!) I do still consider it part of my practice and have every intention of doing it regularly again, as I've experienced the benefits. Like cartomancy, it "shouldn't work", but it does!

At work - well, my job is extremely repetitive and tedious, and we do 12 hour shifts. I don't go for mindfulness there, I'd have to be a master to pull that off! Instead, I let thoughts arise as they will. Some of these are horrible (Did Dad really give my dog to people out in the country? Or did he take it to the pound, where they drowned dogs in a big cage in those days?) I let these thoughts arise, feel them, and let them go. (And for the record, I don't totally hate my dad. He fought in WWII and killed Nazis, and I give him major props for that! It's OK and normal to feel more than one way about a person you know well - people are complex.) Some of these ugly thoughts keep coming back. But you can't work through this stuff by hiding from it.

Always meditate, and don't look away from your demons.

[BlueStar]

I don't use meditation with taort. I have a little affirmation that I state before I start, but nothing more than that.

[Diana]

I would think that any form of meditation would be an aid, conscious or unconscious, in tapping in some measure into the wisdom that we're seeking through the medium of Tarot. Because through meditation we are more connected to the invisible and our intuitive faculties are heightened. We are more receptive to our inner self.

However, I do not meditate for the purpose of tarot or for any other purpose for that matter. (Or at least I try not to meditate for any other purpose than for Meditation).

[katrinka]

However, I do not meditate for the purpose of tarot or for any other purpose for that matter. (Or at least I try not to meditate for any other purpose than for Meditation).

This.

[Opal]

I enjoy meditating, but the only time I use it for a card reading is when I am doing a reading via email and have plenty of time to work on it. These are generally readings for family, friends and some customers--and I have found at times that if I also take time to meditate on the cards as well, I can get more information from the cards as well. But generally, my mediation is not specifically for that. I love to meditate and practice various ways of meditation.

[Pen]

I meditate for about half an hour at about 6 each morning, but it's not connected to reading tarot, as I read only for myself and then rarely - usually on significant days or if I need to clarify some problem. I think meditation has a very calming and positive effect on creative work, which can be a meditation in itself.

[Diana]

I'm a huge fan of Jesus/Yeshua. I'm not a groupie though - lol !

I've always been struck how it is advised to pray without ceasing. Now the way Yeshua described prayer is meditation. One could replace the word prayer by meditation if one wishes to without altering the meaning. All the talk about going into one's closet and all. And then later also he gives other guidance on how to meditate efficiently. The word prayer is sorely misunderstood by most people who pray. It's come to mean to ask God for things - sort of like God is a divine vending machine or something.

So I sort of do that. I try and pray/meditate without ceasing. Of course, one can't meditate when one is busy doing something that occupies one's mind, but very often I stop and meditate just of a minute. Sometimes even 10 seconds. Or when I'm waiting for a bus. Sometimes even I'm watching a series or something on Netflix and suddenly I feel like a strong pull to just to go and listen to what I call the Still Small Voice. So I press pause and for a minute or two just retire into the closet. And then start up the series again.

The more frequently one meditates, the greater are the benefits. This has also been proved now by science and the modifications that take place in the brain when one meditates. The science people always need some proof. I understand why they do. But people who meditate don't need that kind of validation. We know the benefits because we see them in our lives.

Also I do it because apparently those who abide in God become children of God. So I figured that if that is my goal, I'd better follow the instructions in the user manual.

[Rose Lalonde]

The meditation I do regularly is awareness of breathing, not connected to tarot. And metta.

I voted 'Sometimes', though, because although I do it much less regularly, I like the tarot related meditation in Liber Theta. (Which incidentally Book M mentions as part of the process of coming up with Tabula Mundi deck art. I can't remember if that's how I first heard of that meditation... Probably is.)

[Joan Marie]

I like the tarot related meditation in Liber Theta. (Which incidentally Book M mentions as part of the process of coming up with Tabula Mundi deck art.

I would like to learn more about this, Liber Theta.

I originally got seriously into meditation after reading David Lynch's book, "Catching the Big Fish."
It's a strange little book for sure. Just a bunch of random short pieces that illustrate his meditation journey.

The title refers to how he sees meditation as stilling the waters. The fish are ideas. And the big ones are swimming very deep and will only come to the surface if the waters are stilled.

But, and this is an important but, he says he never (except maybe once) got one of these big ideas while he was meditating.
This is important. Meditation helps still the waters, but it's afterward, during "real life" that the benefit of it makes itself known. That's when the Big Fish come to the surface.

So don't look for that "Eureka" moment while in your sitting Lotus or chanting your mantra or clicking your Mala beads. It'll come later when you least expect it.

He practiced TM (Transcendental Meditation). I never got into that as a strict practice. I tried Zazen for a while. Got a lot out of it.
Currently I'm mixing it up, using several techniques, but I do usually start my day with it. Then I do a reading. In that order. I feel like the meditation puts me in a good place for a reading.

[Diana]

So don't look for that "Eureka" moment while in your sitting Lotus or chanting your mantra or clicking your Mala beads. It'll come later when you least expect it.

Thanks for your whole post.

The thing I quoted is what in my jargon is "it's when one is least expecting him that the bridegroom comes".

[musetta]

I do a shorter meditations during the week (like 15 minutes or so), and then longer meditations on the weekend (45 minutes). This is just due to time constraints. During the work week I've got to do all my mindfulness practices of Reiki and meditation kind of on the fly. I do find that taking the time to turn within daily does help my tarot reading even though I don't specifically do it for that purpose.

I am experiencing something strange when I do longer meditations, though, and I'd appreciate a little input if anyone knows what this is. After about 30 minutes or so, my body starts to vibrate, but not in a pleasant and even way. It's almost like a shudder and it doesn't feel good. My body wants to twitch and move. I am wondering if there are energetic blocks. Maybe it's a disruption in the flow of Kundalini? I'm going to try to find more info about it, but if anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be grateful.

[Joan Marie]

I am experiencing something strange when I do longer meditations, though, and I'd appreciate a little input if anyone knows what this is. After about 30 minutes or so, my body starts to vibrate, but not in a pleasant and even way. It's almost like a shudder and it doesn't feel good. My body wants to twitch and move. I am wondering if there are energetic blocks. Maybe it's a disruption in the flow of Kundalini? I'm going to try to find more info about it, but if anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be grateful.

Hi musetta. Can I ask what kind of meditation you are doing?

[musetta]

Joan Marie, it's about a 45-minute guided meditation called "Blessing of the Energy Centers," by Dr. Joe Dispenza. It goes through each of the chakras starting with the root chakra, and you bless each chakra.

[Rose Lalonde]

I like the tarot related meditation in Liber Theta. (Which incidentally Book M mentions as part of the process of coming up with Tabula Mundi deck art.

I would like to learn more about this, Liber Theta.

I originally got seriously into meditation after reading David Lynch's book, "Catching the Big Fish."
It's a strange little book for sure. Just a bunch of random short pieces that illustrate his meditation journey.

The title refers to how he sees meditation as stilling the waters. The fish are ideas. And the big ones are swimming very deep and will only come to the surface if the waters are stilled.

But, and this is an important but, he says he never (except maybe once) got one of these big ideas while he was meditating.
This is important. Meditation helps still the waters, but it's afterward, during "real life" that the benefit of it makes itself known. That's when the Big Fish come to the surface.

So don't look for that "Eureka" moment while in your sitting Lotus or chanting your mantra or clicking your Mala beads. It'll come later when you least expect it.

He practiced TM (Transcendental Meditation). I never got into that as a strict practice. I tried Zazen for a while. Got a lot out of it.
Currently I'm mixing it up, using several techniques, but I do usually start my day with it. Then I do a reading. In that order. I feel like the meditation puts me in a good place for a reading.

Yes, Tabula Mundi's companion Book M has a description of her work with Liber Theta (p 5 - 6), and she talks about holding several ideas in the mind and then letting them go. There's that same sense of things percolating and coming up later that you were talking about.

Not meditation, but in a sort of similar way, when I do a reading for someone, I don't write it up the same day I draw cards. I'll look at the spread and then leave it on the table, and later when I'm not focused on it, often when I'm waking up, a part of the reading will come to mind that ties it together.

Although written for the Thoth, the minors meditations in Eshelman's Liber Theta are great to do with Tabula Mundi, because the instructions ask you to place the 2 majors with the same planet and sign on either side of the minor, and of course TM illustrates that connection. (e.g. the 9 of Wands has the Priestess' scroll and Art's flaming arrow on it.)

(The only thing I didn't want to do was have a journal handy for notes, which Liber Theta suggests. Stopping to write in the middle doesn't work for me.)

[Joan Marie]

Joan Marie, it's about a 45-minute guided meditation called "Blessing of the Energy Centers," by Dr. Joe Dispenza. It goes through each of the chakras starting with the root chakra, and you bless each chakra.

I thought you might be doing chakra meditation.

You may want to watch this video. It's from a kid's show but it is one of the best explanations of the chakras I've ever heard. It might give you some insight about the energy you are releasing,




I know it might seem weird to watch a cartoon about this, but I personally found it really surprisingly intense.

I will try this one you use, I found it on youtube. I'll let you know how it affected me.

[Papageno]

I find shuffling the cards to be a meditative practice in itself.

I don't riffle or do overhand, I simply have the deck in my left hand and pull successive cards until I feel like placing them within the main body of the deck, repeat the process, maybe cut the deck and begin again and then pull more cards in segments or single cards and place them back within the deck, cutting the deck several times and any variations thereof.

It sounds like a bizarre method of shuffling but it's a long process and therefore meditative, very relaxing actually, and you get in-tune with the deck itself, get a feel for it and become a part of it, and in turn, the deck gets a feel for me.

[musetta]

Joan Marie, it's about a 45-minute guided meditation called "Blessing of the Energy Centers," by Dr. Joe Dispenza. It goes through each of the chakras starting with the root chakra, and you bless each chakra.

I thought you might be doing chakra meditation.

You may want to watch this video. It's from a kid's show but it is one of the best explanations of the chakras I've ever heard. It might give you some insight about the energy you are releasing,




I know it might seem weird to watch a cartoon about this, but I personally found it really surprisingly intense.

I will try this one you use, I found it on youtube. I'll let you know how it affected me.

Thank you, Joan Marie! I'll take a look at this and see if it helps.

[Pen]

I am experiencing something strange when I do longer meditations, though, and I'd appreciate a little input if anyone knows what this is. After about 30 minutes or so, my body starts to vibrate, but not in a pleasant and even way. It's almost like a shudder and it doesn't feel good. My body wants to twitch and move. I am wondering if there are energetic blocks. Maybe it's a disruption in the flow of Kundalini? I'm going to try to find more info about it, but if anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be grateful.

I've experienced vibrations a few times, not when meditating but when I was having trouble sleeping and used to listen to the radio, which helped me to relax. I'd read Robert Monroe's book, Journeys out of the Body, a few years before, so I knew what was happening, otherwise I think I'd have been fearful. I could still hear the radio, although in a slightly different state of consciousness, vibrating beautifully evenly as if my body was a tuning fork. Below is an old post of mine from another forum.

I awoke in the night on Saturday and lay listening to the radio, which was still on very low. After a little while and (as far as I can tell) somewhere near the point of sleep I became aware of an amazing sensation - a beautiful vibration distributed evenly all over and throughout my body. It wasn't anything like I've experienced before, and bore no resemblance to trembling, shaking or shivering - I felt perfectly comfortable. I immediately recognized the sensation as the one Robert Monroe experienced and described in his book Journeys Out of the Body, (mentioned earlier in this thread) although it was some time ago that I read it and I hadn't been thinking of it.

I believe I'd have known that it opened up a possibility for astral travel, even without having ever read the book - the feeling of getting ready to leave was very powerful. But - and this is disappointing - I'd forgotten that Monroe had discovered that the most effective way to travel is to think of a person, and I was just waiting to see where I'd be taken. I may have been too excited and thinking too much, because after a very short while the vibration stopped. I must have fallen asleep immediately - I'm sure the vibration was not a dream, as although Monroe's description matched my experience, I could never have imagined what that amazing sensation actually felt like. The only tiny doubt in my mind (that I was still awake when it happened) is that I didn't remember the experience until meditation after an early cuppa at 6.30.

But I'm so glad I did - days later the whole experience still feels like a gift - and if there is a next time (I won't try to achieve that state), I'll be ready.

I've had a few more experiences of the vibrations since, including leaving the body, but none so strong or perfect as those first ones.