Are You Too Negative Positive thinking with Tarot cards

Note: this article assumes that you own a deck of Tarot cards,
and have some elementary knowledge of how they're used as a self-
help tool. If you don't own a Tarot deck, this article may
inspire you to discover yourself in the cards. You can buy a deck
at any large book store, or from Amazon.com.

The problem with negative thinking is that we accept our negative
thoughts as reality. We don't realize that the thoughts are
distortions. I was a classic negative thinker: to me the glass
was not merely half empty, it was also chipped. I called my
negativity "being realistic".

Tarot helps me to see the positive. Because, no matter how black
things look, there is always a positive.

If you've seen the Tom Hanks movie, "Cast Away", you remember that Tom Hanks is Chuck, the only survivor of a plane crash who gets marooned on a deserted tropical island. After years of solitary hardship, Chuck almost gives in to despair and commits suicide, but he tells himself to "keep breathing".

Finally a piece of wreckage washes onto the island. Chuck
creatively fashions it into the sail of a raft. Later in the
movie, Chuck says you should keep breathing because "you never
know what will wash in on the tide". "Keep breathing" is the cure
for negative thinking. You truly don't know what will happen
next.

A thought is just a thought

We negative thinkers tend to worship our thoughts. It takes us a
long time to realize we're not our thoughts. Our thoughts come
and go. If we don't cling to them, or follow them, they fade away
and are replaced by new thoughts, pleasanter ones. Meditation
helps with this.

Over time, when we can watch our thoughts come and go without
becoming enmeshed in them, we can (occasionally) recognize a
negative thought. For me, being able to label a thought
'negative' was a major achievement.

Does this mean that I've won the battle and that I will never
again have a negative thought? No such luck. I still have
negative thoughts, and it's hard not to be trapped within such
thoughts. However, I'm learning to get off the negativity
treadmill.

Your cards can help you get positive

Try this "Negative to Positive" process. You use your cards face
up. Here's how:

1. Sort through your deck until you find a card which portrays
your current situation. For example, let's say you have some
money worries. If you're using the Universal deck, or the Rider-
Waite, you might choose the 5 of Pentacles.

2. Now look through the deck again, until you find a card which
shows a scene where your money worries are solved. Perhaps you
picked the 10 of Pentacles. A much more cheerful card!

3. Put the 5 of Pentacles on the left, and the 10 of Pentacles on
the right, in a straight line. Leave some space between the two
cards.

4. Now it's time to daydream a little. Pick out several more
cards, perhaps two or three, showing a progression from the
misery of the 5 of Pentacles, to the security of the 10 of
Pentacles. Choose whichever cards you please.

5. Lay the cards out in a straight line.

6. If you have a little time, you could write a short story,
based on the cards, of what could happen to you to take you from
the 5 to the 10. The story can be as fantastic (in the fantasy
sense) as you please.

7. Or, make a sketch of the 10 of Pentacles, which you can carry
with you as a good luck charm.

8. OK --- you've spent 20 minutes or more with the cards. Do you
still feel negative? I'm sure your mood has shifted.

Positive energy from the cards

Look through your deck, and choose the cards which you find most
positive from the major arcana. You might choose 19 the Sun, 7
the Chariot, and 21 the World.

Put one of the cards on the desk in front of you. Close your eyes
and do some slow, deep breathing for a few minutes until you're
completely relaxed.

Open your eyes, and look at the card. Pick it up and hold it. You
may be able to feel a subtle energy. This is the energy of the
card, as it exists in you.

Try the same process with the other two cards. Is there a
difference in the energy? How does the energy of one card differ
from another?

Next time you have a black mood, pick out one of your 'positive'
cards, and just relax with it for a few moments. You'll feel your
mood change.

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Author and journalist Angela Booth writes copy for businesses large and small.