Rider-Waite Tarot Cards-Easy To Use
Being a beginner in reading Tarot Rider-Waite Tarot cards are the ones you should be starting with. By far the Tarot Rider-Waite Tarot cards are the favorite and most popular out of all. These cards represent very precise symbolism thus making them much simpler for the beginner. The Tarot Rider-Waite Tarot cards also use various colors to make the symbols easier to read. These cards are built for beginning readers to make it easier for them to get started in card reading.
The deck includes the Hierophant, the High Priestess, the Magician, the Fool, death and the Hangman and quite a few others. Of course its a standard deck of 78 cards which include 22 cards in the major Arcana.
The remaining 56 Rider-Waite Tarot Cards constitute the Minor Arcana. There are four suits (Wands, Pentacles, Cups and Swords) of fourteen cards each. Each card in both the Major and Minor Arcana has a meaning. The cards have a different meaning if the cards are inverted ” often the opposite, but not necessarily.
Now you need to find and use a spread layout that you are comfortable using. One thats very popular is the Celtic Cross. This layout explains how the cards apply. One example is a card tells you where you are at and another tells you whether you are crossing good or bad. Yet another represents what you are influencing.
You must use your Rider-Waite Tarot Cards and practice with them until you become comfortable with laying them out and interpreting what is presented. Pick a question and stick with it. The cards are there to reveal the answer to the question you asked ” it doesnt work to try to ask a question that you think fits in with the answer youve received. And unless youre using a two-card spread, its better not to ask a yes/no questions. Most answers are better suited to questions regarding what your live direction should be than whether or not you should quite your job.
The Different Astral Projection Techniques
There are numerous astral projection techniques that individuals can use to assist them with astral project. Due to the fact of people being individuals, what is successful for one may not be for another. Several people have trouble with some of the methods though, and not due to the method, it is because they can’t relax.
Total and complete relaxation is vital to getting any of the astral projection techniques to be a success. Fear can be a large reason for the inability to relax. This is a common problem for people who are just beginning to learn astral projection. This fear is because of beliefs that are false that people could be harmed or die due to the astral projection. In an attempt to help wipe out these fears a research study was conducted by the Canterbury Institute, which happens to be known in the field of occult studies.
The study was performed on two thousand individuals, all of these people were involved in doing astral projection. The institute discovered was that no person was harmed following astral projection techniques. What is more interesting is that they did follow up on the people for the last 3 years. Not one have had any problems.
Now all concerns and fears can be put aside to rest. Lets take a look at seven of the techniques of astral projection that are pretty easy. These techniques have been successful for quite a few people, many in fact. One that is known is the Monroe and consist of seven steps of astral projection or the seven techniques of astral projections:-
* You must first relax your mind and body. There are several techniques that can be used for relaxation. An easy one to do is deep breathing, calmly and slowly. Deeply inhale and then deeply exhale. Then relax every muscle throughout the body one at a time by tightening them and then relaxing them, start at your toes and work your way up through your body.
* Go into what is called the hynagogic state. This is where your body and mind are almost asleep. You don’t desire to go to sleep. Use the gazing method to accomplish this. As you lie in bed focus on an object and remain staring until when your eyes close that you still can picture the object.
* You see the object, your eyes are closed and now you need to move to a deeper state of relaxation. Look around, with your eyes closed and try to see other images in the room. The possibility is that you may see different and varied light patterns. The room may be clothed in a purple light, ignore it. But once you have seen the purple light, you will know you have entered a deeper state of relaxation. Completely relaxed, the awareness of your physical body will no longer be there and an important technique of astral projection, according to the Monroe.
* This step four is most important with Monroe. You have to enter the Vibration state. Several people who have been doing astral projection techniques for a long time say they feel the vibration early in the astral projection. It is thought by these people that the feel of vibration is what happens when the astral body starts to leave your physical body. Don’t be alarmed, only feel these vibrations.
* Now control the vibration while in this state. Focus, make the vibrations move through your body. This is done with your mind. You want to feel the vibrations through your whole body. Like waves washing over you. Practice this until you can feel the waves anytime you want them. When you can create waves on demand successfully you are ready to leave the body.
* The key component to astral projection and astral travel is to have control, that your mind is the one in power. To help strengthen this control Monroe recommends at this point you practice a “partial separation.” Keeping your mind focused on the idea of leaving the physical body, first let a hand or a foot go of the astral body. Stretch them to an object that is near you, such as the wall, the floor or another familiar object, then push your hand or foot through that object. Once you do that, return your foot or hand back to the physical body, slow down the vibrations and end the session. Stay laying down until your body has returned to a fully awake state.
* This is the step where you will leave the body. Again following all of the previous steps, only this time instead of releasing just a hand or foot from the physical body you are going to move completely into your astral body. This requires a simple adjustment to step six. Instead of focusing on releasing one appendage, you are going to focus on releasing the astral body, by thinking about how light it feels, how weightless you are, how you are as light as feathers blowing in the breeze. The astral body should be moving out of the physical body, you feel as though you are floating, or flying.
There are different methods for you to try. One method is the Rope Technique, also the Gazing Method, and then the Anchor Technique. Spending time trying these method to find which is suited to you. There is an astral projection technique for everyone. You just need to find one that is best for you.
However, you should be aware that not everyone is able to astral project instantly using the above techniques and some of these require a lot of practice.
There is a shortcut luckily! Through recent sound technology developments, audio tools exist that can assist you. These recent techniques utilize special frequencies of sound call Binaural beats, which balance the brain’s two hemispheres, instantly placing you into a state of meditation, required for astral projection.
You can also get into the totally relaxed state needed by listening to quality astral projection techniques hypnosis recordings. These reinforce to the subconscious mind that it is okay for your astral body to leave your physical body.
Astral projection, truly an experience for anyone who tries it. And with these techniques it’s possible for everyone, who wishes to, to experience it.
There Are Many Advantages When You Practice Buddhism
Millions of people follow Buddhist studies but there are still many people in the Western culture that are unfamiliar with Buddhism. It is a religion that dates back thousands of years and has helped many people overcome their suffering and has taught countless others how to help end the suffering of their fellow man. This religion can seem difficult to understand when you first begin but if you take the time to learn the basic tenants, then you can find your own happiness and sense of self-fulfillment that many miss in life.
Within Buddhism there are two main schools of the traditional Buddhist teachings. These are Mahayana and Theravada. They both have enlightenment as the end goal but differ in how the path to enlightenment is traveled. Each has a set amount of chants and rituals that followers practice every day of their lives. Once you read about the basic differences you can see which path fits your beliefs best.
The Buddhist religion and philosophy is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. There are four main beliefs that the Mahayana and Theravada believe in. These are: the Middle Way, Dependent Origination, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The journey to Buddhahood is the highest attainment that anyone following the religion Buddhism can attain.
Many people associate the Buddhist religion with meditation practice, a Buddha statue and Buddhist practice. These are all true for this belief. Meditation is a huge part of attaining enlightenment. It requires the person to enter into a Zen like state in which they search for the meanings of life. Many people who practice this religion will have a Buddha statue as a reminder of the trials and tribulations that Gautama Buddha went through on his journey to enlightenment. No one is asking you to fast and remain still for forty-nine days, as the Buddha did, but it does require some discipline.
One of the main tenants of this philosophy and religion is that you should not cause harm to others. The religion and spirituality Buddhism teaches is that the way to spiritual enlightenment is through letting transgressions go. Yes, there will be pain and suffering in life but each person should hold nothing against others for their wrongdoings. To hold transgressions and hatred close to the heart only stops the person from growing spiritually.
Buddhism is experiencing an awakening in the West as more people are turning to aspects of this philosophy and applying them to their lives. They are finding that the Buddhist practice of meditation is actually a huge stress reliever. There are even classes, such as in Yoga, which offer some of the Buddhists practices into a way that Westerners can utilize in their lives. If you are suffering from stress and a feeling of emptiness, then perhaps you should give the Buddhist philosophy a try.
Do You Know The History Of Buddhism?
The story about Buddhism and how it came to be all started long ago with a king named Suddhodana. It was his son, Siddhartha, who would later in life become the Buddha. Yes, some of the stories you find on the internet and in books are often fantastical in its nature. It is a unique blend of fairytale and fact in the Buddhist teachings that can be found today. There is quite a lot more to Buddhism than just having a big Buddha statue sitting on your desk as a decoration. It is a great piece of history and millions of believers follow the teachings of Buddhism.
A prediction was made by a holy man regarding Siddhartha. The holy man prophesized that the young prince would either grow up to become a great ruler or he would become a wise holy man. The king was obviously dismayed that his son might abdicate his princely life and so tried to shelter the young man from the outside world. Unfortunately for Suddhodana, this did not stop the outside world from coming into contact with his son. At the age of 29, Siddhartha came into contact with what is now known as the “Four Sights.” He came across an elderly man, a corpse, a diseased man and a holy man. This gave him a glimpse into the sufferings of mankind and Siddhartha was so moved that he abandoned his princely throne to become a holy man himself.
The main principle behind the Buddhist teachings is one that Siddhartha sought to find, in order to put an end to human suffering. At first he tried fasting and enduring pain as a way to see the world clearly and to find the way to end the suffering that surrounded him. Fortunately for Buddhists, he found a less painful method. Siddhartha found that meditation was the true path. This fact about Buddhism still remains true today.
Siddhartha’s meditation retreat came in the form of meditating beneath a tree outside of a village for forty-nine days. It was during these forty-nine days that he attained enlightenment and could begin teaching his findings to the rest of the world. From this point on, Siddhartha became known as Buddha. Buddhist studies teach followers that the true path to ending human suffering in this world is to follow a strict path set forth by the Buddha. It involves ritualized chants and meditations to alleviate the conflicts that plague humanity.
If you are interested in learning more about Buddhism and the principles that make up this religion and philosophy, then there are many websites and centers that you can turn to for information. Perhaps the Buddhist practice will become one that you wish to follow in your pursuit of higher endeavors. You can visit www.buddhism.about.com for more information.
Preparing for the Holidays: The Inward Journey
Why do the holidays cause us so much stress? Many of uscarry memories and concepts thatseparate us, ormake us feelless than loved.Yes, the holidays are much like being under that microscope, and it is hard to hide those deep down feelings that we typically suppress.
I know what you are thinking right now: this topic is a little bit depressing, and far too close to home. Alright, then we can suppress it one more year, but there are other options. Isn’t life supposed to be an enriching experience? It is so easy for us to get caught within the story line, and forget who we are. We are spirit. We are more than the moment. The moment is supposed to fill us and provide us opportunity to grow. We just forget who we are, and place more value in the moment than in ourselves.
Consider this time to be an opportunity for your personal growth. By this I mean seeing yourself a little more clearly, and redefining your values. You are spirit, and that means your source of love comes from being, not what you do. The time has come to take off that life lesson overcoat and let go of those things that you no longer want to define you. It’s time to step out of the story and see it in a different light.
When you are feeling that tension and anxious feeling then you likely have a contradiction between the inner and outer worlds. This is where a spiritual reading session comes into play.Happiness comes when we have a consistent flow between our two worlds.
A spiritual seer can help you fill in the picture and find a new perspective in life. You can bridge that gap by gaining clarity about your life experiences and lessons you seek to learn as a spiritual being.
Holiday stress is an opportunity for growth. You can listen to those inner signals, those events that cause you tensions, and ask that magic question: what am I leaving out? The answer to that question is always going to be you.
Goblins, Googles, and Grins
With Halloween nearly upon us, we seem to have our minds on goblins! And that made us think about the goblins in our Consciousness – those pesky error thoughts that keep us from being at one with the Truth of who we are. We want to send those goblins packing! But, it is important to do it the right way, or we will just end up creating more problems for ourselves.
This is where Google comes into play. Whenever we really need to know something, we turn to Google!
As an aside, did you know that Google is a play on the word “GOOGOL” which refers to the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google coined the word to reflect their mission to organize the immense, seemingly infinite amount of information available via the web.
Google is our favorite search engine ~ but even with Google, you can only find so much. Just imagine the infinite amount of Divine Ideas and Guidance available to us when we Google God!
Just for kicks, we did Google God, and came up with 510,000,000 hits in just .09 seconds! And believe me, those hits were all over the place, from God’s homepage, to the official God FAQ (which we do not recommend), to God’s Yellow Pages! But it was nothing compared to what we get when we really Google God – through Meditation and Prayer. Rather than sit at the computer, try sitting in the Silence, quieting your mind, and opening yourself up to receive the Divine abundance of ideas and guidance that are at your constant disposal.
And here’s the best part. Once we identify our goblins, then Google God through mediation and prayer, we can live in a state of constant giggles! We can experience the pure delight of knowing that we are never alone, and nothing has any power over us. We can say with gusto: My consciousness is greater than any goblin my mind can imagine!
Research has now proven that complex humor (riddles, puns, funny stories) not only strengthens our immune system, it actually can improve memory and recalibrate our intuition! We can also approach problems with more flexibility, opening the channels to creative Divine ideas. We call it the Giggle State of Consciousness.
When we live in the Giggle State of Consciousness, we live from a state of pure joy and gratitude. Consider this great quote we discovered about gratitude, by Melody Beatty:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Did you know that there is an actual meditation practice called a Laughter Meditation? Because the physical act of laughter is one of the few actions that involves the body, emotions, and soul, it helps us transcend physical and mental stresses. It has even been proven to improve the immune system.
You can practice 3 stages to mindful laughter, each taking 5-20 minutes:
* Stretching like a cat and breathing deeply. Stretch the muscles in your face by yawning and making silly faces.
* Pure laughter. Fall on the floor if you want, and keep laughing as long as you can. You may feel like you are forcing it at first, but we invite you to give it a try. Just laugh out loud!
Read these funny stories to get you laughing:
We loved this announcement from a church bulletin: “Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person(s) you want remembered.”
Or this: Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door. (That’ll really help build that esteem!)
And how about this slogan: The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours.”?
A woman went to the Post Office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. “What Denomination?” asked the clerk. “Oh, good grief! Have we come to this?” said the woman. “Just give me 50 Baptist and 50 Catholic ones.”
* And the third step: Sit in silence with your eyes closed, and focus on your breath.
We believe Jesus had a great sense of humor, and understood the power of joy. He used hyperbole, paradox, and exaggeration to make a point. In John 15:11, He said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and [that] your joy might be full.”
Lowell Fillmore (Charles & Myrtle’s son) said, in his book, The Prayer Way to Health, Wealth, & Happiness: “Unity believes that when joy is put back into religion, there will be more religion in the world.” A friend of Lowell’s said that back when they lived together at Unity Farm, young Lowell would take off his shoes and socks, and run barefoot in the winter snow-just out of exhilaration, out of the joy of being alive!
We’d like to close this week’s article with a poem we enjoy. But take note: we added an additional verse to share a Unity perspective!
Sit on the Lid and Laugh (by Bertha Adams Backus)
Build for yourself a strong box
Fashion each part with care;
When it’s strong as your hand can make it
Put all your “goblins” there.
Hide there all thought of your failures,
Every real or imagined gaffe;
Lock all your heartaches within it
Then sit on the lid and laugh.
Tell no one else its contents
Never its secrets share,
When you’ve dropped in your care and worry
Keep them forever there;
Hide them from sight so completely
That the world will never dream half
Fasten the strong box securely
Then sit on the lid and laugh!
(Our bonus verse):
You have within you this strongbox
At Headquarters you’ll find it’s true -
Go there to empty your worries
Your problems, your fears – heartaches, too.
The goblins that seem to consume you
The burdens that tear you in half -
Can be Googled away in this strongbox ~
And you can sit on the lid and laugh!
So when the goblins come out to frighten you away from your Divinity, just Google God by spending time in the Silence, with the assurance that you can live in a constant state of Divine Giggles and Joy, knowing that wherever you are, God is – and all is well!
Birds of a Feather
A 12-pound hawksbill turtle crawled up to die on a wind torn beach. An autopsy revealed that half of its weight was from man made products. Its stomach and intestines contained multi-colored beads, part of a comb, two golf tees, a toy wheel, rope, balloon, part of a plastic bottle, a plastic toothpaste cap, the top of a plastic medical syringe, baggies, and a plastic flower.* Its contents were carb-free, but had no nutritional value. (As referenced by Paul Varo Martinson in World Religions: The Problem of Imaging Christ, Imaging Christ: Politics, Art, Spirituality, ed. Francis A. Eigo, Villanova, PA: Villanova University Press, 1991, 111).
Apart from the environmental and ecological travesties associated with the turtle’s poor dietary choices, this unfortunate occurrence speaks to the message we have been sharing with you.
It is a message which says: Until we are open to personal and spiritual transformation and to the transformational languaging which goes along with it, we risk having our spirit choked with the plastic half-truths of conventional thinking and conventional theology which can clutter half, or all, of our thinking.
We invite you to ‘get over’ carrying around plastic thoughts and attitudes like the plastic mush in the turtle’s stomach before it sends you crawling up on beaches of convention instead of soaring up mountains of enlightenment.
This ‘Get Over It’ message is based on the book by the same title. It is designed to help you move from plastic to platinum in your thinking – from blind obedience to conventional thinking to the unlimited openness and joy of transformational thinking.
The phrases we’re inviting you to ‘get over’ in this article usually come as a pair. They are: “Birds of a feather stick together” and “opposites attract.”
We’re offering you a bird’s eye view of these worn out beliefs which we believe are flying out of formation. These two phrases, we think you’ll agree, have been winging it for some time.
The “birds of a feather stick together” phrase has been around a long time. It has been around since at least the mid 16th century. It first appeared in 1545 in William Turner’s rendition of his papist satire The Rescuing of Romish Fox: “Byrdes of one kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together.”
No such origin can be found for “opposites attract.” However its origin may be closer than we think. It is actually a social science concept called “common belief factor.”
It originates from the word “heterocentrism.” “Hetero” is the Greek term for “different.”Centre” is Greek for “centered on” or “drawn toward.” To use a similar analogy, a “heliocentric” plant, like a sunflower, is a plant that grows toward or is drawn to the sun.
It reminds us why we are no longer total, absolute vegans. It seemed that whenever we sat in a chair near the window we started leaning toward the light.
So, something which is “heterocentric” involves two or more UNLIKE things that are magnetized towards each other.
Do opposites attract? Do birds of a feather flock together? What does the current research literature have to say about that? In one of the most comprehensive studies ever undertaken on these questions, researchers at the University of Iowa found
Before we share their findings if you are looking for the perfect soulmate or business partner you may want to read this very carefully. Researchers at the University of Iowa found that we tend to hang around others who are similar in attitudes, interests, philosophy, religion, and values.
However, it is the complementary nature of our personalities that seems to be more important in creating enduring and happy relationships. Those similarities include character traits like: assertiveness, introversion and extroversion, compassion, even-temperedness, sense of humor, and so on. (The findings appear in the February issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 88, No., 2, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Other than that nothing is certain. The concepts of ‘birds of a feather flocking together’ or ‘opposites attracting’ seem to boil down to one thing: the power of choice.
There is no automatic, incontrovertible, mindless attraction that pulls people together. If that sounds like fowl language we invite you to consider the fact that in order for these two sayings to be absolute truths they would have to be true in all circumstances.
People who are the same don’t always do things with each other. Opposites aren’t always attracted to each other. We choose with whom we flock, herd, swim, swarm, or hibernate.
We like to hang around with Unitics and other truth seekers. We also like to flock with: dancers, people who love the performing arts, open-minded people, high energy people, philosophers and metaphysicians, possibility-thinkers, healers, and frozen custard lovers, good conversationalists, movie goers, people who love to travel, people who have a good sense of humor, and banana pudding lovers, to name a few.
With whom do you flock! In what ways are important people in your life opposite from you?
What Is The Purpose Of Meditation
There are many definitions of what meditation is and many reasons why people do it. Essentially though meditation is a spiritual practice, its purpose being to explore the very nature of what we are… Go here read the rest of this great article on meditation