Everybody Dies, But Not Everybody Lives

When we put off doing something we really feel a connection to, it can suck the life out of us. If there is something you have felt compelled to do, that may be part of your destiny.

So when that happens, that you keep on pushing something that keeps coming to mind to the back burner, you may feel drained of energy because spirit keeps sending you messages and showing you omens and you keep ignoring them.

Of course, we can always exercise our free will and say that other things are a priority for us now. We can always decide that the idea that seemed great some time in the past is no longer as vibrant or powerful a motivator for us.

If that is true and we are really ready to let go of the old idea, we need to send a clear, conscious communication to spirit and to our selves. A good way to do that is to create a ritual to let go of the old dreams, the old ideas, and clear the space to make way for the new, for what is important to us now. Then we will no longer carry around the baggage of intentions that are not sincere, not acted on, and we let go of those things and move to the front burner that which we really are going to do.

When I was getting out of the advertising business, I gave my portfolio to another freelancer so that she could use the actual display case and try and get business from any of my former customers. I took all my suits and ties to a Goodwill store. I have never had a need for a suit and tie again in all the years since then. When decided to no longer play the sports I used to play, I sold all that equipment. It was very cathartic to do these things.

Another guy I knew burned a drawing of a planned real estate development he had been working on when he got out of the real estate business.

When I used to teach creative writing, people used to sign up for my classes all the time because they had been thinking about writing, but in many cases, not doing it. Actually coming to a class where they had to bring in something they wrote every week created the opportunity to either do it or drop out and forget about it.

I have seen people who changed their spiritual path, so they reorganized their personal library to reflect the path they were currently on, and traded in their old books to used book stores, so that what they had at homes was very focused and supportive of their new direction.

The actions we take reflect what is really going on within us. When we do a personal ritual of transition, we free up our energies to move more swiftly along in the direction we are going.

Let us not live a life of regrets. Let us live a life that reflects our aliveness and the fulfillment of our destiny. If we are not clear on the direction we will take next, we can also do a personal ceremony to ask for direction.

Making the Shot

Last night I decided to do something I had not done in a quite a while, so I went out to shoot pool. My game was really off.

There was a time when I was pretty good when I worked a job at night and one of my buddies also was off in the afternoons and we used to go shoot. Uncle Phil was a good at the game and he taught me lessons that I just had to start remembering to get my game back on track. He wasn't really my uncle. It was just that we used to call him that because he was a bit older than the rest of us, and he was a better shooter than the rest of us.

We also used to play chess, and there is a carryover between the two. In chess you learn to think several moves ahead. In pool, good shooters do that too. You want to sink your next ball, but you also want to know where that places you after that ball sinks, otherwise you can leave yourself in a place where you don't have a next shot. It sort of relates to that other axiom when you are playing someone else: if you can't sink it, hide it. That way your opponent will be as stuck as you are now and will be forced to leave you a good opening.

One of the first ones was that you have to visualize the shot before you can make it. If you want it to go a certain way, you have to cut it or bank it a certain way. When you miss it's because that's the direction you sent the ball in when you hit it.

If you want to get better control of where you are sending the cue ball, you have to have a tight bridge, which where you set your sights over the left hand.

You get the best leverage holding the cue in your right hand where you can balance it perfectly.

When you feel the tipping point of the balance and you have good aim, then just hit the ball hard enough to get it where it is going. This way you have more control over what happens next and will leave yourself in a good position for a follow up shot. People who hit way harder than necessary just make a mess.

There's another reason why the light touch works better. Uncle Phil taught me that the closest shot on the table, no matter how tough the angle, or how tight, is always a better percentage shot than the long shot.

If you can see the shot you can make it. If you can't see it you can't make it.

So as I was shooting last night, I started to get my game back on track. It's a long way back to my previous skill level. But that's what happens when you don't practice for a while.

The pool shooting then became a meditative practice for me and I started thinking about how to get a better aim on my business expansion.

It pays to play and get your mind off business so that you can come back sharper, with some fresh ideas. Who would have thought I would have gotten some new business ideas while trying to pocket a few balls.

And I am sure that was part of what old Uncle Phil had in mind while he was teaching me about shooting.

What Went Right

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday where the whole idea is to give thanks for all the good things we have received in life. What a beautiful and simple thing to do.

Notice how it puts a smile on your face and magnetizes you for more good things to come.

Often when people look back on their life, they remember things that went wrong, mistakes they made and they think to themselves, if only I had that to do over. That kind of thinking could lead into a downward spiral just as easily as an upward spiral.

So, instead, think about the things that went right, the times in your life when everything came together and you got great results. Notice how you experience an upward spiraling of energy.

Re-groove your thoughts to focus on what went right and look for ways to do more of that. And give some time and energy to those people in your life who helped things go right.

Take few moments to review and look for the victorious moments. Remember how it felt and begin to experience that feeling again. Those feelings will lead to actions, and the actions will bring results.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Testimonials

I love doing the work that I do, and appreciate the opportunity to be of service to others through my readings, healing and teaching. Today I would like to share with you some recent testimonials from my clients.

"Thank you so much for your patience and kindness while teaching me. I learned a lot from you, and also realized how much more depth there is to the Tarot and myself." --- Lisa

"I got some wonderful insight from a tarot card reader, Dan :) It was so unbelievable, insightful and really brought clarity to me :) I highly recommend it!!" --- Lindsay

"Hi Dan, Thank you again for the reading. I am interested in getting another reading." --- Marianne

"How very sweet of you to follow up our visit. I enjoyed your reading and was very happy to get a new perspective using a different deck. Thank you for that." --- Leslie

"Excellent! I enjoyed my reading and I'm going to give my daughter a 30 minute reading with you." --- Marja

"Thanks for the email. I really appreciated the reading the other day." --- Anna

"Dan, I really need to talk to you tonight. Need to make decisions fast. Thank you!" ---L

"Thank you for your time and reading this evening. I am excited to do a reading with my new cards later, and this deck already started speaking to me as I cleared it; it's neat to see different perspectives on cards we've seen and known and to see such amazing artwork. Thank you for introducing me to the deck and book." --- Erika

"I have been telling all of my friends about you all day today ... I was hoping you didn't mind referrals because I gave your info to two of my good friends. I have one specifically that is really in need of a good reader." --- Erin

"I think having another reading would be fun. My life seems to be strange these days and I could use some insight. Thanks!!" ---Pam

"I just want thank you once again. It was pleasure meet you and have a reading with you." --- A

"I appreciate your kind suggestion to make an offer. THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU-THANK YOU--you are too kind and generous! I'm so excited and cannot wait to receive the deck--WOW! The cards ARE TO DIE FOR! You can trust that I will take good care of the deck which WILL no doubt bring me many-many hours of pleasure!" --- Linda (who bought a hard to find deck)

"I would love to get some energy work done soon. It has been a really busy and hectic month for me!" --- M

"Dan, I wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me during the reading on Sunday. I had a few readings since my accident but no one but you gave me advice on how to bring back my intuition. I have been debating for a long time to tap into whatever abilities I have but I am not sure what path to take or where to begin. I see from your card that you teach tarot perhaps we can discuss it further and see if it's something for me. I am a very shy person and sometimes have trouble stating what I feel and want." --- L

"Thanks Dan it was great meeting and talking with you too. Thanks for the follow-up. I'm sure we'll work together again in the future. I'll refer people to you for sure. I liked your energy." --- Tracey

An Exercise in Gratitude

It is good to stop and reflect on our life journey so far.

Here is an exercise to help with that. What are you grateful for?

Take your deck of cards and select the ones that have pictures that would pertain to your feeling of gratitude. Any surprises?

Did you suddenly come across a card that prompted a good feeling? Keep them out for at least one day and see what other feelings come to you.

Is this layout one that you added to the next day?

Does this suggest any action on your part?

Or are you simply basking in the glow of gratitude?

High and Low Zero

There are times in life when we get knocked back down to zero and in the process of getting back up again, we learn a lot of new things, maybe even better ways to do things.

It seems that our learning often needs to be reset to get a fresh start. Often, for example if your computer is acting sluggish and the applications you are using just don't seem to be responding properly, you have to reboot, which stops everything and starts it again, and that gets everything back on track.

Sometimes in relationships, people may find that they have to go back to zero by divorcing or separating before they build a new and better relationship.

When we are looking for ways to build our business to the next level, we find that we need to reconsider how we are doing it and perhaps adapt new techniques, or mix in new techniques while keeping the best of the old.

Sometimes people who create new businesses go bankrupt, go back to zero and start all over before they find their great success.

Science and art are places where we see it all the time. We think we know how something works, but then we discover something new and reframe our whole idea of how it works. How do oceans work? How are planets formed? How are diseases cured? How do we learn music? What makes this art?

Meditate on the Fool's Journey, and this is part of what you come to realize. The Fool is always numbered zero in the deck, and for this reason the Fool is said to be both the highest and lowest card in the deck. In any of these endeavors, one of the characteristics of the journey is having enough humility to know that you do not always know, but you are willing to learn.

The Path of the Apprentice

Even those who are acknowledged by others as masters know that their learning from the path is never done. Learning more about your chosen field does not stop because someone gives you a certificate and others are always complimenting you on your work.

The person who approaches their work with openness, joy, a desire to learn more and perform better is always ready to accept new bits of knowledge and try new techniques. The person with this sort of disposition looks at details of their work and pursues refinements. When someone else in their field does something innovative, they are appreciative and say things like "that's interesting. I hadn't thought of doing it that way before."

On the path of the apprentice, the master does not always call themselves by that title because they know that they enjoy their work and that others have respect for what they do.

The person who is truly the master does not always flaunt their title, sometimes as a counterpoint to those who acquire a title too easily and use it simply as a self promotional gimmick, and sometimes out of a sense of true humility, acknowledging that one who is enjoying their journey on the path is never really finished.

On the path of apprenticeship, masters know that they are never finished with their journey, that there is always something interesting along the way, and that even a person who has achieved excellence and recognition is still an apprentice on the path. And this is not a disappointment. It is a pleasure.

Tarot Symbols and Their Uses

The design of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck expressed such a powerful vision that it changed both the way of reading cards and influenced the design of new decks for 100 years now.

Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of it was that it put a picture on every card in the deck, and every picture unleashes ideas, taps into the subconscious and participates in the telling of a story to the person who is requesting the reading, or through the reader to the person requesting the reading.

In the original design, the author, Arthur Edward Waite, and the artist, Pamela Colman Smith, incorporated many metaphysical symbols to add layers of meaning to the use of the cards. These provide guidance and advice of a spiritual nature and address the essence of issues portrayed in the images. They form part, not the whole of the meanings behind the pictures. Usually the central image will bring some insight or understanding to light all by itself, and it is not always necessary to understand all of the reasons behind various details. That is part of the genius of the design; there are plenty of clues there, and intuition guides us in picking up on them and making a whole and useful narrative.

Many artists, authors and designers have followed the patterns created by Waite and Smith, and so when people are learning about tarot, this deck is still a jumping off point for understanding a deck and how to work with it, providing a valuable frame of reference that aids in understanding the process.

However, in recent years, many excellent artists and designers have proven that a great deck can be made from all kinds of images, from abstract or representational paintings to black and white drawings to photographs to computer enhanced images to reproductions of great art to fantasy stories to great literature. And these can be effective even without incorporating the metaphysical symbology included in the RWS because the choice of imagery can cover a tremendous amount of territory on its own.

Other types of symbols such as numbers and colors are more universal and accessible, and these two elements are found in nearly every deck, except, for example, decks designed in black and white or without numbers.

Even though some concepts may be changed by design, the essence usually remains. Changing Judgment to Karma, Devil to Temptation, Death to Transformation, Fool to Seeker, World to Universe and so on, simply makes the concept more gentle or more palatable to some people.

Any collection of images can make a good deck to read with, including some non-tarot oracle decks, such as the Soul Cards, Psy Cards, Medicine Cards, Angel Cards, Faery Cards, Titania's Fortune Cards or Madame Endora's Fortune Cards, which do not use suits, major and minor arcana, court cards or numbers as methods of organization. Randomness characterizes their design as well as their use.

Tarot is special because there is a progression in the story lines, an organization of the images, a flow between both intuition and logic, or as many people might say, between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, the creativity and chaos and the order and principles.

Images are a rich and nuanced way of addressing consciousness at multiple levels simultaneously. A person can have one of these experiences looking through a bunch of old family photos, or a book of art or photography, although the family photos might be too limiting because there are too many personal references, whereas the universal symbology of a tarot deck is open to everyone, and a book will always present things in the same order, where shuffling a deck can present virtually unlimited juxtapositions of images together, which varies the messages and their impact.

The creation of the tarot deck is one of the most powerful tools we can use, not simply as a fortune telling device, but as a self teaching tool or meditational device in the same way a mandala works.

One old tarot reader always maintained that if a person did not have any other books, and if they were simply locked in a room for a month with nothing to read or look at but a tarot deck, that at the end of that month, they would have keys to all the important life lessons in their hands, and the cards could help them unlock the mysteries of the universe.

True, it takes most people far longer than a month to learn to use a deck of cards, and even those of us who have been using them for years are never done learning from them, as layer after layer reveals new secrets to us. It is amazing how you can look at a picture hundreds of times or thousands of times and still find something you never realized before or never noticed before. They were designed that way, and that is the genius of the deck.

New Best Friends

There is no such thing as a beginner's deck. Sometimes people ask what is the best to begin with, but the best advice is to simply pick a deck whose artwork you really like. If the art speaks to you, you will be able to work with it.

Meanings and interpretations will come to you as you gaze at the cards and let your mind wander over all of the possible meanings a picture can hold. you will notice that a card can mean one thing all by itself, but then in various combinations with other cards, it can take on other meanings.

As you work with your spirit guides and let the feelings flow, other meanings will come to you which may seem at first to be totally unrelated to the pictures. We have to learn to trust our instincts and intuitions. Pay attention to your first impressions.

When teaching a person about working with cards, it often happens that when I have them draw a card and then ask them what it means, they tell that they need to look it up in the book first. I advise to set the book aside. Work with the cards first and read the book later. The cards will work with you and you may or may not agree with what is in the book.

This is the way I began. My fist deck did not come with a book, so I had to get familiar with them and learn to work with them without any instructions. Today, a great many decks come packaged with a book. Some books are wonderful and some don't offer a lot.

If you just focus on the central image contained on each card, you will be on the right track. Some designers include other symbol sets on cards, such as runes, letters of the Hebrew alphabet, I Ching hexagrams, alchemical symbols, astrological signs, playing card equivalents, and other things.

In my experience, these other symbols can in some cases deepen your experience of the cards, but they are extra, and not essential. A card set relies on the pictures, and the central image will always tell you something.

So if you are just beginning to work with cards, do not be intimidated. Just enjoy and appreciate the imagery and let every picture tell a story. In the constant shuffling, different combinations of pictures will tell different stories. Don't be too hard on yourself and think you need to understand every little detail.

If you see me at the fair, I will have a number of decks with me that I can read for you with, and if you wish to purchase a deck for yourself to use, I have some excellent deals. I love tarot and will be happy to introduce you to a fabulous array of decks that can become your own metaphysical tool box and tutor. Some of us even feel like our decks are our friends.

Think of working with a deck as making a new best friend and avail yourself of the wisdom, insight and beauty that each has to offer. Amazing how something that fits easily in a pocket or purse can yield such giant results, and grow with you over the years. A combination art gallery and book of wisdom that just gets better with age, revealing layer upon layer of beauty, truth, wisdom and advice, and your deck is always ready for you.

Living Tarot

Here is an exercise that you can use when you are drawing one card at a time to use as a self teaching technique. As you draw a card, ask yourself, how would you feel if this were you in the picture? How would things look from your vantage point? Do you hear anything? Do you smell anything? What happens in the scene following this one?

If you could talk to the character in this picture, what would you say? What would they say? What kind of tone do they use to address you? Are they stern? Humorous? Loving? Duplicitous? Are they shy? Arrogant? Insightful? Encouraging?

If these were people in your life, who would they be? Do certain characters remain constant in who they represent, or do they change according to the day, or the question?

What changes when you draw more than one card?

How do the stories read, when you place three or more together? Are there infinite varieties of stories? Or do the recurring characters seem to act the same and speak the same every time you see them?

Tarot Art

Tarot art is still growing in terms of recognition. For example, art galleries are not all competing to host shows by tarot creators, and they do not get reviews like new books or recordings in most places, or even by art reviewers.

But a number of people who initially worked as graphic artists or commercial artists and illustrators have now created tarot decks simply because they were intrigued by the artistic challenge of being creative within a structured framework, meaning the deck of 78, with 22 major arcana, minor arcana, court cards, suits and numbers from one to ten.

There have been a few major artists, like Salvador Dali, who have produced a deck. His paintings of course, you can see in museums. But there are other artists like Luis Royo who is well known for creating comic books as well as tarot decks. Within those two mediums his work is well known, but not as much in the way of a gallery or museum show.

There are others who have done nothing but tarot and make numbered and signed limited edition sets. Some of these artists also make a standard edition set, in the more typical card size and print hundreds or thousands of copies. Some artists only sell their decks on their own websites.

Today there are artists using photoshop types of technology to create decks graphically separating themselves from the Renaissance type paintings and drawings. And there are some decks that incorporate art by classical artists in their design, so now you can see some of the masters in portable size reproductions.

Remember, when photography was a newer art form, gallery owners didn't want them either, until the popularity of people like Ansel Adams. Comic book artists are now getting more recognition because like tarot cards, lots of people buy them, read them and collect them, although gallery owners were not always willing to feature them as artists.

Tarot art is very user friendly, which is why some people buy decks just to look at the pictures, even without trying to do readings for others. It is like having your own little art gallery that will fit in a pocket or purse or not take up much space on a table or bookshelf.

Think about the times when you just want to spend a few quiet moments looking at a coffee table art book just for the sheer pleasure of looking at it. Those art books can be big, heavy and expensive, and this is not to imply any negativity there. I am just saying by comparison, tarot decks can be bought for as little as $20, and some of the more collectible ones are only as much as some coffee table art books. Only a smaller portion are up there in that very top end of the expensive stratosphere.

But if you are just looking to spend a little quiet time, enjoying visual art, you can take out a deck, fan through the images, and enjoy them simply as art. If you use them as a meditative tool or a philosophical or storytelling device, or for creative inspiration, after you are done with your brief interlude, you can set them on the coffee table or end table, or keep one in your desk for a little refreshment at work or carry them with you.

In this way, they are a very practical and affordable luxury or a very inexpensive tool that can grow with you.

One of these days, I think we will see more tarot artists get the recognition they deserve and be seen in gallery shows, museums, or on TV shows or documentaries that feature artists. It is a growing part of the art world. One of the reasons there are so many more deck designs out now is precisely because of this. Creative people are always looking for new ways to express themselves. And those who take the time to appreciate them also find a lot of benefit from this art form.

Googling, Hacking and Coughing

Don't know about you, but I find the whole story about Google, hacking and their deal with the Chinese government to be fascinating, and not just because of the technical wizardry, but the ethical question at the root of it all.

I can be just as enamored of a good conspiracy theory as any X Files or Coast to Coast AM fan, but this is not a theory.

Google's desire to get a piece of the booming Chinese economy led it to do something that others of us might never agree to do, and that is agree to censorship.

Talk about your Faustian bargains, the deal they made was that if people in China wanted to look up information about subjects that make the government uncomfortable, like the Dalai Lama or Tiannamen Square, all they could get is a blank screen.

In return, they would get an opportunity to make money off all the Chinese people who are getting computers and using them like we do, to use the famous search engine to find information.

All this opening trade with China combined with the American corporate willingness to sell them everything made it possible for Chinese hackers this week to get into the vaunted Google, and Symantec, maker of anti-virus software and also Northrop Grumman, a major manufacturer of military aircraft. The fact that the accounts of Chinese dissidents and advocates for a Free Tibet were also hacked kind of points the finger at Chinese government involvement but that is not a proven fact yet.

Obviously, Google didn't mind if ordinary Chinese people were blocked from looking up certain subjects, but when the hackers got into their home turf and started messing around, then the issue became serious.

Google cannot have it both ways. You cannot have a system that allows anyone to access information and at the same time censor the process according to the whims of government officials and politicians. In the rest of the world, we even get to google the stuff that is embarrassing, disgusting, shocking or inconveniently true as well as the stuff that is amazing, heart warming, inspiring and informative.

I like Google and I use it every day. And I think it is absolutely wrong for them to become a partner with government to censor and repress. This is exactly the process outlined in George Orwell's novel 1984.

For those of you who have never read the book or seen the movie, the government employees would go back and rewrite history to make it read in a way that would support their propaganda. Facts were changed, photos were changed, so that when a person would look something up, all they saw was what the government wanted them to see.

The visionary writer came up with this cautionary tale of the future long before the founders of Google were even born, or for that matter before we had personal computers.

The hacking appears to be Google's wake up call. They are coughing and choking on the fact that agreeing to censorship was not enough to really satisfy the government demands, because they could not guarantee that people could not find a way around the censorship, so the opposition decided to hack in.

The standard should be the same all over the world. Either we have access to a free flow of information or we do not. Selling off people's freedom in order to cut out a bigger slice of profit is a bad and wrong choice in my opinion.

The hacking incident has caused them to threaten to pull out of the Chinese market. If this is what it takes to bring their consciousness up a level, good.

Cards on the Table

A card reading is a simple thing, really. Profoundly simple. People have a conversation while the cards are on the table. Images and symbols contained on the cards can help trigger something deeper in the subconscious and the conversation between the reader and querant brings this up to the conscious level so that something shifts inside the querant that helps them recognize developments on the horizon and how to approach them.

The art of the reader is to be able to pick up on the energies of the person who is asking for the reading and help see more deeply into the questions that person brings to the table. This ability on the part of the reader helps them to decipher the symbols in the way that is most relevant to the person who is wanting the reading. Experience with the cards and a fluid connection with their spirit guides is key to the success of the reader who has developed their art.

Even if at the beginning cards were created strictly as a game, somewhere along the line they were given brilliantly evocative imagery by a succession of talented artists and magical adepts who knitted together esoteric knowledge and wisdom to examine the larger patterns in life.

The fact that prior to the invention of the printing press, only nobles, clergy, and some merchants knew how to read and write or had access to manuscripts and libraries, the visionaries who helped shape the evolution of cards as a medium learned to pack a lot into the pictures so that everyone could access them. Yet, even for those of us who have studied them for a long time, new insights are always revealed even when looking again a picture we have seen thousands of times before.

Each person who comes to the table prompts different energies to be awakened and new visions to be revealed. Thus, the insights gained can be subtle, profound and immense.

Seeing the cards on the table in answer to your questions, whether asked aloud or not, is akin to having a real life experience and connecting it to a dream you had. Likewise, the cards can help decipher dreams and present keys to unlock those as well.

Looking back to the gaming origin of tarot, that spirit still permeates readings. After all, if card games are a combination of both chance and strategy, so is life. When we plot a new course for ourselves, we are taking some risks, and opening up to chance. We make plans and then there are surprises, and then we adjust, because those moments of chance could be the opportunities for greater opportunities, insight and the enrichment of our life experience.

It has never ceased to fascinate me how the drawing of cards can be both random and right on the mark. Once the cards are on the table, the whole scene is open and the story unfolds.

How Can a Past Life Recall Help You Now?

After a relationship is over, we may find ourselves wondering why we ever got into that one in the first place. When we are still going through the pain of separation and moving, we may be unable to see clearly, so it is sometimes easier to review after some time has passed (but not always, some are ready to do it right away) but there are lessons to draw from every experience. We just may have a difficult time figuring out what that is, and having a neutral guide can be valuable in this effort.

During this season of big parties and family reunions, questions about the nature of our relationships may be on our minds as we reflect on our past and look forward to our future.

A past life recall session is uniquely able to help you get answers to these questions. A past life recall is different than a reading. In a recall, I help you remember your own stories. I do not tell you what they were.

Recalling past lives can be a valuable experience, because it can help you get answers to your questions. For many people, this allows them the proper perspective to see the patterns in their life.

It can be a tool to help you learn something from a past life that can explain how you feel about yourself in this lifetime.

It can also help you discover a hidden talent or ability that is revealed through a past life.

It can help you discover the origin of unexplained pains, fears or phobias in this lifetime, and possibly find some relief from it.

It can help point the way to resolve old karma.

Past lives can hold the key to certain dreams you have had or are currently having. There are patterns in our dreams, just like there are patterns in our past lives and patterns in our relationships.

Past life information can be helpful for writing, research and creative inspiration.

Recalling these stories can be fun, without any other specific reason except to have an interesting and positive experience.

The first time I ever had a past life session, I asked the person who was guiding me through it how I could tell if it was just something my imagination made up. She said "If you just go through this process with me and you come up with a story that teaches you a valuable lesson, or helps you in some way, does it matter where the story came from?"

Knowing our patterns by reflecting on our past can help us create a better future, and that certainly is worthwhile, isn't it?

Driving Our Vehicles

I was in the doctor's office this morning, waiting to see the nutritionist. I've got to monitor my foods more closely and lose weight because I have diabetes.

Everyone going to a doctor's office has a problem with their body, it's just a matter of what part. We all have bodies and we all have things that need to be fixed periodically.

Sort of like our cars. They may run smoothly for a long time. Then one day you start to notice the brakes aren't working like they usually do. They squeal and take longer to stop.

Sort of like that with the other vehicle we use to get around in. We are cruising along smoothly when we notice that we used to exercise more than we do now or we are eating too many carbs, and suddenly our blood sugar numbers are spiking and not coming back down.

So we have stop and out some new brake pads on it, like a low fat diet. Of course, it is never that simple. We also have to have a low carb diet for greater fuel efficiency. Sort of like instead of just getting new brake pads, you now have to get new rotors and whatever those other expensive parts are they put in.

With our cars, we have to remember to change our oil, keep air in the tires, keep pads on the brakes and gas in the tank.

But sometimes we forget to do those same things with our other vehicle. I am not ready to trade this one in yet. I have some parts that still work real well, and still have a lot of mileage left on me. So it's time for some maintenance.

Kind of interesting to think of treating both vehicles the same. Sometimes it seems more like we think of body maintenance as a sudden occurrence that is unexpected, rather than planned maintenance.

Picture This

You wouldn't know this without me telling you, but one of my daily uses of the tarot is to let it inspire my writing every day.

Sometimes when I am mulling over different ideas and thinking about what to write, I draw some cards and make a spread, and that points me in a direction or helps me choose between the various possibilities.

Those of you who only think of tarot as a fortune teller's tool might be pleasantly surprised at how well it works as a self teaching guide. If you draw one card or several with the intention of finding a life lesson to reflect on each day, you will find your tarot deck to be a valuable, handy and easy to use method, same as a lot of people use books of quotes or thoughts for the day or meditations for the day.

If you have never used the tarot in this way, try it.

Point of clarification. A tarot deck contains 78 cards, including 22 major arcana, 56 minor arcana, divided into numbers 1-10 and court cards in 4 suits.

There are many other kinds of decks that people like to use although they are not tarot decks. These are referred to as oracle cards, and they can work just as well for many people. Many of these have varying numbers of cards, may not have suits or court cards or be divided into major and minor arcana. The most popular decks include Animal Cards, Angel Cards, Soul Cards, Power Deck, Psy Cards, and playing cards, although there are many others out there, more than I could name.

Consider a deck of cards as a self study tool plus a way to enhance your creativity, in addition to being an oracle, and in this way you open yourself to making fuller use of your deck. And yes, you can play games with it, just as you use playing cards, although the imagery opens itself to whole new dimensions of uses, since there is a picture on every card.

The fact that every picture tells a story is quite useful, like having your own little art gallery in your pocket, with story lines that never get boring because they always change.

Why Rituals Are Important To Us

We all have our daily rituals, although we may not refer to them that way, and they help us to orient ourselves in the world and prepare for the day ahead. Whether you begin by brewing a cup of coffee or tea, reading, doing yoga or tai chi, making notes in your journal or walking the dog, these are rituals.

When we change clothes as soon as we get home, we are saying to oursleves as much as to the rest of the world that we are now changing our role, our consciousness, our frame of mind, as we make the transition from work to play, relax, exercise, or socialize.

Consider then, the lack of these things when big changes occur in our lives. For example, we have rituals for getting married, but almost none for getting divorced or separated. We may throw a big party when we get a new job, but how do we acknowledge the change when we leave one, whether the change was voluntary or not?

No wonder the period of adjustment is disorienting and extended for many people. Of course, such major life changes take a long time to digest and many changes in a person's lifestyle will flow from these developments. How much might it help put things to rest and put them in perspective if a person were to do something special to recognize and embrace the change? How much would a person be encouraged to complete their transition and move on if they actually did a ritual to signify their change of status?

There is, of course, no correct or uniform time frame for making such a transition, but picture how it feels to do something symbolic and saying to yourself and the world that you are taking the next step into your new life. You begin to prepare for the new possibilities life has to offer and seeing the world as the new person. And this process is aided by doing something to mark the occasion.

Rituals are not just for birth and death, but for all the important passages in our lives. If you feel a need to move yourself forward, perhaps you need to create a ritual for this time in your life.

Saturday, Saturn's Day

Names for the days of the week in some of the European languages, such as French and Italian, come from the seven planets the ancients could see: Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn, which gives its name to Saturday.

As the farthest planet they could see unaided (without telescopes) Saturn represented limitation, the boundaries, structure and discipline. It rules skin, teeth, bones and knees. Bent knees are a sign of humility. Saturn presents tests, which can humble us.

The constant interplay throughout our lifetime between knowing who we are and discovering more about ourselves is domain of the boundaries, of Saturn. Thus, it illuminates us and spurs us on in our life's journey.

Saturn lessons bring self confidence, perseverance and building toward mastery, step by step. As a bringer of change, it is fitting that for many people, Saturday is also a big day to play. We work at our jobs Monday through Friday, and go out to do something different on Saturday, whether it is hiking, bicycling, partying, dancing, concerts or theatre.

Those of us who do work on Saturday are also bringers of change. Many of those people who work a M-F schedule come out for readings and healings on Saturdays, or go to workshops or engage in other activities that test their limits and help enlighten and heal.

Celebrating Saturday as the bringer of change, the boundary crosser, the illuminator of our personal journeys, was appropriate for ancient people, and it still strikes the perfect note for us.

Off The Beaten Path

One of the things I notice about metaphysical fairs that has remained constant over the years is the underlying sense of optimism about them.

The variety of things that a person might encounter there have one thing in common. People who offer natural and traditional methods to healing, products that contribute to a healthy environment, alternative energy, ways of developing our pyschic and creative abilities, all are putting forward solutions to problems, and offering mind expanding concepts about life.

While the wide open and accepting nature of metaphysical people and events has also provided a platform for things that are without much merit, those things usually fade away while the people and methods of substance remain.

As we have seen in recent years, politics and power are often the stumbling blocks to progress. For example creative people have been promoting alternative energy for years, and invented methods to produce it. More energy efficient vehicles and homes are already possible, it is just that the powers that be have long chosen not to really promote their development and use.

Herbal healing has been a fact of human life for millennia, so it is interesting to hear experts express doubt about it. But it is about the money. Energy healing, hypnosis and other methods which have ancient roots are also considered alternative, although they were here first.

It is satisfying to see the wheel turning, as more people become interested in these things all the time. When grocery chains become interested in organic foods, there are yoga studios and herb shops in every shopping center, massage has become readily available, and people going through major life changes get readings to gain another perspective and some insight into how to deal with these changes, there is more acceptance of these concepts and methods across the general population.

This is one of the reasons I have long been involved in all this. Looking through a lens of life affirming methods and associating with life affirming people adds to our resources for getting more joy and satisfaction out of every day. Workshops and courses of all types will continue to be popular because people are always open to finding ways to improve their quality of life.

Looking into those many things that were at times dismissed as foolish, outdated or superstitious has proven to be a boon to many. When many of the realities of our world are crumbling and being replaced or rebuilt in unfamiliar ways, the whole spectrum of metaphysics, holistic health, environmentalism and personal growth have much to offer.

Journeying off the beaten path has a great deal to offer the traveler who is open to life's journey, savoring the experience and adventure of it all, and finding hidden treasures of joy and discovery in these unlikely places. Optimism, like laughter, and curiosity, make good medicine.

Students and Teachers

Teachers can take different forms in our lives. Sometimes they are official teachers, like those we have in school, but sometimes they are unofficial teachers, people with whom we can share and learn from. Mentors is a word for such people in our lives.

Outside of the school model, we choose our teachers because we admire them and what they have accomplished. We also choose them because we see something in them that we want which we recognize from the way they are.

We may at times be prompted to learn from our teachers because we are challenged by the lessons they present us. Challenges can cause us to reach beyond what we have done and grow in our abilities and confidence.

Different teachers have different ways to get us there.

A good student also challenges the teacher to find better ways to communicate the lessons and get value from them. Asking questions is the dynamic by which students increase their ability to digest the material, and in asking, they encourage the teacher to dig deeper.

I have learned from many other people, and I have taught many other people. The old saying that "when the student is ready, the teacher appears" is true, and I would expand on it this way. The student who asks for a teacher and then dedicates themselves to learning all they can from that teacher will get the most from the experience.

Whether working with the teacher for a long or short time, what is transmitted includes not just the subject at hand, but more. The exchange between student and teacher can include valuable life lessons, insights, and ways of approaching and understanding a subject. Feelings of love and appreciation often flow from such relationships. Feelings of self confidence and encouragement bring the student to new horizons where the landscape opens to new views, new possibilities.

As we all know by now, we can not judge how great a teacher will be simply on the basis of how many certificates or degrees they have. Often times we will choose a teacher because we feel a connection with them as well as a mastery of the subject matter.

We extract lessons from between the lessons. We sense when our time with that teacher has come to its end. What we learn in the process stays with us for a lifetime. What we gain from the student teacher experience is always evolving, because we are always changing.

We are never done learning. The only question is whether we openly and consciously embrace it. It is not a question of whether we will always have new teachers, it is simply a matter of who, and how actively we are engaged in the process. It is always a good day to begin again.