YouandTheTarot

  "Since we are all 'profoundly flawed,' does that mean that to be human is to be a 'mess.'"  That's what I asked Zen Master Hye Mun Barry Briggs after our meditation practice this morning at Cochisezen Center . (That is available in-person in Bisbee, Arizona and on Zoom. Essentially what Briggs answered was the same as in last week's talk: That we have to become satisfied in "just being human" and humans are, yes, profoundly flawed.  Immediately that perception of what it means to be human gives us permission to forgive ourselves. So many clients come for a Tarot reading because they cannot accept the consequences of their decisions. A central precept of Zen is that life is jam-packed with delusion. Given that, another precept kicks in: having compassion for ourselves. To me as a Tarot reader "awakening" entails the willingness to self-forgive. Eventually that will extend to others. that is, having compassion for their delusions an...

  "So, what do you predict - Will Joe Biden give it up?" People on my networks know I am a Tarot reader. With the election, post-debate, seeming bound to go to Donald Trump if Biden doesn't step down they are pressuring me to read the tea leaves. I demur: I am not a clairvoyant. I can only channel into energy. And the energy within Biden seems hardened against "giving it up." Politics is about winning, both campaigns for yourself and for the needs of constituents. Biden is determined to win this one. What I also pick up is the profound pain being experienced within much the Democratic party. It's not just about the risk to their own careers - and power. It's also about the values. Never has what they believe in and fight for been so threatened. America could enter a dark age. Some of them, such as lawyer Brad Karp at Paul, Weiss, had been celebrated as   "change agents."  Their political savvy altered the course of history. That transcended wha...

"I hide." That's what a new client for a Tarot reading blurted out. As we sorted through the confusion and pain what also tumbled out was that they also hid from themselves.  This is an epidemic in societies with rigid oughts about who we must be: as social creatures, professionals, parents and more. The message is harsh: If we don't fit into those definitions of a self, we can't become a member of the group. So we decide to try not to be seen, at least not as we are.  That issue of not letting others see us, as we are with all our flaws, had been the topic of today's Sunday Meditation Practice at the Cochise Zen Center , Bisbee, Arizona (accessible in-person and by Zoom). The presenter had been Zen Master Hye Mun (Barry Briggs.) Every Thursday there is also a meditation practice (only on Zoom). You can reach the Center to sign up for Zoom at cochisezen@icloud.com. Essentially Briggs reinforced the reality that we humans are profoundly flawed. That echoes the ...

  In a scathing article in Medium , Matthew Remski documents the corruption and emotional exploitation in one school of Buddhism: Shambhala International. As part of that he questions our trust in its high-profile spiritual leader Pema Chrondon. For instance, he notes:  " ... because Chödrön is also the messenger for her guru,  Chögyam  Trungpa,  one of the most troubled and abusive Buddhist figures of the 20th century , it might be time to re-evaluate her legacy ... to reckon with the possibility that her religion evolved in part as a way of finding peace in the shadow of a spiritual monster ..." Among the reasons for the  decline of this once-surging in popularity alternative spirituality   are all that Remski discusses. Many who had embraced Buddhism were shaken to the core when guerrilla journalism unleashed that scandal. They had dutifully absorbed the prolific writings of Chodron, incorporating the principles into the daily lives. That fallout wi...

" ... the psychic services industry is growing in the U.S., generating an estimated $2.3 billion in revenue last year and employing 97,000 people, according to a 2023 report from market research firm IBIS World." Radio WVF, June 2024 Not only is the business growing. So is acceptance. Recently, for example, the powers that be in Norfolk, Virginia ended the 1979 ordinance banning psychic services. For years providing that spiritual guidance and healing had been a misdemeanor.  Now, even the professional network LinkedIn publishes posts on psychic services and even lists available work opportunities. Popular professional network Reddit has a subreddit for all that, which you can click on here. However, as demand for the service escalates so does the competition. That requires unique positioning and packaging, continual marketing and willingness to review the basics and course correct when necessary. Notice the recent proliferation of advertising on social media. That includes ...

  According to Gemini  (a competitor of OpenAI's ChatGPT), yes, generative AI has the functionality to perform Tarot readings. That ranges from shuffling the digital cards to delivering readings of the cards based on symbolism and traditional interpretations.  However, the generative AI versions might not grab significant market share. That's because it is without the fundamental gift we tarot readers have: intuition. At least so far. Explicitly Gemini states: "Lack of intuition: Tarot readings often involve a reader's intuition and connection with the cards and the person seeking guidance. AI currently can't replicate that." Tarot Card Reader. Intuitive Career Coach. Medium. Solutions-Based. Discover Your Options Empathy and compassion. No-pressure complimentary consultation about your options. Then, fees custom-made for your budget. For an appointment, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text/phone 203-468-8579.

"How do I tell my boyfriend he's been laid off?" -  Fishbowl Consulting , June 2024  Most the responses to that post on a professional anonymous network are clever in tone and content. That is that they piggyback on the assumption that the business-management model can be leveraged in matters of the heart.  This is not unusual. And it could be one of the drivers of the profound loneliness we are experiencing. The isolation ethos is straight from the Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby."  In what are supposed to be intimate conversations the accepted template is to use the principles, words and tone of commercial transactions. Like Father McKenzie, putting together sermons which don't engage, the supposed romantic partners are in disconnect, as displayed in The Lovers card from the Tarot. As a Tarot reader specializing in careers what clients want to really focus on are broken romantic relationships. Many actually use the buzzwords "lack of communications."...

  Romance, a career path, your hometown or even an engrossing hobby like piloting planes which has gotten too expensive. In Tarot readings the Ah-Ha moment comes when it is obvious to clients that they have to "walk away" from all that. That recognition - as well as its difficulties - is symbolized in the Tarot by the Eight of Cups card. The human being who has made the decision and has taken the action faces mountains to climb, along with uncertainty. However the hope of success comes through in that the water, which stands for emotion, is calm, not turbulent. What I have found is the chief reason for the difficulty of Walking Away is the sunk cost. Over and over again, clients mention that the romance had gone on for eight years; there are still student loans from business or law school; and what about all those friends from grade school in the hometown?  That is becoming easier, though, when clients bear witness to how the current overall volatilty in just about every aspe...

  Sure, we Tarot readers deal with "ghosts" all the time.  Some ghosts are the ones who have passed over to another dimension and have unfinished business on this one. I focus on moving both parties - those journeying to the other side and the client - to a sense of closure.  But other ghosts are the emotional kind which clients hang onto. They're the ones which can keep clients stuck in what has hardened into the wreckage of the past.  The typical emotional ghost is the memory of pain. Perhaps it was what had been experienced as an unfair termination from employment or a betrayal in romance. The pain keeps getting conjured back up until it balloons into a large blockage for growth. There is no learning from the event. And, of course, there is no moving on.  A free solution for being lifted out of that abyss is attendance, either in-person or on Zoom, at 12-step meetings such as Emotions Anonymous and CoDependents Anonymous. For instance,  here is a daily ...