*Article Use Guidelines*Use in opt-in publications, or on Web sites, but please includethe resource box. If you could send a copy to me at emailaddress: mailto:[email protected] , I appreciate it. Many... *Article Use Guidelines*Use in opt-in publications, or on Web sites, but please includethe resource box. If you could send a copy to me at emailaddress: mailto:[email protected] , I appreciate it. Many thanks.**Summary: Eliminate the destructive habit of negative thinkingwith a simple tool --- a deck of Tarot cards.Total words: 750Category: MotivationAre You Too Negative? Positive thinking with Tarot cardsCopyright (c) 2002 by Angela BoothNote: 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 mayinspire you to discover yourself in the cards. You can buy a deckat any large book store, or from Amazon.com.The problem with negative thinking is that we accept our negativethoughts as reality. We don't realize that the thoughts aredistortions. I was a classic negative thinker: to me the glasswas not merely half empty, it was also chipped. I called mynegativity "being realistic". Tarot helps me to see the positive. Because, no matter how blackthings look, there is always a positive. If you've seen the Tom Hanks movie, "Cast Away", you rememberthat Tom Hanks is Chuck, the only survivor of a plane crash whogets marooned on a deserted tropical island. After years ofsolitary hardship, Chuck almost gives in to despair and commitssuicide, but he tells himself to "keep breathing". Finally a piece of wreckage washes onto the island. Chuckcreatively fashions it into the sail of a raft. Later in themovie, Chuck says you should keep breathing because "you neverknow what will wash in on the tide". "Keep breathing" is the curefor negative thinking. You truly don't know what will happennext. A thought is just a thoughtWe negative thinkers tend to worship our thoughts. It takes us along time to realize we're not our thoughts. Our thoughts comeand go. If we don't cling to them, or follow them, they fade awayand are replaced by new thoughts, pleasanter ones. Meditationhelps with this.Over time, when we can watch our thoughts come and go withoutbecoming enmeshed in them, we can (occasionally) recognize anegative 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 neveragain have a negative thought? No such luck. I still havenegative thoughts, and it's hard not to be trapped within suchthoughts. However, I'm learning to get off the negativitytreadmill. Your cards can help you get positiveTry this "Negative to Positive" process. You use your cards faceup. Here's how:1. Sort through your deck until you find a card which portraysyour current situation. For example, let's say you have somemoney 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 whichshows a scene where your money worries are solved. Perhaps youpicked the 10 of Pentacles. A much more cheerful card!3. Put the 5 of Pentacles on the left, and the 10 of Pentacles onthe right, in a straight line. Leave some space between the twocards.4. Now it's time to daydream a little. Pick out several morecards, perhaps two or three, showing a progression from themisery of the 5 of Pentacles, to the security of the 10 ofPentacles. 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 fromthe 5 to the 10. The story can be as fantastic (in the fantasysense) as you please.7. Or, make a sketch of the 10 of Pentacles, which you can carrywith you as a good luck charm.8. OK --- you've spent 20 minutes or more with the cards. Do youstill feel negative? I'm sure your mood has shifted.Positive energy from the cardsLook through your deck, and choose the cards which you find mostpositive from the major arcana. You might choose 19 the Sun, 7the Chariot, and 21 the World. Put one of the cards on the desk in front of you. Close your eyesand do some slow, deep breathing for a few minutes until you'recompletely relaxed.Open your eyes, and look at the card. Pick it up and hold it. Youmay be able to feel a subtle energy. This is the energy of thecard, as it exists in you. Try the same process with the other two cards. Is there adifference in the energy? How does the energy of one card differfrom 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 yourmood change.***Resource box: if using, please include*** Interested in running your business creatively? Visit Digtial-e --- Info to go!http://www.digital-e.biz/Free ezine: Creative Small Biz ---http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Creative_Small_Biz/### Article Tags: Positive Thinking, Keep Breathing Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com