Tag: universal

FAQ: A question of your own

Have a quesion? Ask HERE to have your question added to the new FAQ page

So far, I’ve kept these classics….

Q: Will my ex- and I get back together?

A: That depends on what you and your ex decide to do. Tarot can’t read your ex’s mind or how they feel about you, or predict what they will do. The only way to know for sure is to talk to them directly. If you aren’t talking to each other, then there is little or no chance you will get back together. If the two of you haven’t fixed whatever caused the breakup then no, getting back together is very unlikely. That is just common sense. You don’t need a Tarot reading for that. BUT if you want advice about how to heal from the breakup or how to have better relationships in the future, then Tarot can definitely help.

Q: Nothing you said came true. Why not?

A: I. Don’t. Make. Predictions.

I’ve said it a thousand times. Tarot doesn’t predict the future. That is the dark ages, flat earth way of using Tarot. It doesn’t matter if predictions are “true” or not.  I could sit here and make perfect, on-target, 100% accurate predictions all day long, but then you could go out five minutes later and do something that changes everything. (See: Predicting the Future and a Big Cube of Jell-O) Remember Yoda from Star Wars? The future really is fluid and always changing. Life is cause and effect. If you drop an apple, it will fall down. If you strike a match, it will catch on fire. If you pour water on something it will get wet. Cause and effect is the way Nature works. It is science. Your future is created by what you choose and do. Tarot is a way to look at options, then choose the flow of energy that is more likely to take you where you want to go in the long run…not tell you every ripple of everything that will happen along the way.

Q: How can you do readings by e-mail? Don’t you have to be with the person for the reading to work?

A: I read universal energy, not the person themselves, so no, they don’t have to be with me for the reading to happen as it should.  Energy and spirit is everywhere, all of the time. I read that universal energy and listen to spirit on that person’s behalf. It doesn’t matter if someone is across the table or across the world when I connect to that universal energy. It doesn’t matter if I say the words of a reading or type them. It doesn’t matter if you hear the words now or read them later. The same core message still gets through either way. I connect to your specific energy message when we talk about your question vs an open reading. That conversation & connection happens the same way when I read your words as it does when I hear them. The difference between a distance and an in-person is the way you experience getting the message, not in the message itself.

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: It blows my mind to say it, but a little over 25 years. I started reading oracle cards around 1992 as I began my new spiritual life as an ex-christian (after an evangelical upbringing.) At the same time, I started Taijiquan training which introduced me to Taoist philosophy and meditation.  In 1996, I began Reiki training, certifying as a Reiki Master-practitioner in 2000. In the early 2000s I started working part time as an online Tarot reader while I worked toward a Ph.D. in Natural Health and started a family. That was followed by working for myself locally under my old website Modern Oracle Tarot. In October 2018 I introduced meditation and Reiki to the Tarot website to become the new TaoCraft Tarot. I’ve been at this for a while, and now teach other people to read cards in local workshops.

Q: Do you read for the LGBTQIA community?

A: Of course! Anytime! Consider me an ally. Readings are naturally gender/orientation neutral. I intuitively “see” people as energy signatures, kind of like a silhouette made of light. Intuition doesn’t tell me anything about gender, orientation, identity, race, hair color, height, or any other specific attribute. I don’t mean to use wrong pronouns in your reading. They are all just completely interchangeable on an energetic level. If I get that sort of thing wrong, just clue me in and we’ll move on. It’s all good.

Q: Are there different kinds of Reiki sessions for different needs, like one for night to relax if you have trouble sleeping or one for morning if you need more energy?

A: Surprisingly no. It isn’t guided or prescriptive like that. The energy is like a raw material that the body uses where ever and however it is most needed. On of my teachers told the story of a gentleman with tennis elbow. He was very skeptical of Reiki, didn’t think it would help at all, but came to the session to placate his wife. He would’t let the Reiki master touch him anywhere except his left elbow. After a couple of sessions it didn’t do anything for his elbow….but it greatly improved his blood pressure. Nothing else in his life had changed to explain the improvement…no change in his medication or diet or activity or anything else that they could think of except the Reiki sessions. The body puts the energy where it needs it the most. Timing isn’t an issue, either. Reiki can be sent with the intent that it activate at a time when it is most needed as well. Like gravity, Ki is everywhere, all the time, and Reiki simply helps you draw from that energy in a time and a place and a way that is for your best health. For example, if problems sleeping is the main concern, a morning Reiki session might help the underlying reason for the insomnia, and in turn help the sleeping problem when bedtime comes around.  Like the tennis elbow, the blood pressure was a more important issue. We trust the body (in its physical, mental and emotional aspects) to put the energy where it is most needed. Like the morning session that helps bedtime insomnia, the body guides when the effects of the energy are felt. Thanks for the question!

Introductions Are In Order: Reiki (part 2)

Introductions Are In Order: Reiki (part 1)

reikikanji

Reiki is beautiful in its simplicity.

The practitioner uses their hands, intentions and life energy (Reiki) itself as a tool to improve your connection to universal energy.  The practitioner doesn’t change or control anything. The session is guided by your own inner physical and spiritual wisdom. The session is a booster shot of energy to clear and repair the connection that you already have in place just by virtue of being alive. The Reiki session simply helps your natural living connection to do what it does just a little bit better. Like upgrading your internet service, Reiki works to improve your connection to the source of life and healing…not magically change anything that is within you already.

Reiki, like Tarot, can happen in person or at a distance. Distance Tarot can happen because I’m not reading you, I’m reading energy flows or listening to spirit messages for you. The connection to your message comes through a bit of intent, through hearing or reading your question, or hearing / reading your permission to keep an open focus. Reiki is the same in that the connection is made through intent, and is not dependent on proximity or touch. Even during an in-person Reiki session, direct touch isn’t necessary. Hands can hover over the body without touching, and still be equally effective.

Sometimes in-person Reiki is called “Level 1” and distance “Level 2”. The levels reflect the order in which we learn the techniques, not anything to do with the quality or intensity of the session. The energy is the same no matter how it is sent and received. It takes a little more skill, practice and understanding to send at a distance than to send through direct touch, so we learn direct touch level 1 first. Neither level is better or worse. Like Tarot, the only real difference is the type of experience you want to have with your Tarot reading. The message is the same at distance as it is in person. In Reiki, the energy is the same either way as well.

catreiki

With an in-person Reiki session we often add embellishments: Music, aromatherapy, incense or candles and the like. Of course, those things aren’t necessary for the Reiki to do it’s thing, but there is nothing wrong with it either. Those things have a benefit all on their own (especially in the case of aromatherapy) but they enhance the Reiki experience. These extras have their own benefits, they focus our attention, and they give us a tangible signal that something special is happening.

Crystals, minerals and stones have a long history of emotional, spiritual, and even physical healing lore.  Crystals are believed to work on an energy resonance sort of model. As one might expect, there is no hard evidence for physical benefits. Even if we understand it as a mind-body stress reducing effect, there is no harm in giving ourselves the small comfort of carrying a pretty stone or wearing a favorite crystal.

In Sending Stones Reiki, crystal lore enhances the level 2 distance experience the same way that music and aromatherapy enhances a level 1 direct session. The crystals have beneficial properties all their own, they give a mental framework to understand how distance Reiki works, plus gives us the tangible signal that something special is happening.

I’ve used this technique that I call “Sending Stones Reiki” for a while now, and have gotten some really nice feedback about it.

  • “Very soothing”
  • “I could almost hear your voice”
  • “I felt like I was being touched by a calming light”
  • “It felt like the stone was being filled up, like a gas tank”

Because it is something new, and because I would really, really like to hear your feedback, the Reiki session is no charge. I am grateful for this chance to learn more about Reiki and maybe give a little to the way of Reiki by growing the Sending Stones technique. I hope that by removing payment concerns, it gives you the freedom to say whatever you like about the session…just please say SOMETHING.

It does take time to answer emails and sit with the stones, however. I would be grateful for any donations you could give to support this Reiki effort for you and for others. You can donate here.

If you would be interested in giving a Sending Stones Reiki session a try, please contact me through the Reiki tab at the top of the page or with the contact form here