Questions on Meditations of the Tarot by Anonymous and Concentration exercises

Hello all

I have recently gotten into all this but I don't plan on ever throwing a deck or doing any readings. I mostly have been taken with Christian Hermeticism, among other things like books on both Shambhala (Shambhala Oasis of Light), Akakor (Chronicle of Akakor), Tibetan mysticism (Lots of Alexandra David-Neel) and so on. I have also picked up The Science of Being by Eugene Ferson but I have only cracked it. I have just started Meditations of the Tarot...my I have only read the first two cards and I already find it brilliant. I am reading it slowly as I find that this is something to be digested slowly and fully absorbed. I loved everything about the first chapter/card, but I found on the second card to be a little confusing. Some of the ideas were a bit too vague for me and left me wanting. I was hoping that someone who is well versed on this book can help me understand the ideas described and as I continue to read it if I have any more questions someone who can continue to support me in my journey.

the second part of this deals with my concentration exercises. I read The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont, and I have taken a few of those exercises, and I also read (up to a point as the author suggests) Concentration a guide to mental mastery by Mouni Sadhu and have begun the first exercises. As you can see I find this ability to be very important in my journey as I am sure many of you would agree. Now I have always been very ADD (never taken medication) so it is very challenging for me so far but it has also been very rewarding. My current daily routine consists of some exercises pulled from the aforementioned books, as well as zhan zhuang qigong, breathing exercises and the five tibetan Rites for the purpose of both meditation and chi cultivation. The following is my current (mostly) daily routine:
Sit completely still in a chair for 15 min
Concentration on a second hand while blocking all spontanious thoughts as much as possible for 10 to 15 min
Breath exercises
10 min of Standing qigong (increasing by 5 minutes every 3 weeks until 40 min is reached)
5 Tibetan Rites

I was wondering if anyone had any good concentration exercises or suggestions for such. maybe any tips for staying focused during said exercises. Any help would be great and wish me luck!

I have Meditations on the Tarot - it has been far too long since I read it, but I remember finding it absolutely brilliant. I have begun rereading it, and have proceeded through the first two letters.

Where do things become murky in the second meditation? Are things clear before and after that part? (I find that the letters are not particularly cumulative; sections of each letter stand on their own, and much material from later letters can be absorbed and understood without mastery of earlier letters.)

I am sorry to say that I am unfamiliar with the other texts and exercises that you mention. If I can be of any assistance at all, it would only be with the Meditations.

Basically the whole "number 2" and mirror thing. I think it is basically saying everything has an opposite otherwise the other would have noting to define it. But it also goes into a lot of other stuff and in its attempt to elaborate it really just was convoluted to me and I kind of get lost. If you could just give me you're interpretation of the whole chapter in your words and kind of in a nutshell maybe? Like I said i basically think I get it but I want to be sure before I move on to the next card. I am completely in sync with the first card, but the high priestess is just a bit confusing. I really appreciate your help thank you!

Well, as I take him, the Unknown Author (UA) distinguishes between having an experience and understanding the experience. Maybe the experience is so intense that one loses oneself in it- it is only by replaying it in memory thereafter that one begins to grasp it.

In contrast, consider something that is so ordinary that you do automatically and unconsciously. Breathing, for example: usually one is not aware of one's breathing, although you can call your attention to your breath whenever you like. But if you are not attending to it, then it is not being represented. Without representation there is no consciousness.

This is the difference between a thing and the representation of a thing. I think there is a Buddhist saying that "the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon". This is like that; the experience is different from the representation of that experience. The analogy is between the thing and the thing's reflection in water.

The UA divides the word "con-sciousness" (con-science) in the hopes that we will recognize its Latin roots: con = with, sciens = knowing. He sees knowledge as a form of union that nonetheless preserves the distinction between knower and known, and between the experience and the representation of the experience. He tends to use Spirit (or Fire) to refer to the divine, and Water to refer to the human side. The UA also conceives of love as a kind of union that nonetheless preserves the identity of the lover and the beloved.

In order to get from an experience of the divine (i.e. a mystical experience) to the written account of it (in the book of the High Priestess) there has to be a process of reflection. Note that "reflection" is a synonym for "meditation". This leads to understanding of the mystical experience, which he calls "gnosis". Writing it down so that other people can benefit is a sort of magical act of creation.

Make sure you don't confuse this with his account of "illegitimate twoness" - the part where he quotes from Saint-Martin's Des Nombres.

Does this help? It should get you through the first several pages. Let me know if there is a particular passage or paragraph that could use further explanation.

Thank you, all. This is helpful.

I don't have any pertinent comments at this time, but I too am reading Meditations on the Tarot. I've just finished Letter IV. Sometimes I have to just keep moving through it without total comprehension, lest I become discouraged and stop altogether.

I'll keep checking back with this thread. It's good to hear others comment on that book.

It looks like it's still not too late to sign up. JMD is offering an online course on Meditations... I'm in and I think my last newsletter said he had 30 some odd participants. So, it looks to be a good learning opportunity. Cost is by donations...

almost forgot the link: http://www.fourhares.com/tarot/course/

longshot33ee said:

Hello all

I have recently gotten into all this but I don't plan on ever throwing a deck or doing any readings.

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