Tarot: White Magic and Positivity

Tarot’s White Magic: Positive Incantations And Rituals For Change
Paul’s Personality Cards are powerful, insightful, and encouraging. Click on the image to learn more.

The key to improving our lives is remaining positive and continually invoking love, light, faith, and hope. Prayers, rituals, and incantations can help us with this, which in turn, helps us live in gratitude and improve our vibrations.

When our vibrations are elevated, we become better-protected and tend to attract positive and helpful relationships and experiences. Tarot can be a vital and enlightening tool in this pursuit.

Tarot was originally a card game popularized in 15th century Italy, which spread to every country in Europe. While the original Tarot decks were broad enough to be familiar to anybody, various regions developed their own versions. Over time, Tarot decks could have anywhere from 52-98 cards, most often between 52 and 78. For years, Tarot was also known as Trionfi, Tartocchi, and Tarock.

During the 1800s, tarot cards became useful in prayers, spells, rituals, incantations, and other forms of divination. By the late 19th century, specific versions of Tarot decks were produced strictly for spiritual and occult practices.

“Remember that the Tarot is a great and sacred arcanum – its abuse is an obscenity in the inner and a folly in the outer. It is intended for quite other purposes than to determine when the tall dark man will meet the fair rich widow.”
― Jack Parsons

As various cities became more crowded and as government leadership changed with the wind, kings, queens, landowners, business owners and families used the Tarot for spells and incantations to protect their wealth and children. Tarot card magic quickly became popular among all religions, especially Christians. Most of the early Tarot imagery comes from Christian symbology.

Classic Tarot has four suits, much like today’s traditional playing cards. Each suit has 14 cards, including a King, Queen, Knight, and Jack. This is known as the Minor Arcana. Tarot decks also tend to have a 22-card trump suit featuring The Fool, The High Priestess, The Magician, and more. This is known as the Major Arcana.

Many believe that forms of Tarot existed long before the 15th century, most likely in Egypt, Asia, and within the Kabbalah. While there is little documented evidence to support these claims, using images and artistic depictions of personas has long been useful in spells, rituals, rites, and the like.

“It’s said that the shuffling of the cards is the earth, and the pattering of the cards is the rain, and the beating of the cards is the wind, and the pointing of the cards is the fire. That’s of the four suits. But the Greater Trumps, it’s said, are the meaning of all process and the measure of the everlasting dance.”
― Charles Williams

How To Use Tarot Cards For Divination

Anyone can use Tarot cards. All it takes is the ability to visualize and a deep intention to achieve a specific outcome. You’ll also want to have a pen and paper to make notes about what you are seeking to achieve.

To use Tarot and similar cards for divination, you must first understand the attributes of each of the Tarot card images you wish to use. Every time you use a Tarot image to conjure a new potentiality or trajectory in your life or to protect someone, you’ll want to consider quoting the card’s attributes during your spell or incantation.

For general purposes, you can light a candle and incense before performing an opening prayer. Your prayer might go something like this:

“Eternal Creation and All Light-Beings, I stand before you with hope and desire. I am using the image of The Fool to help me improve upon myself. I hereby release the attributes of naive, confused, and vulnerable today. From here forward, I refuse to play this role in relationships and business. Please assist me in my evolution and extinguish The Fool from my archetypal construct. This is the way it is now, and it shall always be.”

Whatever your prayers might be, always use positive language so that you attract people and experiences of the highest vibration and quality. A good rule of thumb is: what you speak will surely materialize, either energetically or in a physical form.

For lengthy prayers and rituals, consider creating a Sacred Circle. You can do this with a candle, cornmeal and tobacco. The cornmeal represents the feminine aspect of the universe and tobacco represents the masculine aspect. The candle is a reflection of the light within you and the light that gave birth to all of reality throughout all the realms.

Tarot Card Magic, Rituals, Incantations & Prayers

Tarot cards can be used for a variety of purposes within magical spells, incantations, and rituals. The difference between white magic and black magic is that white magic is solely used for good, and always with the purest intentions to bring light, love, and protection into someone’s life. Black magic, which is never recommended, is used to inhibit another person or entity in ways that could hurt them forever. Black magic will also hurt the person casting the spell on some level.

Here Are A Few Reasons You Might Want To Use White Magic Tarot:

  • A loved one has died, and you want to pray for their protection
  • A child was born somewhat sick and needs healing
  • A relationship has ended, and you want to truly move-on
  • A potential job has emerged, and you want to give yourself the best chance
  • You’re feeling hateful of someone, and you want to find forgiveness
  • You wish to invite a love-relationship into your life
  • You wish to pray for a vulnerable or troubled friend
  • You want to announce protection surrounding your family, business or wealth
  • You wish to pray for your health or the health of someone you love
  • You would like to have a rebirth and improve yourself at your core

You can learn more about Paul’s Personality Cards HERE.

 

Tarot Magic

If you’d like to add a positive charge to a specific relationship or event, it is always best to perform magic on ourselves first. This gives us the highest chance of improving our lives, while also not interfering with someone else’s karma.

​When we involve ourselves in another person’s karma, we begin to take on that karma as our own, which could easily be hurtful to us or cause complete debilitation.

Here Is An Example Of Tarot Magic:

  • Pick a card that you most want to align with, such as The Emperor or cards from modern Tarot decks like my “Personality Cards.” In my deck, consider using The Networker. For this example, we’ll use both of these cards so that we can pack the most powerful punch.
  • Create a circle using cornmeal and tobacco. Light a candle and place it in the center of the circle. This can be a tiny circle on a table or a larger circle in the woods. This is considered a Sacred Circle. You will use this for almost every ritual and chant.
  • Place the Tarot card image of The Emperor and The Networker next to each other, in the center of the circle, near to the candle.
  • Place a picture of yourself next to the two Tarot cards.
    • “Dear God (Universe, Eternal Light, Grandmother Earth, Grandfather Sky), I ask that the noble and strong Emperor become a protector and guide for my family and me. I ask that my image be infused with the social, thoughtful, and brilliant aspects found in The Networker. I pray that I can be blessed with their attributes so that I can become a strong, noble, social, thoughtful, and brilliant participant in this life. I pray that as I become The Emperor and The Networker, I will be doused with light, love, power, and personal protection. I pray this with love in my heart and with the utmost humility. I wish to evolve, and I seek your help. So it is, so it shall be.”
    • At the end of every ritual, make sure that you blow out the candle, place it in saltwater for a moment to cleanse it, throw away the cornmeal and incense that you used, and put any dish or glass used in the ceremony into the dishwasher. Invite a merging of these three living-constructs (each of the two cards’ construct and your personal construct) by praying a humble prayer like this:

As you exit, always bow to the space where your ritual took place.

Tarot Incantations And Spells

An incantation is akin to a spell, which can also be considered a prayer. Incantations can be simple or quite complex and constructed as a magical formula. Incantations, spells, and prayers can create magical effects on people, places, events, and objects. They can be spoken, chanted, sung, or whispered within your mind.

For this category of magic, you will need to have a specific desire. This will allow you to invite the universe to co-create something specific with you.

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Some spiritual magicians choose phrases like these when creating spells and incantations:​

  • I invite the universe to co-create this event or feeling
  • I command the elements to join me in healing my friend
  • I welcome to light-beings in my sacred circle to fill my body, mind, and heart with light

I’m not a big fan of the word “command” as it denotes a single-minded pursuit. Since we are all connected to each other, and all beings are connected to all aspects of every physical reality in this realm and all other realms, we are always in partnership.

Partners do not command, they humbly and lovingly request.

When doing these types of incantations, you will want to use one or more Tarot cards to as your imagery guides. Use these images to inspire and encourage you. You might also research the attributes of specific Tarot cards to give you the best card for each of your requests and desires.

Tarot Rituals

Tarot rituals involve similar elements to basic Tarot magic, but also include a little more ceremony and effort.

Here’s a process you might enjoy:

  • Imagine you’d like to create a life filled with abundance, forgiveness, love, light, and magic.
  • Imagine the personal attributes you would like your life-partner/lover to have.
  • Imagine the attributes you want to embrace.
  • Imagine the types of people you’d like to have in your life.
  • What you need for the ritual: 10 small sticks (no longer than 6” each), cornmeal, tobacco, a candle, incense (if you’d like), and some chocolate.
  • Select 5 cards from a traditional Tarot deck and 5 Cards from a modern deck, like my Personality Cards. You will break these cards into two groups: one group will comprise cards/personas/attributes that you wish to never have in your life, and the other group is for the cards/personas/attributes you wish to invite into your life.
  • Create a Sacred Circle in the woods. You will be creating a tiny fire so make sure there is a protected area in the center of the circle that can house the small fire. When making the Sacred Circle, use cornmeal and tobacco.
  • Place your image in the center of a Sacred Circle.
  • Choose 5 of your sticks as arrows of protection and 5 to request a specific type of life.
  • Assign each of the 5 Arrows of Protection to a specific Tarot card.
  • Assign each of the 5 Arrows of Life to a specific Tarot card.
  • Burn each of the 5 Arrows of Protection, requesting that the universe protect you from these types of people and their attributes. Your prayer might be simple, like this: “Holy Universe, protect me from each of these personas and sets of attributes: (name each of them and their attributes).”
  • Once you have doused the fire with water, climb to the top of a hill and place each of the 5 Arrows of Life in a small pile and place the unwrapped chocolate next to the pile. It might be that each of the 5 Arrows of Life relates to a specific role in your life that you would like filled. If this is the case, you would adjust the following prayer accordingly.
  • Raise your hands to the sky and pray something like this: “Holy Universe, I am your child of light. I pray that only goodness and love come into my life. I leave you for each of these arrows that represent (name the cards related to the arrows, along with their attributes). I pray that I become the best version of myself and that my family, job and partners all be filled with light and love.”
  • As you leave, take a tiny piece of the chocolate that is on the ground. Eat it as you walk down the hill or take it home with you to eat later in remembrance.

“You Are The Secret. Let Tarot Explore You.”
― Shweta Tarot

A Few Helpful Hints About Magic

We are not often taught about our unlimited potential. We are mostly taught coping mechanisms. Remember that you are as powerful and potent as you wish to be. The most important attributes that you can bring to the table are humility and discipline.

Here are a few helpful tips when using Tarot and other tools for magic:​

  • Always use a candle because it symbolized the light in the universe and the light in your heart.
  • If you wish to shun a specific set of attributes, you can use a negative card (a personality or image that you do not want to have in your life), and you can put that card face-down. You might want to consider not using a negative card, even in a light-based ritual, because you are still invoking that persona, even though you are invoking protection from that persona.
  • When using pictures of yourself, always choose ones that show your smile and your eyes. You should never use an image where you are intoxicated in any way.
  • Do not use alcohol or drugs, including marijuana, during rituals. Although in some cultures this is permitted, keep in mind that any drug will bring your spirit beneath the mind, not past it. We always want to surpass the mind and reach for our crown chakra. It’s the higher chakras that connect us to the eternal consciousness.
  • In every ritual and incantation, consider praying for someone who needs love. This will always add a measure of love and light to the ceremony you are about to perform.
  • Keep your prayers general because this gives the universe more room to fulfill your wishes. The more specific your prayers are, the less chance that they will physically manifest.
  • Keep in mind that the universe does not need extra help to bring something to fruition. It just requires you to be in alignment with universal principles around light, love, and positivity.
  • When endeavoring to work with magic, do your best to clear emotions and forgive others before the ritual or spell. Emoting and releasing are the most vital actions we can take when pursuing the embodiment of our higher selves.

You are born from stardust and infused with light. You are the embodiment of love. Live as love, always. No matter the mistake or upheaval, forgive yourself, forgive others, and continue to choose the light and improve yourself.

— Paul Wagner

In all things, seek to know yourself through whichever means that uplevel your vibration. Using Tarot card magic can have wonderful effects on the natures of our souls.

Getting Rid of Negative Energy

Negative energy
Prayer and forgiveness can change us. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

A few weeks ago, I was awoken by a disembodied spirit and screamed like a 5-year old boy. My partner nearly pooped her pants and assumed we were being profiled and haunted by a profoundly negative spirit. Digging a little deeper, I felt this spirit to be a humble, old soul seeking love and attention. As we prayed for her and showered her with light, she evaporated within 10 minutes. She even had a smile on her face. Negative energy has been around for a long time, possibly an eternity. Remember Satan?

According to many Christians, he’s a big player in the negativity scene, although some might contest his existence. The embodiment of hatred and darkness, Satan has been referred to as Mastemah, Diabolos (Greek), Belial (Dead Sea Scrolls), Beelzebul, Beelzebub, Typhon, Hades, Ahriman, Hela, and just plain old, “The Father of Lies.”

Negativity is not solely mythic or biblical, and it indeed doesn’t always stem from Satan. Experiencing negativity and its related spirit-forms can be a profound reality. While not often dangerous, visiting spirits can be a nuisance.

As a seer of spirits, I often find it’s impossible to determine whether a disembodied soul, apparition or etheric entity is evil vs. good, negative vs. positive, helpful vs. hurtful, needy vs. vampirish, somewhere in between, or a complex hybrid. Sometimes energy feels uncomfortable to us, possibly because we are preoccupied with sensing it, or we’re bothered by the fact that it’s taking up space.

In the empath, new-age, and pagan scenes, there are a lot of assumptions around negativity. Instead of exploring an entity or energy and then feeling into it, some might jump-the-gun and come out of the gate screaming, “IT’S THE DEVIL!”

It seems some of the sadder, angrier and darker healers and writers in the world like to assume the victim position so they can elicit fear, for which they’ll immediately conjure remedies. Afterward, they’ll chant privately, “I’m a hero of the light!” Um, well, not really.

There are worlds within worlds, realms within realms, worlds within realms, and realms within worlds, and therefore there are spirits of all sorts traversing between and throughout all of them. If we catch a glimpse of a spirit or feel her presence, it’s most often a blessing, rather than a curse.

While there are undoubtedly negative energies wandering around our physical realities, our perception of their negativity and its potential effects are often born from our fears, insecurities, unprocessed emotions, victim mindedness, assumptions, projections, and lack of boundaries. When we are negatively affected by a spirit or energy, it’s not the time to play the victim. It’s a call to improve our vibrations. We only attract, absorb, react-to, and consume that which we are magnetizing to us, unhealthily craving, or do not understand.

Are There Spirits In This World To Be Exorcized? Yes!
Is There A Slight Chance That I Will Be Exposed To, Oppressed By, Or Damaged By Such An Energy? If You Squint, Maybe, But Most Likely, No.

Bumping into and being subject to a variety of harmful effects extending from a negative entity would be like finding a pin in an alternate reality that exists solely within a tiny section of a specific yet massive haystack, and only appearing within a 15-second time slot time, and during a particular time of day, say 4:01:00 pm to 4:01:15 pm.

Given That I’m Probably Not In Imminent Danger, Should I Still Consider Clearing The Energies Around My Body, Mind, Heart, Partnerships, Family, Environments, Home, And Vehicles? CERTAINLY!

Just because energy isn’t harmful, doesn’t mean it’s not blocking the joy, flow, and goodness in your life. Some energies unknowingly block light and flow in our lives because of their natures, not their intentions. This means that even if a spirit appears to be haunting you, they might just be a dark, unconscious knucklehead without the ability to haunt.

My Advice Concerning Negative Energy

Chances are the negativity that you are experiencing is yours, not anybody else’s. Because of this, you can control this experience, and you can monitor your reactions. You can also make a bold and healthy choice to alleviate your stress around this idea and improve your conditions. Relax, take a shower, use essential oils, consume some Bach flower remedies, walk in the forest regularly, meditate daily, forgive often, and be proactive and positive. While you’re at it, pray for your lovers and enemies every day.

What Are Negative Energies?

Negative energies are disruptive spirits and energetic entities that materialize to us in a variety of forms, including but not limited to:

  • Disembodied spirits or people who recently died, but have yet to release their physical realities
  • Ancestors who adopt their prior physical forms to help us, alert us, or bother us
  • Spirits from other realms, worlds, and planets
  • Thought-forms from powerful thinkers and feelers
  • Energy formations from other planets that seek to embrace or learn from our ways of life (think Orbs, Rods, and the like)
  • Detached and embodied accumulations of experienced emotions, stemming from profound, inspiring, light-infused, dense, dark, or unexplainable events
  • Separated auric forms from confused, depressed, damaged, psychotic or sociopathic people, both living or dead
  • Our prior or parallel life forms, either from this reality, previous realities, or realities that we are concurrently co-existing within
  • Life forms that we previously agreed to assist and who exist in tangential realities that are somehow connected to our soul’s current life, lineage, or prior incarnations
  • Important: Personal, imaginary projections that come from our minds, attitudes, and intentions

How To Get Rid Of Unwanted Spirits In Your House

While the spirit might not be a negative or evil entity, he or she might certainly be unwanted in your home. It’s your right to remove them, and it’s your option how to engage them.

The best way to initiate the process of spirit-removal is to engage the spirit with love, light, and positive intentions. Screaming in fear, blaming them or others, or avoidance will not help your cause. Just like any other desire we might have, when it comes to removing spirits, we have to take proactive steps toward our goal.

You can’t always pray away a spirit; it might be a little more complicated than that. To rid your world of unwanted spirits, the most important thing you can do is clean house, which includes learning how to love yourself, discovering how to set better boundaries, saging your body and home, unearthing and releasing trapped and forgotten emotions, forgiving others, and physically cleaning your home.

Burning Sage To Remove Negative Energy In General

Sage is a fragrant, healing herb that can be used to make your home smell pretty while it extinguishes bacteria. As an essential oil, sage is believed to help relieve Alzheimer’s symptoms, reduce cholesterol and blood glucose, and even alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Sage is the herbal Terminator and can reduce allergens like pet dander, pollution, mold, and dust. It’s in this way that burning sage can be a miracle for people who have asthma, allergies, bronchitis, heart problems, and more. You can use sage to do the following:

  • Send prayers and offerings to Ancestors, Gods, Worlds, Realms, and Heavens
  • Eliminate unwanted spirits
  • Extinguish negative energies
  • Unblock chakras
  • Reduce stress
  • Unlock and lighten depression
  • Soothe anger and bad moods
  • Clear the emotional residue on our bodies
  • Clear the energy reside in our homes and cars
  • Release energy and spirit attachments
  • Clean and clear crystals and gemstones

Here’s How To Use Sage As An Antimatter Ray-Gun Against Negative Energy:

  1. Find some living sage in the mountains and make a little bundle. Let it dry for a week. Or you can buy a sage stick online or from a local new-age store.
  2. Fill a little bowl with sand or dirt, or buy an abalone shell.
  3. Light a candle and close the windows.
  4. Use the candle to light the dried sage so that it has a strong flame for a moment.
  5. Extinguish the flame and any flying sparks.
  6. Use a feather or your hand to wave the sage smoke on your body and throughout all of the rooms in your home.
  7. Pay special attention to the parts of your body that feel compromised or vulnerable.
  8. Pay particular attention to the parts of the house that feel burdened by unseen energies.
  9. As you spread sage smoke around your house, you can chant a mantra, repeat a prayer, or talk to the lingering spirits.
  10. Invoke love, light, and joy throughout the experience.
  11. When you’re done, extinguish the smoking sage stick in the sand/dirt bowl or place it under running water for a moment.
  12. After 3 hours of the sage smoke sinking into fabrics, carpets, walls, furniture, auras, chakras, and spirits, open the windows to release the smoke.
  13. Blow out the candle.

Negative Entities And Other House Pets

Negative entities are not always harmful to us. Some energies might not even know that we’re in the room. They might be completely clueless and contained within another dimension. We might also consider getting used to some of these spirits, especially if they do not harm our lives, hearts, souls, or minds.

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Negative energies can become long-term guests and house pets, but only if you do nothing to encourage their abdication. They can become accustomed to our energies and environments, just like we fall in love with our favorite restaurants. They might even become addicted to us.

Even with all that, we still might not be in danger. Just because a disembodied spirit is penetrating our walls and furniture doesn’t mean that he or she is harmful. It might merely be a fascination.

How To Get Rid Of Negative Entities

Just like your house plants and pets, it’s vital that you be kind and loving to the energies that provoke your fears and discomfort. When you sense entities wandering through your space, tell them that you love them. Ask that they respect your home, spirit and physical body. If you can see them, sage them. Once they disappear, repeatedly sage the space where you first saw them emerge. That space might be their little portal or entryway.

Pray for all of the entities that you sense, see, and feel. Pray for the protection of your spaces. These spirits are no different than your puppy, kitten, goldfish, or plant. They are conscious energy-forms or souls who are attracted to you and your world. If you shift, they will shift. If you can detach, they might detach.

Be Gentle, Loving, And Proactive. Repeat These Procedures Often.

If a spirit becomes a nuisance, look within your heart to see if there is someone who needs your forgiveness or apology. By focusing on the love in your heart, you can release and detach from trapped emotions. This will change your vibration and frequency, thereby shifting your connection to the entity. This process might also heal you on some level.

How To Get Rid Of Negative Energy Attached To You

While negative energies are not always conscious, and not all conscious, negative entities will attach to a physical form, it doesn’t mean that a negatively-charged attachment is not possible. Let’s Say That It’s Possible. Now What?

Here are a few things you can do to release a negative energy or entity that has attached itself to your body:

  • Pray for the energy. Imagine it to be protected and infused with white and pink light.
  • Pray for your spiritual evolution.
  • Forgive people who have hurt you.
  • In the quiet of the morning, apologize in your mind to people you have offended.
  • Set better boundaries with the people in your physical life.
  • Ask that the energy leave your body.
  • Meditate regularly.
  • Do 1 hour of Kundalini yoga, every day, for 40 days.
  • Use sage, gemstones, and crystals as jewelry to shift your vibration.
  • Ask the entity to reveal themself to you so that you can learn more about them and then offer love, guidance or prayer. They might be an ex-lover or friend from a prior life!

A Ritual For Release

Like I write about in my books, rituals can help us “physicalize our prayers and shift our realities.” If you enjoy performing simple rituals of transformation, try this one on for size:

  1. Gather the following: a small candle, some loose, dry sage, a handful of cornmeal, some organic tobacco, a bottle or two of water.
  2. Venture into the forest and meditate on infusing your life with light and love.
  3. Find a flat stone and place your candle on it, so that if it spills or tips, you and the forest are protected.
  4. Light the candle and sit on the ground next to it.
  5. Sprinkle a light circle of sage, cornmeal, and tobacco around you.
  6. Invite all of your ancestors, helpers, masters, and light-beings to fill your heart with light.
  7. Tell the negative entity or attached spirit that you love him or her, but that it’s time to say goodbye.
  8. Ask your etheric tribe of light-beings to help you heal the negative energy and remove it from your life for all time.

If you would like other suggestions for rituals, you can email me at paul@paulwagner.com. You are a light-being infused with love and stardust. You are the only controller of your life, experiences, magnetism, and vibration. Every time you elevate and improve-upon your vibration, you increase your awareness and change your reality.

The Heart Sutra – English & Sanskrit

The Heart Sutra

The Heart Sutra. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

This is a prayer for liberation and peacefulness.

By chanting it, you help heal for all Living-Beings, in all the realms.

The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra

Translated by Tang Dharma Master of the Tripitaka Hsüan-Tsang on imperial command

 .

ENGLISH

When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound prajna paramita, he illuminated the five skandhas and saw that they are all empty, and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty.

Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So, too, are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness.

Shariputra, all dharmas are empty of characteristics. They are not produced. Not destroyed, not defiled, not pure, and they neither increase nor diminish.​

Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or dharmas; no field of the eyes, up to and including no field of mind-consciousness; and no ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death or ending of old age and death. There is no suffering, no accumulating, no extinction, no way, and no understanding and no attaining.

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Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva, through reliance on prajna paramita, is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dream-thinking far behind. Ultimately Nirvana!

All Buddhas of the three periods of time attain Anuttarasamyaksambodhi through reliance on prajna paramita. Therefore, know that prajna paramita is a great spiritual mantra, a great bright mantra, a supreme mantra, an unequalled mantra. It can remove all suffering; it is genuine and not false.

That is why the heart of sutra of prajna paramita was spoken.

Recite it like this: Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

SANSKRIT

oṃ namo bhagavatyai ārya prajñāpāramitāyai!

​ārya-avalokiteśvaro bodhisattvo gambhīrāṃ prajñāpāramitā caryāṃ caramāṇo vyavalokayati sma: panca-skandhās tāṃś ca svābhava śūnyān paśyati sma.

iha śāriputra: rūpaṃ śūnyatā śūnyataiva rūpaṃ; rūpān na pṛthak śūnyatā śunyatāyā na pṛthag rūpaṃ; yad rūpaṃ sā śūnyatā; ya śūnyatā tad rūpaṃ. evam eva vedanā saṃjñā saṃskāra vijñānaṃ.

iha śāriputra: sarva-dharmāḥ śūnyatā-lakṣaṇā, anutpannā aniruddhā, amalā avimalā, anūnā aparipūrṇāḥ.

tasmāc chāriputra śūnyatayāṃ na rūpaṃ na vedanā na saṃjñā na saṃskārāḥ na vijñānam. na cakṣuḥ-śrotra- ghrāna-jihvā-kāya-manāṃsi. na rūpa-śabda-gandha-rasa- spraṣṭavaya-dharmāh. Na cakṣūr-dhātur. yāvan na manovijñāna-dhātuḥ. na-avidyā na-avidyā-kṣayo. yāvan na jarā-maraṇam na jarā-maraṇa-kṣayo. na duhkha- samudaya-nirodha-margā. Na jñānam, na prāptir na- aprāptiḥ.

tasmāc chāriputra aprāptitvād bodhisattvasya prajñāpāramitām āśritya viharatyacittāvaraṇaḥ. cittāvaraṇa-nāstitvād atrastro viparyāsa-atikrānto niṣṭhā- nirvāṇa-prāptaḥ.

tryadhva-vyavasthitāḥ sarva-buddhāḥ prajñāpāramitām āśrityā-anuttarāṃ samyaksambodhim abhisambuddhāḥ.

tasmāj jñātavyam: prajñāpāramitā mahā-mantro mahā- vidyā mantro ‘nuttara-mantro samasama-mantraḥ, sarva duḥkha praśamanaḥ, satyam amithyatāt. prajñāpāramitāyām ukto mantraḥ.

tadyathā: gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā. iti prajñāpāramitā-hṛdayam samāptam.

Harvard Meditation Study: Resilience, Tummo, And Inner Peace

Harvard Meditation Study

Tummo is the rage, Harvard Meditation Study. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Long before Harvard’s recent studies on meditation and mindfulness, the science around the subject has been disputed. Regardless, meditation lovers, mindfulness experts, monks, and prayerful people of all types regularly report a variety of benefits resulting from these practices.​

Whether avid meditators or not, most of us have reported positive experiences when meditating. Benefits include stress reduction, feeling more peaceful, feeling better about ourselves, feeling less judgmental, and improved relationships and creativity.

“Surrender To What Is. Let Go Of What Was. Have Faith In What Will Be.”
— Sonia Ricotti

Many couples who meditate together during Harvard Meditation study, report feelings of deepening and connectedness that were not present before meditation. Teachers who introduce meditation to their students find that everyone has better attention spans and the majority tend to get along better.

Many doctors report that mindfulness techniques and positive visualizations help to calm their patients. Some doctors have said that regimens of meditation have improved conditions associated with irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Meditation and mindfulness are taught and practiced by prisons, sports teams, and even the U.S. military to improve resilience, clarity, presence of mind, and feelings of connectedness.​
Also, the vast majority of meditation studies have shown that meditators tend to experience regular states of selflessness and emotional clarity.

“The Real Meditation Is How You Live Your Life.”
— Jon Kabat-Zinn

The Science Of Meditation

Traditionally, meditation and mindfulness studies have been poorly designed and executed. Of the over 400 clinical trials aimed at determining the benefits of meditation between 1956 and 2005, only 10% were constructed from quality theoretical perspectives and methodologies. This included studies by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the American Heart Association.

When it comes to happiness and emotional well-being, some studies show that people who meditate have higher levels of happiness than control groups. Similar studies have shown that people who meditate for 20 minutes per day have higher levels of happiness than those who rested for 20 minutes per day. The challenge with these types of results is that they haven’t included data related to meditators being better at self-care than non-meditators.

“The Present Moment Is Filled With Joy And Happiness.
If You Are Attentive, You Will See It.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh

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The Harvard Study On Meditation And Mindfulness

A neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Sara Lazar, sought to explore the benefits of meditation and mindfulness via brain scans while doing Harvard Meditation study.
What did she learn? Meditation and similar practices can improve, expand, and change your brain. Lazar’s findings of meditators were profound:

  • Over time, their senses become enhanced.
  • With regular meditation, they experience improved executive decision making. Whether younger or older, participants have shown increased gray matter in the prefrontal cortex.
  • The brains of new meditators thickened after eight weeks in the areas of the brain that cater to self-relevance, learning, cognition, memory, emotional regulation, adopting perspectives, empathy, compassion, and the production of regulatory neurotransmitters.
  • The areas of the brains of new mediators related to anxiety, fear, and stress became smaller over time.

While there isn’t robust data about how much and how long someone must meditate to achieve benefits like these, Lazar said that meditators would probably need to practice at least a couple of days per week, at an average of 30 minutes per day. That said, there is no definitive scientific data in this area.

Tummo Meditation

While meditation science has been unable to prove every benefit for every niche and category, Tibetan Monks and Himalayan yogis have been meditating for centuries, and with consistent, miraculous results. Tummo Meditation, (gTum-mo in Tibetan, or g-Tummo), which translates to “inner fire,” is regularly taught and practiced by Tibetan Buddhists throughout the world.

Wrapped in cold, wet sheets, Himalayan monks can heat their bodies through Tummo meditation, and in the process, dry the wet sheets. This astounding ability has kept academics, doctors and regular folks stupefied for over a century. Truly, Tummo meditation is the holy grail of meditation neuroscience.

This ancient technique combines meditative breathing with visualization and results in a deep state of inward connection. Monks report being able to increase and control the heat in their bodies.

While their body temperatures rise during the meditation, they can transfer the resulting heat to any organ or extremity, including their scalps, hearts, kidneys, fingers, and toes.​Tummo meditators report a variety of benefits, including improved concentration, memory, and mental clarity; improved breathing, including the depth of breaths; improved lung and heart health; improved confidence; and of course, improved control over the body’s heat.

Given all this, meditation should be a no-brainer, right? RIGHT!.  

How To Tummo

The purpose of Tummo is to reach a high yoga tantra (or state) and gain control over the body’s processes.
Here are the steps to achieving Tummo Meditation and the psychic control of your body’s heat:

  1. Sit comfortably, with your back straight; cross-legged is ideal.
  2. Imagine your spirit’s kundalini (channel) “tube” up and down your spine.
  3. Imagine that each nostril is a tube connected to your kundalini tube.
  4. Imagine your body being hollow, sacred, and filled with light.
  5. Visualize a hot ball of fire inside of your body, around the belly-button.
  6. Focus on your breath and inhale slowly.
  7. Imagine each breath to feed your fireball of light, making it hotter and hotter.
  8. Imagine that your fireball is safe and healing, continuing to feed it with the breath.
  9. Try to hold each breath for 10-30 seconds, then exhale.
  10. You can repeat this breathing process for up to 30 minutes.

“What Day Is It?” Asked Pooh. “It’s Today,” Squeaked Piglet.

“My Favourite Day,” Said Pooh.

— A.A. Milne

Types Of Meditation And Mindfulness

Meditation can take many forms. Some meditate on their breath. Others find that mantras and tones are helpful when attempting to detach from the mind and be fully in the present moment.
Here are a few types of meditation that you might find helpful.
Mindfulness Meditation (Also Breath Meditation)

  1. Sit comfortably with your back straightbook-live-intuitive-reading-with-paul-wagner
  2. Focus on your breath and how it moves in and out of your body. Feel the sensations in your lungs, chest, and belly. Notice the air as it enters your nose and mouth. Pay attention to your breath as it leaves your body.
  3. Allow thoughts to come and go. Become the watcher of your thoughts, whether they are based in happiness, hope or anxiety. Simply allow them to be and then let them go. Remain calm as you feel the results of your thoughts. Refrain from suppressing or ignoring them. Over time, your thoughts will naturally bubble up and disappear at will.
  4. Without judging yourself, allow your mind to wander or get carried off into a thought-path. When this happens, effortlessly return your focus to your breath. Throughout the process, be gentle with yourself.
  5. When you experience a period of peacefulness, try to maintain it.
  6. When the time feels right, bring your meditation to a close. As you come out of the meditation, sit quietly for some time. Become aware of who you are in the moment, and where you are. Be gentle with yourself as you return to the present moment.
  7. When it feels right to you, stand up and carry on with your day.

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Mantra Or Tone Meditation

Start with 5 minutes each morning and try to increase the length of time every day.

  1. Once you’re seated comfortably, either in a chair or in lotus position on the floor, choose a mantra or tone for inhaling and exhaling.
  2. As you inhale, silently chant the tone “Maaaaa” in your mind.
  3. As you exhale, silently chant the tone “Ommmmm” in your mind.
  4. Throughout the meditation, allow your attention to return to these tones continually.
  5. When we tone within our minds, we dissolve our mental chatter and bring healing vibrations to our brains, hearts, and bodies. 

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Meditation In Action

Whether we are exercising, walking, or doing the dishes, an activity can quickly become a meditation. Focus on your feet pressing against the earth or your hands stretching out as they touch a tree. Bring your attention to the activity, without judgment, anticipation, or stress. See things as they really are, without trying to reduce them to something else. Bring your mind’s attention to the resulting sensations within each activity.

This type of meditation allows us to detach from our minds and identities, and immerse ourselves in the spirit of the action. Throughout the process, we experience moments of liberation.

There are many types of meditation. You might consider studying the true nature of reality through Vipassana Meditation, a 10-day silent retreat.

Research what feels best to you and try to build meditation into your daily habits and routines.

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Ongoing Scientific Efforts

Research perspectives and methodologies aimed at proving the benefits of meditation and mindfulness have drastically improved.​
Thankfully, an ongoing effort in this area is occurring at a variety of universities and hospitals, including, but certainly not limited to:

  • Massachusetts General Hospital’s Benson-Henry Institute
  • Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine
  • The Cambridge Health Alliance
  • Harvard University
  • The Mindfulness Research Collaborative
  • University of Vermont
  • University of Miami
  • Georgetown University
  • Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine
  • Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life
  • Many other institutions and organizations

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Mindfulness Leaders

Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Tibetan Buddhist monk, taught thousands of people how to meditate. Jon Kabat-Zinn, his worthy student, memorialized those teachings in a variety of profound books on the subject, including “Wherever You Go, There You Are,” “Mindfulness For Beginners,” and “Meditation is Not What You Think.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founder of MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

New-Age Narcissists: How To Spot & Avoid Them

Gotta love the wacky, new-agers and other narcissists – or not. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

When traveling in new-age circles, it’s easy to spot the most real and wonderful people. They’re usually the ones not wearing white or purple, standing separate from the chatty, spiritually-chic sheep, and looking somewhat uncomfortable. They might even wear a frown.

New-Age Narcissists: OMG! QUE TERRIBLE, HIJA!

When the New-Age scene first blossomed, I met hundreds of high-quality human beings, deep thinkers, empathic feelers, and intuitive, sensing, light-workers. It was as if the new-age movement had inspired them to venture outside their secret, divine caves for the first time in their lives.

These fascinating people had been waiting for a chance to commune and network with others of like-mind. As powerful and brilliant innovators, they weren’t following a trend and they weren’t obsessed with themselves. They were genuine originals who had clean intentions, infused with integrity. They all shared a sincere desire to connect, heal others, and expand.

Those were the best days and I miss them. What was once the pursuit of truth has become an addition to spiritual-botox.

Now, I see more ego-drenched selfies at new-age events than I do at global television and marketing symposiums. With all the posturing and pretending, spiritual authenticity has almost disappeared in the new-age scene.

Transparency is no longer about being open and lucid, it’s become a trendy, dark art used to color perception and deceive the self. It’s no longer about dissolving the ego, it’s now about how you can construct an ego-based on marketable principles.

book-live-intuitive-reading-with-paul-wagner

Part of the problem is our addiction to spiritual-porn. You know, all those hip, warm-fuzzy images in our newsfeeds that tell us that we’re Gods and Goddesses. These images encourage us to deny our shadows, which, in turn, causes us to deny half of our humanity, which we then replace with fantasy.

We use these spiritually materialistic images and sound bites to nurture false beliefs about ourselves, which causes us to avoid doing the real work. Truth be told, the real work, while sometimes painful, is both exciting and liberating.

Let’s get back to basics:

  • If we live within and sell a contrived identity, we’re missing the point. The idea is to cleanse the ego of false identities. Die to the ego, don’t glorify it. The path is about embracing the raw, gritty human being, not the false spiritual emblem that you might (temporarily) want to become.

  • If we avoid our feelings, or are unable to hear and accept the feelings of others, we’re either not truly interested in the other person, or we’ve yet to accept ourselves for who we are. Viral or not, emotions are aspects of our humanity, integrate to relating with others, and part of every equation.

  • Not all yoga classes are vibrationally uplifting or even spiritual. Many of them are no more enlightening than exercise, taught by marketers, not yogis. Just because the teacher wears a mala, dhoti, and bindi, and occasionally burps in Sanskrit, doesn’t mean that he or she has any idea how to integrate profound yogic truths into a conscious and transformative curriculum.

  • The new-age is a collective of confused people who are obsessed with derivative spiritual tidbits and immediate gratification. This is neither good nor bad, but it’s probably not good. “New-age,” while once the embodiment of an enlightening ethos and community, is now a catch-all for non-committal, spiritual dabblers who prefer fashionable, feel-good tag lines and spiritual materialism to substance.

I had the immense anti-pleasure of being in business with a local, new-age fakir. She said all the right things, wore the perfect clothes, and then completely disappeared. She lied and stole money from me, pretending that signed agreements are merely suggestions.

Betrayal is a bitch, but it’s also one of the greatest teachers.

At the time, I was ashamed of my love for her and my naiveté, but eventually realized that people who don’t relish commitment and accountability probably don’t love, respect, or understand themselves.

The most important thing I learned is that I must have had garbage remnants of new-age residue inside of me, otherwise, I wouldn’t have attracted a flaky, new-age freak into my life. Her choice to dishonor our relationship pulled a thorn from my spirit.

New-age narcissists are different from regular narcissists because they use flowery language connected to a deity, Guru, or spiritual discipline. This puts them in the “Dangerous” category. Because they reference the Gods, even their shallow projections and brain farts can become alluring, potent propositions.

Some new-agers are so adept at misrepresentation and sexy-spiritual enticement, they’re one decision from becoming prostitutes.

How to Spot a New-Age Narcissist

  • New-age narcissists hate confrontation because it reminds them of how much they’ve been avoiding themselves.

  • New-agers might dislike it when you’re angry with them because it antagonizes their delusions around reality and dreams of being spiritually perfect. If you’re upset with a new-ager, they will avoid you at all costs or place all the blame on you. This is because they only look at the pretty mirrors, not the real ones.

  • Because they often believe themselves to be living angels, they wear perfect spiritually-styled clothing to every meeting and gathering. These spiritual wolves usually have the cash to afford the most divine wardrobes.

  • Listen for warm and chic spiritual language as they describe their lives and choices, while never owning their shortcomings.

  • In business, they’ll use loose commitment language and make assumptions about how things will magically happen vs doing the work required to make things happen.

  • They sometimes describe their fears and how much they are working toward addressing them. Imagine if they put all that self-focus into rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. They love to hear themselves talk about their feelings, so we can track their fascinating progress. Sharing your feelings is healthy, but sharing your feelings all the time is f*cked-up.

  • Their personal mythologies are ridden with stories of horrible, oppressive people in their lives who “hurt” them, and who are not living according to spiritual principles that serve only them.

  • Their social feeds often feature a multitude of selfies with yoga instructors and spiritual teachers, and with backgrounds that highlight temples, ashrams and popular spiritual sites, ya know, like their bedrooms.

New-agers don’t like

to make scheduled plans

because a busy schedule

can interrupt

their magical,

spontaneous,

self-indulgent,

mermaid

lives.

 

How to Protect Your Life from New-age Narcissists

  • Listen for how often the person shares his or her feelings. If it’s every time you get together for 15 minutes, and about every aspect of their lives, they might be self-absorbed, which could easily tip toward narcissism.

  • If they avoid anger and resent your anger, with regard to any situation, it’s possible that they are unable to see themselves clearly, and unwilling to grow beyond their limited, shiny public persona.

  • If they hurt you in business, get a lawyer, and threaten them. Some new-agers are spineless wimps who fear commitment, structure, and accountability. A lawyer will make a new-age narcissist sweat. It’s nice when these jack-offs are forced to hire lawyers to respond to you, because it means they finally had to spend money on something other than Goddess and Ganesha t-shirts.

  • If they hurt you in love, make note of the ways in which you were narcissistic or self-absorbed, and how you allowed them to inflame your ego. In other words, look at your own self-obsession. It might be time to let it go.

  • The most important thing you can do when screwed by a new-age narcissist is to educate them about their hypocrisy. Call them out on every aspect of their behavior, self-obsession, and dishonesty.

  • Given that these white-light addicts tend to hide behind contrived identities, calling them on their bullsh*t will be helpful to them (and you). To make sure they hear you, you might consider using the same shallow spiritual lingo that they use. Most new-age narcissists are akin to bullies. If you stand up to them, they eventually stop wanting to hurt you and others.

  • Reach out to mutual friends and tell them about your experiences. There’s a good chance they’ve done this before and possibly to someone close to you. Sharing your story might help others heal.

  • Finally, delete the new-age vampire’s contact information and never engage with them again.

  • If they muster up an apology, accept it with all of your heart. It’s awesome when knuckleheads wake up.

Be genuine in responses. Step beyond passive spirituality and stand in your personal power. Passivity is not spiritual. It’s a cop-out.

Be authentic. Speak your truth. Forgive yourself. Forgive them. Move on.

Your new mantra:

“I want powerful, loving, honest, responsive people in my life.

I embrace commitment, accountability, and authenticity.

Within all my endeavors, I seek clarity, consciousness,

and a healthy reciprocity. In all things, I seek the truth.”

How to Disentangle from Karmic Relationships

Karmic relationships

Karmic relationships can be transformed. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

We’ve all had at least one relationship that’s threatened our personal power. We may have become so entrenched, we could no longer speak-up or stand-up for ourselves. Sadly, when this friend, lover or family member invited us into their wacky world, we went willingly—and we stayed. Unaware, we left ourselves unprotected and were subject to a twisted reality, which we began to perpetuate and co-create.

When I say “intense,” I’m referring to the self-centered, dramatic people in our lives who expect us to give to them in ways they don’t even give to themselves.

It might appear that the other person is playing a game with our hearts, disabling our abilities to see ourselves and the relationships clearly.

Karmic Relationships: Who am I talking about?

The most problematic people are the ones who regularly chip away at our truth, time, self-esteem, and emotional well-being. Instead of lovingly lifting us up, they hold our heads slightly beneath the water’s surface so we can’t speak or breathe. This hurtful treatment further compounds the dynamic, as well as our misery. This is one of the craziest and karmic relationship.

Human beings have been naturally attracted to egoistic spectacles for centuries. We’ve loved melodrama in our celebrities and long-enabled it in our families. We’ve actively sought it out in friendships, romance and business. We have been eternally attracted to relationships with kooky, intense people.

Fortunately, we can kick them out at any time.

Sensational melodrama can be fun for a while, as it often invites fascinating experiences. While it usually requires that we endure discomfort and disruption, madness usually comes with gifts and surprises too, like 5-star adventures, refreshing spontaneity and hourly oral sex.

How do we put a stop to something

that sometimes balances out to awesome?

More importantly, why would we want to?

.

Although mania has value, the problems begin when mania is at the helm. During those times, we don’t realize how much we’re neglecting the other parts of our souls and lives. As we gaze at the world wearing kooky-colored glasses, we have limited awareness of how f*cked up the rest of our commitments and relationships have become.

Craziness and melodrama are drugs akin to sugar, cocaine, and greed. They’re addictive and dangerous. We might think we’re enjoying a relationship with a phenomenon, but just like any activity that subverts our value, copulating with Ms. Kooky or Mr. Crazy is nothing but self-sacrificial.

Our introduction to egocentricity often comes from our siblings, parents, and family circumstances. Unknowingly, we recreate situations related to our upbringing. That said, even though we’re born into madness, it doesn’t mean we have to stay there.

It’s okay to have a little crazy-intelligence in the house, but if the dynamics continually create roller-coasters, it might be time to ask, “What the f*ck am I doing here?” and “What am I getting out of this?”

book-live-intuitive-reading-with-paul-wagner

When crazy-intelligence is healthy, it pushes us to think outside the box, inspires us to plan wonderful events, and helps us conjure mind-blowing ideas. When crazy-intelligence is our friend, it builds bridges, enhances our lives, and improves our self-worth. But if untenable craziness dominates, it’s nothing more than a beautifully-decorated weapon that we empower to bring us down.

Weaning off of melodrama can be a nightmare. It requires being honest about what we want and what truly makes us happy. It requires a great deal of self-reflection and letting go.

The process of absolving ourselves from someone else’s egocentricity and melodrama will bring up anger, sadness, guilt, and shame. It can get really messy in such a karmic relationship. If we’re successful, it’ll inspire tough-mindedness, the ability to confront others, and the desire to continue making and sticking to proactive changes in our lives. If we’re not successful, we’ll compound our challenges and put ourselves at further risk.

.

When we’ve enrolled ourselves in someone else’s chaos,

we lose touch with what brings us peace.

In the midst of mayhem,

we forget how to nurture our hearts

and defend our life-vision.

.

If you’ve been eating at the kooky, karma table and desire a rebirth from Karmic Relationships, follow this plan:

  1. Make note of the things you’ve learned from all the drama: the good, the bad, and the super f*cked-up. Celebrate the lessons and be grateful.

  2. Make a list of the wonderful things and people in your life, then fill your schedule with them.

  3. Before you add something new to your life, ask yourself, “Will this person or event enhance my happiness, awareness, and life-conditions, or will he or she detract from them?”

  4. Say goodbye to the egocentricity and imbalance, either in-person, phone, text, or via a loving friend who’s willing to take a bullet for you. It can be a sentence, book, video, or one-person play. Just get ‘er done.

  5. Never look back. Ever.

If we can enjoy the unpredictable drama in our lives and then use it for our evolution, maybe we’ve mastered it. For the rest of us, saying goodbye to Ms. Kooky or Mr. Crazy is the moment when our lives begin.

A Ritual for Changing the Book of Life

It’s time to reboot with this awesome ritual. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

I’m fascinated by White-Lighters. Who are the White-Lighters? These are the folks breathing white light through their navel with the hope that their world will change without any additional effort. They write down their needs and desires and say, “Since I have written and spoke these things, they will all appear!”

Unfortunately, reality doesn’t work that way. It’s true that thoughts and intentions are powerful. They help us form our action plans, relationships, and boundaries. They set the tone we need to move forward on a path. But if we’d like something to actually occur, ya know, like in a physical reality that we are participating in, we have to invest quite a bit of action into an event before it manifests. Matter is quite a complex notion, especially if you want to move it around or make it do something that’s a deviation from its current path.

Making changes to our lives can be complicated. We might want to say goodbye to a friend who continually hurts or disrespects us, but that friend is connected to 27 other people we love. How then do we move through space and time and fine-tune our experience without creating absolute social havoc?

How do we disrupt our old ways and create lasting change?

To effect lasting change in our lives, it’s important that we can access our feelings, express ourselves, clean house, and establish changes in our behavior. Ritualizing the changes we desire can produce a lot of emotions which results in an up-leveling of our wisdom. Without emotions, there’s no wisdom, and without wisdom, it’s difficult to make better decisions.

I cried my eyes out yesterday saying goodbye to someone I had said goodbye to long ago. The problem was that when I exited that relationship, I didn’t fully emote the change. I may have been in a state of shock.

Conversely, when I’ve ritualized the changes I’ve wanted, the emotions come, and then I’m clearer and more resolute. And because I’ve begun to release emotions, when I make the change, it’s a full-bodied, resolute, and complete experience.

What does it mean to ritualize a desired change?

book-live-intuitive-reading-with-paul-wagner

A ritual is a physical activity involving clear intentions, words, symbolic gestures, and objects that we find to have meaning in our lives, the unique coordination of which helps us establish a greater level of peace or a change around a specific reality. In short, a ritual is a personal, physicalized prayer.

My favorite ritual for letting go of the past, changing behavior, and inviting a new paradigm for life is called, The Changing the Book of Life. I learned the ritual from a Native American elder who had taken me under his wing.

With a gallon of water, a blanket, and a list of things I wanted to pray about, I hiked into the Pecos wilderness, veering off the main path for around 10 miles. After a full day of hiking at a great pace, I was nestled deep in the real wilderness (not the wilderness marked by paths, signs, and toilets). I climbed atop a steep hill above the tree line and I sat in the lotus position and meditated.

It was a super hot day in August so I took off all my clothes and drank some water. I felt peaceful and resolved in what I was about to do. A mountain lion walked nearby and climbed further up the hill. He sat behind me and watched me for the duration of my ritual.

There were no birds at this elevation, but a few tiger moths floated gently around me. I took out a piece of paper titled, “Changing the Book of Life Ritual,” which had a list of instructions, along with my list of all sorts of things that I wanted the universe to shed some light on.

The ritual asks that we choose a deity. I chose a power-quad of Jesus, Amma (Amma.org), Buddha, and a Tree. I imagined the four of these superpowers working on my behalf throughout the entire ritual.

The instructions stated that I was to imagine each challenge that I wanted to be changed in my life and ask the deities to “Change the Book of Life” for all time.

Here’s the way it works:

  • Sit quietly and make a list of the things in your life that you want to release. This includes people, places, events, experiences, and ideas.

  • Head into the woods alone so that you can connect with nature. Find a peaceful place to perform your ritual.

  • As you sit quietly, invite all of your guides and diety to join you.

  • Imagine that you can see your deity (or imagine an expansive universe) in front of you, near you, or in the sky around you.

  • Imagine the challenges that you want to release and speak them aloud.

  • Tell the universe or your deity that you want back all the gifts, talents, and attributes that you gave to this person or experience.

  • Tell the universe that you are giving back all the gifts, talents, and attributes that you received from this person or experience.

  • Ask the deity or universe to help the people involved in the challenge. Pray that neither you nor the other person (or peoples) experiences no lost love in the change you are requesting.

  • Ask that all dangling threads of need, hope, and desire are fulfilled and nurtured in every way by the limitless universe. In this way, there is no loss, even though you are asking that something be deleted from your eternal life records.

  • Tell the deity or universe that you want this change to happen immediately, right now, and that you want the “book of life” to be changed for all time.

I thought I had a handful of things I wanted to change, but the more I got into it, I was releasing more and more. I was going far beyond my original list.

I thought this ritual was going to take a couple of hours and then I’d be off hiking, but I let go of 40 people and events, and it took seven hours to complete.

Throughout these seven hours, I cried, laughed, sobbed heavily, pounded the earth in anger, freaked out, pissed myself, had anxiety, shouted out my pain, and completely exhausted every level of my being in every way. It was a relatively insane experience, but WOWOWOW! It was powerful.

As I looked out across the treetops, seeing this beautiful sunset, it was the clearest sky I had ever seen. I could see eternity. I peeked over my shoulder and saw the mountain lion was still resting nearby.

I felt deeply grateful for the experience of releasing so many things, so I bowed my head and thanked the universe for this changing of the book of life.

I thanked creation, knowing that my gifts, talents, and attributes would be returned to me. I knew I would feel more whole.

As I lifted my head with love in my heart, 20 feet in front of me, just off the edge of the cliff appeared 40 beautiful, boisterous, singing birds.

This was the universe reflecting back to me all that I had given away in my life. I felt heard and loved. I was so deeply moved that I sobbed for an hour in gratitude.

The Changing of the Book of Life Ritual was extremely powerful for me. There has been nothing even remotely similar to this experience in my life. It was beyond life-changing. I slept soundly atop the rocks that night with my friend the mountain lion nearby.

The ritual was a profound experience and it worked according to its promise. I released things I never thought were possible. Everything was lighter after that day. My life felt realigned and focused. My heart was no longer cloudy and my relationship-tree was cleansed and simplified. I was renewed in every way.

Days later, I had several unusual voicemails from a few people I had released. They must have felt something. I know I sure did.

Learn more about rituals & engage Paul as your guide.

Fun Ways to Make Life Lovelier for Others When Traveling

make life lovelier

Travel with love in your heart. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

When I travel, I love to make life a little less stressful for others. I try to love-up and appreciate everybody I meet, make life lovelier for everyone. Since it’s especially easy to take people in the service industry for granted, I often focus on them. When I’m paying attention, I can feel their efforts and intentions and I feel a deep well of gratitude. I tend to be overly-empathic, which can be debilitating if I’m not careful. To remain in the flow, I reach out to others who appear to need a little love. I often play a game with myself to see how many altruistic things I can accomplish during one travel stint.

I love to help others. I love to make life lovelier. It’s the best addiction.

These are things that I do to upgrade my travel karma:

Bathrooms

To help other travelers feel more comfortable and respectable before I leave a bathroom in an airport, bus station, or convention center, I pick up the trash on the floor, wipe down the toilet seat, and alert the janitor of any issues I can’t fix. The little things add up.

Hotel Rooms

A maid’s job is tough, often under-appreciated, and repetitive. Before leaving a hotel room, I roll all the towels into a ball and place them near the door. I put all the trash into one bucket and strip the bed. I throw out the used soap and place the shampoo containers next to the sink. I open a window to bring in the fresh air and I leave a small tip with a cute note with a heart on it.

Restaurants

When at restaurants, I pile my dishes, napkins, and silverware and push them closer to the edge of the table so it’s easier for waitstaff to clear. When I sense a waiter or waitress is stressed or unhappy, I ask them a light-hearted personal question about their family, culture, or jewelry. I try to bring them out of themselves so they can internalize my appreciation. When I sense the waitstaff needs some extra love and attention, I might leave a 200% tip.

If I saw homeless people on the way from the hotel to a restaurant, I remember them when I finish my meal. I box up my left-overs so that nothing is wasted, and I purchase a piece of pie. Putting it all in one bag, I add a little love note.

While exiting the restaurant, I look for the most open and receptive homeless person, I give them the bag, along with a hug. When I witness someone working hard to have hope and express that hope, I love to validate it.

Eye Contact

Maids, janitors, shoe-shiners, and floor sweepers tend to be ignored and I believe this affects their well-being. When I see someone working hard to clean or fix something, I give them a smile, share eye contact, or engage them in conversation. I’ve met some of the most loving, profound, and interesting people this way.

Airports

I love airports and I am committed to enjoying every aspect of my experience there, as well as make life lovelier for all my fellow travelers. I arrive at security three hours early so I can be friendly, peaceful, and relaxed during the process. When someone near me looks a little freaked out or stressed, I let them go ahead of me. When I see a cranky or disgruntled person, I engage them in conversation with the hope of softening their frustration. I remain alert and friendly with security staff, saying “thank you” as many times as possible.

When entering airport security, I always pre-plan what I’ll put in the trays. I untie my shoelaces so they come off more easily. I put my belt in my travel bag. I make sure my computer bag is unzipped so all I have to do is pull my laptop and drop it into a tray.

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If someone near me looks confused, I grab a tray for them and give them encouragement. When exiting airport security, I pick up the left-over trays on the conveyor belts/scanners and put them in the tray holder to make room.

Compassion with Strangers

Travel can be alienating for many people. I like to seek out ways to make life lovelier and nurture others with positive reinforcement. I often seek out the saddest and upset person in a restaurant and I secretly pay for their meal, leaving before the waitress tells them their bill was paid.

If a taxi/Uber/Lyft/rickshaw driver shares a story of hardship and I can feel their pain, I give them a large sum of money and tell them that I love them. I did this in Thailand and the taxi driver squeezed me so hard, we both burst into tears. I often do this in the US with single mothers. Their reactions take my breath away.

When I feel someone’s pain and I am unable to help them in some way, I imagine light shining upon them and I ask the Universe/God to lighten their heart and give them strength.

Let’s all keep an eye out for each other when we travel. A little love goes a long, long way.

Give Yourself Permission to Say Goodbye to Family

permit yourself to say goodbye to family

Birth-families are not always awesome. A Shutterstock. Licensed Image.

We don’t have to remain latched to every kid, sibling, or cousin across three generations just because we married a lineage, or share blood and a last name. It’s okay to gently, swiftly say goodbye. We might even be doing them a favor.

It’s a fallacy, an ancient mythic lie that our birth and constructed families are permanent fixtures in our lives. They are not permanent and they are not always required. It’s our choices that enable a person or family to hurt, oppress, and control us. Allowing these limitations of culture to impress upon us to stay with family through thick and thin make codependency a serious issue.

Families are temporary constructs from which we derive temporary meaning for our lives. If the meanings change, dissolve or contravene, either through our evolution or a shift in another person’s perspective, we are called to rethink, possibly redesign our commitments. While this is not a call to be reckless, it’s important to understand that every person has options.

Birthdays, New Years, and holidays usher in profound times of reevaluation, self-reflection and tribal-assessment. When we first start to explore our needs for independence from our families, we might choose to refrain from heading home for the holidays. Doing so, we might feel guilty or conflicted, or we might have the best frickin’ holiday of our lives.

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Our childhood experiences and habits around holidays are not indelible. We can remake anything at any time through a shift in perspective and behavior. Playing the old movies in our minds, we realize what we don’t want in our lives. Stepping away from the past, we realize we have unlimited potential in any direction.

If we’re paying attention during family visits, the moment we pull into our sibling’s or mother’s (or even our own) driveway, we begin to feel the stress around the family behaviors we no longer desire or wish to tolerate. We start to feel our former-self bubble up, chock-full of old responses, and ancient reactions. For many people, holidays are times of healing and renewal. For the rest of us, enforced family gatherings are head-f*cks.

The true definition of a birth family: a small group of people forced to deal with each other while fighting for limited resources. These birth, childhood, and adoptive groups are vital to our growth and self-discovery, but many of them have expiration dates. While these families might serve a huge purpose in our early years, they can become void of intrinsic value as we age. They can also become toxic.

 

This is not to say that all families are bad or that we should strive to let them go. On the contrary, if you’ve been born into a tolerable group of fair-minded people who respect you, then cling to these people with all your heart! If you’re a Mormon, you might be so enthused with your family that you’ve sealed yourself to them for eternity. Whatever moistens your loins. Go for it!

For many of us though, our families, and sometimes our marriages, are odd assemblages of twisted personalities that were never able to agree-upon an all-inclusive system of communication, behavior, and rituals.

There may have been abuse or neglect in the original contracts within your childhood home. It might be that your voice was never truly welcome in your family. You may be a successful person in the world, but when you return home to the old patterns, you’re thrust into the corner with a mouthguard and dunce cap.

You might need to dig deep and grieve some of the toxic imagery rolling around in your mind and heart. You might be so overwhelmed with emotions stemming from childhood that it’s become impossible to speak with members of your family.

Every one of us has family fascia clinging to our souls, so remember that you’re in good company. Seek clarity. While everyone else will want to cram you into their little boxes, allow yourself to expand, make YOU the priority, and love yourself.

 

It might be that we hate our families and refuse to forgive them. We may have forgiven them, but we refuse to forget. We might love them, but don’t want to be near them any longer. It might be that you’re still playing the role of victim, and being around your family is akin to pouring salt in your wounds.

Each situation is unique and cannot be judged from the perspectives of traditional or religious family values. Human beings are far more complex than that and there are many paths that lead to liberation.

If you find yourself nodding your head as you read all this, accept the fact that your situation is your own and you do not need anybody’s approval to make changes in your life. Regardless of how many family relationships you decide to exit, understand that those who truly wish to be in your company will seek you out with a full heart, complete respect, unlimited kindness, and compassionate understanding.

Pushing hard to break from family might not bring about the most lasting changes. Before applying the pruning sheers to your family tree, come to terms with your mistakes, then forgive them. Come to terms with other people’s mistakes, then forgive them. Be accepting of the way things are. Find peace before you make major breaks.

When making big decisions around relationships and family bondage, shut out the old family voices, quiet the sibling rants, silence the “traditional society” and religious bullshit. Listen to your voice. It’s the only one that counts.

Our paths are mutually exclusive. Yours might require extended periods of solitude. It might be that you need a break from family or tradition. Heck, you might just want to skip one holiday meal in favor of drinking your face off at the local bar. You get to choose because it’s your life. Don’t get tripped up by guilt and shame. Those things barely exist.

Even the Buddha skipped town on his wife and kid.

He turned out okay, right?

Whatever changes are on your horizon, seek the ones that bring you peace. Seek traditions, new or old, that bring you joy.

Our primary contract is not with our families, it’s with the Universe.

Infuse that contract with as much joy as possible. With or without family, it’s your life. Enjoy it!