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A Daily Practice For Maintaining Spiritual Balance
Hay House 2003 ISBN #1-4019-0023-2 The Healing Cards impress me as a very powerful tool for healing - one that is inclusive of many diverse cultures, and one that can be used in a daily practice to affect and maintain physical and spiritual healing. Myss and Occhiogrosso created these cards as a way of helping people take action on the healing insights that they gain from Myss's workshops. The cards also work well on their own - they directly address the emotions of an issue, and gift the reader with a very personal, comforting message to take into their day. These cards can become a personal healing practice, if used wisely. The short message on the front of the card is taken from scriptural writings and collective wisdom of the world's spiritual traditions. The text on the back of the card provides a way to take an action to practically apply the wisdom of the card in your life. Used on a daily basis, they are more than "one stop shopping" to cure specific hurts. They are designed to work together to balance the user spiritually, psychologically and physically. Each entry shows a black and white scan of the card, followed by a discussion of the card, with the sources the wisdom came from listed at the end of the presentation for each card. The cards come in a sturdy wooden box - one that will hold up under daily use. The cards themselves are 3 1/2" by 5", a good quality cardstock, and laminated so that they will stand up to extended usage. The colors used are vibrant, yet soothing, with the art style a combination of reality (i.e. the realistic portrayal of the human form) and fantasy (an endearing, smiling Sun; a gentleman literally holding his home in his lap; leaves flying through the air; and stairsteps leading into the heavens). The topics addressed are diverse: eating for good health; recovery as a process; the world as a living entity; helping others without thought of reward; tranquility within the home; living in the now; cherishing the joy within; the circle of life; healing oneself before healing others; asking to see the truth in your challenges; forgiveness ... and much, much more.
From the book: 2. Love is like a deep pool that never dries up. Taoism is a supremely practical, earth-centered tradition whose teachings and practices often reflect the natural world in surprising ways. Many of the Chinese martial arts and exercise systems, such as qi gong and kung fu, are based on close observation of animals, birds and insects. The "Tao Te Ching", the principle text of Taoism, hardly seems like sacred scriptures at all. Consisting of 81 pithy chapters - none more than a page, and some just a few lines, it's full of practical advice couched in poetic allusion and metaphor. It has probably been translated into English more often than any other Eastern text, each version subtly different from the others. Chapter 4 begins, for example, in Robert Henrick's scholarly translation, "The Way (Tao) is empty; yet when you use it you never need to fill it again." Stephen Mitchell, a popular translator who doesn't always know the language of the originals, renders the same line more freely: "The Tao is like a well; used but never used up." But both convey the same spiritual principle: Divine energy is inexhaustible; only our limited, time-based conception makes it seem finite. Just as a well is replenished magically from the underground water table, love and grace that flow from a Divine source are inexhaustible. Robert G. Henricks. "Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts". New York: Ballantine. 1989. Stephen Mitchell. "Tao Te Ching". New York: HarperCollins. 1988. I find the art and the text comforting - a nice way to begin ones day, to center in the now and release small hurts before the day begins. This is a wonderful addition to anyone's cadre of tools of self-empowerment and healing. Healing Cards may be purchased here. Card scans from the Healing Cards (Caroline Myss, Peter Occhiogrosso, 2003) are copyright to Caroline Myss and Peter Occhiogrosso. Further reproduction is prohibited.
Bonnie Cehovet
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Graphics by Art for the web |
Love shows a young woman sitting by a pool of water, with a lantern to her side, a full moon in the background and hearts all around her. The text reads: "Love is like a deep pool that never dries up." The back of the card reads: "You have more to give than you realize. The only expectation you should have in giving to others is what you expect of yourself. That's how you stay replenished."