Just Stop Thinking About It

© Copyright 2011  Judy Jennings


Today’s discussion is about not thinking.  Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  That’s what I thought, too.  Even though I‘m a fan of logic and “cerebral” is a word I routinely use to describe myself, how hard could it be?  

My early attempts at not thinking were like being naked in the woods in the middle of summer.  My thoughts buzzed relentlessly and would have nothing to do with being stilled. Doubtless any student of meditation knows what I’m talking about.  Still, I persisted.  I decided to try a method I came across in a book about the Tarot that I was re-reading for the umpteenth time.

Dr. Paul Foster Case was an adept and renowned authority on the Tarot who lived during the first half of the twentieth century.  He founded a metaphysical group called Builders Of The Adytum (B.O.T.A.) in the 1920’s that is still in effect today.  Dr. Case says that we have to quiet the mind in order to make the way clear for the unveiling of truth.  In his book The Tarot: A Guide To The Wisdom Of The Ages, he describes a type of meditation based on the 22 cards of the major arcana.  

This method assigns a color and a direction to each of the major arcana, and when the visualization is complete one finds oneself inside a brilliant cube in space.  This meditation has led me to a much deeper understanding of the cards, and I’ve also found it to be helpful with controlling anxiety and reversing negative thinking.

My other favorite authority on the subject of controlling one’s own thoughts is not a psychic, she’s a neuro-scientist.  Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor was in her thirties and working as a researcher at Harvard University when she suffered a stroke.  Her eloquent description of her state of mind as she observed her left brain become silent while her right brain took over completely is poignant, funny and extremely thought-provoking.  The effects were profound, and though Dr. Taylor is working again as a neuro-anatomist, her message is highly metaphysical.  Hear her tell her own story in this You Tube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

One of the things Dr Taylor points out is that the right brain thinks in pictures, not words.  Dr. Case said the same thing (although without the distinction between right and left).  The left brain is the source of calculating intelligence, the power of thought and the self-awareness of “I am”.  The left brain is represented by The Magician in the Tarot.  The right brain is where we go to stop thinking.

I’ll leave you with a challenge from Dr. Bolte Taylor, who urges us to “purposefully step to the right of your left hemisphere”, as well as this quote:

“Who are we?  We are the life-force power of the universe with manual dexterity and two cognitive minds.  We have the power to choose moment by moment how we want to be in this world.  I believe that the more time we spend choosing to be in the deep inner peace circuitry of our right hemisphere, the more peace we will project into the world and the more peaceful our planet will be.”