The pyramid on the movie poster...

A fun and easy excercise to learn Taro is to each day shuffle your deck and draw a random card upon which you consciously think about some sort of insight you want to gain for the day.

Shortly after you wake up (you might also write down your dreams if you can recall them; because dreams have a lot to do with the subconscious) you just take your deck and shuffle it. After that you draw one single card randomly and place it in front of you. For a few moments try not to think but feel the impression you're getting. After that, start noticing some of the details in the image and be aware of thoughts, feelings, whatever pops into you.

After that you can go online (or buy a decent book) and read about the card. All in all you can spend 15 minutes on this or even up to an hour or more if you wish. When reading, try to understand the essense of the meaning of card and its symbolism and when you think you have arrived at some understanding, try to think about how and where you see the meaning of the card reflected in your own personal life and maybe also on a bigger scale (community, your country or maybe the current state of the world in the way you view it) or whatever. There's no rules for this.. you make the rules.

For the rest of the day, leave the card sitting out in the open in your living room or at your desk or whatever and allow yourself to reflect back on the card at some other points during the day. You don't HAVE to but if it happens, just be aware of it and the thoughts, feelings, impressions that pop into you.. you don't have to write them down but I would advice you to so anyway. It's very helpful to train your memory!


After a while you'll probably start noticing some of the images in your dreams or sometimes randomly in your thoughts or even in the real world. Whenever this happens, take a moment to reflect on it and try to imagine how it applies to your life or reality or whatever.

The goal here is to get familiar with the images and their meanings while at the same time grow the muscle of your awareness.

You're actually sort of imprinting your being (mostly your subconsiousness) with these images.

It's a very easy excerise and it's also a lot of fun to do during the day on those moments on which you need a little break during work or whatever. It's a form of active, conscious meditation if you will. A mind game. And it's like a muscle: the more you are aware of your own thoughts and feelings and what they mean or represent in your life and the universe the easier it will become to remain in such a state of mind all the time! Clarity!

You can also combine this with daily unconscious meditation in which you try to stop the thinking and notice more of what you're feeling. From my own experience I can assure you that by doing these two types of 'meditations' you can start to gain a lot of insights every day. You'll regain a sense of wonder and something magical about the world. And whenever the going gets though, reflect on it; don't suppress it but accept it as gifts that create for you an opportunity to learn and grow!

The goal is to expand your own awareness of the way in which you experience reality. If you put in some work and effort you'll start noticing changes pretty soon. A lot of synchronicities and a lot of those 'ahaa-moments'.

I liked The Ninth Gate as well.. and the rest of Polanski's work also. The Ninth Gate kind of reflects what I said ealier: most of these rich people think they know something about this stuff but in fact they only care about the prestige and not the work itself. And this state of mind will gain you nothing meaningful; they are completely missing the point.

It's not as glamorous as people think.. this stuff is hard work and it's very personal. Because if you really get it, you understand that you as a person can have tremendous influence on the external world around you.. and with great power comes great responsibility. It's not an easy path; a very bumpy road. But if you keep your integrity pure you'll do a great job!

Because don't mistake: a being with expanded awareness has a certain power not everyone has.. but it's not easy wielding that power with honor, grace and a great capacity for empathy. And on the other hand it's not always easy to have patience with other people who lack this kind of awareness.. but the worst thing you can do is blame them or be mad at them. Each has his own path to walk. Live and let live.

And most importantly: keep your work to yourself. Try not to let yourself slip into brag-mode or maybe the-need-to-find-confirmation-mode by talking about it excessively to others trying to impress them or get their approval. You need only one person's approval and that is your own. This will keep your intention pure and intact from peer pressure and especially something far worse: ego inflation.

On the other hand, if you think you can help someone by talking about it, you may try, but don't talk all your energy out of you. Save it to do YOUR work. Trust me, you'll need it!

I could refer some books for you to look up but I'm not going to do that because this is very personal stuff.. you have to learn to find your own way.. do the work, look for it, and when you find material that resonates with you and feels right (learn to trust your intuition) you can start to practise.

The last piece of advice I'll leave you with is this: do this step by step, don't rush it and don't put to much pressure on yourself if you don't really feel that that is what you should do. Also: start small and very gradually build your way upwards.. take all the time in the world you need. The most important thing is to first bring your subconscious and conscious mind in alignment and balance.. these are your foundation and if they lack discipline, balance and strong will, you might end up in the wrong places and it could very bad for your being indeed..

I wish you a very joyful and insightful path!