Spirituality is the most ignored and de-prioritized aspect of our daily lives. When we feel low, or hopeless, we turn to religion.
But most people miss that spirituality is not religious, and has immense healing qualities. So the question is – Can spiritual healing help depression? Here is a short story.
What I Went Through
Through my late 20s until my late 30s, I lived an emotionally turbulent life. I was single when all my friends were getting married and having kids. Friends grew apart, failed relationships and dates caused frequent heartbreaks. My professional career was either toxic or intellectually stifling.
I was emotionally bruised and kept looking for that hook, that one handle that would make me feel stronger and better able to deal with emotional upheavals of life.
At times, we tend to live robotic lives. We lose connection with our inner selves, and more so, remain unaware of this disconnect.
There is a persistent feeling that something’s amiss, and yet, we cannot place our finger on any one thing that is causing the disconnect.
And so, we blame it on our jobs, on our personal conflicts and daily strife. When X happens, it gets better. And there begins the endless wait for X, a static event that is hoped to give us contentment and peace. An X event that may or may not happen. Like in my life, I felt if I marry, my life gets better. Or if I get a job in X, Y or Z company, my life turns a fresh leaf.
I've experienced these periods of feeling adrift, directionless, and lost in a life that appears fine on the surface but lacks a sense of fulfillment.
I knew I had been through a lot of emotional turbulence. I started reading about spirituality and gained some semblance of stability, yet lacked a clear goal, a sense of purpose that would steer me ahead in life.
My Induction into Spiritual Healing
In 2021, I faced a decision to make – choosing between a new job opportunity or staying in my current position. I rationalized my decision making, came up with a scoring system. I arrived at the most scientific and logical way to pick the right option. But the outcome did not resonate with my inner self. My instinct had placed a big question mark on my logically calculated decision.
Fortunately, a dear friend of mine turns out to be a tarot reader. And so, I knocked on her door and asked for guidance. She sent me a video recording of my career reading, which instantly resonated with my heart and inner world.
It made me feel peaceful with my pending decision. But a greater connection was happening here. Watching the cards evoked something in me. A connection! A connection so indescribable, that I felt I had to learn tarot to discover the message it was trying to communicate with me.
And so began my journey of tarot. I was able to uncover the vacuum was that was bothering me - Connection to my soul! To my spirit!
The tarot cards started speaking to me. Answering my questions - directly from the universe to me. It all felt so easy now. The guidance I was looking for had finally reached me.
Angel guidance tarot gave me a sense of direction and hope of moving ahead in a positive direction.
While tarot is one such alternative healing method, you could also explore other methods such as crystals.
Three Ways Tarot Card Reading Helped Me Heal Emotionally
I realized how effective spiritual healing was in helping depression and anxiety. So how did tarot help me heal emotionally? Read on.
1. Spiritual growth
Have you heard of the Maslow’s pyramid? In theory, the concept says that as human beings we need to satisfy our base case needs (bottom of the pyramid) before moving on to higher needs. Self-actualization needs, which sit at the top of the pyramid, relate to our need to be aligned with our life purpose, feeling meaningful in our deeds and words.
The theory makes sense, as most of our life is spent in strife to achieve our basic needs and move up the ladder. But in today’s modern world, life is not as linear as the theory would like us to believe. In certain cases, and we see this more often with Gen Z, the pyramid may even have inverted.
Tarot rewired me to a very basic sense of ‘me’. Feeling connected to my spirit guides and my universe helped me channel my emotions more positively. I was able to come out of the cycle of negative thinking and paranoia and think ahead more meaningfully.
Spirituality has its own way of inculcating peace to a restless and unbridled mind.
The imagery and symbolism of tarot felt so powerful in imparting life lessons that probably are not visible through our everyday grind of life. Tarot helps in setting out on the path to soul-care.
Connection to self, feeling a sense of purpose comes with feeling spiritual and is directly related to one’s spiritual growth. Also, drawing cards, and the implicit communication with the Tarot deck, helps releasing our pent-up emotions, making us feel calm and relaxed.
For example, think of drawing 8 of Cups from the deck. The person in the image has crossed the river and is walking towards an unknown destination. Leaving behind all his cups, signifying his accomplishments and successes. This is a message that tells us to be unattached to our possessions and positions and explore the unknown. Seeking to go beyond us towards a path of growth and satisfaction.
Like these, there are many messages that the tarot can communicate that helps one in their spiritual journey.
2. Intuitive abilities
We all have our intuitive capabilities from birth. We can inherently sense danger, feel fear, understand sensitivities of people around, read minds and body language. But as we grow and get absorbed into the grind of life, these capabilities tend to become so latent that we don’t even feel them anymore.
Tarot is all about using our intuition to connect with the universal energy and intercept the messages that they are trying to give us through the tarot cards. When we feel intuitive, we are better able to heal our relationships - relationship with ourselves, with people around us and even more, our relationship with nature.
Feeling intuitive has helped me be in more control of my emotions. There is a sense of affirmation, a sense of knowing that we are figuring out our path of life in alignment with the greater, grander scheme of the universe.
To connect with an example, assuming we draw the Hanged Man card from the deck. This card could mean a multitude of things. To some it might indicate the need to let go of a person or situation. To another, it might feel like changing one’s perspective 180° and looking at things from a totally different angle. For a third person, it might just feel like the need to sacrifice something for the greater good.
Your intuition will be at play here. The instinct you feel when you look at the card is the message the universe is trying to communicate with you.
Thus, tarot helps us feel secure with stronger intuitions and thus, more in control of ourselves.
3. Source of Guidance
Feeling lost and hopeless can make one feel emotionally vulnerable.
I have personally had an issue with ambiguity. ‘Not knowing’ has led to anxiety and feeling emotionally drained. Tarot has been able to give me a sense of direction when I have needed it the most.
Remember, tarot doesn’t predict events. It can, of course, indicate certain things, but in a purest sense, it is not about fortune telling.
Yet, the messages and guidance it provides are so powerful, that one tends to make peace with ambiguity. You seem to get a handle on things, as the guidance from the cards steers you ahead in a certain direction. You don’t feel stuck in your helplessness but find an invisible helping hand that takes you ahead in life.
Let’s look at an example here. Suppose you ask for advice on a certain situation from the Tarot deck, and you pull out the Wheel of Fortune. This is a card of changing cycles of life.
A card that tells you to go with the flow of life as cycle keep turning. Imagine knowing that all you need to do in a certain difficult situation is go with the flow and not shake up things too much. A simple advice can be eye opening and immediately offer a sense of calm to the person.
So, can spiritual healing help depression? And can tarot help in emotional healing?
Remember, in the end, it is all about belief. It is about how connected you feel with the cards. Feeling skeptical about tarot will not help in emotional healing as you may feel disconnected with the whole process and question the messages that come through it.
This will turn out to be an unconstructive exercise.
Also, note that tarot is not an alternative to therapy. But it can complement therapy very well offering that much needed extra layer of support.
The litmus test is, how much the reading resonates with you. Do not dive into a reading process hoping for positive cards. As life is not such. Expect to receive tough messages as well, as those will only aid in your learning and growth.
But choose your tarot reader wisely. Someone who can communicate tough messages with love and empathy.
Also, tarot is not religious. It is spiritual for sure. However, if the process works against your religious beliefs, you may not be able to identify with the reading or the messages. It is best to consider all these factors before you decide to do a reading.
Of course, if you are open to experimenting with an open mind, tarot is totally your game! Check for yourself if spiritual healing can help depression.
So, are you ready to start a journey of emotional exploration and healing with tarot?
My Digital World 🌏