These modern analysts! They charge so much. In my day, for five marks Freud himself would treat you. For ten marks, he would treat you and press your pants. For fifteen marks, Freud would let you treat him, and that included a choice of any two vegetables. Thirty dollars an hour! Fifty dollars an hour! The Kaiser only got twelve and a quarter for being Kaiser! And he had to walk to work! And the length of treatment! Two years! Five years! If one of us couldn’t cure a patient in six months we would refund his money, take him to any musical revue and he would receive either a mahogany fruit bowl or a set of stainless steel carving knives. I remember you could always tell the patients Jung failed with, as he would give them large stuffed pandas.
Woody Allen
At one time I was really hooked on a TV series In Treatment, especially its first and second season (you can see the trailer here). Gabriel Byrne plays a psychotherapist, who has weekly sessions with his patients and his own therapy sessions. The format was brilliant, I think – two people facing each other, having a deep meaningful conversation. Half an hour just flew by. I guess what appealed to me in that series was that it showed people behind their facades, real gut reactions but also various patterns and stories that govern people’s lives. I simply enjoy observing and finding out what makes people tick and I find small talk rather draining. I hope a fellow blogger does not mind me including his cartoon here:
credit: http://infjoe.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/cut-the-crap/
I might have used Woody Allen’s quote as a motto, but in fact I do believe in therapy, or rather I believe in certain therapists and a sacred bond that they are able to create with the patient. The method is secondary I believe, all that matters is an alchemical relationship that forms between the patient and the therapist. First and foremost they need to be right for each other. Specific patients gravitate towards specific therapists, I think.
But the reason I am writing this is to recommend a certain art project I have been following with enthusiasm and awe recently. Like therapy, it is about fascinating dialogue, and what makes it so good is that it is not staged, but completely natural. Kelsey Lynore of the Tarot Nook has been working with the tarot since she was 13. That piece of information was enough to blow my mind because I discovered the esoteric world when I was 26 years old. What I really appreciate about her approach to the tarot is that she is as far away from eso tv as possible, she is completely natural and she does not need a starry backdrop or spooky tunes to do her tarot readings. Nonetheless, even without the props but thanks to her insights, she totally embodies the high priestess to me. The tarot is meant to inspire, to deepen our understanding and to show us the hidden patterns (archetypes) influencing our lives. It is like the mirror that we can set up to our deeper thoughts and intentions. It is about myth and storytelling, as Kelsey says. It has nothing to do with fatalism.
Basically the project is about Kelsey giving free tarot readings via skype to volunteers who are brave enough to let themselves be recorded and put on youtube. What I found most shocking, being a secretive introvert, was that people actually revealed a lot during these sessions, acting naturally and spontaneously. I have seen all the ten parts of the Spring edition of the Anti-Film Tarot Art Project. I loved each installment, but parts 3 and 9 somehow linger in my memory for whatever reason. Like therapy, the tarot is a tool that might not appeal to everybody but if you view life through the lenses of myth and narrative, like me, you will enjoy watching Kelsey in action.
Here is a link to her channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/thetarotnook?feature=watch
She is looking for volunteers for the summer project.
symbolreader 
Fascinating I will check it out. Especially as I commented on the prior post, I buried all mine in the forest. Also this week the tarot and me tangoed.
Thanks for the recommendation Monika.
♥°*”˜ƸӜƷ˜”*°♥
Sindy
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I got the notification about your comment just as I was finishing writing this post!
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That is fast. 🙂
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Oh, I see what you mean, my comment about buying my tarot cards. lol
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Is it bad to re-blog a post about something that you’ve done? I don’t care. This article is awesome and the opening quote had me laughing maniacally. It’s also terribly serendipitous, as the Friday post is an exchange between me and another concerning belief, worship, and god(s) that has been made (by me) to be stressful and harried in the hopes of publishing at least by Saturday. I felt wrong being so last minute. So, we’ll do that in 2 weeks, instead.
Also, adding to the kismet, I have a video meeting on Sunday about the project with these people http://www.mindful360.com/ about a possible collaboration regarding the psychological impact of storytelling. I’m an INTJ, btw, so I’m refraining from getting too excited and trying to remain uber-rational as befits me.
I’m glad the project is finding its appropriate audience. Slowly. It’s all about people-watching. 🙂
Thanks, Monika. You’re the best! ❤ ❤ ❤
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Reblog away at your own risk;-)
This post is the last whiff and puff of Jupiter in Gemini that graced my Sun and Mercury. It was fun while it lasted.
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And now it’s out of my 12th House. Phew! Jupiter should be good for you in the 2nd, though. No? And you still have Mars. 🙂
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Reblogged this on THE TAROT NOOK and commented:
Monika’s posts are always thoughtful and well-written, so I feel terribly honored that she considered the Anti-Film Tarot Art Project worth a post. Check out her previous post on the Moon, too! That’s talent.
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Hi Monika,
Really enjoyed In Treatment, as a therapist I found it pretty accurate and sometimes used the show as a therapy homework assignment. I was telling Sindy how much I also enjoyed the therapeutic relationship portrayed in the Sopranos. James Gandolfini had shared that he had been in therapy, so perhaps that enhanced his performance.
Regarding tarot, i have taken a class, but some of it did not take, I enjoy receiving the occasional tarot reading , but a gifted psychic is gifted with or without the cards. I will use it occasionally for others, but typically I will do a one card reading for myself for certain occasions. I was taught with the Rider-Waite deck, but have good results using the Sacred Path cards.
thank you for the heads up on this project !
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Dear Linda, I loved The Sopranos!!! I have seen it three times, really! RIP James Gandolfini. His therapy sessions were really brilliant. About the tarot, I have three decks but I am still looking for the perfect one.
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RIP James Gandolfini, what a gifted actor. I thought each episode played like a small film, best tv series period!
good luck finding a deck, or the deck finding you..
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Have you ever worked with the Minchiate Tarot? It includes cards for the astrological signs, the elements, and the virtues, bringing the major arcana to 41. It’s probably my favorite of the traditional (or close) tarot decks.
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I have just had a look at it on google images and it is appealing to me! Thank you!
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I got 10 minutes deep into pt 6 posted on the blog, long enough to hear her comments on truth. btw I love your thoughts on the therapist/client relationship. I plan to pop in on the youtube channel and view pt 3 or 9 since you recommend those. You are right. Direct and no pixie dust (:
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Pixie dust, good one. I loved all the ten parts, but perhaps 3 and 9 resonated personally. Maybe you will find ones that talk more to you.
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I watched part 9. It was great..Kelseys easygoing disarming manner is perfect. I couldn’t help but wonder that Tarot readings offer a unique advantage over psychotherapy while, frankly, offering many of the same short term benefits. fascinating.
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It is, isn’t it? I thought the same, the insights that you can get are invaluable.
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I am still peeling away old biases, but I am a sponge in many respects. That couple was adorable (I was cheering for them quietly)
(:
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Yep, they were cute. People watching is cool.
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Amen to that.
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Wait a minute. How can you call it a “spring” project on the summer solstice?
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Heh, because she did it in the spring and now she is starting the summer project.
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