Focus is one of the most heard of buzz words all around the internet and self-help circle. And with good reason. As distractions surround us more and more, it becomes all the more important for each of us to find the place and space where we can focus on our tasks, and achieve our targets and goals.
Google this word and you will find a plethora of Articles, How-Tos, Apps, Tips and Tricks and Techniques, Books, Videos, Courses, and what-have-you that will help you find your focus.
Naturally, since we have our Tarot Cards, I figured why not give it a try and ask my 78 friends what they thought about Focus. So then, I realized that any reading about the topic of ‘Focus’ needed to also talk about the various things that help create focus, and things that can cause hurdles in focus. Of course, we had to end up asking for guidance on how to create optimal focus conditions as well. So I put it all together, and made a spread video about it.
Watch the Video
My Personalized Spread about Focus
This was a generalized spread, and not personalized. So this information applies to all of us. The cards had messages for us all in there.
However, if you wish, you can ask for specific guidance for yourself by pulling a spread just for yourself. Which is exactly what I did. So here’s a breakdown of that spread, where I look at the cards I pulled for myself vis a vis the cards that had come up in the generalized spread for the video.
Since I was going for a more ‘here and now’ feel of the energies, I chose The Urban Tarot Card Deck for this reading.
What is Focus? : The Moon
The Moon card from The Urban Tarot focuses on the hidden mysteries that, while they call out to be explored, they still evoke a deep and primal fear within us. The Moon is also all about your creative and intuitive energies, the most potent and primal connection with your subconscious self.
For me, Focus is something that I feel drawn towards exploring, but for a deep seated reason, it also evokes the deepest fears within me. And this is so very true. I feel pulled towards exploring this topic, but the more I get into it, the more I feel scared of what it may bring into my life. I suppress these fears, and they keep on growing. However, when I do give in to this side of myself, I find my intuitive and creative energies surging, making me feel very vibrant and alive.
Now, let’s look at the various
Hurdles in Focus:
Procrastination: Prince of Disks (↓)
The Prince of Disks from The Urban Tarot is depicted as ‘The Day Trader’. He is someone who looks at data, analyzes it, takes quick decisions, and makes money while doing so. However, when this card shows up Reversed, and in reply to my question “What does Procrastination mean to me?”, clearly the cards are telling me that the opposite is true for me. I procrastinate because I don’t / can’t analyze the situation and take quick decisions, especially about practical matters. I tend to second guess my intuitive guidance, which inevitably causes delays in my decisions.
Distraction: Queen of Swords (↓)
The Queen of Swords from The Urban Tarot is a Painter who derives inspiration from the world around her, and then manages to bring it down into her art. However, this card came up Reversed in reply to my question: “What does Distraction mean to me?”, and it explained that I am unable to find my inspiration from the world around me because I let it overpower me so much so that I am unable to return to what I was trying to focus on. I float away, and get carried away by the various things in the world around me, ultimately finding myself far, far away from what I originally set out to do.
Avoidance: The Sun (↓)
The Sun card from The Urban Tarot depicts a young child running around and playing in a sunlit park. This card is about playfully exploring the clear vision of the path ahead, and indulging in the adventure of discovery. When this card showed up Reversed in answer to “What does Avoidance mean to me?”, it basically told me that I avoid finding my focused space because it would mean risking everything and going on an adventure. It would mean chasing down my clear vision, and that brings up the fears that I’ve been suppressing.
Sense of ‘Not Yet’: 3 of Swords (↓)
The 3 of Swords card from The Urban Tarot shows a bathtub filled with swirls of blood and 3 swords — a scene that depicts a painfully sorrowful scene. These wounds can either be self inflicted or intentionally carried out by someone else. So, when this card came up in reply to “What does this sense of ’not yet’ mean to me?”, I realized that I wanted to delay the pain of being hurt. Perhaps I fear being rejected for the work I may put out into the world. Or maybe I don’t want to put it out only to discover that people didn’t connect with it / hated it. Either way, this fear makes me want to wait till I’ve made sure my work is ‘perfect’ before it goes out into the world.
Now let’s see what things / situations / circumstances
Help in Focus:
Goals: The Devil (↓)
The Devil card in The Urban Tarot is all about being enslaved by the darkest parts of our suppressed selves. Looking at it brought a smile to my face, since it also carried an atmospheric feel similar to The Moon card, which talked about how being focused was one of my hidden fears. Being Reversed, and in the position of “What do Goals mean to me?” this card made me realize that I wasn’t a prisoner to the goals that I set for myself. Rather, those goals actually set me free, and allowed me to explore my abilities and capabilities to focus, strangely, in a safe manner.
Direction: 4 of Wands
The 4 of Wands in The Urban Tarot, with the keyword ‘Completion’, talks about the celebrations that are caused by the success of a venture. Showing up as a reply to “What does Direction mean to me?”, this card tells me that having a direction helps me be focused. When I can see the end of the journey, or the destination, the idea of successfully completing that goal really helps me focus, and stay focused.
Deadline: 10 of Cups
The 10 of Cups in The Urban Tarot, with the keyword ‘Satiety’, talks about the feeling of joy and satisfaction that is brought about by finding true love, and being a joyful part of a community, and by finally achieving a long sought-after goal. As a reply to “What do Deadlines mean to me?”, the card tells me that knowing that I will accomplish my goal within the set deadline makes me feel joyful, satisfied, and happy. It makes me feel good. And this feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction ultimately helps me focus.
Support: 2 of Cups
The 2 of Cups in The Urban Tarot, with the keyword ‘Love’ is all about a chance meeting and the discover of shared feelings and mutual interests. A new relationship develops, bringing with it an emotional comfort zone. Naturally, as a reply to “What does Support mean to me?”, this card is perfect. It tells me that support for me is emotional comfort, which helps me feel connected to the person who is offering to me. And naturally, this helps me remain focused on the task(s) at hand.
Finally, let’s look at the various ways in which I can strive
For Creating Optimal Focus in:
My Environment: 8 of Wands (↓)
The 8 of Wands in The Urban Tarot, with the keyword of ‘swiftness’, is all about the energy of moving on and moving along as quick as possible; not lingering and waiting but always being on the move. However, in the reverse, it tells me the total opposite. And in reply to my question of “What helps me create an optimal environment for focus?” it tells me that I need to find a space / place which is steady, and calm, and undisturbed by the energies of life; something akin to a bubble where existence simply stops affecting me. When I create such an environment, it will be really conducive to helping me find my focused energies.
My Person: 5 of Disks (↓)
The 5 of Disks in The Urban Tarot, with the keyword of ‘worry’ did give me a moment of pause. The card essentially talks about the ways in which things could go wrong, and fall apart. These are the various things that can cause worry on a very practical level. But then I realized that the card was reversed. So, in order for me to be in a condition of optimal focus, I should find a way to be worry-free on a practical level, or I should drop my practical worries and focus on the task at hand.
Summarizing my Reading
So, to summarize my Reading about What Focus is all about for me, the cards said:
- For me, Focus is something that evokes my deepest, darkest fears and therefore I try hard to suppress it. However, should I give in, it could potentially connect me with my most creative and intuitive sides as well.
- As a hurdle, Procrastination is a result of my constant second guessing. I doubt my own abilities, and therefore spend time in worrying about and ensuring that I am doing the right thing. Of course, this doesn’t let me focus.
- As another hurdle, Distraction is a result of me getting carried away by every interesting thing in the world around me while focus requires me to be blind to everything else that isn’t part of what I am doing.
- As a hurdle, Avoidance won’t let me be playful and adventurous, and thus obscures my focus and clarity.
- A Sense of ‘Not Yet’ is also a big hurdle, where I want my work to be ‘just perfect’ before it goes out into the world. It is my fear of being disliked, and being rejected, and being hurt and in pain due to either of these, which doesn’t let me focus on the work at hand.
- However, having Goals helps me a lot, by setting me free from my prison of fears about being focused, and allows me to just focus.
- Having a sense of Direction also helps, because it allows me to see the end result, and makes me focus on the joyful feeling of success that it will create.
- Knowing that I have a Deadline also helps me focus because it allows me to realize that an emotionally satisfying and successful feeling awaits me when I reach / match the deadline.
- And of course, having the Support of my friends and family always gives me the feeling of emotional connection, which helps me sustain my focus.
- In order for me to Create an Optimal Focus Environment, I need to stop being hasty and settle into a slow and steady rhythm for my work. That will block out the distractions and disturbances in the surrounding environment, allowing me to focus.
- And of course, For Me to be Optimally Focused, I need to stop worrying about practical matters. Dropping my day-to-day worries during the time I need to focus on the task at hand will always help me at lot.
Comparisons
If you have noticed, you will have realized that the general guidance from the cards sometimes is totally different from what the cards told me to do on a personal level.
This can totally happen. And that is perhaps why I insist that you do a reading for yourself, asking these questions for yourself. Your cards might tell you a different, or even, a more detailed story. Either way, there is much to be gained from a personalized guidance. That is why I will totally recommend it.
Your Turn
What did you think of each of the spreads? Can you tell me where they were similar, and where they differed?
Also, did you / would you want to try this spread for yourself? If you did, please do tell me about it.
Talk to me in the comments section below, and together we can figure out how you too find your focus with the help of the Tarot Cards.
