What is the ideal way to solve a problem in your life? Should you sit down, introspect, and think about it? Or should you read Tarot cards?

I have an idea that relates to the clinical definition of "Pure obsession" (or "Pure O" as its called), which is a type of OCD where you just can't stop thinking.

The clearest symptom to ask the patient about is: "do you have loud, repetitive thoughts?" That is pretty much the hallmark of a neurotic, obsessive mind.

What is the opposite of that? To me it's "quiet, organic thoughts." This is the kind of thinking that neurotypicals do when they go on a long drive. The flow of scenery stimulates their mind, but the focus on the task of driving keeps them from collapsing inward, allowing new ideas to just emerge and pop into their heads without much stress or agony.

I call this process "indirect thinking." And I believe this is the primary benefit from reading Tarot cards, I-Ching, augury, astrology, etc. When you interpret Tarot cards, there's an infinite number of ways to read it, but a handful seem to emerge, and the same cards and combinations will read differently each time you go through them. As a result, your Tarot interpretation gives you a chance to access the issues in your life without obsessing over them. It's like using the cards as sunscreen lotion, so that your issues don't damage you, while allowing salient and useful aspects to be revealed.

I've been trying a technique recently to shift me away from "loud, repetitive" direct thinking into more "quiet, organic" indirect thinking. Instead of using Tarot cards, I just look at my surroundings, and I try to read them like I would Tarot cards. If I see the tiles on my floor, maybe that makes me think of a grid, or a prison fence, and that maybe the decisions I've been making lately are chaining me. Or if I see a small insect crawling across the floor, I might think of humility, and the difficulty of trying to be a single person traversing a vast expanse of life's choices.

I find this to be a good compromise between thought-cessation and over-thinking. Whenever people and books have urged me to stop thinking so much, I have trouble obeying because thinking works. If I think through something, I find answers. Does my old ways of thinking hurt my brain and agitate me? Absolutely.

Indirect thinking allows me to spread my attention outwards while still making progress on internal struggles. Watching movies, listening to music, these too also allow your mind to stretch and re-form without too much work on your part.