Celebrating Freedom from limiting thoughts and openness to new ideas

We recently celebrated July 4th, which is about how we fought for our freedom as a country by choosing to free ourselves from the British Empire and create our own country where we would have the freedom to live as we like and elect leaders who would represent our interests, first and foremost.

In some ways, we do this every day when we wake up and begin another day. Each day, we are given another opportunity to make new choices and explore new ideas.

What kind of new ideas? Within recent years we have chosen to explore new spiritual paths and practices, many very different from the ones we knew earlier in our lives.

Energy healing is another practice that many people are opening up to, and as we open to these practices, we experience how well they work.

Ideas about positive thinking and the Law of Attraction give us a different perspective on life, which encourage us to choose more consciously to create our lives.

When we look at life from a fresh perspective, we change the way we eat and the ways we relate to food. We change the way we think about voting and who we choose to represent us.

New ideas also lead us to choose different forms of entertainment. Growing numbers of people have now disconnected from cable and satellite dishes and get their news and entertainment through the internet, independent radio stations, watching documentaries and independent films and reading different books or joining discussion groups, book clubs and meetings which support their new exploration of ideas.

Many people have been forced by changes in the economy to figure out new ways to make a living, and although the changes can be wrenching and traumatic at first, many have found more satisfactory ways to make their living.

One of the things I do most often is help people see other possibilities and support them in their transitions. Often at times like this, we need people who will support and encourage our choices and our new thinking because in our explorations some of our old friends may think that we are off track, so it takes someone else who has an objective vision to help us see more clearly and encourages us to continue our explorations to have a happier new phase of life.

Given the changes in our world, we need new friends and helpers who will support our new visions for our lives and are traveling down these new roads themselves to create a better life for themselves. Opening our minds to new thoughts will lead us to explore new territories and these new worlds we are living in may bear little resemblance to our earlier lives.

As we enjoy the fireworks, what are the ways that we are freeing our minds to live in new states of independence? What new ways of thinking will help us enjoy our new freedoms? What will our next step be? Even though changes can be kind of scary and upend our old status quo, the rewards on the other side are exciting.

Remember that courage means proceeding even in the face of doubt. Doing a sure thing requires no courage. As we call upon our courage, we can feel the physical sensations in our body when we rise to meet new challenges. New thoughts may encourage us to act swiftly and decisively, and as we make progress, there will be new waves of joy that confirm our choices.

Creating a new country and creating a new life have these things in common. Countries can be pieces of geography and they can also be states of mind. What will you choose next?

In a few days we will be celebrating July 4th, which is about how we fought for our freedom as a country by choosing to free ourselves from the British Empire and create our own country where we would have the freedom to live as we like and elect leaders who would represent our interests, first and foremost.

In some ways, we do this every day when we wake up and begin another day. Each day, we are given another opportunity to make new choices and explore new ideas. 

What kind of new ideas? Within recent years we have chosen to explore new spiritual paths and practices, many very different from the ones we knew earlier in our lives. 

Energy healing is another practice that many people are opening up to, and as we open to these practices, we experience how well they work. 

Ideas about positive thinking and the Law of Attraction give us a different perspective on life, which encourage us to choose more consciously to create our lives.

When we look at life from a fresh perspective, we change the way we eat and the ways we relate to food. We change the way we think about voting and who we choose to represent us. 

New ideas also lead us to choose different forms of entertainment. Growing numbers of people have now disconnected from cable and satellite dishes and get their news and entertainment through the internet, independent radio stations, watching documentaries and independent films and reading different books or joining discussion groups, book clubs and meetings which support their new exploration of ideas. 

Many people have been forced by changes in the economy to figure out new ways to make a living, and although the changes can be wrenching and traumatic at first, many have found more satisfactory ways to make their living. 

One of the things I do most often is help people see other possibilities and support them in their transitions. Often at times like this, we need people who will support and encourage our choices and our new thinking because in our explorations some of our old friends may think that we are off track, so it takes someone else who has an objective vision to help us see more clearly and encourages us to continue our explorations to have a happier new phase of life. 

Given th

Gaining Control by losing control. How does this make sense?

We have all heard of that expression "one day at a time." I am getting an exercise in that right now as I continue to live where I live without a lease and without knowing what will happen until someone buys the property and announces their intentions. So each day I get up and give thanks for the opportunity to live here and for having another day of life. Whether I get to stay or have to move will be a decision that is out of my hands at this time. I appreciate each day for what it is and I do what I need to do every day.

It takes a lot of courage to trust that things will work out without knowing the answers to all our questions. It also takes a lot of courage to be open to possible developments that we had not anticipated. Actually, doing some research now is revealing some patterns that I had only been vaguely aware of before. At this moment I am keeping those discoveries to myself until I see how they all add up and how they may influence future choices. Suffice it to say that I am making discoveries because these factors are causing me to research and reconsider what I know and what I prefer.

Face it, it can be unnerving when we have a plan and it unfolds in a different manner than we expected because it took a different turn.

We all like it when things go according to our plans. But sometimes, it just happens that someone else makes a decision or takes an action that sets in motion a chain of events and next thing you know, your schedule has changed and your plans have changed.

Be patient. The changes work out just fine. Just like that old saying about when one door closes and another opens.

Sometimes we gain control when we lose control. Here is a simple example of a fun way to experience this. I used to lead drumming circles and still use the drums with people who want a different kind of meditation experience. By just listening and following what we hear, we feel the music and our minds are just following that track. Malidoma Some, an African drummer and shaman whom I had the pleasure of encountering says that "a person who has trouble with drumming has trouble with listening."

Consider that for a moment. When we become more aware and pay attention to the signs we pick up from all around us, we find new paths. We learn melodies that we did not know. Fresh thoughts come to us. And we learn to work with others more beautifully, more harmoniously. We play together, listening to each other, we find a groove and that frees our mind to travel. And we would never have discovered those paths had we not opened our ears to listen.

So you are not drumming, you say? All drumming comes back to the first drum, our heartbeat, our breath. As we are more observant and aware of our surroundings, we perceive in ways that were once not visible to us. Hidden in plain sight is also revealed by listening to things that we have not been tuning into before.

It's also interesting how sometimes pieces of information come to us that help us make decisions that we were not even searching for. Guess all you can say is that the guiding influences in our life must have intended for us to have those, whether we call those guiding influences God, Goddess, spirit guides, ancestors, angels or something else. So here we are. Once again making a decision that veers off our original course. Is that bad? No. Making changes often leads to finding a better way to do things.

If we allow things to come to us, they will. Sometimes not being certain will get us where we want to be, except that the process of discovery reveals that we are in a place that we did not know we wanted to be but it is working out well although it was unexpected.

And we can gain control by losing control.



* A note about the photos. The image on top is the 4 of Wands from Ciro Marchetti's Tarot of Dreams which is one of the decks I read with all the time. The bottom photo is Layne Redmond, one of my teachers in the world of drumming.

Mentoring Your Manifestations

I have been thinking about how we can continue our relationship in the most flexible and useful way.

What I mean is this. One of the main types of service I offer at metaphysical fairs is tarot card readings.

However, for steady growth and development, you probably could use other of my services, beyond tarot readings.

As a mentor, there could be a number of things I can help you with. For example, perhaps you would like to spend some time looking into your past lives to see what you can learn in this way.

Then again, maybe you would like to spend time doing some energy work, learning about your chakras, learning ways to clear, strengthen and heal your energy fields.

Another beneficial thing would be to spend some time doing meditation with light percussion or visualization.

Maybe you would like to do some dream work.

Mentoring can also include sessions where you simply want to explore possible paths and life choices that are presenting themselves. A combination of discussion, accessing my clairvoyant abilities and insights based on experience. During major life changes in career, relationships, spiritual development and more, this flexible mentoring approach can be most helpful.
 
I am offering a special bundles of sessions at a significant discount as a way of expressing my gratitude to you and to be able to offer you a variety of ways to help.

There is a maximum amount of freedom here. You are buying some of my time and energy, but how you use it is totally flexible.

Package of 3 half hour sessions for $129 (my normal rate for these would be $150)

Package of 3 one hour sessions for only $199 (my normal rate for these would be $300)

Package of 3  90 minute sessions for $299 (my normal rate for these  would be $450)

If you would like to engage in a mentoring program that encompasses a larger view and a longer term of development, consider this:

A series of 24 one hour sessions, consisting of 
2 hour life assessment session to clarify your life purpose
2 sessions on your vision for your directions, your goals
2 sessions to explore pathways to achieve your dreams
2 sessions focusing on your spiritual gifts
5 sessions on personal energy development
5 sessions of developing intuitive skills
4 sessions on self healing practices specific to you

This is a total of 21 sessions, and 2+1 = 3, the number of manifestation, the power of change in your life. The initial session would be 2 hours, and all the other sessions 1.5 hours each, or 32 hours of my time, for a total of $1899. This same amount of time, purchased one session at a time, would normally be priced at $3200.

If you would prefer to make all of your sessions one hour each (after the initial 2 hour session) for a total of 22 hours, the tuition would be $1299, compared to the normal price of $2200.
 
Because of the huge discount I am offering to mentoring clients, I am requesting payment for these bundles of sessions in advance.

Are you ready to manifest your dreams?

If you have any questions, please ask.

Summer Magic and Spiritual Refreshment

It is summer and the time when many of us break from our routines to enjoy entertainments that refresh our spirits. Summer vacations and activities are meant to lighten us up and let the joy of the season bring a lighthearted break from work. 

One of the most popular plays of all time is Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, which is about the characters slipping in and out of different versions of reality, traveling in alternate universes to the delight and amusement of audiences.  

 Do you think that is worth a few moments of consideration?

For example, we often ask ourselves questions about our life's purpose and why we have taken on some of the patterns we have in our work and our love life. Many of us have changed our religious and spiritual practices. Some of us have also included new activities in our lives, especially creative activities that we had put off and now decided to finally use to express ourselves and give ourselves a creative outlet. New joy and energy come into us when we finally decide to quit thinking about something and do it. When we dance, make music, art, start writing or just go for more walks, we suddenly feel the flow of joy and healing.

What are these other dimensions? They could be parallel worlds where things seem to operate differently.

Consider the distance or closeness you have in various aspects of your life. Do you feel sometimes that you are an observer here? That your point of view is fluid? This often happens when we are in a major transition, and has everything to do with our progress in adjusting, changing or verifying the path that we are on.

We are spirits having a human experience rather than humans having a spiritual experience. Have you given any thought to the ramifications of this concept? How do you view your life? 

If you would like to talk about this, give me a call. 

Dreams do come true and the experience of fluidly moving between dimensions can be as magical for us as it is for Shakespeare's characters.  

Yes, Following Yes

One of the secrets of success is to go with the flow. How many times have we received those intuitive impulses to do or not do something, but didn't heed it and later regretted it?

How many times have we not picked up a clue and missed a good opportunity?

Some people learn quickly and ride the currents of energy, while others keep overriding or ignoring the directions being sent in by spirit guides.

For some of us, it may be just a bit of stubbornness. For others, we are just not used to tuning in.

Don't believe me. Just test it for the next week. Take note of every situation where you got that gut feeling and you either paid attention or did not. Note what the result was.

After observing these results, see what happens if you start tuning in more and following the yes. Follow the yes and see if you don't get better results. If you get a gut feeling that the answer is no, leave it. Watch and see. Do your own experiment for a week. Then apply the lessons and see if your life does not get better.

Surrounded by Symbols

This season, more than the rest of the year, is more laden with evocative symbols than any other time.

How familiar are we with evergreen trees, holly wreaths, mistletoe? What about the New Year's symbols of the baby and the grim reaper? The witch at Halloween? The cornucopia at Thanksgiving?

We speak in this shorthand all the time. We know that a red diagonal line through anything means no. We know that thumbs up means yes. We know that a person who opens their arms is welcoming us and one who crosses their arms is not. We know that a colon and a half parenthesis is a smile. :)

Symbols have been part of our lives since before we had fully formed language. Primal ones that we have found, like the ancient cave paintings, are as emotive as many more finely drawn paintings, and carry a powerful amount of energy in a few spare lines.

There are systems to symbols, and some, like the runes or the I Ching hexagrams have an interesting way of fitting together and interlocking visually.

Others, like the system of tarot, have a way of interlocking conceptually, and although they are visual in themselves, they cannot be as compact as abstract forms like runes, or the hexagrams of the I Ching.

Some symbols are so emotionally charged that their mere appearance sends chills or rushes of joy, depending on the sign, without anyone saying anything or any accompanying literature.

Obviously, some symbols are references to ancient beliefs and feelings and some are purely modern inventions of convenience which may or may not last. With some symbols we have near universal agreement, but with others not.

We bring our own interpretations to symbols as well as recognizing traditional meanings. This is why two people can look at the same picture and have two very different experiences of it.

And this is also why this is such an emotional time of year for so many people. We are surrounded by symbols and they can convey a host of messages to us faster than we can digest them.

What Do You Feel?

What do you feel as you go through your day? What do you feel as you go through your night?

Do you let your feelings guide your actions? Do you heed them or disregard them?

When you have a decision to make, do you follow your feelings, or ignore them?

There are things we know through our senses. We know what oranges, lavender and smoke smell like, what wool, cotton and skin feel like. We know what the moon, pine trees and mountains look like. We know how tomatoes, chocolate and bacon taste.

These are examples of things we know. We know them through our senses and our feelings. That is different than the knowledge we have because we saw or heard an announcement or a report.

It's not the same kind of knowing that we get from feeling, is it?

What we know from feeling is more personal. What we acquire from other sources is less personal, less familiar, less important.

Ever heard the saying that all news is local? Here's an example. Are you more concerned that a store that you used to like to shop at in your neighborhood went out of business, or the fact that there is a war going on thousands of miles away? Are you feeling more concerned that you need to do something about the fact that your clothes are fitting tighter now than they did last year, or the fact that some country you will never visit has corrupt elections?

When you have to make a decision about who to love or what kind of job you will do for money, are you guided by personal knowledge or abstract knowledge?

Personal is powerful. Feelings have their root in survival instincts.

What do you feel? So what do we do now? Of course, if something feels good we want more of it. If something does not feel good we want less of it.

Feelings lead us to the people we enjoy being with. Feelings lead us to the work we find satisfying to do.

Visionary Persistence

A trait of all people who start their own business is persistence. It is not enough to have a vision. You have to stick with it until you either succeed or fail.

It is when you are holding on to your vision that you try everything in order to get there, even the weird ideas, because sometimes it turns out that those off the wall ideas are really inspired and they produce results.

It is far better to have a goal and find all kinds of ways to get there than to get stuck on one method and insist to the universe that that one way produce the results.

Every creative thinker and entrepreneur experiences some techniques that fail as well as those that succeed. You have to be willing to try all kinds of things in order to discover what works.

That is why persistence is a trait. We keep trying even when others have given up. It could be that the long shot, the crazy idea, their weird thing are going to be exactly what it takes to take you to the top.

Try again. And again.

Mirror Images

The dynamics of reading for another person are fast moving and ever changing. They shift as rapidly as the light refracting from a mirror of the facets of a gemstone.

The person requesting the reading immediately scans the images on the cards in a layout, connecting the images in ways that make sense to them.

The reader, meanwhile, being unattached to the same feelings and information, uses his intuition to pick up the connections. from among all the possible connections.

The art of the reader is to pick up the subtle energies of the seeker and follow the prompts of the spirit guides he works with, being guided to discern from among all the possible combinations of meanings, which ones are pertinent to this situation.

The seeker then may often find themselves taking the pictures apart and reassembling them to find different ways to tell their stories and different ways to extract meaning from them.

The reader, because of their neutrality, can also help spot new patterns, since they are not attached to any associations the seeker may have in mind.

So the process is really a unique way to hold up a mirror to our selves and get a fresh look at what is really happening, sometimes casting it in a whole new light.

The Named

Then somewhere along the way, as our ancestors contemplated the forces of nature and other people, the stories of gods and goddesses emerged.

Interestingly, these characters embodied all aspects of personality, from courage, pain, heroism and sacrifice to love, beauty, nurturing, compassion, healing, curiosity, kindness, violence, cruelty, vision, magic, wisdom, competition and cooperation.

When we apply one of these names of the gods and goddesses to ourselves, we are invoking that energy that the name represents to aid us in our quest.

We invoke them as forms of protection and we also invoke them as guides on our path to greater aspirations.

So as we go through different phases of our life, we sometimes choose different names and different guides. You have probably met people who have taken on different spiritual names. Perhaps you have even done this yourself. Even when a person changes their mundane name, it is a reflection of this principle.

As the name of our gods and goddesses inspire us and elicit responses from others, we begin to understand the power of the magic of the spoken word as well as the power of naming.

The Unnamed

Among our spirit guides are those ancestors so far back that we do not know their names. Yet, I feel that these people, as well as relatives or friends we knew in this lifetime who have crossed over, are looking out for our best interests. These people figured out how to survive on this planet, and since we are their offspring, they would like to see us succeed too. They prompt us through our gut instinct.

They may have had different ideas about family and tribe than we do, but they certainly did master the art of getting food and shelter. Today, we always use the phrase of necessities as food, shelter clothing and medical care. Clothing for sure was a different concept. In the early days, they used furs or skins to protect their bodies from the weather, and if the weather was pleasant enough, no clothing was necessary.

Medical care and healing were more like a subset of food. Discovering that certain plants could help alleviate pain, make symptoms of illness go away, or induce states of euphoria, calmness, aphrodisiacs, dreams and visions, these were certainly intertwined with their search for plants that were good to eat.

Yet, our illiterate ancestors, relying on their gut instincts and observations of nature, figured out what they needed to know. It is this power, this ability of knowing how to know that we are tapping into when we develop our psychic and intuitive abilities. That knowing, and our connection to the unnamed continues to this day.

Destiny, Destination

Destiny lays out maps for us, and by following them, we reach our destinations. It is like looking out over the landscape and feeling drawn to go this way or that. Sometimes when we are lost, we simply get a feeling that we should turn left here, or turn right. We always have free will and we use it every time we make a choice or a decision. The two do not cancel each other out.

When we feel that something is the right thing for us to do, we may not know why until later. That is where we see the panoramic view, rather than the little street or road we are currently driving on.

Destiny is also what gives us a sense of larger purpose in life. Can we look at the larger patterns in our life and see themes that repeat themselves? Do our decisions keep leading us in the same direction? Do we see our smaller movements and decisions fitting together? Do they lead where we think they are leading? Does the map look familiar? Does the terrain look familiar? Can we sense what is ahead?

UFOs and Understanding

What if UFOs are simply waiting for us to continue beating each other up in wars and pollution before they swoop down while we are weak? By the time they announce that the are taking over and subdue us with their superior technology, we may feel like the Indians, Africans and aboriginal tribes facing the European armies and armadas. It will be a change so radical that it will be difficult for many of us to attend.

That is one scenario. Perhaps the second one is that we continue our space program and eventually we meet the inhabitants of other planets and make friends with them. Perhaps trade is developed and we become aware of the multitude of other ways of living out there. Our adventure opens our eyes.

Isaac Asimov once said that any technology sufficiently beyond our current capability will appear to be magic. We have a magical world here and now. There are even more out there.

We take time to absorb shocks. Those who grew up when every home did not have their own phone, are now using cell phones. Those who had some of the first black and white TVs with their constantly distorting screens and fuzzy reception now have big flat screens at home as good as the ones in theatres.

People can get as much information out of their laptop as they could out of a reference library. Although this is true, going to the library was an experience. Photo processing places, which were a fixture on our landscape, are now not needed. Video rental stores are getting hollowed out due to the success of online sources of movies. CD sales have been free falling as people download onto digital players. Writing letters used to be an art form, something special when it arrived, put in a drawer for reading again and again at later times. Now we email.

All of this has been radical for us. But what if something like creating a crop circle was done with the flick of a light switch? What if we could understand each other using telepathy, bypassing all language blocks and education deficits?

There is more that I cannot see right now, but these seem to be the two predominant scenarios.

But wait, here is a third. What if we enter a stage of evolution where we all become as gods and goddesses in the great stories?

The war scenario has been dominant because war has always figured heavily in our stories. But what now if new stories arise and become dominant where there is some sort of trade and cultural exchange that melds us?

How would we live through a ginormous change like that? Crop circle photos always prompt me with questions like this, as do photos of Stonehenge, Newgrange, the pyramids of Egypt. People are still trying to retell new versions of the ancient myths as a way of digesting them and reconciling them with what we know and our sense of reality.

What happens when we tell new stories? Do we get closer to understanding?

Support from the Universe

When you are doing something and you feel that you are in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, this is part of the experience of knowing that this is one of the things you were born to do.

These experiences are available throughout our life if we keep our eyes and ears open and notice how we feel.

If you have ever decided to do something, launched some initiative, created some project, and received support for it along the way without having to struggle, then you know this feeling.

What that signals is alignment in the universe, harmony at a higher level, when you propose something, and those you present it to, readily agree.

We use our free will to choose from among the many things we could do. Our feelings usually play a part in this as well. When we know that this is something that needs to be done, and we act on it, we set things in motion and if our feeling is on target, the energies of the universe flows with us.

How many times in your life have you had this feeling?

Intuition for Information Overload

Our attention creates pathways for action. That is why energy follows. Our attention is the first way that we steer our consciousness and subsequently, our physical presence.

We magnetize ourselves for information, and then once we have gathered enough to give us momentum, we reach a tipping point where we either have to proceed in the direction of our thoughts, or else consciously exert the energy to change directions.

Take a simple example. Let's say you are interested in energy healing. All of a sudden you are finding all kinds of information about energy healing, meeting people who do energy healing or have experienced energy healing.

People who follow politics can find all kinds of information to support their point of view, whatever it is. Once they start magnetizing themselves and searching, the information flows to them.

Since I am very interested in the subject of tarot, there is no shortage of information that I have discovered about it, opening up many different areas of inquiry.

No doubt you have discovered the same to be true in whatever areas of life are of great interest to you. Notice too, how once you shift your attention, that the information coming to you changes just as thoroughly.

There are also times when it is impossible to know something for a certainty based solely on facts. For example, in some quests, there is no absolute right or wrong or definitive answer available, so we are forced to rely on intuition.

Why is this important? Because this is one simple way to acknowledge and experience all the many possibilities we have in life. If we are focused on changing our job or career, the wealth of information we can draw to us can help us make a choice that is best for us.

Sometimes we are overwhelmed with too much information, and that is where our use of intuition becomes an important way of helping us navigate.

Take a simple example. If you have used Google to try and find some information and the result came back that there are 10,000 web pages that might have information you want, most people would not try to take the time to check them all out. So you follow your intuition and check out several that seem most relevant.

If you are considering a major life change, let's say involving your work, you may find yourself with a number of interesting choices or possibilities. Let's say you determine that you cannot pursue more than one or two of those. So how do you choose? You follow your intuition to sort out the best choices. The prompting may seem mysterious, but your spirit guides are the ones helping you.

Sometimes it is intuition that opens up a realization and moves us along in one direction or another, and spirit then may make certain information available to us that helps us choose.

Tarot can be an excellent way to open that road to discovery. There are other methods that can also be used.

Next time you feel information overload weighing down on you and clouding your decisions, summon your intuition, and an outside opinion from a neutral perspective, like that of a professional reader can help you see your options more clearly so that you can make the best choice for yourself.

Living Tarot

Here is an exercise that you can use when you are drawing one card at a time to use as a self teaching technique. As you draw a card, ask yourself, how would you feel if this were you in the picture? How would things look from your vantage point? Do you hear anything? Do you smell anything? What happens in the scene following this one?

If you could talk to the character in this picture, what would you say? What would they say? What kind of tone do they use to address you? Are they stern? Humorous? Loving? Duplicitous? Are they shy? Arrogant? Insightful? Encouraging?

If these were people in your life, who would they be? Do certain characters remain constant in who they represent, or do they change according to the day, or the question?

What changes when you draw more than one card?

How do the stories read, when you place three or more together? Are there infinite varieties of stories? Or do the recurring characters seem to act the same and speak the same every time you see them?

Artistic Challenges

People who love tarot and have a number of decks frequently use more than one, although most people have a favorite that gets used a lot. Some people have a few different decks and use them regularly. I know one person who draws cards from an angel deck and a tarot deck as part of her daily exercise. I keep one in my desk, one on my table, one in the car and use whatever I feel drawn to use from time to time.

There are people who have only one deck, use it for years and become so intimately familiar with it that they know all the nuances of those cards. And some never thought of using another deck until one day they discovered another that really appealed to them, and then they switched over to using that one mainly.

There are times when changing decks can really shift the energy of readings. A new burst of energy arrives with the images created by the artist, especially if the artist has made conceptual changes. Many decks are very similar in design, with the basic images and ideas staying the same, simply expressed with a nuance of style.

Some decks however, radically depart from traditional designs, and in so doing, stimulate fresh ideas in the users. Startling new images inspire fresh bursts of inspiration and insight. A new take on an image that we have seen many times can suddenly illuminate that familiar concept from a whole new angle.

In a radically different design, the mind may be suddenly taken in unexpected directions, and new channels of intuitive ability opened wide.

A person who is a gifted reader is not limited or bound by simply what is on the cards. They use the cards as a gateway to open to spirit and the messages that connection brings through. That is precisely why sometimes the reading can be driven by what is on the cards and sometimes what comes through may or may not be represented in those pictures.

So the adventure I have planned for this weekend is to display a number of decks on the table and let the people who want readings with me choose the deck that strikes their fancy for their reading. At the same time, I will be challenged to be in an even greater state of heightened awareness, presented surprises that come with the variety of art that will surface, and the intuitive doors they open.

It will be a novel experience, a distinctly different offering for most people. I am looking forward to sharing the joy of discovery with everyone.

Powerful Placebos

Scientists have recently agreed that the placebo effect is real and powerful. For those of you who have not been waiting for scientific proof, another way to say this is that the mind is a powerful tool. Stimulation of the immune system and the release of hormones can be triggered by our thoughts and feelings.

Why else do you think that sometimes in double blind studies, people who got the placebo did just as well as those who got the "real" medicine?

I have always maintained that sometimes we do need drugs and surgery, but sometimes changing our mindset can heal a wound as well as solving a problem. Relief from pain, anxiety, depression and more can be stimulated by non-invasive techniques. Some of the simple things I have written about before, from music to art walks in nature to reiki to ritual can work wonders.

For many years, the placebo effect was referred to in a context that implied that it was all fake and that only a fool would be happy with a placebo. Interesting that the tables are turned now that scientists have researched and reached the conclusion that the placebo effect can be real.

I know that many people reading this are either healers of some sort or have called on healers for their services. The fact that people choose from this variety of alternative techniques without insurance reimbursement is testimony to their effectiveness.

Here's another point to consider. Sometimes being with a person who seems to really care how you are doing makes a difference. If you feel that the healer is genuine in their concern and their effort, you could start to feel better even before the treatment begins and when you continue with that person, your feelings continue to improve.

Another way of saying it? Love, in the humanitarian sense of compassion and kindness that comes through the healer, is itself part of the healing mechanism.

Example? If you have experienced reiki or another form of energy healing and had nothing more than a drink of water, you could come away feeling much better than you did before the session, yet when you analyze it, what was done? No medicine was ingested, not even a lotion rubbed on the body, nothing more than a simple laying on of hands while the energy flows, and yet, you feel better.

It is my experience that all of this type of healing, when a person is really engaged in the process, is heart energy that is moving and doing the healing work. Heart. This might perfectly fit the definition of placebo.

When a person is going through a significant life change, especially a really trying time, a ritual can also serve as a placebo. The mere fact that you and a facilitator take time out from your daily routine in order to focus on the negative energy and shift it, can lift your spirits and help you creatively embrace and transform the changes in your life. Another placebo to the rescue!

The other joy and beauty that provide a practical aspect: placebos are usually very affordable healing sessions. Whatever it takes to feel better is very much within your reach.

Who Needs a Reading?

Nobody has to have a reading, but many people may choose to have one. Why?

A good reader will present the information to the person asking in a way that they can understand. As a reader, I see the patterns of energy moving with and around this person. I always emphasize to people that it is their own free will that chooses actions. I can be helpful by pointing out some of their choices.

I think that people seek answers from readers because they do feel that there are forces in the universe which influence their life. They often find our help useful in deciphering their life lessons and making use of the information presented by energies and recognizing opportunities.

Sometimes we readers simply confirm what a person already is doing, and that can be a powerful experience when a total stranger doing a reading lets you know that the choices you have made or are making are on the right track.

Other times, we help people recognize options they didn't know they had. The vast majority of the time, I do not personally know the person I am reading for, and so what I say is impartial. In other words, simply presenting information which the person will consider and then can use when they exercise their free will in deciding to do or not do something.

One thing I always do, is before I do any readings, I affirm that I am working with my spirit guides and that they will help me bring through something that would be useful for this person to know at this time.

That is why what I say may or may not be a literal interpretation of the pictures on the cards. Spirit guides may be prompting me to relay a message to you. I know that is an aspect that is sometimes puzzling to people because sometimes the pictures tell a story and sometimes the pictures simply open the way for guidance and insight.

The most commonly asked questions are always about love, relationships, family, friendships, spirit, career, business and money.

People have more questions when they are at a crossroads in one of these areas. Certainly a reader is just one option available to a person facing important decisions, and I always remind people that getting professional advice from others is important. Look at it this way. A reading is one more insight into your changes coming up. Use this information in combination with input from other sources and this could either add a new perspective to the mix or reinforce what else you are finding out in other ways.

The fact that readings are spirit driven rather than simply analyzing data is why sometimes a person may say at the time of the reading that what I am telling them does not seem to be in the picture or that it seems unlikely. Yet, I often get a call or an email at a later date confirming that in fact, that unlikely thing did develop and now the reading makes sense.

Sometimes a reading will sensitize the reader to possibilities they were not aware of, and this could encourage a person to take action, bringing efforts to fruition faster.

So, no one needs to have a reading. However, choosing input from outside the square can yield benefits and useful insights. It's your choice.

Head, Arms, Legs

One of the things that is characteristic of psychic work, in my experience, is that you sometimes pick up other things than that which you are seeking.

Example. My sudden hit that the Saints would win the Superbowl. People who know me know that it is a rare occasion when I watch sports. I did not watch any of the regular season games or any of the playoff games. Not one. But I suddenly just got that the Saints would win. The experts and odds makers had the Colts as 4 or 5 point favorites at the time I wrote about the game on Friday.

That's why sometimes in a reading, my spirit guides provide me with a sudden bit of information or insight that may be either a tangent or unrelated to the original question, yet that piece will usually also be of interest to the person asking for the reading, although they sometimes are more skeptical about what else comes in that seems far fetched to them.

Surprises are like a burst of fresh air. Sometimes cold and bracing. Sometimes tickling your fancy. Sometimes so unexpected that it is hard to wrap your head around it as some people say. Or wrap your arms around it. Head. Arms. Legs. Legs? Do people ever say they want to wrap their legs around an idea?