On Psychic Accuracy

I got a really nice email from someone I just read, happily announcing that she’s pregnant. During our session, the question had come up. I saw some minor issues conceiving, but with a healthy pregnancy by November.

Turns out, that’s when she’s due to give birth. She did have a few fertility problems in the past, but felt they had been resolved (clearly, they were!). In her email, she asked about the timing around this question, and why it was sort of “reversed” during our reading.

That’s a good one. The psychic process is not an exact science. For me, the information that I get sort of flows over and under itself; I’m along for the ride, trying to pick out the mile markers and identifying people and points in time. But its not an atomic clock.

Psychics are not Hal 5000

I think most psychics will tell you that they “let go” during a reading; we surrender our conscious, logical mind to something a bit more fluid. It’s the nature of the thing. Intuition is far more organic, and has its own language. By trying to be too precise, it can choke off the flow. At least, that’s how it feels to me.

Sometimes it can feel like this….

Being the super-organized, somewhat controlling person that I am in my daily life, the psychic process is challenging. But I’ve found it to be a good counterweight to my own growth. As I read, I avoid trying to be too exact, because once I go there, it’s more “me” talking and less spirit.

If you’re looking for 100%, time-and-date specific, bet-the-farm-on-it information, there’s always Wikipedia. Know that intuitive information is a little squishier. The edges around a message may be blurry, but the core is what you need to consider. Take what resonates from a reading, and leave the rest.

Fellow psychics, what’s your take on this?

Getting More from A Psychic Reading

“Is it OK to talk?”  I get this question all the time during a reading.   And the answer is, “Absolutely.”

A lot of people seem to think that a vow of silence on their part is required, that somehow, talking during a reading is “cheating.”

But let me stress something:  psychics are here to help you.  Not to impress you with their mad skillz.

If you ARE impressed that we pick up stuff before you tell us, that’s all good.  The bottom line is that you’re there to get guidance and direction, a way to get unstuck.   And a conversation with your reader is a good way to do that.

(This is one reason I don’t do parties anymore:  I take what I do seriously and don’t want to be seen as some kind of cool party entertainment.  But I will have a beer, thank you.)

Anyway, when I start a session, I begin by asking you what areas of your life you want some clarity on.   This helps me focus in right away and give you information that will be practical and useful.  It makes the most of our time together and gives you something you can use after you leave.

Personally, I hate those, “Oh, just tell me whatever you get…” sessions. To me, that’s like driving in circles around the parking lot.  If you’ve decided to get a reading, clearly there’s something going on.  Do yourself a favor and take some time to think about what it is.

It’s exciting and gratifying when I pick up information psychically or from the Other Side – but I live for those moments when my client sees a way forward out of his/her problems.  How that happens is a technicality.

This is how you should feel after a reading.

Back-To-School….and Fearless

My great-niece, Ella Ruby, starts 2nd grade today.  She is totally chuffed, excited about her new teacher, backpack and classroom.  She doesn’t care that she knows nothing about 2nd grade math– she just plans to tackle it and get as many gold stars as she can grab.

Ah, for the days of spitballs and forgetting your locker combination….

There’s something wonderful about a 7 year old’s complete lack of fear.  For the most part, everything new is an adventure.  Their little egos are practically non-existent, so they don’t even think about how it will look if they fail.  They just want to try the New Thing.

This is where the 8 of Pentacles comes in.  While I don’t play favorites with the Tarot cards, I admit that I love when this one comes up.  The message is an encouraging one — it means that whatever you’re faced with, even if you know zilch about it, you’re gonna totally dominate.  The card is nicknamed “the talent card,” revealing hidden abilities.

Most of the time when it appears in a spread, my client has a hard time believing that they’ll be able to pull off whatever that hidden ability may be (“I don’t know ‘nuthin’ ’bout Excel spreadsheets…”).  I remind them of one of my favorite quotes from Teddy Roosevelt: “When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”

Can’t argue with a guy sporting such a fierce ‘stache…

A few months back, I got a call at 4:30 PM inviting me to do some copywriting for a start-up tech firm.  There was a conference call less than an hour later — and in that time, I had to Google the firm, download Skype and learn how to use it, and give myself a crash-course in tweeting. I was able to fake my way through the call, and landed a nice gig.

Second-graders like my niece embrace learning — it’s what they do.  Somewhere after graduating, we grownups decided our days of learning were pretty much over.  New things freak us out, make us feel uncertain.  But taking the challenge posed by the 8 of Pentacles is always a good exercise in reaching a little further towards our full potential.  Whether we succeed or fail at it, we still get a gold star for trying.

Drag Queens and The Devil

I’m obsessed with drag queens.  I love them.  RuPaul’s Drag Race is my not-so-guilty pleasure, and To Wong Foo is one of my favorite movies.

From To Wong Foo: Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo and Patrick Swayze embracing their drag selves — and workin it!

Now what could a middle-aged Methodist from a small town who personally prefers Land’s End over Louboutins find in this world of sequins, wigs and general diva-liciousness?  I think it boils down to the flat-out fearlessness of these guys.

Seriously. How can you NOT love someone this fabulous?

Drag Race has showcased some of the backstories on their contestants. Not only have they each had to deal with the challenges of being a gay man, they add another layer by choosing to dress up as women.  Sadly, that’s alienated some of them from their families, gotten them beaten up and frequently made their daily life less than fun.

But  has it stopped them?  Hellllll-to the-no.  These guys embrace their wildly creative visions and put ’em out there in the world with a hip snap and “How ya like me now?” fierceness.  They are role models for overcoming Fear — or at least, not letting it hold them back from being who they want to be.

And this is where The Devil comes in (and no, not in the fundagelical homophobic sense).  Whenever this card comes up in someone’s reading, I remind them that the scary dude pictured is not actually Satan — it’s what he represents, which is fear.  Take a closer look:

He’s huge and scary.  The people beneath him are wearing chains, attached to heavy stones.  They are too terrified to move and think the stones wouldn’t budge anyway.  But wait– check out those chains again.   They’re loose and could easily be taken off.  It’s just that the folks are too freaked out by the Devil’s “ooga booga” hollering above them that they don’t know it.

To me, those stones represent the things that make us feel “stuck” in a bad place.  It frequently comes up with folks dealing with drug, alcohol, gambling, toxic relationships or other unhealthy things, but it also applies to any issue that makes you feel powerless.  The notion of change can be so overwhelming that it’s easier to stay stuck.  That’s the Devil, in your head,  telling you that you’ll fail, its too risky, you’re not good enough, yadda yadda yadda.

One thing I’ve learned is that the IDEA of your worst fear is actually worse than if it actually happens.  I once worried about losing a particular relationship; the thought of him ending it was too painful to even think about.  But when it happened, I had a revelation — I was still alive, it didn’t destroy me after all.  I was still my same bad-assed self –even with mascara running down my face (which a drag queen would never let happen).

So next time you’re facing That Thing That Always Trips You Up, remember the lesson of the drag queens:  put on your sparkly heels, lift off those tacky chains, tell Mr. Satan to kiss your fabulous ass and start walking towards something better.

Chad Michaels — love!