The Beach is Good for the Soul

It’s that time of year…. We’re getting ready to go on vacation again. We’ve rented the same house on the beach and I cannot wait to sit on that ocean sand. In the Autumn I like vacations to be about activity, and since I love that time of year it is a great time for me to be busy. But in the summer… there is just nothing more spiritual then sitting on the sand and watching the sunrise and set each day. I am also thrilled to be loading up the car, packing up the dog to go along, and driving to the beach for 7 sunny days of being totally lazy. I even love the long car ride down.

Since we’ll be gone during the Summer Solstice I am packing my handy dandy mini travel altar with me. I have picked up several different ones on ebay and such because we’ve been traveling lots more the last few years. I have some cool stuff I gathered from various kits and pretty much put my own together. It all fits in a small wooden tarot box that I also use as the altar when traveling. I also take a mini tarot deck on every trip and my journal to document things. I can do a lot of reflection on my trips, and I am lucky enough that I can do them because going away is nothing short of ‘cleansing” for the soul.

Look out beach….. here we come whoohoo.

Enlightenment

It’s funny how a having a blog online where I talk myself through my own spirituality can inspire people to write to me an provoke great intellectual email chats. I have had some really great email exchanges with interesting people from all over the world about religion, tarot, or spirituality in general. I am always thankful that my blog attracts the type of people who want to take the time to write me for those things.

Last week I got an email from someone who wanted to talk about what it means to become “enlightened”. Or perhaps better stated, what is the difference between being “enlightened” and not being enlightened. It turned into a week long continuing email chat and was so interesting. Last night I dreamt that I needed to write about it. Some here I go.

Becoming enlightened is like having a moment where a sudden rush of answers hit and usually it happens without provoking it at all. Some truths we discover are universal, but many more are personal. For me, it didn’t occur during ritual or meditation, it has happened while driving my car, or in the shower, or while doing dishes. I wasn’t doing something “religious”. I wasn’t reading my tarot cards or opening chakras. I wasn’t even technically questioning anything at the moments they have hit the hardest.

A moment of enlightenment is profound. It’s not usually a situation where you ponder things and suddenly the answer appears. It happens because you have grown spiritually over time, and you finally become ready for the answers…. in order to grow more. Almost like a growth spurt if you will. You can’t plan for it. You can’t force it to happen by using tools to obtain it. Sure, they do happen too, but in my personal experience that happens much less often. The first time it happened to me I was 24 years old and it even scared me because I did not understand at that stage what it meant, or why it happened. Since then I have had more moments of enlightenment then I can count. Some are major, and big… some not so big, but nonetheless the answer appears. Some can be almost psychic moments too.

I have had situations where I “knew” something, I could feel it…. but not prove it and that would make me doubt myself. And like magic a week later the answer or proof would come to me without me seeking it out. I’m speaking in general and being vague because that happens so often to me, that it’s now impossible to name an experience. For a long time I considered that “luck” or “intuition”. But another moment of enlightenment has showed me that it wasn’t. For me, it’s part of the growth process and evidence to support my path. Spiritual growth usually means you don’t have to invoke or cause “change” to happen. I so dislike when things are said such as “you have to make a change” or that “change is necessary”. It’s just not a fact at all. (Think about nature. Plants, trees, and flowers all grow…. But you don’t keep moving them all over your yard and have them thrive. They grow best with deep roots) If you are enlightened and on the right path – you don’t have to make abrupt choices or changes. You don’t even get yourself into situations that would cause you to “make a change”. Life is a constant transition, but transitioning is like climbing a latter… one step at a time. Transitioning is working toward something, and having a purpose. Seeking or needing change in your life really indicates that you are not making choices or decisions for your own greater good.

You will see many transitions happen to your mind/thinking when you grow and become more enlightened. You become sharper, quicker, and you see through things that other people hide behind or even lie about to you. When you aren’t enlightened the mind plays tricks on you with games like paranoia, suspicion, hurt feelings, foggy thinking, making assumptions, and emotional outbursts. When you aren’t enlightened you commit things such as little white lies, or you don’t speak the truth upfront to others to avoid confrontation etc. When you are enlightened those things don’t seem necessary. Confrontation often really means “challenge” and being enlightened means you want to face those things head on. Or at the very least you are not afraid of them.

Being enlightened means you understand your physical body too. Your body may not be perfect by any means, but you accept it as it is. More importantly, you understand it. You know when you are ill, you know how to treat and handle that. You accept what you must, you also fight for what you must, and you do it without doubt or hesitation.

Being enlightened doesn’t make you special, but it does make you very different often then your friends or family. Those situations will definitely bring you conflicts too. The answers on how to handle that will come to you when you are enlightened. Each and every situation or person is different, and they will bring their personal issues to the table for you too. There is no standard rule on how to handle it.

There is also a tendency for people who are newly enlightened to become more critical of other people, or preachy, or even believing they can teach others. It’s a bit like being too excited and anxious. It can seem like you are doing the right thing, but it most likely isn’t unless you obtain educational skills. You can’t teach people HOW to become enlightened because you were. There is not a step by step plan, and handing someone all the answers never works out either. Each of us have a different method and path.

I cannot stress enough that you don’t have to be religious to be enlightened. Or you can follow any religion of choice. I am watching and communicating about enlightenment with a friend of mine who is not spiritual at all. I have known this woman for 25 years now and in the last 4 she has grown by leaps and bounds. Her path is 100% different then mine. I would never tell her what she needs, only she knows that… but it is extremely interesting watching her evolve for the better.

The Meaning of Life

All philosophy teaches us that the meaning of life is knowledge. Through knowledge, we evolve. Through knowledge we obtain happiness, and balance. Through knowledge and intelligence we create. Through knowledge we develop technology and science.

Living solely for happiness isn’t logical, knowledge strives for far more details in the puzzle. If you consider yourself ‘at peace” then you aren’t advancing in knowledge.

Why or how is your life worth living? Much depends upon your career, and the things your contribute to the world which creates knowledge. How can you become a better person?

Grow as a person. Build your knowledge. Discover a use for what you know. Create something meaningful. Help others in some way. Anything more complex than that is ego driven.

Humans often lie to themselves believing that it is better to be the saint and “sacrifice” rather then the genius that shares their knowledge. Having the willpower to make sacrifices doesn’t make the world a better place. One person with a lot of willpower does not advance the willpower for anyone else. But a brilliant mind can advance many things.

Intelligence allows us to make better choices. The higher the intelligence the more likely the action will follow. Intelligence allows us to adapt to things, changes, situations, and even people. Being holy for the sake of being holy does not do good in the world, it only does something for that individual… the ego.

How A Witch Handles Conflict

Conflict is a natural part of life. We all experience it. Pretty much all conflict you experience in life involves these main points.

Intentions – Actions – Effects – Reactions – Consequences

What they mean are pretty self explanatory. An Intention is one thing, but not the only thing. The Action may not reflect the intention. In that case, the Effects and Reactions (both yours and the other persons) have Consequences.

Most conflicts begin because of people having “perceived” notions, which could be one or more parties involved. You only need 1 party to do that to cause a whole drama. We get these perceived notions and excuses for our assumptions based on emotional reactions to situations. Our emotions can lie to us, therefore they are not always reliable. Emotion is often the culprit of conflict because we bring our own personal dramas to it. Our past experiences have a major influence on how we perceive people and situations, and if we are still not moving past those issues then we put them into every area of our life.

It’s very important to understand and know that conflicts are normal. How you react to a conflict is about you, and no one else. Being different from someone else or holding different opinions does not create conflict if a common and mutual goal exists. In other words, differences are not really the conflict.

How do you solve a conflict?

Use logic over emotions. Separate the facts from the feelings. What do you know? What can you SEE with your own two eyes?
Confrontation. You can’t avoid it. Confrontation is not always a fight, it is standing up and saying what needs said without fear or excuse. It takes courage to confront people and tell them things you know they won’t like. It won’t make you popular. But it does make you honest.
Negotiation. Conflict and confrontation must include negotiation and discussion about the facts, not the emotion.
Collaboration. All of the parties involved need to agree to cooperate.
Solutions. There is literally a solution to EVERY problem that exists, and if you can follow through to this point, then things can always be resolved. At this stage you have to literally go back to the beginning again: Intentions – Actions – Effects – Reactions – Consequences. If things break down again then it means that at least one party involved in the conflict did not follow through.

A witch can often be viewed as almost non-emotional about conflict. A witch is (hopefully) in better balance between logic and emotion. Of course a witch is emotional, but we have an easier time defining when emotions are appropriate, and what situations they fit in. A witch can often appear “detached” to an overly emotional person which isn’t the case at all. A witch IS able to detach emotions that is true, but it is because they have already mastered the skills needed to attain a balance within and without themselves.

Here is suggested book from Amazon: The Eight Essential Steps to Conflict Resolution

Knowing The Darkside

Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions. — Dr. Carl G. Jung

Jung had a brilliant way with words. I do not. I choose to be blunt about the dark side.

You have a monster inside you. It is mean, vengeful, spiteful, angry, greedy, ugly, blunt, manipulative, rude, crude, impatient, negative, and just plain nasty. You have a dark side. I have one too. Everyone does.

Our dark side is primarily in our subconscious. If you don’t believe you have a dark side, it’s because you learned how to suppress it well to obtain acceptance. If you don’t think you have a dark side then you are not taking responsibility for who you really are.

The dark side can grow, it can get bigger and bigger as we have a daily dose of denial. It is so deeply buried within us….. and the more we deny it, the more it actually comes out in some way. Thinking happy thoughts doesn’t change anything about the dark side. It still remains and it eats your “happiness” for breakfast. The more you protest against the dark side, the stronger it becomes.

How can I explain it more directly? Here is an example…. You can tell yourself to believe “Today will be a positive and good day where I am comfortable and things go my way”. But the minute you have a fight with a neighbor, your friend, your spouse, your partner, your child, etc…. you have turned to the dark side. Changing your thinking will not change your life completely, that is only a band aid. It’s just too easy of a solution, because the dark side can steal our thoughts at any moment…. subconsciously. You’ll never see it coming. It is far stronger then you think it is. Stop fighting it. Fear is not the answer, the inner child is not the excuse, and parental influence is not the problem. It goes even deeper then what pop psychology wants you to believe. Give the monster a hug.

Repressing the dark side of ourselves is likely to take us into situations where it will overwhelm us. When you avoid conflict, when you run from a confrontation, when you hide your true selfish desires… you are repressing it. When you tell yourself that money isn’t important, that you love everyone, that you didn’t do anything wrong…. You are repressing the beast. And the beast KNOWS it.

The dark side does have positive aspects within it, but you will not find that if you cower from it or repress it. The dark side can be discovered, accepted, understood, researched into, and expressed at the right places and times. The beast must get some sun, it must be expressed, because it will not sleep forever. Ultimately, our dark sides can help us to grow spiritually, and it can allow us to change the behaviors instead of just the thoughts. The beast has a purpose that you will never discover if you hide from it.

A witch knows all of this, at least hopefully they do. A witch works to balance the core of their own personality and is never afraid of the shadows. We feel at home in darkness, we work to control our inner monsters. We can’t deny their existence, we know the forces and the energy they possess. We embrace our dark sides; we go deep into our own underworlds to figure out what created our personal monster. Only then will our magic be powerful, only then will our thoughts not betray us. Separating the light from the darkness is just…… another separation in our lives. A witch must never allow their being to be separated.

Creative Witch Supplies

Did you ever notice that anytime you shop for Wiccan tools – whether online or in a store that everywhere carries the same items? I found a really cool website, completely by accident (or fate) that carries unique handmade items.

It is a family-owned and operated business; the Silverlight Source Wiccan Store was founded by, and continues to be run by, a mother-daughter team of creative witches whose vision for the site has been to create “something of value” on the web. They do this by providing unique, artistic wicca supplies at wiccan-friendly prices. The care and quality that goes into each piece sets their work apart!

And the item? Very cool stuff. Check out the site: Silverlight Source Wiccan Store

I ordered the Sabbat Wheel of the Year Altar kit today. I fell in love with it right away. Because I am often leery about doing business with small companies online I also wrote them, expressed that, and asked a few questions. I got a personal response in less then 24 hours which I felt was great customer service and proof of professionalism. I just feel better personally, when I get a human response from someone, or I know they care about their business too.

Shipping appears fast and I am excited!

Update: Got my Wheel of the Year altar kit and it is awesome. Everything was beautiful, and supplied as promised. Delivery was also quick.

Thank you 2007

I’m thankful at the end of 2007.

I am thankful to the woman I work for, not only for her humor, the respect and trust she has given me, but also to the major bonus I got hehe.

I am thankful for 2 very special friends I have, the ones who know me and understand me in a way that perhaps no other ever has. I can say anything to them and not be judged.

I am thankful for my loving husband and my true best friend. He is the smartest person I know and loves me with his whole heart. And I love the anniversary ring I got this year hehe.

I am thankful for the opportunities that arose that allowed my husband and me to travel more this year then we ever have done.

I am thankful that I have my health.

I am thankful my husband’s career, after many long low paying years, has settled on to solid ground. I’m thankful his struggle to build a career and find a place where he is appreciated is over. Another pay raise is on the way which is even better, to get rewarded!

I am thankful that my own business ventures and work have grown. All the stupidity and stress that I used to deal with is gone. It makes me believe whole heartedly how much I am capable of doing on my own, without others dragging me down. Yet I am also thankful for those who have professionally supported me now, and even thorough the years. I really know now how many people in my profession had respect for me and told me all along about my talents.

I am thankful for my brain, for logic has never failed me. I am a calm person that detests drama and content that I am not an emotional “reactor” which I have witnessed so many other people do.

I am thankful that my intelligence expands enough to see the bigger picture, allows me to see that path ahead and that my instincts are so sharp. I have grown so much in the last 5 years by completely realizing that my instincts are strong and that I can see exactly what is coming. Life is filled with so much less drama when it doesn’t take me by “surprise’.

I am thankful for my dark side, for it keeps me in balance; it lets me question things, and gives me the right to say what I need to say even when it isn’t popular. I am thankful I know how to accept and embrace my own darkness as it is my measure against the side of light.

I am thankful for my talent. I’m a great writer, an above average website designer, a decent graphic designer, and none of which have I been educated in at all. I am completely self taught.

I am thankful for other friends I have that I maintain contact with like : my adopted Italian momma, my breakfast buddy, my convention pals, my circle ladies, the couple we go out with, my British pal, and my long distance friends from school. I’ve been fortunate to maintain these relations for years and still have these people who are so important still in my life.

I am thankful I found some long lost family this year, with whom I see so much hope.

I am thankful that I could afford my new car, that I have a comfy home, and warm fuzzy creatures in it.

I can only sigh. Life is good. I feel lucky, and I am thankful for that. Now it is time to get ready for the P_A_R_T_Y.

Happy New Year.

Visiting Salem

I’m back to work after a really long vacation whoohoo. The hubby and I did some stuff at home but then we also went away to Salem Massachusetts. We had a total blast omg! There are so many things to do such as: the Salem Witch Museum, Ghost Hunting, Cemetery tours, Wiccan shopping, and lots more. We caught a few paranormal things on film actually, very cool. One thing I know many Wiccans get flustered about is Laurie Cabot’s commercialism which I feel is all just a matter of opinion. She has obviously done so much for Salem’s tourism industry and yet managed to keep the rich history there. Just being in the same room as Laurie Cabot was a spiritual experience. Many non-fluffy Wiccans dislike her books due to the fluffiness but I do feel she tries to inject a much needed spiritual view rather then the “be a cool witch” attitude. She is a woman who has committed to the fight of truth which I must honor. Much of the tours were tourist themed…. however, they did an excellent job of actually educating everyone on the Wiccan religion, and the true history of the Salem Witch trials. Many people watch The Crucible and do not even know it was a metaphor for the McCarthy era. I was thrilled to see that was explained. I learned things I didn’t know too. And let me tell you the shopping was AWESOME.

The photo above is one of the postcards I bought, I scanned it before I mailed it to a friend.

To learn more on the events in Salem be sure to check out Three Sovereigns for Sarah - A True Story Of The Salem Witch Trials I think you’ll find it interesting!

Addicted to Psychic and Tarot Readings?

A woman emailed me this week and told me her “story” and then asked me if I thought it was possible to be addicted to getting tarot or psychic readings. Why she felt I would have this “answer” is also part of the problem. I’m not a psychologist. But I guess I do have an “opinion”.
Think about the whole self help movement or the wellness industry. Hundreds of books, CDs, classes, and groups can be utilized;. And they are. Its a billion dollar industry I would assume. Right now as I write this “The Secret” and the whole “Law of Attraction” is the BIG deal, meanwhile these companies bid on key words in the search engines and are making tons of money. The true secret is about how much money is made from it lol.

There are many people who feel “weak” or like they aren’t as important as they should be, so they seek all of those things to fill in some empty hole inside of them. Some people can be very addicted to all those techniques, but never end up truly applying solutions to their life. They can stop relying on their own common sense and follow someone else’s instructions on living life. They are often seekers of “the outside answer” or the quick fix instead of building their own personality, self esteem, and philosophy. If you think about someone you greatly admire, someone who really made a difference in the world (Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Susan B. Anthony) you’ll realize they were great thinkers, innovators, creators, and even rebels, but not gurus. I just don’t see Thomas Jefferson looking into a mirror daily reciting his affirmations: “I am good enough, smart enough, and dog gone it people like me. Can you?

People are seeking “growth” or preaching that we all need to make a “change” in our life in order to grow. The fact is that with age;.. growth and change happen NATURALLY. You become wiser, you become experienced. Our bodies change naturally over time too as we move into different life phases. Change is inevitable. Personal growth happens because it is necessary, and because your choices and actions allowed it. There is also usually evidence that appears in your life from growth that can be measured. For example: My household is making double the income I did 2 years ago. Does that mean that money is all that matters to me? No, of course not, but the evidence and the manifestation of my actions is measurable and has made a difference in my life. It is seen and felt, it allows me additional or new ways of growth too…. but that’s just one example.

The same is true with Tarot or psychic Readings I think. I feel it can at least be compared to the type of self help junkie addiction I am referring to. A tarot/psychic reading isn’t a problem solving technique. It’s a form of divination. A tarot reading can make a person FEEL better about a problem, a person, or a situation. But it doesn’t make you HEAL or GET better in some way and it in itself is not a solution. A person addicted to tarot or psychic readings wants to FEEL better usually.

If you rely on a fortune teller or psychic too often then you are making them your “guru”. It’s just not what they are intended for. A reading should be “fun” since technically it’s just another form of entertainment; not any sort of “therapy’.

I remember one woman when I worked on the 900 psychic lines years ago. She called me literally every single day for weeks at a time. She specifically sought my personal extension number to reach me, it wasn’t random. She wanted up to the minute reports on a relationship. Information on her boyfriend or spouse, what he was thinking and feeling blah blah. It was obsessive behavior in my opinion. The reading you got yesterday had a spiritual message for you, and that basic premise won’t change in 24 hrs I would tell her. What she really wanted was for me to tell her what she wanted to hear; not a real reading. She wasn’t actually seeking anything except confirmation on what SHE believed, assumed, and perceived. For all I know this man was a horrible person and all of her friends got sick of telling her the same things I was. So she came to me instead of annoying them any longer, hoping to get that one person who would agree with her.

I had a male client that did the same thing. Weekly he’d call and ask me about the woman he wanted to get back together with. She was his “soulmate” he believed and they had remained as friends after their break up. I’d read his cards for maybe 10 min each week, and he’d go on to tell me every detail of their contact since the last time we talked for another 40 minutes or so. He would literally describe to me a “look” she gave him and try to get me to tell him what it meant. Sometimes after the phone system disconnected his call, he’d ring me back to finish his details. The truth of the matter was he really just liked talking to me, getting a female perspective, and having a friend. I was reliable for him, I was on his side, and he could say anything to me because it was over the telephone which allowed a certain level of anonymous freedom. I made great money off these two people; but the readings were not genuine at all. This was one of the contributing factors that caused me to have a real moral dilemma for “charging” for readings and especially so in the “900 line” atmosphere.

Yes, I do believe that a person can be addicted to getting tarot or psychic readings. But most of them aren’t really addicted to the “cards” or the “reading” or the adviser of the service. Typically they are getting something else out of the situation for themselves, and that’s true for any type of addiction.

I have known tarot readers who felt they could do a card a reading on a person that wasn’t present and think they could READ their motivation, thoughts etc. And truly believe it without any doubt or question! Or some people learn how to do their own readings for instance and make 90% of their choices based off it. And no, I am not joking or exaggerating. I don’t read my own cards; I feel that I can “influence” the cards too much. I can very easily allow my energy to influence what I want to see too. I believe I can make the cards agree with my emotions and that just makes it self serving. I always get someone else to do a reading for me, I want their objectivity.

A tarot reading is divination, and divination is a touch different then fortune telling because it involves more “ritual”. Divination has a spiritual element involved yet the terms are still a little interchangeable. Divination is something every culture has done throughout history and basically continues to do even in modern times. It has never gone away or lost it’s “popularity”. Why? Because there are so many seekers, people who want comfort, people who want the “answer” to what is a mystery to them. Divination tools are interpreted rather then “factual”. A reading is only as good as the person who can interpret it TO you. And seriously this is true for a psychic that uses no divination tools too. They must interpret images, sounds, visions, etc. They can misunderstand them, and do so probably more then they’d like to. A lot of normal “human” error comes into play. This is often why something may appear “wrong” to you from a psychic or a reader. The message may not be translated to you properly, clearly, explicitly etc. Much is dependent upon the reader’s life experience, cultural experiences, education level, verbal skills etc. Also what YOU the querent is capable of understanding comes in to it also. The reader can be as clear as a bell to 1000 other people, but maybe not to you personally.

So let’s suppose a reader tells you there is money coming your way in 60 days time. People always want to hear that, maybe it’s only a $500 windfall coming your way. But who wouldn’t get a thrill out of hearing that? Then you “hope”, “wish”, “daydream” and even “fantasize” about it happening. Getting this kind of information COULD come true of course. But maybe it doesn’t;. and even if it doesn’t it still made you “high” from the fantasy. It made you feel good for 60 days. So sometimes even if a tarot reader or psychic is wrong, we still get something out of it.

Let’s also think about this too, again, maybe it’s just my personal opinion. I see tons of tarot readers and psychics who advertise what they do as “advice”. Think about it. How often in your life has a friend asked you for your advice and actually taken it? Or what about you? Didn’t you ever have a relationship, a work problem, a marital issue and received advice from someone else? Did you take it? Surely you know someone who has had a bad relationship and they continued in it, did stupid things etc while everyone sat back KNOWING they were in trouble. When they do not listen to the advice; eventually you stop offering it. We’re human; it’s natural for us to seek the advice and opinion of others. But we’re all also ego driven and still think we know better. We ALL do it. But I am not sure I want to pay for advice all the time. I’m not sure that one sided advice is even helpful at all.

I believe in the Tarot wholeheartedly. But even I have must maintain a certain level of skepticism to be really honest with myself. If I do not; I lose a little bit of my own intelligence and my faith in myself to make competent choices without a “tool” as my crutch. I also must allow my faith in a higher power outside of myself that may not want me to know the answer I want right now. Or perhaps the higher power wants me to learn a lesson the hard way rather then the arm me with knowledge. Maybe some things are just better left “unknown” to us. Sometimes the “mystery” is best left to be unfolded by me alone, and with nothing else but the great wide abyss. Our lessons have a purpose and they aren’t always going to be revealed or even easy to understand. Personally, I have not had my own cards read in YEARS now. I grew past it in some way; it helped me to build up the confidence to not need to know the future for every step I take. It taught me how to analyze situations from different angles on my own. I use the cards all the time, but more for ritual purposes. Sometimes I give readings to friends but it’s more just to for fun now. Like a hobby where I get to be creative.

So my truthful answer to this woman who wrote me is: you need to ask yourself what you are REALLY addicted to. Maybe it’s just fluffy feel good talk from a reader, like a friend. Is it your desire to hear the answer from another person that YOU assume, believe in, or want to hear? At what point do you get that “rush” of excitement? Where is the thrill for you? When you figure that out, you’ll know the answer. My judgment of you means nothing.

My post isn’t meant it knock anyone down who practices, or reads the tarot. This journal is my own sounding board where I just get to post my own deep thoughts. I believe a tarot reading can be beneficial; but only if you have a really well rounded reader and a truly open mind yourself. In my own personal experiences I felt that at 50% of the readings I gave fell on deaf ears or were like the examples I gave. For me, and in my experiences, it was self esteem destroying to perform a reading for someone who did not really want my message. I really have tons of respect for the tarot readers who do it as a career because they obviously have the ability not to feel that way. I am too much of an empath sometimes lol! It is just not my personal path and I grew from learning that lesson. However, those things apply to me alone, and I do not speak for anyone else! The internet is certainly full of “lofty opinions” and mine is no different.

Books I suggest if you want to learn about cold readings and the tricks of the fortune telling trade
The Skeptic’s Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions

Acting Psychic: How To Spot A Fake

The Naked Quack: Exposing the Many Ways Phony Psychics & Mediums Cheat You!

You Have the Right

I have friends that send me the emails that circulate the net and most are pretty silly, fake, or useless. They end up in my trash. But every once in a while you get something cute, fun, or interesting. Today a friend sent me something thought provoking and I liked it so much that I decided to copy it here.

1. You have the right to put yourself first sometimes.
2. You have the right to make mistakes.
3. You have the right to be the final judge of your feelings.
4. You have the right to have your own convictions.and opinions.
5. You have the right to change your mind or decide on a different course of action.
6. You have the right to protest unfair treatment or criticism.
7. You have the right to negotiate for change
8. You have the right to ask for emotional support or help
9. You have the right not to take other people’s advise.
10. You have the right to say, “No.”
11. And you have the right not to take responsibility for anyone else’s problems or bad behavior.