March April 2024 Snake Oil/Yes Dear

Snake Oil 

Yes Dear

 

When I work with clients one of the most frequent subjects I get asked about is relationships. “When will I find one? Where is my soulmate? What do I need to do to help my current relationship? Should I stay in my current situation or find something better? Will I always be alone?” This aspect of life often doesn’t match our ideal and it’s frequently packed with at least some challenge. Most relationships fall somewhere between almost perfect or on the other end seriously toxic. I once had a female client who was uncomfortable and embarrassed about being controlled by her possessive, dominating boyfriend. We discussed possible solutions and she decided it might help if he came to see me. Aside from being in denial about whether he was controlling at all, and he really was, he tried to manipulate and control me during our session. It was not a successful attempt and he left likely thinking, and telling her “I was not qualified.” There is unquestionably a need to prioritize healthy compromise in any relationship. It is important  to recognize that when one does commit to a mate, to some extent the partner needs to be a higher priority than friends, family, or even children. The bond needs to be strong for a relationship to thrive, but choosing a healthy mate in the first place is tremendously important. A bad choice can have extremely bad repercussions for ourselves and those around us. Many of us will at some point go through the lesson of choosing a toxic, dominating partner who may pull us away from family, friends and what is best for our personal happiness. While a good mate can be very beneficial we still need other people and a healthy support circle. The fantasy of “the two of us leaving everything behind and moving into a little cabin cut off from the world” rarely, if ever, works out.

My first encounter with a manipulative mate was back when I was about twenty two. She was not actually my mate though. I had a best friend for about two years named Matt. He was two years younger than me and he had a cousin named Tammy who he was very close to. We all hung out often, smoked a bit of weed, ate pizza, and went to a lot of concerts, typical of late teens, early twenties stuff in the late eighties. I saw amazing groups like Pink Floyd, Rush, Yes, and the Fixx with Tammy and Matt. It was a wonderful period in my life. Matt met a girl at his job named Maryanne. He was head over heels in love and thrilled by his first real girlfriend. She was in good shape, pretty, but had a bit of a hard not to notice controlling side. I worried I might be too judgmental about her, but something was off. Weeks into their relationship she was pregnant and she and Matt decided to get married. All of our friends actually had a good time at their rushed wedding a few months later, but we did place odd bets humorously on how long it would last. We did not share that sarcastic appraisal with Matt, as he was really happy and we didn’t want to ruin that. The party was rushed, a bit cheesy, with a lot of eighties music, and Matt did his share of a popular drug at that time. We saw a lot less of Matt during his wife's pregnancy but he invited us over to see the new baby months later when she was about three months old. Maryann was visibly annoyed that we were at the apartment and seemingly annoyed that we existed in the first place. The baby was super cute and Matt was a proud dad, but clearly Maryanne hated me and Tammy for some reason.

Weeks later Tammy called me to share that Maryann had forbade Matt to see either of us anymore. She threatened to leave him with the baby if he stayed friends with us. It was bad enough to block him from seeing me, but also the cousin who was like his sister was something truly ugly. I had never encountered this type of controlling type of individual before. Matt was submissive to her request. Tammy filled me in on bits and pieces she heard over the next two years. Inevitably Maryanne gained a lot of weight understandably while she was pregnant, but was lax in taking it off and gained quite a bit more weight. Matt worked two jobs so she could be a stay at home mom. About two years later Maryanne got pregnant by another guy she was having an affair with and then filed for divorce from Matt. I saw Matt after his ordeal when he came to my job to apologize for losing me as a friend and how he treated Tammy and me. I was impressed by his willingness to own all of it and I did forgive him, but things had changed and we hardly saw each other after that. About a year later I left NY and moved to Phoenix.

There were many times over the years when I saw both manipulative controlling men, but also women. It didn’t matter whether they were male or female, gay or straight, but universal anger themes about “who you are flirting with,” making the partner lose touch with friends and family, isolating them, playing on guilt, and even mild stalking were things I sadly saw too often. When I was about fourteen I was first exposed to a physically angry woman when I saw my friend Richie's mom punch her husband in the face though their kitchen window. Richie told me it was normal. I had a client for a few years who was a psychologist herself but was with an abusive man who got so angry at her for both real and imagined slights. He locked her in their basement for four days as punishment. When I was working as a waiter in my early twenties I became close friends with one of the waiters, a truly sweet, handsome, young nineteen year old named Nick. He had dreams of going to school to be a pilot. He talked about his dream often with excitement. Weeks later he got his girlfriend pregnant and decided to marry her and take on another job so they could live in a small basement apartment to raise the child. A noble thing to do and he clearly loved her, but his plans to go to school and to be a pilot went out the window. He took on a second job cleaning houses with his fiancé. I could see sadness in his eyes about abandoning his dream, but he was also truly in love. She inevitably made him quit the restaurant and I never saw Nick again.

Over the years I have seen quite a bit of controlling stuff in the arena of relationships. I had a client who was a regular for about a year. There was extra excitement on her part when I did a Tarot reading for her that showed her meeting an air sign male. She met an Aquarius man a few months later and married soon after. She and her spouse got involved in relationship coaching. I even saw him once and he was impressed with my skills until he read a column I wrote that mentioned God, All That Is, and he was outraged. He was a devout atheist and told her that “this kind of talk is nonsense,” and forbid her to see me for sessions, and to be removed from my mailing list. A milder funny example is when a very attractive, one time client of mine met her “soulmate” and seemed very happy. He was a good guy and quite devoted to her. When I saw pictures of him on social media in a hideous pink and peach sweater uncomfortably posing in a field of flowers, I suspected that while she probably loved that picture, his eyes portrayed another sense. It looked like every ounce of his masculinity was forced out of his body.

Almost two decades ago I became friends with a late twenties, in shape, vegan, attractive, old soul named Lars. We inevitably worked together in a restaurant when I was in my early thirties and pretty much became like brothers. I really got along well with Lars and I saw him as my little brother from another mother. An old girlfriend of his named Phyllis, who was a few years older than Lars, moved back to the valley after they were estranged for about three years. She was an energetic, lean, attractive woman with frizzy blonde hair and well educated. Phyllis was about as far left politically as one could possibly be. She was a bit of a hippie chick who fought with her more conservative parents often. She attended every left wing march, women's rights, Bernie Rallies, pro LGBTQ rights, and even had a thing for rescuing animals. Unfortunately her and Lars relationship was toxic. She stalked him, they fought often, and he retaliated by dating a stripper to make her nuts. I did a reading for her by her request and suggested that if Lars was meant to be in her life the crazy fighting needed to stop and she should trust they would find a way to come together. She was not happy with my advice. 

 
I saw a bit of Phyllis’s anger surface a few times, and while she was a very loving, caring person, I often could see some questionable over reactions to even minor things. Lars came to my apartment in a state of extreme worry. He had gotten her pregnant during the peak of their wars and she was adamant about having the baby. He confided in me that he was seriously thinking of running away, even changing his name, and starting his life over. This was how uncomfortable he was with the extremes and her at times scary behavior. I suggested he could co-parent without them being together but I thought the running away plan was not workable. He left my place still shaken up, then called the next day to invite me to their wedding! Phyllis was about four months pregnant for their backyard wedding and was somewhat cordial to me, but actually never spoke to me at the wedding, and also after they moved in together. She was still angry about me telling her to stop stalking him. The wedding was cheesy and rushed and I had flashbacks to years earlier when I was at a similar wedding. I was proud of myself for not suggesting they play the song White Wedding by Billie Idol, a bit of Sagittarius restraint on my part! Instead they played a lot of mostly eighties songs they both loved. While the wedding seemed bizarre, it was still kind of fun. This time I did not verbalize to anyone about how long I thought their would last, but the Deja Vu was trippy. Their parents were left to clean up after the backyard wedding. Lars and Phyllis climbed into the car to drive away to their honeymoon theatrically to a song they both apparently bonded over years before when they first met, “Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car” by Billie Ocean.

After some months of me still talking to Lars somewhat or grabbing lunch, Phyllis wanting nothing to do with me. Finally things changed when she had little Bess. Phyllis asked Lars to contact me to come see the baby while she was in the hospital. Phyllis and I hugged and never discussed any of it. I made an internal vow to keep the peace and to even get to know Phyllis to keep my friendship with Lars strong. Bess grew up and a few years late they had another little girl named Georgette. Bess often challenged her mother and made Phyllis crazy. Bess was smart and humorously called her mom Phyllis instead of mother. She was very grounded and while she clearly loved her mom, she seemed to know Phyllis was a bit nuts. For almost fifteen years I was part of the family. Most holidays, and usually twice a month I would hang out at their home. I saw the kids in plays, sporting events, we bought each other gifts and I was very much a part of all of their lives. Both Bess and Georgette called me Uncle Jim. It was really nice being part of that family. I even got to be friends with Phyllis too. Lars got really sick when the kids were still very young and his loyal wife Phyllis stuck by his side through a very rough ordeal. Thankfully he healed, but Phyllis was left always terrified of Lars getting sick again and became quite a bit of a hypochondriac.

I knew they both really loved their kids dearly and were good parents, but I always thought they were a little too focused giving the kids whatever they wanted. Both were very far to the left in their politics and parenting approach, but it was never my place to comment so I didn’t. Lars opened his own Pilates studio and did fairly well in his business. He was a chronic pot smoker though. Even to the point of smoking weed while making his coffee each morning. It was a little extreme for me, but he handled it and I thought it worked for him, maybe even masking some childhood trauma. Phyllis either joined in from time to time or angrily fought him on it. Yet while Lars was at times a bit cheesy, he clearly loved being a dad. One of the cheesiest things he would ritually do was watch ET the Extraterrestrial every year with the kids. He especially loved the song Turn on Your Heart Light by Neil Diamond. He would ask me to sing it when I did karaoke at times and often requested the song to be played by Alexa when I was over at the house. A truly stupid song, but my buddy loved it and I saw it as one of his weird but still likable quirks. I thought that even though they fought a lot he was still fairly happy. But Lars did have this fascination with aliens and often talked and read books about alien abductions. I half joked that maybe he longed to be abducted and taken away!

Phyllis was always coming up with schemes for a new business or side hustle while she also prioritized being there for her kids. Following through on those plans was often a problem. She was a great cook, especially desserts and decided to market her treats first from home, and then hopefully a small shop with her specialties, trifles and designer donuts. To her credit she was really talented and her desserts were delicious. I made suggestions for marketing but she didn’t want to hear most of them. I went to college for advertising art and marketing, so usually people appreciated my insight. After weeks of work, see was ready to begin sales and excitedly showed me her design logo. Phyllis had a notable theatrical side in her younger years doing plays, singing, and doing interpretive dance. She had a stage name she went by in college and high school; Sassy. She thought it was better to go with Sassy because it was a “cooler name than Phyllis,” for her new business. She came up with “Sassy’s Trifles, and Designer Donuts.” The problem was the amount of work required to make those spectacular desserts, making a profit, refrigeration, delivery. When I told her that people might also think of something not so pleasant when seeing her logo because when shortened it was ST-DD. That insight made her furious with me. She for some reason blamed me for not telling her sooner, but she wouldn’t let me in on her plans, how could I warn her?

A few weeks later the Covid scare came along. Both Lars and Phyllis shut down their businesses like most of us were told to do to “flatten the curve for two weeks.” I saw Lars for what turned out to be the last time a few weeks into the Covid Shit show. I intuitively felt that when he left my home it would be the last time I saw him. He was scared about passing along the virus to any of his clients or his family. I wondered if after almost twenty years of friendship if he ever heard anything I taught him about illness and that it was always multilayered, not random and we were not powerless over it. At the same time I also understood his fear. My family and many of my friends went info fear mode and wore the masks, stayed inside, avoided people, obsessively wiped things down, and followed all the crazy rules. Thankfully one by one, most of my friends started waking up after a few months and began to see how some of these well-meaning suggestions, and fear tactics from the media were mostly ludicrous. Not surprisingly, Phyllis dived into every cliche, ranting about staying at home, how everyone needed to be vaxxed, posting on social media sites about how selfish the rest of us were to go outside, yelling at other people about their noses popping out of their masks, and the ultimate crime of not staying at home and getting food delivered like they “responsibly were.” So much for the makers of the food and delivery people though, I guess they were expendable. Even after almost two years of all the extremes from both right and the left perspectives i observed she would still post passionately on Facebook about how “This will never end because of all the anti vaxers, and non-mask wearers were killing everyone.” My trips to Vegas when it reopened probably made her think I was selfish. I am guessing my posts about how I was not getting pulled into any of this fear and would continue to use natural holistic methods for handling all of it made her head explode. She inevitably unfriended me and blocked me as well on social media. She either made Lars do the same or he chose to for his own reasons.

Looking back on all of it, I remembered something significant. When I first met Phyllis she had a sweet, adorable cat. When you would pet Zagnut he would purr and then after a few minutes he would just snap for who knows what reasons and viciously claw and painfully bite you. He was truly his moms reflection (in spiritual terms her familiar). Both Lars and Phyllis cut me out of their lives. I was also removed from all their family and the friends that I was connected to for so many years. My position as Uncle Jim was also terminated. The experience in my early twenties with Matt and his wife was uncomfortable but this was about five times worse. Other than the staggering cruelty I dealt with in my mid-twenties when I found myself abused by the criminal I briefly lived with, who stole from me and nearly destroyed my life, this un-friending from people who were like family was now the second worst thing on my life list of terrible experiences. It honestly took me awhile to finally forgive them, but for the most part I have. Prolonged focusing on the “gall of someone doing this to me” might inevitably destroy my gall bladder or similar eliminative organs and I will not sacrifice parts of my body to stay in resentment. I have no doubt that there were financial, emotional, health, discomfort about notable heavy weight gains, and other contributing factors they were dealing with that had nothing to do with me. And likely knowing Lars, a bit of shame and even resignation on his part, knowing Phyllis would find ways to punish him if he went against her. The experience smelled a bit karmic to me both on their end and my own. Maybe I was like Phyllis or was afraid to stand up to a controlling mate in another lifetime, and my Higher Self choose to experience this uncomfortable situation for growth and to balance some karma?

It would be dishonest to claim that I have never done anything cruel to a friend or a mate. In my teen years I was at times jealous, possessive, and even punished a few friends by making my other friends stop talking and hanging out with them when they did not follow “Jim’s rules.” Still, I left all of that behavior behind in my late teens, and it was behavior I was not proud of in my history. I never have made romantic partners give up family or friends, so seeing this behavior from a fifty year old woman was startling to say the least. But this is what obsessive fear will do, and the Covid years really heightened some very dark things in human behavior. The need for compromise and to prioritize a partners needs are absolutely a necessity for any relationship to grow and thrive. Still, when a mate makes you abandon family and friends, isolates you and puts you into incredibly uncomfortable situations, it is wise to examine whether the relationship is positive and worth staying committed to. This is clearly a major lesson in the human experience. Life and relationships change, and sometimes they even blow up to propel necessary growth. I resisted the martyr game of “did they ever even care about me theatrics,” they unquestionably did care about me. The fear they were sold in the media was just something they could not overcome. A better conclusion for me is that I am in a wiser, more balanced place, and while I have fond memories of those friendships, anyone including friends or family with those extreme levels of fear are no longer a good fit for me. Growing sometimes means leaving people behind.
2-2024 Jim Ventura   
      

Notes

 

While I enjoyed writing this column, and have wanted to talk about this subject for quite some time, it may be the longest column piece I have ever written! I had to edit out a lot of other representative cases. Sadly there have been so many examples of the craziness that I have observed over the years, often a part of relationships. While I always change the actual names of my characters, some details (including a bit of wise ass added humor, and I did quite a bit in this one!) of my stories are based on real experiences. I purposely went into a bit of detail about obsessive behavior during the Covid years for many reasons. I knew many people that were tossed aside by friends or family for having the “wrong point of view.” The sometimes sanctimonious theatrics were heavier on the left, but the extremes of some conspiracy theories on the far right got a bit bizarre and judgmental as well. For me as an old soul, I saw from the beginning that so much of the fear and “what you should do” felt intuitively like other periods in our human history. This one was a scientific version of crazy. While modern scientific perspectives have only been around for a few hundred years, religious extremist equivalents have been around for centuries. I will go into this in more detail in a future column but forcing a person to do something and taking away choice is one of the main components for creating karmic ribbons that must inevitably be burned in this life or another. And while I focused on some of the real negatives that may surface in relationship, it is important to also remember that there are many positive aspects of what healthy relationships can bring into our lives. When true love is present without the need for obsessive control it can make our lives more fulfilling and impact people all around us in positive ways. In Druid tradition the spring equinox is the time of “Reception of Wisdom” and May first is known as the Beltane, or the time of the Lovers!

I launched a sophisticated, informative new site last month at BuyMeaCoffee.com. You can find my posts there at BuyMeaCoffee.com/Venturawora. (and yes this is not a misprint) This is going to be the place for the best of all my past material (columns, and videos) as well as the first place I will always launch new material. It will contain some of my navigational techniques for living your most empowered life. There will be new adds and many of the techniques I have learned that really work and shared with regular and semi-regular clients over the years. There is no cost to check out my 2-3 times a month posts. There is also an option to buy me a coffee or two (hence the name) feature where you can do just that if you feel the pull for any reason. There is also an option currently for only a $60 a year donation that you will get you on my Coffee followers mailing list for extra navigational tips, and insight directly emailed to you each month. It will also allow you to book personal sessions at any time for the heavily discounted quarterly regular client rates! You can book the sessions as much or as little as you choose and also buy gift sessions for friends and family at those rates. I will also be starting an every other month radio show just for followers on the coffee site where you can listen or call in and ask questions about any type of metaphysical subject with me and also just enjoy a virtual chat and hang-out.

The new year seems to be off to a great start for me, and seemingly for a lot of people around me. I like the vibe so far of this year of the wood dragon and number 8. You can check out my video post about all of this on my YouTube channel. You can cut and paste the link here in a browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM8zRvbueNw&t=67s

 
 So far of all of my social media channels Tik Tok has the strongest following. About twice a month I post animal totem videos and explanations about what spirit animals and guides are all about. You can find me at Animalspeaks there if interested.

The winter was a cold and rainy one. As much as I enjoyed the retreat inward, and truly ran with it like never before, with lots of benefits, I am happy to see signs of spring! Wishing everyone some cool vibes as the spring season commences. Cheers, Jim V
3-2024 

“Only as far as a man is happily married to himself is he fit for married life and family life in general.” Novalis

New Client Special 2024
 January 1st thru October 31 St., 2024 Special:

 

$10-15 off listed rates for your first 45 minute session, 70, or 90 minute session! Debit and credit card payments get $10 off for 45, 70, and 90 minute sessions. Local in-office clients can get an extra $5 off for cash or check payments for sessions. If you want to buy a new client a thoughtful gift of a session for a friend or family member you can also take advantage of these rates! 

 

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Mahatma Gandhi

Channeled corner. I read many, many books from different trance channelers in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Unfortunately many of them are now out of print, but I still have a huge collection and will share some of the best material I have collected over the years.

 
Learn to enjoy Change

 

 
“In your society, you are born in an atmosphere of fear surrounding the experience of birth. Many, if not all of you, unconsciously use fear as a motivator in your life. You wait until situations become fearful-indeed, even make them fearful-in order to motivate yourselves to change. Now, it is a kind of addiction, and I would recommend that you become conscious of it. Then, as you experience the drama and struggle you create for yourselves, be conscious that you are choosing your reality and that you can choose to change and move without creating suffering and consequent fear to get you to do it.

We urge you then to be innocent about your desires for change and to remember that change on the planet, which is in constant motion, creating night and day, creating the seasons, is natural, so you need not wait until you have a great deal of fear motivating you to make change. You can consciously and innocently seek change, knowing that it does not need to create separation, hurt, and pain for others or for yourself when you do it consciously and innocently. Then you can let go of using fear as the motivator and instead use joy and aliveness as the motivator. Once you use joy to motivate you to action, feeling the joy in your body actually creates your feeling more alive, vitalized, and motivated to act.

So, because these are so wired from your early experiences when your parents told you, ‘you must do this or else,’ and you experienced fear and anger and then acted upon it, you think you have to have those emotions to get into motion. No! It is just your thought, based upon your past experience, that creates those connections. And you can easily begin to choose to act from joy and know it is innocent for you to be joyful without having to be angry or fearful.

Both men and women have come to believe that the physical has cycles of pleasure and pain. Often you use pain to get pleasure and then begin to fear pleasure because you think you will then have pain. How to get over that? Stop creating pain to get pleasure, and you will release the belief that once you have pleasure you must have pain. You will learn to surrender into greater and greater experiences of pleasure and life and joy on a regular basis. You cannot shift into a millennium of peace while holding the thought of the pleasure/pain  cycle...”
Seth Channeled by Jane Roberts


Snake Oil Radio

 

Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be two live broadcasts this period)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, March 21st at 3:30 p.m. mountain (Phoenix) time. This 45 minute show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to chat with other listeners in the chat room with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. If you miss the live show, you can catch any of my previously recorded shows on the website’s archive. You can also catch Snake Oil Radio on iTunes and similar locations for podcasts.

To hear a live show, all you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura  or on your phone. You may also access it by going to the site and type “Snake Oil” into the search option. You can also go to the shows that are currently “On air” at that time and find me. The call in number is 646-200-3966 for questions and comments IF the show is offering that (please check, many of my column shows don’t).

“You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too.” Prabhat Ranjan

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” Oscar Wilde

 
Here’s my contact information to make an appointment for a session, or information on current classes: Email: Venturasag@yahoo.com (BEST method for contact).
text only: (602) 349-0746 Phone calls: (602) 957-3035

Information about the different sessions and types of readings, classes and services, past Snake Oil columns, and how to order my books and audio CD’s can be found at my website: http://JimVentura.com.

“Friend” me on Facebook to get other extra offers and in between column extras! Signing up for my fan page will get you even more extras and first shot at reading specials. Simply click on “like” on the fan page and you will automatically get my weekly updates.
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I have a few other media channels other than my monthly radio shows and FaceBook:

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel (approximately once a month 6-12 minute videos) at J Ventura Snake Oil.
Instagram at Venturawords ( Astrology updates and other insight on short 90 second reels)
 Tik Tok (animalspeaks) where I do short but powerful 2-5 minute videos about how to use animal totems and spirit animals!

All personal sessions/readings for 2024 are: Full (70 minutes) $120.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $90.00;  Extended session (90 minutes) $145.00 (Two people can split an extended session back to back for $150.00 total although no other discounts will apply). Mini phone session 20 minutes $40. Email me for information about my Regular Client Program for even bigger discounts on session prices with the added benefit of monthly or quarterly check-ins. Purchasing 3 prepaid sessions also brings sizable discounts. Some examples; 3 prepaid 45 minute monthly sessions is $155 total or about $52 a session. 3 prepaid quarterly 70 minute session are $245 or about $82 a session.

January February 2024 Snake Oil/Essence Contact

 Snake Oil

 Essence Contact

 

The first time I read about what essence contact was I immediately understood what was being explained because I had already experienced this many times during the first two decades of my life. I came across the concept when reading a series of books called the Michael teachings. I was about twenty one years old at the time, and knew that during my childhood, essence contact happened fairly often. Making that connection to my essence was fairly easy to do before I was hit with the pressures of who I “supposed to be” according to peer pressure, my parents beliefs about correct behavior for our family, what our religion told us to be, and inevitably growing internal fears about my lack of self worth. I wondered why I perceived many things so differently than a lot of the people around me, not uncommon for an older soul as a child. In spite of mounting fears, I still often had pockets of times where I just felt happy, like I belonged, even fit perfectly in the world because I was quite simply meant to be here. Even if I wasn’t sure what I was here for exactly, the fun and enthusiasm about the potential of life were still fortunately stronger than my fear.  

What is essence contact? Essence is the core of who we are. There are seven essence types, some being more common place than others.* It is the role we become when we are cast (not thrown away but by choice for experience) from the Tao (God) to begin to experience a series of lifetimes. In each reincarnation or lifetime we are always the same essence, although Astrology and Over-leaves (life goal, mode, and attitude) will change to give us unique experiences for each  lifetime. Essence is our direct contact to our Higher Self. It is  the bridge that connects us in an unbreakable way to the Tao or God. Commonly when an individual experiences a near death event and feel they saw God, in truth it is far more likely that they are seeing essence directly. The magnitude of love from essence is interpreted as meeting God. The Tao itself is so enormous that it would be difficult for us to fully comprehend this while in a physical body.

Experiencing essence contact happens when we are not actually trying to! It often feels like fully plugging into the present moment. It can feel like a circuit that completes or a light has come on and you just simply “get it.” When this occurs it moves us immediately to the positive poles of our over-leaves and our astrological wiring. Fear is not part of the experience and we may even temporarily move into what is know as the higher centers. It is a brief release from Maya or false personality. Time can seem elongated or even become meaningless. Often the magnitude of essence contact, however long or brief, afterwards can feel almost that we are in a positive way, burned clean or back on track.

When I was a child I often felt this during times of play, and I played a lot. I was so immersed in joy at whatever I was doing either alone or with friends that I simply feel completely carefree. Often when I tried to play the same game another day or recreate similar events it did not pack the same magical punch, even though it was usually still fun. I once felt essence contact when I was driving my first car at about age seventeen and struggling with fear and doubt about my abilities to drive and do other “adult things.” I was waiting at a cross walk when I observed a handicapped man in a wheel chair slowly passing by. He was a character with colorful flags attached to his chair, a grin on his face, a holder for his beverage, and he just was excited to get across the street to his destination. I immediately felt connected to him. I was impressed with how he was just fully himself, and just like I perceived him to be, my fears of inadequacy disappeared in that moment. It was a wonderful feeling of not only being happy but that he was perfect, I was perfect, and so was the world.

I had many times when I felt this sense when taking a hot bath in my teen years while reading in my crowded house when the bathroom was finally just mine. I frequently experienced essence contact when I snuggled in my bed with two dogs at night in a NY winter. There were times when I laughed so hard with friends or even family that we cried because it was overwhelming in a really good way. I especially felt this when I was the one who actually started the contagious laughter. There were times during my artistic years when I was drawing or painting when I got in the zone and it all just flowed and I created something amazing. I often felt essence contact when listening to music. There were many songs that did this for me so the list is quite long. A few examples were the first time I heard And You and I by Yes, Secret Separation by the Fixx, and more recently Babylon by David Gray.

It is common for people to try to achieve a sort of essence contact with alcohol or drugs. There can be a makeshift form of essence contact that is stimulated this way. So while it is possible, it is far less desirable with these methods and often has uncomfortable repercussions. Often the belief that the drug IS the way to get you there is grossly misconstrued. The achievement of essence contact is unique for everyone. A mother may feel essence contact during childbirth or when she holds her child for the first time. Often through a connection with a partner during a period of early romance, and later with sexual union, essence contact may occur when a shared link of chemistry is in play for a couple. A father may feel essence contact while walking his daughter down the aisle at a wedding or with the father, daughter first dance. A fireman may feel it while rescuing someone from a burning building. Any type of artist may feel essence contact when they are in the zone and have just created inspiring artwork. A traveler may feel this when going to a place for the first time and feeling like they are returning to something they somehow have already magically seen or they are transformed by the customs of another culture. Watching one’s family or friends enjoying themselves, chatting, and eating food you have prepared may trigger essence contact. A performer on stage may flow perfectly into the role during one particular show that just seems to line up and they flawlessly became the character they were portraying. A soldier might feel this at some point on a mission where he or she fully feels part of a team with purpose. A religious individual might feel truly connected to God or Jesus in Christian tradition during a religious service, singing in a choir, or any type of experience, although sometimes this can lead to zealous dogma about it being the ONLY way. The variations are infinite. Experiencing any type of wonderful event while amazing is still noticeably different from actual essence contact.

Mature and older souls tend to be more inclined to experience essence contact although any soul age may do so. Older souls tend to get this experience more often and naturally because they tend to block the contact far less. This is why younger souls (again this has nothing to do with chronological age) often enjoy being around older souls without consciously realizing why. Essence contact can be contagious. Being around someone who is going though it, or has it happen more frequently can act as a trigger for others. In one of the books I read on the subject the author shares what a individual baby soul (the soul age where one is all about setting up rigid rules and structures to follow either comfortably or uncomfortably during a lifetime) who at age twenty is working as a camp counselor. He spontaneously pulls out his guitar in the evening when he and the children are sitting around a camp fire. He plays songs for the preteen children and many sing along and some even playfully dance. The hour flies by magically and everyone has a wonderful time including him. When he goes to sleep later in his tent his thoughts quickly turns to worry and fear. He wonders if he somehow had inappropriate or even sexual feelings toward some of the children, and whether what he did was unclean or just wrong. He does not have actual inappropriate thoughts toward the children, but religious dogma, repressed sexual development and beliefs that level of happiness feels suspect as fear and ego taints the rehashing of the event. He quits his job the next day and decides it is better to not ever work around children. He rarely allows essence contact again after this in this lifetime.

Another way to achieve essence contact is during times of extreme suffering. There may be experiences of crisis, like a suicide attempt, notable despair, physical trauma, or painful loss when essence may step in and take over. This can often act as a reboot to life purpose when one is falling too far off the larger life plan. Some near death experiences after being revived physically because of the brief contact with the Otherworld, will re-track the individual to the original plan they diverged from. The contact with essence may create new purpose and a sense there is more to do in this life.

When essence contact becomes more frequent especially for mature or older souls, it brings us back to ourselves. It is not uncommon for those around someone more aligned with their essence to think it is possible for them too. This can trigger something like “Wow, what is it that they have, I want that too, and maybe I can have it?” Essence is love and fear is the force that will block it. Fear in the physical world can be difficult to avoid but by no means impossible. It is often sold in the media, praised by those in its grip to strive for, or it may become a part of an internal voice that can masquerade as practical and valuable, what I like to call “hugging your cactus.” Fear can be disguised as “you would be foolish not to listen to what I am saying.” While we can’t strive for essence contact with a specific formula and there will unlikely ever be a pill to get us there, we can make essence contact more frequently. When we allow more love of self and others, release judgement, spend more time in the present and allow ourselves to be who we were meant to be, this minimizes that voice of fear and naturally creates more opportunities to allow essence contact, a worthy endeavor indeed. 

Jim Ventura 12-2-2023

 

Notes:

 

As mentioned in this newsletters story above, there are 7 types of essences. A brief outline: Artisans (positive pole creativity, negative pole self deception or artifice), Sages (positive pole dissemination, negative pole oration), Warriors (positive pole persuasion, negative pole coercion), Kings (positive pole mastery, negative pole Tyranny), Servers (positive pole service, negative pole bondage, or frustration), Priests (positive pole compassion, negative pole, zeal), and Scholars (positive pole Knowledge, negative pole theory). This information in more detail is part of many things discussed including over-leaves and soul age, I teach in my Michael classes. Information about signing up for these and other classes later in the newsletter.
2024 is here! We are in a universal year of an 8 and in Chinese astrology the second week of February starts the year of the Wood Dragon. The vibe is likely to be intense and colorful to say the least, but with the potential for great accomplishment for anyone willing to fine tune their unique niche or talents and go bigger! You can check out my YouTube video on the universal new year in more detail on my channel at J Ventura Snake Oil or cut and paste this link into your browser.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6rpfSsKAVn1hV4xw2rsxQQ

 You may request your own personal new year look by contacting me by email for availability.

I will be teaching a really cool class all about tuning into animal totems for locals in the valley in Tempe AZ on January 21st. As of this writing there are still openings for this two hour class and it is only $11.00 to attend! Email me for one of the remaining spots and more information about the class also later in the newsletter.
Special note to previous Regular Clients who were in my program at one time but dropped out for any number of reasons. A few of my regulars along the way, for one reason or another did the “ghosting thing” sadly and just stopped answering my “It’s time for your next session” emails. While I will never understand this approach (and fortunately it is not very often) when a simple note to me about choosing to discontinue your regular sessions would have been a far, far better way to go, you can still request a session if you choose. You can just book a session when you choose to according to your own individual needs, once, or twice a year, or whenever. Sometimes the structure and commitment of the program is just not for everyone. The notably discounted rates will no longer apply, but future sessions randomly are still an option.
Information about how to join and the many benefits of my Regular Client Program later in this email. Wishing everyone a wonderful new year ahead. Cheers, Jim V

January’s New Year Newsletter Special!

January is a popular month to have a New Year overview session to look at primary themes, challenges, and opportunities for the coming year. One symbol from each of the many different oracles I work with will be pulled to highlight 2024 for you.  A New Year reading is a great way to start off your New year! Your New Year reading will include:
Angel cards
Viking Rune stones
Druid animal totems
Lakota Indian cards
Numerology personal year
Tarot Archetypes
This session can be a 45 minute (may have to choose only 3-4 of the oracles listed), 70 or 90 minute reading. Current Snake Oil subscribers get $5 off) for booking this session and any of the sessions I offer. You can purchase one or more extra session at also to use later in the year or to give to a friend. Local in-office clients who pay for their session in cash or by check get another $5 discount! Email or call to set up your appointment, Venturasag@yahoo.com 

 

 

 

 

 

“Sometimes in order to be happy in the present moment you have to be willing to give up all hope for a better past.”
― Robert Holden


New Client Special 2024
 January 1st thru May 1st, 2024 Special:

 

$10-15 off listed rates for your first 45 minute session, 70, or 90 minute session! Debit and credit card payments get $10 off for 45, 70, and 90 minute sessions. Local in-office clients can get an extra $5 off for cash or check payments for sessions. If you want to buy a new client a thoughtful gift of a session for a friend or family member you can also take advantage of these rates! 

Channeled corner. I read many, many books from different trance channelers in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Unfortunately many of them are now out of print, but I still have a huge collection and will share some of the best material I have collected over the years.

This is a fascinating explanation about some of the after death conditions channelled by Jane Roberts (Channeling William James). This brief passage from the book talks about the author’s experience of living in the “Otherworld” or “Heaven” after his physical death. I think both metaphysical and even some religious people will find this information to be very insightful. Jim V

“Nowhere have I encountered the furnishings of a conventional heaven, or glimpsed the face of God. On the other hand, certainly I dwell in a psychological heaven by earth’s standards, for everywhere I sense a presence, or atmosphere, or atmospheric presence that is well-intentioned, gentle yet powerful, and all-knowing. This seems to be a psychological presence of such stunning parts, however, that I can point to no one place and identify it as being there in contrast to being somewhere else. At the risk of understating, this presence seems more like a loving condition that permeates existence, and from which all existence springs.
The feeling of safety mentioned earlier is definitely connected here, in that I know no evil or harm can befall me, that each of my choices will yield benefits, and that this loving condition upholds me in all of my ways. As in life I was always aware of an underlying melancholy, I am here always delightfully conscious of an extraordinary sense of safety that leads, say, to heroic acts and courage-naturally. There is the constant feeling that the universe is with me, for me, and with and for all others at the same time. Not only does it not conspire against me, but ever lends its active support.
This willingness to help is everywhere apparent and promotes, of course, a sense of ease that, at the same time, stimulates the personalities abilities in ways most difficult to describe. While I mention this presence as itself, so thoroughly does it pervade everything that attempts to isolate it are useless. All theological and intellectual theories are beside the point in the reality of this phenomenon. I know that this presence or loving condition forms itself actively to seek my good in the most particular and individual ways; yet that good is in no way contrary to the good of anyone else, but beneficial...
...The living often equate death with darkness, for how can the dead see? Even if the spirit hovers beside the body, the corpse’s eyes are closed. How can the spirit have vision, disconnected from the organs of sight? Yet here I am surrounded by illumination that emanates from everywhere-colors more sparkling than any I knew on earth, light of enchanting varieties, not even or monotonous but strangely alive in its own fashion. It emanates from what I see, but also seems to be inherent all about me, whether or not there is anything so to be perceived otherwise...”
Jane Roberts The after death Journal of an American Philosopher. The World View of William James

“The Person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.” Chinese Proverb

Upcoming Event:
Discovering your power animals and totems
How to talk to and use the wisdom of animal spirits and guides.


Animals in the natural world mirror attributes of humanity. Tik Tok Channel (animalspeaks) host Jim Ventura will show how anyone can draw strength and insight from the different animal totems we find on our life path, and also how to choose specific animals for personal

empowerment.
The discussion would be able to reach a wide range of ages. Many people and especially children have a natural affinity for, and love of animals. The insights discussed will offer helpful navigational suggestions to not only live peacefully with the animal kingdom but to understand their unique vibrations and to draw guidance from the natural world.


A few examples for discussion:
Bear teaches us about how to be powerful. Dog teaches us about the benefits of loyalty. Crane teaches us about patience and being selective. Goose and duck help us open to healthy partnerships. Stag teaches us about pride, dignity, and confidence. The many animals covered offer a wide range of vibrational benefits that can be life changing.


The class will be Sunday January 21st 2024 from Noon until 2:15 pm. Location Sozo Healing Center in Tempe AZ. All adults and teenagers also welcome. A maximum of 20 people. Prepayment suggested for a discounted rate of $11, or $15 on the day of the class if there are still openings. More Information about the series and to hold one or more of the limited spots contact instructor Jim Ventura at VenturaSag@yahoo.com.


Intuitive and Oracle reading classes 2024

 

While I no longer host group classes in my home, some of my most popular classes are still available! Now classes can be in-office, by phone, or through Face-Time, even Zoom.
You can take one introductory class or continue with a monthly class for up to six months for any of the classes offered. Each instructional class is 90 minutes. You may schedule a one on one class in office or by phone for yourself, or have a friend or family member join you and split the costs.

Single one person class: $55.00 or 3 classes prepaid $150.
2 people option: $70 for each class ($35.00 each) 3 classes prepaid $180 ($90.00 each).

Email me for more information and my availability calendar to book your personal intuitive and oracle development classes. my email is Venturasag@yahoo.com

A few of the currently 18 options, contact me by email for full list:

1. TAROT CARD READING
Whether you have some experience with Tarot or have never explored this oracle before, Tarot classes will assist you in understanding the wisdom, insight and potential guidance contained in Tarot cards. The classes will focus on teaching you how to read the Tarot for yourself and eventually for others. The Tarot can be used for prediction, to accelerate spiritual growth, and increase your awareness or “navigational life skills.” If you don’t have a deck, assistance will also be provided on choosing the right deck for you. Whether you plan on using oracles for self guidance, or wish to expand into doing readings professionally, the classes will assist you on your road to mastering the Tarot.

2. ASTROLOGY-101
Astrology classes will teach you all of the basics to read any Astrology chart. You will learn to interpret your own chart, as well as those of others. You will gain insight into house placements, signs, symbols, angles, retrograde planets, cusps, transits, etc... We will explore how powerful the influence of astrology is in our lives. Working with your unique astrology chart (western astrology, Placidus house system) will help you with understanding yourself, your unique skills, challenges, and how to use this knowledge to navigate through your life with more empowerment.

3. MICHAEL MATERIAL
* What is your soul age? The soul age of friends, family, and people all around you?
* How do past lifetimes influence us in the present?
* What does karma feel like, and how does it work?
* How does your chief negative feature impact your life, and can it be changed?
* What happens when your partner is an idealist and you are a realist?
* What is your life goal? Is it dominance, acceptance, flow, discrimination, growth, revaluation,  or submission?
*What is your essence, your soul mate’s essence ? Artisan, priest, king, server, sage, warrior or scholar.?
* What is a soul mate, task companion, heart link?
* What is your centering and what do the higher centers feel like?
After this workshop you will understand all of these questions and many more, and more importantly have the answers.


What is the Michael teaching?
The main goal of the Michael teaching is agape or unconditional love. The teaching views life as a learning game in which fragments of the Tao - that essential part of each human being - set up lessons which continue over lifetimes. These lessons are learned via the personality which Essence chooses each lifetime. Michael teaches us what the components of the personality are so that we can learn to use and see these components in ourselves and in others. In that way we can learn to understand why human beings behave as they do. Michael is composed of 1,050 individual Essences who have lived on the physical plane and now teach from another plane. One of the most basic and important principles of the teaching is that it is not a religion or a belief system. Michael encourages their students to self validate all of the information they receive. The system was originally in print in many, many volumes of information. “My studies of this material have been extensive and now I offer what I have learned to my students” Jim Ventura (Old Scholar). The classes will help you to use and understand the material without the need to read all the out of print books. This series is highly recommended!

4. PAST LIFE JOURNEYS
All aspects of past life exploration, from hypnosis, dreaming techniques, past life regressions will be discussed. By understanding the influence of karma and the past lives we have already lived, we will show how our past experiences affect us in our present life. The class focuses on setting up a past life journal, and explores the progression of our soul’s journeys. Astrology, Numerology, and many other tools will be utilized to aid you in becoming aware of your past lifetimes. The classes will increase understanding relationship patterns, release fear and phobia’s, letting go of allergies, and other blockades are some of the many possibilities connected with this type of study. “Desire to live again, because that will be your lot in any case.” Nietzsche

5. Intuitive development
I have been studying many different aspects of metaphysics for 38 years now. I’m well versed on many different subjects in the field. You can tap into this data base of knowledge! I am like a living breathing huge set of encyclopedia’s! You can use a class or a series of classes to discuss developing your intuitive abilities in a number of different areas. Some examples: Lucid dreaming, out of body experiences, crystals, how often should you do readings, developing empathic abilities and boundary setting with others, talking to angels and spirit guides, meditation, the meaning of repeating number messages say to us, adjusting vibrations as you grow, channeling, chakra clearing, etc...When we commit to listening more to our inner self it is natural to change many different aspects of the way we live life in the process.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain


Regular Client Program 
My Regular clients enjoy working with the many different types of oracles I work with for enlightenment. But a good portion of them work with me in the form of an enlightened counselor, and life coach. Discussing what you are going through or working on at each time is definitely healing but also allows added insight from my many years of navigational consultations and the wisdom of working with a very old soul!
One of the best programs I have been doing for 25 years now is my Regular Client program. The program is designed to benefit my clients at multiple levels. Clients who enroll in the program come in every three months for personal sessions (monthly, or every other month sessions are also an option). This can also be done for out-of-area clients by phone. Session prices are discounted for Regular Clients. The focus of the program is on consistent work in developing your intuitive abilities, learning how to navigate more effectively through life by using the signs and signals that are all around us, and conquering fear-based programming permanently. We also get to work with all the many different oracles I currently work with! My Regular Client Program has resulted in some tremendous spiritual evolution for hundreds of people over the years. Some of my Regulars have gone on to do spiritual counseling, or similar types of work and some are healing and guiding others personally and professionally. The progress I have seen over the years among the majority of my Regular Clients has been phenomenal. It is wonderful to see the spiritual, physical, and emotional progress I have assisted in motivating. So many of my Regular Clients have dramatically changed the way they now view life and are enjoying a more enlightened point of view. You too can join this program as well, just ask.
More about the Regular Client Program... This program was designed to create an easy, cost-effective way for my clients to progress in their spiritual development.
When we are consistent at attending to our body/mind/spirit, we naturally move through life with more harmony and greater joy. When our spiritual awareness is heightened and fine tuned we are often happier which helps us to enjoy all aspects of our lives, including occasional personal challenges because we see them as inevitably beneficial. We can truly assist the people around us. Human beings learn by example. Your intimate partnerships, friendships, family, and children benefit when you are in a good space.

The Regular Client Program makes it easier to prioritize keeping your spiritual, emotional and even physical “garden” free of weeds. In China, the professional soothsayer is a reverent and dignified calling.  It does not attract the sort of suspicion it does in the western world. In fact, in most eastern cultures, seeing an oracle reader is a sign of wisdom, success, and prestige. If you have an interest in increasing these attributes and working with a highly skilled navigational consultant then the Regular Client Program may be right for you. Email for more information and pricing.

 Snake Oil Radio

 

Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be two live broadcasts this period)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, January 18th at 3:30 p.m. mountain (Phoenix) time. This will be a live interview show and my guest Megan will also take questions halfway thru the show!
There are many roads to healing the heart and unlocking self-love but one of the most powerful is using oracle cards, divinatory cards that are used for reflection and personal exploration.
Master Healer Megan Edge is the creator of The Heart's Journey Oracle Cards, inspired by her own journey to self-healing. The deck of cards is not only visually stunning but also holds the power to unlock hidden emotions, bring clarity to challenging situations, and offer guidance on navigating life's intricacies.
About Megan Edge
Since 2007, Megan Edge has been helping people via her counseling services with a focus on empowerment and deep healing of emotional, energetic, and physical trauma. After three decades of study in the metaphysical fields of Astral Projection, Runes Stones, Dream Work, Tarot, Chakras, EFT, Auras, Angel Therapy, and Past Lives, completing various certification programs along with degrees in Social Work, Women’s Studies and Geology, she has been named a Master Healer. A generational forager, Megan has ethically harvested from the forest since a child and now, through her shop, Beyond the Garden Gate, she shares Mother Nature’s healing bounty with her teas and tinctures. She is also the creator of The Heart’s Journey Oracle Cards. Discover more at: http://meganedge.ca/

The next broadcast will be February 8th will a live column read and discussion. This 45 minute show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to chat with other listeners in the chat room with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. If you miss the live show, you can catch any of my previously recorded shows on the website’s archive. You can also catch Snake Oil Radio on iTunes and similar locations for podcasts.
To hear a live show, all you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura  or on your phone. You may also access it by going to the site and type “Snake Oil” into the search option. You can also go to the shows that are currently “On air” at that time and find me. The call in number is 646-200-3966 for questions and comments IF the show is offering that (please check, many of my column shows don’t).

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” William Arthur Ward


Here’s my contact information to make an appointment for a session, or information on current classes: Email: Venturasag@yahoo.com (BEST method for contact).
text only: (602) 349-0746 Phone calls: (602) 957-3035

Information about the different sessions and types of readings, classes and services, past Snake Oil columns, and how to order my books and audio CD’s can be found at my website: http://JimVentura.com.

“Friend” me on Facebook to get other extra offers and in between column extras! Signing up for my fan page will get you even more extras and first shot at reading specials. Simply click on “like” on the fan page and you will automatically get my weekly updates.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Ventura/110567902293371?ref=hl

I have a few other media channels other than my monthly radio shows and FaceBook:

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel (approximately once a month 6-12 minute videos) at J Ventura Snake Oil.
Instagram at Venturawords ( Astrology updates and other insight on short reels)
 Tik Tok (animalspeaks) where I do short but powerful 2-5 minute videos about how to use animal totems and spirit animals!

All personal sessions/readings for 2024 are: Full (70 minutes) $120.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $90.00;  Extended session (90 minutes) $145.00 (Two people can split an extended session back to back for $150.00 total although no other discounts will apply). Mini phone session 20 minutes $40. Email me for information about my Regular Client Program for even bigger discounts on session prices with the added benefit of monthly or quarterly check-ins. Purchasing 3 prepaid sessions also brings sizable discounts. Some examples; 3 

prepaid 45 minute monthly sessions is $155 total or about $52 a session. 3 prepaid quarterly 70 minute session are $245 or about $82 a session.






 

November December 2023 Snake Oil/Gratitude and Thanksgiving

 Gratitude and Thanksgiving

This column is a partial repeat of an essay I wrote back in October of 2011. Twelve years later I still have to remind myself to remember the many benefits of focusing on gratitude and how many things I truly have to be grateful about. In a notable way while I still get frustrated, it seems my fifties self versus the me of my forties tends to be far less irritable. In many ways my perspectives have shifted. The practical details of life like cars, appliances, and many of the things we tend to collect in life that inevitably break down, and are often ridiculously expensive to repair, have not changed; things wear out and break. The endless details of marketing connected with having my own business, while having interesting new elements to them, are still at times very time-consuming. The at times unreliability of regular clients that I feel like I have to chase down sometimes (like a personal trainer being in a position to have to push his clients to work out for their own good), along with no shows, unanswered emails, getting too far behind in their payments, while tiring, have neither decreased or increased. The overly busy weeks followed by painfully slow business weeks are still about the same. What fortunately shifted in my fifties was how I look at all of these things. I now truly understand what the positive pole of Capricorn actually means. “I USE” is understanding the wisdom of how problems can propel us toward solutions or make us stronger versus irritation and complaining, or going to the extremes of feeling like a martyr.

In some ways each new decade can bring us added gifts of new perspectives and vision. While our outer eyesight may require assistance like reading glasses (I am still lucky and only need the dollar store readers!), other aspects of vision can potentially expand. I used to lean far more to the left politically in my younger years. Years of observing the same nonsense and manipulation that at times can be part of left ideologies has moved me closer to the center. Rather than the often common swing used to resolve the discomfort by moving to the far right and simply switching to the flip side of crazy, it has became more clear that both sides have some wisdom and both sides are at times bordering on insane. Sitting in the center and being more of an independent feels far more comfortable.

 

The repeated struggles with inconsistency in my business and with a few unreliable clients in part has led me to decide to focus on new forms of income like writing another book. In fact I not only I finished another new book but am now part of the way through two more. Allowing the natural mutability of my Sun sign to expand into new ways of making an income from book sales, public speaking, and online classes and events was a perfect solution. And while some of these things are still in the works, I have no doubt that in a short period of time I will be successful. In fact, just the willingness to move in these new directions alone feels like a victory. 

Another important aspect of wisdom arose from dealing with a few painful rounds of kidney stones a few years ago. While I was in no way hit with all of them at once, I also had to deal with diverticulitis and a brutal round with sciatic nerve damage. I put my studies of alternative medicine, trigger points, yoga, healthier diet, and healing foods to the test. Most importantly, I was willing to get to the root of the emotional and limited belief patterns that were creating the illnesses. Pushing stones through on my own, the tremendous pain of diverticulitis, and trying to get out of bed with debilitating back pain was not fun and even at times terrifying. I resisted the usual agreed societal solution to take pain blockers, or to use western medicine to resolve or more often mask problems. This commitment was really putting my money where my mouth was. All the methods I had studied for years turned out to be not only real in theory but also actually worked. I am free of all of these ailments and now quite healthy for a man my age. While at times a scary process, afterwards it left me feeling like a fearless badass who can tackle anything that comes along. I USED the difficulties.

 

A great example of this was applying this new knowledge and experience during the Covid years where the fear of “What if it gets me, or I give it to my loved ones?” was a debilitating, even terrifying motivation for many people all over the world. I stood back from all the theatrics about going out or staying in, wearing masks or not wearing them, the extremes of whether to inject pharmaceuticals into your body or not, how many people could be on an elevator, etc... I walked through an understandably difficult time for many dispassionately. I really did understand why it brought so much fear and did not judge those who got pulled in. My studies of how and why we experience illness for over more than three decades were extremely helpful. The majority of the population have little or no understanding of the many layers of how illness come to us. I knew without the slightest doubt (well I honestly did about two weeks of mild fear than that dried up fairly quickly early on), that if I got this illness, I knew exactly what to do to push it through and heal. It became increasingly clear, while not all of it was nonsense, the suggestions from the media and the loudest and strongest voices, like washing your hands by singing happy birthday, staying away from everyone (stranger danger), and not going outside, etc...were mostly gibberish. We had an opportunity as a society to start a conversation with people about preventative medicine and healthy, practical homeopathic methods for healing and of course we ignored this. The only fallout for me sadly was a few friends and family that cut me out of their lives, many after knowing me for years, who put me in the “Jim is reckless and dangerous” camp. I used this to my advantage as well. Being around people who live in such extremes of fear and questioning my character is not healthy for me, so while the losses did hurt, it was inevitably a good thing. I USED the cruel treatment. 

 

 
Probably one of the greatest accomplishments that I am grateful for is being relaxed about my lifelong seemingly endless quest to “find the right mate.” I am currently single, and while I remain open to something amazing if it comes along, I am truly comfortable alone. If a partnership of value is in the cards, it will be far better than past relationships because the mirror reflection of that individual will be of someone who is also open but comfortable with themselves. If I spend the remainder of my time in this life, probably anywhere from about two, three, or four more decades, as a single man I can honestly say I am truly cool with that. The sense that success in life must be connected to finding the “right” mate is something I am neutral about and that feels really good.

Thanksgiving is nearly here again and it’s one of my favorite holidays. I get to indulge (this makes the Taurus ascendant part of me happy) for a day or two and then go back to a sensible eating pattern, well honestly maybe more than a few days. While many of us have had difficulties in the past and maybe still in the present, we can still find things to be grateful for in our lives. A gratitude journal is very useful for this purpose. While it may be difficult to remember to consistently write in it, like all potentially good or not so good things we will eventually become addicted to it. It’s one addiction that is seriously good for us! While some of the conditions around the original Thanksgiving (Pilgrims and Indians) were questionable to say the least, the idea behind it is still solid. Gratitude and a healthy giving and receiving ratio are necessities for staying balanced. Healing requires committing to resolving and fixing what isn’t working, not just endlessly thinking about “how someday I am going to finally take care of this,” or “this is my lot in life and there is no changing it.” Shifting our focus toward what is positive and what we are thankful for moves us into a place where we inevitably create more things to be thankful and grateful for.
Jim Ventura 10-2023

Notes:

 

The big holiday season is here. Phoenix went from a still lingering too hot climate to an instantly cool fall, not exactly something uncommon. And like many people I am dealing with some days of itchy eyes and bouts of crazy sneezing, still overall it is a great time of year. My only complaint would be that there are so many people here. There was a heavy migration of people to the state for a lot of reasons and we are in what is called snow bird season with an added influx of winter visitors. Driving makes me nuts sometimes. Still, the amount of good things here and the Autumn season itself far outweigh any negatives. We get about 7 months of perfect or near perfect weather from now until June. I am particularly grateful for having had the wisdom back in 2004 to buy a condo before the mortgage and rent explosions in the last few years. My mortgage is not only very inexpensive but the condo is now worth over three times what I originally paid for it!

I am continuing the seemingly slow process of finding a literary agent to rep me for my books and to connect me with the right publisher. In the meantime I continue to write new material so when I get that squared away I should be able to get a new book in print in a short period of time. I continue to also do edits on the work I already have done. I did a Mah Jongg card reading for myself four months ago (info in this newsletter for how you can set one up for yourself) and the solution to two areas of challenge in the West position was the Jade card. Its meaning is worth and perseverance. The advice being “In China Jade is prized above gold. When Jade is taken from the ground it is a lifeless piece of dull rock. It only acquires value when time, work, and skill have transformed the raw stone into an object worthy of admiration by an emperor...” Clearly great advice and I am on it!

My Tik Tok channel has been growing faster than my other channels (Instagram and YouTube) so far. Animalspeaks is all about how to understand animal totems. A big hit this fall has been talking about somewhat fictitious animals like the four dragons, earth, air, fire, and water. I even did a fun video about how to handle trolls! I am following this growing success and interest by offering a two hour event at Sozo healing house in Tempe. Part of the proceeds of a very inexpensive class will go to the Humane Society. It is all set for Sunday January 21st at Noon. I am also looking into doing this seminar at some local Phoenix and surrounding area libraries in 2024 as well. I will likely offer the seminar via Zoom for those who don’t live in Phoenix but are still interested. If you intrigued about either the live event in Tempe (A maximum of 20 people at the center) or a potential spot when it is set up for Zoom probably in the spring of 2024, best bet is to email me for info and to reserve a spot.

I am doing an interview show on my Blogtalkradio with a personal trainer and a holistic health product expert on November 16th at 3:30 pm (Phoenix time). It is called the Trifecta of Healing! Especially for anyone who has experienced complications for long term Covid, or from the vaccine, there will be some helpful info about that. More about the show later in this newsletter.

Saving the best for last, all returning or new clients receive a $10-$15 discount of all 45, 70, and 90 minute sessions booked in November and December of 2023! This also includes buying gift sessions for friends and family or for yourself to use anytime in 2024. Up to three can be purchased for a total of up to $75 off. More info later in this newsletter.

Wishing everyone a lot to be grateful for this year and to be open to even more in 2024! Hey that rhymes! Cheers, Jim V

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, or won. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley


November and December Gift certificates Special: $10-$75 off all sessions!
This offer is for New Clients and Returning Client!

The holidays are approaching. Give a gift to someone you love that they will really appreciate: a reading/personal Navigational consultation with Jim Ventura. All sessions booked at this time AND all gift certificates purchased from November 11th, 2023 until December 31st will be at a discounted rate for clients who are currently on my mailing list (receiving Snake Oil or following me on FaceBook, Instagram, or YouTube) and new first time clients as well can take advantage of the special!

Special discounted rate:
$10.00 off my current listed prices for any 45, 70, or 90 minute sessions. You can also purchase up to 2 gift certificates (or decide to purchase a follow up session for yourself to use in the coming year after your session) the second gift certificate is $20 off my listed prices. If you purchase a third it will be $40 off that one! A maximum of three sessions or gift certificates may be purchased at this time. In-office cash or check payments can add an additional $5 off the total price.

Price list for services are at the end of this newsletter and on my website. The gift certificates are good for one full year and can be used any time during the remainder of 2023 and all of 2024. I will either mail them to you or, if you prefer, mail them directly to the people who you want to receive them (snail mail or email). You may want to buy a gift certificate(s) either for friends, family or for yourself to be used anytime in 2024. Sessions can be in-office or by phone, Face-Time. or Zoom for out-of-area clients.


“As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December’s bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same. Donald Westlake

Channeled corner. I read many, many books from different trance channelers in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Unfortunately many of them are now out of print, but I still have a huge collection and will share some of the best material I have collected over the years.

Q. If you have a destiny, where does reality creation fit in? To what extent does destiny predetermine your reality?
Lazaris: You do have a destiny, if you so choose. This is how it fits together: There is no sense of predetermination in the fullest extent of that word. Your life is not really mapped out for you. It’s not laid out so neatly. What is true is that between lifetimes you, as a consciousness, go through a whole lot of growth. You experience the death process, being dead, going to heaven and those sort of things.

Then you get tired of it and realize, ‘Is this all there is?’ Then all the backdrops fall away, and you get to work. You start reviewing the lifetime that you finished. You review it in retrospect and in relationship to the other lifetimes that are all concurrent. Then you decide whether you want to move through your growth without returning to physical form or if you want to pick another lifetime to experience.

In that process of picking another lifetime, what happens is that you create broad strokes. You decide you want to learn about this, and this, and this, and you want to experience that. You create what we call the broad strokes of your life, the broad, sweeping gestures in your energy. Then you enter into this life. Your consciousness, your massive consciousness, all of a sudden confines itself in this infant body, and you forget all of what went before. You don’t remember. Well, some children do remember for awhile, but they soon forget. The amnesia sets in, and they forget.

You have there broad strokes in your life. You decide, for example. ‘I’m going to come from  broken home. I’m going to have a broad sweeping illness here.’ Or, ‘I’m going to grow up and deal with love in such a way as to have several very hurtful relationships.’ You decide on those broad strokes. You also have things you want to accomplish in the lifetime. ‘I want to learn this and accomplish that, and I want to be of service in this way or that way, or whatever.’ But every moment you can change it.
For example, maybe you put a broad, sweeping stroke in your life that you were going to have a tragic accident and be crippled. As you approach that time, you change your mind. ‘I don’t want to do a tragic accident, I’m going to change this.’ You don’t have the tragic accident, and then your whole lifetime changes, absolutely it does.

You have free will, at any moment, either to accept the pre-decided, sweeping generalities in your life, or to change them. If you accept the broad, sweeping generalities, you still have to fill in the day-in and day-out existence where indeed you exert your free will, where you create that reality.
You see, you are the one who is creating the broad strokes, and therefore you can change them. When we talk with many of you, as well you know, we psychically tell you what’s going to be happening, what you’re creating, what you’re generating. Basically what we’re telling you is the blueprint that you’ve laid out for yourself. You have decided what you are going to create, and therefore you’ve laid out a blueprint, like an architect...

From Lazaris Interviews book One Jach Pursel

“I don’t regret the things I’ve done, I regret the things I didn’t do when I had the chance.” Unknown

Snake Oil Radio

 

Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be two live broadcast this period)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, November 16th at 3:30 p.m. mountain (Phoenix) time, followed by December 14th column read show. Each 45 minute show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to chat with other listeners in the chat room with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. If you miss the live show, you can catch any of my previously recorded shows on the website’s archive. You can also catch Snake Oil Radio on iTunes and similar locations for podcasts.
To hear a live show, all you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura  or on your phone. You may also access it by going to the site and type “Snake Oil” into the search option. You can also go to the shows that are currently “On air” at that time and find me. The call in number is 646-200-3966 for questions and comments IF the show is offering that (please check, many of my column shows don’t).

The Trifecta of Health and Wellness! Thursday November 16th. One hour special show.
Join me for a live show with my two special guests discussing  how to heal and be at our best spiritually, physically, and with all natural homeopathic products. My two guests will be open to questions about halfway through our one hour interview show.

Shawn Nieman
Shawn’s services include personalized diet, fitness, and nutrition plans. Shawn specializes in strength training, customized fitness and health programs supporting you every step of the way with affordable packages. He can be reached at 208-217-6943 or maxmusclelife@yahoo.com.
Jen Dillon
Jen has over twenty years experience with working with many different natural products that led her creating a line of natural beauty products, natural supplements, herbal remedies, and aromatherapy and homeopathic medicines. She has recently developed a Homeopathic Detox Protocol for helping people with long term Covid symptoms and adverse vaccine reactions. Getdetoxed.us

Upcoming Event:
Discovering your power animals and totems
How to talk to and use the wisdom of animal spirits and guides.

 

Animals in the natural world mirror attributes of humanity. Tik Tok Channel (animalspeaks) host Jim Ventura will show how anyone can draw strength and insight from the different animal totems we find on our life path, and also how to choose specific animals for personal empowerment.
The discussion would be able to reach a wide range of ages. Many people and especially children have a natural affinity for, and love of animals. The insights discussed will offer helpful navigational suggestions to not only live peacefully with the animal kingdom but to understand their unique vibrations and to draw guidance from the natural world.

A few examples for discussion:
Bear teaches us about how to be powerful. Dog teaches us about the benefits of loyalty. Crane teaches us about patience and being selective. Goose and duck help us open to healthy partnerships. Stag teaches us about pride, dignity, and confidence. The many animals covered offer a wide range of vibrational benefits that can be life changing.

Instructor Jim is a Navigational Consultant, oracle reader, and author.  
His expertise includes: Astrology, Tarot, Numerology, Druid animal totems, Angel cards, Viking Runes, and Lakota Indian teachings. He teaches workshops and classes on developing intuitive abilities for practical use in every day life.
The class will be Sunday January 21st 2024 from Noon until 2:15 pm. Location Sozo Healing Center in Tempe AZ. All adults and teenagers also welcome. A maximum of 20 people. Prepayment suggested for a discounted rate of $11, or $15 after January 11th or on the day of the class if there are still openings. More Information about the series and to hold one or more of the limited spots contact Jim Ventura at VenturaSag@yahoo.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Christians stole the winter solstice from the pagans, and the capitalism stole it from the Christians.” George Monbiot

Spotlight on one of many sessions I currently offer. This is “old School” card reading at its best:
Mah Jongg card reading!

 

More than a decade ago was the last time I did a Mah Jongg card reading for one of my Regular Clients. It has been more of something I would do for myself every year or two and while it was not an Oracle that I was as proficient in like Tarot, Runes, Druid animal totems, or Numerology, it was something I did get better at with practice over the years. I pulled them out about 4 months ago (the readings are a look at six month spans of time) and it was really interesting to do one for myself. The last time I did one was three years ago. It has been especially absorbing to watch how it has unfolded in the last few months and is turning out to be quite accurate now looking back on the original layout of cards. My current sessions with clients tend to be more about getting into insight about their lives and how to transform limited patterns or themes, but it is cool to go “old school” on occasion for the sheer fun of watching how, and if the cards line up over time. I thought that if I didn’t continue to practice with them I might lose some skill. Thankfully that is not the case, and one of the weird benefits to being an old soul and now an old man lol!

Similar to Feng Shui, the directions themselves and where the cards and symbols land in the spread are extremely significant and offer further insight. There are also what are called Guardian cards that may show up that offer extra blessings or protection. Seeing how sometimes two or more of the same card resurfaces in the spread is also really fascinating.

I recently did my first one remote (with someone over the phone who didn’t actually pick the 13 or more needed cards for the spread) and she was both excited at how accurate it was and how fun! Currently about 70 percent of my sessions are now by phone. If one is a local or visiting it can be extra fun of course to do the session in office, but by phone or face-time, Zoom is also a great idea.

I suggest a 70 minute session for this (or even 90 minutes) Clients currently in my regular client program of course get their already heavily discounted rates. 

Feel free to ask me about info on joining the program. If you are looking for insight and a really fascinating session you can request booking a Mah Jongg session and/or purchasing one for a friend or family member by emailing me at Venturasag@yahoo.com   

Here’s my contact information to make an appointment for a session, or information on current classes: Email: Venturasag@yahoo.com (BEST method for contact).
Phone calls: (602) 957-3035 text only: (602) 349-0746

Information about the different sessions and types of readings, classes and services, past Snake Oil columns, and how to order my books and audio CD’s can be found at my website: http://JimVentura.com.

“Friend” me on Facebook to get other extra offers and in between column extras! Signing up for my fan page will get you even more extras and first shot at reading specials. Simply click on “like” on the fan page and you will automatically get my weekly updates.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Ventura/110567902293371?ref=hl

I have a few other media channels other than my monthly radio shows and FaceBook:

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel (approximately once a month 6-12 minute videos) at J Ventura Snake Oil.
Instagram at Venturawords ( Astrology updates and other insight on short reels)
 Tik Tok (animalspeaks) where I do short but powerful 2-5 minute videos about how to use animal totems and spirit animals!

All personal sessions/readings for 2023 and 2024 are: Full (70 minutes) $120.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $90.00;  Extended session (90 minutes) $145.00 (Two people can split an extended session back to back for $150.00 total although no other discounts will apply). Mini phone session 20 minutes $40. Email me for information about my Regular Client Program for even bigger discounts on session prices with the added benefit of monthly or quarterly check-ins. Purchasing 3 prepaid sessions also brings sizable discounts. Some examples; 3 prepaid 45 minute monthly sessions is $155 total or about $52 a session. 3 prepaid quarterly 70 minute session are $245 or about $82 a session.

Rune Stone 17 Ehwaz Movement Progress Horse   The artist who created this found a physical way to share how a Rune reading can impact and transform us!