January 2013 Snake Oil/Jim Ventura blog

Snake Oil Family: can’t live with them, can’t strangle them...

There were some noticeably turbulent astrological triggers in mid November of 2012. Aside from a difficult Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, an eclipse acted like an added power surge to boost whatever issues were already surfacing. Halfway through the retrograde and the day after the eclipse, I climbed into my car after a fun night out and it wouldn’t start. I had never really had any problems with my Prius in the three years I have owned it (I bought a 2001 model used) but my first fearful thought was “what if my battery is dead?” While a Prius battery can actually last the entire life of the car, if it does fail, replacing one runs about $2,500. I was just about to call a tow truck when I gave it one last shot and it started. The power steering was out, and the control panel was a mess but it was possible for me to drive it. I uncomfortably drove the car home and left it at the repair shop I have used for many years. I did not sleep well because I was worried about what was potentially wrong with the car and what it might cost. 

The next morning I got the call from my repair shop, after they did the diagnostic. It was not the primary battery, but the secondary battery that controls the power steering that needed replacing. His estimate to repair my car would be $2050 after ordering the part from Toyota. I was devastated. Like many people in 2012 I did not exactly have a spare $2000 lying around. Even if I had the money, I was not even sure if I should put it into a twelve year old car with 130 thousand miles on it. I still had eight months left of car payments before it would be paid off. I struggled with what I should do for an hour or so, then I made an uncomfortable call to my mother back east and told her of my plight. She quickly told me she would lend me the money (fortunately when my dad passed 3 years ago he left my mother in a comfortable place financially) and would send a check right out. I told her that I would prefer that she wait on doing that. I wasn’t sure if it was worth fixing and I needed to meditate on whether this was the right move for me - to add more debt when I still owed my mother from a similar financial punch I ran into six years ago with an A/C unit. 

It was a miserable day with worrisome thoughts that ran through my mind about the possibility that I would not have a car for months. How would I get to the gym? How would I be able to go food shopping? How would I live without a car at all in Arizona? I felt like crap and finally took a needed nap after my rough night of sleep the day before. I woke up to a “magical” message on my answering machine from my oldest brother who had recently moved closer to my mother in the Carolina’s. “Yo Jim, this is your brother. You need to stop borrowing money all the time from Mom every time you have a problem. You are bleeding her dry. Me and the rest of your siblings are getting sick and tired of you draining away our inheritance money. You need to stop running off to Vegas all the time, and you need to get a real-full-time-job. You got to stop manipulating mom. You say you owe her a little bit of money still, but I think you really owe her a lot more than you are saying. Everyone is getting tired of your bullshit.” There were a few other nasty comments but this was the gist of my big brothers “helpful” call. My dark day turned even darker.

I was both upset and furious at the same time. Who the hell did my brother think he was talking to? I knew he had bullied many of my siblings at different times in our lives, but he had never directly attempted to bully me. Purely from a physical level I am 40 pounds bigger and more muscular than he is. The testosterone driven male part of me wanted to take his teeth out. He was fortunate at the time that he was 2000 miles away. I haven’t had a male speak to me in such a disrespectful way in over twenty years. More importantly, it was mom’s money. How dare he decide how she should or shouldn’t spend it. There was (hopefully) a good chance my mother would be alive for another 5-20 years. What kind of person feels they have a right to direct and decide what our mother should do with her money and claim that it is part of his inheritance? For all we knew, she might decide to give it away to Catholic charities, or the animal welfare league (things that are important to her) and that would be her right. I had already paid off most of the money I owed my mother over the years with monthly checks. The only reason my debt wasn’t completely paid off was because (like many people in the last few years) economic conditions had made things tight and I knew she was okay if it took a bit longer than expected. There were so many things wrong with his coercive logic and his message that every time I thought about it my head began to spin with anger. He was both insensitive and completely out of line.

I emailed or called a few of my other siblings and explained what was going on. They were sympathetic. They had all had their past battles with my brother. Many of their battles were far worse than my recent experience. My mother was also furious when she found out about my brother’s call to me. She admitted she should never have told him in the first place. The issue with my car and brother were at a time when a lot of personal planets (Venus, Moon, Mercury and also Saturn) were in Scorpio. Typically Astrology like this will trigger the part of us that has the ability to manipulate (or heal and influence in a positive way) others or bring up where we are manipulated. Through all of my internal discord, the messages from my oracle readings and intuitive prompts from my Higher Self were to take no action. Damned annoying enlightened part of me was ruining my desires to crush my stupid brother and expose him for the loser he really was. I learned many years ago about the karmic repercussions of acting on anger and knew it was wrong to do so. Still, I had some really creatively cruel fantasies about various ways to make my brother “pay” for his big mouth comments. It helped release some of my anger. In addition to my intuition telling me to not take action, and that somehow the car situation would be resolved less expensively than I thought, a close, pragmatic, persuasive friend of mine suggested I let her mechanic look at my car. She had raved about him for many years and I finally listened to her advice. She said he was honest and very reasonable about what he charged. At the very least, he would tell me if I should even pay to fix it at all. I listened to her suggestions and it took another week for me to get the car to him so I was without transportation for about 10 days. My friends thankfully all helped out with getting me around.

It wasn’t easy, yet I became progressively calmer and more peaceful after a few days and surrendered the situation to Spirit. The day before my birthday (a few days after I dropped the car off), I got a call from my friend’s mechanic. He was not only able to get the part much cheaper than my auto body shop quoted but he would also plug my radiator leak that I was told would cost me another $350 in addition to the $2050 for the power steering issue. My friend’s mechanic did both jobs and charged me a total of $201. In addition, he also told me that this was a really sound car and I would probably get another 2-6 years out of it! The astronomical discount was awesome, but the peace of mind I felt knowing I still had a good car was truly priceless.

My brother shocked me with a call the day after I picked up the car. He apologized for “stepping over the line” in his previous message and called to wish me a Happy Birthday and apologize. We had a good talk. He admitted that he was struggling financially after his move. He felt it was not fair for mom to be giving more to one of her children than the others. Still, he realized he had gone too far. While he still was clinging to his stubborn perspective about this being an issue of unfair treatment (I did often get slightly better treatment from my mother even when I was a kid. Being the baby boy who had the ear and voice of a counselor made mom understandably a bit extra fond of me), he was genuinely sorry. This was ground breaking for him. I don’t think my brother has ever apologized for anything in his life. For me, it was a truly amazing birthday gift. I forgave him and it felt good to be done with those feelings. I am not one to hold grudges for long. Stubborn longstanding resentment is not a worthy place for any of our energy to be held-up. Who needs that kind of anger floating around in one’s body and psyche? This is the type of stuff that contributes to the creation of illness. I could transform this into something positive.

As usual there was purpose to this family explosion. I had a little bit of fear about whether my car would last much longer, since I wasn’t in a place yet to buy another one if it didn’t. Worry is a form of negative prayer that can bring the things we are afraid of to us. I had a bit of shame and discomfort about whether I leaned on mom too often in the past. My brother in his clumsy, obnoxious way brought these fears to the surface for me. I still had a few self-deprecating beliefs and fears of inadequacy and they were blocking my ability to create prosperity for myself. Awareness of limiting beliefs is the first step in being able to release them.  It also brought a dark family issue to surface. While we are a fairly close, loving family, we often are way too judgmental and frequently talk about what everyone in the family is “rightly” choosing or not choosing to do. I have been guilty of this type of gossip as well. It was time to let got of the too frequent nasty comments that were often a part of our interactions. As children we learned this from bad behavior on the part of my mother and surprisingly, even she was realizing this was not a good thing. I think some of the more enlightened members of my family will begin to let go of this ugly pattern as well, so there was potential good that came out of this negative experience. 

My brief period of darkness was a difficult ride, but it led to a period of noticeably good things. I pushed myself to start doing the instructional videos I was procrastinating getting done, and the car problem refocused my need and ability to create back up funds for emergencies. I let go of the bad relationship I had with credit cards a few years ago and I no longer wanted mom to be my back up credit card. The interest-free loans were nice, but the “cost” in the long run was not worth the benefits. We often want to avoid and run from the painful and challenging experiences that surface from time to time in life. Sometimes we get blinded and outraged and this can cause us to lose sight of our real power. It may even lead us to create new negative karma to resolve. We can stubbornly keep rehashing our anger over “how someone treated us so badly,” yet this can distract us from solving the issues that surface when difficult, even obnoxious people trigger buried issues. Often it is the moments of greatest darkness that allow us to recognize the true creative powers of the Self. If we are willing to listen to the wise voice of our intuition and not get seduced into letting fear and anger fuel reactive responses, we can heal our deepest wounds and we have opportunities to permanently move out of the dark places within us into a more peaceful present and joy-filled future. 

Jim Ventura 12-2012

Editors note:

It’s 2013 and we made it through the Mayan prediction of the end of the world (it was probably never meant to be a literal end of the world, it more likely had connotations that are similar to the Astrological meaning behind the beginning of the Aquarian age) and the predictions by the nut-jobs on the “far Right” who said, “everything will collapse if Obama is reelected.” Anyone who actually misses the “fun” of wondering when the apocalypse will come shouldn’t worry though; I am absolutely sure that we will have a bunch of new end of the world predictions coming up in the next few years to give buyers something else to nervously prepare for. I can already feel the difference in the energy of the Universal “6” year coming in and it definitely feels a bit more stable than the push and pulls of the “5” year we have just left behind. I will give everyone some information about the influences of the “6” year and the year of the Rabbit (In Chinese Astrology) in next month’s newsletter.

I made my first You-Tube video (the link to view it follows). Special thanks to my two helpers Frieda and Apollo Poetry. Apollo filmed the video and did the editing work for me. He did a great job and is currently available if you want to do a video of your own. Apollo can be reached at ApolloPoetry@gmail.com. He also has many excellent videos of his own on You-Tube, well worth checking out! It was great fun and I am looking forward to doing future videos every few months. My wise-ass first video introduction was meant to make the people who already know and work with me laugh. The people who already think I am a “Snake Oil” salesman now get to say, “see I told u so!” It has been almost 13 years since I have done television or video (I did a public access talk show in the late 90’s for 2 years) and it was really fun to go back to this type of creative work again. I have some great ideas for upcoming videos. Please pass my videos along to friends and family. The information can be a great help to people and it’s a good way to introduce them to my work, so they can hopefully stop being so “afraid of this stuff,” and take advantage of the benefits of using oracles as navigational aids.

The new year is always a good time to look at an overview of the upcoming year. Remember, everyone who receives my newsletter gets $5 off listed prices, and both fans and friends on Facebook friends get a total of $10 off listed prices. In-person office sessions also get another $5 discount if the session is paid for in cash! If you email me with your Birthday (day and month) I will also add you to my yearly Birthday promotions list and you will get an offer for a heavily discounted session each year when your Sun sign Astrology is highlighted. There will not be a price increase for session prices this year. Wishing everyone the best in the New Year! Cheers, Jim V

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

Snake Oil Radio

Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be four live broadcasts this month)

My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, January 3rd, at 3:30 p.m. (MST). Almost every Thursday you can catch a new show. Each 45 minute show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to call in live (or chat with other listeners in the chat room) with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. Halfway through the show you can even ask me for a free 5 minute mini reading with your personal question. If you miss the live show, you can catch any of my previously recorded shows on the web site’s archive. You can also catch Snake Oil Radio on I-tunes (download my pod-casts there).

All you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura  You may also access it by going to blogtalkradio.com. 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.

Spring Classes

MICHAEL MATERIAL

* What is your soul age? The soul age of friends and family ?

* 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 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 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.

There are no tests to pass, just some great information. 5 classes, 2 hours each.

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 over 12 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.

Saturday mornings 10 am till noon March 9, 16, 23, 30th and April . $90.00 for all five classes ($80.00 pre-paid and for current Regular clients). Maximum of 8 students for this home class (one student may call in out-of-area on speaker phone) and minimum of 4 sign-ups to hold the classes. A $20 deposit is required to hold your space in this series.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Gandhi

Private Parties

I am available to do private parties with “mini readings” for your guests. Parties can be booked with either 20, 30 or 45 minute session blocks. Many of the different oracles I work with can be chosen for your specific event.

The parties are a fun way to enable family and friends to become more comfortable with the benefits of oracle readings. I have done many of these parties in the past and they are truly memorable events for all of the guests.

Minimum and maximum numbers of readings are required to book a party. If more than the minimum is booked than the host gets his/her session free! $50.00 non-refundable deposit is required to hold a party date.  20 minute sessions for $30.00. 30 minute sessions for $45.00. Call or email me for more information. Any home parties booked in December 2012 or January 2013 are $40 for 30 minute sessions!

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle, and the other is as if everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein

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

Information about the different sessions and types of readings 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.

All Current Snake Oil subscribers get $5.00 off all listed prices below.

All sessions/readings for 2013 are: Full (70 minutes) $110.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $80.00;  Extended session (90 minutes) $130.00 (two people can split an extended session back to back for $65.00 each). 

I accept cash, checks, debit cards, Master Card, Visa, and PayPal for payments on sessions and for books and classes. Send me your birth month and year to get added to the yearly Birthday mailer promotion.

End of newsletter Special

You can 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 read will be pulled to highlight 2013 for you!

Angel card

Viking Rune stone

Druid animal totem

Lakota Indian card

Egyptian Cartouche

Tarot Archetype

Your session can be a 45 minute or full 70 minute reading. Mention the end of the newsletter special and you get $15 off of my listed prices (normally subscribers get $5 off) for booking this session in January of 2013 only. Email or call to set up your appointment.

December 2012 Snake Oil/Jim Ventura blog

Snake Oil  Tinfoil Covering The Baby Jesus (one of my first Snake Oil’s from back in 2003!)

I grew up in a large Catholic family where Christmas rituals were an important part of our holiday experience. Amidst the craziness of Santa Claus, Christmas shopping and stuffing our faces full of sugar through most of December, our family still celebrated “the true meaning of Christmas.” It was the time when Christ the savior was born. Like almost every child raised in a Christian home, we were taught the importance of remembering “the truth” about Christmas. Even from what we believed to be our enlightened perspective, we were still all about the indulgence that Christmas seemed to usher in, and as a child I loved every minute of it.

During the holidays, atop the television set was placed a small figurine of the baby Jesus. The figurine was part of a nativity scene. In our family we placed a piece of tinfoil over the small statue. My mother explained this practice to us: “until Christmas Day comes, Jesus had not yet been born.” She would inevitably ask us each Christmas morning if we had pulled the tinfoil off of Jesus before we began opening our presents. We never remembered. The excitement and lure of greedily tearing open presents far outweighed any interest in mom's custom. Still, we dutifully faked reverence in front of Mom, pulling off the tinfoil only to instantly place all of our attention back to the presents.

Young children, understandably, aren't into philosophy, morality, and religious rituals. As a child, most of the things I was taught about Christian teachings weren't really interesting and were often scary. Pictures of Christ nailed to a cross with bleeding hands and feet were horrifying. The picture common in Christian homes of Christ praying with a huge beating, burning heart in his chest terrified me. To please my mother, I pretended to be interested in the Bible. Our children's Bible was illustrated with pictures that mostly gave me nightmares. Stories and pictures of pestilence, lepers, children being sacrificed, people dying and a man who was hung to die on a cross did not make for comfortable bedtime stories.

Understanding parables, Christ's message of love, and other biblical stories can be excellent ways to connect to our spiritual sides. Young children, though, simply are not ready for this type of thing. I can safely guarantee that any child of any religion that is happy about learning this stuff is faking it to please their parents or guardians. Young children are not able to grasp the significance of spiritual teachings, and that is exactly as it should be. Why not let children enjoy Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and all the fun stuff until they are old enough to grasp the deeper meanings of religion and spirituality?

Even as we approach our forties, around Christmas, my little sister and I still tease each other about whether we have pulled the tinfoil off of the baby Jesus. We playfully and sarcastically joke about this and some of the other bizarre rituals we were taught. Maybe we haven't really grown up yet, maybe and hopefully we never will.

Jim Ventura 10-2003

Editors note:

We are smack in the middle of the holiday season again! This one came in fast. Keeping with the nature of the Universal year of “5” in Numerology and its rapid pace, push for change, and turbulence, it is likely to end with a bang. Whether you are happy about it or not, the world will not come to an end because Obama was reelected, the Mayan calendar said it would, the economy is still struggling, or any number of other reasons why we were told it would! The Universal energy of the “6” in the coming year will feel quite a bit different as the focus shifts to service, home, family, and creating harmony. The holiday season, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, are good reminders to prioritize the value of family (the ones we were born into or the ones we more consciously chose later on in life with our partners and friends!) and celebrating in harmony. While Christ was probably not born in December, we can see Christmas as a reminder to celebrate the energy of compassion, love, and the healing energy of kindness that the Christ energy represents. Plus having an excuse to be indulgent temporarily has its own benefits! 

I am offering a gift certificate special this month for everyone who is currently receiving my monthly column, My current subscribers always get $5 off listed prices on sessions, but for the month of December 2012 everyone can purchase gift certificates for themselves or friends and family for any sessions I offer (good for one full year once purchased) for $15.00 off my listed prices on 45 and 70 minute sessions, and $20 off extended 90 minute sessions! In addition, purchasing three or more will get you an additional 10 percent off your total cost. We often are inclined to give someone a “thing” as a gift. Sometimes this can be awesome and appropriate, but consider the benefit of giving the gift of a session (or opportunities to use personal training sessions, massage, manicure etc...). Often the increased knowledge about ourselves and the transformative power of a session will be far more appreciated and may even help change someone’s life! Check out the information about purchasing holiday gift certificates later on in this newsletter.

I have scheduled Michael classes here in my home beginning in March of 2012. I will also be posting a few other classes for the spring and summer in my January newsletter. I am in the process of recording some of my classes (including the Michael classes) on CD at this time. This will enable you to take my classes at home at your leisure. More information about these will come in the next few months. Wishing everyone Happy holidays and a Happy New year! Cheers. Jim V

Gift certificates:

The holidays are approaching. Give a gift to someone you love that they will really appreciate: a reading/personal session with Jim Ventura. All gift certificates purchased from now until December 31 st., will be at a discounted rate for all of my clients who are currently on my mailing list (Snake Oil) $15.00 off my normal prices  on 45 and 70 minute sessions, $20 off extended 90 minute sessions! Price list for services are at the end of this newsletter. The gift certificates are good for one full year and can be used any time in 2013. 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) for yourself as well - do you know anyone else who deserves a gift as much as you do? You can purchase up to four gift certificates at this rate until the end of the year. Sessions can be in person or by phone for out-of-area clients.

You can also add a copy of my first book or audio DVD version of Dirty Little Secrets, or Snake Oil Volume One for an extra $12.00 (includes tax) ($3.00 more for shipping) if you want to sweeten the package. Order both books and shipping is free! ($24.00 total) Email or call to purchase your Gift Certificates. This discount offer is good until December 31st of 2012. 

*If anyone in your family has recently had a new addition (child) a 45 minute Astrology chart is also a great gift idea. Understanding our own Astrology, (or the people we care about) is beneficial in so many ways. I often get letters from people telling me how useful and “right-on” the chart interpretation I did for their son/daughter 10 years ago... 

“When you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.” Vera Nazarian

“Knowing others is Wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.” Lao Tzu

Snake Oil Radio

Every Thursday at 3:30 pm (there will be three live broadcasts this month)

My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, December 6th, at 2:30 p.m. (MST - First show of the month will be an hour earlier than usual, but will go back to starting at 3:30 for the rest of the month). Every Thursday you can catch a new show. Each 45 minute show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to call in live (or chat with other listeners in the chat room) with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. Halfway though the show you can even ask me for a free 5 minute mini reading with your personal question. If you miss the live show, you can catch any of my previously recorded shows on the web site’s archive. You can also catch Snake Oil Radio on I-tunes (download my pod-casts there).

All you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura  You may also access it by going to blogtalkradio.com. 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.

Join me for a special interview show with Soul Usher Elizabeth Dahlmeier.  Elizabeth’s bio:

From an early age, I knew I wanted to help others heal their wounds and reach their potential.  

I became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and worked with folks in the capacity of helping them heal their wounds for 20 years.  This began to take a toll on me, so I closed my practice and moved out of town.  I am now embracing my new path, taking it one step at a time.

On this new path, I call myself a Soul Usher - ushering souls into life (birth), out of life (death), and through every stage of life (daily living).  I'm passionate about helping people find and understand why they are here on Earth, and what they have to contribute that the rest of us need and want.

There are many tools available for helping people understand their hearts and souls in a deeper way.

~Working with individuals, couples and groups as a SoulCollage(R) Facilitator - awakening inner intuition through mindfulness and art.  

~I believe we can release and shift energy as easily as "blowing smoke," so I do a type of healing of mind, body, heart and spirit through a combination of Energy Movement, Breathing and Body Tapping. 

~Using more traditional coaching tools, people can discover their passion, write a mission statement, make vision boards, and have accountability for the commitments they make to themselves.

~I collaborate with an Astrologer, Arlene Hougland, who has discovered a method of identifying the Soul's Purpose through a specific point on the Natal Chart.  We facilitate workshops together to help people gain clarity and a deeper understanding of this energy.  It's amazing how knowing this can change a

person's life, get them on a path that aligns the mind, body, spirit.

~ I also collaborate with an Angel Communicator and Intuitive Artist.  We facilitate workshops to help people connect and interact with their Angels.  A very transformative experience!  We are never alone and we are loved SO much more than we have the capacity to comprehend.

“Start viewing your problems as decisions that need to be made.” Dick Sutphen

Spring Classes

MICHAEL MATERIAL

* What is your soul age? The soul age of friends and family ?

* 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 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 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.

There are no tests to pass, just some great information. 5 classes, 2 hours each.

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 over 12 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.

Saturday mornings 10 am till noon March 9, 16, 23, 30th and April . $90.00 for all five classes ($80.00 pre-paid and for current Regular clients). Maximum of 8 students for this home class (one student may call in out-of-area on speaker phone) and minimum of 4 sign ups to hold the classes. A $20 deposit is required to hold your space in this series.

Private Parties

I am available to do private parties with “mini readings” for your guests. Parties can be booked with either 20, 30 or 45 minute session blocks. Many of the different oracles I work with can be chosen for your specific event.

The parties are a fun way to enable family and friends to become more comfortable with the benefits of oracle readings. I have done many of these parties in the past and they are truly memorable events for all of the guests.

Minimum and maximum numbers of readings are required to book a party. If more than the minimum is booked than the host gets his/her session free! $50.00 non-refundable deposit is required to hold a party date.  20 minute sessions for $30.00. 30 minute sessions for $45.00. Call or email me for more information. Any home parties booked in December 2012 or january 2013 are $40 for 30 minute sessions!

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

Information about the different sessions and types of readings 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 also get you even more extra’s and first shot at reading specials.

All Current Snake Oil subscribers get $5.00 off all listed prices below.

All sessions/readings for 2012-2013 are: Full (70 minutes) $110.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $80.00;  Extended (90 minutes) $130.00 (two people can split an extended session back to back for $65.00 each). 

I accept cash, checks, debit cards, Master Card, Visa, and PayPal for payments on sessions and for books and classes. Send me your Birthday month and year to get added to the yearly Birthday mailer promotion.

December extra:

“The Mechanics of Experience: Your world and everything in it exists first in the imagination. You have been taught to focus all of your attention upon physical events, so that they carry the authenticity of reality for you. Thoughts, feelings, or beliefs appear to be secondary, subjective-or somehow not real-and they seem to rise in response to an already established field of data. 

You usually think, for example, that your feelings about a given event are primarily reactions to the event itself. It seldom occurs to you that the feelings themselves might be primary, and that the particular event was somehow a response to your emotions, rather than the other way around. The all-important matter of your focus is largely responsible for your interpretation of any event...”

“Even those of you who intellectually agree that you form your own reality find it difficult to accept emotionally in certain areas. You are, of course, literally hypnotized into believing that your feelings arise in response to events. Your feelings, however, cause the events you perceive. Secondarily, you do of course then react to those events..” From The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events by Jane Roberts.

The ideas expressed here can be really exciting to grasp when we have something “good” happen in our lives, yet can be an uncomfortable consideration when we experience “bad” events. In personal sessions, when I read Tarot cards for myself or clients, I remind them that the patterns in the cards are simply representations of probable events from your current perspective in your reality creating process. We can change our reality anytime (and often do so without realizing that we did!) when we recognize what is working and what may not be working. This is where the benefits of card readings and other Oracles can be of real value. Not so much in the predictions that are shown, (even though they can often be surprisingly accurate) but in the awakening of your ability to see where you may be blocked in the way you are both looking at something and at the same time creating it! The best part of this recognition is for the most part, anything you have created by your beliefs can also changed for the better. This is where Oracles can be of extreme value. We can see what patterns we are in the process of creating and this can help us navigate and direct our abilities to change what we find is not working for us! Jim V 

November 2012 Snake Oil/Jim Ventura blog newsletter

Snake Oil/Rejection

I caught a post from a friend on FaceBook who mentioned that she recently had a few of her friends remove themselves for her friends list. One of them actually even went as far as blocking her. As a result of this, she expressed some understandable hurt. Her posts are always positive, uplifting, and even enlightened. Only the most miserable type of person could find fault for anything she expresses or find her posts offensive. I am very familiar with this type of rejection myself. My Snake Oil blog reaches almost 1000 people each month. I get anywhere from 5-20 people who request removal of their name from my column each year. I have been dropped by Facebook friends more than a few times, and in life as well. I was recently removed from a friend/client’s friend list (and requested being removed from my column’s mailing list also) who was always a big fan of my writing, teaching, and has had many personal sessions with me over the years. I noticed her posts becoming more “Christian themed.” Many of the last viewable posts I saw of hers were Bible quotes. Her two adult sons are actually hard-core Born-Again Christians. She has always wanted to get closer to them. It is likely that she has prioritized becoming more religious and being friends with the “New Age guy” may have not have been part of her new priorities. Whatever her reasons, a number of people told me they were also tossed from her list. Experience as a writer, radio show host, and public speaker for many years and being comfortable “putting myself out there” makes it is far less hurtful to me when someone decides to drop me in any capacity. Strangely, having more experience with these types of rejections in the past has made me far less reactive to this type of thing. My early writing submissions to magazines had frequent rejections and this also toughened me up! Rejection, while uncomfortable, comes to all of us in a number of different ways and is simply a reality of this world.

Recently half of my family chose to ignore or simply forget my youngest sister and her husband’s last Birthday. Their Birthdays are five days apart. This was by no means the first time she has been ignored and forgotten by members of my large family. I too have had my share of times when I was rejected by friends, in relationships, job interviews, and a number of other areas of life. In the 20 years of doing Navigational Consultations and Spiritual Counseling I have had clients I have worked with for years drop all contact without explanation many times. Because of my abilities in understanding the human psyche (Also Mercury in Sagittarius in 8th house) I can often understand what may have been the motivation behind their specific dismissals. Knowing the psychological motivations, Numerology, and Astrology of others makes understanding the “good” and “bad” aspects of other’s behavior quite a bit easier. More importantly, I learned long ago that most of the time the reasons for any rejection I experience have little or nothing to do with any lack coming from me. Financial limitations, depressions, embarrassment about falling into old patterns again, an urge for a new teacher, or just getting too busy in life to prioritize inner spiritual work are often the most common reasons. In all cases, I wish them the best and trust that new clients and students are meant to take their places (and they always do). Change is a natural part of life and nothing to fret about. Everyone who becomes part of our life isn’t meant to necessarily be a permanent fixture. 

Most people, even if they do understand why they were rejected, experience some feeling of an emotional sting when they are tossed aside by people they care about. It took many years for me to develop neutrality around rejection. When I was in my early twenties I had a best friend for three years. He got his new girlfriend pregnant and quickly “did the right thing,” and married her. Within weeks of their marriage he stopped returning my calls and I was cut out of his new life. It was one of the most painful rejections I had ever experienced. I knew his wife didn’t like me, but I was still surprised that he acted in such an extreme way. He also cut himself off from other members of his family that he was equally close to. No surprise, he and his wife divorced after two years. He asked for my forgiveness, and I was happy to give it to him. Still, things had changed. I had new close friends and we would never get back to the closeness we had years before. 

Many years of being an adventurous dater have left me with quite a few stories about rejections in this area. I once went on a blind date at a coffee house. We had exchanged photo’s online and talked by phone briefly. The day we planned to meet, I am pretty sure my blind date drove by (I was sitting at an outside table), saw me and kept going. Talk about some serious rejection! Some of the rejections I have experienced in the process of dating have been both troubling and kind of funny. I have always prided myself on being kind even when I am not interested in someone. Although I am guessing, I may have some past connections that probably didn’t see my dismissal of them as kind! I have had quite a few dates where someone really liked me and I was simply not feeling it. I recognize that I have rejected people equally as often as I have been the rejector.

We all experience rejection at times in our lives though some people experience it far more often than others. Approximately thirty percent of the population have a life goal of Acceptance (Michael teachings). People with this common goal are often “really-nice- people.” They are rarely racist, sexist, homophobic, judgmental, or mean-spirited. They are more inclined to be loving and kind to almost everyone. The positive pole of Acceptance is “Agape” or unconditional love. When they are not acting from the influences of fear, people with a goal of acceptance are highly evolved in their ability to love and accept others including themselves. The negative pole of this goal is “ingratiation.” Ingratiation is the fear-based process of bending over backwards to gain love and approval from others. These people will often “jump through hoops” and even accept mistreatment from others at times in order to be “liked.” A less common life goal that makes up only about four percent of the population is “Discrimination.” Its positive pole is Sophistication.” Sophistication is the process of developing high standards, a discriminating pallet, expertise, a sharp eye, and a healthy sense of self worth. Many film critiques, chefs, wine connoisseurs, and other talented people have this life goal. The negative pole or fear-based response for them is to experience a lot of rejection during their lifetimes. They experience more rejection than most of us because their “fussiness” or critical tongues are often difficult for others to put up with. They can become judgmental, opinionated, and even snobbish when caught in their negative poles.

Even if you don’t actually have either of these life goals (there are five other life goals*), we all experience rejection in different ways throughout our lifetimes. Using the positive pole of Discrimination (Sophistication) to our advantage can help us move through any rejections we experience. We can recognize that instead of taking a victim posture from any rejection we have an opportunity to move forward, grow, and open up to new experiences. We get to weed out people and things that no longer fit in our lives. Why would we want to be connected with anyone who doesn’t appreciate us or what we have to offer anyway? I had gotten so immersed into my friendship with my buddy years ago that I couldn’t see that when he rejected me (at the time I believed it was because of his “bitch wife”) it was time for me to move in a different direction. Some part of me rejected him knowing that there were new friendships and relationships that were calling me in my own evolutionary path. Two year later I moved to Phoenix. I would have had to let that friendship go anyway. Often our instincts tell us a chapter is over and it is time to move on, yet our emotional bodies hurt and can’t understand why we were “rejected.” While it may hurt us, rejection is almost always still good “medicine.”

I now feel detached about most rejections. The reasons for them do not need to be explained to me. I was lucky through my study of metaphysics to learn to not take this world personally. I do my best to teach this bit of wisdom to all of my clients and close friends. We can all use “Sophistication” in the best possible way if we choose to. We can also realize that we often reject others all of the time even if we don’t see when we do it! A lot of these times are minor, but they may seem major to those on the receiving end. The wink and smile from the recently single guy at Starbucks that you ignored may have been seen as a rejection. The female co-worker who thought you were her next best friend may have been seen as a rejection. The person on the subway who you chose not to sit next to who had low self esteem may have been seen as a rejection. The family member who thought you were going to give them a hoped for gift may have been seen as a rejection.

The bigger rejections of people we may have been close to at one time are also a real and common part of our experience as human beings. We might reject a one time friend because they married someone annoying. They may reject us because they want to be around other people who are now married with children. We may have had a friend who got into a dysfunctional relationship and distanced themselves from us to avoid us “judging” them. One of our friends may have hoped our friendship was going to become something more than just a friendship but we simply never even looked at them that way. We will hurt people we are close to and the same will be done to us from time to time. People project their ideals, hopes, scripts, and fantasies on us all of the time. We frequently do the very same thing. We piss people off without realizing it and also irritate others more often than we consciously recognize. It is normal to mourn a major loss and feel a bit of a sting when we are rejected. We are human beings who feel things. Still, our Higher Self does know what it is doing. At a deeper level, any personal rejection, even with people we were once close to is actually the ending of a mutual dance. We have just consciously or unconsciously chosen to not dance together anymore. Change is part of life and nature abhors a vacuum. It will inevitably replace the loss with something more in alignment of where we are now. Let all of your rejections be the gateways to new beginnings.

*The other five life goals from the Michael teachings are: Dominance, Submission, Growth, Revaluation, and Flow.

Jim Ventura 9-2012

Editors note: 

I posted this on Facebook a few weeks ago and got some interesting responses (here are about half of them).

“Dealing with adversity

What if everything happening in our lives, no matter how bad it may look and feel, is actually part of the healing process of solving those problems?” Jim Ventura

“I’m thinking this falls under the category of strange but true!” BDO

“I agree totally on this...totally!” TAZ

“Glad you are wise - very glad you are listening to me, lol!” JWD

“Deep thoughts by JimV.” DC

My “deep thoughts” came during a meditation I was doing about why we go thru difficulty and a card that came up in one of my own readings (Like my Regular clients, I do readings for myself every two or three months). This is one of the Animal totems that came up in my reading.

In the Druid tradition the Cow represents Nourishment, Motherhood, The Goddess.

They believe that the Goddesses (Druids saw God in both feminine and masculine forms) generosity, healing, and nourishing power is present all around you - in your friends and children, in your food and drink, in your dreams, and particularly in the natural world you are blessed to live in. The Druids saw the Cow as a representation of the manifestation of the Goddess (energy) on Earth. This energy is a reminder that nourishing energy flows from the Goddess to each one of us. There is nothing you need to do to experience this nourishing energy,.

Often we experience difficulties when we believe our resources are limited, or when we have trouble allowing ourselves to receive. Even in times of stress, we can remember that the difficulties are there to remind us of what we may need to change in our lives or our belief system. Sometimes our “medicine” is painful or tastes yucky, but it will heal us if we allow it to!

We are entering the month of Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and my Birthday month. Another perk for November is the weather, it’s perfect this month here in Phoenix! The “big” presidential (Congress, house etc...) election is also this month.  If you are like me, you will be glad when it is settled. The endless television and radio ads, calls, mailers, ugly political FaceBook posts (well some of them were positive ones) and mudslinging by both sides is enough already. I have had a number of clients ask me who I think will be elected. My answer has been the same for over two years. I felt Mitt Romney would get the Republican nomination and lose to Obama although it would be somewhat close. (I am not sharing my personal political affiliations, this is just what my intuitive and practical self has been feeling. While I have definite political opinions, I don’t use my column to advertise a political agenda in any way). No matter what your political beliefs and affiliations, or who you feel should or shouldn’t get elected, there are a number of metaphysical reasons why Obama will likely be reelected.  The Astrology favors Obama (Leo) over Romney (Pisces) at this time.  We are shifting from a Young soul world to the beginnings of early Mature soul consciousness. Romney is a Young soul and Obama is a Mature soul.There will be continued turmoil (Mature soul energy can be turbulent since it is all about seeing how we are all actually both diverse and connected) as we move through some real changes in the structure of our society. The slightly higher majority of the country’s probable choice of Obama reflects the move to the beginning of the majority being in the Mature soul category. While exact accurate prediction is never 100 percent possible, I would theorize that an Obama reelection is about 80 percent probable. (There will definitely be some controversy either way in this election. Mercury goes retrograde the day after the election. Last time we had that kind of chaos was the Bush/Gore election in 2000!) I will add more information in future newsletters about the different soul ages and how they manifest. The last installment of this I did was about Baby souls. The last time we had a Baby soul in office was actually Richard Nixon. It is highly unlikely that a Baby soul will ever occupy that office again in our country. I want to remind everyone that one’s soul age is not better or worse than another. They are simply expressions of different focuses and priorities as we move through many lifetimes and grow in our evolution of being human beings.

Information is always available at the end of my newsletter about how to contact me to book a personal session. Personal one-on-one sessions can be tremendously valuable. Remember that everyone who currently receives my monthly column gets $5 off all listed prices for sessions. Sessions can be done in person in my home office or by phone for out-of-area clients. All sessions are recorded on audio cassette. Clients are welcome to bring and use their own recording device if they prefer another method. My regular client program is also available for anyone who wants to come in and have regular sessions every three months (some come monthly). Regular clients get a bigger discount on session prices and also an opportunity to really develop spiritually! Contact me by email or phone if you are interested in booking a personal session this month, or if you want to get involved in the Regular Client program.

Wishing everyone a Happy November and a Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers. Jim V

“You can’t be someone you’re not. Stop trying.” Dick Sutphen

Snake Oil Radio

Every Thursday at 3:30 pm (there will be three live broadcasts this month)

My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday,November 1st, at 3:30 p.m. (MST). Every Thursday you can catch a new show. Each 45 minute show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to call in live (or chat with other listeners in the chat room) with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. Halfway though the show you can even ask me for a free 5 minute mini reading with your personal question. If you miss the live show, you can catch any of my previously recorded shows on the web site’s archive. You can also catch Snake Oil Radio on i-tunes (download my pod-casts there).

All you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura  You may also access it by going to blogtalkradio.com. 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.

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing...George Bernard Shaw

Current classes:

CREATING PROSPERITY

Many people have struggled with financial difficulties in the last few years. The economy is slowly improving, so this is a help. Yet, we always have the power and ability to tap into our potential to create prosperity, no matter what is happening around us!

Learning to open a doorway to living in abundance is possible. We can manifest prosperity in many different areas: career, finances, love life, personal happiness, etc...This class will focus on many different methods for generating personal wealth. Learning how to change beliefs and perspectives relating to finances will help you uncover the blocks that currently keep you stuck. The universe will support your decision to change your reality. Instructor Jim Ventura will discuss practical and metaphysical tools to show you how to create prosperity in your life. Saturday November 17th. 10 am - 12:30 pm. A maximum of 8 people for this class (minimum of 4 to hold). $20.00 prepaid before November 10th, or $25.00 on day of the class. 

My next series of Michael classes will be in February 2013. Dates and times will be mentioned in my next newsletter.

“When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us.” Alexander Graham Bell

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

Information about the different sessions and types of readings 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 and/or sign up on fan page to get other extra offers and in between column extras!

All Current Snake Oil subscribers get $5.00 off all listed prices below.

All sessions/readings for 2012-2013 are: Full (70 minutes) $110.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $80.00;  Extended (90 minutes) $130.00 (two people can split an extended session back to back for $65.00 each). 

I accept cash, checks, debit cards, Master Card, Visa, and PayPal for payments on sessions and for books and classes. Send me your Birthday month and year to get added to the yearly Birthday mailer promotion.

November suggested session option available with Jim Ventura in office or by phone. This is one of the many different types of sessions I offer. Looking at these influences and understanding the wisdom of Lakota philosophy can be life changing:

LAKOTA INDIAN CARD READING

Regardless of one's personal belief system, these teachings, meditation cards, and native American concepts are useful for illuminating issues, patterns, problems, and answers. The spread is part of a ceremony, a process of purification. You will be given 7 steps to prepare for transformation and rebirth (booking a 70 minute or 90 minute session time for this reading). It is the purpose of the supernaturals to force us to see our various aspects; to own and honor our duplicities as part of being human. They can then guide us to understanding, change, and true wholeness and balance. This session is an excellent way to approach any area of life that you may feel “stuck in.” Whether its relationships, finances, family, career, or any other area of life you can move through the current obstacles to manifest joy and peace in this and other areas of your life.

A shorter reading (45 minute), looking at the influence of the four directions also an excellent option with these cards.

* The first six people who contact me to book this specific session will get an additional $10 off my listed prices as a reward for paying attention and reading to the end of this newsletter :)