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Light as a feather, stiff as a board
The room was dark. The only light came from the eerie glow of a few carefully placed candles. The candles were powerful enough to create a sense of mystery and slight fear in everyone present. Most importantly, darkness was essential to the ceremony. We hung a blanket over the window, blocking out the afternoon sun. In our imagination it was midnight. There were all kinds of candles carefully placed around the room with different colors and different shapes. One was shaped like Santa Claus, one was a Mickey Mouse candle and the rest were simple votive candles that created a magical glow in the room. The stage was set and anticipation filled the air. It was time to begin our preteen social circle’s attempt at LEVITATION.
Childhood for me was a time of experimentation. I was attracted to the occult: there was something about its danger and mystery that was compelling. My friends and I considered ourselves brave and daring, or at least we convinced ourselves we were. Shows like the Night Stalker and movies about witches and magic were part of our lives. We had decided to be characters in our own show. There were seven of us, mostly kids around the age of eleven or twelve. Unfortunately one or two little sisters and brothers were impossible to get rid of, so we made the best of it. Whatever possessed us to coral ourselves up in someone’s bedroom while their parents were at work eludes me now. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day, but instead of playing outside we were driven to lock ourselves up inside my friend Pam’s room. This idea seemed to top everything that other normal kids were doing. It took longer to persuade everyone to calm down and get into the room than it took to perform our experiment.
One person was to be chosen to be magically lifted into the air. The chunkiest kid volunteered first. After a series of vicious and sarcastic comments like, “a crane couldn’t even lift her.” and the laughter died down, we chose an average-sized person. Our subject lay on the floor ready to be levitated. The next important choice was who would hold the head and tell the story of the person’s tragic death. I’m not sure where this rule came from, but it made the whole thing even more exciting. A tragic, violent and hopefully terrifying tale was to be spun about how the person we would levitate had died. Only the most talented and psychotic storyteller could handle the job. There were two candidates for the position; I had to only battle one person and she was a formidable foe. Pam was the second loudest character in our group and it was her house and her bedroom. By rights the job should have been hers. I did my best to convince everyone that I was the man for the job. I don’t remember what devious methods I used, but I remember I won. After Pam finished pouting, I persuaded her to take a position at the right shoulder of the young man we were going to levitate.
Everyone was instructed to place only two fingers from each hand under the subject’s body. Again, the giggling began. For some reason just touching each other started us laughing. Threats of physical beatings by the older and stronger among us calmed everyone down. We were almost ready to begin. There was sill one fly in the ointment; Pam’s little brother had a case of the giggles, brought on by a problem with gas. After he was thrown out of the room and pounded, we lit the last of the candles. A few minutes later he beat on the door crying to get back in. “I promise I won’t fart or giggle anymore, please let me play” begged Pam’s brother. We knew he would listen to what we had said now and hopefully plug up his mouth and other problem parts.
The bewitching hour was upon us, it was 2:15 in the afternoon. I began to weave my tale of the tragic death of our subject. I did my best to come up with the most outrageous story imaginable. Unfortunately, I said something to get everyone laughing again. Although it took a while to get the group to calm down, it was our last necessary tension breaker. This was our last chance to back out of the experiment. We trudged onward, for science and more importantly for a cool story to tell our friends at school. As my story progressed, even I was amazed at how sadistic ad violent a scene I could orally create. Something related to a murderous rampage perpetrated by a twisted imaginary killer.
Everyone was instructed to repeatedly chant the phrase: LIGHT AS A FEATHER STIFF AS A BOARD. The room was quiet.As we began our lift, our subject floated into the air as if by magic. We were amazed at our incredible powers. As we slowly brought him down, the intense, quiet mood was broken by the sound of everyone talking at once. We could not believe how amazing this was. We had bridged the gap between the paranormal and everyday life. We had successfully levitated our friend high in the air. Our experiment had worked!
We all Took turns that afternoon. Everyone got to fly high in the air. Even I was lifted high above the ground. We believed that the fat girl would be a more difficult feat, but we did that also. She was most excited of all - she got to be light as a feather. I’m sure that meant more to her than any of us could have imagined. The experiment was a success. We were gifted occultists with powers beyond mere mortals. As we were beginning another round of levitation, our day was interrupted when a nosy, red-headed mother got home from work and opened the door and let the light of day break the spell in the room. She seemed madder and more psychotic than the killer I had used in one of the stories I had created that afternoon. She pushed through the room, pulled down the blanket and extinguished our candles. Like vampires, we shrieked at the light of day and feared for our lives. A pissed off mother is nothing to make light of. How dare she interrupt our metaphysical breakthrough, even if it was her house? Little did she know that she would be used as an extra, killed off quickly and violently in many stories to follow.
My friends and I talked about that day for many years afterwards. The reality is we probably didn’t do anything all that amazing. Six children would not really have had any trouble lifting someone who weighs seventy pounds, even with only two fingers each, but in our eyes we had done something monumental. The fact that seven of us got together quietly and completed a group task was incredible in its own right. Now, sometimes when I see little kids playing together, I stop and watch them. I wonder if they experiment in similar ways like when we were children. I guess I’ll never know. Even if they do, they certainly wouldn’t tell and adult and I think it’s better that way. I think magic is still alive and well. Who knows how many children are flying high in the air right now while their friends chant: LIGHT AS A FEATHER, STIFF AS A BOARD.
Jim Ventura 1993
Editors note:
After a few deeper recent columns, I decided it was time to run a lighter piece, so I chose one of the stories from my first published book, Dirty Little Secrets. I believe that the last time I printed this essay in my column was back in 2005, although it was written back in1993! It is one of the 34 pieces from Dirty... Humor is good medicine...
It seems like the economy is finally getting a little better. 2012 has been a good one for me, so far. I have been blessed to be in a much better space financially (and no surprise, emotionally and psychologically) and I can truly say that I learned some valuable lessons from the adversity of the last few years. I am optimistic that things will continue to improve, and I hope to share that optimism and the practical beneficial lessons I learned in the next few years to help all of my clients and readers. If you are still having trouble then consider coming in for a Reality change session to shift your beliefs around prosperity and tune into the messages from your Higher Self about what needs to change to break the negative patterns. Beliefs form our reality and they can be changed once discovered.
I am redesigning my website. A new one should be up this summer. The old one will still be operational until then. The new website will have google checkout, so you can use pay-pal to order books, CD’s and Talisman symbols (you can still contact me directly until then to order any of these things). I will also have CD versions of many of my classes available by the end of 2012. Skype sessions will also be available this summer as well!
Wishing everyone a happy start to the summer. Cheers. Jim V
Seth on beliefs forming reality:
“You make your own reality-Wherever You travel, and in Whichever dimension you find yourself.
Before you embark upon other journeys of consciousness, understand that your beliefs will follow you and form your experience there as they do here. If you believe in demons you will meet them-in this life as enemies, and in other realms of consciousness as devils or ‘evil spirits.’
If you are frightened of your emotions and believe them wrong, then when you try ‘psychic’ experiments you may believe that you are possessed. Your feelings, the repressed ones, will seem demonic. You will be afraid to assign them to yourself, and so will think that they belong to a disembodied spirit. It is very important then that you understand the true innocence of All feelings, for each of them, if left alone and followed, will lead you back to the reality of love.
Trust no person who tells you that you are evil or guilty by reason of your nature or your physical existence, or any such dogma. Trust no one who leads you away from the reality of yourself. Do not follow those who tell you that you must do penance, in whatever form. Trust instead the spontaneity of your own being and the life that is your own. If you do not like where you are, then examine those beliefs that you have. Bring them out into the open. There is nothing within yourself to fear...”
Jane Roberts Channeling Seth from The Nature of Personal Reality
REALITY CHANGE SESSIONS MAY SPECIAL
Understand how our personal realities are formed, and develop the skill to change yours! Almost every area of your life can be changed for the better. This session will show you how to uncover the limiting beliefs that have blocked your progress. Instructions will be given in new methods and tools to create the present and future you truly want.
You can literally recreate yourself
Change your beliefs - Change your reality
Reality change session special for May 2012 (only for current Snake Oil subscribers). Any 90 minute reality change sessions booked for May of 2012 will be discounted $30.00 from my normal price ($130.00). You can do a session for yourself or share one with a friend and split the cost.
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else...you are the one getting burned.” Zen Proverb
Snake Oil Radio
Every Thursday at 3:30 pm (there will be four live broadcasts this month)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, May 3rd, 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 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.
My monthly interview show will be on May 17th with the Traveling Poet: Apollo Poetry was born in Jerusalem, Israel on November 14th, 1983. He is a spoken word poet, hip-hop artist, filmmaker, and author who has chosen words as tools of inspiration to bridge the gap between our cultural divisions and unite us back into the realization that we are souls having a human experience.
In 2007, he became the first spoken word artist to perform at the Billboard Awards. Apollo's major appearances include MTV'S True Life, VIBE Magazine, The WakeUp Show, Source's Unsigned Hype, Showtime at Apollo, along with performances at Madison Square Garden & America West Arena.
Born in Jerusalem and raised in New Jersey, he has spend the last few years of his life in Arizona on a spiritual quest. He now calls the road his home. The microphone his vehicle.
Although Apollo had success with poetry slams, he put the competitive mic down to get more involved in the community, by performing at retirement homes, homeless shelters, and other community based projects.
Apollo has worked with and spoken at events by Invisible Children, Youth for Human Rights, the Department of Peace, the Alzheimer's Poetry Project, and many more non-profits and education-based organizations.
Apollo gained popularity in the poetry community as he dug deeper into the intensity of his performances. The same emotions that scared him when he first opened up to them are now the foundation to what he does when he performs. He is often channeling his words from a higher source and has had numerous experiences where he has no human memory of what he just did at the end of his performance. He allows the spirit to channel through his body and brings forth a message that takes the crowd on a deeper spiritual journey.
The ink has become his blood. The paper has become his skin. He now tattoos his soul from the inside out with the goal to uplift humanity through words.
www.ApolloPoetry.com
“We are spirits in the material world.” Sting
Spring/Summer classes (All at my home in Phoenix)
MICHAEL MATERIAL (5 class series)
* 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 afternoons 3:00- 5:00 pm. May 19, June 2, 9, 16, 23rd. $90.00 for all five classes ($80.00 pre-paid and for Regular clients). Maximum of eight students and minimum of four. $20.00 non-refundable deposit to hold a space in the classes.
Dirty Little Secrets (available in print or audio CD)
To order a CD audio recording of the book (this is a dvd audio and will play on most computers and dvd players) read by the author, or a soft cover print version of Dirty Little Secrets, contact the author directly at Venturasag@yahoo.com
Either CD recording or print version $12.00 including sales tax. Please include $3.00 for shipping ($15.00 total).
Or send check or money order to Jim Ventura 2515 N 52nd St. #206 Phoenix Az 85008. I can also be contacted via my e mail if you want to use a debit or charge card to order.
Dirty Little Secrets is also available at Amazon.com
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 or Venturawords@mac.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://web.mac.com/Venturawords
Blog column for 1 year of published columns: http://playingwithuranus.blogspot.com/
“Friend” me on Facebook to get other extra offers and in between column extras!
Current Snake Oil subscribers get $5.00 off all listed prices below.
All sessions/readings for 2011-2012 are: (70 minutes) $110.00; (40 minutes) $75.00; Extended (90 minutes) $130.00 (two people can split an extended session back to back for $65.00 each).
Mini $30.00 for 15 minute unrecorded phone sessions. Payments can be made by either cash, check, debit, and some credit cards. Gift certificates are always available for purchase.
