Snake Oil
Pig-ignorance
Every time I saw him at my gym, he showed an obvious interest in getting into a conversation with me. He often worked out or played basketball around the same time I worked out. He was in his early twenties, ridiculously good looking, with a sculptured body and a pretty-boy-kinda-guy that made me immediately think he was probably a jerk. Even though I thought this, I noticed that he seemed to be friendly with everyone he interacted with, so I had no real reason to think he was arrogant. He reminded me of the genetically blessed types of guys and girls that I remember from high school; the “popular people,” the cheerleaders, jocks, and terminally attractive types who were usually shallow and for whom most things in life came easily. I resented “the beautiful, popular ones” because I was not one of these types of people in high school. Even though I am in my forties now, I still remember the sting of being snubbed by these types because I was a quiet, shy high school student and tried my best to remain invisible. This young man brought that part of me to the surface and I found myself avoiding making eye contact with him and ignoring his clear signals to chat with me.
I saw him a number of times at the gym before he finally just walked up to me and aggressively introduced himself. He had a firm handshake, great smile and nearly flawless features. Dirk told me that he recently graduated from college and was looking for work. He was bummed out that it was so difficult to find a job in the current market in his particular field. At one level I was right about Dirk. He was an ex-football player and a quarterback in high school. He was clearly a popular guy. When he told me that he was helping his handicapped older brother and working part-time setting up big inflatable balloons for children at kid’s parties until he found work in his field, I had to immediately rethink my position. The more I listened to him, I began to find myself being impressed by this sharp, hard-working young man. He was down to earth, smart, nice and clearly a genuinely cool person. It would be difficult for anyone not to like Dirk, and I found myself feeling a little ashamed of putting him in a category that turned out to be inaccurate.
In the Druid tradition one of the ways they perceive all of the sacred animals here on Earth is that they represent elements of human characteristics. Sow (pigs) represent abundance, generosity, and discovery. If a person’s “sow-energy” is out of balance, then it can represent greed or “Pig-ignorance.” This negative human tendency often comes into play when we judge others only on outer beauty alone. It can also apply when we resent someone for having something we may wish we had. It represents prejudiced perceptions we often have toward any person or group of people. When we shut off the excitement of discovering the beauty of every individual, we close our lives off and limit our perceptions. It is common for people to pre-judge, and put people into categories. This often starts when we follow the beliefs about others from parental influences, siblings, other family members, or friends that we grow up with that teach us how certain people “really are.” More often than not, this is something we decide without actually finding out who and what people are as individuals. Other influences that tend to create this are when we have a “bad” previous experience with someone who belongs to one of these groups or categories. The experience contributes to our putting people into tiny boxes. These beliefs and opinions often stay with us into adulthood. We hold tightly to these beliefs and may resist releasing these judgments, even if we are presented with new information that is contrary. Most of us have some pig-ignorance inside of us. My encounter with Dirk made me realize that even though I thought I had let go of judgement, I still had a pocket or two of this prejudiced energy inside of me.
The funny thing about my placing Dirk into the “pretty popular, shallow people” category is that on a number of occasions people put me in the very same category! There have been times when I’ve experienced people talking to me and telling me that they were surprised to find that I was smart, friendly and not nearly as arrogant as they thought I would be on first impression. Most of the times this has happened have been in bars, especially among gay men who put me in the arrogant, attractive, dumb-muscle-guy category. The strangest part of these pre-judgments about me is that they are extremely inaccurate. I once remember standing in a bar with a friend of mine who was twenty years older than me and somewhat out of shape. I was handed a flyer to attend a late night party by some good-looking guy I didn’t even know. He did not invite or hand my friend an invitation. He was only handing the flyers to the people he thought were attractive in the bar. I threw the flyer away because I would never attend a party hosted by someone who was that rude and shallow. The whole idea of it sickened me. But the sad part is I could see the pain on my buddy’s face, even though he pretended it didn’t bother him. I could only feel empathy for him, since there have been times when I was treated the very same way.
Lets face it, almost everyone has been guilty of judging others by outer appearances at one time or another. Pig-ignorance is a common practice. We pre-judge people with different nationalities, sexual orientations, body differences, classes of wealth, religions, and a host of other elements. I have been guilty of this myself, especially when I was younger. And, I recently did it with a new potential friend at my gym. This made me start to think about all the people in my past that I had perceived as “obnoxious, pretty, popular people,” whom I had either ignored or shut myself off from getting to know. I may have gotten some of this from my mother. She was sometimes harsh about judging others. Still, no matter where this attribute came from, it is now time to let go of these false assumptions. I’m an adult and I am not a victim of past programming unless I choose to be. My guess is that some of the people in my past that I labeled “too popular” never tried to talk to me because I was shutting them out and never gave them a chance. I now know that many of the times in my past when I felt “snubbed” I was actually doing the snubbing!
The “pig,” in its more positive sense, represents experiencing everything in life from a sense of wonder, discovery, and taking delight in approaching new people and experiences as exciting opportunities. Like the wise Sow, we can learn to dive into all of the abundance that life has to offer. When we begin to relish the many diverse, unique individuals that we can meet and learn from, we get to be generous. And that generosity will make people more generous with us as well. When we let go of pig-ignorance we stop prejudging and negatively categorizing everyone and placing them in neat little inaccurate stereotypical boxes. Then we can actually take some time to open up to new ways of perceiving the world around us. Like the wise pig, we can actually enjoy the feast of life and celebrate everything it has to offer!
Jim Ventura 7-2009
Editors note:
Summer is here and like most Phoenician’s I have adapted to the 110 degree temperature high that is so common in late June and July. I go to the gym, do food shopping, and other assorted errands in the early morning, while covering other things like getting gas and depositing checks at the bank whenever possible when the sun goes down. Not my favorite time of year, but my Ac is working fine so I can handle it. Fall is quite a ways away...
I sent out referral comps this month. Special thanks to all of my clients who referred people to check out the session options I offer and successfully encouraged clients to book. I always appreciate referrals and reward my “sales people” with $10-20 off discounts for each referral sent my way. It is even easier than ever to send referrals this summer because I am offering a new client discount of $25 off any 45-90 minute session I offer for all of July and August of 2013! More information is available on my website and later in this email. While referrals have always been the strongest source of new clients for me, I have been advertising on a number of different sites on the internet and I am bringing in a lot of new clients this way. It is amazing to see how many free or extremely inexpensive ways there are to advertise on the net. I have also learned how to get to show up in the top spots on search engines. I am compiling all of this information with a list of all of the available sites and I will probably publish a mini book on this in the next year. I will be giving this information out to all of my current Regular clients as a gift in the next few months. Just another perk for my Regulars.
Mercury is retrograde in Cancer until July 21st. I mentioned a bit about this on FaceBook (go to my business page and put in an I-like and you will see all of the posts and receive the new ones about once a week.) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Ventura/110567902293371
You can also check out my last radio show in June for even more information about this transit.
I am holding off on scheduling new classes until October and I will have information about the upcoming fall classes in my August newsletter. New Snake Oil’s are also in the works. I have been so busy researching online advertising and finishing my Tarot interpretation book that I have gotten behind on column writing. When I was a kid I used to read Dear Abby and Ann Lander’s. They would often run old columns when they were busy with other things or on vacation. They were writing columns for so long that it was rare for me to remember ever reading any of their re-runs. I have over 100 Snake Oil columns counting the “Snake Charm” pieces, so now I get to do what they did from time to time - for me, a real sense of accomplishment! Wishing everyone a happy summer! Cheers Jim V
“Trying to change ‘what is’ usually doesn’t work. Trying to change how you feel about ‘what is’ usually does.” Dick Sutphen
“When the past calls, let it go to voicemail, believe me, it has nothing new to say.” Unknown
Snake Oil Radio
Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be three live broadcasts this month)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, July 11th, at 3:30 p.m. (MST -AZ doesn’t use daylight savings time). 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 some of the shows 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 on July 18th for my interview with Karla Lamley. Karla is a Transformational Life Coach, Mentor and Healer with over 25 years experience in the field of human potential and spiritual growth. In addition to Life Coaching she has a Masters degree as a Nurse Practitioner and serves her clients/patients using both alternative and conventional therapies. She has studied Eastern and Western philosophies, which has shaped and developed her unique understanding and ability to assist individuals in integrating spiritual living-ness into everyday life. One of the most profound tools she uses for herself and her clients are essential oils. www.ylwebsite.com/heartofeverything
Karla has studied and worked with the Tz'utujiil Mayan Shaman in the highlands of Santiago Atitlan Guatemala for the last seven years and have been practicing Kriya Yoga since 1998 with Swami Paramahamsa Prajnanananda.
She works with individuals and groups to support their spiritual development, and to open communication between the seen and unseen aspects of life. If you are ready to increase and expand your intelligence, join Karla on this sacred journey we call Life who is ready to support and guide you.
Sessions
Individual session packages are available. For more information or to schedule an Appointment Call 602-509-0185
Email: Heartofeverything@me.com
Email: Heartofeverything@me.com
“The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered there is opportunity for growth.” Unknown
Here’s my contact information to make an appointment for a session, or information on current classes: Phone: (602) 957-3035 text: 602-349-0746 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 or give an I-Like thumbs up on my business page 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 for 45-90 minute sessions.
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, day and year to get added to the yearly Birthday mailer promotion.
New client promotion
New clients who have never had a session with me before (including Snake Oil subscribers) can take advantage of my summer special. Any of the sessions I offer (check out the different options on my website) are discounted $25 off my listed rates. 45 minute - 90 minute sessions all receive the discount. No other offers or discounts apply with this special. The new clients $25 off discount is good for in office or phone sessions and will run until August 31st of 2013. You may also buy one extra (at this rate) to give as a gift to someone!
