Snake Oil Enlightenment in the dentists office
(This column originally ran 4 years ago)
My July dental check-up left me with some serious angst that was then followed by some equally powerful illumination. Every four months I get my teeth cleaned. I have always been conscientious about keeping good dental habits. My dentist recently relocated to a nicer office space. His new spot was impressive, but I wondered how he had pulled off a move like this during a recession. My usual dental hygienist wasn’t there for some reason, so a nice, new young lady worked on my teeth. She noticed a spot on two of my upper teeth and suggested it would be best to do some x-rays. She showed me the x-rays and explained that I had two crowns that were cracking and needed to be replaced. She would have the receptionist at the desk give me an estimate on the costs on my way out.
I paid for my cleaning and was given the estimate for the crowns. With my insurance discounts it would be about $1,800 to replace the two crowns. They asked me when I wanted to come in and get them done. I said I would get back to them in a few months. At best, I would be only able to do one of them every four months. I was even a little suspicious that they “found” the damaged teeth at a time when they had just moved into a more expensive office. On the other hand, it had been years since I have needed any major dental work, so maybe it was time. Whatever the reason, I left the office with a feeling of heaviness.
As I drove home, I began to get upset. A stream of angry thoughts raced through my mind. “Just when things were improving for me financially I get hit with this crap. Isn’t that always the case. Isn’t this just how life is, as soon as you find yourself getting more prosperous, there always seems to be something else that needs to be fixed or repaired that inevitably costs a small fortune. How the hell is the average person expected to come up with $1800 for teeth. Neither I or anyone else I know has a change jar with an extra $2000 dollars in it for random repairs at this time. I gave up my credit cards two years ago, so how could I possibly pay for this? Life sucks and you can never get ahead. There are always a million things that drag you down in life. No wonder the middle class is getting crushed, how can anyone afford these kinds of things?” I had a steady stream of angry thoughts pouring out of me and it wasn’t the first time I had mentally run a tirade like this. My body was tense as I drove home, and I was more than a little angry.
Amidst my internal rant, I heard another calmer, peaceful thought that came through. How would a wealthy person respond to the same event? I thought about it for a minute and then speculated that a wealthy person might be annoyed about it, but they would probably not go into a tirade of poor me thoughts. They would probably figure, “I need the new crowns, it is a necessary reality and will be a good thing for me in the long run.” I wasn’t thinking like a wealthy person would and it was no wonder that I was exactly where I was financially. In the past I almost always reacted this way to anything that I saw as “expensive.”
Then another even more enlightened thought followed. How would a spiritually evolved person react to this event? How would a spiritual person who was at peace around issues connected with money and also living a prosperous life respond? I thought about this for a minute and figured that they would trust the Universe to take care of this. They would think the money needed will be there, because this is something that simply needs to be done. They would not necessarily need to know the exact details about how it would get resolved, only that it would. I realized I always get exactly what I need. It will be fun and interesting to see how the Universe will provide this for me, and I know it will provide. I am always taken care of! It felt so much lighter to think this way and while I was not truly convinced yet, it was how I needed to start thinking if I was going to ever live a truly prosperous life.
Our beliefs form our reality. I had gotten so used to struggling in the last few years that I had become even more inclined to stew over the cost of things. My endless tapes of irritation were the very things that were creating more struggle and lack for me. Our conscious/subconscious minds always convert our beliefs into the world we see around us. I was not a victim of expensive dental costs. I was getting exactly what I believed to be true about life and then getting irritated about it. I put the worry out of my mind and trusted that the issue would be resolved. In fact, later that day I visualized it already being resolved. I felt a wave of peace come over me. I knew as I let go of these victim thoughts my reality would inevitably shift. It always does when I do this. I just needed a negative experience to trigger my awakening. It’s funny how enlightenment can come to us in the strangest places and times.
Jim Ventura 8-2012
Notes:
An interesting added note about this story. It was written almost four years ago. I have always prioritized taking care of my teeth. I have made regular dental office visits all of my life and also brush my teeth a number of times a day, and regularly floss. I have not gone to a dentist for a few years now. I started doing coconut oil pulling (check out information online about benefits of doing this) and stepped up my efforts in self care in last few years and I have had NO teeth problems and I have been fine without getting the costly repairs that were recommended. I will be getting dental coverage again in 2017 though because I do think it is important (and I really like the cleanings) to take care of our teeth. I may also have the work they suggested done once I have insurance to cover a part of it. I am also in a much better place financially after some work in changing my thoughts and beliefs about money and prosperity when this was written four years ago. Still, I clearly “survived” without getting the work I was told I "needed."
Check out my channeled corner this month. The author really shared some wise perspectives about what Astrology is and how it influences us. I think we can take this further as well by recognizing that in the case with all oracles (Numerology, Tarot, etc..) they are guide posts and signs of what is likely or probable but not always absolutes. Predictions are probable events, often mathematically far more likely but not always definitive. Things change, we make different choices, and in the case of things going “bad” it is often because of fear based choices that create difficulty or steer us in a negative direction. On the positive side with the use of oracles as a guide post we can also turn a potential negative into a positive when we become more aware, enlightened, and potentially make wiser choices!
Its hot here in Phoenix, no surprise for July. I will be taking at least one vacation each month for a few days at a time, but will still be working 4-5 days a week with availability for client sessions all summer. Same day appointment requests are rarely an option, but still okay to ask for because sometimes I have cancellations or just an occasional open work day. During really busy weeks it might be a few days before I can schedule your appointment. For most part I am no longer working on Wednesdays and Sundays. Everyone currently receiving my monthly column gets $5 off booked sessions and locals who pay by cash or check can take an additional $5 off my listed rates as well. Wishing everyone a good summer. Cheers, Jim V
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” Maya Angelou
Channeled corner. I read many, many books from different trance channelers in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Unfortunately many of them are now out of print, but I still have a huge collection and will share some of the best material I have collected over the years.
An astrological birth chart has been described as the blueprint of one’s soul. Could you comment?
Indeed I can. A natal chart is a bit like a chess problem, in which your beginning position determines how you will play. Rather than start the game neutrally, with rooks, pawns, and knights in their traditional places on the board, you array them in ‘conjunction’ or ‘opposition’ to one another, so they can exert challenges of different sorts.
You astrological birth chart is not as determined as you may have heard. Rather, it is a symbolic statement of the ‘game plan’ you have chosen for yourself. But you want to use a diving board as something to propel you, not to restrict you.
A typical Gemini or an archetypal Capricorn has, in a sense, chosen to play from his or her natal power base. But like a chess piece, even they can move to a different square! If others do not at all fit the astrological patterns, the astrologers might say, ‘Ah, this person was not born at the stated time,’ or One planet must have been overlooked when the chart was first drawn up.’
You are not bound or ‘ruled’ by your natal chart. It is more of an opportunity. But because opportunities are usually grasped, you take advantage of it. Because the positions of the planets at your birth do give a certain emphasis, you are more likely to run with these existing energies than you are to rebel needlessly.”
Answers from a Grander Self. Tam Mossman
“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.” Elizabeth Gilbert
“Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Be true to yourself. How you treat yourself sets the standard for how others will treat you.” Steve Maraboli
Snake Oil Radio
Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be two live broadcasts this month)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, July 8th. at 3:30 p.m. (AZ doesn’t use daylight savings time, so it’s the same as pacific time). Most Thursdays 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. 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).
To hear a live show, 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 the site and type “Snake Oil” into the search option.You can also go to the shows that are currently “On air” at that time and find me. The call in number is 646-200-3966 for questions and comments.
“Laughter is poison to fear.” George R.R. Martin
July Extra:
I posted this a few weeks ago on my Facebook fan-page, and sent it out directly to all the clients currently in my quarterly or monthly Regular client program.
“The retrograde Mars going on for last three months finally came to it’s end on June 29th.
Mars rules our male energy, assertiveness, aggression, what we are passionate about, and how we use our ability to direct energy in the world. The sign and house in our natal chart will show how we use this potential. The influence of Mars retrograde lasts for a few months. It can make us feel hair-trigger reactive one day and other days make us feel like “why bother,” and even crawling right back into bed. We are meant to look at how reactive we are during a Mars retrograde. It can be a bit of a test to know when we should respond aggressively to things and whether we should know when to NOT act. While this can always be something to consider, it becomes more of a challenge during Mars retrogrades. Mars is transiting through Sagittarius, so this can have a lot to do with how we see things philosophically, ethics, travel, optimism, how we use humor, wisdom, and how we teach others. Mars in Sagittarius is asking us to focus more on being UNDERSTANDING of others points of view. The house(s) of life that Sagittarius covers in our natal charts will show us where this is pushing us even more specifically!
If a Mars retrograde is in our the house of relationships (7th house like mine) it influences this area more specifically. Second House would be money, finances, and what makes us feel secure, and so on with all 12 houses of life...
It has been both easily and noticeably uncomfortable to see the Mars retrograde out in the world. The election cycle has brought a hot bed of issues that many people really take personally, including who will be the right president and who will, or “should” win. Many people have expressed who they believe should or shouldn’t be running at all! You can see the Sagittarius, fire type of passion here, but also the exaggerated soap box perspective on the side of both people on the left and the right about who is right and who is ABSOLUTELY wrong. I am not judging anyone for their position by the way, just an illustration and observation about the intensity of belief that this retrograde really brought to the surface. I have very definite opinions about this race as well of course.
On the more recent extreme side of things we had a brutal, horrific mass shooting in Orlando by a clearly repressed closeted gay or bisexual man is a painful example. Mars energy misused and carried to the worst possible expression humanly possible...
A few weeks ago Mars moved so far backwards in the retrograde that it went into Scorpio again. This move really pushed us to look at where we have power and where we don’t. It likely triggered frustration for many people about where other people “push our buttons” and how we react to this prodding. Pretty much different versions of: “How dare you?” to “Why don’t you care about this?” Scorpio can produce some darker thoughts in all of us, while at the same time it can also help us to get in touch with the things we really care about. Old painful wounds and a need to forgive others and ourselves to fully move forward is ultimately what the more spiritual side of Scorpio is asking of us. Can we turn darkness into purpose? As this retrograde finishes up. It should have served to remind each of us of our true potential and ability to influence and even manipulate others. We can influence other people and create a win/win result if our energy is focused in the most positive way. It may also have helped us to know when to not take action, and to be wise enough to remember the wisdom of understanding that true power comes from the ability choose your actions appropriately.”
6-16-16 Jim V
“The ability to foresee consequences before you act is a mark of the profound person.” Ralph Blum
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 (best method for contact).
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
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You also may want to check out my posts on Tumblr.com: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/snake-oil-blog
All sessions/readings for 2016 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). Email me for information about my Regular Client Program for even bigger discounts on session prices with the added benefit of monthly or quarterly check-ins.
All Current Snake Oil subscribers get $5.00 off all listed prices for any 45-90 minute sessions (except when using a special discount promotion). Local in office visits receive another $5 off listed prices for cash or check payments.
