Snake Oil
Angel stuff
While they are actually one of the easiest oracles to learn to use, it was actually far easier for me to learn about Astrology, Tarot, Runes and Druid animal totems than it was to consider learning how to use Angel cards. While I immersed myself in mastering using many different types of oracles, I held off on the “Angel card thing.” Maybe it was because I saw it as something that was connected with being too religious. Maybe I just saw it as too “cheesy.” Well meaning but often corny shows and movies like “Touched by an Angel” (which may have actually been a good show, but I never even saw it) and movies like “Angels in the Outfield” made me even less interested in the subject. The sarcastic side of me thought; “yeah, like we all have a bunch of winged helpers that fly around, playing harps and trying to protect us?” Aspects of the whole subject made the male side of me more inclined to poke fun at the whole idea rather than embrace the possibility that angels are not only a real presence at some levels, but even tremendously valuable.
It wasn’t until my mid thirties and after years of metaphysical studies as well as being very comfortable with things that others would see as “woo-woo,” did I begin to feel the angelic realm reaching out to me. I had just left an extremely difficult relationship break-up (talked about in more detail in my first book - Dirty Little Secrets). I had a lingering sense of hurt, disbelief, anger, sadness, and I could not stop thinking about how badly I had been mistreated by someone that I thought really loved me. I was in a book store and was drawn to some of the Doreen Virtue Angel cards. They had an open deck on display so you could look at them more closely. I picked up the deck, shuffled them while thinking about my issue. After a few shuffles the card on the top felt like the right one. It was Archangel Uriel: “Your emotions are healing which enables you to open to greater love. I will help you release anger and un-forgiveness from your heart and mind. I am called the ‘psychologist angel’ because I help to heal toxins from people’s thoughts and emotions. I am especially able to release stubborn anger and un-forgiveness. I am with you right now to clear away such toxins...” I was blown away. It was difficult for me to keep the intense emotions that were surfacing reasonably contained as I quickly bought the deck and left the bookstore.
For many years now I have worked with Angel cards for myself and with clients, the guidance and insight have not only transformed me but many other people. In addition, it has opened me to allowing far more help from the angelic realm in my everyday life. The more I practiced asking for help and protection, the more it seemed to come. Now it has become a normal part of my life. I get signs, insight, messages, help, and even little miracles often. After a few years of working with the cards and becoming more attuned to how the angelic realm communicates with us, I started getting messages in the form of white feathers. I began to find that when I got caught in worry or just needed a reminder that everything was going to be okay I would find white feathers. Sometimes they were just on the ground obviously left by pigeons and other birds. My logical mind rationalized this as being not exactly an amazing thing to find outside. It was when they showed up in pants pockets, inside the door of hotel rooms when I just checked in, on my car seat, or other strange places that I felt that increasingly familiar sense of warmth, joy, safety and protection that would wash over me. These types of messages and feelings are often a sign of spirit guide or angelic contact.
One of the most profound experiences I have ever had with white-feather-angelic-contact happened about five years ago. I was at a friend’s house for a summer party comprised of mostly couples with young children running around. There were many children happily playing, while the adults enjoyed a barbecue and a few cold drinks. I have never actually regretted not having children of my own and as a creative person it was simply not the right road for me. Yet that day as I watched the kids playing and all the couples who seemed so happy together I felt very alone. I felt a wave of heavy sadness come over me. I began to feel painfully single and depressed. My buddy’s three year old daughter walked up to me and said: “Uncle Jim, they told me to give you this.” She handed me a beautiful white feather, smiled and then skipped off to continue playing with her friends.
Months after I had a car accident a few years back, I was still a bit phobic each time I got into my car. A driver had ignored a stop sign and totaled my previous car. The phobia was a nagging fear that someone might do this to me again. I asked the angel cards for advice one day to help release the pieces of fear that still lingered. The card I pulled was an angel named Zanna: “You are protected from all types of harm. The worst is now behind you. I ask you to relax and feel safe. No matter what has happened in your past, your present and future are now safely protected by angels. I am helping to heal your heart of worry and fear... The other angels and I stand guard around you, your home, your family, your vehicles, and your workplace. You can rest assured that no lower energies can permeate our protective fields...”
Whether angels are real actual beings, or just another of the many ways to connect with our Higher Self, intuition, and other portions of our Greater Source, it is an extremely positive, uplifting way to make that connection. There are other planes of existence that coincide with our world. The angelic realm is one of many. We tend to think of it as “above us.” Yet, this is just our way of attempting to understand concepts that we can’t explain in words. Being religious is not a requirement for connecting with angels (although it can be also). The angelic realm is there for us if we are open to asking for protection and guidance. They love unconditionally. There is never anything we could ever do or have ever done that will close off this love and assistance if we are open to it. Toxic, angry people resistant to letting go of past hurts are not “punished” by seemingly not having access to this. They feel unworthy, so they block insight from higher chakras and close off to it. Opening yourself to the unconditional love and guidance of angelic assistance will not weaken your position in the functioning tangible world. You will not become ungrounded or delusional or crazy. We can live and deal with the practical rules and laws of the physical plane, while opening to the messages and help from the Otherworld. In fact, adding more of a connection to the Otherworld can make our ability to do both practical and positive things in this world even more notable.
Jim Ventura 1-2013
Notes:
This Snake Oil column originally ran in early 2013. I think it may be even more important to connect with the Angelic Realm at this time. The political and energetic landscape is still very volatile. Anyone (especially people who are empathic) can be thrown off balance. It is valuable to have more helpers and ways to hear our intuitive voices. There is no cost to connecting to the angelic realm! The peace of mind and belief that we are protected and guided may help to keep us from getting pulled into fear and anger. The stories I could share of how powerful an impact my clients have received from simply pulling an angel card are abundant. Often people get emotional from the messages that come through. Feeling and expressive emotion is cleansing, healing, and transformative!
I will talk more over the next few months in my notes (and possibly on FaceBook) about our current political climate. less from a perspective on which side is “right” or “wrong” but more from a spiritual perspective and what it means. The polarization, while frustrating is waking a lot of people up!
While is is just the beginning of spring for a lot of the country, here in Phoenix summer is on the horizon. Can’t say that I am thrilled by the hot temperatures that are on the way (and mid March was way too hot- 15 degrees above the average!). Yet, I do live in a state where everything is air-conditioned, so we will survive, plus the nights are typically still cool until June so I am a master at maneuvering the cool night air to my favor. Windows, doors are often open in the evenings so my house is cool and even cold most mornings. The location of my condo unit doesn’t get hit with a lot of sunlight so it does stay cooler longer. Spring has a nice feel to it and feels like a time of possibilities.
Wishing everyone a happy start to spring! Jimmy V
One of my three YouTube Videos:
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.
Camouflage
“...Attempts to explain the ultimate source of life always sink into fragment and symbol, for it transcends the limits of your waking mind to comprehend the hidden realms from which you spring. Every culture has its pantheon of gods, or a single God, as a symbolic image of the unknowable ultimate Source of All Being. These images are most often painted in human terms, in form and behavior, the better to make them comfortably familiar. Yet the Source is not human in form or thought, even while it contains all human experience within the totality of its being.
A common element of many spiritual traditions is to paint the relationship between creator and humanity in terms of spacial distance: God or gods are projected upward-into heaven, onto Mount Olympus, into volcanoes, wind, and clouds-while humanity remains ‘below.’ rooted to the Earth apart from its divine source.
This symbolic picture is valid in that it reflects the slowing of energy which occurs as consciousness springs from the Source and decelerates to animate earthly life. As energy approaches the physical plane, and as consciousness anchors to flesh, it must slow its vibrational frequency to a level comfortable with matter. In purely vibrational terms, then, the ultimate Source is ‘above’ you-its energetic pulsations whirling at a frequency beyond your comprehensions-and this energy must gradually slow to blend and harmonize with earthly life.
The flaw in the ‘heaven above, us below’ image is that it builds separation into the relationship between you and your Source. You feel yourselves cut off from your divine origins, wallowing in your earthly swamp and raising your eyes skyward for guidance and inspiration. This image has suited the religious bureaucracies which inevitably arise to encrust every avatar’s divine insight, for holy authorities can then muscle into the picture as intermediaries between the Source and the common people, be-smocked toll collectors on the road to heaven.
Let us offer an alternative view of the relationship between you and your Source, one which expels clerical middlemen and affirms your intrinsic divinity. Rather than envisioning a heaven of pure perfection ‘above’ you, while you languish ‘below’ on your globe of ice and mud, picture the relationship as your home planet embedded within an enormously larger sphere, the totality of all creation, the Source. In this image, you no longer stand apart from and below the Source, but are cocooned within it, floating securely in its warm embrace and forever nourished by its loving intent...”
Alexander from Spirit Speaks magazine May 1995
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Mahatma Gandhi
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, April 6th. at 3:30 p.m. mountain time (same as Pacific time now). 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.
“I’d rather aim high and miss, than aim low and hit.” Les Brown
New Client Special 2017:
January 1st 2017 thru August 31st 2017 Special: New Client introductory offer
$10-15 off listed rates for your first 45 minute session, 70, or 90 minute session! Ask for the special when you email Venturasag@yahoo.com to book. Debit and credit card payments get $10 off for 45-90 minute sessions. Local in-office clients can get an extra $5 off for cash or check payments for sessions. If you want to buy a new client a thoughtful gift of a session you can also take advantage of these rates!
$10-15 off listed rates for your first 45 minute session, 70, or 90 minute session! Ask for the special when you email Venturasag@yahoo.com to book. Debit and credit card payments get $10 off for 45-90 minute sessions. Local in-office clients can get an extra $5 off for cash or check payments for sessions. If you want to buy a new client a thoughtful gift of a session you can also take advantage of these rates!
My current rates (new clients can subtract the above discounts from these rates): 45 minute sessions $80. 70 minute sessions $110. 90 minute sessions $130.Sessions can be in-office or by phone.
“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy shit, what a ride!” Mavis Leyrer
Snake Oil Volume One
Jim Ventura has been writing his monthly Snake Oil column for 14 years. Volume One is a collection of his first four years of Snake Oil. This volume also includes nine Snake Charms. Practical explanations and instruction for meditation, ear conning, lucid dreaming, etc... Jim’s Snake Oil philosophy is all about changing the perceptions of how we view life to include metaphysical perspectives into all of our experiences. We can not only do this with the benefit of expanding our consciousness, but still keeping our feet planted firmly on the ground in this world at the same time. Snake Oil reminds us that we can also grow to become more enlightened while finding the wisdom of humor in ourselves and the world around us.
To order a copy contact me by phone or email. Cost: $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. You can also pay by charge or Debit thru Paypal. You can request to have your copy signed!
Snake Oil Volume One 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 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
“Friend” me on Facebook to get other extra offers and in between column extras! Signing up for my fan page will get you even more extras and first shot at reading specials. Simply click on “like” on the fan page and you will automatically get my weekly updates.
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.
