Snake Oil Drowning Cat
Last summer the monsoons opened flood gates of rain all across the valley. The same thing will likely happen this July. In the summer, heat builds up in Phoenix, eventually culminating in a series of powerful rainstorms. During a particularly intense storm one July night last year, I slept comfortably in my home while the rain poured down. Beside me, my two cats were inside and safe from the storm. It was after midnight, and I was tucked cozily into bed with my back patio doors wide open so I could fall asleep, listening to the sound of intense rain. In the distance, among shouts of thunder and flashes of lightning, I heard the sound of a crying cat. I got up and looked out my upstairs condominium balcony to see if I could spot the distressed animal. I wondered, should I go outside and try to save this poor little creature? If I could find the animal trapped by the rains, could I even get it to come to me? My cats would freak out if I brought another cat inside. I desperately wanted to help the poor little thing, but could do nothing. I felt powerless.
As the cat continued to moan and the rains poured down, I paced back and forth, wondering what I should do. It had been a tough week and many of my clients were experiencing difficult times. Just like the powerful storms in nature, people seemed to go through cyclical personal storms and my clients were no exception. A slew of exhausted, overwhelmed friends and clients had left messages on my answering machine or by email. It seemed like everyone was feeling like a drowning cat. I did my best to comfort them during their sessions, yet I felt like I hadn't done enough. There was a cat drowning in a storm outside my own backyard and many people I knew were seemingly caught in personal rainstorms. I finally closed the doors and windows that night. I realized there was nothing I could do for the stranded cat. The rains would eventually let up and he would probably be okay. I mentally asked the angels to protect this lost and scared little creature. I had done the best I could with my panicked clients this week, and with this stranded cat so I finally fell asleep.
I have notable empathy for anyone suffering or going through difficult times. I have been a drowning cat myself a few times. We are all in this human game together and in some respects when one suffers, we all suffer. Yet, there are other types of drowning cats. There are people who are like magnets to crisis. Sympathy can become a cage for the “fixers” who continue to help people who never change. Very few people haven't had a friend who stays in a miserable, abusive marriage. Who hasn’t spent years listening to someone bitching while never doing anything to change where they are? How many parents protect and support adult children who refuse to grow up and take responsibility for their own lives? I was ripped off for thousands of dollars sixteen years ago by a young man who came from an extremely abusive background. I sympathized with him and desperately wanted to help this poor man get his life together. After a year of financial assistance and being a rock for him to lean on, he destroyed me emotionally and financially. I learned then that sometimes people who have been victimized turn into victimizers themselves. I have watched countless friends, family members, and clients who have given until it hurts and then are left decimated by similar types of people. Kindness and healthy boundaries can be a difficult course to navigate.
We often forget that karma balances everything and acts without judgement. There are times when if we intercede we may be blocking the growth and development of another human being. We shield them from dealing with the repercussions of their actions. Sometimes rescue is not only futile, but can be a veiled attempt to control someone else. It is not our job to play parent and protector for everyone in our circle. Helping others is an important part of our purpose here on earth. We are here to help each other. But we also need to protect ourselves. If we are financially, emotionally, physically, or mentally out of balance because of an attempt to get someone on “the right path,” we may have missed the mark. It is important to be able to discern when helping someone is not the answer. If we give money to a drug addict for a meal and he uses that money to get high, have we actually helped him at all?
My studies of how karma works have helped me gain some detachment in respect to the injustices I often see that occur in the world. We are not always privy to the bigger picture. On the other hand, I often watch people who place themselves in tremendously difficult circumstances over and over again. Like gluttons for punishment, they reunite with abusive spouses, stay in jobs they hate, cling tenaciously to the poisons they ingest, and refuse to take the steps necessary for making the needed changes. I have had a few clients over the years who have tried to blame me for their problems. “You said I would be married by January of 2006. The cards said my house would sell by November, why were they wrong?” One hundred percent accuracy with prediction is impossible. Life is a series of choices that shift and alter all the time. We are not stuck with only one path to choose. People who believe they are victims often find themselves at wits end. They believe so firmly that there is no way out of their difficulties, or fear taking action. They do nothing to change the uncomfortable situations they find themselves in. They cling to limiting beliefs and no-win situations. Often, the cards point a way out, but these people do not follow the path suggested and then need someone or something to blame. Like drowning cats, they cry in the rainstorm and wait to be rescued, but often unconsciously believe they can’t be saved.
I leaned over my balcony the next morning. The sun was out and there was little evidence of the evening rains left behind. There was no sign of the stranded cat. The bricks I had placed on my shoulders were gone. Something was clearer inside of me. I will always be a man who cares for others. I will still feel empathy for my friends and clients who continue to find themselves in difficult situations. Nothing will change that part of me, and that is exactly how I want it to be. I’m not capable of saving everyone, nor do I need to. I know I have a powerful ally on my side. God/All that is/Tao is our true parent. The source will never abandon any of his/her children. Even during difficult times, we are watched over by Spirit. Sometimes we need to go through difficulty to pay back a karmic debt. Often our dark passage is the very thing that transforms us! It can often take years before we see the value of enduring a hardship. Sometimes when we hit rock bottom, that process is the very thing that awakens us. I’m guessing that the drowning cat made it through the night. Cats are survivors and I’m betting this one survived. And even if he didn’t, he has returned home to the spirit world and is safe and happy again.
Jim Ventura 11-2006
Notes
An uncomfortable recent experience prompted me to run this original column from way back in 2006 (it appears in my book Snake Oil Volume One). I was heading down a less travelled side street after a bank visit recently when I saw a cat sitting in the road. I pulled my car over to see if I could prompt him to get out of harms way in the road in case another car came by. I often keep dry cat food in the back of my car to feed ferals so I grabbed a handful. He was clearly a disheveled looking feral cat. He hissed when I got really close but still didn’t run away. It looked like his legs were damaged and it was likely that he had been hit by a passing car or hurt in another way. I looked into his sad, scared eyes and imagined the steps I could take to save him. Maybe I could get him to a vet and give this poor guy the possibility of a much deserved good life, or even take him in myself. He clearly had not had an ideal cat life.
After a minute or two of seeing things through a Neptune lens, I realized I had no way of moving him, no cat carrier or any other way to rescue him, so my idea was not a practical reality. So I began to search for the number of animal control to come and help. I realized there was an animal hospital just a few blocks away, so I quickly hopped back in my car to see if they could help. At the hospital I could not go inside. Covid fear protocol made you have to just wait outside for a staff member to come out. Irritation about all this Covid stuff peaked, and time was limited, the cat was exposed and could get hit again. I also had to get back home in 45 minutes for two back to back sessions. I was incredibly frustrated by all of the limitations blocking my desire to help. Finally a staff member came to assist with the number for animal control and offered her suggestions on what to do but they were unfortunately not hopeful ones. I spent another 15 minutes trying to get hold of a human being on the phone and got nowhere hearing one automated message after another.
I finally got back in my car, closed my eyes and said a prayer to my angels and spirit guides to find a way to assist here. Maybe a neighbor in that area would see the cat and help out in a loving way. Or even to accept that if the animal was to pass back into spirit that it would happen quickly and painlessly if there was no other option.
I was saddened by all of this and felt like the world was at times a truly lousy place. The event while uncomfortable helped me see and resolve some internal issues I had been struggling with. as well as some of my clients issues about recognizing and acknowledging self-worth with their kindness and caring responses to many situations. It also strengthened my plan to create the financial backing to open an animal rescue here in Phoenix, something I have long wanted to do.
As we move to the end of Pisces times and begin Aries season there are many correlations to this story fitting aspects for both of these signs. Understanding your Astrology natal chart and current and upcoming transits is an excellent way to navigate more effectively and fluidly in life. Information about setting up a personal session with me or giving a gift to a friend or family member can be found at JimVentura.com or by contacting me at Ventursag@yahoo.com.
I also teach classes one-on-one in my home office or you can attend with one friend (either by zoom, phone, or in-office) on Astrology. More information about this and other classes later available in the newsletter.
Check out my latest YouTube video and remember to subscribe and feel free to pass along to others or post on FaceBook if you choose. I also did a segment for the ListTV on Viking Rune stones on Valentines day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj1yD0Qgl54&t=15s
Wishing everyone a happy start to the spring! Jim V
“Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.” Lilly Pulitzer
New Client Special 2021:
January 1st through May 31st, 2021 Special:
$10-15 off listed rates for your first 45 minute session, 70, or 90 minute session! 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 for a friend or family member you can also take advantage of these rates!
My current rates (new clients can subtract the above discounts from these rates): 45 minute sessions $90. 70 minute sessions $115. 90 minute sessions $135.
I also have 20 minute mini phone sessions $40. New client discount and special does not apply.
Isa The Rune stone of Standstill, Withdrawal, Ice.
“...And yet there is another face to Standstill. Just as winter is a time for going within, drawing Isa can announce a time of restoration and renewal at the deepest level. In your solitude, exercise caution and do not stubbornly persist in attempting to work your will. Remain mindful that the seed of the new is present in the shell of the old, the seed of unrealized potential, the seed of the good. Trust your own process, and watch for signs of spring.” Ralph Blum
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.
Fear
A projection into the future
“Fear is the opposite of love. Fear is based upon not knowing, upon preparing for the unknown, for what might happen, for that which is not actually present in the moment. Fear is based totally upon future projection, which comes from evaluating the past, not only of your own lives but of others, and drawing deductions about what might happen to you in the future. This is what your insurance companies do: they project at what age you are likely to get sick, be disabled, or die, how many of you are likely to do that, and in what way. Now, read enough statistics and you will necessarily start making yourself believe that this must be the way it is. And, in this way, society, group mind, and industry dictate the nature of your beliefs. Metaphysically, fear is the opposite of love, the opposite of love based upon the absence of knowledge, because you can love and be comfortable with that which you know. It is always the unknown that you fear the most.”
Seth Channelled by Jane Roberts
Intuitive and Oracle reading classes 2021
While I no longer host group classes in my home, some of my most popular classes are still available! Now classes can be in-office, by phone, Zoom, or through FaceTime.
You can take one introductory class or continue with a monthly class for up to six months for any of the classes offered. Each instructional class is 90 minutes. You may schedule a one on one class in office or by phone for yourself, or have a friend or family member join you and split the costs.
Single one person class: $55.00 or 3 classes pre-paid $150.
2 people $70 for each class ($35.00 each) 3 classes pre-paid $180 ($90.00 each).
Email me for more information and my availability calendar to book your personal intuitive and oracle development classes. Venturasag@yahoo.com
Current options:
1. TAROT CARD READING
Whether you have some experience with Tarot or have never explored this oracle before, Tarot classes will assist you in understanding the wisdom, insight and potential guidance contained in Tarot cards. The classes will focus on teaching you how to read the Tarot for yourself and eventually for others. The Tarot can be used for prediction, to accelerate spiritual growth, and increase your awareness or “navigational life skills.” If you don’t have a deck, assistance will also be provided on choosing the right deck for you. Whether you plan on using oracles for self guidance, or wish to expand into doing readings professionally, the classes will assist you on your road to mastering the Tarot.
2. ASTROLOGY-101
Astrology classes will teach you all of the basics to read any Astrology chart. You will learn to interpret your own chart, as well as those of others. You will gain insight into house placements, signs, symbols, angles, retrograde planets, cusps, transits, etc... We will explore how powerful the influence of astrology is in our lives. Working with your unique astrology chart (western astrology, Placidus house system) will help you with understanding yourself, your unique skills, challenges, and how to use this knowledge to navigate through your life with more empowerment.
3. MICHAEL MATERIAL
* What is your soul age? The soul age of friends, family, and people all around you ?
* 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, discrimination, growth, revaluation, 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 is your centering and 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.
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 many, many 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. This series is highly recommended!
4. PAST LIFE JOURNEYS
All aspects of past life exploration, from hypnosis, dreaming techniques, past life regressions will be discussed. By understanding the influence of karma and the past lives we have already lived, we will show how our past experiences affect us in our present life. The class focuses on setting up a past life journal, and explores the progression of our soul’s journeys. Astrology, Numerology, and many other tools will be utilized to aid you in becoming aware of your past lifetimes. The classes will increase understanding relationship patterns, release fear and phobia’s, letting go of allergies, and other blockades are some of the many possibilities connected with this type of study. “Desire to live again, because that will be your lot in any case.” Nietzsche
5. Intuitive Development
I have been studying many different aspects of metaphysics for 35 years now. This has made me well versed on many different subjects in the field. You can tap into this data base of knowledge! I am like a living breathing huge set of encyclopedia’s! You can use a class or a series of classes to discuss developing your intuitive abilities in a number of different areas. Some examples: Lucid dreaming, out of body experiences, crystals, how often should you do readings, developing empathic abilities and boundary setting with others, talking to angels and spirit guides, meditation, What do repeating number messages say to us, adjusting vibrations as you grow, channeling, chakra clearing, etc...When we commit to listening more to our inner self it is natural to change many different aspects of the way we live life in the process.
6. CREATING PROSPERITY
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 identify limiting beliefs and how to effectively change them. We will explore many different methods that connect to financial prosperity and this will act as a key for uncovering the blocks that currently keep you stuck. The universe will support your decision to change your reality. We are not stuck or destined to be limited, unless we choose to stay stuck and limited! Instructor Jim Ventura will discuss practical and metaphysical tools to show you how to create prosperity in your life.
“If I knew I was going to die tomorrow, And spring came the day after tomorrow, I would die peacefully, because it came the day after tomorrow. If that’s its time, when else should it come? I like that everything is real and everything is right; And I like that it would be like this even if I didn’t like it. And so, If I die now, I die peacefully because everything is real and everything is right.” Alberto Caeiro
Snake Oil Radio
Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be two live broadcast this period)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, April 8th at 3:30 p.m. mountain (Phoenix) time. Usually one or two Thursdays each month 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 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.
“When you smell a spring flower, it’s as if the soul of that flower settles inside you! And then you become that flower for a short time!” Mehmet Murat Ildan
Here’s my contact information to make an appointment for a session, or information on current classes: Email: Venturasag@yahoo.com (best method for contact).
Phone calls: (602) 957-3035 text only: (602) 349-0746
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.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Ventura/110567902293371?ref=hl
You also may want to check out my posts on Tumblr.com:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/snake-oil-blog
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel (approximately once a month 6-10 minute videos) at
J Ventura.
All sessions/readings for 2020-21 are: Full (70 minutes) $115.00; Shorter session (45 minutes) $90.00; Extended session (90 minutes) $135.00 (two people can split an extended session back to back with an added fee of $5 for $70.00 each, although no other discounts will apply). Mini phone session 20 minutes $40. 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. Purchasing 3 pre-paid sessions also brings sizable discounts (example 3 pre-paid 45 minute sessions is $150 total or $50 a session...)
