SNAKE OIL
Clouds got in my way
I looked out the window and saw clouds filling the sky. They were dark, ominous, and beautiful all at the same time. They blocked out the sun on one of Arizona's typically bright and sunny days. The Lakota Indians use the word Mahpia to describe the energy of clouds. Mahpia also refers to the human experience of being caught in the grips of compulsion and addiction. Addictions and compulsions are considered rites of passage, tests for learning how to choose wholeness over disintegration. At some point we all struggle with some elements of addiction. Some people battle with the big stuff, such as hard core drug abuse, extreme alcoholism, opioid addictions, sexual addictions, or even elements of greed that may pull them into potential criminal activity. People caught up in extreme levels of addiction often have the chief negative feature (one of the seven human fears) that is based on a fear of loss of control pushing one to be self destructive. Most of us will never experience these types of extremes, but are drawn into more subtle forms of addiction that block and mask our personal power.
In September of 2001, I began to see that I was out of control with my personal addictions. The tragedies of 9-11 coincided with my separation from someone I was deeply in love with. There seemed to be no explanation for my emotional loss as well as the chaos and loss of our country’s sense of security. I could not get answers from the man who I felt had abandoned me or from my Higher self. I was blocked from clarity and understanding. Emotionally, my heart was broken and I was having difficulties putting the pieces together. I found myself drinking three times the amount of coffee I usually drank. I was constantly craving sweets, and found myself gaining weight because I was eating more than I normally did. I was smoking tobacco and marijuana far more often than usual. Things that I had done occasionally had become daily survival rituals and I was tilting out of balance.
We crave certain substances and use them to excess when we are spiritually, mentally, and emotionally out of balance. The most commonly used addictive substances are:
Tobacco - masks unresolved anger and feeling powerless (It is common for smoking to begin during adolescence when these feelings are typically part of the teen years).
Sugar - masks a feeling of not being lovable.
Chocolate - similar to sugar, but also masks feeling comfortable with intimacy and triggers similar feelings as sexual contact does.
Alcohol - masks fear (witness the drunk expressing delusional bravery and sometimes acting belligerent and telling everyone around him/her what “they really think”).
Marijuana - masks sadness.
Caffeine - masks everything.
According to the Lakota, Mahpia is a supernatural spirit. He travels the earth searching for wholeness, and blocks the sun in the form of clouds that bring rain, sleet and hail. Our compulsions and addictions cast dark shadows over our lives. They block our true
personal power. In a similar way, like many pharmaceutical medicines, they don't actually cure problems. They simply act as a temporary mask of the symptoms and block the issue from rising to the surface to be resolved. When we look directly at our compulsions and addictions, and see what they are masking, we can dispel the clouds that block our true power and claim wholeness.
I was able to break my addiction cycle when I looked at what the addictions were really all about, and why I was actually doing them. I still drink coffee, although mostly decaffeinated. My Italian heritage and the fact that it tastes so damn good makes it tough to let go. Once in a while I have sweets, but usually in small amounts. I smoke cigars for the most part only when I gamble once a week or during Vegas trips. I occasionally even smoke a little weed. It was never about eliminating “the good things in life.” When I looked at the things that I was having trouble with, I was able to let the compulsive element go. Now I allow myself to feel sadness. Poignantly sad, touching music and movies fill this place nicely. I work out at a gym and sometimes punch a punching bag while I'm there, to burn off excessive energy when I feel I have no control or I am angry. I know now that I am lovable, whether I am alone or with others. The sugar compulsion and cravings were part of a pattern developed during my childhood and partly stemmed from a mother who had difficulty showing or telling us we were loved. I no longer struggle with this. I enjoy sugar in moderation. I enjoy the occasional cloudy days that block the Arizona sun. I know that while the sun may be hidden behind the clouds both in the outside world and inside myself, it still shines brightly. The clouds always move away, revealing beautiful, blue skies.
Jim Ventura 4-2004
Notes:
This is one of my earliest columns from back in 2004. It is part of Snake Oil Volume One. If interested you can purchase a copy from me or from Amazon.com. The current Opioid addiction in this country has reached epic proportions. There are many different types of things that pharmaceutical medicines mask. Overall they boil down to masking pain. All types of pain; physical, intellectual, and emotional pain, but of course they are all interconnected. I have never been pulled to using pharmaceutical medicines. Over the counter and prescribed medicines always may partly resolve one thing, yet the cost of a number of other problems that they usually trigger are simply not worth it to me. In my twenties I would try things like Benadryl. It would work by drying out my sinuses, but I would end up so dehydrated that I couldn’t get enough water to feel comfortable. I would also feel a little stoned in a bizarre (and not fun) way when using these types of products. Luckily I have been blessed with good health so far (natal Venus in 6th in easy aspect to everything). I also think that pain or discomfort (in reasonable doses) can be useful in many respects. I am physically strong so I can handle a lot. I see pain as a reminder to me to resolve whatever is blocked physically, in my emotional body, and any limiting beliefs I am holding. Pain is a reminder of needed change!
Approximately twenty percent of the population struggles in a minor or major way with self-destruction or fear of lack of control. Its positive pole is sacrifice and negative suicide (either slowly or quickly in one way or another). It is often triggered during childhood and usually stems from one or more issues with abandonment. People with this chief negative feature are more often likely to struggle with addiction. Often the pain of the past abandonment is simply unbearable.
We hit a “delightful” high of 120 here in Phoenix already. This is the part of summer that pretty much sucks. An expensive price tag we pay for the 8-9 months of great weather to follow in the fall. Wishing everyone a happy July! Cheers, Jimmy V
“Changing a Habit is Never Difficult. Difficult is to Address Your unwillingness to do it.” Vineet Raj Kapoor
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.
Become self-indulgent
“My recommendation for preventing illness is to be somewhat self-indulgent, which I know is anti-establishment. I recommend that you take five minutes every day and listen to yourself. Spend just five minutes before you go to sleep to stop and find out what’s bothering you.
The good news is that this brings the bother up to the surface where you know what it is. An awful lot of you people are bothered but don’t know it. You are agitated about debts or spouses or bosses or family, and you pretend that you aren’t. You get the worlds worst review at the job, and you are fine, just fine. Your checks bounce, and you respond, ‘I can cope. I’ve done this before. I’ll just go down to the bank and handle it.’ And-funny thing-you’ve probably got an ulcer brewing, and you don’t even know it.
Simply take five minutes a day to stop and find out if you’re bothered, what you’re bothered about, and what you are feeling. Are you happy, are you tense, what does your body feel like, are you hungry? What a novel thing it would be to stop three minutes before your meal and find out if you actually are hungry. Most of you eat because its time. Some of you even have your stomachs trained so they growl at 12:05 if you don’t feed them at 12:00-not because you’re hungry, but because, ‘Well, its time you put something in me. Grrr.’
Now, I know that's a lot-five minutes focused on yourself is extreme. Spend a few minutes in the morning just scanning your body while you are lying in bed. What does it feel like? ‘Oh, my elbows hurt.’ Are you clenching your fists in the night? What does your jaw feel like? Are you waking up with a headache? Are you hungry? What does your mouth feel like? Is it gooey, is it dry? What does your tongue feel like? What do your muscles feel like? What do your eyeballs feel like? Do you want to be awake now or are you still wanting to go back to sleep? It doesn’t take long to check all those things. It takes some consciousness, but not a lot of time...”
Spirit Speaks magazine Aranya 1992
*The author of this piece makes some excellent points. When we take the time to be aware of how we feel physically, emotionally, and in all other ways we have the power to adjust ourselves to increase health and to avoid the traps of reaching for physical substitutes to repress or cover areas of emotional discomfort. Jim V
“What makes life worth living? To be born with the gift of laughter and sense that the world is mad.” S. Scaramouche
Snake Oil Radio
Thursdays at 3:30 pm (there will be one live broadcast this month)
My next live broadcast of Snake Oil Radio will be Thursday, July 13th. 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.
“Man is the only animal who enjoys the consolation of believing in a next life; all other animals enjoy the consolation of not worrying about it.” Robert Brault
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
“When the student is ready, the master appears.” Buddhist Proverb
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.
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 Face book 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 2017 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.
