The never ending reading.

Have you ever taken a personality test? You know the type where the questionnaire asks the same question twenty different ways all in an effort to arrive at a specific answer. There is a similar situation with psychic readings.
I call it the never ending reading.

Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes people have a strongly vested interest in hearing a specific answer to a very important, or possibly a not so important, question. This question usually involves a cherished hope for a specific outcome. A deeply held belief in a specific outcome. Possibly a very real perceived need to be right or for someone else to be wrong. It also heralds a long and potentially pointless reading.
Someday you will have this client.

I tend to be a fairly patient person. I don't mind going over and over the same issue repeatedly. Unfortunately no matter how many times you are asked the same question the answer doesn't usually change. Finally you will be faced with the ultimate question of "why doesn't (insert outcome hear) happen?"

The answer to that question will be varied and meaningful, but not necessarily what the client wants to hear. This is not your issue.

More on this topic later...

Tears, fears and beers, oh my!

Okay so you've jumped in the pool. You, yes you, are going to give someone a reading.

Be prepared. Some people you read may not be willing to hear what you have to say. Some people you read may be only too willing to hear what you have to say.
Others may truly want to hear what you have to say, yet aren't in a place in their life to do anything about the issues at hand.

Let's face it, psychic or not, we've all been there. The friend that continually falls for that perfectly wrong person asks, "Why do all my relationships end this way?" The answer is clear, "Because you want them to." getting that answer through to this person may take some doing.

Being an objective observer has it's risks. You, as the voice of objectivity,(note I don't say reason) run the risk of saying something someone else just simply doesn't want to hear.

Can you handle being told "no, no I don't do that" even though you know the person in question does in fact do whatever it is they claim not to? Not having a vested interest in the outcome of any reading will give you the ability to remain objective.

How to cultivate a hands off perspective? One way I remain open to the possibilities is, I rarely do readings for friends. Sounds funny doesn't it.

I learned early on that when I read for people I care a great deal about, it is very hard to keep my personality out of the mix. I want this person to have a great outcome because I don't enjoy seeing people I care about suffer.

I also learned that you can fall into what I call the "wish reading" I would end up reading what the person wished would happen instead of what I knew to be the more likely turn of events.

If I do read a friend, I make sure to stick to the questions at hand. Stick to the facts and be as blunt as possible. Why am I blunt? By being blunt I keep my emotions out of the way.

Another risk of reading for others is the "Tear factor".

Can you handle someone crying? I mean really crying? A huge out pouring of emotion can and does happen regularly while doing readings. This emotional torrent can be scary.

How will you deal with a sobbing client? First off, have tissues handy. Try to remain calm, remember releasing emotion is a good thing. Also, you didn't make the client cry their circumstances did...really, no really.

Fears, irrational unyielding fears.
We all have fear. Most of our fears are reasonable and involve some form of pain be it physical, emotional or all of the above. Some of your clients are likely to come to you with fears that simply don't make sense. While dealing with a clients fear I've learned that clarity works best.

Challenging the fear will only give the client something to hold on to. Defining why someone is fearful and what of and clearly stating the possible outcomes, usually is the best one can do with an unreasonable fear.

Getting comfortable with your own unreasonable fears doesn't hurt either.

And now on to "Beers" or reading while drunk. Ever tried to read a good book while tanked? Not easy is it?

Giving someone a reading while drinking. Yes I've done it. Is it a good idea? No. Remember you are dealing with peoples lives, emotions, hopes, and fears. Taking the clients life seriously, regardless of how the person you are reading feels about it at the time, is important.

Yes reading can be and hopefully is fun, for everyone involved, and yes a party can be a great place to have a reading, but reading while drunk isn't pretty and doesn't leave any room for objectivity.

If your client is drunk you need to choose how and whether or not you are going to deal with it. I don't recommend reading for someone whose drunk, its kind of like discussing philosophy with a dog. The dog enjoys the attention but doesn't really get the point.

Next up, the never ending reading....

A side note...

Intuition is a tricky thing, it can show it's self to us under strange and sometimes uncomfortable circumstances. Say in large groups, at work, while driving.

Along with this intuitive feeling you may feel anxiety, excitement, clarity, all or none of the above. The difficult part is learning how to decipher the intuitive piece in amongst the fog.

I'm a teacher so I may be biased here but... Take a class. Read a book. Practice with like minded people. I can't say it enough. The best way to figure out what to do with your intuition is to put it to the test.

What if you don't want to be psychic? Take a class. Read a book. Talk to like minded people. Have you ever spoken to someone that is very tall? Ask them how often they were asked about basketball. Go ahead do it. Watch the eyes roll back into their heads. Just because you're tall doesn't mean you play basketball. Just because you have intuition it doesn't mean you are obligated to use it. Learning how to "deal" with your intuition can be just as useful as learning how to use your intuition.

Now you've gone and done it!

What's that? You want to be a psychic? Really, why would you want to do that? No really, that is the question. What do you expect to come of this unusual skill set? How will you nurture this talent.

Being psychic and doing work as a psychic are two different animals. Using your innate psychic abilities to better your life is a wonderful use of this gift. Using your innate psychic abilities to better someone other then yourself is a wonderful use as well, but this comes with a price.

How well do you deal with risk? Are you comfortable being challenged? More on this later.

Next up: Tears, Fears, and Beers.