By Kurt DuNard, The Exceptional Life Coach

The secret is that you have an amazing power within yourself that can bring about miraculous outcomes. The power that you have has been known to cure incurable diseases, build billion dollar companies, create magnificent symphonies, paint masterpieces and build fantastic loving families. The light switch that turns on this power is called visualization. Anyone that has created anything worthwhile in their lives used visualization whether consciously or unconsciously. The ones that systematically use visualization consciously have created amazing success. We all know who they are. They are Olympic athletes, the super rich, star entertainers, top salespeople, and almost anyone you can think of whom you believe has created an exceptional life. Visualization is such a powerful tool that it pays to practice and increase our visualization skills. Here’s how.

Why Visualization Works

It puts the subconscious on notice by saying “Here are my dreams—help me achieve them.” The subconscious then sends creative ideas and amazing inspirations.

There is a place in the brain that is called the Reticulated Activating System (RAS). You might tell your subconscious that you would like a blue Lexus LS 430 and all of a sudden you start seeing these cars everywhere. The RAS has been activated and you are noticing lots of beautiful blue cars. Visualization causes you to notice. Before you were blind and now you notice.

Here is the spooky part. Visualization, like prayer, activates the law of attraction. In totally unexplained, accidental, coincidental ways you attract the right people, the right situations, and the right resources. You are living a charmed life. Most successful people will tell you that they worked hard but they also were very fortunate. You can also be fortunate.

Visualization creates enthusiasm, excitement, and joy because your subconscious starts believing that your dreams are coming true. Enthusiasm, excitement, and joy are the fuel that is needed to emotionally make it OK to take action to achieve our dreams. You believe that success is yours for the taking and so you are enthused and take action. If diamonds are in the road, you must take action to pick them up and you are enthusiastically picking them up. There must be action—pick them up.

Start Where You Are

Visualization should be a fun relaxing exercise. Visualizing your dreams should never be a chore, a have to, or routine. It should always inspire emotions of happiness and peace.

If you think you are new to visualization, you are mistaken. You have visualized all your life, you were just not conscious of your practice. What may be new is that you have decided to become better at the practice and to be a conscious guide to your visualizations. You have decided to consciously tap into your power. You can only succeed. Follow these few simple rules.

Visualize what you want. Make them positive visualizations.

Avoid visualizing disaster or what you don’t want. Avoid negative visualizations.

Visualize living your dreams now in the present tense and how you feel.

Use lots of emotions and all the five senses if you can. It is important that your subconscious believes this is real.

Do balanced visualizations to create a balanced life. Visualize health, prosperity, family, friends, job, spiritual, wisdom, creativity, etc.

Visualize every day in the morning and just before going to bed. The more you visualize, the more you will look forward to it and the more you will notice positive changes in your life as a result.

Priming the Visualization Pump

The real power to change our lives comes through visualization; however, there are other practices that can help us augment the subconscious other than visualization. These practices can be done through the day or just before a visualization session.

Use pictures to help you visualize

Find pictures that make you emotionally excited, that represent goals, and aspirations. They could be the perfect house, you at the perfect weight with your picture Photoshoped onto another body, or it could show laughing friends and children. The pictures are more powerful, when you are in the picture. When you test drive your favorite car, have a picture taken of you with the car and another picture that you have taken from behind the wheel. Have a picture for all your dreams and goals. Make sure your goals are balanced in all areas of your life. Otherwise, you could have a great career with a sadly neglected family. Jack Canfield talks about how he took a $1.00 bill and then wrote six zero’s behind the “1″ to make it a million dollar bill. He then put that “$1,000,000 bill” above his bed so he would see it every morning. That representation of a million dollars soon materialized in Jack’s life.

Written Goals on 3 X 5 Cards

Put each goal on one side of the card. You could make it even better if you put a picture on the other side representing the goal. Morning and night, look at each card and visualize how you feel having accomplished this goal in the present moment—not the future.

Convert Your Goals to Affirmations and Memorize Those Affirmations

These affirmations are a statement of how you feel having accomplished the goal. It is a verbal visualization.

I feel fantastic, full of energy, and always ready for action now that I weigh 150 pounds.

Because you repeat these affirmations so frequently, they almost become a mantra that can be used to still the mind during meditation and visualization. To be effective, however, they must be done with thought and never as a thoughtless chant.

Get Ready For Success Because You Know it is Here

If you don’t prepare for success, then you don’t believe in success and even if it came you would not be ready. Part of making it happen is to assume all of these ideas work and you must get ready. Buy the new wardrobe for the new job. Learn Italian for your dream vacation to Italy. Move to where you want to live even if everything is not perfect right now. We must have an unwavering faith that everything is going to go our way or maybe even better. That faith is what convinces the law of attraction to go into overdrive.

Example of a Simple Visualization Session

You get very relaxed and sit down in your favorite chair that you use every morning. It is quiet and you have learned to love this time of day. You get out your power pictures that help your visualize. You go through them and get more and more positive. Then you go through your index cards and look at all your goals. You are starting to get ready for visualization. Now you relax, with both feet flat on the ground and both hands resting lightly on the chair arm or on your legs. You close your eyes and slowly you say your affirmations.

Legend has it that Bill Gates, Paul Allen and many Silicone Valley entrepreneurs were influenced by the book The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel. Here is a series of affirmations he talks about.

I am whole,

Perfect,

Strong,

Powerful,

Loving,

Harmonious,

And Happy.

You say your affirmations to yourself at least three times. As other thoughts outside of your visualization invade your mind, you come back to saying your affirmations. Now you are in the right frame of mind for effective visualization. You start imagining your life as you live your dreams in the now. You imagine perfect health and what that means to you. You imagine perfect friendships and how they interact with you in your home. You imagine your career working with the kind of people you love and how every day you are being recognized and appreciated for your excellent work. You imagine going to those wonderful places you have only dreamed of—now you are there. Your clothes, the food you eat, where you live, everything is in living color and you can smell the ocean breeze as you sail in your yacht. Everyday as you do your visualizations, the images, the inspirations and faith will become stronger and stronger. One day you will come to a clear realization that you are living what you lived in your visualization only two years ago. It will be no surprise.

Visualize all your goals, dreams and affirmations. Change them when they are no longer exciting. Spend at least fifteen minutes a session.

Copyright © 2008 Kurt DuNard

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Quote

Daydreams are not so bad; Einstein discovered the theory of relativity in a daydream.

–Kurt DuNard

The understanding and application of additional key spiritual perspectives (some would consider it to be hidden knowledge) can make your life a lot easier.

The following information is from our new e-package, Direct Your Destiny ™ which contains the equivalent of over 230 standard 8 ½ x 11 sized pages of dynamic ancient wisdom and spiritual insights, a powerful combination of unique metaphysical techniques, an exclusive collection of tools like audio meditations and effective subconscious personality assessment methods, and invaluable recommendations to help you become a shrewd and sensible sage and reach your most cherished goals.

Our Mystic’s Magic Formula, which is a key component of Direct Your Destiny ™, is a time-tested system that includes potent mystical methodologies to help you deal with life challenges and ultimately get the results you seek. It’s too extensive to cover in its entirety here (we give you more detailed instructions in the e-package), but we’ll give you a basic introduction to the information.

If you apply each step of the Mystic’s Magic Formula, you will more quickly and effectively let go of the past and what isn’t working, and reach your goals in time if they are part of your destined path. If they aren’t, your efforts may be more for a learning experience. Remember, the journey is often more important than the destination.

While we agree that everyone has f.ree will to influence their reality and even create as they desire to a degree (if it’s within the boundaries of their personal destiny), we are convinced it’s impossible to skip karmic conditions without having to directly balance them.

Sure, we would love to tell you the opposite, that you have a completely clean slate upon incarnating, and that the sky is the limit no matter what in relation to anything you want. But that would only serve us, not you, and we’ve found it to be false.

For example, if we told you that you could succeed in any profession you wanted, even the toughest if you just really believed you could, and then you did everything you could to reach that goal but then failed, it would potentially cause you deep despair and could upend the momentum of your progress. You would feel like there was something wrong with you for not being able to reach your goal, especially if we had erroneously convinced you that the problem is your lack of focus or intent, or whatever, rather than a faulty “you can accomplish whatever you want no matter what your karma and fate” philosophy.

Instead, we help people be more realistic by sharing, among other things, that we’ve found the idea that “anyone can be or do anything” to be myth. However, if being an actor, for example, is your destiny (and we can delineate and predict levels of recognition and fame, and the timing of such through our work) it will happen for you. We hope you benefit from our perspective which is derived from thousands of hours of extensive empirical research since 1992.

The first step (of 9) of the Mystic’s Magic Formula is to make time to consider your situation from a spiritual perspective. Review your assumptions and expectations and let them go. This may have to do with your current relationship or about your fears or even illusions about the type of career you want.

Yes, we know, it’s not always easy to just let go of fears. But it pays dividends to stop focusing on what you didn’t get or about the future and consider the spiritual reasons for your situation. It’s likely things are as they are so you’ll learn what you need to.

Also, examine your hopes and expectations. Do you know exactly what you need to do to reach your goals? Have you outlined the steps in detail? Do you feel you have the drive to accomplish it all? Will you enjoy the journey as much as the destination?

Step 2 (of 9) of the Mystic’s Magic Formula is to accept what has happened, what is (what you can’t change), and where you are (essential in order to move on). Surrender to your inner wisdom. Resisting instead of accepting and, or appropriately dealing with a situation or person will only cause you stress.

When you begin taking steps to reach your goals, accepting where you are and being in the moment will help alleviate fears of failure. Accept and learn to enjoy where you are, especially if frustrated.

Also, if you already know what you want, make sure to be open to better paths or possibilities. Perhaps your current interests will lead you to another option that you will like even more.

Step 3 (of 9) is Gratitude: express it for where you are, everything rewarding in your life that you have, and the good that will be, and strengthen your faith by continuing to emotionalize the desired, end result. More information can be found in the e-package.

We’ll relay more steps of the Mystic’s Magic Formula in a future article. In the meantime, get in the healthy habit of regularly expressing gratitude for everything in your life and watch things change for the better.

Copyright © Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo

Scott Petullo and Stephen Petullo are identical twins and have been exploring metaphysics since the early 1980’s. They are experts in the fields of prediction, personal fate, love life, and past life regression, and are natural psychics and mediums. Get their free report: 13 Spiritual and New Age Myths and 11 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Psychic.

http://www.mystictwins.com
http://www.holisticmakeover.com

There are two very interesting best-selling books available about the subject of wishing. One of them is “Be Careful What You Pray For … You Just Might Get It’ by Larry Dossey and the other is “Wishing Well” by Paul Pearsall, Ph.d.. Both deal with the subject of manifestation.

Wishing Well is more of a how-to book that explains the proper way to wish. The authour talksabout such basics as “not wishing too hard”, “not making selfish wishes” and “wishing for the essence of a thing, rather than the thingitself.”This is white witchcraft 101 whitewashed with New Age sensibilities; Harry Potter for adults.

Making a negative wish can function like a curse. Pearson says that much of the crap brought upon us in this civilization is the result of collective negative wishing. This got me to thinking about John F. Kennedy Juniour’s plane crash a few years ago. For generations now, people have been aware if the so-called Kennedy curse. Was it the mass belief in this curse, a form of negative wishing in itself, that finally brought down JFK’s plane? Is it something that we all, subconsciously, thought should happen?

According to both authours, wishes are strengthened when they are the result of a group desire and good intentions. However, when a group begins to wish negatively, from a place of hatred, jealousy or desire, then the wish usually manifests the opposite effect. I remember as a little kid, being more than well aware of the power of this kind of wishing. I use to wish for the opposite of what I wanted or wish the same thing for another (for example: “I wish my little sister would get an ice cream cone” and then I would end up with what I wanted in the first place.

I think I subconsciously knew that a selfish wish would get me the opposite. I might even be taunted by the sight of other children eating ice cream cones Another principle of wishing is “wishing overkill.” Wishes come true if they are more likea little nudge –done in a simple way, without anxiety and done from theheart. A well-done wish is comparable to the flapping of the butterflywings in Brazil causing a tornado in Florida. Apparently if you gently nudge the universe with yourthoughts, you’re in luck. You have to be part of the universal state ofharmony. If you interrupt this balance with an explosion of will, determinism, selfishness and passion, then you often experience a lashback and see the opposite come into effect. This is similar to witchcraft’s 3X3X3 rule: whatever you send out comes back to you. It also explains why disasters seem to escalate and the persistence of Murphy’s Law.

Another important principle, brought up by both authours is the principle of “like attracts like”. If you are in a state of anxiety and wishing for “more serenity”, you are more than likely to find your self surrounded by anxious people who are also wishing for serenity or in a state of even more anxiety. Stating that you lack something actually reinforces its lack. Combine this with the principle of resonance, where a wish in reinforced by the number of people thinking the same thing, than it really makes you start thinking that group negative wishing is actually responsible for many of the ills in the world.

The next time you make a wish, wish well. Wish for the best thing to happen for all concerned and don’t be attached to the outcome. When you wish upon a star, it DOES make a difference who you are …

Finally, I am Queen of My Domain!

Samantha Steven’s articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha’s books about metaphysics click here http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110 You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.psychicrealm.com where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.newagenotebook.com

Most people find crystal ball gazing is easiest in a quiet, dimly lit room. Many people like to have candles burning. For some the reflections of the flames help to summon images – others find them a distraction. Burning incence is common and some people like to have soothing music playing gently in the background.The important thing to remember is that you are creating an atmosphere.

The important key when doing crystal ball gazing is that you must be relaxed and your mind must be clear. It is always best to perform a cleansing ritual followed by a protection ritual, and THEN begin your crystal ball work. Normally a cleansing ritual would be performed on night one. The next night you would perform a protection ritual on yourself and within the room you intend on performing the crystal ball gazing. On the third night you can then be well prepared to use your crystal ball. Even though these rituals are not necessity, it is always wise to do them for maximum safety and best results.

When performing any form of scrying or divination you are summoning forth forces from the spirit realm. Normally these forces are closed off from this plane we live in unless otherwise disturbed such as through specific rituals such as crystal ball gazing and scrying. When you perform divination these forces can either aid you in bringing forth images of the future or other events, or attack you.

Evil spirits and negative influences can use your crystal ball, scrying mirror, ouija board, or pendulum a link for them to step through into this world. They can also use it as a means to drain energy from you as well. This is why it is always best to ensure proper cleansing and protection is prepared before hand.

Step 2. The Crystal Ball Gazing Method

Place the crystal ball on a table in front of you. Many crystal balls you can buy come with their own stand. If you don’t have a crystal ball stand you might like to use a small cushion or a silk handkerchief purchased and reserved specially for this purpose.

*Tip*
To amplify your crystal ball gazing, you can use a gemstone sphere as a compliment to the crystal ball. Simply having a gemstone sphere resting next the crystal ball can augment your diving two fold.

Sit down and relax. Lay your hands gently on the ball for a minute or two in order to energise it and strengthen your psychic rapport. Whilst holding the crystal ball, think about the purpose of this scrying session. If appropriate try to visualise the subject of your question. Some people like to ask the question out loud, others prefer to internalise it.

Now, remove your hands from the crystal. Look into the crystal, stare deeply. Allow your eyes to relax and become slightly unfocused. After a little while you should see a mist or smoke forming in the crystal. Let this mist grow and fill the ball, then visualise it gradually clearing to reveal images within the crystal.

The images you see might not be what you expected. That’s OK, don’t fight them. Your subconscious mind knows what information you need. Many people find that when they first begin to use a crystal ball, the images have nothing to do with what they focus on. This is because your mind is not yet adjusted at being able to grasp and focus on the energies being past from your subconscious into the crystal ball itself. Think of the mental energies going from your mind to the crystal ball as a funnel. The base or “tip” of the funnel is your subconscious energies and that energy is being directed upwards towards your conscious mind which is the mid point of the funnel. The conscious part of the mind that receives the subconscious energy then “spills” it into the crystal ball to form those images from the subconscious, which would be the mouth of the funnel.

Since divination uses both the subsconscious and conscious part of the mind at the same time it can be rather difficult to concentrate on both at once. Your subconscious is where the energy is stemming from. It passes it upwards to your conscious which is needed to act on that energy into the crystal ball. Without the conscious mind you would be in more of a deep meditated state and your eyes would not be able to consciously focus or input the images within the crystal ball.

As noted, it is perfectly ok that the first couple times you divine with a crystal ball the images are not related to what it is you want. The fact you are able to see ANYTHING in the crystal ball is showing progress. The more you work with the crystal ball, the better you will get at being able to see exactly what it is you want to see by manipulating your subconscious energies to your conscious energies, and then to the crystal ball. Either way, just let the images flow, changing and taking you wherever they choose to go. Don’t try to rationalise now, time for that later.

Step 3. Closing The Crystal Ball Session

Let the images slowly fade back into the crystal ball. Don’t just stop the session suddenly, instead reverse the process you used at the beginning. Visualise the mists coming back and covering the images, then receding to return the ball to its natural state.

Thank your crystal ball and put it away carefully wrapped within a dark cloth is best as dark cloth keeps the energies of the ball contained within it and prevents it from leaking out.

It is also always best to ensure you cleanse your crystal ball. A good, fast, and simple way of doing this is to simply light a sage smudge stick and or sage incense and move the ball around the smoke before you place it back for storage. Another quick and easy way to cleanse your crystal ball would be to give it a dip in salt water for roughly one minute. You do not want to soak it too long in salt as it can damage and ruin the crystal ball.

If you are interested in viewing different kinds of crystal balls, or if you would like to purchase one to begin crystal ball gazing, you can do find some here: http://moonslightmagic.com

Joseph is an expert on the occult, paranormal, witchcraft, and wicca.
He co-runs a blog with all kinds of information and how to’s on the above subjects. You can view the blog here: http://moonslightmagicblog.blogspot.com

ENVIRONMENT

* There will be a greater potential for earthquakes, mudslides, avalanches, hi-rise building disasters, torrential rainstorms, floods, tsunamis and blizzards.

* More of these incidents may occur in the Southern and Western parts of the world, countries and cities.

* Water contamination issues as well as innovative water purification methods may be in the news.

PRESCRIPTIONS
* If you live in an area with a potential for any of the above take precautions right now to stay safe.

* Acquire a good water purifier to keep your personal water supply healthy.

* Get involved with lawmakers and grassroots groups to keep your local waterways clean and vital.

POLITICS

* There will be monumental efforts to gain global stability while strong pockets of undercurrents attempt to “cause the mountain to fall.”

* We could see the beginnings of a cooling down period in international conflicts.

* There are indicators that more females will come to political power this year.

PRESCRIPTIONS

* Let peace begin with you. Make a personal commitment to creating a harmonious atmosphere in your environment and in your heart. It will have a ripple effect on everyone in your personal life and the whole of humanity.

* Utilize the power of Feng Shui to harmonize the energies in your home and work space. Place a focus symbol of peace and prosperity on your desk such as a photo of the ocean or a waterfall flowing towards you.

* Dedicate 15-30 minutes daily to integrate a spiritual practice or program of personal development.

RELATIONSHIPS

* In Chinese astrology the Rat is known as a “Flower of Romance” and so increased romance and sociability will be in the air for many. More public love triangles and sex scandals may abound.

* Depending on your individual horoscope the focus on romance may bring unexpected challenges
and break ups for some and/or may trigger unexpected new love for you this year.

PRESCRIPTIONS

*Connecting with others is beneficial this year whether it is for romantic purposes, business networking or any other kind of social involvement.

*Join a dating site, a social networking site, or connect with a special interest group, or spiritual congregation. New friendships will be beneficial and certain kinds of friendships lead to romance.

* If you are in a challenged relationship right now this is a good year to seek counseling to heal your heart and remember the core of love you once shared.

HEALTH

* There is a “depth” and a “hidden” quality to what is buried inside a mountain and what is found under the sea and this may correspond to discovering a deeper understanding of health and how what is buried within our subconscious minds is powerfully affecting it.

* New healing discoveries of plants grown atop mountains or under water may surface.

* In Chinese Medicine “earth disorders” relate to the spleen, pancreas and stomach so obesity, diabetes and digestive system challenges may be more prevalent. The emotion of sadness is related to earth as well so depression and problems with anti-depressants may be more widespread.

* “Water disorders” relate to the urinary/bladder and reproductive systems, and adrenals. The main water emotion is fear.

* The Chinese astrological sign of the Horse (fire element) directly opposes the Rat and this clash may produce increased “fire disorders” such as high blood pressure, heart/circulation/brain conditions, vision problems, fevers, and inflammations. The emotional imbalance for fire is over-excitement.

* More healing, beauty and rejuvenation breakthroughs may be triggered this year through the use of elixirs made of products of the earth, and refined laser and microcurrent or light wave treatments.

* Spirituality is ruled by the fire element and that may spark greater interest in healing from the deeper level of the heart and soul.

PRESCRIPTIONS

* If you have any earth, water or fire related organ weakness think about prevention and focus upon strengthening and vitalizing before anything serious occurs.

* Try some “energy therapy” methods to quickly eliminate sadness, fear, and anxiety to avoid resorting to medication, for example the Emotional Freedom Technique.

* Investigate spiritual healing modalities such as Reiki, Theta Healing, Chi Kung, or Prayer.

* Enjoy the healing benefits of organic teas and elixirs. Consider a water or juice fast one day a month.

* Have fun creating your own health and beauty potions with products of the earth such as clays, herbs, and essential oils.

FINANCIAL

* The stock market: More unstable in 2008 and generally investors will feel like playing it more cool and cautious.

* The commodities market: Grains and soybeans should do well.

* Investments related to the earth element are somewhat favorable but earth is unstable this year so profits taken may not be strong: Property, mining, hotels, insurance, health care, food business, and products of the earth such as herbs, oil, metals or gems. Diamonds may be found in unusual places on the earth where they’ve never been found before.

* Indicators are that interest rates will rise.

* There will be tougher competition in water related industries: Shipping, cruising, fishing and beverage industries. Bottled waters should outperform other kinds of drinks this year
.
* Innovative solar energy and environmentally sensitive products, hi-tech industries and internet businesses will continue to be profitable.

PRESCRIPTIONS

* Be more practical (earth) about your money and investments by creating a plan: a sort of “sacred budget” that will curb unconscious spending and intentionally funnel your income into achieving your current year dreams and visions for the future.

* Call upon the power of reflection and wisdom (water) your own or somebody else’s to make the most beneficial choices for your business and personal financial success. My predictions are for educational and research purposes only. Always seek the advice of your personal financial and health professional.

All things on earth have cycles. Understanding the laws of nature allows us to be in the flow of happiness and success. I’d like to offer you free access to my report about how to benefit from auspicious Feng Shui in your bedroom to increase your happiness and success at
http://www.redpeony.com

From Beth Borray – Feng Shui expert and Green Living advocate.

The athame knife is a ritual dagger that is used by Wiccans and Neo Pagans in rituals and spells as an extension of their body and is considered a very sacred tool.

The athame in Wicca is traditionally a male principal, or a male symbol representing the reproductive organ of the Horned God who impregnated the Goddess Gia to give birth to the Earth and nature.

The athame knife is traditionally either black handled or wooden handled, with the blade made of steel.

Wood is often used in an athame blade because of it’s representation of Nature and the Earth. A tree was either sacrificed or already dead, and the wood was recycled into the athame so that it may be continued to give life and energies once again, almost like a symbolic rebirth.

The Chalice
In Wicca a chalice, as a feminine principle, is often used in combination with the Athame (ceremonial black-handled knife), as male principle. Combining the two evokes the act of procreation, as a symbol of universal creativity. This is a symbol of the Great Rite in Wiccan rituals. A chalice is also used in the Small Rite.

A chalice is a symbol of the element of water, a feminine element representing intuition, gestation, psychic ability, and the subconscious. The Cup also stands in as a symbol of the Goddess, of the womb, and the female generative organs. The chalice is sometimes interchangeable with the cauldron.

Wiccan Altar Bell
Bells are like the Voice of the Goddess. When you ring one, it brings the Divine’s attention to you. And your attention to the Divine.

A bell with a lovely tone will call beautiful, healing energy to you. Bells can also be used to clear energy. At the end of a ritual is a good time for this, but if unwanted energy crops up during a ritual, you can use the bell to disperse it. The purpose is that the clear tone of the altar bell will drive away negativity and keep evil spirits at bay. There are claims that evil spirits cannot tolerate the sounds of a clear high pitched bell.

Using an altar bell to call upon the goddess will ensure you are more protected during your rituals, spells, and ceremonies.

Altar Cloths
In certain Neopagan faiths, Wicca in particular, the altar cloth is placed on the altar where magical workings are performed. Many altars are patterned with pentagrams, the traditional symbol for Wicca.

Altar cloths prevent damage, dirt, and grime to form on your altar. It is always best to keep your altar clean to ensure you appease the various gods or goddesses you may be calling upon in you rituals. Keeping ones altar untidy can show disrespect to the gods and goddess, so be sure to clean your altar cloth often. Many altar cloths can be put into the wash with your other clothing whenever it is time for you to do laundry.

Altar Tiles
The altar tile is also called a pentacle is used on a Wiccan altar as a focal point for ritual work. It is commonly made of metal, wood, or clay stoneware. The tile itself is usually inscribed with the pentagram (five-pointed star) and sometimes with other symbols. The star symbol represents the four elements of earth, air, fire, water and a fifth element of spirit, as represented by the Goddess and God. The tile is positioned with the spirit tip pointing up to signify that the spirit rules over the elements.

If you would like to see the various wiccan supplies mentioned in this article you can do so here: http://www.moonslightmagic.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9 Looking for Wholesale? Wiccan Supplier offers 40% off retail price on all their wiccan supplies. http://www.wiccansupplier.com

But what if I get a card that we are not happy with – one that produces a decidedly negative reaction?

A negative reaction to a card is an indication that the image is activating some repressed part of yourself, or is a call to look at a particular problem. The more reluctance you feel to working with the card, the more important it is to continue!

In this case, get a friend to sit with you, to witness the messages you get from the card – you’ll have to work out loud in that case if possible. They are more likely to notice if you miss important clues – and it’s surprising how easy it is to ignore something that is really important! Encourage your friend to be objective and to say anything they think might be useful, even if you may not like what they say!

If you haven’t got a friend who will help close at hand, record all the intuitive links, however disturbing they may seem, and come back to them a few days later. You will probably find a strange recognition dawning – congratulations! Just stay with it, and the message will become clearer with time.

If you find at any point that your imaginary stories or identification with the figures in the cards are bringing up particularly painful memories, or feelings of fear or anger, use your own intuitive guidance to decide whether you should stay with them or turn away. Although you are perfectly at liberty to turn away, most of the time it is best to stay with the emotions if you can, feeling them as fully as possible.

Accept that they are part of you, and that by acknowledging them you are recovering a precious part of yourself (it is not feeling itself that is dangerous, it is repressed feeling). However, if you find it impossible to stay with these emotions, or decide intuitively that it is not a good idea, trust this intuition. You are your own wisest guide, and this may be your psyche’s way of protecting you.

If nothing at all appears in your awareness, you may be tired, or trying too hard, or missing the messages through inexperience. Indicate your willingness to your subconscious and higher consciousness that you wish to remain open to any flashes that may come through other people, books, films, or dreams, in the days ahead, and ensure you have a notebook to hand!

Cilla Conway

Cilla is a visionary artist who has been reading since 1981, when The Intuitive Tarot was completed. Her approach is psycho-spiritual, based on Jungian philosophy, and she is a member of the Tarot Association of the British Isles.

http://www.theintuitivetarot.com
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The successful entrepreneur is truly another breed of cat. He has a compulsion for growth and success. He happily takes risks and he’s unbeatable.

Here’s my list of the things you must have to achieve business success. “Ruffly” in descending order of importance. Without most of them, you won’t make it. You might still make it without one or two of them, but I doubt it.

1) A supportive Spouse. Nothing is more destructive to a marriage or a business than a spouse who is not willing to endure years of deprivation, chronic Cash shortages and fear (the sky-is-falling feeling when you wake up to worry at 4:00 a.m.). Needed is an almost Christ-like willingness to refrain from nagging or criticism when success takes longer than expected. Without that attitude, the emotional price to be paid will cause either the marriage or the business to fail.

If your spouse adds unnecessary emotional burdens to the already intolerable, new-business pressures, you will be less effective. Or, in your desire to please your spouse, you cannot, or will not, make the sacrifices necessary for success.

Kay was always totally supportive. She believed in me with all her heart, and did her best to make home a heaven on Earth. Without the support of your spouse, starting a new business is next to impossible.

2) No Back Doors. Starting a small business is an all-consuming, frustrating and exhausting effort. If you have an easy out, a terrific job to go back to, a lot of cash to fall back on, or whatever, you probably won’t hand in there when it is tempting to give up.

Almost every successful business had occasions when all seemed lost. The guy who refused to give up made it.

If you have a back door, you are much more likely to quit when it seems hopeless. If you really want to succeed in business, burn your bridges so there is only one way to go, and that’s forward. A kamikaze is more likely to complete his mission if the wheels fall off as he takes off, which is exactly what happened in World War II.

3) Incurable Optimism. Small businesses rarely succeed when the rounder is a pessimist, or overly cautious with an “accountant-like mentality.” I’m not knocking accountants. Not all of them have accountant-like mentalities. I mean the timid souls who see problems where the entrepreneur sees opportunities.

When a real entrepreneur sees an opportunity, he pounces on it. If he keeps his eye on his objective, obstacles are merely exciting challenges. He believes in himself, his product and his mission, despite everyone else’s pessimism.

Napoleon Hill’s great book, Think and Grow Rich, says “No great enterprise will ever begin if all obstacles must first be overcome.” That is the entrepreneur’s creed. Optimism ultimately prevails because skepticism eventually crumbles under the relentless pressure of an incurable optimist. Nobody will follow a skeptic very far. The optimists sweep others away with their enthusiasm and spur them to greater performance heights by giving them a sense of mission. An optimist has to hire some pessimists to keep the books and deal with the banker, but he should keep them out of his life as much as possible because they will stifle his dream.

There’s an utterly hilarious movie you all should see called “The Gods Must Be Crazy.” It’s the delightful story of an African Bushman family in a remote part of the Kalahari Desert. They have no possessions, living happily and simply until a passing private pilot throws a coke bottle out of his plane.

It’s the only possessions they’ve ever had, and soon they’re squabbling for the first time in the history of their family, so the father decides to go to the end of the world and throw off the bottle.

A subplot involves a game biologist who is delivering a pretty schoolteacher to her job in Botswana. Along the way, they start a small campfire. Suddenly, a rhinoceros comes rushing in and stamp out the fire.

Apparently, rhinos are Africa’s self-appointed fire-control officers. When they see a small fire, they run in and stamp it out. I know that sounds incredible, but after you’ve seen the movie, you’ll believe.

Optimistic entrepreneurs must not surround themselves with rhinos that stamp out their creative fires. The skeptics will try to stamp out your ideas while they are still fragile. Keep away from them until the fire of your dream is a raging conflagration no rhino can stamp out. Then you can safely involve the accountants, attorneys and other skeptics who can help you control your fires without endangering your blazing dream.

A start-up business without incurable optimism is dead meat.

4) The Ability to Postpone Gratification. The budding entrepreneur must be willing to deprive himself now to get the big rewards later. If he insists on taking a big salary out of the budding business, he will suck it dry before it matures.

When my sons bring me a new business plan with a big salary for themselves, I toss it back. They won’t have the sense of desperation that forces them to land the contract now, to make that sale now, to rush the project to completion now.

Postponement of gratification is the surest sign of maturity. Most successful entrepreneurs live high lifestyles – big cars, big houses, flashy rings, etc. – as the postponed payoff for years of deprivation when they hardly knew what they were going to eat, let alone when car to buy. They enjoy it to the fullest when rewards come, because they paid the price first. Perhaps this satisfies some subconscious, deep need to flaunt their success before the cynics who said it couldn’t be done – rubbing their noses in it as a sort of delicious revenge. The conspicuous consumption is understandable after the years of self-denial – and very common.

5) Intellectual Honesty. The real entrepreneur has a delicate balance between rampant optimism and realism. He admits when his product falls short of expectations and needs to be improved.

When he looks at accounting numbers, he doesn’t allow his optimism to cloud his good judgment. He faces his problems and deals with them, while never allowing his problems to convince him that “it ain’t gonna work.” Because he is honest with himself, he’s also honest with others. When he hires people, he candidly lays out the risks and rewards but his optimism still shines through.

He relies on his accountant for real numbers, but doesn’t allow those numbers to destroy his dream when they look bleak, because he believes that through hard work and ingenuity, he can change them. But he faces the truth as it is.

If he isn’t intellectually honest, sooner or later some fact he refused to face will rise up and bite him. Optimism won’t save him if it is built on the sand of unfaced facts.

The pessimists distort this principle to justify their pessimism. They say “Here are the facts. It’s terrible. There’s nothing you can do about it. Give up.”

The intellectually honest optimist says, “Here are the facts as they are. I acknowledge that, but I can change them, and I will.”

6) A Friend or Partner. Usually the entrepreneur has skills in one or two areas, but is woefully lacking in others. He might be a great salesman, but knows nothing about production or accounting. He might be an electronics genius or inventor who couldn’t sell worms to fishermen, and to him, accounting is witchcraft.

He needs a business associate who shares his dream and supplies the skills he does not have. All my major successes have been shares with such a partner.

Assess your deficiencies and your strengths, then spend time doing only the things you do best. That takes intellectual honesty. Either hire or affiliate with people who can do the things you do not do well. Once you honestly acknowledge what you don’t do well, turn those things over to competent people who can share your dream, you are unleashed.

Some people have a strong enough ego to stand alone, but most of us do a heck of a lot better with someone shoulder to shoulder with us, to plug the holes in our defenses.

7) A Strong Ego. I don’t know any successful businessman who isn’t an egotist, although some are better than others at concealing it. There is a crucial difference between a big, strong ego and a big, fragile one. I know some very talented people in my business who offend easily and are constantly on the alert of slights and insults, real or imagined.

The person with a strong go simply shrugs off most criticism and only counter-attack when good business judgment says he must. He usually just sails serenely on his self-confident way.

My ego is at least as big as anyone in my business. Without it, I never would have believed that my deathless prose or unorthodox economic views were worth charging for, but I can honestly say I rarely let that ego affect my business judgment.

The clearest symptom of a strong, secure ego is the ability to laugh when the joke is on you, to take a lot of kidding without pain and to never doubt yourself despite the ridicule of the majority.

I know my ego rubs some people wrong, but being 73 years old, I seriously doubt if my personality will change much. My family helps me keep my ego under some control. If Dad gets too pompous, my kids are wonderfully creative at bringing me down to earth. Around the Ruff house, the joke is usually on me.

Only a person with a secure ego will face reality, admit mistakes, cut losses and change directions. A strong ego reflects itself in many ways, some of them rather obnoxious, but usually the braggart or the temperamental artist has a fragile ego, not a strong one.

A wise person once taught me the true definition of temperamental: nine-tenths temper and one-tenth mental.

Secondary, But Still Important

Here are a few more points which may not be as fundamental as the above, but can increase the success odds of a small business:

1) You need a business plan. A business plan isn’t just an idea or a narrative. It’s a concept reduced to numbers on a month-by-month projection. It realistically projects monthly expenditures and income for two years, and quarterly after that. It’s usually done on a “spread sheet.”

Without a business plan, you don’t have the slightest idea of whether or not your project is even worth doing. You don’t know how much capital you need or where you’re potential pitfalls are.

A good business plan is revised constantly as the real numbers come in and become more and more accurate. Without a business plan, you need a lot more luck, which leads me to point number two.

2) You need a personal computer to run that spread sheet. Back in the days before PC’s, I remember sitting laboriously hour after hour with my adding machine and my accounting paper, cranking in all of the assumptions about sales and expenses. If I changed one assumption, I had to redo the whole spread sheet. I don’t know how many pencils and erasers I wore out. I also remember stopping from sheer exhaustion before I had all the answers I needed.

A PC can change all the other numbers with the stroke of a key when you change one assumption. A business without a computer spread sheet business plan can succeed, but it is infinitely easier with a personal computer.

3) You need a position. A position is a simple concept that aims for a relatively narrow segment of the market. When people bring me business deals, they often emphasize how this is “for everyone.” Successful businesses usually found a relatively narrow market segment, had a relatively simple product or service after it. The right name or advertising slogan automatically defines that position.

One example of positioning was FREE THE Eagle’s fight against the IMF funding several years ago. Our position was simple. “They’re bailing out the big banks with your tax money.” Not only was it true, but it clicked into place in people’s heads and it was very difficult to drive out.

That simple position won the battle of public opinion. The IMF only got their money because the President gave the Democrats a $14 billion housing bill to buy 50 votes in the House.

The more specific and specialized your product or service, the more likely it is to be successful. In this great nation, even a narrowly focused concept should be big enough to make you rich. A concept which tries to be all things to all people is a 100-pound marshmallow. No one knows where to start eating. It generally does not cause people to flock to your door.

You can broaden your concept later, but only within your position.

Intangibles

This lengthy treatise has dealt mostly with intangibles, but intangibles rule the world.

Hitler didn’t lead Germany because he was a good manager or accountant. He led it with the intangible force of his twisted dream, which almost destroyed Western civilization.

On the other hand, Jesus had an intangible dream that motivated people to face death and torture, or to change their lives, and He changed the world.

Intangible principles are the difference between business success and failure. As Mark McCormack points out in his book, “What They Don’t Teach You at the Harvard Business School,” business schools are numbers-, systems- and computer-oriented. That’s fine, but those tangibles can never take the place of a powerful idea. Without it, to quote an old southern friend of mine, “That dog won’t hunt.”

Howard J. Ruff, the legendary author and financial advisor, has re-edited and re-issued his 1978 mega best seller, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years, still the biggest-selling financial book in history, with 2.6 million copies in print. He is founder and editor of The Ruff Times financial newsletter. This is a Special Report, written in December, 2008. The newsletter is much more comprehensive and deals with a broad spectrum of middle-class financial issues and includes an Investment Menu from which you can build your portfolio. (You can learn about it here). The Ruff Times has served more than 600,000 subscribers – more than any financial-advisory newsletter in the world. His updated and revised book, How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years in the 21st Century, is in book stores or at http://www.rufftimes.com You can get it free when you subscribe to The Ruff Times http://www.rufftimes.com

Hypnosis is easy to learn and every body can benefit from it. Hypnosis is a safe environment to try new behaviors and emotional patterns before you experience them for real. Sports people who use hypnosis learn new quicker and more accurately. So hypnosis gives you more control of yourself and your life, it’s natural and gives you instant benefits and it’s a way of ‘trying on’ and establishing new patterns of emotional response and behavior. Hypnosis enables you to develop yourself as a human being.

Hypnosis is an amazing tool that is a cross between a science and an art! Learning to utilize one’s own subconscious mind can be a very powerful tool for self-change.

Admittedly, it’s kind of easy to confuse the hypnotic state with imagination because hypnotic induction often uses imagination. There are other methods of induction, though, that use little or no imagination. When it comes to hypnotic suggestions themselves, they can even be simple commands with no scenario per se. By the way, animals can be induced into an extremely relaxed state and offered the earliest form of stage hypnosis for entertainment.

Self-Hypnosis helps to integrate and focus both the conscious and subconscious levels of the mind at the same time–creating an optimal state of mind for effective change.

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For some, so far, it’s only a matter of awareness. All the recession talk is causing them to be more cautious, even though their income and expenses, to this date, have not changed much.

Others, after losing their job or experiencing major pay cuts, are having trouble meeting basic expenses like their rent or mortgage payment.

One good thing that may come from the recession includes an increasing number of people taking more responsibility for their financial future. Many will think twice before whipping out a credit card on every impulse. Things that seemed like necessities in the past, such as a nicer car, dining out frequently, expensive cups of coffee, or the hippest new fashions from the trendiest stores are being bypassed for alternatives.

Despondent about when things will get better? It varies for everyone. Periods of financial struggle and times of abundance throughout your life can be readily identified; they are symbolized through cyclical timing methods in the comprehensive numerology and astrology charts or foretold by some psychics. Likewise, your overall money fate over the course of your entire life can be determined as well; below, average, above, or way above average financial prosperity is symbolized in the comprehensive chart patterns. If this concept is new to you and you’re skeptical, we understand. It took us many years to recognize the authenticity and accept the notion of, fixed personal fate.

How does this concept apply to someone who is always in debt? It indicates they may be living beyond their means, buying more than what they are destined to possess (unless they are destined to have more money but are subconsciously blocking financial success, which is discernible through handwriting analysis). They may think it’s their “birthright” to have and buy whatever they want, when they want it. But if they want to get out of debt and remain there, they must reduce their spending and accept the level of material abundance that their soul (not their conscious self) chose before incarnating.

For those who are financially responsible but have hit a temporary rough patch, or for anyone else who wants to make the most of their financial fate, we offer two different methods to help whenever you’re feeling apprehensive about your finances.

The first is what we call the Mystic’s Magic Formula.

1) Make time to consider your situation from a spiritual perspective. Review your assumptions and expectations and let them go.

2) Accept what has happened, what is, and where you are (essential in order to move on). Surrender to your inner wisdom. Establish and cultivate your goals after determining if they are relatively realistic.

3) Gratitude: express it for where you are, everything rewarding in your life that you have, and the good that will be, and strengthen your faith by continuing to emotionalize the desired, end result.

4) Invite help from your higher-self, guides of the Light and, or God.

5) Calm your mind and fears and awaken your awareness through meditation

6) What’s the next step? Ask this every step of the way and be open for clues.

7) Assume responsibility for yourself and your situation (no blaming).

Navigate your path with the tools available to you: numerology and astrology, meditation, past life regression, graphology, and other effective self-help methods.

9) Do what you need to do, when you need to do it (and do “the right thing” in all situations).

The second method is easier and especially helpful when you are feeling depressed, confused, or helpless about your situation. It can be used anywhere, anytime, and when practiced often, it will make a world of difference and generate enormous peace of mind.

Instead of feeding your depression or feelings of lack, elevate your energy and change your state of mind. That may sound a bit vague, but it’s fairly easy to do: just feel excited about more money, a better work environment, more clients, more love, a better date, or whatever, but the trick is to feel in general terms, such as simply “mass abundance.”

Don’t think of details yet or analyze how you can reach your goal. When you feel the worry energy weighing down your heart and solar-plexus (stomach) chakras areas, instead of giving in to it, transmute it, replace it with the positive energy of excitement. Feel excited and let the energy rise and then imagine yourself merging with a higher, protective, and guiding power. Perceive yourself surrounded and filled with a bright, white light. Make this process a regular habit.

Feel as if your dilemma is solved. What’s that really like for you? A huge sense of relief? Satisfaction? Generate all the positive emotions. Getting excited about the idea of a solution will more easily allow you to perceive the most fitting one when it’s time for you to do so. Worrying about something? Cancel that (think, “cancel, cancel, cancel”) and correct and, or reverse the fear-based imagery in your mind; feel excited as if everything is working out better than expected. Keep feeling the excitement over and over and it will help to cancel out dark or negative energy that may be interfering and causing you to experience more fear than usual.

Everything goes in unique cycles, including your finances. Even though you can’t skip the tough parts of life, you can use your free will to make the most of your personal fate and your stay on this planet.

Scott Petullo and Stephen Petullo are identical twins and have been exploring metaphysics since the early 1980s. They are experts in the fields of prediction, personal fate, love life, and past life regression, and are natural psychics and mediums. Get their free report: 13 Spiritual and New Age Myths and 11 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Psychic. http://www.mystictwins.com