I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the iChing oracle for over 15 years. I don’t use it anymore because I prefer to exercise my psychic ability in other ways.

But in the end I found that no matter the method – be it my own innate psychic skills, the tarot cards, or just reading the signs around me – I’d always run into the same problem that would further enhance that love-hate feeling.

The problem?

I’d get the same psychic message over and over again, while the actual situation would turn out COMPLETELY different.

Oh my gosh, I’d be soooo excited about a particular relationship (because the iChing gave me a good message), only to have the whole thing blow up in my face like some kind of exploding cake on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Why was this always happening?

It’s called the Law of Seeing What You Desire. (I made this law up!)

When we have a deep emotional attachment to the outcome of a particular situation, we will often see that outcome reflected back at us during a reading.

If you’ve been craving that promotion, a tarot card reader may very well see you getting that promotion. But in reality it might pass you by completely.

The Law of Attraction showed it to you. Reality said - “Nope.”

How can you stop this madness?

Ask for the truth and be willing to accept it.

Whenever you’re getting a reading, or reading for yourself, ask the Universe to only show you the truth.

In other words, don’t go into the reading feeling like you’re going to walk away with the answer you want. Go in strong enough to take whatever is given to you.

And trust me when I say, reading these words, and putting them into action are two very different things.

Over the years I’ve had multiple situations where I’ve gotten an upsetting response from a psychic. Then I’ll go home and pull a few tarot cards, and get a positive response. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but the psychic always ended up being right.

Asking for the truth means that sometimes you’ll walk away with a big grin on your face. Other times you’ll feel like you’ve just been stung by a jellyfish, a scorpion, and a hive full of angry bee’s – all at once.

But when you make an active choice for truth, you are always enlightened. And that’s what you have to keep in mind.

Choose truth over a quick feel-good high.

I’ve always considered myself to be fairly proficient at the art of creative visualization. I can definitely see myself living in a penthouse overlooking NYC’s Central Park. The early morning view is fantastic… I’m marveling at the same scenery as millionaires and billionaires like Donald Trump.

Does meditation enhance my visualization skills? For me – yes.

I’ve meditated on and off for several years. Though over the past 18 months I’ve made it a regular part of my everyday life. And I have to admit that my visualization skills have SIGNIFICANTLY improved in that time.

What I see in my mind now reminds me of a very clear, very vivid, 3D movie. For example, when I visualize myself working with a potential client, I can see the veins in their hand. I can feel the texture of their skin. I see age spots and acne and single gray hairs, as if they were standing in front of me.

I attribute this extreme clarity to meditation. However I also have to admit that meditation isn’t a cure all for every spiritual woe, or every spiritual person for that matter.

And just because I “see” more clearly as a result of meditating doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see clearly if you don’t meditate. Your source for clear visualizations may come in a completely different way.

The power of an open mind trumps meditation

Having an open mind means you understand the virtues of meditation. You realize that it could be a wonderful tool to use in your life. But you also know that if meditation doesn’t ring your bell, you can move on to something that does.

In other words, you can receive the same benefits of meditation doing something completely different. Why? Because the Universe speaks many different languages and the silence of meditation is just one language.

I hear the Universe talking to me when I write. I hear it when I’m getting my nails done. I hear it when I’m eating dinner at my favorite restaurant.

I see signs from the Universe all over the place. From bumper stickers to overheard conversations, the Universe doesn’t stop talking just because I’m finished meditating. On the contrary… it talks and teaches with and without meditation.

You are hereby sentenced to a lifetime of freedom!

I see a lot of people feeling unfocused (or even guilty) because they believe that meditation is the best way to connect to the Universe. And yet they don’t have the desire to end their ‘monkey mind chatter’ long enough to meditate.

If this rings true for you, then stop the madness right now. Remember the Universe speaks many languages – including Monkey Mind Chatter. (Aren’t you lucky!)

If you desire to engage in a two-way conversation with the Universe, all you have to do is be open to the experience. You don’t need meditation or some special ‘hopping-on-one-foot-while-lighting-a-blue-candle’ ritual.

Meditate because you want to meditate – not because you feel like it’s a requirement to reach a higher state of consciousness. Nothing will bring you closer to the Universe than what you feel brings you closer to the Universe.

And that’s the truth.

Before you even allow this question to tickle your brain, I’m going to give you the answer right now: I don’t know why psychics can’t pick the winning lottery number. I don’t know why they can’t go to the horse races and consistently choose the winners. I don’t know why they can’t pick the hot slot machines at the casino.

There. I said it.

As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, intuitive impressions normally come without any fanfare. For me they appear as any ordinary thought.

But I notice when I try to intuitively pick a lottery number, I’m not allowing the impressions to flow. I’m too emotionally engrossed in the thought of possibly winning.

Though not to totally dissuade you, I have been known to pick winning scratch off lottery cards. But that’s because I only buy them when the random urge hits me. It’s not an everyday occurrence – which I suppose is a good thing. And when I do win, it’s normally a payout of $20 or less. Still, it’s a nice wink from the Universe.

But this post isn’t about using your powers to win games of chance. Besides, you don’t have to use that stuff as a crutch.

If you’re anything like me, you get up in the morning and go about doing some job. And that’s where your intuition can be a friend indeed.

There’s more than one way to cook a chicken

Every day when I sit down to write I use my intuition.

I ask a question in my mind, and then I allow the answer to come to me. But the answer may come in one of many different ways.

For example, if I’m stuck on a particular sentence, I’ll ask… “What can I use as a metaphor in this sentence?”Then I might get up and start looking at the books in my library. If I see a book that glows, I’ll pick it and thumb through. Something always jumps out at me that answers my question.

Just yesterday I was going to pick my daughter up from school, while trying to figure out how to re-phrase an advertisement I was writing.

As I was walking, I looked up and saw a bird soaring through the rainy, city sky. There was my line for the ad… “With Steven’s advice blowing under your wings you’ll be able to soar to sections of Goal Achievement Land that you’ve previously only dreamed about.”

Now believe it or not, this is the way I work all day long. And I’ve never had writer’s block.

I call it being Fluent in Symbolism. I’m able to read the random sights around me, and turn them into an answer for the question I’m asking. It’s actually one of the first techniques I taught myself when it came to using my intuitive ability.

It works so much that I’m both shocked and pleased at the same time. Trust me, it’s an awesome skill to have.

Saying the right thing at the right time

I also use my power to better communicate with my writing business clients. But in this situation I like using the tarot cards.

For example, before I get on the phone with a client, I’ll ask… “How can I best communicate with this person?”

Or I might ask… “What do I need to say that’s going to bring the greatest degree of clarity or assistance for their most pressing situation?” Then I’ll pick 3 tarot cards.

During a consultation last week I chose a selection of cards that told me there was nothing I could say. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but at the end of our session I understood.

My client was basically intent on going back to get a job that she really didn’t want. No matter what alternatives I gave her, she pleasantly agreed with me. She thought my ideas were great. But she’d already made up her mind that an unpleasant job was in her future.

Indeed, there was nothing I could say. And I was glad that I knew that ahead of time.

What can you do?

First thing – and this is the most important – is to choose the right question.

I’m very precise in how I word my questions, because that’s how you get the fastest answers. So if I want a metaphor, I ask for a metaphor. If I need a challenging statement, that’s what I ask for.

And if the answer I receive doesn’t work for me, guess what… I ask another question. There’s no limit to this stuff. Your powers won’t cut off after 10 questions a day!

Secondly, you might find it helpful to ask a question, and then get up to go to the bathroom or grab a drink of water.

When I’m really pressed for an answer, I like to wash the dishes or clean the bathtub. For some reason water triggers a response for me. Walking in the rain also works.

In this situation you’re giving your intuition a chance to communicate with you. If you’re just sitting there trying to force an answer, you’re going to get a thought – not a psychic impression.

By getting up and refocusing your thoughts on something else, you open the pathway.

Finally, say thank you. If you were a fly on the wall in my apartment you’d hear me saying “thank you” all day long.

I thought I was the only one who did this. Then I spoke to a bestselling author last year, who told me that he does the exact same thing. He thanks out loud all the time. Birds of a feather!

I realize that I’m a decent writer, made better from the constant flow of intuitive insights. I’m simply thanking the Universe for helping me do a better job. And for me, it works.

Warm blessings this weekend!

Over the past week I’ve been making a concerned effort to keep my psychic antennae up during waking hours.

That’s a big deal for me.

You see I’m a loner. I enjoy company of the opposite sex, as well as friends and family, from time to time. But I love my quiet time even more.

A fantasy vacation for me would entail sitting in my house for a week, without having to answer the telephone or watch television.

That’s not to say that I don’t have a full and productive life. I mean if you met me in person you’d have absolutely no idea that I was a closet hermit. I don’t come across as a shy, wallflower type. Even so, at the end of the day I just really appreciate my quiet time.

And that’s precisely why an always-on psychic antennae seemed like a big deal in my reality. It thought it would take away that aloneness, and put me in the center of what would seem like a never ending storm of mental activity.

But that’s not what happened

Psychic or intuitive impressions aren’t big and clunky. They don’t normally come knocking you over the head, unless you’re in a dangerous situation.

So despite my conscious decision to leave that antennae up, I found that my intuitive thoughts flowed seamlessly with my regular thoughts. Though this time, they came with a regularity that I’d never experienced before.

For example…

Visions of upchucking dancing in my head

On Tuesday evening I had a vision of my daughter throwing up in the bed. It just came to me as I was doing some work on the computer. But since my daughter wasn’t sick, I just considered it to be a passing thought.

Even still, I kept thinking how awful that would be since she sleeps in a loft bed (which is like the top part of a bunk bed), and that bed doesn’t have a mattress cover. So basically if it did happen, all that yuckiness would seep through the sheets, to the mattress – causing one helluva stinky mess.

I made a brief mental note to check out some mattress covers on Amazon, and then I forgot about it.

The following night there was a holiday party in my building. My daughter ate shrimp and bread and God knows what else. Then we went to my neighbors house for tea and ginger snaps. My neighbor also gave her 2 or 3 small candy canes.

We went home, and I put my little Pac Man to bed. (Perhaps you see where I’m going with this!)

Around an hour later I heard a noise. Wait… it sounded like something SPLATTERING!

I rushed over to my daughters bed and sure enough, she was making my upchuck vision come true.

The coupon story

On Wednesday I was picking up some Christmas gifts from Macy’s. Along the way there’s an art supply store called Dick Blick’s that my daughter loves to shop at.

I was walking past Blick’s, when I decided to cross the street and go in to buy some stocking stuffers. But as I was about to cross the street a car blocked me. At the same time I thought about a Barnes and Noble coupon I’d gotten a week earlier.

I received the Barnes and Noble coupon for 40% off kids calendars a day after I’d just purchased a Hello Kitty calendar for my daughter. So when the car blocked me, and the thought of the Barnes and Noble coupon passed through my mind, I took it as a sign that I shouldn’t shop at Blick’s that day. A coupon was probably coming.

Sure enough, the following day I got an e-mail from Blick’s for 40% off any non-sale item.

Woohoo! That time I got the message and I understood it.

Go ahead and read the sales letter

And then on Friday I had a consultation with a client (for my writing business).

The client had sent me an e-mail a week earlier detailing the issues he wanted to discuss. In that original e-mail he said he wanted me to take a look at a sales letter he’d written, and give him some feedback on it.

A few days after that first e-mail, he sent me another one saying that he wanted to discuss other things. Basically he didn’t want to go over the sales letter.

But the morning of the consultation I had a vision of him asking about the sales letter. So I briefly read through it.

And just as I saw it, he DID end up asking about the sales letter. In fact, it was the first thing he inquired about.

An affirmation to just listen

After reading through my journal I saw there were far more clear, psychic impressions this week than those times when I didn’t have my antennae ‘on’ all the time.

I found that to be interesting.

All this time I assumed that if I left my antennae on, I’d be bombarded with random thoughts flying through the air. For me, that hasn’t been the case. If anything, I’m getting far more helpful information now than I normally get on a day-to-day basis.

Now mind you, this has nothing to do with giving other people readings.

Even though I’m accurate when giving other people readings, I sometimes find that I’m ignoring the psychic signs in my own life. So this past week has really been an eye opener in that department.

And it’s a reminder to you… if you make a choice to listen, you will hear. If you decide you want to see, then see you will. But you have to make that decision. It doesn’t come without actively deciding that you want it.

As microscopic as they are, fleas are truly some annoying little buggers. They dig into your skin, suck your blood, multiply like rabbits, and give you one ferocious itch.

But the mental fleas we unleash upon ourselves are even worse. They’re tiny, and yet they have the single-handed ability to keep us from living the life of our dreams.

If you recall from Monday’s post I told you about a ‘flea’ that one of my clients had. Her inner self had been giving her prompts to meditate more. Yet she was very afraid of the quiet. That seemingly insignificant fear turned into a flea. And that flea was sucking the life force out of her health and her relationships.

But I haven’t told you about MY flea yet…

I started writing professionally in my early 20’s. I was self-employed, single and very, very hungry for success.

I prospered, seeing the Law of Attraction give me almost everything that my minds eye had conceived. Within two months of starting out I was making almost $10K a month. I got my first publishing contract a year later, and had my first $20K day around four months after that.

My dream was to reach millionaire status before the age of 30, and I was well on my way to attaining that lofty goal.

And then I fell in love with a guy and we became inseparable.

Instead of co-mingling love and profits, I allowed my booming business to fall to the wayside. And fall it did, with a big, echoing THUD.

Those $20K days gave way to $3K months. But what hurt me the most was sitting on the sidelines and seeing the people who started in the business at the same time that I did, beginning to reach that coveted millionaire status I wanted so badly. And if that wasn’t enough, my hot and heavy relationship also ended.

That’s when my flea developed.

My flea came about because I decided to stay down-in-the-dumps. I humbly covered my light, crawled back to my little corner, and licked my wounds.

He knew I was unprotected and he dug in

Instead of jumping back into the business saddle, and brushing that little blood sucker off, I continued to wallow in my own self-pity.

Once again the Law of Attraction gave me everything that my minds eye conceived. Only this time instead of the big paydays and contract invitations, I got a teeter-totter lower middle class life. Sometimes things would be good, and sometimes they’d be less than good.

I knew I still had the ability to create a better life, but I continued to nurse the flea. It has only been within the past year and a half that I’ve begun to say NO MORE.

My flea represented one thing…

Embarrassment.

I allowed myself to become so engrossed in a relationship (which I knew wasn’t healthy for me) that I was willing to neglect my business. I allowed my clients and colleagues to see a very ugly part of me. The fact that I did that REALLY bothered me.

When the smoke cleared I was so embarrassed that I’d let all of this happen to my once thriving business I didn’t know what else to do except to hide myself. That single moment of shame changed my entire life for many, many years.

Looking for your flea

I’m beginning to see that almost everybody has one of these little fleas.

You may look at your life and see that your health is blah, or that your relationships are less than ideal. Perhaps your business is lying there like an unfinished puzzle.

Maybe you’ve attributed your woes to circumstances beyond your control. And some situations really can be blamed on somebody else.

Even still, I bet if you get your minds magnifying glass out, and look really closely, you’ll see a flea there. Some seemingly insignificant little glitch that took hold, and now has you itching like crazy.

Trust me when I say that he’s really, really small. And that’s why you’ve been able to secretly nurse this little fella for such a long time.

But I’m here to tell you that it’s time to flush his ass down the toilet once and for all. If you have the guts to face him, then you have the power to get rid of him and create a better life for yourself.

And that’s your assignment for this week – find your flea.

I don’t care whether you come to me for a reading, or close your eyes and meditate on it. The important thing is that you find him and get rid of him.

And when you’re done, get ready to feel lighter. Get ready to see and feel a healing take place. You’re going to know that you’re free.