I'm having trouble reading for other people

Hi everyone! I'm having trouble reading for other people especially in person. I'm usually a very shy person... but I've been studying Tarot for a long time. It's like I have stage fright or something whenever I'm reading for someone else. I don't want to feel like this anymore. I want to feel relaxed when I'm reading for others.

Hi Mystic Blue Jay

I get like this often. I cant remember the last time I read for someone else.

But as they say practice makes perfect... ask close friends and family first so that you feel comfortable, and they wont be upset if you try and feel you are not ready....

Good luck xx

This is going to come completely out of left field, but how much do you identify with the name you use here?

Both psychologically and magically speaking, if you label yourself after a particular thing you tend to take on its qualities, and the species you're named after is easily spooked. Thought of taking on a braver label? In time it will help you be stronger around other people.

Mystic_Blue_Jay, I am just wondering if you are more in tune to
'writing about tarot' rather than 'reading tarot for others.'

Some people do much better putting their thoughts on paper rather than saying them
face to face to someone.

It doesn't make you less of a tarot expert if you feel uncomfortable reading in person.

You could give, even more, to the world of tarot if you were to, say, write a
tarot book, booklet, or design a tarot course sharing your learned knowledge
that you gained through all the years that you have studied tarot.

I wouldn't put pressure on yourself over it, or try to force yourself to read in person.
But if you feel it is important to you to read for others in person, then the only
way to learn to do that IS to keep trying it. The more you give live readings,
the more you will gain in confidence and experience and eventually you could
very well feel much more comfortable doing live readings.

Another thing, you could always call upon the Spirit World to read THROUGH you,
that way you don't have to worry about performing, because it isn't you or
your ego getting in the way! This is what I do 'before' each reading I do.

HUGS
tarotlyn

I was very much like you are and found that getting used to speaking the reading isn't easy. Reading for ourselves it's all thought, and reading online is written. Face to face involves tying up spoken sentences into some sort of coherent whole. This takes practice. I started with my teddy - he was very patient with me..... Then I moved on to a somewhat bemused son, and finally my husband. I made them let me read for them over and over again. Then I asked some of the girls at work to be my team of practice sitters. I knew nothing about them personally beyond whether they were married (and in some cases not even that much). Eventually I was able to thank my practice sitters and knew that I could read for anyone.

Indeed, face to face is much the easiest way of reading for me now

Wendywu said:

I started with my teddy - he was very patient with me.....

Click to expand...

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for the teddy readings .....

photokat said:

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for the teddy readings .....

Click to expand...

*defensively* he had a very interesting life, apparently

I'm like that too, I can be quite shy and I often find it difficult to put what I'm seeing and what I'm thinking into spoken words - with the written word I have absolutely no problem at all.

Like Wendywu I always use a prop when I'm practicing, in my case 'Tarot Mouse' (there are threads about him ) to 'speak' my readings to.
I think of it as a visualisation exercise.
Tarot Mouse is a stuffed toy I made 30odd years ago in school and I use him as my querant. He asks the question, I deal the cards and read for him. I actually speak the reading and imagine his answers which I then in turn answer. It works.

Another thing you could do is take a note-pad with you and tell your querant that you often work best if you make a few notes first. Just jot down your original thoughts as the cards fall and you may find it easier to string your sentences together and to get your thoughts in order.

Good luck.. It's something that I really do struggle with but I think it does get better the more readings you do (I just don't get the opportunity to read in person that often hence the on-going practice with Tarot Mouse ).

I like both nisaba's point about putting a "label" on yourself and tarotlyn'e point about asking the spirit world to read through you. I've never heard of this, but I'll definitely try it next time I do a reading. ;-)

I'm still new to Tarot and I don't do many readings on others, but I can relate in a different field.

Three years ago I decided to make a change in my life and I took the course for Massage Therapist. It was very intensive and the practical part was very thorough but it could also be intimidating, especially during test time.

When I got my first job in my new field, in a spa at a 5 star hotel, I was so nervous about what my clients would feel, but thankfully, one of my co-workers gave me some great tips.

He said that they don't know what you don't know AND he also said just to let things flow and happen on their own. He gave me loads of other tips, but I'll just stick to these two for the purpose of this post.

So, any time that I had a client, I did this, I just let things flow. You know what? Just about every one of my clients said that it was the best massage they ever had and they complimented me tremendously.

So, in the realm of Tarot reading, I can advise you of the same. Just stick to the basics or the minimum of what the cards tell you. Sometimes your comments will be short, but sometimes they'll come out long.

If shyness is really a big issue for you and you're worried about the querent looking at you or judging you, you could keep the lights low and either look down or close your eyes while you're interpreting the cards.

I can't tell you how many times I would close my eyes while giving a massage and I would go off into my own little world. It worked for me and for my clients.

I hope that helps.

Just a thought here.

If you were to take out the "I" in your overview of what your doing and just do, it's quite probable you'll do OK in public.


In other words your self checking. Then casting self judgements. Then self assessing how those self judgements are doing, if not so well, self corrections are issued as well as self criticisms in order to carry on these antics......?

Then after that your observing yourself in that situation while second guessing what others are thinking or feeling about you too.


Whew!!

A brilliant self perpetuating series of events created by yourself because you "don't feel your good enough" (a self created Idea)to be the you that you really are.

First rule ,
Don't fight it. Simply observe it .

2nd rule
"Decide" if you want to keep that creation or not.

3rd rule.
"Decide" to change or not to change.

It took years to train yourself to" believe you need to be that way". Be patient and observe .

Even enjoy your antics( excuses and supports) to maintain the previous creation .


Withdrawals are created by not fully deciding.
They are in the grey area between the" Deciding" , the trying( the area of withdrawals), and the previous believed and confirmed idea ( with home made proofs as well to support the old idea)


Hope your not confused by now.
Eliminate the I from your readings.