I'm scared...

My sister just left town after visiting with Mom and me for a few days. Of course, living so close to Salem, we had to go and... well, we avoided the tourist traps after Mom and I found out the hard way. But of course, there were signs everywhere advertising psychic readings for assorted (and actually, fairly reasonable) amounts of money. My sister commented, "I wouldn't go to a psychic, I'd be scared to find out the future is something bad." I told her that psychics and Tarot readers can only predict what's most likely to happen if you keep on doing what you're doing, and if you get a prediction of something bad happening, you can change what you're doing and avoid it. So guess who didn't ask me for a Tarot reading in the four days she was staying with us? I've run into a couple of other people like this. They seem to think the future is written in stone, what's going to happen is going to happen, and they don't want to know about it in advance. You'd think that they would at least want to be prepared for whatever bad thing may be coming so that they can mitigate the consequences somewhat- I mean, would you not want to know a tornado or a hurricane is headed for your town so you can get to the basement/move your possessions to an upper floor and move inland? I really don't understand the mentality.

Does anyone else run into people who are afraid to know their future because it something bad might be coming down the pike? If so, how do you deal with them?

Asbestos Mango said:

Does anyone else run into people who are afraid to know their future because it something bad might be coming down the pike? If so, how do you deal with them?

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Yes. While reading at my aunt's she had several people there who were very interested in having a reading. I had one cousin who said, no thanks, I don't want to know the future- for much the same reason your sister said. I just respected his opinion and went to do the readings of the people who did want one. I mean, I'll be happy to answer questions about readings in general, if they have any, but I don't feel it's my place to really try to convince them to do something they really don't want to do.

The best way to deal with such people is to ignore them completely and move on with your life. A very good friend of mine who finds tarot quite fascinating has never got a reading done as she's too scared to know if anything bad might happen to her in the future. Even though I've told her that nothing is set in stone and that she can change any negative thing that pops up in her reading, she refuses to let me read her cards. So be it. People are still very conservative in their thinking, no matter how modern they might be. Thus, ignorance is the best strategy for these people so far.

Asbestos Mango said:

My sister just left town after visiting with Mom and me for a few days. Of course, living so close to Salem, we had to go and... well, we avoided the tourist traps after Mom and I found out the hard way. But of course, there were signs everywhere advertising psychic readings for assorted (and actually, fairly reasonable) amounts of money. My sister commented, "I wouldn't go to a psychic, I'd be scared to find out the future is something bad." I told her that psychics and Tarot readers can only predict what's most likely to happen if you keep on doing what you're doing, and if you get a prediction of something bad happening, you can change what you're doing and avoid it. So guess who didn't ask me for a Tarot reading in the four days she was staying with us? I've run into a couple of other people like this. They seem to think the future is written in stone, what's going to happen is going to happen, and they don't want to know about it in advance. You'd think that they would at least want to be prepared for whatever bad thing may be coming so that they can mitigate the consequences somewhat- I mean, would you not want to know a tornado or a hurricane is headed for your town so you can get to the basement/move your possessions to an upper floor and move inland? I really don't understand the mentality.

Does anyone else run into people who are afraid to know their future because it something bad might be coming down the pike? If so, how do you deal with them?

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Absoluely, that is one of the most common responses I get when I tell people I am a reader. They tell me they would NEVER have a reading because they are scared of what might come up.

As I see it, the problem is that the society we all live in has taught us to beleive in fate, that what is coming in the future IS set in stone and can't be avoided. Messages of this nature are EVERYWHERE. That is what is commonly beleived by most people around us.

Despite the fact that it is untrue, that is the commonly held belief of our times. And most people accept it as the reality of their world and don't like to question reality. In fact, for most people, if they found out what they viewed as reality was untrue that would be a very scary thing.

The same thing wtih people who talk about scary accurate readings. In truth it is much LESS scary to live in a world where the future can be changed and where if something is coming our way taht we do not like we can avoid it. And it is MUCH less scary to live in a world were Tarot works and you can expect it to be accurate.

But both of these things challenge the commonly held beleifs of our society on the reality of the world. And to find out what you believe is real is not, can be terrifying. It's like being told that gravity doesn't really exist or that people can grow wings \as they age and fly. What we hold onto as reality is what we count on to remain uniform and forever unchanging so that we can know how to navigate our lives.

Most people don't ever quesetion what they believe to be their reality. It cretainly takes courage to do so. As readers we have had the courage to do that and to come out the other side. But I reemmber having some moemtns of fear too as I learnt more about how the universe worked and it did not fit into what I expected. At first, fear, and then I found it is grander and more wonderful than I imagined.

One thing is that you can't force someone to understand until they are ready emotionally inside them for the change. Only they can know when they are ready to face the idea that the world might be other than what they were told.

Babs

On the flip side of the coin I saw a segment on a tv show where two ladies from different families may have inherited a faulty gene that could mean they develop a particular illness later in life. (Forgive me but I forget the name of the illness in question.)
One had decided to have the genetic testing so that she could at least know that she had a risk of the disease and live her life the way that she wished to.
The other lady chose not to have the testing done because she felt that just because she had the faulty gene it didn't automatically mean that she would become ill and she didn't want live with that cloud over her. She would rather not know and continuously dread the future instead of focusing on what was happening today.

Lots of people weather the storms of life perfectly well without divination. Some people are planners and like to have as much information as possible up front and some people just take things as they come and deal with it then.

There are lots of spreads that don't include anything to do with the future.

I often use spreads that do not include questions about the future for myself and others. I haven't read for anyone in awhile, But I often just used the cards as props to fascilitate someone having the oppurtunity to be listened to, while they talked about themselves and felt like they were being heard and cared about.

I like to research all sorts of alternative activities to fortune telling. I like to PLAY with my cards And also incorporate them into as many aspects of my life as possible. They are kind of like a teddy bear to me, that I self soothe with.

I have met so many people recently that have told me they are so scared to get their cards read, or that they don't wanna know the future.

For me, I wish that it really was a script (giggle).

Asbestos Mango said:

My sister ... So guess who didn't ask me for a Tarot reading in the four days she was staying with us?

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She's very sensible. I would never want a reading from my siblings, nor would I ever offer my brothers or sisters-in-law a reading. Too close, too far, too much shared history, too many emotions (good and bad), too many preconceptions about what their lives are about, not enough detachment and objectivity.

They seem to think the future is written in stone, what's going to happen is going to happen, and they don't want to know about it in advance. You'd think that they would at least want to be prepared for whatever bad thing may be coming so that they can mitigate the consequences somewhat-

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Did she actually SAY any of this, or are you just assuming it?

nisaba said:

Did she actually SAY any of this, or are you just assuming it?

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Well, my sister didn't actually say it, but a lady in my day treatment program said "What's going to happen is going to happen, and I don't want to know about it in advance". So, yeah, there are people out there who think that.

<smile> But quite possibly not your sister, who may well just want a little bit of professional distance if she has a reading.

Of course, I don't know her, I'm speculating.