why cant people say what they do....

Debra said:

But I don't want to study to be a misanthropist when I grow up!

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Of course you don't! I doubt there is a serious, committed Tarot reader who isn't simultaneously a profound and sincere philanthropist.
The thing is that the human nature tends to dwell in its comfort zone - and the best-selling book ever, the way Kabbalist teach it - is, among else, a manual on how to get out of one's comfort zone and do something.
Its the Holiday of Pesach (Passover), and there in Tanakh is one of my favorite quotes: Israelites are at the Red Sea and Egyptians are after them (Egypt Kabalistically not being a geographical location, but our own ego comprised of fears, insecurities etc.), Moses looks at the sky and urges Hashem to do something about the situation... and the Almighty answers "Why do you yell at me?!"
Not an answer one would expect from an all-loving Being, no? But here is the catch - its within our power to part the sea, when we are in tha Isr'- al- El (straight to God) consciousness, or as Umbrae calls it, "in the zone" (or whatever one calls that heightened state of consciousness) ...
We have the power and the truth is that most of us don't use it... and (most people) end up parroting others, without giving it a lot of thought... and its not what we are meant to do, as a kind i mean.

ETA for couple of things that got lost in the translations

That's a lovely story, mdr! (Sorry, OT)

Beautiful MDR!

It is hard to come out of your comfort zone! To stay into the magic zone!

Scion is not a misanthropist not in the least. He is more of an anthropologist. He loves to examine and watch.... I do too (could be a NY thing - so much to watch) although I have to tell you many times people disappoint. I disappoint me as well. That doesn't mean I hate them or me. It just is. That is human nature as well.

This whole label thing has me in a tailspin. I have no idea how to describe what I do - it just is. I hate trying to label myself - in anything! I find it limiting. But that being said you need to say something. Psychic Intuitive - Psychic Tarot Reading - I don't know!!

One guy I met told me he does Clairvoyant readings.... I had no idea what that meant! Literally! I know what clairvoyance is but give me a break! It reeked of pomposity. But me being me just blurted it out. I said what exactly does that mean? He said he sees things...... ummmmmm ok so it is a psychic reading and he said YUP! The thing is psychic is an umbrella term it encompasses so many other things. I could say I give psychic readings but I am not clairvoyant. Not yet anyway. Should I have a list of my skills? What lay person is going to understand all the differences......and does it matter? Just give me the answer I am seeking.

There is this new reader at the place I've been at for 2 years and they are pitting her against me - they think it makes good business to have multiple readers on at the same time. The thing is the place doesn't have the traffic so of course marketing and labeling come into play. I am trying to just drive my own line but still...... when I am sitting around and she is busy I think - should I call myself this or that. I don't know......

Love love love that MDR. In the Isr'-al-El indeed. In the Gods' Space. Lovely thing to keep in mind.

franniee said:

when I am sitting around and she is busy I think - should I call myself this or that. I don't know......

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Fran, what if instead of figuring out what to call yourself you just started with a list of what you offer people. Like starting a restaurant: the owners start with the menu and the vibe and maybe the location and the personalities involved and the theoretical diners and then work towards the name. If you don't have a clear view of the entirety, you see what you've got to work with. First you gather the pieces, and flip them around, and gradually the picture emerges.

It sounds gross, but what we're talking about is building a brand in a competitive market. You want your brand to be more potent, memorable, and lucrative than the other reader's, right? Well, if you're mulling I have an annoying suggestion. Make a long, unwieldly, idiosyncratic, sloppy list/ramble around the things that are unique to you, the things you offer most powerfully, the strengths, the foibles and mojo, the individual style, the "hook" for lack of a better word.

Once you have the list/description just start whittling away at it and see if you can gradually pare it down into a few good umbrella words that cover the feel and the function of what you do. Turn those pages into a few phrases, a few words even. This is the hard part, but it's exactly what I do with projects I'm trying to sell to suits. Start with what you would want to tell someone you did, if they were sitting next to you at dinner and you had 10 uninterrupted minutes to pitch yourself to a friendly stranger. Then whittle.... What if you only had 3 minutes and you were talking to a lukewarm acquaintance? How about 20 seconds to a rushed commuter? How about 5 words? How would you make sure YOU stick in their mind like a burr?

Tell them what they need to know. What are the things you're especially good at? What makes your readings different from every other reading on the earth? What do you offer? Why should they bother coming to you instead of Madame Scalawag or whatever? I'd be willing to bet more people will sign up for someone offering "Inspired solutions/Kitchen Witchery/Romance detection" over a garden variety "clairvoyant/psychic reader/" any day. And specificity is always more memorable anyways.

C'mon, Fran.... I double-dare you.

I was just doing that!!! YOU DEMON!!!

OK I sent you something but I think I should check it over again....gotta pick chickie up from science camp...... then I can concentrate again..... can I put race car driving instruction in it too? LOL

Of course, that's one of the "things you do" isn't it? DOn't you think that makes you read differently?

Great stuff on post #71 Scion.

This is my current table sign for ‘fairs’ etc.

I’ve tweaked with signs and titles for a while. (I have never used either Psychic or Intuitive, as definitions are not universal – and they are highly abused bits of verbiage).

This is who I am and what I do. Note the ‘Words and Pictures’ on the sign are opposite, that Tarot is mentioned second and shown first.

All of that is designed for the General Public, to make them stop and sit down.

I am what I say I am. I keep it very simple – as most in the general public (even the ones with degrees) are in fact – very simple.

(Images used with permission)

Ok...Umbrae, that is so, so cool.

Palms and Tarot.

That says it!

It's when people start asking questions.

It's easy for me to say.

I read Tarot.

I am a Tarot Reader.

Or....Tarot Reader (my card says that).

However, when they delve and starting asking me things...like...what if you see something really, really bad or scarey?

Are you psychic?

How long have you been reading Tarot?

The list goes on and on.

Scion...post was positively...thought provoking!!

So...I answer these questions..and, yes, I say what I do when I answer them.

I say. I see the readings as a way of calling forth some guidance, information that can perhaps be of help to you.

Or...I don't view things in life as "bad" or "good." I don't. I see events as

events....what I make of them, what I do with them, what I learn from them...therein lies the path.

Then up comes Death.

Oh no! Isn't that a bad card! Don't tell me someone is going to die.

The key is not what we call ourselves at the outset...well, yes, it is....but I find that if I keep it simple, then I have paths to tread so I can answer questions, allay fears, encourage my sitter to participate....it's all about how we communicate answers to the questions that come up as we go along.

That's why I, personally, would not call myself "psychic" reader, "intuitive" reader. Already, I have self-limited the process. Let is unfold. Keep the title simple. That's my way of operating, but I know what to say when the questions come up, when the tears come up, when the fear or joy jump forward.

That's the key, IMHO. So why limit the possibilities before we have even started.

Actually, Tarot and Palms is even simpler.

the word "read" includes meanings, too.

But then, when I talk to people, I can't just say:

Tarot.

But, with a sign or a card...cool, Umbrae.

terri

I started reading this thread expecting a tirade on the idiot states and governments the world over that still behave like the inquisition is still on as it pertains to people telling the future.

There is, I have recently learned, a law against "telling the future" here in Canada.

Bring it on, I say because I can tell the future. Of course, the future has a bad habit of changing, so "future telling" is not what I do.

I settled for Tarot Practitioner, because, that is what I do. I practice Tarot.

And maybe when I get really good at it, I won't need the cards anymore.

Great read everybody... especially thanks to Umbrae and Scion for their brilliant solliloquoys.