Attention Houston area people and those in the general region:

A while back, as you know, I was involved with a local shelter and rescued several kittens. My involvement with the shelter has tapered considerably, but I still have five cats (four are now 11 months old) that need homes. I need to place these cats immediately, so I am waiving all fees. Four of them are male and unaltered (another reason for waiving the fees); the other is a spayed female. They’re all well socialized and receive individual attention and affection every day. I’m just overrun and the food and litter bills are killing me. If you know anyone who’d like to give a sweet kitty a home, or if you’d like one yourself, please comment to this post or email me at sheta@rendingtheveil.com.

The males include two gray tabbies, one orange tabby, and one solid black with a white patch on his belly. (The black has eyes that change color from green to brown.) They are indoor/outdoor, eat dry Cat Chow cat food, and are fully litter trained. They’re not current on their shots but I’m willing to take care of that if you cannot and if I have a sure placement. Normally these animals would be neutered and vetted, but the sheer expense of caring for eight cats (we have three of our own) has put me in a bind.

The female is solid black and does not like other animals. She is two years old, a hunter, and would make a good animal for someone in a rural area who wants a mouser or ratter. She has lovely and unusual brown eyes. She likes being outside except when it’s very cold.

If anyone can help me find homes for them, I’d be grateful. I will supply my phone number and further information when I receive your interested email.

Thank you.

These are the decks of tarot cards that are still available for purchase. I’ve lowered the prices 25% from the original post here.

• Stick Figure Tarot. This deck is over 10 years old and is out of print. It’s in near mint condition. Came with no box, no book. These list on eBay for $200. I just checked. Considering the rarity, I’m listing these at $125.00 $93.00. This is one of those “serious collector” decks I mentioned.
   
• Crow’s Magick Tarot. Excellent condition. Booklet, box. $15.00 $11.25. Canceled; Instructed to keep.
   
• The Golden Dawn Tarot. Mint except for box has some wear. Booklet included. $15.00 $11.25.
   
• Tarot of Ceremonial Magick. These are listed for $125.00 on Amazon. I considered keeping these for the sigils, but I’m keeping the Hermetic Tarot instead. Mint condition with some wear on box. Booklet. $50.00 $37.50. Canceled. Instructed to keep.
   
• The Witches Tarot (Ellen Cannon Reed). This came with a book; but I’m keeping the book so this deal is just for the deck. Excellent condition, with booklet. The box has seen better days, however. $15.00 $11.25
   
• Silicon Valley Tarot. In the same vein as the PoMo Tarot but dedicated to computers and geeky stuff. Collector’s item, evidently out of print(?). Mint condition, booklet and box included. $35.00 $26.00.
   
• Healing with the Angels Oracle Deck. 44 cards, mint, heavy cardboard box, softcover booklet. $10.00 $7.50.
   
• I Tarocchi Egiziani. Good Luck finding these on Aeclectic Tarot. These are not these. However, you can see images here. These were purchased in Italy by my brother about 10 years ago. There’s a booklet, but it’s in Italian, so I hope you either read Italian or don’t care what the book says. Mint condition. $30.00 $22.50.
   
• Medicine Cards. These are some of the old ones, not the new package. Mint — the box, the book, the cards are all mint. 44 cards, plus an additional 9 “blank” cards where you can draw your own totem. Hardcover book. $30.00 $22.50.
   
• These last two are for serious collectors. The first is a 1904 Gypsy Witch Le Normand Playing Cards deck. The definitions are on the cards. 52 cards with the standard four suits (no major arcana). The cards are in excellent condition for their age. As you can see, this is not the orange box of recent decades, but the old white box. These were manufactured by Standard Playing Card Col in Chicago, IL, if you care. The booklet and box are intact but show definite age and some wear. $75.00 $56.00.
   
• 1927 Marta Cards. These are the strangest cards I’ve ever seen. They’re tiny, about 3cm x 5cm or thereabouts. There are 24 cards depicting the inner planets, and one card labeled, “Yourself.” There’s an instruction sheet that tore along the seams from age and someone taped up. The cards are near mint with only some yellowing. Take a look. The instruction sheet is marked with a “25¢” sticker. They were published by Charles Williams of 210 Commercial St., Los Angeles. Seriously. (WTF why is Firefox red-marking “Los Angeles”?) Seriously interesting cards. $100.00 $75.00.
   

I received a reply from the girl on Facebook regarding her Ouija board use. She indicated that she and her cousins have been seeing the ghost of a young boy, and that they had panicked and screamed, running through the house. It read as if she had several people involved in this encounter, though it was unclear if they were feeding into each other’s vision and reactions. She also asked if my guides were “random spirits” that I encountered on the Ouija board. My reply:

Spirits can indeed decide to linger if they are attracted to you and first visit you via a Ouija board. As to whether you are speaking to different spirits each time, it’s difficult to say without being there. Try to feel the energy of each and see if they match . . . just like you’d feel the presence of someone you know in the room with you. Everyone feels different.

As for the “code,” no — typically that sort of spelling just indicates a “bad connection,” in other words, the spirit can’t quite settle into answering the questions coherently. Just make sure that when you’re using the board that everyone is calm. Be patient, ask simple questions — maybe start with yes or no questions until the pointer is moving smoothly and volunteers real words. If it still doesn’t work, trying a different partner or put two new people on the board.

As for spirit guides, I did indeed meet mine via the board, but it took almost 20 years before I learned not to be frivolous in my attitude using the board. That makes a big difference. Most people, however, meet their guides during meditation and learn to hear them that way. I was young and not very patient — ironically it ended up taking me longer to meet them!

If there is one of you who is the most hysterical (screaming etc) during the board use, you might try using the board when that person is not around. Calm is much better.

If you need to banish the ghost, start by asking it to leave and tell it why. If that doesn’t work or you have trouble getting a spirit to leave, try the LBRP. It’s a very good banishing, though might need to be performed daily for a while to ensure they’re gone. It only takes about 2 mins to do.

Regards,
Sheta

P.S. You should also know that attention is a potent form of energy. Ever told a ghost story or watched a scary movie that made the house feel creepy? The more you talk about it, the more oppressive it becomes until sometimes you just have to leave your own house to get away from it! Laughter is a good banishment in such situations. Just find a way to make it funny — like in Harry Potter when they faced the boggart in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

If you and your cousins are feeding into the energy of a presence through your screams and hysterical running through the house, it will make it that much more appealing for a spirit to linger. After all, it’s getting attention!

I hope this helps shed more light on Ouija board use.

I received a Facebook email this morning from a young lady who has been playing with a Ouija board. In the interest of sharing the issue in general, I’m going to paste that email here with my response. I hope this will help others who are using talking boards with little to no success. Her email reads (edited for readability):

Please, I hope you can help me with some information, because I’m rather lost and you seem like you could.

My cousin and I got into using a Ouija board. On two occasions when asked what its name is, it has spelled out my name. Is that normal? Maybe its confused by the question? And also, my brother passed away and it said it was him, but it answered only a few of the question we asked correctly, and got a few wrong. It kept saying things with a mix of numbers and letters, and when we asked if it was speaking in code, it said yes.

Is there any way you know of for us to understand what it is saying, and whether it really is my brother? Because I know sometimes spirits try to do impersonations and then feed of the negative energy from the distress they cause by saying they’re someone that we knew.

So I’m just hoping you will be able to shed some light on this. Thanks.

My reply:

Ouija boards are [arguably] operated by random spirits and rarely provide useful information (even when they spell properly) without a certain amount of preparation, through (for example) ritual protection circles and other things that demonstrate your serious intent. When approached casually or frivolously, they give casual or frivolous results.

The odds that your brother is the spirit operating the board are very slim. Spirits are by nature telepathic, so it would know your name and other things about you. A lot of the time the spirit can only convey information known to both people operating the board, so if you asked a question about something only you (and not your cousin) knew, odds are it wouldn’t be able to provide a correct answer.

Most people who’ve passed on are beyond reach, on to their next thing. The spirits on the board may believe they are helping you by telling you it’s your brother on there — they will also lie and tell you just about anything you want to hear, because they want to make you happy AND because they want you to stay on the board to give them the contact that they desire. It’s a connection, for them, to this world, something they may not otherwise be able to find.

Based on your description, it sounds like you have a random and not very helpful spirit. If you want to try using the board more seriously, then cast a circle or light white candles, be very serious, and speak aloud your intentions. For example, “We use this talking board to reach only truth, and invite spirits willing to speak the truth and to aid us in understanding the well-being and location of (brother’s name). We banish those spirits who would mislead us, in the name of (preferred god etc). May our genuine intentions receive only genuine results. Amen.” Or something like that.

Above all, be careful. When a spirit is willing to tell you everything you want to hear, it’s very hard to walk away. Spirit boards are addictive and create obsession in the people using them. Be aware of this, and don’t get caught up in finding out every little detail or in asking about (for example) your love life.

Hope this helps.

I didn’t answer the question about it using her name because she’d answered it herself in her email — it was probably confused.

Ouija boards are, more than anything, seductive. I started using them when I was 14 (that was in 1975), and my usage grew until by around age 16 I was thoroughly obsessed. The spirit I talked to most often at that point was very friendly, but essentially useless, as it just told me whatever I wanted to hear. I started making my own boards from nothing more than a piece of paper with the letters drawn on, so that I could just make one anytime I wanted to use it but didn’t have one handy. I used a ring from my finger as the planchette (pointer). I even successfully used a very impromptu “board” in a parking lot, with one rock for yes and one for no. It got a little ridiculous.

When I was 17, I broke my Ouija board in half and threw it away. After that, anytime I tried to use a board with friends, the pointer would just go to “No.” Finally, in 1992, after years of randomly attempting to use one with no luck, I started again, but with a much more serious approach. Initially, I was using homemade, lacquered boards, and I was using them alone. Using a board alone, it’s not even necessary to move the pointer (and it won’t move alone, very often). It was just a tool for reaching the receptive mindset, much as the tarot or a crystal ball is a tool for the same thing. I would just turn the pointer in circles and listen. I reached my first spirit guide, who was called Tamra, this way, and I would speak to him for guidance for a friend of mine.

Later, I got another board and reached my guide Henry. This was around the time that I was getting deeply into trance work, and was doing a lot of guided meditations for accessing past lives. I had a friend (same one who spoke to Tamra) who was a hypnotherapist, and we spent about 18 months doing extensive trance and hypnosis work. One night, I trance-channeled Tamra for about eight hours, without a board (of course). Then I got the other (normal) board and reached my guide Henry. (No idea if Henry was his actual name, but it’s what came to me in trance.) My friend Xanquela (Mel) and I began to use the board together, and the new, serious mindset I approached it with paid off. Henry was present on the board, and he helped Mel and I with our study of the Qabalah. We spent many days fully immersed in pathworking with Henry’s help. It was phenomenal.

Henry is the guide who ultimately brought Meridjet to me. We’d been working with Henry for about 8 months when Meridjet came along. For the first two years of our relationship, much of my contact with Meridjet was on the board, though there was also contact off the board. The problem was that I didn’t trust my perceptions — this was during the period when I feared for my sanity quite often, interspersed with periods when I thought I was making the whole thing up. Problem was, things were happening that were definitely real, so it wasn’t all that easy to dismiss. There were many witnesses (but those stories are for another day).

After I moved away from Seattle in 1996 and Mel stayed behind (this was right after Meridjet left), I never got on a board again until this year, when I briefly helped Tina play with hers. (It didn’t work so well; maybe I’ll talk about that another day, too.) When Meridjet returned in 1999, he taught me how to develop my perceptions. My work with him also taught me discernment, though at times it was a very painful thing to be learning. I no longer have the need of a board, but I don’t mind telling you that if Mel (or other skilled party) had been around when Meridjet returned, I probably would’ve gotten right back into using the board out of habit. It’s a really good thing that it wasn’t an option. Boards are addictive. Like any tool, they are useful to a point, but should not be used as a crutch. They ultimately keep you from learning more appropriate and more permanent ways to access your guides.

I have a bunch of freaky stories about how Ouija boards can lead to manifestations. This is a real possibility, and one that most people aren’t prepared to handle. Remind me, and I’ll tell you the best one in a few days. Meanwhile, if you are using or intend to use a Ouija board, take the proper precautions and don’t let yourself get hooked. If you feel a strong pull to talk on one, it’s probably a bad sign. Then again, maybe one day it’ll lead you somewhere profoundly life-altering. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take 18 years, like it did for me!

What follows will be the last unfiltered bit of my manuscript that I will post. If you’d like to see more, please go here and sign up for this series.

Chapter One, part 2: Doubt

Doubt is one of the hardest challenges in the spirit companion (SC) relationship. Doubt can be anything from objectively waiting for more information to the agonizing fear that you are flat out nuts. Some doubt is normal, and the level you feel at any given time is likely to fluctuate. What you can accept one day, you might find yourself rejecting the next. This does not invalidate prior experiences, though (as mentioned above) you may have a strong urge to discard previous records or change earlier judgments. Rather than excising your records or past events in angry or frustrated dismissal, simply record the feelings of the current event and endeavor to refrain from absolutely discounting anything. The same logic applies when you are eager to accept every conceivable and mildly strange event as a manifestation — use caution and record the events and your feelings. You should allow yourself to develop discernment, and the most useful discernment is one that you must learn through trial and error, through experience. Formalized magical training typically does not provide anything of this nature. If you received training in discernment, or know of a way to do so, consider yourself blessed; however, this is not something that you could read in a book and understand without having had the experience already. As with any of the Mysteries, it defies description. You just have to be there.

Many magicians view spirit activity as a manifestation of the psyche in a more tangible form. They see this as the rational approach, and some magical orders or fraternities promote this view. At the same time, they advise that while you should not make the error of assuming a spirit is an independent reality, you should still treat the manifestation as autonomous and capable of free will – since that is how it will behave (Crowley 2004). My own perspective has always been that the universe is full of strange things, and that includes a wide variety of beings, spirits, and planes of existence. My evidence has borne this out, though it’s true that a person’s evidence will generally support their original theory due to their personal bias. “What the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves (Wilson 1992).”

My opinion is that regardless of your view of a spirit’s ultimate reality, the spirit companion relationship can still be a valuable experience that contributes to your overall spiritual progress. You should not necessarily argue the semantics, but you should maintain as much objectivity as possible with regard to understanding events as they occur and the dangers inherent in accepting too quickly or rejecting out of hand.

The gullible, eagerly accepting practitioner is the one who “toots her own horn” the loudest. She is therefore more visible and through that visibility, the more unusual phenomena gain a reputation for being automatically dismissible. Furthermore, a practitioner who has not gained a secure sense of her own reliability, and who wants to be taken seriously by her peers, unthinkingly rejects anything out of the ordinary in an effort to appear grounded and sane. When a newcomer introduces herself with outlandish stories immediately, the other practitioners flame (verbally attack) her as a matter of course. This, unfortunately, describes the standard reaction of most of the modern magical community. Examples of this type of situation are the Thelemites, who are collectively some of the most skeptical magicians practicing today. Many newcomers to Thelema are eager to do a little work and read a few books, then declare themselves as having reached the elusive and difficult Thelemic goal of Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.

Also known as “KCHGA,” the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel refers to the rare attainment of a conscious working relationship with one’s higher genius, the spiritual embodiment of one’s potential. Semantics vary and are arguable. Half of the point of Thelemic conceptualization is to find your own meaning and let it grow with you as you progress. Discussion of Thelemic tenets for purposes of analysis is officially banned; this does not stop people from doing so, however. Thelemites earn KCHGA through strict adherence to the tenets of the Thelemic philosophy. This is a comparatively rare achievement, and it is even more rarely boasted by true adepts, as one who boasts of KCHGA tends to be one who has not attained it, or so the proponents state. (The purpose of the Holy Guardian Angel, which is said to be similar to Socrates’ daimonion, is to guide a person to their life’s purpose. Socrates’ daimonion never guided him toward anything, but only warned him against things, so the comparison is of limited use.) Newcomers make this announcement so often that practitioners of Thelema routinely roll their eyes at such claims. Furthermore, making the claim automatically brings one’s general credibility into question.

This skeptical atmosphere is prevalent in today’s magical community. Anyone too willing to claim a spirit companion openly will earn a great deal of covert snickering and perhaps some open mockery as well. For this reason, it is a very good idea to have solid evidential records and to present the situation very gradually. (In fact, this is good advice in general, as it’s not only magicians who may scoff at your claims.) You should refrain from making broad statements of grandiosity or claims of great mystical experience, even if you feel they are true. It is best to allow assimilation of unfamiliar circumstances to occur at a comfortable pace – the same way it was for you when it was initially happening. Try to remember the periodic (or more frequent) doubts which you have experienced, and realize that it’s that much harder to accept the experience all at once, particularly when you have not personally witnessed the events nor seen any evidence.

As this phenomenon becomes more widespread, general familiarity will rise, giving way to wider acceptance. Evidence is the key to acceptance, and while most magical practitioners realize that evidence of magick is largely arbitrary, there are consistencies in experience that give credence and weight to similar situations. Over time, the SC phenomenon will attract more interest and gain more credibility. There is enormous potential in the SC relationship, both on a personal level and on a community one.

I just want to make clear for those concerned, just what my attitudes are toward commenting on this blog. In bullet form, then:

1. I love comments. I particularly love it when people share their own experiences, to provide additional information and interaction for other visitors to the blog.
    
2. For those reading on the feed, leaving comments on the blog is the only way I’ll ever see them. Those commenting on LJ or one of its clones, I’ll try to remember to include a link back to the post. If all else fails, leaving a comment on the LJ (et al) is fine, and more than welcome.
    
3. A main problem area seems to be people who read and can’t think of anything to add. I hope that my posts provoke more than “I have nothing to say.” Even if you agree, even if you disagree, and especially if your experience either supports or denies what I have to say, comments are a valuable commodity and I deeply appreciate them. So do the other readers.
    
4. This should go without saying: Be polite.
    
5. I never close comments on any post, at least so far. I’ve never (on this blog, anyway) had so many comments to a post that I had to shut down comments or moderate them.
    
6. You do not need to log in to comment, except on filtered posts which require you to log in to read, anyway.
    
7. Furthermore, you can link to anything, anytime. Just realize that if you link to a filtered post, the reader must register to read those.
    
8. Most of all: Comments help me. They allow me to understand that this blog does indeed reach people, and that maybe, just maybe, I am making a difference to somebody.
    
9. One last thing: You can recommend any post on this blog by clicking the “Recommend it!” button at the bottom of the post. This will allow visitors to see what’s recommended by viewing the box in the sidebar.
    

Thank you.

Chapter One, part 1

For the purposes of this series of articles, a spirit companion is more than a spirit guide or a spirit friend. While technically each of these could be considered companions, the term “spirit companion” was created with a specific dynamic in mind. Simply put, a spirit companion (SC) is a spirit who enjoys an intimate personal relationship with a human partner. The manner of spirit is not limited to any one category or type — it could be an angel or discarnate human, an infernal spirit (also called “demons”), an elemental (sylph, undine, et al) or any number of other labels. A spirit companion often has a guiding role, but this is not required to fit the label as it was created.

This series will focus on two main objectives. One, gaining and strengthening contact with a spirit companion, which will be useful for any type of human-spirit relationship or interaction, including spirit guides, with only minor modifications. Two, taking your relationship to its fullest potential, which includes advanced work including daily exercises, analysis of lessons, and ordeal work.

In this chapter, I’ll provide a brief summary of what you’ll learn in detail later. Some of this material will describe my experiences, but later you will discover your own, which may differ. There is a wealth of information in this book, and I strongly urge you to read, take notes, and compare to your own experiences, but suggest you avoid skipping ahead. You may miss information that forms the foundation for later exercises.

Keeping a Journal

It needs to be said that the potential for fooling yourself and exercising in creative wishful thinking exists, and is an area in which you should exercise caution. Being open-minded to events of a spiritual nature need not equal gullibility, any more than efforts at objective skepticism have to result in closed-mindedness. There is a balance to maintain, and its key rests in your honesty with yourself. It is easy to dismiss events or experiences out of hand due to their unlikely probability, just as it is easy to accept too quickly. You should think at least twice and really examine the situation before deciding, at least until you are more familiar with the territory and have an idea how things tend to feel, look, sound, and transpire. Keeping a journal is a very good idea. Rather than simply recording the facts of the situation, as you would in a standard Book of Shadows or magical journal, you should write down the subjective experience — your feelings, your personal opinions and observations, etc. Treat this as a journal, not a bullet list. When you read it again later, not only will you fondly remember a past event, you will have criteria with which to judge your progress over time. As this experience is almost completely a subjective one, keeping a subjective journal makes sense. If you require scientific evidence, include it, but don’t limit yourself or your expression to the plain facts of the matter.

One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen is the tendency of the individual to fail to record some feeling or observation due to embarrassment or fear of someone finding and reading her words. If you allow fear to stifle your expression, you are performing a disservice to your development. Another facet of this same mindset is the impulse to purge or throw away past notes because you’ve suddenly decided that you are not going to fall for this ridiculous notion of a spirit companion any longer. This behavior is based on the idea that somehow, by purging your notes, you solidify your denial. This is patently ridiculous. All notes and writings regarding personal experience are valuable, and if later you feel embarrassed by that activity, simply realize that you are different due to growth and that identifying with those words is not required. Burning them is tantamount to destroying the understanding of how you came to be who you are. Don’t do it. All you really need to do is make a new notation with the current date, and state how your feelings have changed. This should put your mind at ease that anyone reading those horribly embarrassing old notes will be reassured that you didn’t stay as stupid as you may feel reading them yourself. (You weren’t stupid. You were inexperienced, and learning. Give yourself a break.)

If that is not enough to make you feel better, then remove the old notes or start a new notebook, but don’t destroy them. Put them away in a locked box, bury them, but do not render them lost forever. By passionately recording the subjective side of your experience, you’re able to keep a running tally on the consistency of the occurrences in how you perceive them. This is a key point. Perception is absolutely the crux of the entire spirit companion experience. Perception encompasses not only that which we perceive with our five physical senses, but also those things that we identify or translate metaphorically into the fives senses. I’ll cover journaling in more depth in Chapter Four.

Do You Want to See More?

If you’re interested in seeing more of this series, you should register for this blog and visit this page to sign up for the series. There is a small fee that is more than worth it. If you’d like to comment on this setup, please do so here (link reverts to post on blog, for those on LJ etc.) or via email. This series serves as a test market for the book. Interested parties should please at least let me know of their interest, even if you don’t sign up.

Thank you.

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“Internet Marketing” should really be a four-letter word. The, let’s face it, conquering of the Web by sound-bite sized content providers (Facebook, Twitter, et al) is enough to make a wordy person like me cringe and shudder at the prospect. I lack the profoundly well tuned time management skills to juggle umpteen social networking sites and keep readers engaged all day long. (This makes me wonder what Twitter looks like at 4 a.m.) I find it a little depressing, as well, to consider that blogging may be a thing of the past due to so many professional bloggers and buy-my-stuff blogs saturating the blogosphere.

In the past week or two, I’ve done a fair amount of research into sites offering everything from tips and tricks to “free” video tutorials that are only free if you sign up for their endless spam (pardon me, I mean newsletters, of course). Today, one of those blogs, which seem to survive solely on linking to each other’s $20 package deals, offered up a bunch of random “you really need these!” items that included a set of Web 2.0 graphics. I wasn’t about to pay the guy his $27, so I looked around via Google web search for similar items. What did I find? An enormous number of other bloggers offering the same package for anywhere from $9 on up, all with almost identical, pre-packaged, cut and paste pages. It was an awakening.

The question becomes less “How do I make the most of my personal brand” (such as it is) and more “How do I survive in this environment of cut-throat spamming practices without disillusioning my readers?” You know me well enough by now to know that selling things is not my favorite thing to do, that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t want to be associated with this mess of bloggers whose only clear goal is to pressure you into signing up for their sites and following their links to yet more sites who want you to sign up, in a never ending domino effect of rehashed content full of false promises. I do not want to be that blogger.

Is it always going to be this way? Maybe. I don’t know. The sites I’ve been reading (the ones not selling something) all point to Twitter and social media being the wave of the future, the start of something that replaces the ordinary blog or product website with full-scale interactive content along the lines of Amazon, where readers and shoppers can get up to the minute reviews and evidently interaction, rather than just find the cheapest price and buy something. I get the need for reviews, but in my opinion if there’s a need to constantly update Twitter, Facebook, delicious, technorati and so forth, it really requires a full staff dedicated to doing just that all day long. I know I certainly don’t have that kind of time — and I don’t work!

What This Means for This Blog

I brought this up, meekly, at the bottom of one of my filtered posts a few days ago: I am considering posting content from my book-in-progress here. I am considering one of the many methods of self-publishing. I am, of course, still considering traditional publishing (like, in a book, and stuff). I know I have information on spirits and spirit contact that will help an enormous number of people. I also would like to see some reward from dispensing that information. So now I’m considering offering a paid section of the site for those interested in reading it.

I know that I have good information and that I’m not seeking to rip anybody off. So why does this idea, of a paid section of the site, taste like dirt in my mouth? Why do I have such a hard time selling myself, when I am worth something? Insights would be welcome. I’ve also updated my “Services I Offer” page. This alone makes me feel dirty. heh.

I’m starting to hate the internet.

Back in the day, web awards were a big deal. Not so much anymore, but since I’ve had this blog I’ve started to get back into the habit, which I’d left behind during my years on LiveJournal. Last year, I gave out “Blackbird’s Favorite Roost” awards (two, I think — one to Lupa’s blog and one to Cally), which resembled my old “Blackbird Choice Roost” awards from the 90s. This year I’ve created the “Infinite Potential Award,” and will be on the lookout for deserving sites and individuals to pass them along to.

The Infinite Potential Award

The Infinite Potential Award is for websites and individuals I judge to have infinite potential or to be at the very start of something quite possibly magical. Potential is all about what you make of it, and many people let opportunity pass them by. (I tend, for example, to be all too easy going and to miss opportunities to excel due to procrastination and disorganization.) The award is geared toward people who seize their opportunities and use them to the fullest extent possible, whether those opportunities are self-created or presented from outside. A person who can truly make the most of their skills, talents, opportunities, good fortune, and, most of all, who take hard knocks as things to learn from rather than to be victimized by… this is the person who deserves the IPA.

Recipient List

1. The creation of this award immediately brought to my mind the individual of Tonya Kay, who is a very young up-and-comer with her fingers into every conceivable sort of pie. I admire her individuality and her willingness to take risks — two qualities she and I share — but I also admire her ability to network and to present a positive face forward, to behave professionally and to always grab her opportunities the instant they arrive (qualities I find personally challenging to develop and maintain). As such, she is the first recipient of this award. See her site here.

Applying for this award

If you’d like to apply for this award, send me an email with the link to your website or blog and a short description of why you feel you are a good candidate. I’ll get back with you as soon as I can. Edit to add: You can also email me to nominate sites/people.

The Award