"Sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment."  -- Rumi 

This is one of my favorite quotes for several reasons. The obvious is Rumi's beautiful turn of phrase. For me it conjures a trip to the grocery store, staring at the endless choices in the aisle, until I stumble upon a big box of bewilderment. Silly, no? The other is that in order to do anything well, we have to practice it until it's second nature, then forget everything.

Huh? 

I know, counterintuitive. But while everyone else is sitting in traffic headed for the beach this weekend, I'll be purchasing bewilderment of a different sort. For some time now, around 14 years, I've been cultivating a meditation practice. Nothing special about it. Just watching my thoughts and taming the wildness of my mind over time. So I thought it would be interesting to arrange a sort of urban retreat, with several long periods of sitting meditation interspersed with walking meditation and quiet reading. 

Maybe it's the return to fall, which has always seemed like a very reverent time of year for me, but I'm feeling compelled to sit still for a bit, center for what's to come this fall (very busy, with tons of new stuff to launch and announce and a rapidly growing client list) and just be. How luxurious is that? 

So many of us feel that there's no time to relax, that we have to surrender to our watches, other people's pre-arranged schedules, our biological clocks. We forget to breathe and enjoy yourselves, but it's usually deeper than that. We come unglued from what we want, then wonder why we have no sense of purpose. 

This weekend, make a pledge to yourself, to stop racing around, watch your mind and see what it has to tell you. It may be funny, sad or profane. But I'm sure it's worth listening to. :) 

Those who know me know that I've been psychic since I was a kid. When you have something like this in your life, which you don't understand at the time, the trick becomes learning how to wield it, protect it, be appropriate with it and accept/appreciate it. It also helps if you're willing to go out on a limb from time to time and admit you don't know everything, or maybe much at all. 

I love the state of learning because it incorporates this feeling of controlled fear. You have to walk into a room, or a book, or a workshop, and feel like the only one who doesn't know "it" already. You have to be fresh and new, with what the Buddhists call "beginner's mind." You have to surrender. 

This is hard for people; I get it. Some of the people I read try to somehow control the answer they will receive by wording their questions a certain way. But the Universe doesn't play that way. The Universe actually rewards the bravery of not knowing. It appreciates the effort spent trying to absorb information and change. It knows that as long as we stretch, just a little, we may do everything we were put here to do in the first place. 

This fall, I have sooo many things planned to add to my own education. There's some travel, some workshops, and a few workshops I'll offer through this site (with a brand new shopping cart coming soon - yay!). There's also a huge heap of books, precariously stacked, that I'm powering my way through. What they share is a brand new way of thinking. A way, or several ways, to blast me out of old and conditioned ways of considering life. Each thing I learn, each tool I add, helps me to help my clients. The skills help, sure, but the desire to NOT control everything in my mandala makes me a better reader every day. 

Hope I can help you, too, if you find yourself in need of my services. :) 

As clairvoyants, we're accustomed to looking into the future. Not that I like to live that way, mind you, but there you have it. To that end, I've been thinking about fall, my favorite season, which is just around the astrological corner. From apples to pumpkin spice, chilly air on your face and basketball (yay!), fall is the time that everything comes alive, for me at least. 

Spring is pretty great, too, with its flowers and intoxicating smells. Then there's winter for resting and summer for playing. But fall is where it's at. The traditional end of summer is Labor Day, when we're supposed to take one final day of rest before going back to work.  The fall equinox, on September 22nd, marks the start of fall. 

Labor Day weekend this year begins with some tension, as the Moon in Cancer squares Mars and Venus in Libra. It may be as simple as a disagreement with your mate, or a larger issue of sex or gender roles that needs to be healed in your life. By Sunday, the Moon is in Leo, trining lucky Jupiter and sextiling Saturn. What may have seemed like a fling could find it has the stamina to become more now. What was merely ephemeral has the foundation upon which to build. Saturn asks that you take it slowly and mindfully. 

By Monday, officially Labor Day, The Leo Moon is sextiling Mars in Libra and opposing Neptune and Chiron. The events at the start of the weekend have been healed, but with a caveat. Make sure not to give up your power, or buy into something that seems too good to be true. Your dreaming nature may want to take over your rational mind. But we all have to accept responsibility, and go back to work sometime ... :) 

More to come on the equinox, but have a great rest of the summer, and be safe! 

Ever since yesterday, when I was called on stage at the Matrix Energetics Level 3 seminar in San Diego, I've been thinking about why I've never responded much to the fantasy genre. I know it's huge, with vampires, werewolves and fairies selling millions of books all over the world. But why haven't I been moved by it, like ever, or interested in any of the characters? 

I realized that I'd always been able to shift my own reality, ever since childhood. I had my imaginary friends, same as everyone, and extremely vivid dreams.  I saw images on walls, in my mind's eye, on the faces of other people. I had no need of vampires (who wants to be drained, anyway?), werewolves or fairies. I didn't need someone to wave a magic wand for me. I had my own, and guides to show me how to use it. 

Matrix seminars are the same way. They are very moving, even on a bad day, with a loving and supportive community based around healing and deep personal transformation. It wasn't until yesterday, though, that I saw the through-line of my life so clearly. It's not like most little girls dream of being a psychic, or plan on healing people with their hands. But it's a living. :)  Yesterday, I felt like I had been handed a huge mantle, as if I'd been initiated somehow into another level of consciousness. 

I'm not dissing people who love fantasy novels. I'm really not. They scare me a little, but there you have it. You're not likely to find me creating an avatar on Second Life, just as I won't be rocking a bust-mashing dress at the Renaissance Faire. If I want to be in those realities, all I have to do is use my imagination. Until then, why limit myself?  I know I can create anything I want, even if it doesn't exist yet. 

If you've been fantasizing about the kind of life you want to live, maybe it's not about living in worlds created by others. Maybe it's about shifting your own reality, to allow you to open to new possibility, recognize opportunity when you see it, and create what you've always wanted. It is possible, without all the spiritual buzzwords and nonsense. And now, I have a whole new set of tools. How cool is that? 

First day of the Matrix Energetics Level 3 seminar in San Diego and my, it's getting transformational in here! The huge full moon in Pisces is coming up over an amazing pink sunset. What an incredible end to a full day of transformation.

For those who have attended a Matrix seminar, you know what I mean. Silliness and practice in a loving and supportive community. But I wasn't ready for the level of change in myself, or the lingering altered state of consciousness. I have no idea if I'll sleep tonight, but I have no doubt my practice will be different from here on out. 

As the Pisces Moon gets us to open to dreaming and changing, the Sun trines Pluto starting tomorrow. This brings the focus back to the self, and learning how to master power in a way that achieves the greater good. In Virgo and Capricorn respectively, it's editing out what doesn't work, and accepting the skills and talents you have. Don't be afraid to wield what you were given, as long as it's with an open and responsive heart!

I've had a lot of requests for information about the energy work I offer, so I figured I'd put it all in blog form, to see if that helps. 

The kinds of energy work I practice, so far at least, are Reiki and Matrix Energetics. Reiki was originally developed in Japan, and made its way to the U.S. during the early 20th century through Hawaii. It incorporates various ways of scanning the body and auric fields, and helping to heal them through energy that comes through the hands. However, since energy moves through us and between us regardless of whether we're in the same room or not, Reiki can also be used via a distance protocol, which is how I generally use it. I find Reiki is best for healing damaged areas of the energy field or the chakras themselves. It can also be very helpful for people moving though a difficult time like a divorce, death or serious illness, helping to heal the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual levels of each one. 

Matrix Energetics was developed by Dr. Richard Bartlett, a chiropractor, in Seattle several years ago. In manipulating his patients' spines, he found that he was affecting them on a much deeper level when combining intention with the movements of his hands. He developed the Matrix system, currently encompassing 4 levels, to help people transform. This is how I use it as well, and find it's best for people trying to move out of stuck patterns, manifest something new in their lives, such as a mate or financial reality, or even move out of an illness pattern that may have formed as a result of emotional or ancestral issues. 

Energy work will not solve your problems! That's the number one thing I tell my clients. It's not a magic wand (through who knows, maybe it is), but it is a way to clear away the stuff that may be clouding you so you see the best path towards what you want. You are the empowered one, free to make your life's best choices! This work can also make you more magnetic, to draw in beneficial situations or people, or present an opportunity for you to see your "real face," or the you underneath the one you've been showing the world so far. Shifting your reality means you become more attuned to the highest vibrations of the universe, hear and understand your spirit guides, and prepare yourself for a brand new reality. 

Are you in? Any of the energy work I do can be combined with a reading, or ordered on its own through my energy work site, which is http://www.ShiftEnergetics.com. See you there! 

All good things have to come to an end, and this Sunday at midnight (Los Angeles time) marks the end of our Refer a Friend Promotion. I know, sad. 

In order to take part, you have to have at least one friend (:)) who orders and pays for a reading through the site's Readings page (http://sassypsychic.com/sassy-psychic-readings.html). When we email them to get their info, they need to mention your name.  It would also be good if they had your email address, in case we don't already have it on file. 

As soon as that happens, we'll immediately send you a 25% off coupon, to be used toward any of my readings. Usually, I don't offer this for phone readings, but what can you say? I'm in a good mood. 

I'm not going to be offering this promotion again until late in 2011 or perhaps even until 2012, so it's a good time to take advantage of this, if you and a friend both want to get readings in the near future. 

Also going to be adding to my energy work education over the next 6-8 weeks, with Matrix Energetics Levels 3 & 4, and Reiki Third Degree. So excited to be able to help people shift out of old, stuck patterns, unhealthy relationships with themselves and others, and even manage issues like pain and ongoing mental or physical health issues. It's gonna be a blast! 

Lately, I've been manifesting a lot of nascent healers, energy workers and folks with pretty strong intuitive skills to read, and I love it! I believe we're all psychic, to a certain extent, and only need the will and the time to develop it into something stronger. Reading these people is like a light being switched on in my soul. I feel like I'm on the right path, and can help others with what I've learned in 20+ years of doing this. 

To that end, I'm developing an online class on developing your own intuition, for release in the fall. I'm going to make it very affordable for most people (there is a recession on, after all), and it will be structured for you to be able to do it in your own time. With written lessons, practice exercises and recorded meditations, this class will get you started towards trusting your intuition (I think this is such a huge skill for kids, and may work on a kids version of the same class in time) and even starting your own business, if you feel guided to do so. 

I'm shooting for a release in October, but given my schedule, it may be November. I just finished writing my first play, and am actively seeking a producer to get it into the right hands. I've also finished a novel and a memoir this year, so it's been a productive time for my writing life. Maybe I'll take a writing vacation during the Mercury retrograde period, and begin on something new in late September. But this class will take precedence. It's a kind of experiment, so I'll be curious about your feedback. I'll keep you updated, in any case. 

Until then, trust what your intuition tells you. It's there for a reason, and we need to reconnect to this crucial part of ourselves in order to live fully and happily. 

That's right, folks. It's that time again. Mercury's going retrograde beginning on August 20th (though most of us will begin to feel it on the 19th or before). Everyone knows that that means our computer will blow up, our phone calls will be dropped, and our lives made miserable until September 12th (when it finally moves direct). 

Or do we? 

Like everything else, if we expect to have troubling relationships with certain planets, most likely, we will. Mercury is associated with communication, including phones and faxes, technology of almost every kind, cars and transportation, and that's just for starters. Contracts and promises of any kind should not be made during a Mercury retrograde period, or at least signed off on. 

But maybe we should be looking at what they're good for. In a word, revisions. 

Most of us are so scared something bad's going to happen that I actually know people who hiberate, or semi-hibernate as the case may be, during these times, ordering take out food and refusing to socialize much. All right. That's one way to deal with it. But let's not become overly imprisoned by the planets. 

Contrary to popular belief, Mercury retrograde is great for writers, particularly if you've come to that time of making revisions, correcting for typos and spelling, or even showing your work to friends and trusted advisors for feedback. It's great for going back to a situation, person, project or belief system that may need time for reconsideration. After all, do we still believe in love, or fairies, or Santa, as the case may be? Hey, hands off the Big Man! That's still a touchy subject for me. :) 

The secret lies in being open and fluid, same with everyone. If we can honestly re-evaluate what we believe on an ongoing basis, we'll be using the next three weeks or so in the best way possible. Nice going! 

There are all kinds of readings in the world, and most of them have some kind of validity. Heck, we all get to where we're going in various ways. But for most psychics, timing is the most difficult thing to predict. That's partially because the information often doesn't come in in any sort of left-brained way, which might actually respect time. Psychic energy is free of that, and doesn't care when you get what you need, as long as you get it at some point in the future. Of course, humans don't want to hear that. :) 

I find that using tarot cards is helpful sometimes, but people always have freedom of choice. Tarot cards show what's likely to happen ... if you stay on the same path of action.  If you decide to switch anything up, all bets are off, which is difficult to explain to clients. They want what they want, and don't understand that energy is flexible, that it follows thought, and that it goes both ways, meaning that it can move into the past as well as the future with equal success. 

Because astrology is governed by the planets, and planets have predictable patterns of movement, it's a lot better for predicting timing. Each sign has certain characteristics, as does each planet and each house. Then, when you factor in natal plants versus transiting planets, synastry and composite charts for relationships, and even progressed charts, not to mention the meaning of each degree of each planet in the natal chart, you're going to have a very unique picture of a particular individual. When planets move through a certain house, there's little chance of the timing not being true, unless the birth time is off. 

But I like to use all the tools at my disposal, including astrology for the general lay  of the land, tarot to fine-tune any specific questions, and clairvoyance and clairaudience to speak with spirit guides, guardian angels and even friends and relatives who have passed over to the other side. The combination, I find, is second to none when it comes to getting all the information possible for my clients. Then, if someone wants to move out a stuck pattern, we can always use some Matrix Energetics or Reiki in a phone session. 

Covering all the bases -- I like it!