YouandTheTarot

 What sales representatives and those in the loop for that broad continuum of what we think of as "marketing" aren’t experiencing challenges in this perfect storm of an economy. That’s obvious. So, what to do new or do the status quo differently? Way back in recovering times after The Great Recession - 2016 -  Entrepreneur  ran an article on the Zen approach to sales. The focus was on how to manage the myriad variables that can’t be “controlled” in the selling process. Currently, of course, it seems everything is beyond the control of the salesforce. That makes Zen a must-consider. So, what is "Zen?" A simple but profound understanding is presented by  Science ABC : " ... [Zen] centers on a personal relationship with your own mind, and a higher, undefined entity outside of yourself. “ Yes, Zen is both an inside job - focusing in on one's mind - and an external reach to what is, including the existence of a force field beyond what the consensus is about &quo

   " ... change often begins with precontemplation, which is before you know that change needs to be made, and moves from there to contemplation, preparation, action ...[and] after to adjust to your new life."  - From Chapter "Wheel of Fortune" from the 2021 book  TAROT FOR CHANGE  by Jessica Dore.  This is a volatile era in the world of work. Whole industries such as the PC category are downsizing and could be on their way to extinction. Others are in such a desperate crunch to improve earnings that they are reducing, probably permanently, manpower. Some startups will never get off the ground given that so much funding has dried up. Your dream of being an entrepreneur became derailed.  What those realities have triggered is a need for career change that most professionals aren't aware of on the conscious level. But it is swimming around in the subconscious.  The New York Times  highlighted the Tarot as a tool for digging up the content that produces self-knowle

No, don't beat yourself up. If you want to change, honor where you are right now.  Start there. Essentially that was the message American Buddhist nun  Pema Chodron  introduced in her youth. It caught fire. CHASING PERFECTION At age 86, Chodron is still reaching out with that message to those locked into a lack of self-acceptance. Of course, given America's Puritan background, it takes time for Chodron’s message of being gentle with ourselves to sink in. Actually most of us need “permission” to embrace ourselves as we are – then go on from there. After all, our nation's founding fathers told us we must be perfect. In contrast, it was William Shakespeare who showcased in his dramas that human perfection was impossible. Only one part of us can be angels. That other part is pretty grim. Shakespeare put it this way: We human beings are “cankered in the grain.”  Roman Catholicism labels that flawed state “original sin.”  Alcoholics Anonymous classifies it as "character defe

  "The [Tarot] cards allow us to safely see and understand the less palatable aspects of ourselves."  -  From Chapter "What Is Tarot?" in 2021 book  TAROT FOR CHANGE  by Jessica Dore.   We all have our dark side. William Shakespeare called that reality "cankered in the grain." Roman Catholicism labeled the condition "original sin." In the workplace they position and package those traits as "weaknesses" and detail them in Proposals for Improvement of Performance.  All of that tends to make us push back on identifying and accepting our highly flawed nature. But if we don't leap into acceptance the consequences can include health problems.  That is because:  1) We are repressing a natural part of our humanity.  And 2) We are not managing what typically triggers personal and professional ruin.  Had Hamlet accepted his own and others' imperfections he might not have wound up in such a downward spiral. Aren’t we all selfish screw-ups?

  "Doug Leone, Sequoia’s global managing partner, said FTX’s implosion may affect its investing principles in the near term: 'For the next three to six months, we’re going to dream a little less.'”  -  CNBC , November 18, 2022. This "dream a little less" applies to not only the investment world. In my intuitive career coaching, clients have become very pragmatic. They request guidance how to navigate a workplace they experience as toxic. And in my  Tarot readings , clients are focusing on how to cut back on consumption to make ends meet. Their objective is to stay out of overwhelm by balancing their income and expenses.  Not that dreaming has been purged as a fool's path. Part of the message of the Walking Away Card in the Tarot -  The Eight of Cups  - is about confidently walking toward. For example, a client is embracing the reality of having to do a job he hates, for now. He needs the paycheck. But simultaneously he is investing his sweat equity in getting

"Psychic mediums are the new wellness coaches." -  The New York Times , March 19, 2019.  What is driving this movement? What isn't! There's a convergence of so many trends. Data Smata At the top of the list is the loss of confidence in rationalism. Over and over we are learning that we have to trust our gut or intuition more and expert opinion and even data lots less. Recall how those scientific polls were so wrong about the Midterm elections.  The challenge, though, is to be able to re-awaken our intuition. That's what we psychic mediums help you with.  Family-of-Origin Issues Along the way, of course, we continue to make it possible for you to message with those humans and pets who have crossed over. There could be plenty of unfinished business there. Messaging back and forth can finally resolve the family-of-origin issue. Self-Awareness A second driver for you to seek the guidance of a psychic medium is to find out who you are, right now. A major reason,

"The cards have meanings, but they often shape-shift, so depending on the context, a card may appear in the form of an aid, charm, talisman, or benediction."  From the Chapter "What is Tarot?" in the 2021 book TAROT FOR CHANGE by Jessica Dore.  Here  it can be ordered from Amazon. Too often, unfortunately, confidence in the mystical  Tarot  is shaken because clients receive a range of interpretations from several psychics when the same card is pulled. For example, the first card in the major arcana is The Fool. Sure, there are traditional ways to read any Tarot card. Typically The Fool card sends the multi-layered message of acceptance of risk, new beginnings, and ability to cope with any bumps on the road of the new journey.  But that messaging could veer off in whole other directions. One could warn of recklessness that will not end well.  Such a deviation from the norm depends on these variables: The reader.  The more experienced and insightful the more

" New York-based startup Bloom , for example, is offering members video sessions to be "their own therapist," where they address issues like sleep, stress and anxiety."    LinkedIn News,  November 12, 2022. In these uncertain times with over-the-top stress about getting, holding, and moving on to better work, who doesn't need therapy. But even with health insurace, it can be expensive. The co-pay is usually steep. Another form of DIY help and healing - with self-insight thrown in - is the Tarot. That is the mystical medium which believers contend connect you to your subconsicous and the collective unconscious. Most of what triggers everything from emotional distress to shooting-yourself-in-the-foot behavior is buried beneath the surface of our everyday thinking and feeling. Ever since The New York Times saluted the Tarot in April 2021 as a tool for self-awareness, more of you are trying it out.  An option is DIY. You can do that in five steps: Here is the shor

 The genius of the mystical Tarot is not only its wisdom. But also the gentleness in raising content out of the human subsconscious. For example, the High Priestess card brings the awareness that there are no secrets. At least from the world. Although we might manage for a while to keep those from ourselves, at least for a while. Eventually, we crack. We can no longer absorb the pain of the disconnet between who we assume we are and what is really going on inside our being. Human beings can only survive through instinct. So, although many don't think of themselves as intuitive, they have to be. And are. So, they pick up on what we are considering is hidden.  Yes, that top executive with a getaway in the Hamptons is not happy. His body language and the lack of light in his eyes are among the "tells." The mother who doesn't continually touch her child showcases her ambivalence about that responsibility. The writer who doesn't carefully proofread indicates a lack of

 When we are running around successful and centered and admired by our peers we rarely ask for guidance. Then darkness falls. It always does. That's embedded in human existence. As  The Hermit  card in the Tarot symbolizes, at that time there is a reach for wisdom. A necessary one. And, we are ready to transcend the boundaries of self-sufficiency.  That Wise One can be a therapist, a high school teacher who warned us about a mindset which could us into trouble, a spiritual leader, or someone we overhear on the line in the supermarket.  Eventually there will be that Ah-Ha Moment. The message is usually one nudging us into change. And The Hermit delivers the hope that we can navigate the new territory.  For these reasons, back in April 2021,  The New York Times  saluted The Tarot as a tool for self-awareness and introspection.  Here  is my guide for DIY Tarot readings.  Being in darkness helps us from being stuck - at least too long. In transition in your career? Need more income? He

 The famous Saint Francis of Assisi Peace Prayer makes the plea that we human beings seek to understand rather than be understood, to comfort rather than chasing after sources of comfort. That is supposed to ensure a harmonious society. Obviously that prayer hasn't been answered.  A sign of a social system in which people don't feel understood and emotionally okay is that they come to us Tarot readers for this: To be heard. They need to have someone who is actually listening to them - every word and every underlying meaning. Once they know we are listening - that we have been able to essentially say Hello In There  - they can let go of being so tightly wrapped. That frees them to deal with their challenges effectively and efficiently.  On the other hand, the lack of understanding isolates. And that can harden into hopelessness. They are the ones who remain in abusives relationships and management-labor situations.  As this holiday season gets under way give the give of listen

"That co-worker/supervisor/subordinate is unbearable." In these high-stress times in the workplace, more and more clients come for a Tarot reading with that lament. The card they usually select is one from the major arcana - the Strength Card . Essentially that is the card symbolizing self-control. And much of that ability to tame the emotions comes from the recognition and acceptance of our own flawed nature. What is bothering us the most about others in the workplace frequently is a play-out of our own shortcomings. In recovery programs the meme for that is: "If you can spot it, you got it."  Once we get it that we are looking in a mirror when we focus on others' faults we can actually have compassion for them. Just as our shortcomings trouble us so they also trouble the human beings in our professional life.  For instance, the "gunners" in a public relations agency are probably well aware that their ambition outstrips their talent. The reality caus

It's come to this in our problem-oriented capitalist society: People actually need permission to experience joy. From the get-go they are socialized to identify problems, then find solutions. Not much time in their developmental processes are "wasted" on how to conjure up wonderment. And, you bet, they assume they can't make an appointment for a Tarot reading unless they are stuck inside some kind of problem.   So, a core blessing of being a Tarot reader is that now and then mystical forces turn up the  Three of Cups.  That features three women lifted up into the state of the lightness of being. Their body language, facial gestures, and sway of their garments signal being immersed in pleasure.    Just as for clients, that Three of Cups card pull is a treat for me.    Coming of age in a working class neighborhood in pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey, all I knew was relentless striving. In addition, religion hammered guilt and sacrifice. Aside from the

  As more and more white collar workers get bludgeoned like baby seals in the labor market, what is happening is that Ah-Ha moment: Hey, maybe blue collars such as plumbers, welders, and long-distance truck drivers have something good going for them.  No, I've never been a blue collar. My family had been. Even in those high school part time jobs which teach us how to conduct ourselves in the work place the tasks were white collar. Like so many in my boomer generation I was the first to attend college in my family and career paths were all white collar. On none of them was my blue collar background a plus. Yes, I had to take on the protective coloring of someone reared in a family of accountants and college professors and middle managers. Some inner voice, like a Greek Chorus, warned me: Don’t let “The Jersey City” show. Now, as we all know that respected ethos of being a white collar is coming undone. Some who are losing jobs, especially if they are over-55, may never again lan

 There is the old adage: We never know another human being.  That might explain how puzzling some of us experience Leon Black's behavior over the past few years. That extends from his frienship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and love affair with Russian model Guzel Ganieva to the lawsuits he has been filing against her and others.  His previous countersuit to her lawsuit in which she alleged sexual misconduct had been dismissed in federal court. Its tone and content were sensationalistic. Some in media snickered. That was from a man who had become a billionaire and created wealth for investors through co-founding private equity powerhouse Apollo. The latest legal action by Black through his lawyers at Perry Guha had been filed yesterday. There is a long list of allegations, reports  Bloomberg . In addtion to what has become the usual - defamation - there are contentions about a breach of contract, violation of confidentialty agreement, unjust enrichment, and tortius interf