Dear Julia,

My mother got an email reading done by a psychic, and she was able to ask three questions. Mom's final question was if my new natural soap and skincare business would be a success. The psychic responded, As it's being planned at the moment, it doesn't seem to be the biggest success, but if she could either sell the idea/ brand to a bigger company or work as part of a bigger brand, she'll achieve happiness in her profession. I emailed her regarding why I would have to do that when it's not what I want to do, and her response was I just gave you the answer I got - that's how it works. It's not my opinion. This whole experience makes me think that readings can do more harm than good. It's like psychics are playing God with your life and deciding your future. How can I discard the bad feelings I have from this reading? I'm using the LOA and creative visualization, and so far things are going great. I refuse to let this psychic tell me my efforts are all in vain.

-Paulette

Dear Paulette,

The first thing that jumped out at me about your question was the fact that all of this is based on an indirect reading. You weren't the one to connect with the psychic; your mother asked this question for you. I would never do this. For one thing, I believe in having the personal permission of whomever I'm reading for before I go peeking into their lives. For another, it's too hard to determine the quality of my perceptions when I'm not connecting with someone directly.

In fact, I always dialogue with whomever I'm working with before I even agree to do a reading because I want to make sure I have a strong psychic connection to that person. Since I connect with people through the energy of their emotions, I need them to open their hearts to me. This isn't something that can happen through another person; I need to feel them myself. So the good news is that this reading is probably not all that strong or accurate given the fact that this psychic didn't read you directly.

It is certainly true that readings can do more harm than good. When a psychic slams doors but doesn't open new ones, she will leave whomever she is reading for feeling more hopeless and despondent than before. This is one reason why it's wise to ask HOW you can create what you want in your life instead of asking if you will succeed in getting what you want.

At the same time, however, I don't see psychics as playing God with our lives; on an emotional level, another person can only do to us what we let them do. You are the one making the psychic into a God by allowing what she says to determine how you feel about your dreams. Whether someone is psychic or not, how you respond to what they tell you about your plans is up to you. What will you believe in more: a stranger's intuitions or the dreams burning in your own heart? If what you want is true fulfillment, you must listen to your heart above all.

Law of attraction experts do counsel us against talking about our dreams before we have unwavering faith in them, and I think that advice is especially wise when we're dealing with people whose opinions we may give more weight to than our own, such as parents, teachers, psychics and so-called experts.

I don't see anything wrong with what the psychic actually told you, however. You probably don't want to hear this either, but it sounds like you went into this reading experience wanting to hear only what you wanted to hear and closed to anything different from that. You wanted support and validation for your plans as they already existed, whether that was the truth or not.

This psychic didn't tell you that your dreams were impossible or that you were heading for failure; she told you that you have the power to succeed, and even the best way to do that. That is just how psychic readings are supposed to work in my book.

Does this mean that following her advice is the only way to create what you want in your life? Absolutely not! Just as there are an infinite number of paths you could forge to get around a mountain, there are an endless number of ways you can create what you want in your life. This reader looked at where you were trying to go and asked Spirit to show her a clear, easy trail to success, which she then pointed out to you. Just because this trail was suggested doesn't mean you can't choose a different path.

This is what makes psychic readings useful. They aren't for telling you if you can have what you want or not, for only you can align your energy to attract what you want in your life. Good psychic readings tell you which direction to head in for the best weather, what to watch out for on the way, and how to best align all factors involved so that you have a smooth, direct journey to fulfillment.

I'm glad you mentioned the law of attraction, for just as it is always in effect, it has definitely played a key role in this whole experience. If you were rock solid in your faith that you can create what you want i your life, you either wouldn't have attracted this particular reading experience or you wouldn't have been affected by it the way you were. Naturally, there is some part of you that fears failure, and this part of you manifested this experience. This reading is mirroring back to you that your vibration isn't wholly congruent with success and fulfillment yet, otherwise you would have laughed this reading off and just kept skipping toward your dream, or interpreted it as good news instead of bad, or attracted a different reading experience altogether.

This naturally goes for everyone who has any sort of experience that they find disturbing or upsetting; to tap into our limitless ability to create what we want in our lives, we must take responsibility for everything we create and look to our experiences as barometers of our own vibration in relationship to what we want. This reading could prove very positive and useful to you if you learn from your own reaction to it and work on your beliefs and expectations so that nothing that anyone else says can rattle your faith in yourself and your dreams.

This experience is also suggesting that there is some rigidity in your thinking about how your dream must come to pass. Are you willing and able to focus on what you want to create in your life and let go of the details about how it comes to happen? Are you ready to imagine how it will feel to have what you want and then relax with trust that one way or another, all is well and everything will turn out for the best? It's clear from your reaction to this reading that you have some fear and resistance to release before you'll be able to sail smoothly toward the success and happiness you desire. I'm not saying this to burst your bubble or make you angry but to help you so that you can create the life of your dreams.

In summary, your faith in your dream and your determination to succeed are more important than anything any other person could tell you. However, this reader never tried to steal your hope away; she just tuned in and answered the question that was put to her as best she could. You GAVE your power away by letting her totally innocuous suggestions shake your faith. What you do from here is up to you. I recommend you examine your own reaction for chinks in your vibration, and let this experience remind you that, while others may be able to help and advise you, you must listen to the truth in your own heart above all, and cultivate unwavering faith in your power to make your dreams come true.