Jim Ventura's Snake Oil Newsletter May 2008

Good Times - Bad Times
A few years ago the real estate market was booming. Luckily for me, I bought my condominium one year before the market went through the roof. Housing prices rose in record numbers. In Arizona, as well as other places in America, people listed their home at a fair price while taking advantage of an added perk; there were often bidding wars to buy homes above the asking price. A lot of people in real estate were making money right and left. I had only owned my condominium for three years and it doubled in value! This was probably the easiest money I have ‘theoretically” ever made. Still, while people scrambled to buy and sell, capitalizing on this trend, many went way over their budgets to purchase high-end homes. At the same time, many new realtors were hurriedly diving into the real estate field. Today, things have certainly changed. We are in a time of record-breaking foreclosures and house values have dropped. This pattern is not a new one. Human beings often forget that life is built on waves of “cycles.” Ignoring these cycles is the very thing that creates problems for people who get caught in the mania of greed. Any area of life where things rise rapidly will eventually balance itself in the other direction.

We hear simplistic phrases like; “what goes up must come down.” We smile at the simplicity of such perspectives yet in almost all cliche expressions, there are hints of truth to why these sayings exist. In all of life, things are built and designed with cycles of “checks and balances.” In practical terms, the stock market is one such example. In the long run, the market can be a good place to invest money. Over years, most solid companies will strategically continue to gain over the long haul. But, like anything in the short run it will go up and down. When we forget these cycles, problems arise. When home values rose dramatically a few years ago, I often heard “I made $60,000 in one year on my house.” In actuality, this is not an accurate perspective. Unless they actually sold their homes and had the money in their pockets, they didn’t have $60,000. This type of thinking is one of the biggest contributions to the financial difficulties many people now experience.

The Tarot illustrates this Archetypal theme of cycles in the Major Arcana symbol of the Wheel of Fortune card. In its upright position it represents a beneficial cycle, opportunities, lucking out, and profitable ventures in many, or all areas of life. The probability of abundance is indicated by this card when it shows up in a spread. Even the most cynical people can recognize that we all have times when this apples to our lives. In its reversed position, the Wheel of Fortune represents a difficult cycle, a period of blocked opportunities or bad luck. Tarot experts understand that this up and down aspect of reality is nothing to fret about. A dark period will always give way to a period of light. An extremely opportune period will inevitably come back down and potentially trigger disappointment for anyone who believed it would always stay that way.

Wise Soothsayers (Oracle readers), philosophers and people who have acquired wisdom understand that the universe is built on yin and yang, positive and negative, and dark and light cycles. There is no need to rally against unfavorable conditions. Things will inevitably turn around if one perseveres. Even when conditions are going extremely well, one should not behave recklessly. We absolutely should enjoy the opportunity to celebrate our good fortune, but also put some of the prosperity to the side to help cover the inevitable lean times. Even difficult cycles can be advantageous. We may use these cycles to repair areas that need attending. Fisherman repair nets when the weather conditions are unfavorable and they can not fish. The universe was wired to move through all kinds of cycles. When the sun comes up and brings daylight, nightfall will follow. A cold winter will be followed by a warm lush spring. When we understand this duality we become more balanced and always remember not to collapse ourselves into the highs as well as the lows.
 
Maybe I understand this because for fun, I like to gamble. I tend to play fairly low stakes blackjack and video poker. Often, no matter how lucky I am, I inevitably hit cold periods. Sometimes the cards, dice, or slot machines just don’t go my way. There are occasional times when I am so unlucky that I find it almost comical! Things don’t always go our way. Good and bad seasons come and go. Difficult times and challenges are not only a part of life, but can be valuable to us if we learn to surf these waves. In the late sixties the rock group “the Byrds” turned a quote from the book of Ecclesiastics into a song that expressed this idea of cycles in a really cool way:  “To everything turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven...” Jim Ventura 3-2008

Note:
Summer is fast approaching. This last month has been a busy one for me. It seems that. like me, a lot of my clients have had some real challenges to overcome, as well as some amazing opportunities. I think this month’s Snake Oil is particularly fitting at this time. There are still three openings in my Michael series that starts on the 15th. If you have not taken these classes but have wanted to, take advantage of the opportunity, while there are still openings. The Michael material is one of the most interesting (I am told), pragmatic and enlightened metaphysical classes you may ever get to experience. I may run another Michael series this fall. If you can’t make it in May, but would like to still take the classes, please let me know and I will put you on the fall waiting list. This May is also the launch for my new radio show: Snake Oil Radio. Uh oh, now even more people are gonna hear my big Sagittarius mouth talk!  If you enjoy the column you are going to get a kick out of my radio show (I will continue to do both for a while). Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s day and a wonderful May. cheers.  Jim Ventura

“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” Herman Hesse

Snake Oil Radio:
Beginning May 12th. I will be hosting my new monthly radio show. This month’s broadcast will be live at noon, Pacific standard time (Arizona is technically on Pacific time now) on May 6th. This 45 minute monthly show will expand on my current column’s subject matter. It will also offer an opportunity for you to call in live (or chat with other listeners in the chat room) with comments and your thoughts about the topic of discussion. If you miss the live show, you can catch it on the web site’s archive, at any time, to hear the recorded broadcast. You can also catch it on I-tunes. All you need to do is be at a computer and tuned into...http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Jim-Ventura. If you have trouble finding my broadcast, you can also simply go to the shows that are currently on air at that time and find me. The call in number is 646-200-3966. You may also want to check out a friend of mine’s radio show on Blog talk radio: Salvatore Candeloro is a  pet psychic who has some very enlightened things to say.

Here’s my contact information to make an appointment for a session, or for more information on current classes. phone: (602) 957-3035 Email: Venturasag@yahoo.com or  Venturawords@mac.com
Address: 2515 N 52nd St.  #206, Phoenix,  AZ 85008.

Information about the different sessions and types of readings and services, past Snake Oil columns, and how to order books and CD’s can be found at my website: http://web.mac.com/venturawords

All sessions/readings for 2008-2009 are:  
Full (70 minutes) $110.00;  Half  (40 minutes) $75.00;  Extended (90 minutes) $125.00.
Payments can be made by either cash, check or credit card.

Classes for Spring and early Summer:
MICHAEL MATERIAL CLASSES
* What is your soul age? The soul age of friends and family ?
* How do past lifetimes influence us in the present ?
* What does karma feel like, and how does it work ?
* How does your chief negative feature impact your life, and can it be changed?
* What happens when your partner is an idealist and you are a realist ?
* What is your life goal? Is it dominance, acceptance, submission, growth, relaxation... ?
*What is your essence, your soul mate’s essence: artisan, priest, king, server, sage, warrior or scholar ?
* What is a soul mate, task companion, heart link ?
* What do the higher centers feel like?
After this workshop you will understand all of these questions and many more, and more importantly have the answers.
There are no tests to pass, just some great information. 5 classes 2 hours each.

What is the Michael teaching?
The main goal of the Michael teaching is agape or unconditional love. The teaching views life as a learning game in which fragments of the Tao - that essential part of each human being - set up lessons which continue over lifetimes. These lessons are learned via the personality which Essence chooses each lifetime. Michael teaches us what the components of the personality are so that we can learn to use and see these components in ourselves and in others. In that way we can learn to understand why human beings behave as they do. Michael is composed of 1,050 individual Essences who have lived on the physical plane and now teach from another plane. One of the most basic and important principles of the teaching is that it is not a religion or a belief system. Michael encourages their students to self validate all of the information they receive. The system was originally in print in over 12 volumes of information. “My studies of this material have been extensive and now I offer what I have learned to my students” Jim Ventura (Old Scholar).

The Michael Material classes will help you to use and understand the material without the necessity of reading all of the out-of-print books. Sign up early since I will only be able to accommodate 8 students for this series. All five classes-$100.00 (Discounted for regular clients) ( $25.00 prepaid deposit, with the balance due on first day of class) Thursday evenings: May 15,  22, 29, June 5. and final class on June 12. 6:30-8:30 p.m.. Classes will be taught in my home in Phoenix.
*I can accommodate one out-of-area student for these classes. You will be able to call in and listen and participate live on speaker phone.

“Even a spiritually enlightened man/woman can feel anxious and afraid, but he is not bothered by feeling these emotions. He simply feels the emotions without judging them, labeling them, or resisting them.” Dick Sutphen