Want Premonitions? Loosen Up

In his fascinating new book, Larry Dossey ~ a physician who strives to bring scientific understanding to the realm of spirituality ~ discusses the nature of premonitions, focusing on recent research into their nature and causes. His book is The Power of Premonitions, and one of my favorite parts is Dossey’s advice to those who want to be more open to premonitions:

So here’s my advice for those who wish to be premonition-prone: court difference, variety, and ambiguity in your life. Relax and let go. Don't try too hard. Give up your pet ideas of how the world should work. Dabble in poetry; play with metaphors; shun literalism. Avoid habits, ruts, and routines. Make a place for variety, risk, novelty, playfulness, generosity, and mystery in your life. As Rumi advises, “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” Don‘t be too attached to results, because this will lead to an attempt to control and manipulate outcomes, which is toxic to the openness and flexibility you are seeking. If you do these things, you will probably discover that the universe meets you more than halfway, perhaps with premonitions as its calling card.

Seems to me to be a good recipe, in general, for leading a richer, more fulfilling and more interesting life.

Psychics Doing Okay in Economic Downturn

A number of psychics, according to the New York Times, are finding business robust these days, especially from clients such as real-estate and investment advisers who are paying psychics, astrologers, palm readers and channelers from $75 to $1,000 an hour for intuitive insights.

• “My phone is ringing off the hook,” said Roxanne Usleman, a psychic in Manhattan, who says she channels angels to advise her clients on interpersonal and financial matters. She reports both a spike in traffic on her Web site and a significant surge in private consultations. She used to see comfortably 15 to 20 clients a week, she said. Now she meets with more than twice that number. “I’m having trouble squeezing in appointments,” she said.

• Dawn Carr, a psychic in Boston, said her holiday bookings jumped as much as 70 percent this year over last, fueled in part by corporate bookings for holiday parties. “These people are looking for someone not just to entertain them, but to enlighten them,” she said.

“When you don’t know what to expect of a job interview or a business partnership,” Gita V. Johar, a professor of at the Columbia University Business School, told the Times. “That's when you’re most likely to turn to a psychic.”

Professor Johar, whose specialty is studying the effects of superstition on consumer behavior, suggested that when your portfolio is shrinking or your business is tanking, talking to a soothsayer may be “one way of feeling in control.” She needed no crystal ball herself to predict that “given the uncertainty of the economy, psychics are going to see an increase in business.”

Click here for the complete New York Times article.