Over the recent months I’ve had an influx of clients who are
either spiritual professionals themselves or working towards becoming one. I am
all for service and helping other people reach their full capacity as a professional
so I thought it would be useful to share some of the ‘things’ I’ve learned
along my journey. I have based this blog on my experience as a spiritual card
reader but please apply it to your subject or expertise of choice.
When I was first bought Angel cards and got my hands on a
tarot deck I never thought once that becoming a professional with these tools
was even possible never mind what my life would become. There’s no doubt I was
fascinated with the idea of giving readings, being able to foretell someone’s
future and make connections with their Guardian Angel but it wasn’t what I
wanted to do for an income.
LIFE LEAD THE WAY
As mentioned I didn’t want to do this for a living – but
life lead the way. I was just interested in creating a spiritual connection. At
the tender age of 16 my accuracy levels were tightening up and many people
became aware of my name. Random people would call my home or see me at my local
spiritualist church asking if I was available for private sessions. At first I
wasn’t – I would practice on them sure but I never thought of charging money.
In fact I remember saying “why would I charge someone for this, it’s a love I’m
sharing with them!”
I really believe that when you SURRENDER into something,
life will begin to lead the way. When I talk about life, I mean God, the
Universe, Magick, Miracles – whatever you want to call it – this energy will
guide you. So instead of saying “no” I just started saying “yes” and very
quickly things took off. When I started doing readings I took a very small
donation to pay for my cab home and to support me buying any spiritual tools or
books that could help me along the way.
I done this for a good while, practicing my technique, delivery and
giving very intuitively to people what I felt about there life. Most of the
time, I was right, but every few – It wasn’t as clear as I’d hoped. Needless to
say I was learning.
I just started to serve and before we knew it, the phone was
ringing off of the hook.
NOT FOR THE FAINT
HEARTED
I have to say working in the spiritual “world” is not for
the faint hearted. It isn’t always fluffy, with rainbows and crystals
everywhere. This is peoples spiritual growth, their life and even more so their
challenges and pain and YOU have to be able to deal with them.
There’s no secret here – I had no fricken idea what I was
signing up for or the emotional rollercoaster that was coming with it.
WHAT MAKES YOU
QUALIFIED?
There are a lot of one-day courses out there – A LOT! And
yes you can learn a wealth of knowledge on them but there’s no way they are
setting you up to be a professional. In all of my years I have always believed
that a certificate means absolutely nothing – it’s the reputation itself that
tells the story.
Right now I can Google ‘Tarot Course’ or ‘Angel Course’ and
find LOADS of options for as cheap as 100 bucks to become a ‘certified reader’
or ‘practitioner’ – but does that really qualify me to become a spiritual
advisor, teacher or guide?
I delved into the deep end when I was just 16 but I did have
a good years practice of reading cards for others under my belt. In fact
everyone from teachers in school, my friends parents, family friends, my
mothers colleagues all were offered readings and most of them accepted. I
learned my craft so hard that it took the space of my schooling and studies
(oops).
I really believe the real thing that will make you qualified
to practice – is of course your knowledge and confidence in your subject. IF
you have dedicated your time to learning everything you can about your subject,
reading books on it, going to others for a similar service or practicing on
yourself then you are going to be 100% more prepared than the person who got
their certificate last weekend and doing readings on a stall this weekend.
Please don’t think I’m discrediting courses that help you
become a certified reader or healer – it’s just I think doing them, then
gaining a good year of experience (AT LEAST) will be more valuable than
anything.
KNOW YOUR SUBJECT
Having a genuine passion for your subject will be seen,
heard and felt. Your client and potential client will ask you a number of
questions on the spot and you MUST be able to answer them.
For example you are a Reiki practitioner doing a session on
someone and it appears to you that your client’s heart chakra is unbalanced.
You tell them this and they will instantly hear ‘unbalanced’ and could begin to
panic. You are going to have to reassure them that it’s ok and really what an
imbalance here means and how you are going to balance it. There’s no point
using spiritual jargon if you don’t have a clue what it means.
If you honestly don’t know the answer to their question –
that’s fine but tell them the truth. If possible ask someone who knows more or
is more experienced and get back to them. They will respect your honesty.
KNOW YOUR PRICES
& TIME SCALE
When it comes to developing a practice or client base it’s
great to know exactly how long your service takes, how much you are going to
charge and how you are going to bring your session to an end.
When I first started to do readings – they lasted around
25-30mins. This was enough time for me to go through how this person was
feeling, where they were going and what their cards meant. As time and
experience has progressed my sessions now last 1 hour.
At the start of my session I explain what’s going to happen
in the reading. I tell the client that I’ll give them everything I can and
nearer the end of the reading there will be an opportunity for them to ask some
questions, before wrapping up the session with a look over the next 6 months.
This is a great way to bring the session to an end. I’ll often say something
like “Do you have any questions now we’re reaching the end of the session?” and
most of the time they do! I usually ask this 45mins after the session began
just to ensure I didn’t miss anything important that I don’t have enough time
to speak about. Once you’ve answered the questions, your client knows you’re
wrapping things up.
When I started doing readings for money I felt really weird
about it. I didn’t know if what I was doing deserved money but at the same time
the demands for the services I was good at were in demand. If someone came for
a reading and they didn’t come out with my set fee at the end of the session –
I wasn’t asking for it. What good is that?
I had to think about this more. I began to realise that I
was offering a service and people wanted that service. Like everyone else (and
especially now) I have bills to pay and if people are happy to book for my
services at the price described then why shouldn’t I take the money.
I really learned to overcome my fear about asking for the
payment after reading a book that has become like TREASURE to me. It’s called:
‘Professional Tarot: The business of reading, consulting and teaching’ by
Christine Jette. In this book Christine had a section called ‘Are you funny
about money?’ and my eyes nearly popped out of my head when I seen it. I was. I
just really constructed away around this and have since overcome that fear.
On home visits – on arrival I’d say to the host “If your
group can make an order of who’s going first, second, third and fourth that
would be great. If you can gather all of the payment I’ll be happy to collect
that at the end before my departure.” This gave the host the opportunity to get
everyone’s money gathered and when I was ready to leave I would take it and go.
At first I used to count the money but a colleague tarot
reader said to me once: “You just take and you trust it’s all there!” I
absolutely got her point but after doing this – with no surprise I have been
short changed in the past. So what I began to do would say something like “£25
each makes that £100, right?” and most of the time they’d say “Yes that’s right
but just check it to make sure!” and that would take away any sense of
awkwardness.
Now in my business my fees are a lot larger than they used
to but the principle is the same. One thing I do at the end of a session is say
“have you paid a deposit?” and it instantly reminds my client I’m looking for a
payment. Loads of people go “OH MY GOD! I forgot I need to pay!” I think they
just get too excited, especially if they got a really accurate service which of
course is my aim.
If you have any qualms about money, get rid of them,
especially if you’re in business or about to begin!
HAVE INTEGRITY
As my mum would say “Honesty is the best policy” and I have
to agree. Living a spiritual life and being of service means we have to ensure
our integrity is in check. One of the most important things for me as a
spiritual businessman is being honest with my clients. That means if I can’t
help them – I’m going to tell them. If I can’t get what they’re looking for –
I’ll tell them and even more importantly I’ll give them a refund.
15minutes into every session I always say to my client “Do
you feel like most of the information has been accurate?” if they say yes, I
know it’s safe to continue.
There has been many times I’ve just refunded people because
I don’t feel I’m getting enough or they don’t feel I’m getting what they’re
looking for. Many times I’ve said things that people don’t want to hear but
they know it’s the truth – in these situations if it feels right, I will
continue with their permission. It’s situations like this I’ve always trusted
my intuition and used my discretion to determine what’s next.
DON’T BE THE UNHEALED
HEALER
One important thing about working in the spiritual field is
not to be the unhealed healer! There’s a lot of them out there. I honestly feel
that if we tell someone to do something but we’re not practicing that ourselves
we’re being phoney to ourselves and of course our spiritual growth.
This is one thing that I’m always aware of. I’m not going to
tell someone an affirmation or to use them If I don’t use them myself. Why
should I tell someone to meditate daily to gain deeper awareness if I’m not
doing it myself? These are all important factors to be aware of.
Reiki is one of my other loves. It’s a fabulous healing
system and I’ve recently just received my Reiki master teacher level after 9
years of practice with it. One thing about Reiki though is anyone can learn and
teach it but there’s only so many people that are really staying true to the
practice. For example: Reiki’s level 1 is all about self-healing but most
people want to learn Reiki 2 so they can be a practitioner, completely missing
the point of self-healing and becoming the unhealed healer!! What’s the
point???
I have without a doubt worked myself into burnout a few
times and I have to tell you that it’s NOT FUN! Both your spiritual energy and
physical energy suffer and it really takes sometime to regain your full
strength.
PRESERVE YOUR ENERGY
Preserving yourself is the best way forward. I’m not the
most organised person but my mother is and she now works on my behalf
organising my diary, emails and clients. It means I can turn up and do what I’m
good at!
I work 5 days a week (sometimes less) and ensure I have 2
days off in a row. This gives me time to rest. I’ve realised that 4 clients per
day is enough for me but will sometimes do 5 – no more than this. Even though 4
hours work might not seem bad for many, there’s a lot that goes on and it can
be draining.
Having a personal practice or technique to align yourself is
a great idea. My morning includes some yoga and affirmations with short
meditation so that I can get in the right frame of mind.
Sleep is essential. I have found I always have better
sessions when I’m fully recharged. I make a point of turning off my TV and
LAPTOP 1 hour before bed and reading before sleep. It really helps me relax and
allows my mind to unwind. Do what’s right for you!!!
Don’t allow people to become VAMPIRES! Yes it bloody happens
(excuse the pun) and the next section is dedicated to that. You have to be assertive.
If people become attached to your work, you have to encourage them to rely on
themselves.
When a session is completed, it is completed. I make the
opportunities to ask questions during it. If anything else comes up, they can
email me but their life is in their hands – it’s impossible to remember every
session, especially if things get busy.
Remember to have a personal life!!! Work to live, don’t live
to work!
TIPS FOR PRIVACY
·
Have a separate phone number for your work
I recently had to change my personal phone number as some
people managed to get a hold of it and took the liberty of texting me about
psychic matters. I love being of service but I also have my own life that I
must enjoy!
·
Don’t allow clients to add your personal Facebook!
Again I had to change my Facebook
as people would often mail me regarding my work or a session they had.
·
Say no when out in public!
I’m all for having a chat for people when they come up to me
in the supermarket or in a bar. I’ll be happy to say hello but as soon as they
ask me to do something of my services I just simply say “I’m sorry I’m on a
night out or I’m not currently able to with these conditions – but if you
contact my office we’ll be happy to schedule a session!”
Other great tips to remain strong, professional and
fulfilled:
·
Remember you are of service
·
Love what you do
·
Learn from every experience
·
Read books on your subject
·
Ask for feedback from your sessions
·
Stay affordable but know your worth
·
Be happy and share your happiness
I absolutely LOVE what I do and I really love to help
others. I have shared this honest account and experiences in the hope it will
help others towards creating a really strong, stable and healing practice. I
have nothing to hide and hope that this will help others.
As a giveaway of this post I’ll be giving one blog reader a Tarot
Life Path reading to help them on their spiritual quest and development. All
you have to do to gain the chance of winning is leave a comment below – saying how
you think it would help you. The winner will be notified by 31st
August 2013
