ARE YOU SPIRITUAL PROFESSIONAL?

 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 31^st August 2013