Category: Misc

Posted on

Should we charge for our services or does that devalue them? (part 1)

Example 1. Optical feedback

I started this off as a musing on if we should charge for our services, but found it became a little more personal as I explored options.

I offer it here to others who face the same dilemmas and welcome any thoughts and suggestions on this subject. 

People have strongly suggested that I should start charging for my time and maybe that’s what it will come down to in the end, because what I find is that most either seem to not value what I do, or they will feel that they can’t come back to me because they feel too embarrassed and awkward.

However, I find that this is a controversial subject because, on one hand, there are plenty of scammers out there who are quite happy to fleece people out of their hard-earned cash in exchange for generic information that could apply to anyone and on the other hand, if you do provide a service, some kind of exchange needs to take place.

I’ve been helping people since 1986 and so far, I’ve not charged for my services, help and advice I’ve provided, and normally, I will send people what they need at my own expense. (Generally, those will be Bach Flower Remedies. It’s a shame I don’t get commission for recommending and buying them!)

I find that, in spite of the thousands of bottles of remedies and rescue cream that I’ve sent out since 1995, there is something unsatisfying about it overall. In the end, it leaves you feeling flat.

Over the years, I’ve made the following observations.

Even though people ask for help, they will not actually use what I send them.

They will generally either:

  • Not take the remedies at all.
  • I never actually hear from them again, or get any feedback on if they actually helped or not.Ignore my advice on how they should be taken and only take them once or twice a day. (When in fact, they should be taken at least four times a day when starting out, and every few minutes when things are at a critical point.)

On the last point, I’ve actually had a couple of people tell me that they drank the entire bottle in one go when they reached a crisis point (and also claim it saved their lives!) It’s waste, though, as they are meant to last years.

I even had one person tell me, after I send the remedies, that she didn’t trust anything sent from people she did not know. She could have saved me fifty dollars if she had told me before hand.

When I do get feedback, however, it is mostly positive.

As I’m always learning about what to do, every success and every failure helps me for the next person.

For example, I’ve only recently discovered that the Bach Flower Remedy Mustard is excellent for dealing with negative energy attacks. Some people I’ve helped would have benefited from it if I had known that at the time. However, as it was not sent, they did not get the remedy they needed.

Now, there are a few who do follow my instructions and provide feedback, and generally, it is of a very positive nature. They also keep in contact from time to time, even if it’s just to say hello.

Those people tend to be the most renewing for me, as even their best wishes and friendship goes a long, long way.

I also get the odd person who will write me essay after essay and essentially give me their life’s story. Then they stop, only to return a few months later asking for more help (also in a very long e-mail.)

I find those tend to be the biggest drain on me.

I have come to the point where I feel I can no longer keep up this type of one way energy exchange.

So, I’ve got two options. Either I stop doing this altogether or I start to charge in some way.

Next: Looking at options.

Posted on

Awards and nominations or why am I so damn anal?

So, I received a nomination for an award. Twice, actually.

The first time was by Phoenix Flights. I was flattered, though confused. I wasn’t sure what to do as it appeared that there was no actual award… just nominations.

The lovely, Light of Clarity nominated me the second time, so I decided to go try and work out exactly what it was all about.

Turned out that it’s not really an award from WordPress, but a type of viral meme that is used to connect people to blogs by ways of nominations. However, in spite of the implications of being nominated, you actually don’t end up with an award at all. It’s all community created and there is nothing official from WordPress.

And as I sit here wondering why I’m so anal about such things, and why can’t I just join in like everyone else, I figured that, well, what if there was, not an award to gift to other bloggers, but what if someone created a token of appreciation, and linked it to the blogs they really enjoyed without needing a link back?

It would just be something they could put in their page on the side bar, or wherever, so others can see that someone really loves their blog, and thinks they have something worth reading.

Now, graphic design has never been my strong point, and when it comes to creating something really spiffy, I’m not the one to come to.

Still, I gave it a go, and came up with the following.

blog

And while this is simply just a spin on those nominations, I’m going to start off by linking it to some websites what I really love and enjoy.

It’s late as I write this. I may not have remembered all the wonderful sites I’ve visited, but there are three which I enjoy a lot.

Having said all this, I note there always seems to be rules involved with these kind of things. They vary, even for the same award.

I like to keep things simple, so here are my ‘rules’.

  1. Link the blog.
  2. Let the blogger know.
  3. Tell them they can use it in any way they see fit. Pass it on, put it on their blog, or just ignore it.

It’s just a way of saying, thanks. Love your work.

No min or max number needed. No questions to answer. No link backs. Just a thank you.

Now, I don’t really expect this to go any further than this blog right now, and really, who am I to even start something like this. 🙂

Still, here goes.

The three come to mind right now are:

Light of Clarity who helped inspire me for this.

Patrick at The Big Seance. I love his articles as they are always thought provoking and very interesting to read.

nattietee  at Love Light Learn  who has some really wonderful experiences to share about guides and the dangers of messing with the occult.

Thank you.

 

Posted on

Healing Depression Series: Bach Flower Remedies (BFR) – Are they a placebo? part 4 or do animals know the difference between placebo and the real thing?

Bach "Rescue Remedy" (Photo credit: salimfadhley)

 

Are they a placebo? Part 4

Over the years, I have used the remedies with great success, which would pretty much suggest that they are not a placebo.

I thought I’d share some compelling examples.

One day, my mother’s two year old dog suddenly collapsed and went limp for no apparent reason.  She carried her into the bedroom where he lay listless on the bed.

I decided to give her four drops of Rescue Remedy, so I placed it in his mouth, and watched as she smacked her lips, and then fell into a deep sleep.

A couple of hours later, she woke up, and I gave her four more drops. She repeated the exact same smacking noise, and once again fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up the third time, she was perfect fine, as though nothing had been wrong.

Now, I’m not a vet, and I can’t say what was wrong, or if she was going to get better on her own, but I have no doubt that those four drops sent her to a healing sleep.  With the little I know about dogs, it would appear that dogs do go limp right before they die. Once again, it is speculation on if this would have happened, but healing certainly took place.

Another time, I came across a possum that was injured on the foot path. He or she as the case may be,  was barely moving, and didn’t look all that healthy.  As I carry a bottle of Rescue Remedy on me, I gave him a few drops.  He seemed to recover within a minute, and was quickly gone.

I have used the Bach Flower Remedies on other animals and have had good results.

It’s reasonable to suggest that animals are not subject to the placebo effect.

 

Next: Personal healing

 

Related articles

 

Posted on

Empath series: My empathy goes to the dogs.

In January 2013, I had, what was to me, a rather intense experience.

My partner asked me if I wanted to go out to the movies with her. It was a midday session, and within walking distance.

I thought about it, and felt this overwhelming sense of anxiety. I couldn’t identify the cause, though.

It was odd. The anxiety felt strong regardless of if I went with her or if she went alone (which she was going to do), however I felt no sense of danger to her, and nor did she.

The evening felt better, but still not 100%.

I decided to take some Bach Flower Remedies. Aspen (for anxiety) and Cerato (for clarifying intuition) and a minute later, I realized I was picked up the anxiety from her dog.

He’s a Doberman Pincher, and was nearly 14 years old (I use Swedish Bitters to increase his longevity and prevent Hips Dysplasia) but he is generally highly strung as it is.

What I was sensing was the anxiety he was going to feel when my partner was away. I explained this to her, and we both gave him some quality time for around an hour. The anxiety dissipated after that.

If you are having an anxiety attack, and you can’t find the source, remember to check any pets to see if they are the ones that are sending.

Related articles
Posted on

Old dog, new tricks for longevity.

Longevity in dogs.

jerry

Large dogs are prone to health problems. I’m told that the majority don’t live past 11 or 12 years of age. It’s rare to get to 13 and above.

Today our Doberman, Jerry, celebrates his 14th birthday, and he’s not doing too badly. Yes, he’s slowed down a lot, but he still jumps pretty well, and loves his daily walks.

A year ago, though, he wasn’t looking so good, and I was a little worried that his days were coming to an end, so I used a trick I had used on my German Sheppard.

I put half a cap full of Swedish Bitters into his drinking water every day, and then every other day.

The results certainly seemed to speak for themselves, as he did get that extra perk, and he stopped stumbling when walking and had more vigour.

Back in 1994, my German Sheppard, Gypsy, was also displaying the symptoms of Hips Dysplasia, and could barely walk 10 paces without collapsing. As it was, I had been reading about the benefits of Swedish Bitters the day it started, and figured that if it was supposedly so good for human, it would be good for my dog, too.

So, I did the half a cap full in the water every day, and within a few days, he stopped stumbling, and within a week, he was running about like he was 12 again. He lived another 2 years in good health, until he just finally reached a point where I needed to euthanize him.

Jerry, the Doberman,  has been looked well after, and we take him on monthly chiropractic visits, which also help, but the Swedish Bitters appear to have given him the edge.

Curiously enough, no one takes much notice when I tell them this information, in spite of the longevity in the dogs I’ve given it to.