Empty Cup - Part 2 - What To Do With Your Full Cup

What To Do With Your Full Cup

by

Chris Johnson (c) 2014

Bruce Lee also spoke about the Empty Cup with a similar story to the one I detailed in my article from earlier this month.  If you haven't read it, you can find it right here.

In Bruce Lee's explanation of the Empty Cup, he described a glass half full of Coke and another half full of clear water. The Coke was the student's mind and all the knowledge they had found to be true. 

The second glass represented Bruce Lee's mind and knowledge and skill... which the student wanted.

Bruce explained that he could not give the student his knowledge because there was no room for it in the glass. The student would need to empty his own "glass" to allow for what would come from Bruce.

A couple of the ways that we can apply this to our everyday lives will be described from BOTH points of view.

Take the example of what most likely happens in your home life.

You have come home from your day at work which could have been absolutely hellish. Your boss could have been an absolute bastard and the customers could have been grumpy creatures before they even thought of speaking with you about their problems. So by the time 5 o'clock happens your head is full of the day's trials and tribulations.

When you arrive home, your spouse greets you but they have had a totally awesome day. Everything went well for them. They managed to achieve their daily tasks and they seem to have swallowed so much sunshine that they could be farting rainbows.

Both of you are Full Cups at this point and want to blurt out all of the day's events to each other. After all, that's what couples do. They talk, right?

Imagine what happens if your spouse starts talking first. You see his or her eyes light up and... are you even listening to what they say? Probably not because you're thinking about how someone at work expected you to take over a task for her just 2 minutes before you had to go home... and that task required at least 10 minutes to assess before even attempting it. However you chose to handle that, you are aching to tell that battle story and your spouse's words are falling on unlistening ears.

Your spouse may as well be pouring into a glass until it overflows because that's what happens.

On the other hand, if you speak first and unleash your stories and woes upon your poor spouse, you will end up potentially ruining their chances to express themselves too.

Yes, I made this a really tough situation purposely to make you think for a moment.

Here is one solution (but not the only one), utilising the Cup.

You don't have to Empty the Cup completely. Either of you could start by saying, "I have some really great news" or "I have had a really crap day".

Although it's only a little bit, that one little "spillage" from your Cup could be enough to let  you take on your spouse's story before telling them your story if they are to speak first. Alternatively, if you speak first, you have emptied yours ready for their story too.

It works both ways. You can empty your cup or you can help empty theirs... or you can both spill a little bit each.

Another example of the Empty Cup comes about through the workplace. How many emails do you receive or send daily? I mean the ones within the workplace that detail things about updates to policies, new information on products, and so on.

I know of at least one company where the staff receive at least 50 to 100 emails daily AND they are expected to read every single one of them while answering calls in the call centre every day. Remarkably the management know about it and do zilch about it, probably because they are caught in the same poisonous cycle themselves.

Meanwhile their Outlook has just about herniated from the overload as well as their staff who have gone into a zombified coma from too much information.

In this case, as the email sender, you could try changing either how the information is written (eg: bullet points rather than long waffling paragraphs), how many you send (eg: a digest of points, rather than multiple messages, or even a summary) or just send the truly important information (could be hard for some people).

Consider the people you intend to inform of things. They are busy people too and you need to give them a chance to Empty their Cup to take on, and appreciate, your own refreshing Tea.

The other challenge is as the one with the Full Cup. What do you do when you are receiving heaps of emails at work which serve as distractions from your work... and yet paradoxically are meant to help you even though it hinders you to have to take time to read the overload?

You have to Empty the Cup in one way or another. You could speak with the manager and ask for time off to catch up on the emails. If you have to keep doing this, day after day, it may indicate an issue with management themselves or even require asking the senders to change their frequency.

The Empty Cup is always in a better position to take on more tea (information), therefore it is a useful cup. The Full Cup, although serving a purpose, is less useful unless it has been emptied at least a little.

Until next time....

ESPecially Best Wishes,

Chris Johnson

www.thementalist.com.au

The Empty Cup (Is Your Cup Empty?)

One of my favourite stories involves the young and the old Masters in China.

There are many different versions of who the characters really are and the one thing in common involves the setting of how they came to be speaking. It was even "inserted" into the apocalyptic movie "2012".

When you read it, ask yourself, "What am I missing out on because I haven't emptied my cup?"

A young Shaolin monk in Feudal China had an extensive background in the ways of the Shaolin, Tao and Buddhism as well as being an expert on the Nirvana Sutra. As was the custom in those times, he studied under many different masters. Many of those masters he had bested with his knowledge and skill. Finally he came across the most venerable of masters of that time.

He came to study with the Master and, after making the customary bows, asked him to teach him the greater truths.

The old Master sat him down for tea and, while preparing the tea, asked the young scholar about his background. The young man gladly spoke of his past, how he had bested other more learned men than he. To each of the scholar's tales, the old Master smiled and nodded, listening patiently the whole time while making the tea.

When it was ready, he poured the tea into the scholar's cup until it began to overflow and run all over the floor. The scholar saw what was happening and shouted, "Stop! Stop! The cup is full, you can't get any more in!"

The Master stopped pouring and said, "You are like this cup - full of ideas, full of yourself, and full of what you believe. You come for teaching but your cup is full. I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you will have to empty your cup."
_____________________

LESSON?
1. Challenge your beliefs.
2. Search not for the truth but first cease your infatuation with your opinions.

In 2 weeks time, after I return from my honeymoon, I will tell you a little more about some of the many ways this can be applied to your everyday life.


Until then,

ESPecially Best Wishes,

Chris Johnson
Mentalist and Psychic Entertainer
www.thementalist.com.au

How To Detox Your Life AND Enjoy The Rewards

Have you ever heard the saying, "Birds of a feather flock together"?

This has a few different meanings. The most obvious one is that Like does attract Like and, when you think about it, we do tend to like people who are like us. That's whether we are in a good frame of life or one that spirals out of whack. Positive people hang with other positive types and the same goes for negative ones.

If you find yourself in a negative frame, you need to start looking at yourself and the people who you hang around (or who hang around you).

What kind of people do you find yourself hanging around or hanging around you?

Let's define a negative or toxic person. It's someone who complains all the time, dumping their problems on you while doing nothing about their situation. They are not supportive (although they may feel they are). They can be someone who makes you feel bad, shoots down your brilliant ideas, big goals, or big decisions that you need to make in order to rise to greater heights.

There are others who either border on psychotic or are square in that territory, very dangerous who hold onto emotions of jealousy of others. They're the kind of person who, like a vulture or psychic vampire, latch onto you when you have a bad day and do what they can to make you feel worse about yourself so they can feed off your own negativity. Picture the person who, as a child, would pinch or punch their sibling and then start saying, "Oh! Why are you crying? What happened?" and then progress as adults to do similar things on a larger scale.

The latter can also call on you, under the guise of wanting to help or support, when in reality they are trying to get under your guard so they can start suckling off your negativity and bask in watching you writhe in mental anguish as they goad you further with well-placed manipulative language.

The sad thing is that these same people are often in a very dark place in their own lives. It can be tempting for some empathic people to want to help them, as anyone would support someone who is simply having a bad day, only to find they are being drawn into another drama. Be aware that many times they are unable to see beyond their own struggles and not open to constructive feedback or changing.

This article is not about them but rather how to help yourself so you don't allow their negativity to impact upon your own life.

Why is it so important to detox your life of them?

"Develop an allergy to negativity"

Negative or toxic people slow you down towards achieving what you want in life. Whether they know it or not, they can either discourage you from your ambitions and ideals or following your dreams by questioning your thoughts and planting doubts in your head. Their energy can affect your own performance, not to mention your stress and anxiety.

It's about looking after your health (mental and physical) and also your own psyche so learn to look after yourself!

I've personally found it important to distance myself from such people, whether they are strangers, friends or even family members. Mahatma Ghandi has been quoted as saying, "I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet." After seeing what such toxic personalities can do, can you blame him for saying that so strongly?

You need to create space for positive change to happen. Being in toxic relationships with such people will hold you back from creating happiness and conditions for your own success. Also, releasing negative people from your life will create space for the positive influences to enter your life that encourage, support and helpl you to grow as the beautiful person you deserve to be.

It is your right to stand up for yourself!

There are three basic steps to do that.

Step 1: Decide that you are worth it and tell yourself that.

Some people feel they have to wait for approval or permission to be worth something. You are worthy of achieving your dreams and goals and being the person you want to be. Letting go of any negativity will get you there quicker. Commit to doing it for yourself otherwise that guilt for letting go of such relationships will keep you in the same place.

You're worth it and all I can say is that you just DECIDE. DO IT NOW!!!

What goals do you have. How badly do you truly want them? Are these negative people actually supporting you or are they taunting you with how you haven't been reaching them in their own passive-aggressive way?

Do you want to be happy?

Step 2: Work out who the toxic people are

Toxic folks make you feel worse when you start talking to them. They bring your energy level down, leaving you feeling like you have just bottomed out on empty.

To be clear, there is a difference between someone sharing their problems with you (such as having a bad day, as we all do) and someone who constantly moans, bitches and complains.

The difference is someone who is genuinely struggling is willing to take constructive feedback, is open to change and follows through on it. On the other side of the coin, complainers don't want to change and want you to feel sorry for them and stop everything to do so at the drop of a hat every chance they can get.

They can shoot down your ideas, question your decisions. They can question your relationships, job choices, and other things such that they come between you and what you want. In short, they love to rule and manipulate you with fear.

It can be so well-practised (if they are doing it deliberately) that it is so subtle and hard to notice that you don't realise until it's possibly too late. Otherwise they can be as obvious as a slap in the face from a killer whale. So be on guard.

They don't have to be blatantly obvious to be just as dangerous. Nor do they have to do it knowingly.

Step 3: Let them go

In the famous words of Nike, just do it! Do it any way you can or that you think is appropriate.

Avoid them. Stop picking up their calls. You can apologise for being distant but feel no obligation at all to explain yourself or defend your actions. You don't have to answer to them.

Even if you do try explaining to them, it may fall upon deaf ears as they are not ready to listen and to change themselves. They're happy in their own muck or they may also get defensive or attempt to divert the blame back onto you.

My advice is to do it gracefully and with love - especially love for yourself. Send them away with love and good wishes. If you wish, you can be open to the possibility that if and when they are ready to change and be more positive or supportive then you would be open to rekindling things. If you do give them a chance, be on guard just the same as you may need to break the connection permanently.

Step 4: Be happy

I lied. There is a step 4. Once you have done step 3, it's time to smile and be happy!

Remember to not feel guilt for letting them go. You have just helped yourself by being your best friend.

Perhaps you feel that you should keep them around just because they're a family member. Families are meant to nurture each other and be supportive. Normal ones also let each other live their lives unhindered and you have the right to be positive and happy while living your life to its fullest limit.

You're not obligated to keep them in your life if they have been a negative influence and potentially harming your own happiness. Relationships tend to evolve and some simply run their course. Let that be one of them.

Let the positivity in and enjoy the good times that you have allowed into your life!

You deserve it.


ESPecially Best Wishes,

Chris Johnson, Psychic Entertainer
www.thementalist.com.au

PS: Would you like to make a little extra money? I actually pay people who find me bookings. Drop me a line at www.thementalist.com.au and I will tell you more.

The Devil Made Me Do It.... Really?

One of the biggest lies people can ever tell others (and themselves) when they do something wrong is that the Devil made you do it.

The truth of it is that the devil doesn't make you do anything at all. I mean, sure, he can suggest, nudge you and tempt you, but in the end you make the choice of whether to do right or wrong.

It's a sad fact in humanity, and it may be a growing trend although there may be evidence to the contrary, that people are learning more and more to fail to take responsibility for the actions they take. The blame is not always placed on the Devil as it can also be placed upon a boss, the children, the spouse or even the weather.

The Tarot's Devil card has often been misrepresented, especially in popular culture such as Hollywood movies, as being a card of evil. This is perpetuated further, and just as falsely, by others who "reason" that it proves a so-called Satanic connection of sorts.

Regardless of whether you believe the Devil to be an actual entity or not, it is generally accepted amongst most Tarot Consultants that the Devil card is mostly about ourselves and our choices than it is about some "demonic presence".

Many texts, old and new, state that the Devil card represents an enslavement, fear, and temptation. This is the same meaning that I believe it takes and the same message I give if it comes up during one of my Intuitive Consultations.

If you look closely at the picture of the card, you will see it shows two people, a man and a woman, chained to the Devil. The chains are around their neck and, if you look even closer, you will notice that those same chains are loose. Similar to the elephant I mentioned in another blog post, Ask Me About The Elephant, the chains are so loose that they can escape if they so choose!

The key word here is choice.

These chains in our lives can take many guises, whether it be a bad habit, alcohol and other addictions, self-defeating belief systems, toxic relationships and other types of behaviour. All of these things can be chains to hold us down. Just like any other problem in life, the first step to helping yourself to recovery is to acknowledge that you have the problem.

When you do acknowledge it, however, you do so as the first step towards recovery. NEVER use it as an excuse to hold you back like that chain (which is so big it would fall off you if you just shrugged a little more).

First comes taking responsibility for yourself. Then comes the treatment and help before freedom.

Taken in this context, the Devil Card is a very self-reflective card that allows us to look at our lives and to recognise the things holding us back so that we can deal with them better. The card itself is not a source of evil but the things it represents are self-destructive and detrimental to our physical, mental and spiritual health.

What chains are holding you down in life and how can you get rid of such negative things?

We bring these things on ourselves and the great part is that we don't have to fix it by ourselves. If the Tarot, as a self-improvement tool, teaches us anything it is that we can not make it through life's journey alone.

If you need help, acknowledge it and seek it. Then rid yourself of your slavery to your temptations and excuses.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.

ESPecially best wishes,

Chris Johnson

www.thementalist.com.au

PS: Are you missing out on the World's Biggest Psychic Party? You don't have to.

The Seeds Of Life And Death

A few years ago, one of my clients made a return visit. This time she had brought her youngest daughter along.


The 18 year-old girl was deathly thin with cheeks sunken and eyes so dull that she looked really sick. That wasn't what worried me so much. It was when her mother told me that just 2 weeks earlier, she had been a picture of sunshine and good health; a complete opposite to the gaunt figure sitting opposite me. She looked as though the life had been sucked out of her by some kind of astral parasite.

For the sake of the story, we will call her June (since I am writing this in June and I want to protect her identity).

A couple of days after a slumber party with friends, June lost her appetite and stopped going out with friends. After a week, her mother started to worry because now as June was becoming lethargic and was starting to "die from inside". They had been to a doctor who did the responsible things. He had referred her to have blood tests and a series of other checkup with a specialist.

The test showed nothing was wrong physically and the specialist could not explain it. The other girls were all healthy and there was nothing to show what could have caused it.

Her mother decided to bring her daughter to me.

My first question was to ask why she had brought her to me. June was sick and I'm not a doctor.

By this time I was already looking at the girl's palm and examining the life line as well as the colours around finger tips and palm in general. While the lifeline did have a slight faint look towards the end of it, I knew that there was still plenty of energy passing through it. This girl was making herself sick!

I looked her in the eye and asked her, "Why are you making yourself sick?"

Her mother looked surprised to hear this and we both looked at June who denied it although I could see something was battling in her mind. 

Normally I ask first-timers if they have had a reading before. It's a general question usually to let people relax. This time I already knew the answer before I asked the question.

The girl was surprised at first and nodded in confirmation, telling me she already knew what I was going to tell her.

"Then you already know that your friends were extremely irresponsible," I said.

Her friend at the slumber party had done the equivalent of what other teenagers sometimes do at parties with ouija boards (another very strongly misunderstood item). Rather instead of a real ouija board, they created a makeshift version out of cards with words and letters written on them. For the planchette they found a glass and turned it upside down on the table so that their fingers were moving it about and touching different letters and words to create answers to their questions.

When it came to my client's daughter's turn, the "spirit" (which I strongly suspect was not a spirit this time but a very silly girl) announced that June was going to die and that it would happen within 6 weeks!

June's mother asked, "Can you see if it is true?"

I traced my finger along June's life line. "Your energy is strong inside you. The blockage that is making you feel sick is not from anything physical such as illness. It's a dis-ease."

I explained that dis-ease, in this case, was simply a LACK OF EASE. She was worrying herself to death needlessly.

June found it hard to believe at first as she could not believe she was making herself sick until I said, "Were you worrying before the reading?" (Her answer was no)

"Were you worried AFTER the reading?" (Yes)

"Now," I replied. "Would you have been worried if you had not even had the reading? Do you think you would have been sick and dying if you had not been told so?"

The girl stopped to think and I knew she was starting to see the light. So I started explaining some more things to her that were very evident about her hand.

"I'm not a doctor," I told her, "so I won't give you medical advice but I do know plenty of things already just by looking at your hand. This is what I am seeing. I see a hand which has healthy colouring in it, despite the rest of you being pale. Your life line is full of energy so I know that you can live a very long time if left to your own devices. You're a strong girl and you will live for a very long time when you choose to do so."

She looked hesitant but I knew that she could see sense. So I gave her the extra nudge.

"The only spirits that you have to worry about in life are the ones the liquid ones that come from a bottle. No other spirit will ever hurt you and there were no spirits telling you things at that party. It was your friends playing a very nasty joke. Are you going to let them win?"

"No way," she said, brightening.

She also admitted that the girl who "gave the message from the ouija board" was not one of the nicest girls either. I told her that, if anything, the other girl just wanted to spew out her own poison because she was jealous of June.

I've seen June again a few times and I am happy to say that she's not died. Rather she is living a very full life and has many great things coming up for her still. I'd bet my career upon it.

The point of this story is about how much we take on from others around us and about how much what we say can affect others as well.

Be careful what you say to your children, your family and your friends and enemies. The words we speak are the seeds of change. They can be noxious weeds that choke yourself and others to death or they can be beautiful trees full of bountiful life.

You have the choice of what you think and of what you say and we all reap what we sow.

Which do you want to have in your life?

I wish you all the great things that life can offer you in abundance.

ESPecially Best Wishes,

Chris Johnson
www.thementalist.com.au

Ask Me About the Elephant

Ask Me About The Elephant

by

Chris Johnson

(c) 2013-2014

This is not so much about elephants as it is about yourself.

If you were born in the 1970's or before that, you are probably able to remember the days of going to a circus and seeing an elephant tethered by a chain to its leg. The chain (or even a rope) was attached to a peg stuck in the ground.

That elephant, my friend, is you. It is strong, noble and wise, powerful, intelligent and able to hold its own in harsher environments than our modern living.

An elephant is a strong creature more than capable of knocking down trees, moving and lifting heavy weights with its muscular trunk. It is even able to move obstacles MUCH STRONGER THAN THE CHAIN AROUND ITS LEG!!

So why is it able to do these things and yet a flimsy looking chain on a stake can hold the elephant in check?

When an elephant is only a baby, the animal handlers attach it to the rope and stake. As a baby, the elephant is still quite weak and the peg is sufficient to hold it.

Like any other free spirit, it will fight against the chain or the rope. It will tug and pull and whinge and complain as it learns that it simply isn't going anywhere while it's caught on that rope.

Its mind becomes conditioned so much that the proud elephant becomes complacent and gives in. In fact its mind is so powerful that it tells itself that it will never ever be able to move that stake.

Elephants have a long memory and so, even when it has grown to an adult size and is physically able to move that stake and rope, it does not even try!

Effectively it becomes its own captive!

Earlier I said that YOU are this elephant and there is a reason why. I don't mean you specifically as the point is that we are all that elephant in one way or another.

That chain and stake represents your own self-limiting beliefs.

Do you remember when you tried to do things as a child and some things appeared REALLY HARD TO DO? Either you were not strong enough at the time to lift something or you just could not get the knack because your coordination was not right at the time. Or maybe something else held you back.

You may have tried very hard to do it but eventually gave up.

This could happen in adult years too when getting a job in the area you want is difficult. Maybe you gave up on finding the right life partner? Maybe you gave up at a particular sport or pasttime because of one thing or another.

Either way, you had enough references to create a negative belief that something could not be done... so why bother?

You, my friend, became that elephant. We all have in one way or another.

Here's the good news.

Just like that elephant, we are capable of learning extraordinary things, to develop, to adapt, to break free. To grow!

If you showed that elephant that it can walk off, carrying that chain and stake behind it like a toothpick, it would learn that the only thing holding it back was its self-limiting belief.

What chain and stake are you letting hold you back?

When are you going to realise your own personal power?

When are you going to make the decision to move forward?

It's time to break free from your self-imposed chain and stake and live your dreams!

ESPecially best wishes,


Chris Johnson - Mentalist & Public Speaker
www.thementalist.com.au
www.facebook.com/chrisjohnsonthementalist

PS: To learn how to release your own inner elephant spirit and strength, visit me at www.thementalist.com.au and book in a time for a psi-q consultation.

How Do You Know?

How Do You Know?

by Chris Johnson

(c) Copyright 2014

I was planning on writing something else. Of course as can happen to some of the best plans, they are sometimes replaced by something better.

Last week, on one of my other blogs, I wrote an article that concerned how often one should have a reading. One of you asked some very good questions and I'll attempt to answer them for you.

"Aussie" said:

"I have never had a reading of any kind done... I would love to but, everytime i think to i always worry that ill be paying some fake to give me a crap reading.. How does one know that they r for real?? Are we getting our money worth?? I wouldnt even know where to start looking to fnd one lol... Maybe next time when im in ur neck of the woods ill look u up Chris..." 

My response will read as a rant and all I can say is that I'm not. Aussie has asked a valid question and, in my usual long-winded way, I'll do my best to answer adequately. Also I know that Aussie isn't singling me out or insinuating anything either. :)

Here is my response.

One journalist who wrote about me hit an interesting nail on the head. It is tough being a psychic reader. Get it wrong and we're labelled as a fake. Get it right and we're labelled as a con artist.

What the - ?

The credentials of a psychic or intuitive reader are something that is questioned a lot. We hear on current affairs shows about the mediums who use the old "gypsy curse" con that goes along the lines of, "Ooooh, I sense some dark negative energy. You've been cursed, a particularly nasty one too. That is beyond the scope of what you are paying me to do right now. I would need an extra [insert exhorbitant amount here] to help you get rid of it properly."

Bapow!

Frightened client runs to the bank, takes out a second mortgage on their house, and pays up the medium who disappears shortly after with the cash in accompaniment to a Keystone Cops type theme music.

These kinds of people flourish in EVERY profession.

Some who know me well will know that I used to be in work as a computer programmer over a decade ago. I left the profession soon after so that I could embark on full-time performing just before the Y2K hype started. I remember, just before I resigned as a systems analyst & programmer, that another colleague told me the Y2K bug fixing was a great area to be working in.

He said some were collecting something like $200 an hour in contracts to make sure that systems were compliant to the Year 2000 and would not crash when it happened. You know what? None of us knew for sure and there were a lot of system analysts who made enough in that time before the year 2000 happened that they could have a very nice nest egg feathered with the money they made. Some retired.

Like a lot of others, to be safe, I turned the computer off before 2000 hit and then it turned on nicely the next morning without a problem. I even told my wife (at that time) to make sure she turned hers off. She refused. The computer kept working up until 2005 when we finally retired it and I was sick of upgrading and maintaining it.

A lot of people around the world asked if perhaps they had been conned.

I do know there were a few valid points with the effects of a new century on the dates. After all, a child born on 20th January 2000 would appear as old as a man born on the 20th January 1900 (both would be 20/1/00). Would that mean the man would suddenly be ineligible to have certain benefits because he appeared to be younger than he was?

The silicon chip side of it... hmmmm... Like I said, I wasn't involved in Y2K and was actually working a performance at the Royal Perth Yacht Club at the time that 1/1/2000 hit.... and I remember stopping a lot of spectators' watches BEFORE the countdown. Maybe I used the Y2K bug to my advantage... or not. That's another story.

So we see that computer programmers can be suspected of being up to no good too. Heck, we know some of them even write viruses from their computer while watching re-runs of X-Files in their mummy's living room.

How many times have you heard of doctors, psychologists, and even priests doing the dirty in some way on their clientele, etc.

How many times have you heard of a doctor MISDIAGNOSING? Do you call him a fake doctor?

How many times do you have to call a car mechanic back because they made a mistake and forgot to put a bolt back in? Do you call them a fake mechanic?

So the question comes back to the psychic who you come to when you need comfort, perhaps a

little guidance, to help you through a tough time in life.

If a doctor diagnoses you incorrectly, he/she made a mistake. If a psychic has a bad day, he/she is labelled a fake.

It's a pity as they are people also with the same human weaknesses, fears, shortcomings, emotions and baggage as everyone else. Some are better than others, some are absolute garbage who leave their clients even worse than before.

How do you know who is a good psychic to visit for a consultation?

The same way you choose a good doctor, mechanic, hairdresser and such.

Word of mouth is usually the best way. If you know someone has had good results with that practitioner (consultant) then you know you will likely receive what you think you are paying for.

ESPecially best wishes to you all,

Chris Johnson

Bold & The Beautiful ... and Chain Reactions

Bold & The Beautiful... and Chain Reactions

by Chris Johnson

(c)Copyright 2011, 2014

Do you want to know one of the craziest things about my life as a mentalist?

I can read people and I can predict future events... yet, I have trouble sometimes in seeing EVERYTHING.

I can blunder about like a klutz through life, or some stumbling child, and then suddenly things start happening around me that seem totally out of control... such that I wonder, "How the f*ck did I miss that?" or something else similar.

This morning I went out for a run at 4:30am because something in my life has been bothering me and I could not sleep. While I was out doing my run, I was thinking to myself about how some things just go out of whack and it's because I may FORGET (or fail) to think first... and at the age I am approaching now, that's pretty bloody embarrassing.

An observation came to mind from something that happened years ago

and I was around to witness. Someone I knew used to have a laptop which they used on the coffee table. They also decided to make themselves a spider to drink with lots of Coca Cola in it, ice cream, flavouring, etc.

The coffee table stood on a mat which had a lump in it from bunching up. It had been there a while but no one had bothered to straighten it out.

You don't need to be a mentalist or a psychic to know what happened.

This person was walking back to the laptop to do some work, while enjoying their spider... and... TRIP! Oopsy! Oh, shit!!!

One hand goes out to catch themselves, the other drops the glass... the glass misses the floor... hits the coffee table... somehow the glass of the table stayed intact.... even luckier the drinking glass stayed intact as well.... Lucky the glass missed the laptop.... but wait!!! There's MORE!!!!

The glass lands on its base (phew!).... but the momentum keeps it moving... it wobbles.... in true slow motion.... and then.... tips.......

It falls.....

It spills....

Coca Cola fizzes about the table surface.... and... runs.... onto the floor.... and then.... and then.... Oh, crap!!!

It runs towards the laptop!!! It spreads, fizzing as bubbles escape... and then runs UNDER the laptop.... while more splashes (where did THEY come from?) take a life of their own and land right on the laptop's keyboard!!!

Amid the cursings come an accusation levelled at me, saying, "Why didn't you see that happening?"... but I ignored that because I was too busy finding tea towels and napkins to soak the sticky mess up.

Curses were aimed more so at things like :-

• how Coca Cola is really sticky shit
• that icecream really does melt fast in a keyboard
• not being able to enjoy the spider
• who was the bastard that invented gravity anyway

The laptop was totally stuffed and we watched it die a painful death as its blue screen became a faint dot in the display's centre.

All of this from neglecting to either step around that lump in the mat or, better still, fixing it up earlier.

There is an important lesson here and it's one that we can apply to our lives in either business, in our lives, even our relationships with friends, family and partner.

We must look ahead, consider our actions and the consequences if we wish to avoid the dramas.

While running, I also remembered from books like Art of War by Sun Tsu (I've mentioned him before) that a general thinks ahead in multiple steps.

People who lead well, reduce dramas in their lives, and head off problems before they occur and they do that by being able to see many steps ahead as well as the array of possible consequences to their actions. Then they adjust their actions to suit the best outcome.

Those who have lots of drama around them are only looking at immediate consequences, rather than the consequences further down the track... if they are looking at any at all.

It's not that they enjoy it... only that they failed to consider it.

It’s the simple difference between thinking:

• If I take this action, consequence A will happen, or…
• If I take this action, consequence A will happen, which will lead to consequence B, which will lead to C, which will lead to….well, you get the picture.

As an example, you might want to buy a brand new super-duper television set for $500 and you have $500 in the bank.

If you go and buy it now, you may have the immediate pleasure of owning a television set that can let you watchyour favourite shows in awesome colour with a bitching sound system.... but did you remember that you had the $550 put aside to pay your electricity bill so that you can turn it on?

You probably won't realise that until the lights don't turn on for you, you fumble around in the dark to find matches and a candle, miss seeing the lump in the mat that you still haven't fixed yet (even after your laptop died earlier) so that you trip, fall and hit your head on the corner of that coffee table... hit your head so hard that you're knocked unconscious and suffer a bad head injury such that you can't get up to ring the ambulance for help... and your friend isn't around to help because you already told him to piss off because he hadn't warned you to watch out for the lump in the mat!

(close up shot of you bleeding on the floor in the dark while the piano player tickles out some dramatic music... and fades out to a commercial plugging health insurance)

So when you are making a decision about doing something, stop to think about the far-reaching consequences.

Before I close, I'd like to add something.

When you make a mistake, learn from it. When someone else makes a mistake, learn from their consequences so you don't make the same mistake yourself later... but consider the actions as well.

And when you make the mistakes, we all do, learn to forgive yourself for it as well.

We are all human..... well, most of us :)

ESPecially best wishes

Chris Johnson

www.thementalist.com.au

Find Out What A Thumb Tells About A Man's.....

What A Thumb Tells About A Man And His....

by Chris Johnson

(c) Copyright 2014

I recently watched a movie with a well-known actor playing the part of the action hero. During a close-up scene, I had the chance to see the hand – in particular the thumb. As I found myself studying the shape of the thumb, including its nail, I realised I was doing the same thing my palmistry teacher told me about years ago!

Henry Winkler is known for his Thumbs Up as The Fonz.

You don't have to be an expert palmist to know a lot about a person when looking at their hand. Indian palmists have been known to look mostly at the thumb itself to know whether someone is truly a man of action or simply a wannabe lounge lizard.

When I read palms at a corporate event or at one of my Home Psychic Parties, I always check first for the flexibility of the thumb before looking at the rest of the palm.

If it bends backwards really easily from the joint, it's regarded as flexible. People with these thumbs are generally easy-going, optimistic and positive, as well as being flexible in their approaches to things in life. They're the kind of person who can sometimes be seen as a “yes man” but that is usually only to buy some time rather than create a scene.

Stiff thumbs tell me that the person is determined. They can also be very reliable. If the thumb is really stiff as a board (rather than being firm), you would be hard pressed to ever get them to change their mind.

If you are in business or working in sales, this can be very useful knowledge to have. For example, if someone has a flexible thumb, the chances are they are a very easy person to persuade or get onto your side. Depending on the shape, they can also be your greatest ally. On the other hand (pun not intended), a stiff thumb is not someone you can sell to easily. If you try pushing your ideas to them, they will more than likely throw up a block for you and dig their heels in out of stubborness … even if you know that you are right. When that happens, step back a little in your approach and then after a while try again from a slightly different angle.

Another tell-tale sign is the size of the thumb. The longer the thumb, the more successful the person is said to be. They can also be quite dominant, show natural leadership skills and influence.

Napoleon Bonaparte, for example, was said to have had an extremely large thumb and history tells exactly how much he did manage to achieve before he lost.

If a person has a short thumb, they are usually lacking in will and can be stubborn usually for no apparent reason. Medium thumbs are more balanced in their outlook, tending to be more fair in life and are quite capable of asserting themselves when needed.

Obama's thumb is long. The phalanges are
mostly equal giving balance although his
first phalange is slightly longer of the two

Some of you are also thinking, at this point, about the rumour that the size of a man's thumb is directly related to the length of his penis. For the purpose of this nugget of information, I have not actually researched this so cannot verify.

People who are more likely to be successful in business also have large thumbs. There's another interesting thing to check the next time you look at a movie about businessmen. Have a look at Leonardo di Caprio's thumb when you're watching him in The Great Gatsby or The Wolf Of Wall Street and then tell me if he was well cast for the roles!

The other parts to look at, which is probably not as easy to do in everyday life, are the phalanges of the thumb. On the first phalange (at the tip) is the section that illustrates the will. The second phalange represents a person's logic.

If the will is larger than the logic section then that person is likely to be one who acts before they have put enough thought into something. This can be good if they are taking the right action before procrastination or negative thoughts set in to change their minds. Of course, it can also mean they can be quick with rash thinking likely to “make the decision right later” rather than make the right decision.

If the logic is larger than the will section, you are likely to have a procrastinator looking you in the eye. The degree of this can be further clarified by checking their palm itself which is beyond the scope of this article but it's a very good indicator just the same. Either way, they tend to put more thought into things before acting upon their decision.

When both logic and will are about the same or equal, you have a person balanced between their willpower and their thinking. Their decisions are well thought out and are likely to be very balanced between their positive and negative thinking (which can hold a procrastinator back).

Chances are you have been looking at your own thumb while reading this, particularly if you are a male. Some ladies are looking at and thinking about some men's thumbs as well.

There is a lot more that the thumb can tell us, including the thumbprint and the skin texture itself, which I discuss in greater detail during my talks.

If you have any questions, or if you find yourself looking at other people's thumbs in movies and real life, please feel free to contact me at my website

ESPecially best wishes,

Chris Johnson - Mentalist

Phone:0433 181 675

www.thementalist.com.au

PS: For an even more in-depth discussion on what to look for when shaking someone's hand, please consider having me speak at your club or special event.