The Mysteries That Lie Within
Karen D. Brown
The Psychic World has always piqued my curiosity and I've wanted to have a psychic reading done for quite some time now. This class assignment gave me just the motivation I needed to get a reading while also providing me with a "valid" reason to do so. I visited Amy at the Psychic Boutique on Magnolia Boulevard in Toluca Lake. I was actually on my way to a different psychic that I had found in the telephone book but happened to get to Amy's place first. I was in for a pleasant surprise.
I walked into Amy's boutique around 12:30 Tuesday afternoon. I told her that I was interested in a tarot card reading. She quoted me her price and her accuracy rate90%. I then asked how long the session would be and she informed me that we would take as much time as we needed. I was there for about twenty minutes.
Although the environment was quite different from what I had imagined it would be, the experience, overall, was interesting. I had expected to walk into a room full of symbolic cliches. I thought I would see cherub angels all over the place, a celestial looking sun, perhaps even a crystal ball. Maybe the smell of incense or sage would be in the air. At the very least, I knew there would be candles all around and the place would have a mystical feel to it. I was completely wrong. When I walked into what was just a house on the corner, it reminded me a lot of my great-grandmother's house. There were tons of pictures everywhere! Some were on the wall, some were on side tables everywhere. I got the sense that they were pictures of family members although I can't say for certain. There were two small sofas, a small table that reminded me of patio furniture, magazines all over the place and a nice sized television. There was a sun hanging from the ceiling but it was just an ordinary looking sun. It had no mystic appeal to it. The air conditioning was running full blast and I appreciated that. There were other rooms in the house that I did not see. It seemed as though she lived there. The house had a very "lived in" look to it. It wasn't spotless and it wasn't set up like an office. I was beginning to get concerned that I was not going to get the mystical journey I was seeking. I didn't even see a candle in sight! There was, however, a picture of Jesus on the wall. I realized that the absence of all these spiritual/mystical symbols actually made me feel more comfortable. I felt like I was visiting a friend's home. I began to appreciate the setting and I opened my mind for what was about to take place.
Amy was an older, Hispanic woman. Though I'm not good at judging age, I would say she was in her early to mid-fifties. Her hair was pulled back tightly into a bun and she wore a long dress, a typical looking dress that anyone's grandmother might wear. It was just the two of us present. We got started right away. She asked me to shuffle the tarot cards, cut them three times and make a wish. A wish that I was not to share with her. We didn't turn off the lights, nor did she put any kind of ceremonial oil on either of us but that was okay. My mind was open. She began the reading. I was so amazed by what she was saying. Everything she said pertained to me; however, some of what she was saying could be true of a lot of people but it was so true for me. Then she spoke about my personal life in a way that she could not have guessed. This is when the spiritual journey I had been seeking began. I was so amazed by what she was saying that tears came into my eyes. I held them back because I didn't want to give her any "clues" that the words she spoke effected me so deeply. At the same time, I didn't want to close up and not experience all that she had to offer. I took it all in and when she had completed the reading, we discussed it and I told her my feelings.
I wondered how all of this was related to religion. Most traditional "Christians" I know see psychics as the work of the devil. I didn't get a negative feeling from this experience at all but I don't consider myself a Christian either. Amy then asked me if I believed in God. I told her I did. She then stressed to me that she was not God but that she could help me. She said I needed some direction and God works through her to help people. I asked her how much it would cost me. J She said $300 and I could pay in installments. I told her that I found the session we just had to be very helpful and insightful but that I would call her if I decided to take her up on her offer to give me guidance. She seemed okay with that. The truth of the matter is I know exactly what I need to do in order to accomplish my goals and I feel like I have that strength inside me to make sure it happens.
The reading she gave me was a positive one overall but I can see how someone could become dependent on the help of outside forces and forget about the force they have within themselves. I think visiting a psychic gives a person a sense that someone is on their side because, so often, people feel like the world is against them when things just aren't going the way they planned. We have this need for someone to explain to us why our life is the way it is and how we can turn things around. People are never satisfied with all the aspects of their life. Someone once told me, "The reality you experience is a mirror image of your expectations." Perhaps, psychics help people channel their expectations into something positive and people's realities start to change. Most people can't do that on their own.
If I were to go back to Amy, I would like to ask her how she became a psychic. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't ask her any questions about her credentials. I wonder if she took special classes and how long she's been in this line of business. Is anyone else in her family a psychic? When did she first realize the had the gift? Where is she from? I would also like to know how God communicates through her. Does she have a religious denomination? I'm also curious about the type of guidance she's given other people and what the outcomes have been. I don't see myself making a regular habit of visiting a psychic but I would definitely go again.