Hi All! I tell you, not blogging and *forcing* myself to work on these other technical aspects of the blog layout is a herculean feat in self discipline. I’ve done pretty well so I’m going to indulge in a quickie entry here.
One of the precursors to deciding to re-work some of the blog layout was paying a professional blogger to evaluate my site, and some of the feedback was really valuable, and backed up some ideas I was already planning.
One recommendation that keeps popping up from different sources is that I should downplay that I am a “part time” psychic, that I don’t do this to pay my rent. One person even said, “I would think if you could actually make a living doing readings, YOU WOULD!”
I’ve been surprised by this repeated assumption that I want to become or should become a full-time psychic. It’s a logical leap to make, but it’s actually incorrect. My dream job is to be a part-time psychic, part-time writer and to maintain either an employment or community activity that keeps me balanced and grounded. Basically I want to enjoy my daily life FULL TIME. I guess that’s why blogging works so well for me!
I realize that a lot of full time psychics proudly declare they are psychic FOR A LIVING. And you know what? That’s great. You know what else? That’s not me, and I’m not going to pretend it’s me.
For me, right now, I am a part-time, professional psychic. I choose to remain a part-time psychic and continue to work part time at the hospital because I LIKE doing that! It helps me to keep a great work / life / spiritual balance, and it frees me completely from making decisions about my psychic business with an eye to unpaid bills, but rather to follow what I want to do in my heart.
The beauty of this work for me is that it makes my life better; it gives me energy and purpose, because I am helping so many people, and because I’m so damn good at it. Yes, I like to toot my own horn!
I also learned through fundraisers and promotions exactly how much psychic work I can do in a given day or week and still feel balanced. I have a little speech for every new client, explaining how I work. Part of this speech is this:
“Part of my job is to set my own brain aside, to create a space for your spirit and animal friends to speak. A side effect of this is I may not be completely aware of what I just said, and I will probably forget everything we talk about after our session.”
When I do readings, I lose chunks of time. It can be disorienting. In general, I come out of a reading feeling awesome, charged, and fabulous! I love doing it, but when I do it for several hours a day, for days in a row, I can look back on my week and feel like there is a lot of “missing” time.
The awesome thing about working at the hospital is that it gives my left brain a lot of exercise. Writing, talking to animals and dead people – these are very “right-brained” activities. Working at the hospital keeps me grounded in the community; I work with a team who help people in the most vulnerable and traumatizing moments of their lives. It’s a privilege as well as a reality check. I’m great at my job there too, and having a mild-mannered alter-ego is a wonderful balance to the challenges of working as a psychic. Besides, working in a hospital is a great way to meet interesting dead people. It all ties together beautifully, you see?
I think this idea that a person should focus on one thing as a “career” is a cultural statement. I know this idea doesn’t resonate with a lot of people, including myself. I am interested in learning, in developing and helping other people to do the same. This expansion is what I believe is my purpose, not to be defined by one thing, one purpose I fulfill in my long, long lifetime.
I’m only thirty-four, and already my background is so diverse – I can be an excellent psychic while doing other things too, and I have learned enough about myself to know that creating a balanced and fulfilling life for myself is the best way to ensure my own happiness. It also gives other people permission to live their lives by their hearts too! You don’t have to be awesome at just one thing, you can be amazing at TEN things, if that makes you happy!
Did you know that my background includes various first-year university math and science courses such as calculus, finite math, physics, chemistry, biology and computer programming, not to mention accounting? And yes, I have a background in Nursing as well. I worked for five years at an animal hospital as a veterinary technician, I’ve volunteered in hospitals as a candy-striper since I was twelve. I’ve lead trail rides for tourists on horseback. I’ve done field research for Trent University in monitoring the affects of acid rain. I ran a second-hand clothing store and raised $30,000 for a grass-roots “children’s town” in Malambanyama, Malawi, which provides protection, clothing and education for orphaned children. I have loved and worked and burned out of THREE careers before I was thirty years old, and the most valuable lesson I learned from all of that is *balance*.
The trick to balance is that sometimes you have to shift your focus from one thing to another so that you can make some progress in one area. And here is where I would like to humbly ask your assistance, dear friends and readers: I need to create some time for me to focus upon a book I would like to put together from material that is *mostly* already written.
In order to put this book together, I will need, ideally, a month of time, a month off of my job at the hospital. So I would like to ask your help in creating this time with me:
I need you to visualize me talking to my wonderful boss and have her grant me two weeks vacation followed by two weeks leave. I need you to visualize two or three people saying yes to covering all of my shifts in that period of time. This period of time is likely going to be the month of September, but it can be earlier than that.
Then I need you to see me and how happy I feel when I work my last day before having a month off, and I need you to see my pride and sense of accomplishment when I publish this book!
What do you say? Help me create some time!
Thank you!
Kate Sitka 
Hi Kate! I was curious, are you a nurse? Because you mentioned ‘working at the hospital’… I am a nurse who works in a hospital so of course I would pick up on your saying that, lol. : )
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I am not a qualified nurse – I completed one year of the nursing program, back when it was a 2 year program not a 4 year degree. There’s a whole long story about why I went into nursing and why I left it, but the short of it is: I just burned out. I did very well, in the top of my class, but I didn’t return to complete the program. I am grateful I got into the training when first year students were actually doing hands-on clinical, so I had the opportunity to see what life as a nurse in northern Ontario would be like.
Nurses are the salt of the earth 🙂 It takes physical strength, spiritual fortitude and intense mental acuity over long, rotating shifts. I am amazed at what I see from my colleagues. I just don’t have the stamina!
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You would have made a fabulous nurse…
I agree with the getting ‘burnt-out’. I am there myself. Have been doing it for 21 years and I am exhausted. Floor nursing takes a lot of physical and mental strength I agree. I love nursing and I know I am in the profession for a ‘reason’ besides just wanting to care for people. I think for myself it goes deeper than that but I don’t quite know what that is. But I am tired-physically and mentally. : p
thank you for sharing!! *hugs*
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You bet! It’s all so there for you. I see it so clearly without complication.
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Thank you lainie!
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You sure have done alot Kate!! I packed in alot by your age also and then sort of narrowed it down from then on and got ill early in life. Alot of stress starting at a very young age of pressure and discipline!! I think it is lovely you are able to do several things for career choices and most people cannot do this. You are so brilliant and it shows and comes through in your readings and in your wonderful group I am priveledged to be in. I don’t think I have much left brain going on anymore. But use to be in the advanced lcasses for math and Spanish. LOL!! But that is about it!! I will send you prayers and energy to your boss!! A book is wonderful and will like to do one in my life time someday too if my health permits. I am glad you say this about the psychic stuff becasue even though I am not at all in any way as good as you or anything but even the little I do psychically I get a bit spaced from it and was wondering if it was becasue I am so inexperienced!! Good to know what you say here!! Thanks for you help in your group and love your posts of Erik!!Just amazing. I always look forward to reading them!! You are just blessed with so many gifts!! Wow!!So lucky and grateful to know you!!! Sincerely and love Jan xx
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 17:27:57 +0000 To: jandrake007@hotmail.com
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“I don’t think I have much left brain going on anymore” – Ha! That is such a funny thing to say!
Thank you so much for your kind complements and your continued support, Jan. 🙂
Yeah, I find that eating something grounding right after readings helps me to come back to earth and fire up that left brain again. Chocolate is one of my favourites 😉
Ideally, I’d be eating something balanced from an ayurvedic recipe. (Such as http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Taste-Heal-Ayurvedic-Cookbook-Modern-Living/dp/0976917009/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374007511&sr=8-2&keywords=ayurvedic+cookbook) It’s a very healthy way to eat, and very inexpensive, but I’ve found it difficult to keep up… and I have not really mastered the art of cooking with Indian spices. Usually, I eat some chocolate, take the dog for a walk, come back and eat some more. I feel pretty normal after that!
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DONE! I am excited to read and see the ideas, goal, and results come to fruition in the time of your choosing. Creating, Lifting, and Sending my wide open, purest energy of support your way, usually in the evenings around 11ish CST. GO KATE!
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It is funny how people are quick to assume, and define what they think “success” is. I used to think my own ecclectic background would hold me back. From working night audit at a hotel, to being a maintenance supervisor and park ranger at a state park, and working at a community development non profit..all these experiences do one thing in common: they all help me relate to more people. And your background is like that too. I think the common ground you create would be invaluable in the physical world as well as in spirit. It’s all about communication.
I’ve also struggled with feeling like I’ve somehow “failed” by not meeting the traditional definition of financial success. Which is silly since I’ve run my own business for nearly three years now and it’s thriving.
But regarding balance, that makes a lot of sense. Staying grounded is so important. And if you’ve found a combination that works, stay at it. Which you will of course.
I *love* Indian food. When I shifted my diet big time and was lacking protein George started pushing lentils. I do love lentils. There are some great and quick, easy crockpot lentil recipes you can google. They are very filling and delicious with some easy Indian spices. I’m a horrible cook so that helps.
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Kate, I TOTALLY get what you are saying. It’s precisely because you are intelligent and creative that not only can you balance several diverse roles — you *need* the diversity to feel whole. And I can relate …. I am a scientist by training (Chemist) and have been in a traditional Corporate career path for years, but in my spare time have been drawn to creative and outdoor/athletic hobbies. It’s the combination that works.
Coincidentally (?), I am facing a similar discussion with my boss. I have been feeling stifled and burned out in my job and will be approaching my boss (tomorrow!) about early retirement and going to part-time. I need this so that I can find a better balance in my life and have more time to pursue my creative and spiritual interests. So maybe we can visualize positive outcomes for both of us!! Our bosses will see the win-win aspects of our proposals and endorse them. Our co-workers will see the benefit to them and happily cover the necessary workload. And we will have the blessed relief from those day-to-day responsibilities to focus on the pursuits that are pulling us forward. I can totally see it!! 🙂
In the CE blog, Erik has been talking a lot about us being emotionally honest. I guess that this is part of that process — identifying what we need to grow and taking risks in going after it. For so much of my life I’ve followed traditional paths; career, family, church. It’s not natural for me to dive inside to determine what I *feel* and to discard the portions of my life that no longer work. But, I’m working on it ….
Good luck Kate!!
MB
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You are an excellent psychic, Kate. But I think it’s awesome that you know yourself well, and you take the steps to keep yourself in balance without caring too much what others think. It’s great to get advice, but you can also take what fits for you and leave the rest.
I think many people assume that if one is psychic, one is obligated to use it professionally and full-time. As you pointed out, they don’t realize how taxing it can be on one’s energy. I would think that even the full-time psychics don’t do readings all day, every day either. As well, the connection isn’t as strong if you’re not feeling your best. Unlike many jobs, there’s kind of a moral obligation to your clients to be at your best – not only for their well being, but for your own reputation (psychics aren’t really allowed to have bad days when they’re “off”, are they?).
I remember Erik talking about spiritual purpose and how that can manifest in a variety of ways. So your psychic ability may fulfill your purpose of helping others, but being a full time professional psychic may not be the way you prefer to express that purpose. Helping others by working in a hospital, or taking care of animals or anything else you do, may be a better way for you to express your purpose. I’m sure you listen to your gut and your inspiration to guide you when choosing what to do that makes you happiest.
Plus, variety is the spice of life, as they say. 😉
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