The Universe always seems to have plans for us, whether we are aware of them or not. This is what makes life exciting and surprising and my own life is now moving onto a new and wonderful path. Consequently, I will be taking a sabbatical from my website and will no longer be available for readings after August 18th. Meeting you all and offering counsel has been an honor and a privilege and I have gained much from our interactions. In the meantime, my website with its articles and blog archives remain available for your use. I wish you all well in your lives and futures.

With respect,

Linda Dalton

However, change is necessary in order for us to evolve as beings. We reach certain levels in our personal growth where we have gone as far as we can at that level and in order to continue on our path we need to move to the next level. This is the way it is in everything we undertake. We study, learn and comprehend then we move on to the next level and continue the process.

Change is chaotic, occasionally; uncomfortable, usually; necessary; always. But the more resistant you are to the change, the more difficult that change process can be. So embrace those moments of change and understand that they are part of the path we are all on toward becoming more aware and enlightened individuals.

There have been occasions where I have been able to connect to the spiritual energies of the dead in order to help them with something. Usually it’s if they have gone missing and need their bodies to be found, or if they are stuck in this plane and need help moving on.

There is a difference between trying to help those who have passed and attempting contact for the living mourners. The problem with that is that once they have passed on they are no longer a part of this world and it holds back their progress if we attempt to keep pulling them back.

It is important to remember that they love us too, and do not necessarily want to leave us either, so our grief and pain pulls them back to us, at their own expense. Those we love will never be far from us and it is our love for them that gives them the strength to go forward.

I don't think that events in a life necessarily make that big a difference. But I do think that there are "growth" spurts in this area just like there are growth and change spurts in your physical body. It seems that quite a few people begin to notice psychic abilities coming forward when they reach puberty and as they grow in their personal lives, these abilities can grow and develop also.

It also seems (at least in my experiences) that you reach stages in your development, especially if you are consciously trying to develop these areas, where you reach a plateau and stay at one place for a while. Then at some point or through some test or study or practice or meditation...it really is a mystery and can be different with each person...you suddenly find yourself at a new level of awareness. I guess the lesson is that you don't want to take it for granted, but you also don't want to let it consume your life or define you as an individual.

I have two loves in my life. The first and most important is my family, and the second (and also very important) is the work I do. In order to maintain my equilibrium and give my best to each, I need to cut back a bit on the latter. I will continue writing a monthly blog but will limit my services to email readings only.

I have gained quite a lot by my interactions with people through my website and I appreciate the support I have received. I look forward to continuing this interaction, but at a more manageable pace.

What is the job of a psychic?

I see my job as a psychic as that of a counselor. Using my abilities I can assist people through difficult transitions, see possible outcomes to interpersonal situations and, on occasion, find missing objects or people. However, most of the time my job is to help my clients develop further on their spiritual paths so they can see their own possibilities and solutions without my help. The idea is that each individual has a connection to Spirit and the stronger that connection is, the better they are at finding their own answers. So, like a counselor, eventually my clients will only need my assistance when events become confusing or their connection to a situation is too close and they need an objective interpretation.

How often do you need to have a reading?

There are two main components that I look at when determining if a client is ready for another reading. The first thing I look at is if there are any time frame indicator cards. These are the cards that represent signs of the zodiac or seasons and can give an idea of when something will happen, or how soon a situation will begin to unfold. Time is a tricky subject when working on a reading because spirit doesn’t move on the same 24/7 system that we use. And sometimes the time frame cards can indicate events or even people instead of a time period. That being said, if I feel a strong indication for a time period or I get several references to a time period, this usually means that the reading will unfold over that period of time. And usually another reading is not indicated until that time frame is fulfilled.

The second things I look at are the situational indicator cards that occur in a reading. These are the cards that relate to events or personal growth factors that need to transpire before the reading can be considered completed. The tricky area here is that events do not flow in a linear, predictable pattern, and there are often steps forward and backward along the path. These times can be confusing and often lead people to feel they need a new reading altogether, when usually all we need to do is take another look at the original reading in light of this new bump in the road. There are occasions when an event occurs that takes a person by surprise or on a completely different path. At times like these they might want to have a new reading to look for direction on this very different subject.

So to sum up, as many of you know I like to do ;) I am here to guide and assist in whatever way I can, but ultimately I’m here to help you help yourself.

As I said in an earlier entry, being psychic is just another aspect to your personality. It doesn’t give you all the answers and it’s not like you can just “know” what is going to happen at any place or time. It really all comes down to trust. Trust in God, trust in your intuition and trust that life’s path will open a direction for you when you need it. And it doesn’t hurt that cell phones and computers can keep you in touch 24/7!!

This transition also affects our family’s home life in that we are now three at the table instead of four, and in a few short years it will just be me and my husband. This is a good thing! I see my job as a parent to prepare our children to be successful and independent on their own and I think we have done a pretty good job with these two. They will go forth and face transitions of their own and will learn to love and grow in the process – as have we all.

When you start to develop your spiritual energy your emotions are usually the first area where you notice a change. Suddenly you are able to sense the moods and emotions of people close to you, whether they attempt to keep their feelings hidden or not. Often times when this happens it leaves you in a similar emotional state. I like to think of it like a kind of psychic puberty. When a child approaches puberty they have a sudden influx of chemicals into their systems leaving them feeling all sorts of emotions – sadness, anger, etc. that they accept as their true emotions. In fact, these are not their real emotions, but are false, chemically-induced, emotions. The same thing happens with psychics - you end up thinking that what you are feeling is coming from your own emotional well, not from some else’s and you do not recognize the difference. With all of this excess emotion flying around it can be just as confusing as going through puberty!

So what to do? The first thing I suggest is to take stock of your emotional center. When you start feeling an overwhelming emotion, stop, take a breath and calmly observe the mood. Is there anything in your personal experience that might be making you feel this way? Did you have a bad day? Was traffic a mess? If you can relate the emotional experience to an actual event then the emotion is probably really yours. If you cannot place the emotion to anything in your personal experience, then this may be a false emotion, or an emotion that belongs to someone else. Once you decide the emotion is not yours, you can “look” to see who it does belong to, but the most important lesson here is to learn to separate your emotions from theirs. At this point you might want to psychically feel out the people close to you and let your intuition lead you to the right person, remembering that people do not have to share their emotions with you, even if you can sense them. After that, what you do about it is up to you.

I think the key concept here is “fluid construct.” Time and events are not fixed in space waiting for us to catch up to them. They are constantly moving and shifting and there are an infinite number of outcomes available to us, depending on the choices we make and the choices made by those around us. Although occasionally an Act of God (hurricanes, earthquakes, the Sox winning the World Series) will come along to shake things up.

As a psychic, I use my gifts to feel my way along these multiple lines of possibility to a probable outcome and then offer this advice to my clients. Psychic counseling isn’t so much about predicting the future, as it is about making sense of the present and helping people find and take the next step on the path that will lead to their best possible future.

Not to sound simplistic, but if you choose to dwell on the negative aspects around you, then you bring more of that negative energy back to you. If you want your life to change, then at some point you need to stop seeing the negative and start looking for the positive that really is all around you. The energy you put out is the energy you get back.

As Wayne Dyer likes to say, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

However, it is in our nature to try to help others, especially if they are having trouble or are down on their luck. At times we may even take that person on as a kind of project to help or protect them, putting a great deal of effort into their assistance. This is where you can start to interfere with someone's karma. It's a tough line to find because you want to help, but you don't want to interfere with their growth. It is important to do what you can to help others, but remember, you can't learn their lessons for them and it’s up to each individual to define and accomplish their own spiritual goals.

You cannot and should not interfere with other peoples' karma. This is why listening to your intuition is so important. You are responsible for your own decisions and you are responsible if you let others take advantage of your abilities. It is important to let go of your attachment to your gift and just let the gift be. Detach yourself and let God give guidance. It's like the Fool card in the Tarot. Have faith and seek direction with a joyful countenance.

Mrs. Evelyn Ball was the school librarian at my Junior High School, One afternoon when I was in 7th grade I was in the library looking for something to read. At the time I was only interested in horses and science fiction but couldn’t find anything that looked good to me. Mrs. Ball pointed to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and suggested I give it a try. After reading about Jo and the girls and boys for several books we moved on to Jack London and The Call of the Wild and our friendship grew from there. So today I would like to thank you, Mrs. Ball, wherever you may be, for leading me to literature and the love of good books.

It is also a time for traditions – keeping old ones and creating new ones. Holiday traditions don’t have to condemn us to the ghosts of the past (with apologies to Dickens.) They are living, fluid concepts that can grow as we do, encompassing all of our spiritual progress. We can pay respectful homage to mom’s turkey dinner and grandma’s manger scene while we add our own personal touches to the season, creating new patterns that will become tradition for our children and their children.

My daughter became interested in ancient Celtic and Wiccan traditions, which led us to incorporate a Yule Log into our holiday celebrations, while my son has taken over the job of handing out presents on Christmas morning. And we joyfully share our holidays with in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, girlfriends, girlfriend’s families, an ex-husband, his wife and all of her family as well. It is a time for generosity of spirit and a respect for all of mankind.