How to Prevent Swine Flu

Dear Loved Ones,

If you haven't kept up with the news, the world has changed in the past four days. Swine flu is being taken as a serious and deadly pandemic threat as I write this. It has spread half way round the globe in less than a week, If you scan the headlines, you'll see that every head of state in the world is concerned and taking preventative measures today, Monday, April 27th.

This is not just a threat in Mexico where it began. The flu is on our doorstep, as cases have been reported in Kansas, Texas and California at least as of this writing. There will NOT be enough vaccine for everyone, and what vaccine does exist will be earmarked for health care professionals, the elderly, and others with special circumstances.

So, what can you do personally in terms of prevention? Well, there are a number of proactive steps you can take starting today!

* First, because this is an airborne virus, locations where many folks congregate will be prime places to pick it up...schools, airports, large office buildings, churches, etc. You may wish to consider whether or not to keep a bandana, silk scarf, or medical mask with you as you go into buildings where the air may be carrying the virus.
* Second, consciously wash your hands more often and a little more vigorously. How long is long enough to wash hands? The Mayo Clinic recommends you wash long enough to sing Row Row Row Your Boat all the way through in your head.
* Third, keep yourself well hydrated and well rested. You would be surprised what a huge help just plain water and good sleep can do to aid the body. Strive for half a gallon to a gallon of water (tea, coffee, juice, broth, etc) per day, and 7-8 hours of sleep.
* Fourth, make sure the humidity in your home is adequate. Dry air negatively affects the sinus membranes and spreads the virus more quickly. Adequate water vapor in the air has a higher chance of capturing the airborne pathogen and having gravity carry it to the floor. Keep your home as clean and sanitary as you can by wiping doorknobs, counter tops and other surfaces with antibacterial cleaners such as Lysol.
* Fifth, I suggest that everyone consider boosting their immune systems immediately!!! I'm not a doctor and can't diagnose or prescribe for anybody. However, I can tell you what I personally do for myself and my own family. To take my immune system to the highest level I can get it with vitamins and supplements I take the following:
- A complete multivitamin with iron and minerals
- Zinc lozenges - I take one 15 mg lozenge every 4 hours until I reach the maximum dose of 100 mg per day.
- 500 mg of vitamin C every 3-4 hours
- L-Lysine, one capsule daily (don't take L-lysine for more than 6 months straight without a break.)
- Olive leaf extract, 1000 mg per day as a preventative (Special note: if flu symptoms are present, I change the dosage to 1500 mg every six hours like clockwork, even if I have to set my alarm and get up in the middle of the night to take a dose.)
- Echinacea - 2 capsules per day or two to four cups of tea per day.

If you have trouble finding olive leaf extra and echinacea where you are living, try contacting the wholesale Ameriherb company in Ames, IA (800-267-6141.) These things may run off the grocery store shelves quickly in the next several days but I suspect you may be able to get it from them and have it shipped to you.

You can track the swine flu spread in real time using google maps. Just go to the main google map page and search for swine flu.

May you stay healthy, happy and strong!

Blessings,



Su

Solar Storm Premonitions

On a regular daily basis, I keep track of all kinds of interesting activity both here on earth, and any thing interesting outside of our little blue marble as well. I monitor geomagnetic phenomena, earthquakes, auroras, asteroids, and all kinds of cool things.

Today, while looking at the spaceweather.com site, I had a sudden psychic "Uh-oh!" moment. Sitting here, sipping coffee, trying to wake up and plan out the day, I saw a graph of the current lack of solar activity and had a strong and sudden flash that nearly made me spill my cup.

It wasn't that the graph told me that we were in a period of high activity...it is the unprecedented lack of solar activity that suddenly woke me up. Currently we're in a time period that's called a solar minimum...translate little if any sunspot activity. That's usually a good thing as solar flares that get released in the general direction of earth can cause everything from beautiful auroras to loss of satellite communication to major power outages.

But right now, the severe lack of sunspots is record setting. The experts at NASA are calling it a "deep solar minimum." That may sound really nice unless you miss the auroras. However, my psychic concern is that when the sunspot activity begins to increase again you will see an over compensation on the sun's part for the lull we are in now.

This is the quiet before the STORMS!

And I do mean storms! A series of solar flares is coming starting between March 12-30th of 2012, some of which will hit Earth, some of which will not. One in particular will bring the beauty of auroras as far south as Austin, TX and will knock out many satellites, severely affect the internet infrastructure, and much of the electrical power grid in Europe and the North and South American regions.

The whole impact of the 2012-2013 storms hit me so hard this morning that my instinct was to immediately, right now, today, consider saving money to purchase a generator so my house could have power...or start installing wind and solar power equipment, or both.

It was a pretty big psychic whomp that came hard, fast and out of the blue. I've never, ever been a person to say the world will end in 2012...not once in all my years of doing this work. However, I AM saying we are in for one hell of a series of electrical storms that may affect anything and everything electronic in many first world countries. Look around...is there ANYTHING you do that doesn't involve electricity every few minutes?

We have 35 months to prepare.

This is one of those bolts out of the blue that I'm going to take seriously.

Scorpio and Taurus this week!

Another full moon is coming up this week, and this one often puts people on a particularly powerful emotional edge. For those of you who don't speak astrologese, let me see if I can put it into lay terms.

We are in Scorpio time (about October 22 to November 21st) which can be one of the most emotionally intense signs of the entire zodiac. During the four weeks that the Sun is in Scorpio, passions can and often do peak. Some of the more difficult sides or aspects of these potent feelings might include: jealousy, digging up hidden information, secret investigation, burning sexuality, zealousness, suspiciousness. I've seen all of these areas get turned up or turned on during this time of the year.

The full moon this month is in the sign of Taurus. It is officially full at 12:17 am central standard time on November 13th. Taurus often is thought of as the sign of the stubborn or bull headed individual. Taurus is also about home, family, stability and sensuality. When taken to an extreme, the desire for the delight of the senses can also cross over into addictions.

Full moons act as a catalyst...it's like suddenly adding gasoline to an already burning fire. The day before a full moon, the day of, and the day after, expect things to emotionally intensify in the areas that connect with the combination of the Sun and the Moon's energies.

So, to break it all down, what can you expect? What does this all mean? It's a good news, bad news sort of story.

The bad news first...this Sun in Scorpio, Moon in Taurus combination can have a painful side. Beginning the 12th, peaking the 13th, winding up on the 14th, look for a greater amount of conflict concerning sexuality and suspicion regarding relationships that relate to the home. I would also expect more difficulties with addictive behaviors, jealousy within the family, accusations and snooping for information. Desire for sex and for increased sensual delight will also play an part in all of this.

Can this result in couples dealing with suspicions and jealousy? Yes. I would also expect siblings to show more intense emotions of jealousy toward one another this week. It may also affect employer/employee relationships (worry about job, suspicion, feelings of being watched more closely) because ultimately the paycheck affects home and family.

Would I expect more drunk driving arrests this month? You betcha because of the tendency of Taurus toward addictions. Addictions don't have to be just alcohol (or drugs.) Would I expect more chocolate to be consumed in secrecy this week...yes! Expect any and all leftover Halloween candy or chocolate in the house to be totally gone by Friday.

Could this be a time when any type of ongoing investigation turns up something important...absolutely. It might be because folks dig a little deeper and seek and little harder. It could also be because of someones sudden (and more careless) desire to hide things at the last minute without planning or forethought that result in discovery.

While the above sounds pretty negative, there is an upside to Sun in Scorpio, Moon in Taurus!

The GOOD news...the full moon this month can be a time for the most exquisite combination of sensual and sexual energy, especially when it's combined specifically to create some incredibly memorable intimacy . If you are looking for a day (or days) to put a little more "ooooo!" into your "ooo-la-la!" sort of boudoir fun, focus your plans for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week (and have a good time!)

Mercury retrograde approaches

From September 24th to October 15th, Mercury will be retrograde again, this time in the sign of Libra.

So in plain English, what exactly does that mean? Simply, that most all forms of communication can and will get a little messed up. E-mails lost in the ethers, phone calls missed, talk misunderstood, and on and on.

How can you make surviving a retrograde easier? Simple! Follow up all important communication in another fashion. If you call someone, send an e-mail to confirm what was said. If you are working with a written communication, summarize and repeat the understood details with a quick phone call. It's all in double checking.

Increase your patience during this time. Folks, including yourself, aren't trying to muck up the communication works, it's just that these things happen. Take a breath, work the problem with calm and patience.

Remember to use I statements like "If I understand you correctly and can summarize what you said, this is what I heard."

If you haven't heard from someone you are expecting to, give them the benefit of the doubt and pick up the phone or write to them. They may indeed have tried to get a hold of you and the connection just wouldn't go through.

Remember, PATIENCE! Breathe...in AND out. Repeat.

Relax and don't fight the bass ackwards communication that can happen during a Mercury retrograde...just laugh, shrug and go with the flow.

This too shall pass.

Alex and Me

My dear friend, Dr. Irene Pepperberg, gave me a call last week and let me know that Alex's memoirs would be out at the end of October!

Irene and Alex, for almost 30 years, did ground breaking research in human/avian communication. Sadly, Alex passed a year ago on September 6, 2007.

I was so excited to hear that the book is about to come out! Look for Irene to be on Good Morning American on October 30th~!

Personally, I can't wait to get an autographed copy of her new book!

Starting a Psychic Business

Once in a while I get a call from someone who is hugely gifted, above and beyond the average intuitive. It's not uncommon that the conversation will turn, and the caller will as me, "how did you get started doing this?"

Well, like many small businesses, the first years were touch and go financially. I have learned many valuable things about running a business over the years and am happy to share those with you.

1) In this business, your clients will be about 95% women, usually between the ages of 21 and 59. Keeping track of their names and addresses and sending out a letter or postcard to them at least every 4 months or so is a really good idea. The more personal this connection, the better.

2) In your first 3 years, at least 33% of your budget MUST go to advertising expenses. Other expenses like telephone, office rent, utilities, supplies, pay to yourself, taxes, etc., are above and beyond this one huge chunk.

3) Your own city will NOT be big enough to support you at any more than about minimum wage unless it contains more than two million people. IF your skills allow, I suggest that you offer work over the phone as well as in person. This can vastly increase your demographics from a thirty mile radius to the entire planet.

4) Here and now in 2008, unless you have a website that is well designed with good photos and a web master who knows his or her stuff in getting your website ranked highly on the search engines, you won't be found on the Internet. If you Google the word "psychic" you bring up 32 MILLION sites! A search for "clairvoyant" brings up 2.7 MILLION sites! Most people search through about 3 pages of listings before they stop. This means if your website doesn't show up in the top 60 listings, more than likely you won't be noticed. This is where 90-95% of your advertising dollar needs to go!

5) Get both a business phone and a sales tax id number before you open your doors! Most states in the United States consider "psychic" work something that is for "entertainment purposes only." Because of this, you are subject to charging sales tax and reporting it monthly or quarterly. Do NOT delay either getting your sales tax license or paying your sales tax on time every time!!!

6) To consider having a really quality professional photo taken of yourself for your business cards, stationary, or website. A picture is worth a thousand words and several thousand dollars in business if someone can look at it and automatically feel a connection with you.

7) Have a good long discussion with a CPA about your taxes and what you can and cannot claim. Consider a home office and putting advertising via magnetic signs on the doors of your vehicle. Educate yourself about business taxes and what is and is not deductible!

8) DO NOT expect your business to support you and pay your bills at any time in the first 9 months! You WILL need another income source in year one and possibly year two to start this kind of business up from ground zero.

9) Expect to work 7 days a week, and an average of 60 hours per week of actual business work or planning and even more hours "on call." At anytime you are self employed, take the call and the business whenever you can get it, even if it's 2 AM.

10) Work like each and every client is your boss. If you meet clients in your home or office, act like the boss is showing up and make sure everything looks, feels and smells wonderful! If you are working on the phone, act like the caller is your supervisor or the person who signs your paychecks and treat them with that sort of respect. Always remember, the phrase "self employed" is a bit of a misnomer. The entire world is your employer...never forget this!

The Missing Macaw

The Missing Macaw


Yesterday I got a frantic call from a dear friend who owned a scarlet macaw here in Ames. She and her bird had just moved and, as she sometimes did, she took him outside for a bit of a walk around the yard.

To make a long story short, at 4:25 something spooked the bird and he took off, flying up into the dense foliage of the neighborhood trees and was no where to be found. "B" called me immediately, worried sick and not knowing where to go or what to do. Could I provide some psychic help to find her bird "Charlie."

There was a bit of a weather front on the way yesterday afternoon, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. We had to act fast.

I focused in on Charlie and realized that everything seemed to be from a very strange and scary vantage point to him. He was used to seeing everything from the ground....not from up in the canopy. He wasn't sure where home was by sight.

"B" had been calling and calling his name, but gotten no response. Again, I honed in on the bird and suddenly realized that he would come home if he HEARD familiar sounds that he normally associated with B and the house. It was 4:38 and I hastily gave her the following instructions:

"Get your boom box and the cds you normally play at home repeatedly. Put it on top of your car in the driveway and crank up the volume. Do it quick! And get Charlie's favorite treats and have them in your pocket. Charlie will be home within the hour, don't worry. He has to hear the familiar music to guide him back to the house. He's within 2 blocks of where you are but just doesn't know visually how to get home. He will follow the music! Look for him about 5 PM."

Twenty minutes later, at 4:58 I got a wonderful relieved and thankful call. Charlie indeed picked up on the familiar boom box tunes and came right back as soon as he heard the songs associated with home for him. B spotted him at three minutes to five when he flew closer to the ground and landed in a bush in the backyard near the driveway. She enticed him over with his favorite treats and took him back into the house safe and sound.

I was really really thankful Charlie had some home and been reunited with B! But I found myself also thanking the Universe for my abilities and that I could, when push came to shove, truly make an immediate difference.

Sometimes being a psychic can be stressful, draining, and downright exhausting. It is a job with huge variety, that I'll grant you...and actually, truth be told, that part I DO really, really like.

But it's little moments like today, that make me wanna say, "I really LOVE my job!"