Photo by elginwx

Tehy say taht you can sbmarlce the ltreets in a wrod, and it wlil slitl be pfltceery utslbadnrnadee as lnog as you keep the fsrit and lsat lrtetes in the rhgit pcale. So tehn why do we feel all tihs pusersre to ccehk our snileplg?

Jim Gdeuat petiond out to me a tpyo in Gntseares Wutohit Gienes. I’m gald he chguat it elray, but I htae tpoys. Waht was I sspopeud to do? Did I hvae to gvie eynorevn tiehr menoy bcak and be ozecarstid form the ctmnimouy?

But wehn I rbreemmeed taht silneplg d’nseot acefft cpsihrenooemn vrey mcuh, I flet a lot bteetr. In fcat, I mhgit tnihk auobt ornfefig sblmearcd vsnireos of my eokobs at a dcnusoit.

Scnie the fsrit and lsat lrteets hvae to be in the rghit pacle, a wrod has to hvae at lsaet fuor ltretes in oedrr to srbalmce it. And eevn tehn, it wn’ot cgnahe if the mdldie of the wrod is a pdmorinlae, lkie “keep.”

I hvae to wdenor if smelbarcd wdros are awyals rblazoigcene, lkie suoicoiudlaipxecitslgaflacepiirris or asnairatnemilbatsesiditnishm. And mbyae tihs wnd’luot wrok on a rmusee, lkie “dreeisd srlaay: 17,93$5.”

But waht do you tnihk? Can we ralex our sdradnats for sniplelg and not wrroy auobt it so mcuh?

One day back in April, I was in a Quiznos, staring out the window, and eating the worst sandwich in America. I was thinking about quitting my job because it had just gotten to the point where I was dreading every day. The problem was that I was completely dependent on my salary, so quitting my job would have been irresponsible.

Without a job, how would I pay the mortgage and the rest of the bills? And what about the future? Being unemployed for any significant length of time would mean serious delays for getting my Lamborghini Gallardo. This had always been my “someday” car, because with a price tag as low as $190,000, it was “the poor man’s Lamborghini.”

But I really wanted to quit my job, so I thought that I’d have to just scrimp and save, and put my ridiculous fantasies on hold indefinitely. I said to myself, “Well, I guess I’m not getting my Lamborghini anytime soon.”

Not five minutes later, a shiny white Lamborghini Gallardo drove right past me.

OK, was this some kind of joke? If I had thought of a Honda S2000 or a BMW Z4 I could just pass it off as coincidence, but this was a Lamborghini! There’s not a whole lot in that shopping center either, so the owner had just swung by for something like a haircut, or kabobs, or Taekwondo lessons. It’s not like there was an auto show going on.

And what made this even weirder is that this was the day after I posted about synchronicities. So was this just a coincidence, or a sign from the universe? I have no idea.

There were a couple of problems though. One is that the color was wrong. I was thinking about a green car, and this one was white. More importantly, I was thinking about owning it, not just watching it drive by. Oh well. I guess the universe is sometimes a tease.

I ended up not quitting my job then, but six months later the company shut down, so I’m currently on a mini-retirement. I haven’t seen any more signs since then, but if I happen to come into possession of a Lamborghini, you can be sure I’ll post about it.

Yeah, I know, there’s no such thing as genies. What can I say though? Beliefs don’t have to be reasonable.

Image from The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

In one scene of Enter the Matrix, Trinity asks Ghost if he really believes that Neo will fulfill the prophesy of him ending between the war between the humans and the machines.

“Do you believe that Neo is going to end the war?”

“Yes. I do.”

“So do I. But I can’t explain how or why.”

“Kierkegaard reminds us that belief has nothing to do with how or why. Belief is beyond reason. I believe because it is absurd.”

“You think it’s crazy to believe it?”

“To believe what? That a single man can defeat an entire race of machines, and end a war that has endured for over a hundred years? Of course! It’s complete lunacy. And that’s why we must believe it will happen. Faith by its very nature must transcend logic.”

I believe in global warming. I believe that it exists, that it’s caused by humans, and that it’s a big problem. You might think that I’m crazy to believe something like that with absolutely no evidence. It’s not like I’ve been measuring air and ocean temperatures, or analyzing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Oh sure, there are supposedly some scientists who say the evidence is out there, but I’ve never seen it personally. I haven’t even met anyone who’s seen it. And in spite of that, I still choose to believe it.

Maybe global warming is too much of a stretch for you. Maybe you’d like to believe in something a little more certain, like gravity. But that’s a coward’s belief. You don’t believe in gravity, you know in gravity. If there’s no chance of being wrong, it’s not a belief, it’s a certainty.

A belief has to require a leap of faith in order to mean anything. And yes, that means you might be wrong. So put yourself out there and take a chance of being wrong. Don’t just sit on the sidelines playing it safe.

Image from The Matrix (1999)

In general, which is the greater mistake: believing something that turns out to be false, or not believing something that turns out to be true? People like to think that nothing is wrong with the second one, but aren’t they equally bad?

You can’t refrain from having an opinion, wait until incontrovertible proof arrives one day, and then decide to believe it and think you’re so smart for being sure not to be wrong. If you weren’t willing to go out on a limb one way or the other, you were wrong by default. We’re all going to be wrong a lot of the time no matter what, so you might as well hold beliefs that work for you.

I believe that I’ll ultimately make more money from this blog if I only promote products I like and present them fairly. Is that a sure thing? No, not at all. In fact, you kind of have to ignore logic a bit to believe it. But I think this belief serves me.

You can believe that people are fundamentally good, or that they’re fundamentally bad. You can believe in God, or believe in no God. You can believe that this is the worst time in human history, or that this is the best time in human history. Any reasonable belief will be true enough to defend, but you have to always ask if your beliefs serve you, because some can be detrimental.

Don’t be afraid to have beliefs beyond reason. Most of us believe a few things that we’ll admit don’t even make sense. And when you’re laughing at someone who won’t buy a house because the street number is 13, they’re laughing at you for not opening umbrellas indoors.

But it’s all about what works for you. If a belief feels right to you and leads you in the right direction, go for it, even though you might be wrong. That’s OK, and that’s why they’re called beliefs and not certainties.

But you know what? Even so-called certainties can be wrong. I’ve met lots of people who believed there was no such thing as a one-sided piece of paper, until I made them a Möbius strip.

Photo by David Benbennick

“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?”

- Frank Scully

This is the second part of an interview with Akashic record reader Akemi Gaines. Be sure to read the first part, if you haven’t already.

Hunter: In part 1 we went over what the Akashic records are, and what you’d gain from having a reading. Now I’m going to get into some more theoretical questions. Akemi, it’s fine to say you don’t know the answers, since the questions are probably outside your job description. But I figured I should take advantage of this chance to ask, since I don’t know anyone else like you.

First of all, why do we need to clear our own souls? Why can’t God, or the universe, or our spirit guides, do it for us? After all, they know we don’t know how to do it on our own. It doesn’t seem like a great system, if soul damage passes down from one lifetime to the next, and everyone is handicapped without even knowing it.

Akemi: I love this question! I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me these fundamental questions!!

To answer that, we need to step back and think why we even bother to incarnate. My understanding is that souls incarnate into the physical bodies by choice. Free will and free choice are the biggest gift God (or the Universe, whatever you call) has given us.

And the ultimate purpose for coming to this physical world is to experience it. Back when we were simply spiritual beings, there were no pains, no troubles, and no loss nor gain, no particular fun – we just were. This was wonderful, but also kind of – boring.

This physical world, on the other hand, is like an amusement park. Vivid colors, entertaining music, so many people who each have different personalities, and we have the bodies to do things, too! We can ride a roller coaster and enjoy the ups and downs. We can stuff ourselves with cotton candies!

As we experience this world, we are learning. We figure there are causes and effects. If we eat too much cotton candies and ride the roller coaster, we might get really sick. Wow, we didn’t know that when we didn’t have the bodies! It tasted good at the time, but let’s stop at two cotton candies next time . . .

Soul-level learning is just like that. For example, if you curse (and I don’t mean just using bad words, but really cursing), say, your spouse that he or she can’t do anything right, you may get a temporary sense of fake superiority, but there are consequences. Now they start thinking they really can’t do anything right (if they buy into that curse). And the curse ties the two of you together so that you get to see the effects in the following lifetime. That person may not be your spouse this time, but maybe – your parent. So you are born to a parent who doesn’t think he or she can do things right – and this sucks. Your soul finally figures cursing is not a good idea. The soul grows a step closer to Divine Love, Light, and Truth.

Whether you are consciously aware or not, your soul is doing this learning, and seeks assistance in clearing the damages as it sees fit. But this has to happen with its free will. Some other forces doing the clearing without the soul’s request does not support its learning and growing process, so they respect your initiative.

Hunter: OK, we have to seek out the soul clearing as a part of free will. But let’s go back to what you said about incarnating by choice. When we were spiritual beings, we had a wonderful existence, but being the drama queens we were, we decided to start our own version of Melrose Place, because souls just wanna have fun? Didn’t we take a considerable risk in doing this, allowing our souls to be damaged and possibly never healed, just for some cotton candy?

Also, this thing about cursing…how does that happen exactly? How do we know if we cursed someone accidentally, and how do we undo it?

Akemi: Hmm . . . so you don’t think going to the amusement park is worth the fun even with potential risk of injury?

Now when I say fun, it’s not just about the cotton candy. It involves all the experiences. If amusement park is not an example that appeals to you, how about some sports? I personally don’t get why it’s so fun to chase a ball to hit it back to the other side, but some people love it, they love getting exhausted doing it, and they swear they learn so much about themselves and others doing it. I’d say the same about life. It may not be rosy and sweet all the time, but it’s worth it. Even with some risks.

BTW how much drama you want in your life is up to you. You don’t have to be the drama king ^_^

I’m sorry if I scared you about the curse story because that is just one of many things we can screw up. I don’t think we “accidentally” curse – the curse I’m talking about is the one you actually mean it. If you are cursing, you may not know the full consequences of doing it (which is the whole point) but you really intended wrong to someone.

There are various healing modalities beside my clearing. I heard EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) works well. Or you can release and bless the person in your prayer.

Hunter: Are the Akashic records read-only, or could you screw up someone’s soul, change their past, give them negative energies, etc? If you looked up Hitler’s date and place of birth, could you locate his record, find out who has his soul now, and remove the evil?

Akemi: Hmm . . . I think there are several issues involved here.

First, accessing someone else’s Akashic records is a privilege the Akashic readers have in the Hall of Akashic Records. I retrieve and read the Akashic records with the assistance of my Akashic Record Guide. When a client places the order with their personal info, they are essentially giving me the permission to read their Akashic records.

So I don’t go around and read someone’s record who didn’t order me to do so. I don’t think it is appropriate of me to snoop around and my Guide would not help me in that. This is why I don’t do reading of celebs. It would be interesting to read the Akashic records of Barack Obama or Madonna, but no . . . not until they ask me to . . . and not Hitler’s, either . . .

You are also asking about manipulation on the Akashic records and the souls. These are two separate issues. As for changing the Akashic records, well, when we do the clearing, we ask them to delete negative info, so the answer is yes, they can be updated, but I think the Hall is well guarded so that negative manipulation won’t happen.

Manipulation on the soul is another story. There are a lot of negative souls and beings trying to get hold of you, to suck up some life energy from you, and to do other manipulations on your thinking and feeling. That is why we have the spheres of protection around us. Light is stronger than shadows.

Hunter: In part 1, you said you’d do a reading for someone we’re thinking of having a long-term relationship with, or someone we want to go into business with. Would they have to consent to the reading, or is it OK to read their record without their knowledge since the relationship will affect us?

Akemi: If you feel comfortable talking to the person to get their consent, that will be great. If not, I can do it on your behalf because they affect your life. This is totally accepted in the Hall of Akashic Records.

This is why I said I’d be happy to do reading for your family (biological or not) because they definitely influence your life. With friends and business associates, it depends, so I used the example of serious boyfriend / girlfriend or business partner. Your non-romantic but very close friends or your ex you can’t put closure in your mind are also okay. If you are unsure whether it is appropriate of you to order a reading for someone, please email me.

Hunter: Are humans special, or are we just apes who happened to evolve, rising to dominance only because the dinosaurs had been wiped out by chance? Do chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, have souls? If so, what about fish? If not, what about Neanderthals?

Akemi: I don’t really know the answer for this.

Hunter: OK, then on to the next question. I don’t know the right terminology, but what is the hierarchy of all the different planes? Like we have the physical plane that we know and love, but is there just one astral plane, or several? For that matter, are there other physical planes?

Are we at the bottom of the hierarchy? Some people say they can project into the astral plane, but I never see aliens projecting into the physical plane. Is it one-way?

Akemi: Terminology is indeed confusing. It is quite possible two individuals are using the same word to mean different things, or using two different terms to mean the same thing.

As I mentioned earlier, I think there are higher dimensions than this world we know. How many of such higher dimensions there are and how they look like, I don’t know. Some say there are up to twelve dimensions . . .

There are also astral planes. I heard there are seven positive and seven negative astrals. And we go there all the time, unconsciously, in our dreams. Conscious astral travel is yet another story.

Hunter: What does the journey of a soul look like? You’ve mentioned past lives before. If someone dies and their soul is reborn into another body, and then another body, and so on, what’s going on there? Is the soul trying to complete itself before moving on? If so, what needs to happen for the soul to be done, and where does it go next? Is there a grand scheme? Are some souls waiting at a finish line somewhere, and when they all get there, the universe will implode?

Akemi: Another great question! Let’s talk about the journey of the individual soul and our souls’ journey as a whole group.

Each soul comes to physical life with a purpose and a set of lessons it wants to take. The plan may work well, or not, and there may be unexpected events (remember we all have free will?) So when we die and cross over, we review our past lifetime and make a plan for the next. There is indeed a big plan, and we are working on it while having fun with the ups and downs of life.

Many souls are accelerating their spiritual growth now. Having the physical bodies is fun, but there are some drawbacks. So we are evolving to a new style of existence called “lightbodies.” This is why so many people are seeking spiritual assistance, like my Akashic record reading and clearing.

I’m not sure exactly what this looks like or what it takes for this process (sometimes called ascension) to happen. Personally, I think this is my last incarnation – I sure hope so. For some time, I thought I would be a spirit guide next time, but so many people seem to ignore their spirit guides that I’m starting to think working as spirit guide may not be so fun. So I’d like to ascend

Lightbodies are still individual existence. The ultimate goal of our spiritual evolution, I think, is to realize this was all about learning and we are really one with the Source. That is how it all started – the Source, being whole and perfect, wanted to experience itself as separate individuals, so the universe and all beings in it came to be. And we will go back there.

Hunter: You mentioned that people ignore their spirit guides. But how can we help that, if we can’t hear them? Are we supposed to be able to hear them? And if so, is it an actual voice, or is it something like noticing opportunities they put in our path?

Akemi: Spirit guides communicate with us in various ways. Some talk to you, and you sense words coming to you. If you are good at clairaudience, you may actually hear them. Some spirit guides show us pictures. Some touches you, and you sense someone just gave you a hug, or you get an itch. Some just puts a bunch of idea into you, like downloading a file and after that, you just know something.

The problem is most people dismiss these incoming messages. They don’t give credit to that subtle voice or the gut feelings, and go for that loud instructions from the ego.

When I do Spirit Guide Reading, my clients often start saying things like, “Oh, now I remember . . . this and this happened when I was young and I sensed someone speaking in me ‘Don’t go there!’ And it was good I didn’t because if I did, I could have been in big trouble . . .”

Communicating with your spirit guides is natural, but for many of us, it takes practice. As a starter, have some quiet time, ask a few questions to your spirit guides, and “listen” within. When you sense you are getting a message, don’t write it off as your “imagination” but trust and take action. You can start small, like what you might want to do this weekend.

Spirit guides also arrange synchronicities and other opportunities. (They really work hard!) But again, it is up to you to take notice and utilize the opportunity. If you don’t, they still work hard for you . . .

Hunter: OK Akemi, it was great having you here. Thanks for shedding so much light on Akashic record reading, and especially for putting up with my weird questions in part 2.

Akemi: Your questions are great and I enjoyed this interview very much. If someone has additional questions, please ask in the comment section, and I will do my best answering them.

As Akashic record reader and life coach, Akemi Gaines can help you improve your life and grow spiritually. She lives in Oregon, USA, but distance is not an issue for her reading. To learn more, check her website Akashic Record Reading. You might also want to subscribe to her blog, Yes to Me, to read articles like What’s The Best Thing That Can Happen?

It’s time for another edition of Hunter’s Heroes: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Souls. This time, I’m going to be taking that tagline quite literally, as I talk to Akashic record reader Akemi Gaines.

You might know Akemi from her blog Yes to Me, which is mainly about entrepreneurship and life purpose. But more and more people are becoming interested in her Akashic record reading services. Since that’s not exactly an everyday topic, I’m very glad to be able to talk to her about it.

Hunter: Hi Akemi, and thanks for joining us. To start off, I’m sure that most people have never heard of the Akashic records. Can you explain what they are?

Akemi: Hi Hunter and the wonderful readers, it’s a joy to be here today. And I’m thrilled you named this interview series “Ordinary People, Extraordinary SOULS” because that is what the Akashic records are about.

While so many people identify with their physical bodies and their thinking minds, that is not the whole picture of us. We have souls – or more accurately, we are souls having the bodies and minds.

Everything that a soul has experienced through its many lifetimes is recorded and that is called Akashic records. The word “Akashic” is derived from the Sanskrit word “akasha,” which means sky or space.

Hunter: Before we go any further, I think we have to address the issue of skepticism, since we both know what a lot of people are thinking right now.

If you hear about something for the first time and aren’t immediately on board, I don’t think that’s skepticism, that’s just normal. To me, skepticism means having an attitude of “guilty until proven innocent.” I find it more constructive to have the humility to admit that we don’t know everything, and take it from there without rushing to an uninformed judgment.

Let’s face it, we don’t live in Star Trek world, and science still has a ways to go. We laugh at people who thought the world was flat, but then we often turn around and commit the same logical fallacy. Would you have been open-minded enough to consider the possibility that the world was round, when you could plainly see that it was flat?

Even if there’s currently no scientific evidence of the Akashic records (and I don’t know, maybe there is), it would be unscientific to declare that they don’t exist. There was no evidence of lucid dreaming either for thousands of years, until someone finally figured out how to prove it. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everything is automatically true, but I’m just saying that we don’t need to reach a verdict today.

Akemi, do you have anything to add to this?

Akemi: Wow, Hunter, that is exactly how I’d address the point.

Physically we live in the three dimensional world. If there are higher dimensions, the beings in the higher dimension have no problem understanding and accessing the lower dimensions, but the other way around is very difficult. We may observe the signs here and there, but understanding what it is like in the higher dimension is extremely challenging. But it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

Hunter: Why would somebody want to have their Akashic record read? What kinds of things could they gain from that knowledge?

Akemi: There are so much benefit . . . how many words am I allowed to use here?

Basically, if someone feels they are bumping their head against invisible wall, please consider the possibility that there IS an invisible wall blocking their growth. In other words, if someone has the good intention for personal development and still find themselves doing the same old things over and over, or just can’t let go of their negative feelings, there is a good reason.

The condition of the soul affects us mentally, emotionally, and even physically. So it can cause all kinds of problems – from sleep problem or persistent anxiety to toxic relationships and obsessive behaviors.

It also helps our spiritual development tremendously, so if someone is serious about it, it is well worth it.

My reading is clearing-oriented. By that I mean I check the past events as they relate to the current blocks my clients are facing.

It may be entertaining to learn that you were a general of Napoleon or you were killed in a witch trial, but then, so what? I don’t see much value in learning this kind of info so I don’t go in there, unless it has something to do with the energetic restrictions the client is facing NOW. If it has indeed caused the invisible block, then I gather enough info to understand what happened so that we know what we are clearing.

Hunter: Actually, I would definitely find it worthwhile to know a little about our past lives, even if that knowledge doesn’t help us beyond entertainment value. So even though the focus of the reading should be on clearing the current blocks, if I was Attila the Hun I’d like to know it!

Moving on, how do you go about reading the Akashic records? Do you do it in a dream, in a trance, by astral projection, etc? Do you see the records, feel them, hear them, etc? And using only the person’s current name, name at birth, birth date, and place of birth, how can you locate a specific record? Is it more like looking through the index at the back of a book, or more like a Google search?

Akemi: I go into the Hall of Akashic Records, where all the Akashic records are stored – energetically. So I’ll be in a slightly modified condition, but it’s nothing like you call “trance.” I can pick up the phone and carry a conversation just fine (not that I want to do so while I’m doing the reading, though).

I need to give credit to my Akashic Record Guide (or Akashic Record Keeper) here. I ask for the specific record with the identification info, and boom, he brings it in. Thank you!

I’ve had no problem locating the record just with these info, so I guess it is enough. In terms of how I read it – it’s a combination of sensing, seeing, hearing, with lots and lots of probing questioning.

Hunter: Questioning? You mean you’re not just passively reading the record, but it actually listens to you to know what information to give you?

Akemi: Yes, and that is the challenging part. The Akashic records hold everything – all events, thoughts, feelings, in detail . . . It will totally crash my poor little brain if I try to read them all, or even close to it. So I need to carefully choose and craft my questions to know specific points in the records, which goes back to the discussion that I focus on the issues that are causing problems to my clients now, and just enough information to understand what happened.

Hunter: What is it that gives you personally the ability to read the Akashic records? Are you special somehow, or did you just learn how to do it? Did you learn from a person, a book, or what? Is it theoretically possible for anyone to learn how to do it?

Akemi: I had my own reading and was so impressed that I decided to learn how to do it myself.

Let’s see if I can explain the ability issue with analogy. I think everyone can cook. At least, everyone can cook to feed themselves with something warm. Maybe they can cook well to feed their family and friends. And some seem to have the gift to just know how to season a dish wonderfully. Some go ahead and cook professionally. But then, some insist they can’t even boil an egg.

Psychic ability is like that. I think everyone has the ability to cook, with open-mind and some practice, but not everyone will. Some have higher aptitude and can do some favor for the loved ones quite naturally. To cook for many others, it takes training and experience, better aptitude, and most importantly, the passion for it. Reading the Akashic records is one special area of psychic practice.

Hunter: When you do readings, I’m sure some people approach it as a test to see how accurate you are, but I wasn’t thinking of my reading as a test.

Looking back on it now, I see that my reading contained (1) some parts that seemed very accurate, but which were related to things you already knew about me, (2) some parts that seemed very accurate, related to things you didn’t know about me, (3) some parts that I couldn’t confirm, but only because my memory isn’t good enough, and (4) many parts that I couldn’t confirm, because they relate to things we can’t see.

If I had a reading from someone else, how consistent would it be with the reading I got from you? While some readers out there are bound to just be pretending, if two people are able to accurately read the Akashic records, they should give basically the same information for the same person, right?

Akemi: Well, most of my clients are people that I know only by their names until I actually set up the phone session, and they confirm the accuracy of my reading. If you’d like to “test” me, you can order the reading for someone I don’t know, like your mother . . . (Don’t worry, Hunter, I know you didn’t say that in a bad way).

I’d be happy to do reading for my clients’ family members, close friends, and anyone who has or will have significant influence on my clients’ life, like the person you are seriously thinking of having a long-term relationship with or the person you want to go into business with.

I agree with you that two Akashic readers should be able to give you basically the same reading. Have I verified it yet? Not really, and I guess I’m not responsible for other readers. I’ve had just one client who already had her Akashic record read before by another, and I read basically the same (and some more, actually).

To be fair, I’m going to say the accuracy level of my reading has some room for improvement. The other day, for example, I read that my client experienced significant sense of loss when she was about seven, and I figured someone in her family died then. I thought it was her father. Upon our phone session, she confirmed the loss, but it was her grandfather who was, according to her, “like my father.” We could still address the issue this event caused and I think my finding was good and accurate, but yes, it can be improved further.

Hunter: Part of your service is customized homework to clear any blockages, damage, negative energies, and so forth, to get their soul in tip-top shape. How common is it for a soul to have problems, and should someone feel bad if their soul isn’t in mint condition?

Akemi: All my clients have soul level issues, more or less, so don’t worry about it. In other words, the true reason a client is coming to me is because they sense their soul-level issues. They may not be consciously aware of this, but deep inside, they know.

If it were me, I’d feel bad ignoring that inner feeling and not taking care of the issues.

Falling and straining your ankle is not bad – not taking care of the injury may be.

Now, I don’t want to disappoint you, Hunter, but . . . the Akashic Record Reading you had (I also call it the comprehensive profile reading) addresses the major, most harmful damages on your soul. It is very comprehensive, and maybe you are fine just with that reading and clearing, but it doesn’t cover everything. For people who may find additional issues, I offer Life Situation Reading as follow-up service.

But believe me, what you got in your first reading is plenty. If I put more things in it, I might send my clients into healing crisis.

Hunter: I definitely wouldn’t make your Akashic Record Reading any more comprehensive. Like most people, I hadn’t ever really thought about my soul before, and I was almost overwhelmed by how much information you gave me. It was a LOT to take in all at once, and a great value for the money. For anyone considering getting a reading from you, I would definitely pay the extra fee for the written summary. It’s way too much information to write down, especially when you’re in shock, and you don’t want to pay for the reading and then not have a written record.

After getting my reading and doing my 21-day homework, I’ve noticed that I feel much less stressed than before. In March, I started trying to go for 21 consecutive days without complaining, but it was very rare for me to even make it a week. I had my reading on July 15th, finished my homework on August 9th, and finished my 21 consecutive days of being complaint free on August 25th.

But also, I had some shakeups in my life at the same time, so it’s really hard to determine cause and effect. Anyway, how often do your clients report noticing changes soon after the reading, and what kinds of changes?

Akemi: Hunter, you are lucky you experienced the changes in a mild, gradual way ^_^ Some clients report big changes . . . and while the Spirit will never give anyone more than they can handle, huge changes are tough, you know.

In fact, I just received the testimonial from home business marketer Naomi Dunford, who reported me one of the most dramatic changes I’ve heard so far. It’s on the landing page of my Akashic Record Reading site, please scroll down all the way to read it.

Because time is non-linear on the spiritual plane, it can happen really fast, like immediately after ordering the reading, even before I talk with the client. The Spirit knows you have commitment and will do the clearing, and rewards you back well.

Many clients report feeling light and happy. They start seeing the opportunities and possibilities they previously didn’t notice. They are more in control of their lives, literally. Some see improvement in their physical health. (I just mentioned some clients report improvement in their health. I didn’t say I can cure illness – please consider this as my disclaimer. I’m an Akashic record reader, not a health care professional of any kind. If I may add, YOU have within you the ability to heal yourself of many of your ailments.)

Hunter: Well, this interview is getting really long, so we’d better split it into two parts. Let’s end part 1 with one last question: does this have anything to do with quantum physics?

Akemi: Oh, God, the question about quantum physics! I’ve seen so many people, from well-known Law of Attraction teachers to anyone who happened to mumble those words chastised! Do I have to volunteer to join the rank?

I just have no idea about quantum physics, really. Or physics in general, for that matter.

Hunter: Well, we’ve covered the basics of the Akashic records here in part 1. In part 2, I’ll grill Akemi with the really tough questions about what it all means. Don’t miss the exciting conclusion – subscribe now!

Update: Part 2 has been posted.

Akemi: In the meantime, if someone has additional questions, please ask in the comment section, and I will do my best answering them.

As Akashic record reader and life coach, Akemi Gaines can help you improve your life and grow spiritually. She lives in Oregon, USA, but distance is not an issue for her reading. To learn more, check her website Akashic Record Reading. You might also want to subscribe to her blog, Yes to Me, to read articles like True Life Purpose Goes Beyond The Illusion Of Self.

Steve and Erin Pavlina have just recorded the first podcast that they’ve done together. It’s called Being Psychic, and it focuses on Erin’s explanation of what being a psychic is all about. After falling off a kitchen barstool and splitting her head open at the age of 4, she started running around telling everyone she had ESP. Today she’s a professional psychic, in high demand and charging $295 for a 30-minute reading.

The podcast covers topics such as lucid dreaming, astral projection, spirit guides, what happens when you die, psychic impressions vs. emotions and imagination, what happens during a reading, how to develop your own psychic skills, and skepticism.

I don’t think it’s necessary to be a believer in order to enjoy it. If you’re at least somewhat open to the possibility of psychic phenomena, you’ll probably find it very appealing. It’s pretty long at 96 minutes, and the sound quality isn’t as good as Steve’s other podcasts, but it’s good enough.

I thought it was very interesting and entertaining, and I learned some things about Erin’s psychic journey that I didn’t know before. She seriously rocks, and now I’m even more appreciative that she picked my How To Be A Woman post as her third favorite of 52 submissions (and her #1 favorite by a guy).

Has anyone here ever gotten a reading from Erin?

Photo by aturkus

In The Matrix, Neo experiences some synchronicities, coincidences that are just so weird, so ironic, so impeccably timed, that despite his best efforts he can’t pass them off as being purely random.

A black cat walks by him, and then in a deja vu, another cat walks by, making movements that are absolutely identical to the first one. He gets an anonymous message on his computer saying “follow the white rabbit,” and then a few minutes later someone is standing at his door with a tattoo of a white rabbit on her shoulder.

Neo has a feeling that these synchronicities mean something, but he can’t put his finger on it. To the people who have already been enlightened, it’s perfectly obvious that they mean something. They’re signs from the universe guiding him, showing him the path he’s meant to follow according to the grand design.

Sometimes I can’t shake the feeling that the real world works the same way.

Have you ever been thinking about someone, when suddenly the phone rang and you just knew it was them? Or have you ever had a song stuck in your head, when suddenly you heard it on the radio?

To be sure, a good number of strange coincidences are bound to happen just by chance. There are only a finite number of people, places, and things out there, so every once in a while two things will just randomly be in sync.

But sometimes so many unlikely things all happen at the same time, that it seems to be beyond chance. Let me tell you about a few recent examples in my life.

Bracelets for a Complaint Free World

On February 19th, my boss called me into his office, closed the door, and asked me “What do you think this is about?”

The answer was that I thought I was being fired for my attitude problem (long story short: I hate my job). But of course I wasn’t going to say that. Like when a cop asks you if you know why they pulled you over, you don’t say “Oh, that’s because I’m wanted in 48 states. You must have found the gun I threw into the river behind Fat Tony’s safe house two miles down the road.”

It’s a good thing I didn’t say anything, because it turned out that I was getting a bonus because of my “attitude and enthusiasm.” I have no idea where that came from, but it was so out of place I could barely contain my laughter. I took it as a sign that I got lucky this time, but I really needed to do something to fix my attitude ASAP, before it caught up with me.

I had heard about these purple complaint bracelets that Rev. Will Bowen was using to get people to go for 21 days without complaining. I had ordered some bracelets five months before, but I was still waiting. I knew they were really backed up, but were my bracelets eventually going to arrive, or had my order been lost?

On March 2nd, Pick The Brain announced that they were giving away 15 copies of Will Bowen’s book A Complaint Free World. All you had to do was leave a comment on their site that week, and you were entered into the competition. Hmmm, was I supposed to win?

On March 5th, I discovered Clay Collins at The Growing Life. Click on that link–do you notice something about his picture? Yup, he’s wearing one of those purple bracelets. So I left a comment asking him how long he had to wait to get them. To my surprise, he emailed me and offered to send me one of his extra bracelets! Are you kidding me?

On March 9th, I learned that I had won a copy of the book from Pick The Brain.

The message was clear: I really need to stop complaining. I can’t just ignore it anymore.

It Don’t Come Easy for Ringo Starr

On March 24, I wrote a post that briefly mentioned Ringo Starr as an example of someone who is mistakenly believed to have had an easy life.

The next morning, Catherine Lawson left a comment saying she didn’t realize that Ringo had a tough time on his way to the top.

A couple of hours later, as I was coming back from lunch, the last song on the radio was Ringo’s “It Don’t Come Easy.”

That evening, I watched an episode of The Simpsons. It just happened to be the one featuring that song, where Marge paints a portrait of Ringo.

The next morning, the radio had an interview with photographer Nancy Lee Andrews, Ringo’s former fiance.

That’s an awful lot of Ringo! But I don’t know what it means yet. I guess if I see him in real life, I have to follow him. Barring that, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

Kill Bill and Japan

On April 5th, my friend in Japan called me because I’m going to visit him soon. It was just by chance that he called on that particular day, because we hadn’t spoken in months. One of the things we talked about was whether we were going to make a trip to Tokyo. I had said that I wanted to go, but I didn’t realize it was going to cost $400 to get there. I didn’t mind paying that, but I didn’t want to obligate him and his wife to spend $800 if they didn’t really want to. After some discussion of the pros and cons, we decided that we’re probably going to go to Tokyo.

Right after our call, I went to Blockbuster to rent a movie. It was just by chance, because I don’t rent a lot of movies, and I wasn’t even supposed to be home that weekend.

I went through the new releases and didn’t see anything that seemed especially good. Then I considered action vs. drama, and decided to look through the action section, starting with the As. I got up to the Ks before I found something that caught my eye–Kill Bill. I didn’t know anything about it, other than it being a Quentin Tarantino movie, but I decided on it instantly.

I had no idea that half the movie was set in Japan! And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie set in Japan before. Even the version of Godzilla I saw was set in New York.

In the movie, Uma Thurman travels from the U.S. to Okinawa, and stays there for a month. Then, she goes off to kill Lucy Liu, the head of the Japanese crime world, who just happens to be located in…come on, you know this…Tokyo.

That settled it. I’m definitely going to Tokyo. I just don’t know why…yet.

The Karate Kid and Moving from New Jersey

Now that I think about it, I experienced another location-related synchronicity from a movie years ago. I was living in New Jersey, and I liked the area OK, but I didn’t like the career options that were available there, especially during the dot bomb days. My sister was trying to convince me to move to L.A. (where she lived) so I could do something more creative.

When we went to the beach that summer, she brought a movie for us to watch, The Karate Kid. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Daniel moves from New Jersey to L.A. before learning the secrets of karate from Mr. Miyagi. Yeah universe, real subtle. I didn’t move to L.A., but I did move to Virginia (which is where I got my black belt many years ago). Still working on doing something more creative, though.

Is This For Real?

Bear in mind that I’m not trying to convince you that any of this is more than coincidence. I’m just sharing some things that have happened to me, and suggesting that this might be worth thinking about. I do experience a lot of synchronicities, and they seem to happen more often the more I accept that they might mean something.

Could it all be in my head? Of course. But the more I think about it, the more I find it possible or even likely that some force is out there saying “Take the hint, moron” every time a sign appears. I really wouldn’t be surprised if I suddenly realized that life is just a dream, and everything happens because it’s supposed to happen.

What about you? Do you find that things happen to you that seem like they could be not just coincidence, but signs from the universe?

Image from The Matrix (1999).

“Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?”

- Morpheus, The Matrix

For the last few months, I’ve been getting by on much less sleep than I used to. A nap in the early evening makes all the difference. However, I’m finding that I need at least 3 hours of sleep at night, or bad things happen. Bad things like barely being able to function in the morning, or oversleeping by 4 hours.

This morning was a new experience though. After getting 2 hours of sleep the night before, I lay down yesterday at 6:40 PM to take a 20 minute power nap. When I woke up, the clock said 5:30 AM. I was drawing a blank on what the heck was going on.

After a minute I remembered that I was supposed to wake up at 7 PM, so either I slept waaaaaaaaaay too long, or the clock was wrong. As I moved closer to check the clock, I noticed something very strange. When I moved my head, the clock of course stayed in place, but the numbers on the clock moved with me. They actually came off the clock! That’s when I thought that maybe this was my first lucid dream.

Ideally I would have written about lucid dreaming before, as there’s a lot to say about it. But for now, a short explanation will suffice. A lucid dream is a dream in which you’re aware that you’re dreaming. While technically asleep, you’re fully conscious, you have more or less complete control over your dream, and everything seems as real as it does when you’re awake. And don’t bother being skeptical, because scientific experiments have verified lucid dreaming.

I’ve heard that a good way to have a lucid dream is simply to intend to have one, or even to think about it. And since we had just been discussing lucid dreaming on Catherine Lawson’s blog, I thought maybe that had done it.

The numbers on my clock didn’t look right, but maybe that was just because I was groggy. I needed a bigger sign, so I got up and started looking for a “glitch in the matrix,” an imperfection in this fantastic simulation that would prove it was just a dream. But if you can’t wake from your dream, how would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

• Pinching yourself doesn’t work, because you can feel pain in dreams.
• First I tried to fly (not by jumping out the window, just from where I was). It didn’t work. If I could fly, then I’d know it was a dream. But not being able to fly doesn’t prove anything.
• Then I tried turning on the lights. Light switches rarely work in dreams. If they’re on, they stay on, and if they’re off, they stay off. The lights were off, and I flipped the switch. Nothing. But that didn’t mean anything, because I was just flipping the wall switch, and maybe the lamp itself was off. I tried another switch and a light came on. But that didn’t necessarily mean I wasn’t dreaming.
• Mirrors are my favorite reality check. Reflections in dreams often don’t look like they’re supposed to, and I often check mirrors when awake to make sure everything’s OK. But it looked right in this case. I was becoming more convinced that I was awake.
• Next, I tried reading things, looking away, and then reading them again. Very often, text will change in dreams. But it didn’t here. Darn. I was going to have to go to work in a couple of hours.
• Finally, I turned on my computer and starting checking email. Surely my subconscious mind wasn’t capable of emailing me or leaving comments on my blog, so I must have been awake.

All this just to find out that I had simply overslept and waken up disoriented. It was a bit disappointing, but also good practice for next time. In the meantime, I’ll have to start getting more sleep.