I’ve been writing about how it serves me well to aim for quality rather than “accuracy” in Akashic Record readings. With accuracy being a moving target, I measure the integrity of my work according to the degree to which I can weave the following elements into a reading:
- Purity of intention of reader (allowing client’s intention to drive the reading)
- Presence (reader shows up fully without external concerns)
- Peace and stillness (of the reading environment, both external and internal to the reader)
- Open mind (humility, beginner’s mind, discernment)
- Open heart (courage, trust in the flow, joy of discovery)
In the previous post I discussed how the reader’s intention is what drives the reading, while my job simply is to get out of the way and follow that lead. Another aspect of a quality Akashic Record reading is presence. In the best of all worlds, a client would be present to what’s going on in his internal and external life. But if that were always the case, there would scarcely be a need for a reading! Even when a client seems to be unconscious of certain dynamics in his life, what is more important is for the reader to be fully present to all the flows of energy in the reading. This includes (but is not limited to): the flow of energy from the client’s Records, the motion of the client in response to what’s coming out in the reading, and also (recalling the earlier point about intention), what’s going on for the reader herself in terms of the doubts, fears, basic human curiosity, opinions, and other forms of mental chatter that inevitably pop up in a reading.
For me, personally, there are lots of things that can get in the way of my ability to offer a quality reading, but I suspect I am not alone in this. Here are the big ones for me:
- tech problems (sigh)
- preoccupations from my day or life in general
- worries about reading for a new client
- worries about reading for a friend or family member
- strong opinions / existing knowledge / personal experience about a certain topic
- no knowledge at all about a topic (especially with regard to metaphysical issues)
- dread around certain topics (again, especially in regards metaphysical issues)
Tech problems
It happens. Sometimes it’s human error, so check and double check and triple check your wifi, Skype, and audio recording device, especially you’re working with a new system or the process is still unfamiliar to you. Sometimes it’s Mercury in retrograde, and sometimes it’s just the nature of working with energy. Your phone or computer or internet will just cut out (often at uncanny times, so pay attention).
I have botched audio recordings and have had to explain as much to disappointed clients who wished to hear a replay of our session. I have also had my Skype connection cut out repeatedly over the course of a reading. When that happened, I just kept putting one foot in front of another, and believe it or not, that resulted in me receiving one of the best feedback I have ever received, and she didn’t even mention the Skype issues!
Whatever happens, make your best effort to handle the situation with grace. Own up to what is yours to account for—no more, no less. Apologize, but don’t overdo it because that will just get in the way. If it feels right you can offer some kind of solution. I wouldn’t set a blanket policy because I prefer to feel things out by context, but if the connection is really poor, for example, you might want to reschedule the reading for another day. Some people might get very upset, but as long as you feel you did the best you could, there is no reason for self-flagellation. The truth is, each Akashic Record reading is a learning experience for both seeker and reader, and the simple coming together of both parties, no matter how the reading does or doesn’t go, is considered sacred.
Personal preoccupations
Things come up. If it’s a big thing that will obviously get in the way of you being able to offer a reading (e.g. migraine, illness, loss of a loved one, etc.), then by all means reschedule your reading! If what we’re talking about, however, are things that in this moment are out of your control (Will that client come through? Will she ever forgive me?) or just a product of strong emotions or your neurotic mind (anger, sadness, worry, stress, etc.), then put on your big girl pants. Seriously. It is a gift to be able to work in the Records. It is an honor that someone has asked YOU, of all the Akashic Record readers in the world, for a reading. And there has never been a time when I was like, “Wow, I feel worse for having read for someone else! I should have just kept worrying / stressing out / hiding under a blanket.”
Prior to the reading, do whatever you need to do to get yourself grounded and centered. And then once you get to the reading, if you are still carrying a lot of stuff with you, leave it at the threshold of the Records. My own Records taught me this: Feel myself carrying luggage (what it looks like and how it feels can be very telling) to the entrance. Then right before I turn the knob or try to enter, set the luggage down. Then proceed as usual. If you have other visualizations for releasing your worries, use them. (I teach a lot of different release techniques in meditation.)
What should you be leaving at the door? Oh, just about everything: expectations, worries, doubts, fear, opinions, judgment, blame, etc.
[Editing to add: The client may also have a lot of mental chatter going on. In fact, this is highly likely, because few people who think that their life is going peachy-keen will seek out a reading. As a reader, you will be keenly aware of client’s stress, worry, confusion, and doubt, but your job is to keep holding the space trusting that something will come forward from the Records to shift that energy.]
Worries about reading for a new client
This is just like the first day of school every year. There might be some underlying anxiety because it’s something new, but you can handle it. Remember that you know your stuff and there has always been a first time, and each of those times you made it out alive and even learned something deep and profound about another person, yourself, and life in general.
Sometimes, however, things just don’t work out between reader and seeker. My teacher’s policy is to reserve the right to cancel the reading if after ten minutes she gets the sense that she isn’t the right reader for the client. She apologizes and issues a refund. The client may be disappointed, but can’t really put up an argument if the energy just isn’t right.
Worries about reading for a friend or family
Reading for people you are familiar with can be challenging, especially if you are personally invested in things that are going on in their lives and are also highly opinionated about all of it. I state my policy up front that I reserve my right to bail if after ten minutes I don’t think it’s working out. The most difficult person for me to read for is my husband. There are certain questions I can handle with aplomb, and other questions where I have to tread very, very carefully or work a lot harder to maintain integrity. And I will be frank with him and let him know when I feel my connection wavering.
Strong opinions / existing knowledge / personal experience
I try to leave my strong opinions at the door even before I enter the Records, but they can still crop up during readings. When that happens, it’s important to recognize it as my opinion, rather than a message from the Records. I can tell because the energy will have a certain familiar feel to it. You know what that feels like, when your opinionated side rears its head! When this happens, don’t try to fight it! This is not the time to wrestle with yourself. Your client’s reading is your focus, so set that argument aside (don’t justify your opinion, talk yourself out of it, or berate yourself for having an opinion to begin with!), and get on with your reading.
Dealing with existing knowledge is a bit trickier, because it can really make you question whether you are introducing your own bias or if the Records are simply using your existing knowledge for the benefit of the client. Try to feel it out as you would an opinion. Does it feel like it’s coming from you or not? When in doubt, check with the Records! Remember, as a reader, you are a channel. But being a “clear channel” doesn’t mean you are some sort of non-entity. As a reader, you are an interpreter, and as such, a vital part of the process. The Records will use your life experience, wisdom, and knowledge to every advantage.
Personal experience can and does play a part in Akashic Record readings—heavily, even. This is yet another magical aspect of Akashic Record readings: there is always a reason why this particular reader and this particular client come together for a reading. I can’t count the times that I have had to leave my own questions, worries, and preoccupations at the door, only to find my client asking questions around all those same issues. Or another scenario is that a client will have questions around a major life experience that I have undergone. When this happens, I take a deep breath to keep the “Oh boy!” feeling at bay and make room for what the Records have coming for the seeker in that moment.
This can feel like a minefield to a novice reader, but after some time you will notice that you’ll be drawn to read something or experience something or do something without knowing why. And then you’ll have a reading and a question will come up and a light bulb pops. Oh, now I know why…! It really is magical! And the more you live the magic, the easier it is to trust that what is happening in your life and what is happening in the Records is divinely inspired.
I can keep trying to write around this topic, but the truth of the matter is you have to experience for yourself what it feels like handling all these different energy flows coming at you. With some effort, over time you will be able to sort out what your personal feelings and opinions are from what the Records are telling you, and if the Records want you to bring in your experience and knowledge.
A great rule of thumb is simply trusting that whatever comes through into your awareness is part of the Records once you have crossed the threshold. If I still have doubts, especially during highly charged topics, then I either wait until the Records are closed to add my two cents, or I tell the client right then and there, “I don’t know if this is the Records or me, but I was just reading a book about this…” I usually only do this with clients I am already comfortable reading for and who trust my instincts. I would like to advise to err on the side of caution, but that’s a double-edged sword that could result in you censoring things that are actually coming from the Records, but your doubts lead you to think it’s just you. The Records tend to be persistent, though, and they could very well keep nagging you till you just come out and say what you’d been trying to hold back!
No knowledge at all about a topic
I used to dread getting questions where I had no idea what the heck a client was asking me. Sometimes it’s like, “I know you’re speaking English, but I have no clue what the words mean.” I have had people ask me, for example, about starseeds when I had no idea what that even was. In some cases, you’d be surprised that the Records will still offer up some sort of answer. Roll with it. It’s not always for you, as a reader, to know what’s going on! You’re passing a message between two parties who naturally have a better understanding of the question than you do.
Other times, though, if the energy does immediately flow, I ask the client to explain or elaborate on her question. In the process of giving context, she will get more into the energy of the question. Truth is, you don’t really have to have an intellectual understanding of the question. You just have to be able to pick up on the energetic motion of it.
Sometimes you will feel that clients don’t want to elaborate, either because they consider the details a private matter and/or because they are testing you out. Having a client who is closed off in that way can be frustrating and challenging, but all you can do is take a deep breath on your end and just say what you are getting. One of the vaguest questions I have ever received was, “What happened to me last August?” My brain was yelling, I don’t know what happened to you! Why don’t you just tell me and asking a more precise question?! But I found that when I cut through that noise, the Records were sending me a very clear image of what happened in allegorical form. We were able to talk through that a bit, and because of that exchange I have a bit more of an idea what we were dealing with. But to be honest, I still can’t tell you in exact terms what happened to her last August. And that is totally okay because from my view, it’s none of my business, and I did my part as a reader with what was given to me on both ends.
Dread around certain topics
My Achilles heel as a reader used to be great big metaphysical topics. I really dreaded when people asked me about past lives because I wasn’t quite sure what I myself thought of them, and also because I didn’t feel like I could pick up on much of it. In talking this over with my teacher, she explained that she had trained me to take in broad brush strokes rather than specific details, so I may not be getting a view into one particular past life, but a pattern that was dominant over a dozen or more past (or even parallel) lives.
That may be, but I also realized my own personal hand in the matter. By viewing the issue of past lives as mucky territory, I effectively closed myself off to an entire aspect of the Records. It’s as if I stood askance, or even turned my back on this knowing, and willfully decided, “I’m just not gonna go there.” Once I chose to open myself up to this area, I began to get a lot more awareness around it. I began to see how my natural inclination was to sense the dynamism of multidimensionality. So when clients came to me with a static, linear view of past lives, the answers I was getting didn’t seem to make sense.
What’s more, once I got over my whole “past life” issue, I was able to open more deeply to metaphysical matters in the Records, in general. My worry over “Who am I to talk about this giant topic that is way above my head?” stopped mattering because I simply did my job of interpreting, to the best of my ability, what I was receiving without feeling overly responsible for having to come up with the “right answer “all on my own.
As a reader, your Achilles heel might be different. Some readers dread the “What is my purpose?” question. (Personally, I love that one, because you really never know how the Records will handle it!) It may be medical questions. That’s also tough because you can fall into feeling responsible for another person’s health. In those situations, remind your client that you are not a medical doctor (if, indeed you aren’t) and that they should always seek expert advice from a health care professional. But apart from that, you do what you were trained to do: access the Records and bring forward what they give.
Whatever your dreaded topic is, try not to avoid it. Catch yourself when you groan internally or have a momentary freak out. Then take a deep breathe and go about your business. If it makes you feel better, look up star systems or what “merkaba” means so you aren’t a deer in the headlights when those topics come up. Let your curiosity and wonder lead you, rather than your fear of being ignorant. (What I would not suggest is looking up medical topics so you can pretend to be some sort of authority about health issues.) Devote special attention to handling these questions with grace and your efforts will pay off in much richer readings, and a deepening in your very being.
Stay tuned for my next post on how to establish peace and stillness in a reading, both internally and externally!
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