Continuing on the path

Last week I had a phone appointment with Sue Frederick, a career intuitive/numerologist. Numerologically, I am in my second Saturn return. Though I missed a career path in line with my “non-awakened” self on my first Saturn return  (aged twenty-eight), I have a second chance around the age of fifty-eight. Since I had already read Sue’s book, and know my number (22/4) I was mainly using this conversation as a chance to see if she could add anything that would help me with my future plans, which include retiring in two years.  What I was hoping, was that Sue might suggest something different than the path I have been on for nine years.

What I have been doing the past nine years is my path, according to Sue. She must have noticed the enthusiasm I displayed when I talked about schizophrenia. No doubt I was born to have a son develop “schizophrenia,” and then for me to find it the most interesting thing that ever happened to ME! But how can you think it’s all about you, some may ask, when clearly your son has suffered this terrible tragedy?  Well, as you know, I don’t see schizophrenia as a tragedy, I see it as an opportunity for growth, especially for the so-called afflicted, but also for anyone around him or her who cares to listen and learn.

I did get some immediate ideas from Sue about taking advantage of my second Saturn return. One is to do a proper book proposal, including a market analysis, chapter summaries, etc. I have been concentrating on finishing the manuscript edits, but Sue convinced me just to get the proposal sent out to agents before August. The book doesn’t have to be finished. I knew that, but an agent had asked me to send him the finished book, so I was putting all my effort into finishing it. Sue says September will be a numerologically  important month, and the proposal should be in as many hands as possible by then. The stars will do the rest. Oh, yes, a laptop is essential for what I want to do, she added.

Since my work is cut out for me before I leave on vacation in August, I am encouraging Chris to write a blog post on the topic “what worked for you and what didn’t work for you in your recovery?” He is free to trash  his parents’ misguided efforts to help. It may be a question of getting him to stop writing.

I See Your Dream Job

Numerology has been used by for thousands of years to tell us who we are and what our life path may look like based on the vibrational energy of the numbers 1 to 9, 11 and 22.

Sue Fredericks, career intuitive and author of I See Your Dream Job (see also The intuitive mind), makes an excellent case for why numerology does a better job of helping you to discern your true career path than any other career book I have read. This is not just another horoscope book, where the astrological descriptions often seem so generic that they can apply to just about everyone. Her added value lies in directly linking destiny path to career choice. Most of us would probably not make that link, figuring that our destiny is not necessarily our career. We should think again if we are looking for fulfillment.

We have all heard that it is better to find something you love to do as a career choice than something that you think will lead to money. The money will always follow the path you love, is the thinking. Finding something we love to do is tricky. We very often confuse what we think we like to do with what we are good at doing (skills we have learned). Another false step is to want to be like someone else, usually someone famous or fabulously rich. We are not like anybody else. We are all born with a unique molecular vibration that makes us who we are. Being who we are can earn us all the money we will ever need, Sue Frederick reassures us. Intuitively, this makes sense to me.

As a parent of a young adult in a mental health crisis, you may be doing your child a real favor by absorbing what the book has to say about possible career paths derived from being yourself. A person in a mental health crisis knows a lot about pain. This book advises you to consider your pain as your career fuel. Choose the right time to open up this career path dialogue, when your relative is well along the road to recovery. Forcing the issue too soon can provoke a crisis, as my husband and I learned the hard way last year.

For most people, getting further education or training in a field of interest is key to eventually working at a job in a field that they love. For young people who have lost precious years due to a mental health crisis, their sense of self worth needs a boost, which actually provides a wonderful window of opportunity to get started or get re-positioned in something they love while still young.

Which brings me to the numbers.

Adding up Chris’s birth day, month and year and reducing it to a prime number reveals that he is a 3. This is his birth path, his destiny number. Combining it with the astrological sign adds flavor to the life path number. Chris is a Capricorn 3. Number 3s are creative and possible career paths according to Sue Frederick are acting, music, art, fantasy or science fiction writing and teaching. So far, this doesn’t sound exceptionally insightful, but Sue Frederick adds her insight to it. Number 3s are better off teaching in none-traditional settings, she advises, as a large school system would probably feel too restrictive. The negative qualities of number 3s will surface if they are not doing what they love to do. Unlike hardworking number 4s, who often get lost in the drudgery, if number 3s are not having fun at what they do, they will quickly lose interest. She also cautions number 3s not to rely on other people for handouts. (Thank you, Sue!) They are perfectly capable of making a career that pays their way. I have been pushing Chris to think of music and fantasy writing as a career focus, so the book confirmed my hunch. Because Chris is naturally intuitive, and sees meaning and relationships where others fail to see them, numerology makes sense to him. He appreciates being a number 3. It’s becoming an easy sell.

Now, when we sit down to discuss options for taking classes at the university, the discussion go along the lines of: Don’t bother to look at this course, because it is off path for you. Consider this one instead. Using your pain as your fuel, is great advice for an aspiring writer or artist. In schizophrenia, there is plenty of pain to fuel an eventual career path. Make that pain work for you.

The intuitive mind

In addition to counting physical objects, numbers have a spiritual meaning that resonate with us at an unconscious level, according to sixth century Greek mathematician, Pythagoras. Pythagoras also believed that colors have a spiritual meaning and are aligned with musical notes. Though separated by centuries, Pythagoras, Dr. Masaru Emoto, Dr. Alfred Tomatis and and Chris’s sound shaman are speaking the language of resonance, that physical objects, colors and symbols have a vibratory energy that imbues the universe with connected meaning. Ancient peoples were much more intuitive than modern man. They sought meaning through numbers, symbols, colors, communed regularly with the gods, and looked for signs from the heavens. It doesn’t sound too terribly different than people today who are given a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In Chris’s reporting of his recent experience with sound therapy, he said “As I heard the colors and shapes……” This is not crazy thinking, this is intuitive thinking.

Numerology is these days considered an esoteric pursuit, but not to Pythagoras or maybe not to anyone on the autism spectrum. Some people on (or even off) the autism spectrum see colors in musical notes or numbers. Chris has always been extremely good with math and music. To be good at advanced math and music, one would assume that meaning and connectivity are seen in numbers and musical notes. Out of interest, I looked into Chris’s numerology by adding up all the numbers in his birth date (month, day and four digit number for year) and kept adding until I arrived at a number less than 10, in Chris’s case, the number 3.

According to career intuitive Sue Frederick, a good career choice for Chris would be actor or singer, to name just two possibilities arising from the number three. Interestingly, I seized upon acting as a way of breaking through Chris’s communication barrier when his doctor hinted that Chris was really good in the clinic’s acting class. Since then we have also discovered that Chris is a good singer. Numerology strikes me as good a way as any to make your career choice. Rather than tediously wading through the popular book What Color is Your Parachute?, why not make your career choice based on what Pythagoras might have chosen for you? I am putting Sue Frederick’s book I See Your Dream Job under the Christmas tree this year.