You won't believe what you thought you would never believe!
An open letter to skeptics everywhere from Susan K. Morrow, a.k.a. Sister Mystic
Dear Friend,
I think it’s not only natural but good to be a little skeptical. I am quite skeptical myself. Yes, I do this way-out, woo-woo work and I am still a skeptic. There are only a couple of famous psychics or healers in whom I have almost complete faith, and there are very few of my personal acquaintances that I believe can do something like what I do. In fact, I don’t know anyone personally who claims to do exactly what I do.
The only reason I believe my own stuff is that it happens to me, so I have first-hand, absolute knowledge of it.
In our culture, we are raised not to believe anything we can’t touch, see, hear, feel, or taste. Except God, of course. We are actually encouraged to believe in God, while discouraged from believing in our own divinity, our own intuition, or our own God-given knowing.
For example, let’s take a typical, dysfunctional American family. Mom is an alcoholic and she often drinks herself into a stupor. One evening, she passes out in the family room and her four-year-old child stands over her, terrified. He knows in his gut, in his heart, that this is terribly, terribly wrong. Is Mommy dead? She won’t wake up. He feels a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and he’s afraid. But wait, here’s Daddy. Daddy gives his son a pat on the back and picks him up in comfort. “It’s okay,” Daddy assures the child. “Mommy is only sleeping. Let me tuck you in and everything will be all right in the morning.”
And in the morning, the child wakes up and finds Mommy at the breakfast table, all cleaned up, drinking coffee. Maybe he was wrong. Daddy was right—everything is okay. Hm… Maybe that bad feeling wasn’t real after all. We know that our parents must be right, because they are our survival.
Now, I am not saying that Daddy did anything wrong. As a mother myself, I will always try to assure and reassure my children and allay their fears. (Really, the story above has many other implications, but it makes my point well.)
Another example is the child who is very sensitive to metaphysical or supernatural processes. Maybe you know of a mom or dad—maybe your own—who has told his child, “No, you don’t see Grandpa in the chair. Grandpa went to Heaven, remember?”
Out of their love for their children, and to help their children fit into society, most parents will discourage paying attention to our natural instincts and God-given knowing. No wonder we turn out to be skeptical!
A little skepticism can be a very good thing. It keeps you from getting taken advantage of, not only by fake psychics, but by fraudulent mechanics, bankers, doctors, and anyone else who may be out to cheat you.
But there are some people out there who are Big Believers all the way. They will believe that I do what I say I do without experiencing my work. They will believe what other spiritual and psychic practitioners say they do, and they will believe people who are actually charlatans and are only out to take their money. These Big Believers make up a small but real percentage of the general population.
On the other end of the skeptical spectrum are the Hard-Core Non-Believers. No way, no how will they ever believe me or anyone else. They may not even believe in God. Atheists fall into this category, which is another small but real percentage. These are the people I prefer not to have in my workshops and Public Spirit Readings, not because I mind being challenged or questioned, but because their negative energy actually puts off the spirits, not to mention the other people in the room.
In the middle of this bell-shaped curve, we have the majority of us: some degree of skepticism. As I said, I am a skeptic myself. Typically, I have to experience someone’s work first-hand to believe it. And many types of energy work, such as Reiki and other perfectly respectable efforts, have little effect on me. (I think it’s because I am very well-balanced, but maybe it’s because I am too skeptical!)
So come as you are, skeptical, doubtful, curious. Hard-Core Non-Believers need not apply, but the rest of you are more than welcome! Give it a try. You may not believe what you thought you would never believe!
Your Sister,
Susan K.