The Fine Art of Cold Reading

The Fine Art of Cold Reading                                                                                            June 4th, 2013


                     One would have to be oblivious not to notice the effect of speaking out. This I believe is the key to understanding the fine art of cold reading. "May god grant me the gift to know how others see me."

                     Let's look at a model for the dissemination of information, as in influence. My teacher once said, "Communication is not a two way street." He was talking about how talking, writing and art are communication. This in no way is displacing the importance of listening or learning. He was just talking about the power of communicating "to" other people. Important distinction. Everyone today is told that their voice matters. This is true. Just notice how people react when we speak out.

                     But we are also mistakenly expected instead to just be listening and nothing could be more wrong. Being expected to always be listening is censorship pure and simple. The right of refusal demands that we just say no to being forced to be silent. Saying no to being told when to listen is communication. It is a right of assertion. Being able to say no is a right of affirmation. "It is the privilege of wisdom to listen." Not the obligation.

                     Example; Self expression is often just selfish, often achieving nothing. The bad child expects to be heard. How do we respectfully handle the BAD CHILD, "L'enfant Terrible'." Listening only goes so far. We have to make ourselves heard for the child's protection. At a certain point our communication fails. Sooner or later reality interviens. Consequences are real. The world communicates "for us," and it doesn't have to listen to us and our trivial complaints. To the contrary.  The charge potential is with the communication, along with the responsibility of asserting ones self. I'm not saying that the freedom that comes with honesty is easily understood, much less unpunished. But I am telling you that you may have come wanting to listen. Hopefully it's because of you're concerns. If you do listen I hope I wont be wasting your time. That is the power of your communication. You have the right of refusal, to tell me when you are not listening.

   > > > > >   The power that a good communicator exudes is really hot. Power sucks like a vacuum.
                     "All things gravitate to power. Especially "POWER"."

                     Power is the lifeline of information, and communication is the currency.

                    Putting my research out here for people to read is like sticking my tongue in a light socket while having wet feet grounding me to a metal floor, it's shocking. The hostility can just pour in. But I think it is flattery when people stoop to condescend.

                    Cold Reading is a fine art because it involves communicating. One way. Like a good painting by someone who is dead, art communicates. If I let myself get bogged down by what someone is trying to intentionally say to me, I may loose the ability to honestly communicate. I don't need validation. I may need the protection of being free from distracting expectations, other peoples opinions can often be very oppressive. Censorship is mocking. Feedback is often good in business but it can be very bad for the free flow of uninhibited expressions of faith, whatever they may be. It should be your right to decide for yourself whether or not you are going to be listening. Communicating is from you to whomever chooses to listen.

                    Please forgive me for being as honest as I know how. This is not another semantics argument. Thanks again if you are able to be receptive to what I'm writing about. If you are reading this, I will predict that you too will be called upon to have to speak out as the authority on your own rights. Good luck on knowing your own receptive audiences. They can be hard to find. People should not be expected to listen. We deserve to be rightfully inspired, and for only the right reasons. Otherwise the only reason we should have to listen to people who don't listen themselves is because we may need to protect ourselves from others who have been dis-informed themselves. Usually a person who can "not" listen, has had their own boundaries violated by someone who exploited them by censoring their need for free expression. (More on the linguistics of violated boundaries later.)