Inside Information

If you don’t trust your hunches, you will never be a psychic. But you can learn how to develop that inner knowing and make it work for you, says psychotherapist and author Ivy Helstein.

Helstein will hold a mini-workshop at Barnes & Noble in Ventura at 7 p.m. Friday as she discusses and signs her book “Infinite Abilities: Living Your Life On Purpose--A Story,” (OakHill Press $19.95).

According to Helstein, the difference between psychics and the rest of the population is trust. When psychics get information, they act on it--when most of us get this information, we decide that it’s crazy or wrong, she said.

“We all have intuition--call it a knowing or deja vu--but we don’t tune into it and utilize it in our lives. We’re too hooked into day-to-day living,” she said.

Helstein made comparisons with the Buddhist way of thinking--waiting for things to happen instead of making things happen.

If we kept our minds blank, we would make better decisions, she said.

She took her own advice when she felt guided to write her book, described as a spiritual self-help novel.

“One character’s name was Julia, which was based on a real person from my childhood--it is somewhat semi-autobiographical with my own self-help concepts put into it,” Helstein said.

“But as I sat down to write the name Julia, something inside me said, ‘No, you have to spell it Geula.’ I tried to write Geula but just couldn’t.”

She had nearly finished the book when she had the urge to research the name in the library.

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To her surprise, she discovered the Hebrew meaning for Geula: redemption, spiritual salvation, liberation. Then she was able to use the name.

The majority of the book takes place when a 17-year-old girl, based on Helstein, moves with her family from the Bronx into an unfamiliar neighborhood, where she first encounters Geula, a middle-aged woman.

The stranger opens her up to new ways of thinking about the power of the mind.

She learns how to use her intuition, inner knowing and mind’s eye for answers, she said, as well as how to do “God bless” exercises to heal bodies.

“If we get our fears out of the way--and of wanting to believe the medical field and give them parent power--I think we know stuff ourselves,” she said.

Helstein has led workshops for 25 years, on the East Coast and in Los Angeles and San Diego.

In her private practice, she uses practical spiritualism and finds people more receptive than ever. She also teaches at Nassau Community College in New York.

During her appearance at Barnes & Noble, she plans to take people through exercises, such as an object experiment.

She might have someone take out a watch or ring and talk about the information they can get from it for the future.

She will also show how to tune into these objects at home.

If something tells you to check her out, maybe you should.

Tip of the Week: Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library will be offering reserved seats for bus transportation to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA on April 30. The cost is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Contact Susan McKie at 499-9495 to reserve seats or for more information.

HAPPENINGS

* Monday: 6 p.m. Poetry readings at Ventura College by Wanda Coleman, author of “Bathwater Wine”; Glenna Luschei, publisher of the poetry journal “Solo”; and David Oleveira, Santa Barbara poet laureate and publisher of Mille Grazie press. 4667 Telegraph Road. For more information, contact Gwendolyn Alley, 648-1708, e-mail: GwendolynAlley@yahoo.com.

* Monday: 7 p.m. A new spiritual book discussion group will meet every fourth Monday. This week’s topic is “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg. Borders, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 497-8159.

* Monday: 11 a.m. Stories and art about baby animals. Borders, 497-8159.

* Tuesday: 4:30 p.m. Life & Times, a biography program for school-age children, will focus on Teddy Roosevelt. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., 446-2820.

* Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. Story time features “Quack, Quack, Waddle, Waddle.” Ventura Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main Street, 339-9170.

* Wednesday: 7 p.m. Join in with jammies for the American Girl’s Club meeting. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-3170.

* Friday: 11:30 a.m. Anne Perry will discuss and sign “Half Moon Street.” Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 374-0084.

* Friday: 7 p.m. Story time about the wacky ways of weather. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-9170.

* Friday: 7-9:30 p.m. Slam Poetry Contest. The first 12 poets to sign up will compete for cash prizes. For more information, contact Roni at 386-3061 or by e-mail at RRRRRoni@aol.com or pick up rules at Borders, 497-8159.

* Friday: 8 p.m. Psychotherapist Ivy Helstein will discuss and sign “Infinite Abilities: Living Your Life on Purpose.” Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-9170.

* Saturday: 10:30 a.m. Story time for kids in grades K-3 with stories and activities recommended by the PBS series “Reading Rainbow.” Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 446-2820.

* Saturday: 7 p.m. Delta’s Corner for Kids, featuring African American children’s literature. Borders, 497-8159.

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Information about book signings, writers groups and publishing events can be e-mailed to anns40@aol.com or faxed to 647-5649).