One thing is for certain in business these days — nothing ever stays the same, and my annual list of the top emerging trends in small business certainly bears this out. This year, while yes, we see some of the same old stalwarts (like social media, but even that is changing, see below) a few new, surprising entries make it onto the list. For instance, the top trend for the upcoming year, while right before our eyes, is a fairly recent phenomenon and we will get to that next week.

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When it comes to sweet goods like doughnuts, Danishes, sweet rolls, muffins and coffee cake, the market is in a state of flux. As Walter Postelwait, president of Pak Group LLC/Bellarise Baking Ingredients, Pasadena, CA, puts it: “The total segment appears to be growing slowly, but has hot pockets of activity.”

Learn Spells the Easy Way! Click HERE!

Dear GreyWolf,

I have a dilemma.  I’m out as a witch to my friends, and most of them have asked me to do spells for them.  Last night, I got two requests.  The first came from a friend who’s mom has pneumonia and may have cancer. She’s very worried, and she wanted to know what all she could do, and what I could do.  I gave her some practical advice, told her to pray and to get as many people as she could to pray, and I told her that my husband and I would so a healing spell for her mother, if she got her mother’s permission, which she did.  Her mother is also in the hospital, so she’s under medical care.

The second request is the one I have the problem with.  Another friend had asked me a while back to do a spell to keep her ex from terrorizing her and her son.  I told her to first go to the police, tell them what was going on, and get an order of protection.  I told her that if she followed through and showed that she was really serious, then I would do a spell of protection for her.  She’s in a very sick relationship with this guy, and I really don’t want her blaming me if he ever leaves her for good.  Last night, she said she didn’t want me to do a spell of protection anymore. She wants me to do a spell that makes him treat her better.  I have some qualms about any spell that “makes” someone do anything.  It gets worse though; then as we were doing some other things, she says under her breath, “It’s a sin, you know.”  I said, “If you think it’s a sin, why would you want me to do a spell for you in the first place?”  Then she said, “Oh, it’s not a sin.”  I’ve pretty much made up my mind on the whole business of doing any spells for her, but I don’t know how to tell her without losing a friend.  She’s not very bright, so no conversation we’ve ever had has gone smoothly.  I have to repeat myself all the time and backtrack on everything to make myself clear to her, and even then, I’m not sure I’m getting through half the time.  Anything I did tell her would have to be broken down into its simplest elements.  Any advice you give me would be well appreciated.

Blessed Be,
Spider

Dear Spider,

I really appreciate your high ethical value. It is a sign of competency and strong professional standards that you want to talk through a dilemma. Doctors and counselors do it all the time. The professionalism comes in knowing when to ask questions, not in always knowing the answers–so I applaud you!

In the first situation, I would do the same thing you did. Any time I’m doing a spell, I want to get everyone’s permission, and you absolutely had permission to do a healing spell. Studies show that prayer actually works, and I know from personal experience that magic, spells, lighting a candle, and raising energy do too. By not limiting your healing to magic, you are helping the spell to work even better–that is, getting medical care is what she needs too.

As for your other friend, well…I feel sorry for her. It’s like someone asks for your help, and then yells at you for doing it wrong. She wants spells done for her, but she believes it is a sin? She doesn’t need magic, she needs a priest, in whatever religion she feels most comfortable. Your magic is not going to work on someone who doesn’t want it to work or who thinks it is wrong–and I don’t care how good a spellcaster you are! The deeply held beliefs about sin are difficult to get rid of, even for new converts to Paganism, and if she’s not converting and doesn’t plan to address these ideas, she won’t get out of them with your help.

Sometimes, ethically, we have to just say no.

This will be hard for you–you’re gifted and people come to you for help. But we can’t learn lessons for other people. You know she’s in a bad relationship, and even if you try and help–no matter how wrong it is–if she doesn’t want it, it won’t work. Ask any Alcoholic working on recovery–she must help herself first. Likely, she’ll have to hit rock bottom, or find some deeply rooted boundary where going back to her terrible relationship is no longer an option.

But, can you have some sympathy for her? She’d rather be abused than be alone, and she’s living with some serious fear. In scary situations, adrenalin tells us to fight or fight…and also freeze. Even though she knows the way out is just like you said, calling the police and getting a protection order, etc, she still doesn’t see the way out. The question for you is this: can you honor her inner divinity to believe that she can solve her own problems?

Being blunt with people by being direct and addressing problems head on actually honors the inherent divinity in another. It means you believe that they don’t have to be coddled or protected, but can handle things if they just have enough information. By asking her to go to the police, you have done your ethical duty and are not required to do more. (Unless you are a mandatory reporter such as a teacher or counselor, and then it depends on your state requirements, so find out what you are required to report. For example, in my state, I’m required to report child abuse but not adult or elder abuse, and I’m required to report suicidal or intent to harm another. But in a pastoral counseling capacity, I am not required to report anything under most circumstances–KNOW YOUR RULES!). Anything after that, magically, is like throwing your energy down a bottomless pit, or running into a brick wall.

If you did a spell for her, and it worked, she’ll blame you. If you do a spell for her and it doesn’t work, she’ll blame you. Because she has to learn her own lessons. She has to take responsibility for herself and her child. By asking you to do it for her is a way of being passive and she is not learning a lesson. It sounds like, for you, she’s hard to talk to, so it may take her a little longer to learn what she needs to do. I guarantee you that many many people both more and less intelligent than her have figured out what they needed to do in her exact situation. And it doesn’t matter how many times somebody told them what they needed to do–they must choose their own path. You want her to change and have the tools to make it happen, but she has to want to. She has to use the tools for herself. And frankly, some people are not ready to change. But if we, as helpers, hold others to the highest standard they are capable of meeting, they will eventually meet it, and may even thank you for it.

We can’t always do the spells that other people want. Sometimes it is not ethical or in the client’s best interest. I often won’t because I don’t want to get involved in their drama spiral, or I don’t want to reward bad behavior with attention. Magically, if you feel you must do something, you can always do a spell for general wellness and gentle spiritual growth. I’ll do something relatively passive, like light a healing candle in their name. The magic will go where it is needed. You feel good because you’ve done something, which will return to you three-fold, theoretically, and you won’t lose any sleep thinking you’re tied up in an ethical dilemma with a person you really don’t want much to do with.

As a counselor, if I had a client like the one you are talking about, I would do either one of two things: 1) refer her to another clinician, since she is not getting what she thinks she wants with me and we are making no headway. It is not ethical for me to continue taking money from someone who is not getting anything out of services after a reasonable amount of time, if another clinician might be able to do more. 2) close her file, and give her the option to return when she commits to therapy. The Witch and the Counselor are essentially in the same business, we just use different tools to help clients create change. Closing a client file, or refering out to another does not make you a failure in any way. It proves that you are holding their needs above your own. Not every spell will work for every body, nor every therapist for every client.

And now, I honor you enough to know that, with enough information, you’ll be able to figure out the best course of action for you. If I had a client like that, she’d be pushing all my buttons. Good luck!

NEWS – If you’re a Harry Potter fan and also love writing, the new LAMY Harry Potter fountain pens will be a magical addition to your pen collection! These special edition fountain pens combine the charm of Hogwarts with high-quality craftsmanship, making them perfect for jotting down your own stories or doodling your favorite characters. […]

Just two more sleeps until The Spellshop comes out and book tour begins! Over the next week and a half, I'm headed to Vermont, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Knoxville, and Chapel Hill! I'm so excited I could burst! Please come join me!

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/appearances.htm

I am over-the-moon excited to share with you that today is the book birthday for my newest book, THE SPELLSHOP! It's a cozy fantasy about a rogue librarian and her best friend, a sentient spider plant, who take on the low-stakes market of illegal spellmaking and the high-risk business of starting over. And it's for anyone who is looking for a slice of joy, a bit of comfort, or just a deep breath.

I wrote this book to feel like a warm hug. Or like drinking hot chocolate. Or like eating really good raspberry jam. Or a cinnamon roll, with hot chocolate and maybe some raspberry jam on the side...

We've all been through a lot over the past few years, and I wrote THE SPELLSHOP for anyone who wants to escape into a world filled with kindness and enchantment.


Thank you to everyone at Macmillan/Tor/Bramble for bringing this book to life and gracing it with Lulu Chen's beautiful cover art and such lovely lavender sprayed edges!

If you'd like to learn more about the book or read the first chapter, please visit my website: http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/Spellshop.htm

I'm also going on book tour starting today, and I'm so excited!! If you'd like to join me at any of my tour stops, I'd love to see you! For details, see the Events page of my website.

Happy reading!!!

THE SPELLSHOP IS A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (#7), A USA TODAY BESTSELLER (#13), AND AN INDIE BESTSELLER (#10)!!!!!!!! I’M SOBBING!!!! Thank you so much to everyone at Bramble/Tor/Macmillan who made my dreams come true, including the incredible Ali Fisher, Dianna Vega, Caro Perny, and Julia Bergen! Thank you so much to my amazing agent Andrea Somberg who has been with me for 18 years and 28 books! And thank you to the wonderful booksellers and readers who made this possible!!!! I love you all so much!!!

I had an absolutely fantastic time on book tour for THE SPELLSHOP!!! Loved meeting so many wonderful readers and amazing booksellers! Thank you all so much! Just wanted to share some of my favorite pics from:

Fable Hollow Coffee & Bookshoppe in Knoxville, TN
Phoenix Books in Essex, VT, with Katherine Arden
Charis Books & More in Decatur, GA, with Kimberly Lemming
The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn, NY, with Naomi Novik
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ, with Rebecca Thorne
Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, with T. Kingfisher

Next up: San Diego Comic Con!

It happened again. NYT. #7 again. I have no words, except THANK YOU. https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2024/08/11/hardcover-fiction/

Very excited that THE SPELLSHOP is out today in Germany (with lovely purple edges)!!! Thank you to everyone at Fischer Tor! I like to think that Kiela, Caz, and Meep are celebrating their book birthday by selling spells and jam somewhere along the Rhine... 

https://www.fischerverlage.de/buch/sarah-beth-durst-spellshop-9783596710942

Eeeeeeee! Just saw that THE SPELLSHOP is a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Awards 2024!!! Thanks so much! This makes my day! I'm so thrilled and so grateful! Voting is open now! 

https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/readers-favorite-romantasy-books-2024

The impact of Donald Trump's election win on Nov. 5 will be felt globally, especially in China — one of the world's emerging superpowers and one of the United States' biggest trading partners. The relationship could also affect Canada.

Humane first reported overheating problems with the portable charger in June.

Macfarlane, Robert, 1976- author

But Amog Gurave’s experience shows that wider adoption requires measured steps, not a rapid govt push

Indian officials at the convention in Colombia (COP-16) say international finance will be necessary to meet goals

Women are more than capable of saving themselves, says Phuphee. They don’t need magic, maybe just a helping hand

Already under siege from overfishing, disease and poor water quality, the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay today stands at 2 percent of what it was in colonial times. Now, new data show that rising acidity in the Bay will have a negative impact on oyster shells.

The post Rising acidification of estuary waters spells trouble for Chesapeake Bay oysters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In a laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., scientist João Canning Clode and colleagues tested the cold-water tolerances of a number of invasive green porcelain crabs.

The post Cold spells spell trouble for warm-weather invasives appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Soon after a dirt road through the forests of Lambir Hills National Park in Borneo was improved in 1987, local markets selling the meat of […]

The post Loss of animals spells doom for diversity of rainforest trees appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The spells are written in a mysterious language, but a few names of demons could be deciphered.

(University of Warwick) Warm winter spells have increased in frequency and duration two- to three times over since 1878, according to scientists led by the University of Warwick.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Meanwhile, Video Conferencing Firm Acquires Start-Up Encryption Company
Zoom has reached a settlement with the N.Y. attorney general's office to provide better security and privacy controls for its video conferencing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced it's acquiring a start-up encryption company.

Title: Allergy-Linked Mouth Breathing Spells Trouble for Kids
Category: Health News
Created: 4/23/2010 12:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/26/2010 12:00:00 AM