It’s been a long while now since I did a blog entry based on email-submitted questions. Figured I’d do it again since I recently took a photo that actually answered one of the questions hehe.
Email #1
“You seem like a cool person and it’s nice to run across someone who is so personal in their blog. I’m amazed at the amount of people that send you gifts and things. If I could afford it, maybe I would too. You often show photos of things people have sent you and on your site you have a wishlist, but I’m actually curious what YOU buy with your money (not the gifts people get FOR you). With all the money you make, what does most of your money go towards? I don’t reckon you’re into girly stuff, are you?”
My response:
“Mostly books, bookshelves, and more books. And paying off my credit card which usually is for traveling. Books and traveling. I read a lot, whether at home, on the plane, or on the road, or in a hotel. I read so much, that I often run out of bookshelves, so I like to invest in really nice matching bookshelves so I can sort books by category. I recently turned my closet into a library of bookshelves - even removed the doors to the closet so it’s completely accessible directly from the wall!”
Here are photos of my closet-turned-library (and there’s more where that came from):

Email #2
“For a woman like you who seems rather invincible, I’m curious if you have any fears. Does anything scare you? Probably not, since you’re a hypnotist and can ‘cure’ yourself, but I’m just curious.”
My response:
“For many years, I had a fear of germs, bridges, spiders, needles, failure, imperfection, and an array of unwarranted fears. Went I went to Newport Beach in July of last year for an NLP seminar, some simple reframing from other NLP practitioners helped me view my so-called fears from different angles. And when I went to Hawaii in November for Master NLP training, my fear of failure went away with my breakthrough (a load off my shoulders). Now I’m not afraid of those things. I try not to use the word ‘fear’ anymore because that implies being afraid. I now LOVE the idea of a challenge and feel wonderful taking on new feats. I suppose one challenge that I’m still working on is the idea of dying alone and forgotten. No one wants to die and be forgotten, I suppose. So the way I reframe it in my head is that I want to spend my life doing things for others so not only will I be remembered, but I’ll always have close friends who will be there for me when I need them.”
Email #3
“Yeah Ive been lookin for the whole hypnosis experience for a while now, but while you are a seductive person you’ve only reinforced my personal idea that its just totally fakery which has been aided and abetted by those wishing to be hypnotised so bad that they would believe you if you lit two candles and said the words “thats right.” Its kinda annoying but whatever, what can you personally do? I mean you’re obviously just making to gain an easy cheque or 8 hundred. Hypnotism is obviously not real so I’ll just go ahead an continue going after more realistic women.”
My response:
“You want to go after more realistic women? It doesn’t get more human than this. Do I REALLY come off as someone anti-human and unrealistic? I’ve often been told I’m TOO personal in my journal… so your comment comes as a surprise to me. To each their own. Your question was, ‘what can you personally do’? And I’m curious what exactly you mean. That actually makes no sense to me. Personally… I watch American Idol, have fun with friends, hang out at home, shop at new age stores, pet the cat, um… what else? Er. I also do hypnosis. If you don’t like hypnosis (or specifically, my technique), then that’s ok. Different strokes for different folks, but don’t attack my realistic-ness. That’s below the belt cause this 100-lb overweight Goddess is more realistic than any plastic celebrity that’s on reality tv today.”
Email #4
“Don’t you ever worry about stalkers? You write about yourself all the time: places you go, people you see, restaurants you dine at, and even show photos of your house. I’m glad you’re so open, but sometimes I worry about you. Do you ever worry about your own safety?”
My response:
“Thanks for your concern and for your question. When I lived in San Diego, I battled two or three stalkers who made my life a living hell, so I’ve definitely been through that before. You’d think I’d learned my lesson, huh? I suppose in a perfect world, I’d be able to post everything about my life and never have to worry about my personal safety, but we all know there is a risk involved. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I’m sort of obsessed with my blog, writing about my life, picture taking, story telling, life commenting… it’s all something that makes me feel good to continue expressing. Getting stalkers IS a risk and I’m well aware of what can happen in that event. The good news is that living in Bloomington, I live a little bit out of the limelight and because I no longer am an urban city girl, there’s less likelihood of running into fans, strange obsessive stalkers, or people who recognize me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been recognized out here a few times, but it’s on a smaller scale that I can definitely handle. My house has a killer security system and my boxing skills have gotten good enough to defend myself against even the buffiest of attackers. I refuse to live my life in fear. What happens, happens. But one thing is for sure… writing in my blog, even writing this very response… is therapeutic for me. If I don’t write about my life, I often feel like a time bomb waiting to explode. Once it’s written, I feel I can breathe again and go on with my day. I’ve kept daily journals since I received my first diary when I turned ten years old. I’ve been writing in journals (whether in a book or online) for seventeen years now… so writing in blogs is sorta ingrained in me at this point.”
Email #5:
I have a need to tell you that I have spent thousands of dollars on phone sex, BUT I have never felt someone CONNECT with me and my inner DEMONS (Fantasies) like you just did! I LOVED BOTH of your voices and will NEVER find something this erotic again….you could charge $5K for this recording and it would be a bargain for someone with my fantasies (denial of reality)…I have experienced things and have been afraid of them until now…it’s like you were there with me!!!! PLEASE let me know how I can make YOUR Life better and I will!!!!
My response:
“I’m glad you liked the recording(s) you received. Which one(s) are you referring to? You wanted to know how you can make my life better? Hmmm… good question. I had to think about this one long and hard. I suppose the one way you could make MY life better is if you listened to something of mine or read something I’ve written and then gained an epiphany from it so you could spread your learned knowledge to those around you. To me, the value of spreading knowledge that far exceeds anything financial and can impact people indirectly for thousands of years if spread the right way.”
Ok, that’s enough for now. I don’t think I’ll answer the email where someone asked if I was Satan. Which, by the way, if I was, I’d state so proudly - cause at least he/she/it knows the answer to how big the universe actually is and has seen it form since the beginning - not to mention, he/she/it used to be best friends with the bearded man in the sky if you believe in dogma.
Love
Isabella
xoxooxo
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