Dear Fellow Visionary,
As an I-Ching student and software developer, I founded Visionary Networks in 1988 with a vision of putting computers to a higher use. We were ahead of our time, but over the years our work has been discovered and supported by people like you, who understand what we are doing.
During a chaotic "information age," bombarded as we all are by conflicting messages and commercial propaganda, there is a greater need than ever for intuitive decision-making support. Nothing can do this better than an enlightened counselor -- or an authentic divination experience.
Giving humanity do-it-yourself access to authentic divination systems is my life's work. We do it as aesthetically as we can in order to help you to stimulate your own intuition, to go direct and obtain the spiritual insights you need for yourself. It is with passion that we offer the world our family of Tarot, Astrology, I-Ching and Numerology websites -- mathematically and energetically authentic versions of the world's oldest and wisest oracles.
As long as a divination experience is programmed so that the computer does not control the ritualistic aspects (unlike most Tarot sites where the computer picks the cards for you, for instance), interactive technology can facilitate a mathematically and energetically authentic experience. Add an expert author's interpretations that are deep and rich, and you have something that enriches peoples' lives.
Although the Tarot and I-Ching can point to probable outcomes and potentials, true divination is not about fortune-telling. Oracles help one focus on the present moment and make better decisions. They give you a deeper understanding of what is happening now -- the only time there really is. This is helpful when you are confronted by dilemmas that logic can't handle (you know the ones I mean). Classical oracles are powerful means for stimulating your intuition and receiving guidance around important issues, including relationships, office or family politics, negotiations, etc.
I thank our customers for their patronage, as well as the input we continually receive about our work. You belong to a spiritually elite, if rapidly growing, community. While we deeply appreciate and rely upon customer support of our work, the most gratifying aspect of what we do comes from seeing how it helps people stay inspired, hopeful and confident in the midst of rapid change. Thank you for participating in this adventure with us!
All the best in changes,
Paulo
Check out the latest posts on Paul O'Brien's blog.
Paul O'Brien's Vita
Paul's involvement with divination began when, as a teenager, he was introduced to the I-Ching by a young woman at a commune for draft resisters (Vietnam era) in California. He thought he'd humor her and toss the coins, being a bit of a smart-aleck about the whole thing. The I Ching ignored his question and returned Hexagram #4, "Youthful Folly." The way it reflected his flippant attitude rather than his query caught him by surprise. Curiosity aroused, Paul immediately asked another question -- this time to test the system. Again, the oracle ignored his ego-driven query and returned a line that "questioned the sincerity of the seeker." Paul was stunned ... and converted. "Since that day, I have used classical oracle systems like the I Ching and Tarot whenever I have a dilemma logic can't handle," he says. "And since then, I have been saved from making more stupid mistakes than I can recount."
O'Brien's involvement in software began in 1973, when he became fascinated with a video game invented at MIT, which was programmed to run on a "mini-computer." Although it had less power than a modern lap-top, this "mini" took up an entire large room. This was more than 5 years before 'Pong' and the first published computer games. The idea that experiences could be created from nothing but imagination struck O'Brien as a form of wizardry. At that time, his employer, the non-profit Oregon Research Institute, was also a user of Arpanet, the same network you are using right now known as the Internet.
After 15 years in software marketing, in 1988 Paul took a leap from a lucrative VP position in a high-tech company and founded Visionary Software to create and publish the world's first divination software product, called "Synchronicity." It didn't come to light until 10 years later that he had earned the title, "Father of Interactive Divination" because of it. As it turns out, it was a pre-destined labor of love, even though it was considered by his friends to be a not-so-youthful folly at the time!
O'Brien authored the Visionary I-Ching text, with the help of fellow Taoist Charles Jennings, as a modern but accurate version of the I-Ching to be used in the Synchronicity program (now on I-Ching.com). This was another labor of love. The design goals were to render the I-Ching in a more Taoist than Confucian spirit, less Germanic than the Wilhelm-Baynes version, and to culturally translate concepts such as "superior man" and military themes into equivalent ideas more relevant to our different time.
The company survived by supplementing its product line with multimedia training programs and time-management software. In 1994, O'Brien sold Visionary's business titles to the company's management team, retaining ownership of Synchronicity, which he had always considered to be the "soul" of the company. After working for two years on the Tarot Magic and Oracle of Changes CD-ROMs and websites -- while serving as Director of the non-profit Oregon Multimedia Alliance -- he restarted Visionary to continue the evolution of interactive divination, his true passion.
O'Brien is an ordained minister (non-fundamentalist), a Buddhist meditation teacher and a spiritual counselor. His training includes 2+ years residency in monasteries and spiritual communities around the world, including Indian ashrams for one year. He sees authentic divination experiences as appropriate spiritual rituals for the Aquarian age, eliminating the need for priests or any kind of middleman, giving each individual equal and direct access to the divine wisdom within her or himself.
For the past 20 years, Paul has served as the host of Pathways, a weekly interview program on KBOO FM radio in Portland, Oregon which focuses on personal and cultural transformation (Sundays 8:30 am, 90.7 FM). A member of the Oregon Speakers Bureau, He is asked to speak on a variety of subjects -- including the process of manifestation, boot-strap entrepreneurism, and intuitive decision-making.
O'Brien's second book, "Dance with Your Destiny - How to Use Divination to Fulfill your Heart's Desires," will be released in November of 2005.
