Developing Intuition

"Gurudev Namah" - by noisecraft @ deviantART

Everyone has some level of intuitive ability, just like everyone has some level of psychic ability. Intuition is a highly useful and versatile skill - and the best part? It's completely natural, and can be sharpened with practice and mindfulness. 

Everyone experiences intuition daily; most just don't recognize - or acknowledge - it. Yes, these are your "gut feelings," and much more. Impressions are intuitive, as well. 

Intuition is a handy skill because it not only gives you accurate perspectives of your daily life, but it also serves as a fantastic secondary skill to all the others: clairvoyance, clairaudience, and the like. Many clairvoyants, for example, are usually very intuitive, because they need to "feel out" the meaning behind the images and symbols they receive. Clairaudients may also utilize it, but usually don't need to because there's not much to interpret. It differs from individual to individual. 

Allow us to give you a few suggestions on how you can develop this skill. 

• For starters, loosen up, release your doubts, and ditch your expectations. You want to put yourself in an "observant" mode so you can pay attention to what you receive without analyzing it. Chances are, you won't receive what you expect, so just don't expect anything. As for doubt - this is almost as strong an obstacle as fear. Just put this aside and KNOW your intuition is right.
• Approach this in a fun, lighthearted manner. If you take it seriously, you'll just cause unnecessary doubt.  
• Play games. Playing cards are a good tool for a few psychic skills. Try to see if you can "feel" the color of the card, or what the suit is, or how high the numerical value is. When someone calls you, try to feel who it is (don't use your logic!). If you're in public, try to "feel" certain things about the people around you. What does you gut say about them? Do they feel "bad"? Where do you think they're going? If you're seeing a friend later in the day, try to determine whether you can feel what color they're wearing. Have fun with it! If you're wrong, shrug it off and keep practicing.
• Utilize intuition on daily choices. What food do you "feel" is best for you today? What clothing item is best suited for you? Don't approach this from a logical basis. Take a few deep breaths, turn your focus inward, and listen to what your intuition has to say. 
• Try meditation. Meditation is good for calming the mind - and when the mind is calm, it makes it easier for you to identify your intuitive "voice."
•  Use it in conjunction with other skills you're developing. Use it as your "confirmation" to see whether what you received is accurate. 
• Be aware of your intuition - as much as possible. A good way to program yourself to do this is to ask yourself several times a day, "What does my intuition have to say about ____?" This could be a food item, or a certain person, or the weather. You can also simply say, "I am fully aware of my intuition and all of its impressions."

Intuition may not be as "flashy" as the other spiritual skills, but it's quite important, seeing how it usually gives you confirmation for the guidance you receive. That "knowing" feeling in your gut is a sign that yes, what you received is accurate, so you need to pay attention to it. With regular practice and awareness, you'll be able to utilize your intuition in ways you didn't think were possible.

Best of luck,
Lulu and Finny xx

Dealing with Empathy

Courtesy of parablev @ deviantART

Empathy is the most common spiritual skill - and for a good reason. Humankind is, by nature, quite sociable, and always longing for connection of some sort. With this longing for connection comes a natural inclination to pick up on the emotions of others. Many people possess the skill of empathy but don't refer to it as "spiritual," because they often equate it with sympathy. Sympathy and empathy are two different things. While sympathy is the mere acknowledgement of another's emotions - usually suffering - empathy is the experience. One has to feel the emotion for his or herself to be called an empath.

Dealing with empathy is a struggle for many individuals. Most see the gift as a curse because they have no idea how to control or deal with it. Being in highly populated places may result in emotional agony. But there are ways to manage this gift.

Now, in this "soul sisterhood" of ours, Lulu is the stronger empath, so these suggestions are really all hers. Finny only experiences empathy with Lulu - at least for now. 

So if you're an empath struggling under your gift, here are a few friendly tips on how to deal with it:

• If you're starting to feel a strong emotion, ask yourself: "Is this how I'm feeling? Is this emotion coming from me or someone else?"
•  Once you've established this, identify the individual whose feeling you may be absorbing if it's not your own.
• If the emotion isn't your own, tell yourself that you can accept this feeling and move on, because it doesn't belong to you. Be gentle - don't try to push it away with force.
• Visualizing a shield, a white aura, or any other kind of bubble can help you deal with more negative energies. However, avoid "mirroring" emotions. Many people tend to want to construct mirrors or walls that are meant to "deflect" incoming emotions, but when you do this, you are reflecting those emotions onto other people. Some may be more aware of it than others, but it's better if you create a visual shield that allows the emotion to pass through you - just in a gentler, more tolerable way.
• Grounding and centering can help bunches, as well. If you pick up on a strong negative energy, ground it (visualize roots or anything else that suits you) so you don't have to carry it with you.
• If you're absolutely sure it's coming from someone else, it's probably a strong connection, in which case it's advised to step up all the aforementioned points. Ask your spirit team for assistance, such as an "emergency" shutdown of empathic ability if it gets to be too much. Lulu, for instance, imagines herself "slamming the door" to make it clear she wants nothing to enter. 
• On the other hand, if you feel as though you're picking up on the emotions of many (like a melting pot), go through with the aforementioned points anyway. 
• If the emotion persists, you might want to consider that it may be your own energy.
• Be confident, but don't be forceful. You are in charge of your ability and you are definitely in charge of your space. 

Empathy doesn't have to be a curse. Remind yourself just how beautiful it is for you to be connecting with so many of your kin - even if these connections bring about suffering. When you can empathize with someone, you can really help to heal them - and healing is what this world needs most right now.

Best of luck,
Lulu and Finny xx

Developing Your Psychic Skills

"Orphic Awakening" - by asage @ deviantART

To be honest, we prefer the term "spiritual skills," but we know that people will search "psychic" before "spiritual." 

Psychic/spiritual abilities are becoming increasingly popular by the year - even by the day. People are drawn to the idea of seeing beyond the limited five senses, because they're interested in exploring a power that is in no way "supernatural." In fact, it's extremely natural. But like most spiritual activities and occurrences, it was shut down by society - why? Because people thought of it as unknown, unnatural, and therefore frightening.

When developing spiritual abilities, it's best to go with the one that comes easiest to you. If you're more visual, go with clairvoyance. If you're more auditory, go with clairaudience. If you easily pick up on the feeling of spirit, go with clairsentience. And so on. 

Another thing to keep in mind is FEAR. We'll say to you now that fear is a huge obstacle and will prevent you from truly opening up to spirit. It's wise to examine why you want to learn these skills to begin with. Are you wanting them to explore your inner self? To help others? Or do you want them so that you can impress people? Be aware that selfish intentions will not assist you in your quest to develop these skills. As for fear, here is a message from Source on the subject.

Developing Clairvoyance

Clairvoyance is a visual skill and therefore works best for those who can easily visualize, or have a good imagination. You will probably be working with your spirit team/guides for most of these exercises, and although you don't necessarily need to know them to be able to develop the skill, it'll be for your benefit if you are aware of at least one of them. If you need some assistance discovering your guides, check out this link. 

+ Play games with your guides. Get creative. Ask them to send you a picture, a scene, or a color, and pay attention to what pops into your head. Remember what we said about information that seems to "pop in." 

+ Use a deck of cards. Ask your guide(s) to join you and show you the color of each card in your mind's eye. Keep track of how many you get right and wrong (and the colors of each). Do this daily (this is also good for the intuition).

+ Work on your imagination and visualization skills. If you have downtime, practice visualizing an old house or school or workplace, or even try to visualize all the details in one of the rooms of your current house. Detail is the key. If you can see lots of details in your mind's eye, you're setting yourself up for a strong sense of clairvoyance.

+ When reading people, ask to see a color that best represents them, and see what pops into your head. When you seem proficient at this, try symbols, images, or scenes.

+ Spend time with your guides. Go on "meditation adventures," and immerse yourself in an imaginary world. Notice all the details of this place.

+ Soak yourself in as much imagery as possible. The more you know and are aware of, the easier it'll be for your guides to communicate visually with you. They use what's in your head, so the more you have available in there, the better off you'll be. 

+ If you have downtime, try to "see" the lives of people around you. What kind of scenes come to you? 

+ Imagination and open-mindedness is key. Let go of the doubt. KNOW that you are developing this skill. Make it fun.

Developing Clairaudience

This pretty much aligns with clairvoyance - just on a word basis.

+ Play games with your guides. Ask them to send you a word or phrase, or some kind of song lyrics, and pay attention to what pops into your head. 

+ When you go to sleep, instead of trying to tune out the noise around you, focus on it, and see how far you can push out your awareness. Is a TV on downstairs? Can you hear voices from next door? Dogs barking? Cars on the street? 

+ Do the same thing when you're passing time, such as at work or in class, etc. Close your eyes (if you can) and pay attention to all the sounds around you: pencils scribbling, pages being flipped, keys being typed, voices, footsteps, etc. By doing this, you are practicing conscious hearing, which will sharpen your awareness of the sounds you hear inside your head.

+ Know your own voice. Know what it's like to form your own thoughts - that way, you can easily identify those that don't belong to you. Clairaudience manifests either as your own voice, or another's voice. Get familiar with the way your mind works.

+ Practice auto-writing as a means of writing down the voices, thoughts, and sounds you hear, or keep a journal of things you were aware of throughout your day. This will encourage the subconscious to more strongly recognize messages from spirit.

+ Once again, open-mindedness is key. Let go of any doubt and KNOW you are developing this skill.

Developing Claircognizance 

Unfortunately, claircognizance isn't so much a skill you can "practice" - it's more a skill you have to pay attention to.

+ Start by making the intention to your guides that you would like to start receiving information claircognizantly. 

+ From then on, start paying close attention to the information that comes to you through your day. Notice what you "know", or any data that seems to have been dropped into your head. 

+ Keep a journal to record this, so your subconscious knows to start paying closer attention.

+ Pay attention to any inspirational bursts you receive, for this is frequently claircognizance. 

+ When asking someone for the truth about something, try and determine whether this person may be lying. You may already have a "knowing" that he/she is. 

+ Auto-write, and often. Channeling is most often claircognizant information coming through, so sit down with your guides or source self and write about a certain topic. Ask them questions you wouldn't know about, and see what comes through. 

+ If you're able - or willing - make time to meditate. Divine guidance comes through more easily when you are relaxed.

+ KNOW you are claircognizant. Set the intention to develop this skill, and let go of doubt. It's very easy to be doubtful when you have no idea where your information is coming from. 

Developing Clairalience/Clairgustance

Like claircognizance, clairalience and clairgustance (taste) are trickier to "practice" - especially for those who have never experienced it before. 

+ Play games with your guides. Ask them for a scent that represents them and see what comes to mind, or ask them to give you a random scent/taste. 

+ Try creating a scent/taste yourself and see if you can bring it to your physical nose or mouth. Replicating these aromas/flavors will help you identify them later on.

+ Take notice of all the scents and flavors you come across during your day, and for an extra boost, write them down. Writing things down is a very good way to encourage your subconscious to become more aware of them. Notice the smells around people who pass you. Notice the "details" of food, both in the nose and on the tongue. When you're outside, become aware of all the plants, flowers, and other earthy smells. The more you associate with your nose and mouth, the stronger and more frequently clairalience and clairgustance will come to you.

Developing Clairsentience

Since the initial stages of clairsentience only occur spontaneously (tingles in the presence of spirit, goosebumps, etc.), it can be a little tricky to develop this skill. You might need a little more patience for this one.

+ Start by stating your intention to your guides. Tell them you would like to develop clairsentience, and to impulse you with tingles or goosebumps or energy waves whenever they would like to make themselves known.

+ Play games with them, as well. Ask them to touch an area of your body and see if you can feel anything. You can even use this in conjunction with other clair games; for instance, if you want to confirm a color you received via clairvoyance, ask them to touch or impulse you as confirmation.

+ Depend on your imagination. Imagination is a powerful tool, and people are often misled into believing that everything they receive from then on is a result of their creation, but this isn't true. Imagination is a stimulator that encourages your subconscious to actually do whatever it is you're imagining. You're programming it, basically. So imagine feeling spirits in a room, or imagine your guides really touching you (if you can't seem to feel them).

+ When this skill develops, you'll be able to expand it to all of your senses. At this point, you need to become hyper-aware, as this will make your subconscious hyper-aware. Pay attention to how you perceive color, or darkness, or light. Pay attention to how things feel against your skin, like wind or heat. People have become so dulled out that they walk around like zombies, oblivious to a world rich in creation. When you become hyper-aware of yourself and your surroundings, you can pick up on things you wouldn't have noticed otherwise. You will probably start feeling and seeing energy. In fact, imagine you are doing so. 

+ When you become adept at being hyper-aware, try "pushing" your senses outward  and seeing what you pick up. Sense the surroundings beyond your house, your neighborhood. See if you can pick up on the energy of movement, or if any smells/sights/sensations come to you. Immerse yourself. Start with imagination if you seem to be struggling.

Conclusion

Developing your psychic/spiritual skills takes TIME and PRACTICE, as well as good intentions. If you plan on acquiring such skills so you can invade others' privacy, forget about it. You won't get anywhere. Dedication is essential. Don't let yourself get discouraged if you don't seem to be getting results. Good, solid results take time and effort, but we assure you that with practice, you'll be seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting (ew?) the spirit world!

Lulu and Finny xx

   

Claircognizance, Clairsentience, and Clairalience

"Third Eye Chakra" - by Melen @ deviantART

Claircognizance, clairsentience, and clairalience are the lesser known clairs. They tend to be a bit confusing since names and definitions seem to change from source to source. We just selected the names/definitions we resonate most with.

If you're looking for information on how to develop these skills, check out our article: "Developing Your Psychic Skills."

Claircognizance is a very useful but unpopular skill. It means "clear knowing." In short, you have a knowing about things; the only problem is, you never seem to know HOW you know. You just do. It seems to come from nowhere. Some people mistake claircognizance for intuition or gut feelings, but there's a difference between the two. Intuition is more based on feelings or emotions, whereas claircognizance is focused more on specific bits of knowledge, such as knowing details of a stranger's relationship situation or knowing deep down that you have lived in another world. Claircognizance usually comes to you from spirit. It's basically your guides or other higher entities dumping information into your head. 

Clairsentience is a tricky clair because there are a handful of different definitions. Some people describe it as a synonym for empathy, but clairsentience - or "clear feeling" - revolves more around the senses, rather than the emotions. Those with the skill tend to experience a lot of sensations such as tingles, goosebumps, and hair rising on the back of the neck; these sensations usually indicate the presence of a spirit or spirit energy. Some may even feel things associated with the spirit, such as pain from a certain disease or injury they had. Clairsentience in its more developed state allows the individual to extend his or her senses beyond the range of a normal human, therefore being able to pick up on certain things at a distance.

Clairalience is probably the least known and least popular clair since it doesn't give as much information as clairvoyance, clairaudience, claircognizance and clairsentience. In short, it means "clear smelling," and is therefore the ability to receive impressions of certain smells from spirit. This skill is really only used as a "bonus," to help the reader come up with a bit of extra information. A frequent example is that of smelling cigarette smoke around a deceased grandfather who smoked, or smelling a certain perfume associated with a grandmother. There are also many reports of people smelling flowers, in which case they associate the scent with the presence of higher beings such as angels. 
Different smells can arrive unexpectedly, so it can be difficult to determine their meaning at first. When this happens, consult your intuition or perhaps even speak out to the scent and see if you get any response from the spirit attached to it. Smell is very subjective, so you need to spend time figuring out what it means to you.

Our next article will discuss how to actually develop these skills.

Lulu and Finny xx 

Clairvoyance and Clairaudience

"Third Eye Chakra" - by GloriaGypsy @ deviantART

Clairvoyance and clairaudience are two of the more well-known "clairs" of the spiritual world. The majority of you already know what they are and what they mean, because they are frequently sought after by those who are new to spirituality and psychic ability.

If you're looking on information on how to develop these skills, check out our article: "Developing Your Psychic Skills."

Clairvoyance actually has a split definition based on where you look it up. It's most commonly known as the ability to visually perceive data regarding spirit. This can be with the physical eyes or inner (third) eye, and can manifest as seeing spirits, auras, symbols from your spirit team, visions, energy, and plenty of other things. Most of these images (if seen on the inner eye) will often pop in briefly. This is an easy method to distinguish whether what you're receiving is accurate. If you see "flashes," or if scenes seem to pop out of nowhere, you're most likely on the right track. However, if you feel like your mind is "working" to create the image, you're probably straying a bit. For example - try to picture an apple in your mind's eye. Notice the "tension" in your mind as it attempts to create it. You may even lose sight of the apple a few times because of distraction. On the other hand, a message from spirit would have the apple flash in and out like an electrical impulse... because that's pretty much what it is.

Clairaudience is the ability to hear auditory information from spirit. You may hear this information with your physical ears or your "inner ears." All of you have probably experienced this at least once in your life - usually when falling asleep or waking up. You might hear your name being called, or a bunch of jumbled voices or gibberish, or perhaps even sounds that seem to have no source in your room. You may hear words, voices, whispers, song lyrics, and even just general sounds, such as chimes, music, and animals. You can use the same method to determine whether the majority of your auditory information is legitimate: if it seems to "pop in," it's probably from spirit.

Clairvoyance and clairaudience are seen as the most "ideal" clairs to have because they work so well together. Clairvoyance, however, requires a secondary skill, because visual information is much more dependent on interpretation and not so much solid fact. Spirits such as guides will often give you symbolic information, which leads you to have to consider various interpretations and how these interpretations apply to your life. This is why clairvoyance is often used in tandem with other skills such as clairaudience, claircognizance, clairalience, clairsentience, or intuition. 

Although clairvoyance is the most popular clair (since humanity often needs visual evidence), it's not the most common. With that said, if you're actually interested in developing the skill, things will be easiest for you if you have strong visualization skills or a good imagination. Visual artists will probably be naturals with clairvoyance. If you are afraid of what you might see, consider another clair or work on your fear until you're ready to develop the skill. 

With clairaudience, it's pretty much the same thing. People who are more word or sound-oriented (writers, musicians, etc.) will probably have this one easiest. If you fear hearing disembodied voices, work on this fear until you're ready to develop the skill.

Our next article will discuss clairalience, clairsentience, and claircognizance.

Lulu and Finny xx

     

Learning to Heal: Healing Others and Distance Healing

This post was written by Lulu.

If you are new to healing, it is advisable to practice self healing (see my 'Learning to Heal: Self Healing' post) before attempting to heal others. By healing yourself, you will be able to learn how to scan and assess your body and receive immediate feedback if something is not going well in the healing process. Once you are comfortable with this, you may feel inclined to move onto healing others which I will discuss in this post.

There are many different methods of healing that can be 'learnt'. Some people choose to take up courses in things such as Reiki, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), crystal healing, pranic healing and plenty more. Others find they are natural healers such as myself. I find it difficult to prescribe to a particular type of healing because of this but for the purposes of this blog I will call it 'laying of hands'.

'Raphael' by Toni Carmine Salerno.

The first thing you need to do when attempting to heal someone else, after you have ensured they are settled and relaxed, is to set your intention. Centre yourself and either speak aloud or in your mind that you are intending to heal this person of whatever ailment they have. You may also call upon angels and guides to assist you in the healing. Some people like to give the recipient a crystal to hold while the healer works to enhance the healing energy but that will be for each individual healer to decide as appropriate. 

Depending on the kind of healing being given may dictate where you position yourself in relation to the recipient. If the healing required is more non-physical or emotional in nature, it may be beneficial to stand behind the seated recipient and send energy through their crown. In the case of a more physical and localised injury, I prefer to work locally on the area in question. However, there is no need to physically touch the recipient during the healing process, just holding your hands above them will suffice.

Once you have set your intention and positioned yourself where necessary, you can begin healing. It is important to draw upon the energy of the universe rather than using your own energy for healing as this will drain you. I personally pull up energy from the earth up through my feet as I am closely connected to nature, but if you prefer to draw energy in through the crown of your head it will work just the same. The aim is to draw this white light in towards your heart chakra as healing works best when it is sent from the heart. From your heart chakra, you must visualise sending it down your arms and out of your hands into the recipient.

The sensation of this energy flow will feel different to all healers and can even depend on the type of healing. My hands grow cold and tingle, other people may feel hot or may not feel anything at all. It does not matter how you feel the energy or even if you do not feel it, you have to simply trust that healing is working successfully.

If you are sending energy through the recipient's crown, feel the energy flowing systematically through their body and try to feel out blockages – physical and non-physical – dissolving them with white light as you go. Some blockages may require more effort to remove than others, this is perfectly normal. Continue until you have created a whole circuit of white light through the body to ensure a full healing. On the other hand, if you are working on a localised area, just focus your attention on pouring white light into the affected area and dissolving any blockages in the vicinity. After healing it is nice to send green healing light to enhance the healing energies they have received.

This is a very simple way to heal someone but it can be most effective. You may find your own methods that suit you better which will also improve the effectiveness of your healing sessions so practice is key.

Distance healing in its method is not dissimilar to the technique to heal someone in person, so don't think that it will be more difficult because of this. To begin with it may be useful if you can connect in real time with the person to receive instant feedback such as on a skype chat but as long as you have something that connects you to this person (even a username will suffice) you can send them healing. It works in a similar way to in person healing where you will set your intent and I position myself in exactly the same way but with my hands up to the computer screen and then I visualise sending the energy through to them in that manner.

Another way you can engage in distance healing is by visualising yourself standing over the person in question, much like you would if it was an in body healing session. This method can be quite powerful, I have had it reported to me that a recipient could feel my spirit standing next to them during the healing session. Of course, it will be and feel very different for everyone but as long as you keep an open mind and trust absolutely that the healing is working, you will be successful.

I wish you the very best of luck in your healing,
Lulu x

A Guide to Spirit Art, Part 2

Interpretative portrait of guide. My own art.

Finny again.

This is the follow-up to part 1 of "A Guide to Spirit Art," so if you're new to spirit art, you might want to consider reading that part first: (Part 1)

I'll first elaborate on actual methods. In part 1, I mentioned two in particular: interpretation and auto-drawing.

1.) Auto-drawing. This is a common method for most spirit artists - especially those who don't care for detailed, polished work. When you auto-draw, you are pretty much depending on what your art guide is telling your hand (and intuition) to do. Most of the time, you probably won't have an image in mind beforehand. There will be an emphasis more on "where the pencil (or brush, or pastel) goes" rather than what you feel has to be drawn or painted, although the latter will probably still happen. When auto-drawing, it's important to loosen up and not focus too much on what you're drawing. When you've had enough practice, you'll be able to coast in and out of the auto-drawing state without disrupting the image on your paper/canvas. 

2.) Interpretation. This method primarily involves processing information delivered to you from your art guide(s). You'll pick up on colors or symbols you'll need to include, but you won't be drawing "replicas," so to speak. By replicas, I mean a "photograph" of whatever it is you're drawing. For example: the image above is an interpretative portrait of a guide I did for a sitter. She/it didn't come to me in a "traditional guise" (like Native American, old Chinese man, etc.) - she came to me as colors, and then, as I worked, I received various impressions of what she/it was like. I then completed a painting based on what I was feeling from Spike. Does that make sense? I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't. This is one of those methods that you have to experience yourself - and even if you did, it wouldn't be the same, because spirit/psychic art is very personal.

That's why I won't write essays trying to explain these methods. They're really just there to give you an idea where to start, if you're absolutely unfamiliar. Depending on your natural strengths, you'll lean more toward auto-drawing and its sub-methods, interpretation and its sub-methods, or a mix of both. Don't worry about trying to stick to a method. Explore... have fun.

Ready to start?

1.) Gather your materials. Like I said in part 1, pick something you'll work well with.

2.) Find a place free of distractions, if possible. Take a moment to call upon your guide - whether you're aware of it or not - and tell it your intention (what kind of reading/portrait you'd like to do). 

3.) Watch what information comes to you. Do you already feel inclined to draw something? Can you pick up on certain colors? Lyrics? Words? Symbols? Watch what enters your mind, and even your gut. What does your intuition say? Do you have any strong impressions? Any of this will serve as your starting point. If you get absolutely nothing, just put your pencil to paper and start drawing. 

4.) Don't concern yourself with what you're drawing at first. You may be tempted to try to analyze it while you work, but refrain to the best of your ability and instead focus on what your guide is trying to get you to communicate. Do you feel like anything more has to be drawn? Are you tempted to pick up certain colors (if you're working with them)? Follow all nudges. 

5.) When you finally feel finished (you'll probably feel like there's nothing more to add), sit back and study what you've drawn. Now, you can begin the interpretation/analysis. Is there anything that sticks out to you about the drawing? How do you interpret the colors? if you drew a spirit, who do you think the spirit is? What's its personality like? If you drew a scene, ask yourself what's going on. Don't try to be "logical" about it. Take notice of what you "feel" is being communicated.

6.) There will probably be a large "lack" of information. Don't worry if this is the case, because it's a common problem for spirit artists. You may feel as if the picture came from nowhere, and therefore will have trouble acquiring information from it. This is very natural, because in essence, you're a medium. You are the tool that allows the image to come through; in other words, you're like your pencil. The pencil isn't aware of what it's drawing. It just knows it has to draw, because it's being led to do so. The same thing applies to you. You don't know what you're drawing - all you know is that your guide is telling you exactly what to do. This is why many spirit artists team up with mediums who are capable of communicating directly with spirit. The artist draws the image, while the medium communicates the details. It makes a good duo. In fact, I work with a small group of interpreters from Spiritual Forums (Lulu included) for this very reason. Even after a year of practice, I'm still not able to fully interpret my own work. This may or may not improve after a number of years, but try not to be discouraged. This doesn't mean you're any less right.

Visual reading - my own art.

Other tips:

1.) Practice as much as you can. Experiment with different kinds of readings. If you can, experiment on your friends and family (granted they're open to that kind of thing - mine aren't). Like any skill, the more you practice, the easier it'll get. 

2.) Keep an open mind. It's very easy to doubt yourself when it comes to spirit art. You may come up with an image that you don't think can be right because it may be outlandish. Try not to judge what you get. If it doesn't resonate with you or your sitter, let it go. 

3.) Don't doubt yourself if someone gets different results from you. This is especially true for guide portraits, aura readings, and the like. This stuff is very subjective because no one sees the same thing. I certainly don't see old Native American chiefs or monks  hanging around people.   

4.) If you can, have an in-tune friend serve as your interpreter - that is, if you find you can't figure out much about your work. It's better if this friend is on the same wavelength as you - if he/she can pick up on similar things or shares similar views.

5.) Don't overwork yourself. You may be tempted to bite off more than you can chew when you start doing readings for others, but spirit art is just like any other spiritual skill. Take breaks regularly.

I'll probably update this as I think of more to contribute, but I don't want to overwhelm you. This is long enough as is. 

Good luck, and happy spirit arting! 

Finny x

 

Learning to Heal: Self Healing

This post was written by Lulu.

We don't actually have to learn to heal the self as it is an ability we all have access to, you do not have to be a 'natural healer' to engage in self healing, just be open and receptive to the results. I’m going to focus this post on the ability to self heal expanding onto the healing of others and distance healing in future posts. It is unwise to engage in the healing of others without having practiced self healing to some extent and have the ability to scan or assess bodies to find problems. That is not to say you shouldn’t practice healing others but it is something that you need to go about carefully. Reiki is a positive and safe way to send healing to others as it focuses solely on sending positive energy, rather than trying to feel out problems and ‘fix’ them. By only sending positive energy through Reiki, it allows the recipients body to carry out the necessary healing in a safe way, using the energy you send.

'Multidimensional healing' by Toni Carmine Salerno.

This post will talk about self healing. There are many ways to work on self healing, such as through use of colour healing (see our previous post on Colour Healing here) or even working with crystals. No way is inferior, you will just have to experiment to find the method that suits you best.

An important note for any kind of healing you are doing is to ensure you are drawing upon the universe’s energy and not using your own. This is especially important when healing others as you may find yourself feeling drained if you use your own energy. Think of yourself like a conduit for the healing energy of the universe and you are simply passing it on to the recipient rather than draining your own resources.

One of the easiest ways to begin self healing, as previously mentioned in the ‘Colour Healing’ post consists of imagining that you are drawing in white light from the universe through the crown of your head. Feel this light pour down through your body and see if you can ‘feel’ any blockages along the way and if you do, try to keep white light flowing through them to help them dissolve. Once you’ve created a circuit of this white light through your body, you can start to add other colours depending on what you feel is necessary. You can do this either by changing the colour of the white light or visualising a new colour in your hand which you can place wherever needs healing.

Releasing emotional blockages can be a long process but the results are well worth the effort. There are several ways you can work on healing any emotional blockages such as

• Write letters: writing about the problem (or you can write them to a specific person), try to pour all of your negative feelings about the situation into this letter. After writing it, burn the letter and imagine it is taking all of those negative feelings with it. 
• Root them out: stand outside on some grass barefoot and imagine growing roots out of your feet into the ground. Once you’ve established the roots, imagine all of your negative feelings, all of your pain flowing down through these roots and out into the earth.
• Give them back: go outside and pour your feelings into coloured balls of energy in your hands, you may want to create different balls for different emotions such as envy, anger, guilt etc. Ask the universe to take this energy and free you from its negativity and throw it away. Ensure you are firm and confident when throwing the ball away, to reaffirm that you do not want to associate with that emotion any more.

You can do any of these methods as often as you feel the need to and depending on how big the emotional blockage, you may need to continue this for a sustained period of time.

It is important to remember that you do not have to attempt healing alone, assistance is always there for you, you just have to ask for it! Ask your angels, guides, God, anyone you wish to assist you in your healing. Call upon them (aloud or in your mind) and say;

‘Dear <insert name>, I call upon your Divine love to assist me in the healing of <name problem>. I entrust all of my feelings regarding <reiterate problem> to you so that you may replace them with love and light. Thank you.’

These are only a few of the ways you can start to practice healing but you quickly be able to gauge which methods work best for you. Remember that healing can take time depending on the issue so be persistent in your efforts, it could take several weeks for you to notice a significant improvement. 

It is vital to have absolute trust and faith that you will be healed, no matter how long it takes. Be creative in your methods, these are only a small selection of healing methods but ensure that you find a technique that works for you as this will expedite your healing considerably.

Finally, you can always call upon Archangel Raphael to assist you, as he supervises all healing and would be delighted to help you at any time.

I will be expanding upon healing in another post, discussing healing others and distance healing.

With very best wishes in your all healing,
Lulu x

A Guide to Spirit Art, Part 1

Interpretative portrait of guides. Art by Finny.

Finny here. 

When I first started out with spirit/psychic art, I was disappointed with the general lack of information about it. I wasn't exactly sure how to begin or even approach it. There was one friendly woman on Spiritual Forums who gave me a few general tips, but I pretty much figured it out for myself. 

The second part will actually feature the tips and techniques, so if you know the basics and are just looking for the "how-to," skip to part 2.

Now, I'm going to assume you're reading this because you've developed an interest in spirit or psychic art (unless you're that bored or just curious). You may have attempted it already. You may not have. 

Regardless of your answer, there's one big tip I have for any spirit/psychic artist starting out: work on your intuition. If you're intuitive by nature, great. Work on it a bit more. Focus on intuitive interpretation. When I started out, Spike had me make my own oracle cards so I could practice readings for others and myself. This helped sharpen my intuition (I'm naturally intuitive though) and prepared me for intuitive work associated with spirit art. If you're not sure where to start, keep an eye out for our article about intuition, or consult Google.

I have to mention that my techniques are a little different than most other spirit artists out there. I'll try to cover those techniques, but I'll primarily be focused on my own. If you've done your research, you probably found that many spirit artists use the same method, which I call auto-drawing. Most others consider auto-drawing the pictorial form of auto-writing, but I use this term to describe those who are led to draw "by the hand" rather than by their mind's eye. Keep in mind that the experience differs from person to person, so not everyone will be led only by the hand/intuition/guide. Some may see the image in their head first, and then be led to draw it. Some may see the image and just paint it to the best of their ability.

For myself, I'm an odd mix. Most of the time, I see the image I'm supposed to be drawing. Also, my methods change depending on the type of art reading I'm doing. So don't feel like you have to stick with one precise method if you plan to develop skill in a number of readings. 

Spirit/psychic art is a limitless category. You can pretty much do anything you want with it. Here are a few examples that I'm working on myself:

1.) Spirit guide/angel portraits. These are by far the most common and popular type of spirit art. These also happen to be my favorite (they come naturally). 

2.) Aura readings. When most others do aura readings, they just describe the colors and their position in the aura. But it's a lot more beneficial to the sitter when you can draw exactly what you see. 

3.) Intuitive portraits. These are a broad category in themselves, but are often based on symbols or colors that best describe your sitter or his/her situation. 

4.) Energetic portraits. These are similar to aura readings, but are focused more on the shape and movement of energy around an individual rather than simply colors.

5.) Past life portraits. These are more for advanced artists, but as their name suggests, they focus on bringing a face from one of the sitter's other lives onto paper/canvas.

One of my aura readings.

Of course, there are a variety of different things you can do. You may even be nudged by your spirit team to do a specific type of reading. Be creative, and pay attention to what comes easily to you.

Now here are a few things to keep in mind when starting:

1.) Medium. Find a medium that you'll feel comfortable with. It could be pencil, colored pencil, watercolor, pastels (these are very common), charcoal, or whatever else you enjoy. I actually do the majority of my work digitally for a few reasons - one being that I'm an art student; therefore, I like to save my supplies for school. Plus, my sitters are all online, so I don't have to worry about mailing out artwork. Work with what you enjoy.

2.) Guides. If you're inclined to try spirit art, chances are you've got a standard spirit guide around you to assist you with the process. The majority of us do. If you haven't discovered any of your guides, consider reading our article about various ways to approach them. You don't have to know your art guide to be able to do spirit art; you'll probably learn about yours while you work. In fact, you may want to consider spending some time getting to know your art guide while doing spirit art - ask it to come forth and draw its portrait. My life guide, Spike, is also my art guide. All my info comes through him.

3.) State of mind. You don't have to be in a trance to be able to do spirit art. If you've ever done other art - even doodled - you understand being in the "zone." Same with writing. What you're aiming for is that state of mind where you're focused completely on what you're doing. You can play music while you work if that helps you. 

4.) Method of work. There are two primary methods of approaching spirit art: interpretively, or through auto-drawing. I work interpretively because auto-drawing never worked for me; interpretation-based drawing also allows room for more creativity between you and your art guide. When you auto-draw, you basically surrender yourself to your hand, and allow your art guide to - well - guide it. Some people claim to allow their guide to actually control the hand, but I think this is unnecessary unless that's really the only way you can work. Auto-drawing is focused more on "revealing the picture" rather than seeing it in your mind's eye and trying to replicate it. Interpretation is for those who struggle with auto-drawing. It consists of processing information you receive from your guide and making a visual of it. Sometimes you'll get a general idea of what to draw in your mind's eye, but most of your data will come to you while you work. Expect changes if you work interpretively. I'll cover this in more detail in part 2. 

Keep in mind that you will really have to experiment to see what works best for you. The most important things to remember are to HAVE FUN, don't take it too seriously, and to try to avoid comparing yourself to other spirit artists!

Part 2 will cover the actual process. 

Finny x  

 

  

Color Healing

"Sensation of Crimson" by Rassouli

Color healing is an easy practice that can assist you in relieving a variety of discomforts, from physical pain to emotional distress. People have been generally aware of the power of color since the dawn of time, noticing its effects on the emotional state. 

Not everyone is a natural healer, although one can develop the skill with practice like any other. However, everyone is able to heal themselves - it's part of their birthright, so to speak. If it helps, ask for assistance from your spirit team or your angels. This will give you an extra boost.

First, we'll discuss our symbolism for the various colors. This in no way has to represent your own symbolism, since different colors mean different things to people, but we're generally following symbolism we resonate with, which is taken from our understanding of chakras and auras.

+ Red/orange shades are very passionate and energetic. They will both give you an energy boost. Red can be used for feelings of insecurity as well as blood/circulation problems, and orange for creativity.

+ Yellow is a very happy but also intellectual color. You can use it to uplift your spirits or even as a "study booster" to help you focus on tasks. 

+ Green is a general healing color, but is more earth/nature-related. It's best to use if you're looking for healing vibes from earth. 

+ Blues and violets/purples are very soothing and calming and are good for relieving stress and anxiety. The latter are good for connecting to the divine. 

+ Pink is a good heart-healer.

+ Any colors around the white portion of the spectrum (including silver) are very purifying and heal all ailments. This is more "divine" healing, which can nurture and replenish you as a soul.

+ Brown tones are good colors for grounding because of their earthiness. 

+ Don't be afraid to use black. Black is a good protective color, which is why people use darker stones to draw in negativity.

+ Don't forget to use rainbow! It's a combination of all colors, so it takes all of their healing attributes and amplifies them. It's also a great "color" for lifting your spirits.

Intuitive portrait. Art by Finny.

Now for application. 

A good method to start is to draw in white light from the universe through the crown of your head and to let it flow down and around through your body until it creates a "circuit." As the light flows, try to "feel" out any possible blockages - physical or non-physical - and keep the white light flowing to help them dissolve. 

At this point, you can apply as many other colors as you wish - whatever you need. You can extend onto this method and transform the white light to another color, or you can visualize the color emanating from your dominant hand in whatever place needs it. The point is to be creative, and to believe that it's working. The color is your creation. 

Creating shields of colored lights can also be a good way to look after yourself during the day. Colors can even be layered up for an extra boost. Keep in mind that color healing doesn't necessarily have to be confined to visualizing colored lights. It can include applying color to a room, or wearing a certain color for its effect. Eating colored foods and carrying around crystals also helps. It all depends on what you're willing to do.

Happy healing!

Lulu and Finny xx

 

Discovering Your Guides

Interpretative portrait of guide. Art by Finny.

We say "discovering" instead of "meeting" because you already know your guides at a soul level... you just have to remember who they are.
There are many other ways to go about this, so don't think our techniques/suggestions are the only ones to try. You've probably read a lot about guides by now and various "traditional" ways to discover them. Here's what we have to say on the topic.

(For information about who guides are, see Finny's blog.)

The first step in rediscovering your guides is to set your intention. Make it clear to yourself and your team that you wish to remember who they are and why they're with you. If they agree it's an appropriate time to show themselves, they'll start making their preparations. This is when you'll need to keep a sharp eye out.

Meditation isn't the only method to achieve contact. If meditation doesn't seem to be working for you, then don't feel discouraged. There are many other ways to go about this. In fact, Finny didn't meet any of her team members in meditation. If you're a more creative, imaginative individual, chances are you'll have more success with our methods.

Imagination is actually a vital way to communicate and experience your guides. People tend to believe they're "making stuff up," but it's actually facilitating the communication between you and your guides. Therefore, activities such as daydreaming or doodling can be perfect ways for guides to "sneak stuff in." You don't have to be in a meditative state for this, but if you can imitate that state-of-mind you acquire while daydreaming or randomly doodling, you'll have a good chance of being open to guide communication. 

Keep an open mind. Picture yourself in a beautiful place. For example, Lulu pictures herself at a beach. Whenever she needs to speak to her guide Ben, she visualizes herself on this beach, and communication is made easy. Now when you see yourself at this place, invite your guide(s) forth, keep an open mind, and see what pops up. Don't worry about what "may" come through. Just notice what you see, hear, or feel. Take notice of what comes quickly to you, because this is often from your spirit companions (spirit feels quick and light... therefore, if you feel your mind "working" to create something, it's probably not from spirit). Do you see a certain color? Light? Energy? An actual human guise? You might also see a cartoon character, or an animal. You might feel an incredible presence of love and peace. Make the experience enjoyable, and don't fret about the results.

Interpretative portrait of guide. Art by Finny.

 Listen to your instincts and your intuition. You may have an impression of who your guide is. You may "feel" the color or form rather than see it. Go with whatever resonates at an intuitive level. 

Another thing to consider is your surroundings and past. Have you always seen or loved a certain animal? Or perhaps have a connection to a name that seems to follow you? This is probably a guide trying to make itself known. Guides leave a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow, which often go unseen because our gaze is fixed firmly ahead of us - not toward the ground. 

If you don't want to picture yourself in a pretty place, try just sitting quietly, asking your guide to show you the color that best represents it, and see what pops up. This is how Finny first perceives guides. Let go of judgment. Scrutinize the color with your gut - does it "feel" right? What does this color communicate or mean to you? 

You can do the same thing with words and feelings or just general images. Ask them the symbol that suits them best, or a word, or a feeling. It will probably be subtle at first, but keep trying, and maintain an open mind. The possibilities are endless, so avoid preconceived ideas. 

If this doesn't seem to elicit anything, try asking them to appear in your dreams. Write down a request or make your intention known as you fall asleep. This is especially good for those who have good dream recall. When you wake up, write down what you experienced (it's good to keep a dream journal anyway) and consider the characters, symbols, and context. Did you wake up with a certain name in your head? Someone who didn't look familiar to you? A certain theme of colors or symbols? Animals, maybe? All these details will help you recognize your guide. Keep in mind, though, that guides do not "control" our dreams - you do. Therefore, it's quite a feat for your guides to slip in references to themselves if your subconscious doesn't think they're good "actors" or "props" for your specific dream feature. Some references will be obvious. Others, not so much. It all depends on what your subconscious approves of. 

And if somehow none of these suggestions seem to work, create your guide's "identity" yourself. Your guides have no problem whatsoever with this. Inform your guide of your intention and then use that "identity" to assist communication with it. Your guides don't care as long as you're communicating and open to their guidance. So don't feel like your efforts are "false" because you created an identity for your guide rather than the other way around. 

It's important to remember that there are countless ways to discover your guides. None of them are wrong, nor are any of the connections "inferior." Everyone experiences guides differently. Don't freak out if someone doesn't perceive your guide in the same way - most don't. Use your own strengths to build your connection. If you're a daydreamer, use daydreaming as a tool for exploration. If you're more auditory, ask for messages through song and sound. It's all about finding out what works for you. 

The more you work with your team, the stronger the connection will be.

Lulu and Finny xx

The Star Keepers: Lulu

I'm Lulu.

I'm 22 and a recent graduate from a Masters degree in Communication Design. In a nutshell, I design stuff and communicate ideas. I wouldn't call myself a graphic designer because I find that too limiting, nor am I an artist. I've yet to find a name that describes what I do, simply because I do a lot of things. As with most aspects of my life, my skills and abilities are extremely fluid; like water.

Which leads me onto the fact that I am a Scorpio. Supposedly the most intensely passionate sign of the zodiac. With me, I'm an all or nothing kind of person so I guess I live up to the hype. Not only is Scorpio a water sign but my whole spirit is connected to water. In this life I tend to come across as quite responsible and follow the rules but actually I'm quite a fluid, kindred spirit. The only reason I can be quite serious is to do with the fact that I don't incarnate often so I never quite know what to do, nor how to be myself. Following Earth rules just makes my life simpler, if a little boring.

As a child I had a lot of paranormal experiences; seeing a deceased relative I had never met and helping a lost spirit cross over were a couple of highlights. However, living with a natural clairvoyant who has such a gripping fear of the paranormal (my mum), instilled the same fear in myself. I was afraid to tune in to those aspects of myself because I didn't understand it and had no one around me to really explain anything. As such, my spiritual journey started only last year in August 2011 and has been in fast forward ever since.

It started with the most beautiful angelic music. It felt so familiar yet when I focused on it, the music stopped instantly. I was reminded of how I used to hear chimes all the time when I was younger and fuelled by curiosity I looked on the internet to find out more. I found the Spiritual Forums and that was it; I was hooked.

I'm a natural healer but I've only just started practising this again with the intention of developing more accuracy. Intuition and clairvoyancy are also skills that are strongly beginning to develop for me. Since my journey has only started in zest within the past year, a lot of my skills are still in development and I'm getting new information everyday.

My team currently consists of five known guides. The first guide I met was Jeremy who has been with me since childhood. He is a healer like myself and loves nature, often appearing in the form of a magpie to me. Through helping me connect with nature, Jeremy helped to clear the communication channels for my other guides to contact me.

The second guide I met was my main guide and 'soul partner', Ben. Despite being an old soul, Ben appears to me around my own age and with long dark hair. He is an energetic and playful guide and usually we meet in meditation on a beach to chat.

Bertie is a fun loving, jolly old chap and usually appears to me in a guise similar to Father Christmas. He likes to communicate with me through song and is helping me get reconnected to my inner child. He is a warm and light hearted fellow who will light up even the darkest situations.

My fourth guide goes by the name of Rena, she is an Eagle Owl who I have been hearing outside my window from a young age. She is extremely wise and motherly and quite studious, often helping out with any kind of learning I am doing (spiritual or not).

Finally there is Shetty, a relatively young guide who I once guided while she was living a life in India. It is because of this that she appears to me in the form that I knew her; as a young Indian girl. She is loving and compassionate and she is helping me to learn compassion towards humanity, alongside helping me develop my clairvoyance skills. Shetty lets me know she is around by giving me signs about horses and India.

I'm sure there's plenty more I could add to this, but I won't because I rambled enough already (rambling is one of my most well developed skills). I do hope you enjoyed reading this and we'll meet again soon.

Lulu x

The Star Keepers: Finny

Finny here. 

We didn't want to make the "About Us" tab fat, so we decided that we would dedicate a post to each of us so we could talk about ourselves in more detail - not because we're egotistical or anything, but so you - our readers - can better understand us and our views, since we'll be sharing our personal truths. 

Sooo... I'm Finny. I'm a 19-year-old art student currently studying illustration and storyboarding. My whole life revolves around creativity; I suppose you can call me an art addict. Alongside psychic art, I also complete personal artwork, and am an aspiring novelist with a goal of seeing her work come to life on screen (not for the reasons you think!). When I'm not creatively productive, I tend to become miserable. 

I'm a dreamer. A Pisces. I have a very active imagination, which has helped me considerably on my path. I spend most of my day away from reality, submersed in my thoughts. Some would shake their heads upon hearing this, but few seem to realize the power of imagination. I embrace it fully. 

My spiritual journey began at 14 with a young adult novel that mentioned astral projection. I was awed by the concept, so I researched it, and one thing led to another. I ended up hooked on spirituality. It resonated so well. 

The first few years of my path mainly consisted of research, self-exploration, and attempts to develop spiritual skills. I basically started from scratch; I didn't seem to have any natural gifts. But I discovered my gift in fall of 2011, after I was nudged by my life guide, Spike: spirit/psychic art. I had been working with self-made oracle cards - also Spike's suggestion - to develop my intuition, which is one of my strongest natural skills. This paved the way toward psychic art, which I didn't expect would be a natural gift. 

I work with a team of four guides/mentors/teachers (I'm not big on the word "guide" anymore, but since most people know such spirits by this name, I'll use it). With the exception of my childhood guide, Spike was the first to introduce himself to me (and yes, he offered that name). He visited in a dream, in the guise of a twenty-year-old blond male. I often refer to him as "Hipster" because of his appearance. He's my soul partner and life guide.

Second to introduce himself was Leo, who actually came through from someone on Spiritual Forums. I'm led to believe that others see him as an older man, but I see him in his late twenties, early thirties. He's a bookworm, and is primarily associated with helping me study and learn new skills. 

Third came El'azar, who is quiet but firm. He has very balanced energy and is the healer/protector of my team, if I had to give him such labels. I see him as a type of shaman or medicine man, in tune with nature... often calling on earth spirits for assistance.

From left to right: Spike, Leo, and El'azar (art by me).

My most recent addition is Pierre, who also offered me the name Zyler (I may use the two interchangeably - beware). He first showed himself as a beautiful and androgynous male with long (and I mean, long) dark hair, but when he started showing me dragon signs, I came to realize that he's of dragon essence. Apparently a fire-based one, too. He's the mischievous, playful member of my team who serves as a powerful protector of sorts.

Portrait of Pierre (art by me).

  So that's me (and my team) in a nutshell. I could blab on, but I don't want to make this an essay. I'm glad to make your acquaintance!

Finny x