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

   

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