Believe it or not, you are psychic.  We are all psychic, but are conscious of our abilities to varying degrees. You use your own psychic awareness or intuition daily.  When you have a "gut reaction" or know something "in your heart," you are very clear about what your intuition is saying to you.  When you feel uncomfortable with someone or something, or get the sudden impulse to change your plans or do something differently, you're picking up subtler clues from your inner guidance system.  Each time you empathize with someone, feeling for a moment how they feel, you are connecting with them energetically, transcending the physical limits of space and time to know another's reality.

     It is not necessary or even advisable to take on another's emotions or experience in order to perceive that person's reality or to predict the probable future.  However, the same sort of energetic shift must be made mentally to consciously connect with the information sought, whether it's for another or for one's self.  There are many ways to consciously access one's intuition when approaching everyday questions.  

     The process of developing one's psychic abilities is the process of becoming more "awake" in one's life. In sudden spiritual awakenings it can be like putting on glasses after years of not seeing with 20/20 vision, and not having known that one's vision was less than it could be. Usually, however, there is a more gradual development of psychic skills. Most humans can run, but a runner who practices and trains regularly, pushing himself to become better, faster, and more enduring, is clearly able to perform much better as a runner and with greater ease. Similarly, a psychic who has developed and improved upon her abilities is able to access information that is clearer and more accurate than can an untrained person, and is able to do this with much greater ease.

     There are many positive aspects of becoming more aware, but there are also some challenges that come with the territory.  It can be disconcerting to be seeing things that no one else sees.  One begins to feel fundamentally different from most people.  It can be hard to "turn off" one's sensitivity, and being in crowds or around negative people can become very difficult.  Sometimes the psychic may see into his/her own future, and it can become difficult to go with the flow in one's life when the outcome of a particular relationship or situation has been foreseen.

     Psychic ability also comes with a great deal of responsibility. Those who develop such ability must concurrently develop a greater sense of love and integrity, for not only will they have a greater affect on others, the repercussions of their own actions will be more dramatic and immediate. Spiritually, one is held to higher standards the more one develops. We are responsible for all the knowledge we possess.

     This said, there are many positive aspects to developing one's psychic abilities.  The most profound result is a deep knowing that we are more than physical bodies in a physical universe.  An opening psychic comes to experience the magic of Spirit on a daily basis, and develops naturally a great faith that there is purpose behind our experiences and that there are great and benevolent forces at work in the Universe.  A skilled and compassionate psychic can facilitate the realization of her own goals and those of others by accessing information about the roots of unwanted experiences and the paths toward fulfillment.

     This is the first in what will no doubt be many articles on developing your own psychic abilities, and with this in mind, let's start with some fun ways to move toward a more conscious relationship with your intuition.

     First, ask for signs from the Universe or your own higher self, and then pay attention!  We are guided in many ways all the time, and many people are not even aware of when they are accessing their intuition. Often, those experiences we label as "coincidences" are ripe with the magic energy of Spirit.  Ask and ye shall receive.

     A few months ago, I was reminiscing with another clairvoyant about the good old days when we were opening psychically. In the beginning, Spirit will bring dramatic experiences to prove the validity of the non-physical and one's intuition.  As time goes on and one develops more, less drama is required, for the psychic is able to perceive subtler nuances of energy, and has come to trust in her perceptions.  I realized that I missed seeing apparitions with my physical eyes and having dramatic spiritual experiences, and I asked the Universe to bring me those kinds of experiences again.  As they say, be careful what you wish for!

     Three days later I was driving home when I had the impulse to go left where I would normally go straight.  Both routes lead to home and are fairly equal, except my usual route is more scenic.  In any case, I had the impulse to go left, then I heard, "There will be an accident on the road going left." I therefore slowed down (at this point I was practically creating a hazard myself as I decided what to do).  Then I heard, "Go left.  There will be an accident, but it will be okay."  So I went left.

     A few seconds later, an Explorer came hurtling and spinning through the air just ahead of my car.  As I was expecting calamity, I was able to call 911 from my car phone and run to the scene of the accident before the truck even stopped rolling.  I was the first person on the scene, and was able to comfort the young woman who was hanging suspended upside down in the driver's seat with a head injury until the paramedics arrived.  I was grateful that I had been given the dramatic experience by being led to go that way and that I was able to help, and that I had been forewarned of the accident so that I slowed down (or I would have been in it).  Ask the Universe for signs.  It works!

     It's important to get into a place of objective clarity when asking for guidance from within.

     If you're in a place of fearfulness or worry, your channel to Spirit through your own inner guidance system will be clouded.  To attain such a clear objective perspective, especially in the beginning, it's wise to meditate for at least five to ten minutes.  Try to envision a place of serenity and beauty, and think of something you love wholeheartedly, whether it's "God," nature or a loved one.  This will raise your vibration and you'll be able to more easily transcend the input of the ego.  Listening to uplifting music can also raise one's vibration.

     Once you're in such a state, try simply asking a question you're wondering about, and listening/looking for an answer in the thoughts or images that arise in the mind. Remember that the more important an issue is and the stronger your desire for guidance or an answer, the clearer and more powerful the answers you get will be. This is why ESP experiments about random subjects produce much less remarkable results than personal experiences of the miraculous that frequently occur when someone is in danger.

     For more clarity, try writing a question on a piece of paper, and then simply writing the answer.  Some recommend writing the answer with the non-dominant hand. The important thing is to trust what comes into your mind. This is also an excellent way to begin to communicate with loved ones in spirit.  Rather than going directly into trying to "channel" material as in automatic writing, simply write your question and then write the answer.  Experiment with this.  Trust that the answers you receive are perfect for you in the moment.

     We spend a lot of time looking at things.  We look at objects, rather than the space around them.  We look for answers, rather than looking for the right questions.  Begin looking at the space surrounding things, and for questions you have not yet thought to ask.  It is in the space between objects, between breaths, between thoughts that we can perceive subtler energies.

     Psychic ability is a skill of the mind and imagination.  Imagination does not mean it is not real.  If you imagine that your friend's dead aunt is in the room and that her name is/was Margaret, and it turns out that this is accurate, then your "imagination" (images in your mind) just produced real results!  Psychics tend to be highly creative/imaginative types.  Expand both your imagination and your ability to connect with and "know" others with this exercise:

     Begin by focusing on a rock, or other object of the mineral kingdom. It can be a mountain, a crystal, a pebble, a boulder.  Focus on this object for a few moments, then imagine your head expanding, opening, and becoming a part of that object.  Your body is now "you," and your head is one with this object.  How does it feel to be this object?  Imagine it in great detail.  What is it like inside of this object? What does the skin/outer boundary of this object feel like as it meets the world?

     Now move from doing this with a rock or similar object, and focus on a tree.  Imagine your head opening up and embracing this tree, becoming one with it.  Imagine how it feels to live and grow as a tree, to move in the wind as a tree, to lose your leaves in the fall, to stand through the winter, to awaken in the spring, to thrive in the summer. Imagine how it feels to be this particular tree living in this place, how the hand of a child feels on your trunk.  The deeper you can go into this experience, the greater the benefit.

    Now turn to becoming an animal.  Become a pet or a bird outside your window.  Open your head to becoming this animal.  How does it feel to look through these eyes? To live in this body?  What do you feel?  What do you want?  How does the world look to you?  

     Now turn to becoming another person.  Open yourself up, encompassing that person into your being.  Imagine how it feels to live in this body, to live in this family, to live in this house.  How do you feel?  What do you think? What do you want?  What do you eat, how do you sleep, what do you love? What do you dream about? This exercise deepens one's ability to empathize, to transcend the boundaries of space and time and access the knowing that we are all energy, we are all one.

     Another fun thing to try when looking for information about new people you meet is to ask the Universe to correlate that person with someone you know, or even a celebrity that represents a certain quality to you.  For example, if you meet a woman in a class and are talking to her, and you ask the Universe and the image that pops into your mind is that of the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz, you might want to move along.  On the other hand, if your little sister whom you love dearly pops into your head, the Universe may be telling you that this woman has a personality similar to your sister's, or that you could have a relationship with this person that is similar to your relationship with your sister.

     As you begin to do this, other symbols will almost certainly pop into your mind. As you meet a man and ask for information, the image of a snake may arise. What does the snake represent to you? For some, it may mean he's untrustworthy, as in, "He's a snake!" For others, the snake may represent the eternal (the snake biting its tail) and regeneration, and this may mean that this person is someone with whom you have a past life connection. Remember, the important thing is what it means to you, for your own consciousness is the translator of information from Spirit.  It is this type of interpretation that psychics often work with in their readings.  Symbols contain highly condensed patterns of information.  A picture is truly often worth a thousand words.

     Sometimes it's hard to decipher what one's intuition is saying exactly. Divinatory tools come in handy for painting a clearer picture or giving yes/no answers. The simplest such tool is a pendulum. A pendulum is an object suspended by a string or chain. It doesn't have to be crystal or anything fancy. (I know one teacher of divination who passes out string tied to nuts (as in nuts and bolts) as pendulums. A necklace with a pendant makes a good pendulum. It is by itself not magical; it's just a tool. Your own inner guidance and/or Spirit relays information through the pendulum.

     You must first specify a "language" for communication, which is sometimes called "programming" the pendulum. Simply hold the pendulum by the string, the object dangling freely, and command it to give you a clockwise rotation. It should begin to spin. Then command it to stop, and then to give you a counterclockwise rotation. Play with getting it to spin a certain way (you should not be conscious of making it move), and making it stop when desired.

     At this point, tell the pendulum to show you "yes." It may spin in a clockwise direction, or it may swing back and forth, toward you and then away from you. Then ask it to show you "no." It may rotate counter-clockwise or swing side to side in front of you. Go with whatever movement the pendulum (your inner guidance) wants to assign to yes and no. You now have a simple language for receiving "yes/no" answers.

     When asking for guidance, ask first if you "may" ask the question. This covers the bases in terms of whether it is knowable, whether or not you have permission to ask, etc... It's rare to get a "no," but if you do, you can then investigate the reasons behind this with further questions. If yes, then proceed to ask your question, and interpret the answer based on the responses from the pendulum. There are lots of interesting ways and situations in which to use pendulums, and we'll explore this in a future article.

     The above are just a few of an infinite number of ways you can use your own psychic awareness in your everyday life. Of course, we are all also guided through our dreams. Pay attention to the messages in your dreams. Dreams come through symbolically and metaphorically in ways similar to the answers perceived by psychics, which are often not literal, but require interpretation.

Julia Melges-Jablonski has been working professionally as a medium/clairvoyant for more than ten years. She is an ordained minister in the Spiritualist tradition, a published metaphysical author, editor of the acclaimed weekly Kajama (formerly Psychic Journal), and webmistress of MuseNet.  


Copyright © 2002 Julia Melges-Jablonski.  All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of author.