How Can I Tap Into My Psychic Awareness?

First of all, a bit about myself. I was born into a family where my father’s side were all mediums and seers and my mother’s side were intuitives and had “the knowing”. My father was terrified by the ability and decided to avoid it as much as possible. As a child, I know that I “saw” things, but sensing my father’s fear surrounding it, I too shut it down as much as possible. I experienced things from then on which my logical side always attempted to explain away. When I was fifteen years old, I bought a pack of Tarot cards. That opened the doors back up, and there was no turning back.

Everyone has the ability for psychic awareness. I usually explain it using baseball as an example (I happen to love baseball...). Theoretically anyone can play baseball. Some are born with natural inclinations and need seemingly little development. They may still need to practice daily to keep their skills sharp, but it tends to come easily to them. Others may have to work a little harder at perfecting these skills. I think of Bernie Williams of the NY Yankees. He wanted very badly to be a great player, but it did not come naturally or easily. He worked at it and eventually became an outstanding, and well loved, player. Some may excel at one position and only work on that (think pitchers), others may be able to play a few different positions and some are true utility players and can fill in anywhere. Then, there are those who have no interest in baseball whatsoever, so they never think to try. So it is with psychic abilities. Everyone has it. It can be developed. Following is a very brief primer on different ways psychic information can manifest and some rudimentary exercises to get you started.

Psychic abilities and skills take many forms. For starters we have the Clairs - Clairsentience (feel), Clairvoyance (see), Clairaudience (hear), Claircognisence (know), Clairalience (smell), Clairgustance (taste). It is possible to have all of these, some combination, or one dominant. Mediums communicate with the spirit world and can receive information through any or all of the above Clairs. I have to stress again that you absolutely can develop these skills. Your natural inclination as well as how much time and effort you put into it determines how strong each awareness becomes. Probably the most well known of these, and the most common, are Clairsentience and Clairvoyance. Be aware that often these senses, especially Clairvoyance, are not as vivid as the physical, tangible world around you (although for a select few it can be). More often it is like trying to envision something that you know well but is not actually in front of you (for instance, envisioning your childhood home).

Meditation is key to developing any form of mindfulness and awareness. When you go within, you help activate your senses and cut out the chatter. You also help to develop a connection to your higher self, Spirit, Universal Energy, The Divine, Angels and Guides or whatever it is that you can relate to. This is the basis to all practices. Getting in touch with the inner landscape is very helpful. Setting up an internal “sacred space” is another practice that I have found to be useful. When beginning to mediate, set up your ideal place. It can be an ancient temple, a tent in the woods, a stone circle - whatever calls to you. It must, however, be a place that you feel at peace and safe. Go to this place to meet with your guides, to find answers, or to just be. It is your place. Spending time in nature is also very helpful. A connection to the natural world enhances your feeling of belonging and can help you become more aware of the natural energies surrounding everything.

Practice with each of the Clairs. You will soon find your dominant sense. This does not mean that you do not have the other senses or that you will never experience them. It simply means that this is the first sense that is used in processing information. There is a quick way to discover what your current predominant sense is. Close your eyes and picture a day at the park. Picture it as vividly as you can. Notice everything around you. What do you notice most intensely? Could you see it very clearly? Did you smell the grass and flowers? Did you hear the sounds of children playing around you? Did you feel the wind and the ground beneath you? Whatever the first strong impression was will be an indicator of your predominant Clair right now. Work with this one first before moving on to others. Once you strengthen it, others will be easier. Most people have one or two predominant Clairs and a lesser one or two. You may never experience some, or they may come only once or twice. If you find that you are strong at feeling things, you may want to experiment with sensing energies around you, or on items (known as psychometry). These types of exercises with be described in detail in later articles, but here is a brief one to get you started. Stand or sit with your hands held out in front of you, palms facing each other. Move your hands apart and back together. Do you feel that slight resistance? That is energy. Keep playing with it. Shape it into a ball, stretch it out, maybe you can even see it. Try it with another person as well - you can feel the different between your energy and theirs. There are tools that can help you tap into your abilities and learn to trust them, such as Tarot and Oracle cards, pendulums, crystal scrying, etc. I will go into these in more depth in a later article, but each of these can help you open up to your abilities.

It is important here to consider protecting yourself from unwanted energies. This does not mean only “bad” or “dark”, rather any energy that is not yours. We carry enough without taking on other people’s stuff. White light mediation is very effective and can be done in a split second. Just imagine yourself immersed in brilliant white light. Feel it moving through your cells and chakras. You can do this every morning and at any point during the day when you feel that you need it. You can also ask the Archangel Michael for protection, or your spirit guide, an ascended master or Divine Presence. Remain grounded and center yourself often as well. Many Lightworkers and Psychics carry a crystal with them to help protect against other energies. Labradorite is very commonly used and easily available. It helps to seal the aura and keep your energy separate from other energies.

Communicating with Spirit, especially spirits of those who have passed through the veil, is called Mediumship. Again, this is not the realm of a select few. Anyone who has a desire can do this. The information that you receive will most likely follow your strongest Clair, but you may notice other senses kicking in as well. This is not scary or dramatic. Mostly, images, sounds, feelings, etc. will be what you get, not a full fledged, fleshed out being. You may get a general sense that the spirit is female, old, timid or so on. Sometimes you will get a name and other times only initials. Spirits communicate on their own terms, and as they are able. Meditation and a good connection to guides and/or your Deity will help you become better at picking up the messages. The important part is to trust the information that you are given. When starting out, we can believe that we are imagining things and that what we see/hear/feel is being made up. I have learned from past experience to go with it, and say it, no matter how little sense it makes to you. It may make a world of sense to the other person.

A bit of a caution here and another word about psychic protection. I am not saying that you should, if you are unacquainted with psychic awareness, mediation and the proper protection techniques, jump head first into communication with spirits. Just like living souls, some spirits are quite nice and some are not. That doesn’t mean that they can or will harm you, but just as you wouldn’t want to run into someone on this plane that is negative and unpleasant, you wouldn’t want to encounter a spirit like that either. Some of these spirits are drawn to your light and can be persistent. So, it is advisable to become good at psychic protection and have a good relationship with your guides and angels to help sort out who truly wants to communicate. As I stated, this is a very brief primer and in no way an in depth discussion on techniques and form. As you would in any circumstance, consider your well being.

There are some psychics (some even have their own reality television shows) who will still insist that Psychic Abilities are an inborn “gift”. They may truly believe that. These skills, however, are within each of us and are there for you to tap into. Whether you wish to simply become more aware of your intuitive messages or you want to communicate with those who have moved on from this world, it is possible. Tap in, use whatever tools call to you and listen to that voice inside. It will become clearer and louder over time. Learn to trust it, and it will become a valuable resource as well.