Preparation

Practical Psychic provides a concise, realistic method of learning psychic abilities. It uses short, simple techniques, without rituals, objects, intense meditation, or particular religious beliefs. All it requires is confidence and practice.

"Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda never explains, but his quote is accurate. This section will explain what he did not—the reasons belief is important and how to achieve it.

Belief is a requirement for learning psychic abilities. If you believed touch typing was impossible, and so you wouldn't even put your hands on the keyboard, you wouldn't be able to learn it. Well-informed belief is best. Read research, case studies, stories, and if possible talk with people. Learn about the psychic abilities that have already been studied, proven, and understood.

As you research, you will be more enthusiastic and interested in practicing. You will trust yourself more. This keeps you more relaxed and make practicing easier. It improves your concentration, your focus, and your accuracy.

This chapter contains worksheets to help you understand your beliefs and become comfortable with psychic abilities. Consider each question carefully, and notice your reactions. The first worksheet, just below, is to help you recognize your past experiences. Your experiences shape your expectations and influence your beliefs and knowledge.

Critical analysis and doubt have their place—that is, laboratories, not classrooms. Skepticism is not specifically disbelief. It means uncertainty: "Skeptic, n.: One who is yet undecided as to what is true; one who is looking or inquiring for what is true; an inquirer after facts or reasons." (Webster’s Dictionary) Taking a realistic view in experiments is useful. Uneducated disbelief is not useful. Fanatical disbelief is as illogical as fanatical belief. Experiments are meant for learning what is true. A person can’t learn the truth if he or she has already decided what that ‘truth’ must be.

However, new skills practice is not the time for experiments. The skills must be learned before they can be tested in a controlled situation. If a person were testing to prove whether any human could type 80 words per minute, he or she wouldn’t start with people who couldn’t type at all. Choosing people who had been typing for many years and already typed quickly would be wiser. Similarly, it makes no sense to try to prove psychic abilities in people who have not practiced with them. People need to learn first, and then they can test the skills later.

If you have some fears about learning psychic abilities, you’re not alone. Most people are nervous, doubtful, or outright scared when they first consider learning the abilities. Spend some time understanding those feelings and discovering which ones are unreasonable.

Each time you find yourself feeling bad or scared, give yourself a pep talk. Explain why the worry is unrealistic. Some examples are given here for the fears listed in the worksheet. If you have a fear that’s not in the list, research it. Decide whether it’s realistic and useful to keep, or whether you want to challenge it.

Psychic abilities do exist, and have been proven scientifically. This isn't fiction or fantasy; it's here and now, in this world.

No correlation has been found between psychic abilities and anything else yet. Anyone could have the ability, and quite possibly, everyone does.

Why are they weird? They’ve been a normal part of being human for thousands of years. We've just ignored them out of fear of the unknown. If we learn about them, then they become known and normal, and they aren't scary or weird.

Changing one belief, or even several, won't shake me to pieces. Disbelieving is superstitious. Psychic abilities have existed at least as long as humans have, and the world is fine. Accepting reality won't hurt me.

Psychic abilities can only be gained a little at a time. I can stop at any point and wait until I feel okay about it before moving on. They are within me to control. Just like I control my daily reactions to people, I would be controlling psychic abilities. I’m no more dangerous than I would otherwise be.

I would still be myself. Who I am is not determined by what I can do. I would be the same person I am today, and the same person I've always been. I would just have a new skill to play around with, and use in the ways that I feel are appropriate and right.

Psychic abilities are only scary because I haven't learned enough about them. Any ability I gain is within my power to control, and since I am in control of it, it can't do things I don't want it to. It wouldn't be scary if I let myself learn more about it and consider it okay.

I can stop at any time. My mind and body are under my control. They can’t do anything I don’t let them do. I let go of control every night when I sleep, and I don’t have any problems then. If I go too deep into a trance, I’ll just fall asleep. No spirit can affect my body without my permission. I am totally safe, because my subconscious keeps protection around me at all times.

When you’ve challenged the fears, and you’ve started learning psychic abilities, there are many new feelings you may encounter. Although they feel unfamiliar, they are still safe.

As you fall asleep, or as you start to go out of body, you may feel for a moment like you are falling. This is a common feeling that is the result of your mind relaxing and letting go. Many people experience this feeling. It may interrupt your concentration, but it has no other effects.

Meditation can also feel different. It may feel like a deep daydream. Your body may feel like it’s buzzing once you relax physically. This is due to your blood flow increasing, just like it would after exercise. It’s a normal part of relaxation. Your body temperature may go down a little, making you cold. This, also, is a normal part of relaxing. Take a blanket if you tend to get cold.

As you practice any abilities, you may notice feelings in your head and forehead. This is because you are concentrating on those areas when you use the abilities. Relax, massage your face a little, and the feelings should be gentle. If your head hurts, you’re probably tensing your muscles and giving yourself a headache. Relax and take a break, and then try again without getting tense.

Trusting your feelings and avoiding fear takes time. Repeat the challenge statements every time you notice disbelief or fears. You must convince yourself that you have as good a chance as anyone at learning the abilities, and that it is possible to learn them. You are just as good as anyone else. Practice, practice, and keep practicing. Stay enthusiastic and relaxed, and you’ll make fast progress.

Psychic experiences may shake up your religious beliefs. They give you a new perspective on the world. Much more is possible than you may have previously believed. Religious beliefs will influence your skill development. If you believe most of the skills are evil or wrong, you generally won’t want to learn them, or may have trouble with them. It’s important to recognize what your beliefs are related to the topics in the worksheet below.

As with any skill, you will want to consider the ethics of psychic ability use. Psychic skills can be used in a variety of ways, almost invisibly to the general world. Psychic skills are not good or bad, just as any type of skill can not by itself be good or bad. Certain uses of the skill can have good or bad consequences, however. The question I consider when determining the ethics of a situation is, "Would this be ethical to do, if I used a non- psychic method to achieve it?"

Of course, that question does not give a clear answer in all cases. You will need to decide for yourself if what you choose to do is appropriate to your beliefs.

Aura vision helps healing abilities, empathic understanding, and deeper spiritual caring. It leads to a deeper understanding of human actions and relationships. Telepathy, empathy, clairvoyance, and other information skills help you understand events, relationships, and human life. A healer can help people accept and love each other, work out difficulties, and solve difficult interactions in creative and helpful ways. The abilities also simplify everyday life by giving you extra information, which helps you make wiser decisions.

When you begin psychic skill development, your first few experiences will probably change your beliefs. A world that seemed stable, measurable, and known, suddenly has mysteries at every step. Your beliefs, habits, and interests may all change suddenly. Your restrictive beliefs fall apart, and beliefs that are more realistic replace them.

Experiences that shake up your ideas can certainly be scary at first. That doesn't mean they’re dangerous. Learning the truth is useful, and there’s no need to fear it. Trust the change without feeling threatened. Your new abilities are simply giving you extra information.

Sometimes this feels like being a toddler, just beginning to explore a vast world of new things. You will need something stable and safe to return to after a bit of exploring. Choose a special place or routine to return to each day. Lighting a candle to relax for a few minutes each night is one routine. Familiarity provides security, safety, and relaxation after a very intense period of learning.

Your perceptions will change along with your beliefs. Energy flows, emotional relationships, and spiritual interactions between people appear much more visibly. Humanity and philosophy may become more important. Astral projection and out-of-body experiences sometimes accompany this. You may have more interest in spiritual values and ethics. You’ll also continue to gain perceptive abilities.

Some of this may be uncomfortable because it’s unfamiliar. You can work through those discomforts once you realize you have them. The worksheet below will help you identify your comfort zone. You may have trouble learning abilities related to uncomfortable or scary experiences. Once you know what scares you, consider whether it’s realistic, and challenge any unrealistic fears.

You may find that after a period of practice, you develop several new skills at once. Then you have some time to work with them and gain comfort before another set of skills begins to develop. Skills tend to develop in waves. Practice will improve your psychic interactions, auras, and perception of events at a distance.

As you perceive and work with the psychic energy around you, you will have an increasingly strong effect on people. They will notice and consider more seriously the things you do. You may re-evaluate your beliefs to make decisions on your interactions with other people. You may reconsider your place in learning from and teaching.

Many students know they want to learn, but they aren't sure where to start or what interests them. Psychic abilities are quite varied, but fit into two basic categories, perceptive and alteration.

The most common type of psychic ability is perception of information. Empathy, telepathy, precognition, remote viewing, aura sight, seeing ghosts, knowing about illness or injury before it happens, reading cards, telling fortunes, recognizing disease, perceiving energy, and predicting dice rolls are all perceptive abilities. Many people have experienced these abilities at least once, but may not talk about them for fear of ridicule.

The other type of ability is alteration: abilities that directly cause a change in the world. Telekinesis, levitation, healing, telepathic commands, empathic projection, teleportation, helping or hurting a plant's or animal's growth, and directing energy are alteration or projection abilities. Fewer people experience these, but the abilities are still somewhat common.

As you look at your plans, how do you feel? Are you excited about the skill you're going to learn? If you aren't excited, you may have trouble staying focused. Choose what interests you. What would be most fun and exciting to learn?

You've decided which skills interest you. You've determined how patient you will be while learning them. You've considered whether to seek a teacher. You summarized your interest in the worksheet.

Any time in the future that you feel like quitting, or get discouraged, come back and reread this. Maybe your reason for learning abilities will change. Maybe your patience isn't as good as you thought. Maybe you will need more help from other people. Changing your mind is fine. Over time, you'll learn more about yourself. This worksheet may provide the reminder you need to stay motivated through the tough spots.

This section investigates your learning personality. If you choose to work with a teacher, these things are important for the teacher to know. If you are working alone, you should still understand them so you can work past any difficulties.

A teacher can help starting certain abilities and increasing your control of them. With patience, you can learn the abilities even without a teacher. Most practicing will happen at home without teacher supervision.

Students are responsible for practicing, recognizing their own styles and feelings, and choosing which abilities to develop. The teacher may suggest that you improve certain abilities before learning others, because the basic skills generally need to come before the more complex ones.

Some expectations of teacher/student relations are reasonably normal. Others are unreasonable, because they require the teacher to do the impossible, or because they are an unnecessary drain on the teacher's time. The lists below explain some common expectations and which are acceptable.

Everyone prefers one sense out of sight, hearing, touch/feeling/emotion, and intuition. When you receive information psychically, your perceive it through your favorite sense.

If you are a visual person, you will receive mostly images. If you understand more easily through hearing, you will hear voices or words telling you the information. If you learn more through touch, you will feel yourself in the situation. You may also be an intuitive person who simply knows the information without it taking any specific form.

Regardless of your strength, you will probably receive some information in every form, so be open to all of it. You will receive information best when you open all psychic senses.

Visual people prefer a variety of sights and colors. They prefer pictures full of meaning, written directions and maps rather than verbal instructions. Visual people say "show me" rather than "tell me." They are able to imagine vivid pictures and scenes. They may imagine colors and pictures when listening to music. They also read books by picturing scenes more than by hearing the words in their heads.

Audio people are drawn to a variety of sounds. They consider music and speech important. An audio person asks to be "told" directions and may spend much time on the telephone. They can get more information from listening to someone talk than from reading about a topic. If they do read, they may whisper or hear the words in their heads as they read.

Touch people are drawn to textures, crafts, and other people. They enjoy working with their hands and are often very good at it. They may learn massage techniques or sports early in life. When reading, they may follow the line with a finger to keep their place. They care about temperature and textures. When they shop for clothes, they care most about the feeling of the cloth.

Emotional/empathic people do something because it feels right emotionally. They are able to sympathize very well with friends in any emotional situation. Friends who are not feeling well may depress them. Likewise, if they have friends who are feeling good, they will tend to feel good also. They understand others' situations by feeling those emotions themselves. Some emotional people are also touch people.

Intuitive people often act on impulse, doing something because they know it is right. Intuitive people know unquestionably that their choices are right, but may not be able to explain why. Their information appears as sudden inspiration, but it doesn't last long. They enjoy games of anticipation, because they have just enough knowledge of what is coming to do well in them.

This book uses "picture" and "visualize," visual words, to describe imagination. If you are not a visual person, use mostly your own sense. Also, deeply involve as many senses as you can, so that the images are complete. That way if some of the information gets lost, there is still information left.

Learning any ability is a step by step process. Choose a skill, try it once, repeat until you are doing it properly, and then practice, practice, practice.

Practicing helps you remember how the skill feels. If you practice riding a bicycle, you learn how it feels to pedal, where your feet go, how to steer, and how to stop. Bicycling feels unfamiliar the first time, but after you do it many times, it gets easier. After a few weeks, you can get on a bike and ride down the road without thinking about how to steer.

Psychic abilities improve with practice just the same. You may feel awkward at first, paying attention to many details while you practice. With time, they will get easier. Learning a psychic ability involves remembering how it feels to use it. Once you know how it feels, you create that same feeling later to use the ability again.

The first step of learning a new psychic ability is the hardest: making it happen once. To remember what it feels like to use the ability, you have to use it once. Most abilities will occur instinctively in day to day life. You just have to watch for them, and notice when they happen.

Pay attention to subtle thoughts and gut feelings. If you feel you should take a different route to work or school, take it, even if you aren't sure why. If you get a vision of a speeding car as you near an intersection, wait a moment to see if one passes by. When you notice yourself worrying about someone, give him or her a phone call and ask how things are going. Respond to the intuitive thoughts you have. This encourages them to happen more often and encourages you to notice them sooner.

Read about the abilities you want to learn. Gather information on how they work. Notice when they happen, who uses them, and what effects they cause. Read experimental studies of them, especially any with successful results. Daydream about using them, and consider ways to practice them every day. What fun things would you use them for? Thinking about using them will encourage your subconscious abilities to show up more often.

As you think about the abilities and watch for them, you will begin to notice them occurring throughout your normal daily life. When they happen, notice your mood, surroundings, thoughts, feelings, and activities. Remember exactly how you felt just before they happened.

After you have an ability occurring "randomly" throughout the day, you will want to learn more control. Start out by trying to make it happen on cue. Recall how you feel just before an ability happens. Try to feel exactly the same again. Don't try too hard; if you were relaxed the first time, you need to stay relaxed and calm again.

Learn to turn the ability on and off like a light switch. You may not yet be able to control it when it's on. Just practice turning it on and off. Become open to it happening, ready to receive intuition, or whatever the ability requires. The important part is being able to remember and cause the same feelings and thoughts. When you can turn on the ability a few times each week, without too much hard work, you're ready to learn more control.

You've found an ability, and you can turn it on and off. Now, you want to make it useful—direct it toward a particular goal. This can mean receiving psychic perceptions, causing something to occur, or whatever. Choose the goal you want. What is this ability to be used for? Just as you thought about the ability to turn it on and off, now think about and focus playfully on your goal. What do you want to have happen?

Keep the same feelings you needed to turn on the ability. Stay in the same mood and same thoughts. Gently direct your thoughts to the goal. Visualize it as strongly as you can. Feel it, see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, taste it. Involve all of your senses, and focus on it. If you feel your mood change, guide it back to keeping the ability turned on.

If you don't get results after a few minutes, stop, relax, and try again later. Results may not happen until you try many times. Sometimes you may find that as soon as you quit trying, it works. This means you were working too hard at it the first time. Stay relaxed and playful. If you aren't having fun, you aren't going to make progress!

Life is exciting—you made the ability work! You've gotten noticeable results once or twice, and you want more. Keep trying the same way you have been. Notice what works and what doesn't work. Where are your inaccuracies? Are some of your perceptions symbolic, instead of realistic? Do you consistently mistake a telephone pole for a pencil? How do you feel about the things you get right or wrong? You will probably feel some differences in your incorrect perceptions. Aim for what feels right, and remember carefully how it feels.

Don't judge your results while you are still trying to receive. This will usually cause incorrect results. Receive everything and, if necessary, write it down so you don't forget. Stay open to all the perceptions, no matter how strange they seem, until you are fully done (usually 2-10 minutes). Don't let yourself give up early; stay confident and enthusiastic, even if you think all of it is wrong. You may be surprised at the results.

Keep a journal of your perceptions. Any time you have a chance to confirm or disprove something you received, write it in. You'll learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. Your mistakes show you what to improve and help you learn how to do it. With practice, you may be able to receive details with about half or a little more of the details being totally correct. Sometimes they may all be completely correct.

Practice, practice, practice. Stay relaxed and have fun; find games to practice with daily. Use the skills every time you get a chance. If you can find an interested friend, talk about your experiences. No matter what, don't give up! I took nearly 20 years to learn one particular skill but I did eventually get it. Most skills will only take a few weeks or months, but even if they take longer, just keep trying. Practice and play!

Seances, fortune tellers, and ouiji boards brings to mind dark rooms, candlelight, and a distinctly spooky mood. Telling ghost stories around a campfire brings up similar feelings. You may feel scared, excited, or paranoid after a few such stories. You may feel the world is magical and different for a few minutes.

Atmosphere and mood contribute to the experience. They direct your feelings and perceptions in a particular way, to enhance the story. A spooky mood may help or harm, depending on your intentions. Watch how mood affects your psychic perceptions, and learn how to use it to help get the results you want.

When you are scared, you spook easily, jumping at the slightest sounds. Your heart races and everything that moves seems threatening. This is a normal reaction; it kept us alive centuries ago in the wilderness. It still helps us now to react to balls flying at us.

However, your perceptions are sometimes inaccurate when you are scared. You perceive and react quickly, but your perceptions may not be correct. That creak wasn't the sound of an intruder; it was the house settling. That shadow wasn't a bat in the house; it was only a curtain flapping in front of a fan. The movement in the corner of your eye was your own reflection in a mirror. Because you are scared, the things you perceive will tend to be scary.

For accuracy and concentration, you may want to avoid spooky settings when trying to use psychic abilities. You'll have enough doubts, fears, and new experiences to deal with. Once you are more experienced, you can use a spooky mood if you enjoy it. For now, if you get scared, your psychic abilities may perceive scary things. If you stay relaxed, you will tend to perceive more objectively.

Some moods are useful tools to enhance your psychic practice sessions. A relaxed, contemplative, quiet mood works best to begin with. It should feel slightly dreamy, or romantic like a plush room with candlelight. It will take you away from your daily worries. It will let you focus more completely on what you are practicing. Feeling a bit new and strange is okay; it'll help you focus as long as it doesn't worry you.

Choose a mood to create, and think about how to best create it for yourself. Do you want candles or dim lighting? Do you want a soothing bath first? Do you want special music? Will it be energetic and playful, or quiet and soothing? Choose a time when you can be alone for an hour, and decorate a room for your mood. Set up lighting, music, a fan, soft blankets, a bed sheet tent, or anything that will help the mood. Spend at least half an hour relaxing in it. Learn how it feels to be totally immersed in that mood. Let the world fall away, daydream, and enjoy.

Practice setting up moods for yourself before you practice any psychic abilities in them. They will help you feel secure and stable while you practice. If you feel best in the middle of a sunny field in July, the field is as good a place to relax as any other. Lighting level only matters in how relaxed you feel. Having practiced with various moods will help you be familiar with various states of relaxation. Familiarity helps you be comfortable and more confident, and confidence improves your ability to learn.

Some moods to consider experimenting with are quiet, deep, trance-link, fluffy, light-headed, relaxed, contemplative, inquisitive, hypnotic, ritualistic, and playful. All of these can be used with other people involved, also. Cooperative, interested people will make the mood much more intense, if they are respectful rather than intrusive.

Recreational drugs are sometimes used to set a particular mood. They do not help people gain controlled use of psychic abilities, however. If they do open the abilities at all, they do so wildly and without giving the person time to learn proper control. They can cause terrifying experiences, without any of the long-term practice needed to understand what's going on.

If you're already using such drugs, nothing I say will make a difference. However, don't start using them as a shortcut to psychic abilities. It would be like jumping off a cliff instead of climbing down the rope; you might get to the bottom, but it wouldn't necessarily be comfortable. Anyone can learn these abilities, completely safely, in only a few months. It's not worth risking your health for a shortcut that may not even give you the experiences.