Psychic Gifts

Written by Virginia, Sibylline Priestess (Email this author)

Psychic gifts are an essential part of the self that has been suppressed by the society in which we live. Distrust and fear of our bodies, faith in science and fact, and fear of the unknown plagues our society and limits our potential. Until recently psychic gifts or abilities could not be explained by science. But as science expands its awareness and research the doors to unlocking the genetic code also unlocks an understanding of human abilities once thought to be supernatural, that which is unexplainable by science. We are finding that gifts seem to be genetically linked just as the color of one’s hair or eyes and that highly gifted people usually have more than one gift.

Like any gifts, they can be uncomfortable to have if not understood. An individual may labeled or believe to be possessed or insane. Prevailing thought is that each of us has one or more of these gifts in varying degrees. Psychic gifts are as natural as musical talent or mathematical ability. With training latent abilities can be nurtured and controlled by the individual. There is nothing mystical or unusual about them and they are neither sent by dark forces nor by angels. They do not tell us to do harmful things to ourselves or to others.

Gifted people often think of themselves as being unique or weird and don't talk much about what they see, hear, sense, or dream. Untrained individuals have little understanding of their abilities they possess and no shields – the ability to block out unwanted external input. In response some highly gifted people shut themselves down becoming blocked off - to a trained person they appear as a void or a walled space. Others have erratic shields that can make them dizzy, feel out of control, uncomfortable around crowds, or over stimulated alternating with feelings of unreality or watching a picture. As a physical reaction due to sensory overload they often hate crowds or suffer from agoraphobia. Overwhelming or uncontrollable stimulation may also lead to hospitalization because the voices won't go away or the visions won't stop. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between a psychic gift and psychiatric or chemical imbalance. Without understanding and training gifts can quite literally drive one to believe that they are insane.

Some of the Gifts are only received (R) some are only sent (S) and some are both (S/R). Gifted people can manifest these abilities in three different ways:

Senders (S) do not receive impression from others but can alter the mental/emotional environment to conform to what they are experiencing. They send. They might appear insensitive and self-centered which may confuse other Gifted people who can See that the gifts are awake, but the person acts headblind.

Receivers (R) only receive information. They are usually uncomfortable to the point of hysteria in crowds and have been misdiagnosed with a multitude of nervous conditions. Since certain drugs (tranquilizers, speed, crack/cocaine, or alcohol) block out the gifts, many receivers become addict or develop substance abuse problems. They are generally solitary people, but can tolerate crowds when "under the influence." Shielding reduces or eliminates this problem, though large parties and nightclubs will never be favorite places to hang out.

Sending and Receiving (S/R) The most usual combination. Sending feels like pushing away from the self or moving current through the self to another person. Receiving feels like being a cup filling with whatever is being sent from others or the environment. Part of the Bardic and Medium Gifts is being able to do both at the same time (like a wheel).

The common misunderstanding regarding psychic gifts is that all forms are present, infallible, and give us all the answers. Think of the skeptic who says to a tarot reader “Well if you’re psychic what am I thinking right now?” or “Well if you can see into the future why can’t you predict the lottery numbers?” “Psychic” is a term that has come to be an umbrella for a variety of natural gifts. These gifts develop and emerge in a variety of ways and strengths. They do not offer easy answers or fix problems. They are abilities that add another layer of understanding and perception to the world we live in. They can be refined, focused, understood instead of feared or misunderstood.

Let’s examine the gifts, and the differences between being psychic and being crazy…

Telepathy (S/R)
Telepathy is the ability to read thoughts, usually surface thoughts. Telepathy commonly manifests to some degree in all of us. In crowds this may manifest as “white noise” or constant buzzing in the ears (brain), accompanied by a feeling of pressure on the brain. Thus telepaths are prone to intense headaches. This is due to the constant noise of all of the thoughts of others that one is unable to block. Many highly gifted telepaths are unable to live in highly populated areas, and an apartment complex is a nightmare. This gift manifests more strongly when the desire for something is strong - a strong focus of will or emotion. If you have the disconcerting habit of knowing everything about a person when you meet them, you are at least a highly gifted telepath.

The most common telepathic connection occurs between close family or close long-term friends. It may manifest as answering questions before they are asked, knowing when a family member is thinking of you, or thinking about them and they call.

Slightly less common is the ability to read the surface thoughts of strangers and most rare is the ability to read the deep or subconscious thoughts of people, friends, family or strangers.

Telepathy is often not limited by proximity. Family in particular, seems to be instantly accessible, due to the non-local nature of the gift, speed of light laws do not apply. Strong thought, as in a disaster or violent attack, may be picked up without prior knowledge of the person at all, if they are in the vicinity or there are enough people concentrating on mentally screaming at the top of their lungs. What might be deemed “surface” or “casual” telepathy with strangers – hearing the random thoughts or images without a strong emotion as stimulus - often manifests only if the person is close by.

To block out the noise, shielding must be practiced constantly, and the person should put up permanent shields around their home. To develop this gift, one should focus on an individual and relax, allowing whatever impressions one is receiving to come through. Write them down. This is best developed with close friends or family.

Telepathy can manifest in three ways...

(S) A sending telepath broadcasts his/her own thoughts to anyone even remotely sensitive but cannot “hear” the thoughts of others. By strongly desiring something a sending telepath can influence others without being aware of it. A danger is that a sending telepath without any of the other gifts, has a tendency to be self-centered, demanding, and petulant when they don’t get their way.

(R) A receiving telepath can “hear” but can’t send, others don’t pick up their thoughts. This can be disconcerting as not being able to distinguish an internal thought from an external thought/idea/impression or hearing voices can cause one to doubt his/her sanity. As is often the case, the thoughts are incongruous, and seem to come from nowhere. It is vital that these people learn to distinguish which thoughts are internally generated and which are generated by the people around them. (Obviously if the thoughts are dangerous to the self or to others is it important to know if they are coming from someone around you or you personally. Thus you can protect yourself from external dangers and/or seek help.)

(S/R) Most common is one who can both send and receive, and the response is usually enough to convince the person that s/he is not crazy, though the gift might be hidden out of a fear of being unusual, especially if the person’s church mistakenly equates the gifts with possession.

Learning to work with a telepathic gift is challenging. The first question is always are the “voices” or impressions gathered by the telepath relaying accurate, verifiable information based on the consensual hallucination we call reality? Ask those around you. Pay attention to the people and events transpiring around you. The information is usually pretty mundane, and a telepath, upon thinking about it, can learn to tell which thoughts did not originate in his/her own brain. For example: “I need to remember the ice cream” when the individual is allergic to ice cream but is talking to someone on their way to the store. Most of the time this gift, like many gifts, is a natural genetic tool for understanding your environment. If however the voices or thoughts are counseling to murder someone or warning that the toaster is influencing our thoughts by controlling the television, then some mental health care is definitely in order.

Related GiftsMind Healing
- 20-30% of the population

Empathy (S/R)
Empathy is similar to telepathy in many respects but revolves around emotions instead of thoughts. To be an empath is to be able to sense what others are feeling, and/or influence what others are feeling. If one is an empath, feelings and emotional atmosphere play a strong part in every aspect of one’s life.

Empathic ability can manifest as sending, receiving, or both. A sending empath may not have much sense of what others feel, because the can usually change an unpleasant response into a more favorable one. The receiving empath is in danger of being swamped by the feelings of others, and may not know whether the feeling is internally or externally generated.

For an empath crowds are almost unbearable. A gifted empath may feel angry/depressed/elated/in love/enraged in a matter of a few moments as the gift reaches out and picks up whatever is there. A feeling of being on a roller coaster and of smothering in a sea of feelings may accompany this. On the other hand, the person seems to gravitate to the individual in the room who needs help dealing with an emotional problem. An empath makes an excellent counselor and is usually the one to whom friends bring their problems because “s/he really understands.” Like telepathy, this gift may not be related to proximity and often family members and close friends may be “sensed” no matter how distant they are.

Many empaths depend on this ability to interact with and understand their environment. For some this dependency limits their will to control their empathic abilities or to shield themselves. It is important to understand where your emotions come from. Is that sadness or anger yours or someone else’s? Pay attention to the people and events transpiring around you. Learn to identify the feelings and emotions that generate from inside as compared to random emotions with purpose or trigger. Work with your ability to tone it down when things get overwhelming. Two unshielded and unaware empaths in an argument can cause quite a feedback loop.

Related Gifts:
Mind Healing, Physical Healing - 5-10% of populationCommunication with Plants (green thumb) Communication with Animals

Psychometry (R)
Psychometry is the ability to pick up images, histories, and impressions from objects and places, by holding an object, such as a sweater or a ring, one “sees” or senses information about the owner or most frequent user of the object. Objects in long term contact with the owner, are made of metal, or are in contact during emotional or physical intense moments carry this psychic energy imprint more often. This Gift is usually combined with one or more of the “Clair” Gifts. Occurs in varying degrees in 15-20% of the population, 5% strongly. Police psychics are usually psychometrists.

Clair Gifts (R)

Clairvoyance (clear-seeing)
To “see” visions of things occurring in the present both on this plane and on the etheric. Combined with other Gifts, the person may experience foggy or clear “movies” of things that have happened in the past or will happen in the future. This can often occur in dreams.

This Gift occurs in 10-15% of the population and is usually associated with a trance or trance like state. To control trance, vigorous movements, splashing cold water on face or drinking it, or some type of physical activity is recommended. It is NOT good to trance while driving or operating machinery. This Gift, if one has it in full measure, can be disconcerting and there is very little, other than the above, that one can do to control it.

Clairsentience (clear-sensing)
The person knows and feels things about places--a room, house, building, field, etc. Usually senses "what happened". The stronger the gift, the more sensitive one is to the environment.

Precognition (R)
The ability to sense, see, and /or hear things that may happen in the future. Usually combined with one of the other Gifts. Sometimes manifests in dreams that come true, visions, flashes, hunches, or just "knowing". Occurs in some degree in about 50% of the population, 10% strongly.

Retrocogniton (R)
The ability to see, sense, and/or hear things that happened in the past. Same description as precognition with increased likelihood of "seeing" past lives and connections with others.

Telekinesis (S)
The ability to move objects with the mind. Once thought rare, this gift usually manifests in adolescents going through puberty and is responsible for about 95% of the poltergeist phenomena. This Gift can also manifest disguised as “the Klutz”, someone who, usually when emotionally stimulated, objects around them fall over, break, etc. (they walk by the table but do not touch it, yet something spills). Between 1-5% of the population can manipulate solid objects after this time, 5-15% can manipulate energy (electro-magnetic) sources. Someone so gifted needs to learn emotional control, since the gift tends to manifest in the presence of strong emotions - guilt, anger, fear, etc. Concentration improves conscious control.

PyroKinesis (S)
This is the "Firestarter", the ability to light and/or control fire or heat with the mind. This is luckily the most rare of all of the gifts (1-5% of population). This also tends to manifest with strong emotion. The firestarter may often not be conscious of their gift, but will have a history of fires happening around them (The kitchen when they were a child, a house down the street, etc.) Do not confuse this with pyromania! The Gifted person needs to learn to direct heat into the earth, as holding it in can cause damage. Concentration and emotional balance are essential.

Medium (S/R) - channeling
The ability to see, hear, and communicate with non-corpreal entities. Includes Spirit (Astral) beings, non-local entities, discorporated humans, and other manifestations. Usually combined with other gifts. Once rare, this gift seems to be appearing in more of the general population, having increased from about 5% to 30% within the last ten years. Because a Medium is extremely sensitive and susceptible to outside influences, it is vital that s/he be shielded at all times. A person who channels a non-corpreal entity is allowing them to communicate through them, allowing the entity to speak through or enter into the person's body. This can be dangerous if the person who is channeling does not remain in control and cognitive of their actions.

Catalyst Telepath (S)
The ability, conscious or unconscious, to "wake up" or unblock the Gifts in others. Also the ability to tell who is gifted and who is headblind, though this may not be conscious. Gifted people of all varieties tend to recognize each other and usually feel uncomfortable around the headblind.

This gift occurs in 5-8% of the population. Catalyst telepath's are very sensitive and tend to have other Gifts in full measure, making them nervous and shy or forcing the development of natural shields.

Transformers (S/R)
The ability to work directly with the energies and the Earth's magnetic forces and change them. Very rare once, this Gift also seems to be increasing. These people (5-10%) are very aware of the energy of places in the land and can tap directly into it, sometimes altering a negatively charged current to a positive one.

Related Gifts:
Grounder (R) Someone who grounds any energy sent their way. One can not work energy in circle with a grounder. Null Field (S) Psychic gifts and energy go dead in the presence of a null field. Some of the most avowed skeptics are actually nulls, Gifts won't work in their environment. Dowsing (R) Sensing substances in the earth, like water, metals, also ley lines.

Bard Gift (S/R)
The ability to utilize, increase, and return the energy of an audience such that their emotional states are altered to what the Bard is sending. In a strong Gift, the audience will see visions of the subject matter of the song or instrumental piece. Occurs in about 20-30% of performing artists, 10% in strong degree.

Healing (S)
Healing only manifests with Telepathy or Empathy, and is the art of using the energies of the mind to heal.

Magic that is easier for the Gifted:
Working with Elementals (spirits of air, earth, fire, and water)Working and Communicating with Non-Human Earth Natives (the Sidhe, Gnomes, and others, good and bad)Circle WorkShamanic Work (healing, soul retrieval, journeying) Psychic Work (Tarot reading, counseling, banishing, etc.)

Headblind
In some the gifts manifest so slightly that the individual might as well be "headblind", no psychic ability. Gifted people have a lot of trouble being around the headblind, who in turn are uncomfortable with the notion that someone might know more than they do, through unexplained resources. Gifted people tend to gravitate towards one another, and if oblivious to the reasons, might explain it as "chemistry" or other vague appellations.

CONCLUSION
The best way to learn about and control your gifts is to pay attention. Stop ignoring all the "weird" things that happen to you, and start examining them. Where is the input coming from? Why do you feel this way? Why does that always happen? When you do recognize a gift at work, how do you feel at that moment? How do you feel when it's not? We have been programmed all our lives that "normal" people do not "see" things, "hear" things or just "know" things. We put these occurrences into a convenient ignore file in our brains and forget about them. To train your gifts you must first believe in yourself and your abilities, deprogram your thinking, and then figure out what your personal gifts are, learn how they operate and how to tune them out. Only then can you focus the gifts you have working inside and firmly grasp your sanity and declare yourself capable and sane.

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