Developing and perfecting any skill in life requires dedication and practice. Just as the student in a high school athletic department wakes early for a pre-school practice, or a concert violinist spends hours a day in rehearsal rooms honing their craft, creating opportunity for the consistent practice of tuning in is important for developing and strengthening your psychic senses. I call creating these moments of practice ‘establishing rituals’.
If you’ve ever started a meditation practice, you will know that it takes some regularity to make your meditation practice sustainable. It is often recommended that you carve out specific times throughout the day to meditate, maybe at the same time every morning or evening. I think that the same goes for establishing a regular ‘tuning in’ ritual for developing your intuition and psychic senses.
In the last module I introduced a simple card pull/journal exercise and I suggest that you practice that activity over, and over, and over again until it feels second nature to you. In this module I will give you several more ways to practice receiving messages. In time you will discover what techniques work best for you and you may even begin to tweak the practices that I’ve laid out for you; that will be a true testament to your growing confidence in your psychic practice. For now it is enough to practice the exercises as written and discover which resonates with your style more. It’s important to note that if your aim is to become more adept in using one of the CLAIRS that you’ve not been using, all you need to do is simply make it an intention that you receive your messages in that way. For example; if you are accustomed to receiving messages in a claircognizant way and you wish to develop your ability to receive messages in a clairtangent way, set an intention that you would like to receive messages by touching objects. Make sure to have some objects at your disposal that you can practice with. I suggest that the objects not be anything of your own, or objects that you have a history with. This way you aren’t simply remembering your own experience with that object, but rather, are getting messages from somewhere other than your memory. The same goes for all of the other senses -set an intention that that is how you’d like to receive messages and then gently lean into the subtle hits of intuition that you receive during your established ritual practice.
Here are some suggested foundations for establishing rituals for practice:
Set aside a specific place for each practice session (perhaps a room in your home or a spot out in nature that makes you feel safe and secure and where you can be uninterrupted)
Set aside a specific time so that you are relaxed and unhurried.
Make sure that you’re comfortable. Wear clothes that are loose and comfortable so that you’re able to focus mostly on the business at hand. You could have a very excited ancestor trying to communicate with you and it would be a shame to miss the message because all you can focus on is how tight your pants are!
Try putting on some soft music. I love solfeggio frequency playlists!
Try lighting a candle or two; this is a great way to create a sense of sacredness around your practice and it establishes a mindful mentality that may help you to shift from thinker to observer.
Methods of practice
ASKING FOR SPECIFIC SIGNS
Many times when asking to receive messages, especially in the context of wanting guidance in your own life, it is a great practice to ask for specific signs. One of my go to signs that I ask for is the elephant. Sometimes I’ll ask for simply an elephant, sometimes I’ll ask for a white elephant, or an elephant with a crown. When you ask for a sign, know that the request has been received and keep a keen eye for your sign.
ASKING AND FREE WRITING AND/OR DOODLING
Many psychics, mediums, or other intuitives practice receiving messages by free writing and/or doodling.
Much like the journaling exercise in module one, the process of receiving intuitive messages using this practice involves tuning in, asking your question, and then opening up to receive messages by shifting from your analytic brain to a more passive brain wave state which shifts you into a more impressionable state of being, observing, and able to tap into your subconscious brain more easily. Free writing and doodling are great ways to distract you from overthinking and rationalizing to a more open and receptive mode.
ASKING AND VISUALIZING
Visualization is a fantastic tool to tap into information using your psychic senses, especially for people who naturally think in the form of images. The process would start out the same as any other way of processing information and receiving messages - you would tune in and ask, then you would sit or lie down in a comfortable place where you will not be interrupted or distracted, close your eyes, and allow your imagination to play. When using visualisation to communicate psychically it is vital that you suspend judgment. You should allow the images, sights, sounds, or any other sensations that arise during your visualisation to come forward without manipulation to your understanding or will. You should take the information that is coming forward in your minds eye as simply that…information. Try not (at least initially) to assign meaning to the messages, especially if you are tuning in and asking for another person.
ASKING AND DOWSING
Dowsing is a technique using a tool, such as a pendulum or stick, to focus your attention and intention when asking to receive messages. Just as oracle cards or runes can be of service to your practice and help you to focus your attention on the message you’re receiving you can practice asking questions and use a dowsing technique like the one detailed below in the practice exercise!
Whatever the modality you are practicing, whether it’s visualisation, free writing, doodling, or using other tools such as oracle cards, runes, or a dosing apparatus such as a pendulum; the initial struggle will always be maintaining your ability to stay open, without judgment, and to try to step away from inhabiting the analytic brain. This is something that you may always struggle with, but trust that it gets easier with time and more practice.
THE STRUGGLE WITH THE ANALYTIC BRAIN
The analytic brain is that part of the brain which takes in information, processes it, sorts it, stores it, and makes sense of it based on comparison of information gathered and stored from your past experiences. Your analytic brain is constantly preserving your ability to translate information into knowledge based on what you’ve been taught in the past. When it comes to psychic phenomena, the analytic brain is also in constant ‘de-bunking’ mode. It’s the voice of ‘reason’ , and as such wan’t to find the reason in every situation. In the current wide-sweeping teachings of mainstream education, receiving messages from disembodied energies or spirits isn’t always considered ‘reasonable’ by most. Therefore, while we are very grateful for our analytic capabilities in much of our life, when it comes to tuning in to receive messages we want to try to settle into our subconscious mind; That part, which is accessible when relaxed and is impressionable by our thoughts, emotions, and other stimuli.
If at any time you find yourself throughout the exercises doubting, trying to ‘make sense’, or trying to control the narrative on any thoughts, feelings, or other psychic sensations that you are receiving, gently remind yourself to relax, breath, clear your mind, and be open.
For the next step in exercising your psychic muscles, I suggest alternating between the above mentioned techniques to see which technique or practice resonates with your personal style of opening up and receiving messages.
After using the prayer and setting your intentions, open your journal and write the subject or question that you are seeking guidance with at the top of your paper.
Alternating between asking for specific signs, drawing or free writing, and using visualizations, journal on what messages you receive on the same question while using the different techniques.
Reflect on how the messages came through:
Do you tend to get more clarity when you are more general or more specific in the asking?
Do you tend to receive messages more clearly with one technique over another?
Does using tools like oracle cards, a pendulum, or runes help you to gain clarity? More so than when using visualization or journaling?
Continue to practice daily using different techniques of asking and receiving. Continue to document your progression in your journal.
Did you ever play with a “Magic 8” ball when you were younger? The concept is easy; you ask a question, give the ball a shake, and turn it over to reveal the answer. If you’ve ever played with a “Magic 8” ball you’re a step ahead of the game for this practice exercise.
This practice exercise is designed as an introduction to dowsing with a pendulum.
Take a moment to print out the pdf image of a simple dowsing chart. (Click here to download the pdf)
Once you have your dowsing chart printed, go ahead and take your pendulum in your dominant hand and let it hang down above the chart.
After you’ve used your prayer for tuning in and protection, go ahead and ask your first question! Simply allow the pendulum to hang and, without manipulation, observe where the pendulum begins to swing. It may take a while to start swinging, or it may not swing at all at first. You may need to rephrase your question if this happens. Practice asking all kinds of questions and have fun with it. Your confidence will grow the more you practice!
After you’ve practiced asking questions and experimenting with your pendulum, take out your journal and free write for 15 to 20 minutes on your experience.
After you’ve practiced with different modalities and techniques, get curious and allow your intuition to guide you to combine your techniques and tools. Try spreading your oracle cards or rune stones out in front of you and use your pendulum to direct you to which cards or stones to pull.