What Are Psychics And Clairvoyants' - Why Are We So Curious?

There seems to be, and apparently always has been, misunderstanding and confusion over the definitions between psychics, mediums and clairvoyants. There are many people who don't know the difference between all of these 'names' that those of us that work with spirit and energy are very appreciative.

So to clear things up for you these are the meanings of:

Psychic - pertaining to mental forces, telepathy, extra sensory perception
Medium - contacting and being able to communicate with spirits of the dead
Clairvoyance - the ability to see things beyond our normal senses
Spirit Guides/ Angels - guidance of spirit from beyond the human veil

It is not so surprising that many people don't know who or what they are letting themselves in for when visiting one of these people, or if they were to go to a workshop for Clairvoyance, would they know what to expect.

Well, I hope that the following explanations, will help you become much clearer on who and what a Psychic, Medium or Clairvoyant is and does. This of course is my interpretation and understanding of all of these areas and like everything in life we have a free will to choose our own way of understanding.

Let's start with explaining about a Psychic. Someone that calls himself or herself a psychic may well be labelling themselves as such because it is stereotypically recognised as someone that can 'read you' and most likely be able to tell you about, your past, present, future and many other things that the Psychic could not possibly have known about you before having your reading. This essentially is correct, but how they do this in the true sense of the word, is that as a Psychic they will have like a 'mental connection' with you and they will also read your energy field, so they will be very sensitive and be able to pick up on your thoughts and energy most of all. In fact we are all Psychic to a certain degree.

There are at least three 'clair' abilities, and they are Clairvoyance, Clairaudience and Clairsentience.

Clairvoyance means to 'clear seeing'. It means that the person that is working with their Clairvoyant ability will be able to see images of people, places or things in their minds eye, they are able to describe these to you during a reading or when giving a message. Therefore Clairvoyance is by definition simply clear seeing, and not seeing into the future.

A good Clairvoyant will, and indeed should, validate things for you that have happened in the past and things that are happening in the present. If they cannot interpret messages and guidance from the Spirit Guides, then how would you be able to believe that what they are saying about the future is indeed valid.

From my experience, it is not in our interest to know what will happen in our future life and therefore our Guides usually give information out very carefully. Why, you ask? Because, for example, if I were to tell someone that I could see they were going to move house have another child, win money etc and this person sat back and waited for these changes to occur then I would be interrupting their everyday thinking and way of living. Not, in my opinion a good thing.

Clairaudience means 'clear hearing'. This means that we hear information from Spirit. This might be a person's own Spirit Guide or if working as a Medium, there may be messages received from the Spirit of the loved one that is no longer here. I don't hear it on a physical level, I hear it as a voice in my head as if I were talking to myself silently. Now, as with any of these abilities the non-believers would argue that we're making it all up as we go along. It is our imagination. Well, all I can say is that there is simply a built in radar that indicates when a Spirit Guide is speaking to me. For example; When I have to ask for someone's Guide to come through with their name and to give me a past life reference that would mean something to that person only and they in return are giving me specifics, like names, dates and places and sometimes aliments relating to a client and the client verifies the information. Then I know I'm on track. It is very easy to get carried away for some and unfortunately, these people take away from the genuine Psychics and Mediums.

Clairsentience is where we feel things, or sense things, as the word suggests, it is 'clear sensing'. A Clairsentience usually get this, again when working as a Medium,such as when someone has passed with a certain illness or condition. For a moment they will feel a sensation that would have been felt by the passed over spirit on dying.Or perhaps the sensation of a condition they would have suffered with during their life, and so one can only describe this to the person they are giving a message to. This helps to validate which particular person is coming through from Spirit for the person going for a reading.

Mediums and mediumship are a little more complex to explain, so I hope I can make this easier for you to understand now.

Simply, a medium is someone that 'talks to people that in Spirit'.

To explain further, a medium, by another definition is the 'channel or conduit' by which information from spirit passes through or indeed is the channel through which any energy passes. So for example, if someone called themselves a Clairvoyant Healer, they are in fact, mediums through which the energy flows to our clients and so on...

This then means by its very nature that anyone working with Spirit or energy on any level could be called a medium. A Medium in this sense is then being defined as a 'channel'.

So for someone that calls themselves a clairvoyant/medium, by rights, should be able to describe information received from the spirit world and also to describe visually things that you have experienced in a past life, or even in your current life.

There are 'clairvoyant/mediums' out there, that aren't in fact either of these! They may 'read' people, but they may be reading via their psychic or sentient ability and not actually 'seeing' anything at all, or indeed they may not be able to receive messages from Spirit either. This doesn't mean they aren't good readers, it just means they might not be offering you the sort of reading you were really after. In even instance of you are choosing to arrange an appointment for a reading, it is best to ask your 'reader' how they work, they should always be more than happy to explain it to you not only on the phone or email, but on the day of your appointment. This way, you will be in a good place to understand and accept the information you will receive.

Spirit Guides and Angels are right here for all of us, whatever source of religion we may believe in.

They make no judgements, the religions of our world have no bearing on their love for each and everyone of us.

We all have Guardian Angels and Spirit Guides, regardless of our beliefs, or lack of them. Even totally convinced non believers have them.

In the same way we all have a heart and soul, our standing in life, whether rich or poor. tall or short, angry or happy, dictator or murderer, has no bearing on their dedication to us. We can be sure these wonderful Spirits have been caring for us since before our birth and we can also be sure that at least one of them will stay with us until death and often from one lifetime to the other.

They guide us through our days, helping us to learn our life's lessons and to provide support in fulfilling our soul's Blueprint.

One of the greatest gifts we were blessed with at birth is a 'free will'. This is ours to use as much as we please. Most of the time we make decisions based on what we want 'immediately', but if we listen closely to our inner voice we will soon learn that by following the 'guidance' we receive, our lives can be made much easier.

Our wonderful Guides are always whispering in our ear, creating environments and situations that will be of greater benefit.

I'm sure you have experienced one of these following situations; feeling just right, or experiencing another 'just a coincidence moment' that blows you away, again and again. You know, that feeling of 'déjà vu'. Yes that's right this your Guides and Angels communicating with you. Helping to make the path smoother.Take notice next time.

Our Spirit Guides are the ones who show us past lives that we have lived, often including the one that we had with them. The aim is to learn from the challenging experiences we are told of from our past lives, it is the chance to provide us the opportunity of releasing the blocked memory in this lifetime. In doing so we are bound to move forward with greater confidence.

The most important and highly understood thing understood in working with Spirit and energy is to use the White Light, be as clear a channel as you can possibly be and only ever use these abilities for the highest good of all concerned and only ever with the persons permission.

In Love and Light, Libby Taylor. libbytclairvoyanthealer.com. libbytclairvoyanthealer[at]gmail.com. Providing useful self development and improvement articles, hynotherapy and counselling writings and other mind help resources online.

How To Boost Your Brainpower

The brain is more powerful than any computer. We use less than 10% of our capacity which is why someone once said that the graveyard is the richest place - in it lie all the people who had great potential they never really realised. Here are some tips to boost your brainpower:

1) FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A rather picky eater, the brain demands about 60g of glucose every hour. Primarily obtained from recently eaten carbohydrates only in extreme instances of deprivation will the brain use other substances for fuel. For ideal brain function you need to make sure a constant supply of energy to the brain by eating small but more frequent nutritious meals. According to a study by University of Wisconsin, the brain may actually react to excess food as if it were poison! The resulting immune response may cause cognitive deficits.

TIP# Avoid sodas, fizzy drinks and junk foods. Foods that release glucose slowly (eg. Fruits, vegetables & whole grains) give a steady supply of glucose to the brain. Think berries and oily fish these are high in anti-oxidants, walnuts and flax-seeds these are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, both crucial for brain health. Fish also have iodine, which improves mental clarity.

2) SUPPLEMENTS

A lot of us often neglect our diet, leading to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. B vitamins play the role of brain chemicals formation such as dopamine, epinephrine, myelin and serotonin each of which plays a role in keeping your brain alert and healthy. Dopamine and serotonin help improve your mood.

Magnesium protects the brain from neurotoxins.Vitamin C and E are crucial anti-oxidants that can intercept free radicals before they affect the brain.An important supplement to consider is ganoderma lucidum, a mushroom extract which has a plethora of health benefits including speeding up metabolism, acting as anti-oxidant, enhancing the immune system and improving brain function.

TIP# Consult your doctor before taking any supplements as some may interfere with absorption of medication you might be taking.

3) PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Fact: Exercise helps boost blood flow to the brain, which in turn helps support the efficient working of neurons and regeneration of new ones. Regular exercise increases the size of the hippocampus (yes hippocampus - the part of the brain which plays an important role in learning and memory). All this translates into improved memory, concentration, body-mind co-ordination and lowered risk of degenerative brain diseases.

TIP# Hit the gym, or try 50 minutes of brisk walking three times a week.

4) MENTAL EXERCISE

We a living in a world with a plethora of gadgets to help us with the simplest and most complex of mental tasks, making our brains lazy. The brain slows down because it is not exercised as often as it could be.

TIP# Challege your brain by using your left hand if you normally use your right, multi-tasking, juggling and playing strategy games. Even keeping up with political shenanigans can boost your brainpower!

5) GIVE IT A REST

The brain can do it's reviewing faster when you are asleep than when you are awake.

TIP# Get 7 hours of sleep daily ( a luxury to most of us). Consider taking a nap during the day. A nap can help solidify long-term memories, such as events or skills you are trying to master. Slow down on alcohol have at least three alcohol-free nights a week.

Keep taking your multivitamin supplements to ensure that your body is getting all the nutrients it requires. If your mood needs an extra boost, try Pure Matters® Enliven with 5-HTP, which supports relaxation, concentration, and a positive mood target.

9 Foods to Make Me Smarter. squeezie-reviews.com/9-foods-to-make-you-smarter/. Providing useful self development and improvement articles, hynotherapy and counselling writings and other mind help resources online.

How Do We Deal With the Shooting in CT Elementary School?

Several clients have asked, "I feel my heart is broken. Maybe I'm supposed to be heart-broken for a while. But what do you tell yourself when you hear the news like this, so that you can go on?"

Besides working out their own issues and growth, people remain stuck in the cycle of death & rebirth - samsara - cycling back into physical lives, by being caught by certain emotional experiences, especially sex, greed, horror, disgust, and fear. To evolve personally, and to dedicate energy to the Light, and to free ourselves from old pain, it is important not to get caught in these feeling states.

When you feel horrified or lost in your reaction to an event like this shooting, you become ungrounded. You are spinning in an acceleration of thoughts-and-feelings, caught by them, unable to be anywhere else. When you get ungrounded, you lose perspective, so the feelings become extreme. You aren't any help to yourself or others when you are lost in the horror. When you are ungrounded, your breathing is constricted and all in your chest.

It is possible to process the feelings and help the world heal. To do so:

First you must free your breathing. Take deep breaths and expel forcefully if your chest feels really tight. then, breathe into your belly, freeing your diaphragm.

Then, come back to your own reality by grounding yourself. Breathe into your hips, legs, feet. Breathe down into your feet until they start to tingle, and you can feel the floor, and the earth. Feel your awareness, and your energy mingle with the energy of the earth.

Then, keeping your feet and legs, become aware of the rest of your body - your lower back, spine, rib cage area, shoulders, arms, hands, upper chest, upper back, neck, and head. Occupy all of your body, so that you are fully present in yourself, as much as possible at this moment.

Next, center. Become aware of the place in which you feel yourself BEING. Ask yourself to settle into that place. Watch what happens as you settle into the still point in which you are one with You, and Spirit, with. Rest here.

Then, to keep from being trapped in (the totally normal reactions of) helplessness, depression, and rage, be proactive - use energy to make something positive happen. So, when you feel filled with your present reality within your own body, and in the present moment with Spirit, while staying grounded, send White Light to all the people affected by the shooting.

Do not deplete yourself. Stay in the place of channeling Spirit's energy for healing, staying grounded in yourself. Don't give energy to dark side by getting lost in images, or news casts, or fear thoughts. Keep breathing, grounding, centering, and radiating White Light to those affected. And there are lots.

Keep on your task. The more you ground and center, and then radiate White Light, the more you'll feed the side of good. You'll be helping the world. Blessings to you, and to us all.

For more information and exercises on breathing, grounding, centering, and protecting yourself around toxic people, buy From Hurt to Joy: how to transform self-defeating patterns with Energy Dynamics. fromhurttojoy.com, or any bookseller. Sarah Gillen, MA, LMFT, PCC, has practiced Energy Medicine for 30 years. She developed a trauma clearing technique synergized of Oriental Medicine, Psychology, and Energy Medicine. She trains practitioners, coaches, and clients in her techniques, and she also applies them to business settings in coaching executives.

Reach her at sarahgillen.com. Providing useful self development and improvement articles, hynotherapy and counselling writings and other mind help resources online.

The Dream Incubation Experiment

My purpose in researching, writing about and investigating dreams is to help you to become aware of and appreciate the power of your dreams, and to provide you with information on how to use those dreams in a variety of useful ways. I want to inspire you to move from perhaps being an unconscious dreamer to where you're using your dreams for intentional foresight that will lead to personal, psychological and spiritual growth and evolution.

The solution to perplexing and sometimes frustrating problems, as well as everyday solutions to mundane issues, can reliably be resolved in the dreaming mind. Historical records bear witness to humanity's attempts to seek (and receive) guidance, wisdom and solutions through their dreams.

The ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, Indigenous cultures, and many, many more have dedicated sacred sites, writings and resources to the study and incubation of healing, problem solving, creative and guidance dreams. Even in modern times, dreams have helped solve problems in science, politics, literature, religion and almost every other industry, segment or part of society, as well as with everyday concerns such as health, finance, relationships and so forth.

Inventions as varied as Elias Howe's sewing machine needle-where he dreamt the solution to the problem with the needle to be the placement of the hole at the pointed end-- and J. B. Parkinson's computer-controlled antiaircraft gun, were conceived in dreams. Scholar Herman Hilprecht reported that he dreamt that an Assyrian priest revealed the accurate translation of the stone of Nebuchadnezzar.

Problem Solving

The most common use of dream incubation is to request a solution to a current or continuing problem in your work or home life. These may be along the lines of whether to ask for a raise or make a career change; whether to have a baby or marry your current beau; If now is the right time to take the plunge and buy that little house, or move to another part of the country.

Several research studies have examined different aspects of problem solving and dreams. Wile, in 1934, addressed the incubation issue when he measured how long it took children to self-induce a dream on a desired topic. In 1974, Dement tested 500 undergraduate students by giving them three "brain-teaser" problems to solve while they slept. Morton Schatzman, in the 1980s repeated the Dement experiment, giving brain-teasers to huge numbers of people in England via the mass media.

Dr. Deirdre Barrett, of the Harvard Medical School, Behavioral Medicine Program, conducted a study of dream incubation for problem solving. However, unlike the researchers before her, she explored how subjects would do if they could solve problems of their own choice, rather than predetermined puzzles or problems.

One of the more interesting results of the Barrett study revealed that a solution was usually arrived at by the start of the dream. It didn't appear that the problem was being struggled with throughout the experience. However, in some instances, the solution was presented through subtle hints which built toward more obvious ones until the conscious mind finally "got the message."

Inventive and Scientific Solutions

Inventors, by nature are dreamers; sometimes in a very literal sense. Nikola Tesla, famous inventor of the high-voltage transformer (Tesla coil), for example, often perceived his inventions in dreams and in dream-like mental visions. Tesla reported that he "saw" his inventions as if they were real on the screen of his mind's eye. He claimed that the power of his imagery was such that he could do "experiments in his mind."

Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz was the great chemist who revolutionized the study of chemistry with the discovery of the Benzene molecule. In a dream he was shown an image of a snake biting its own tail and realized that the molecule was a "closed chain."

In 1922, Niels Bohr received the Nobel Prize in physics due to a dream that enlightened him. He was trying to figure out what the structure of an atom was. One evening he fell asleep and in his dreams he saw the nucleus of the atom, with the electrons spinning around it, just like our solar system with the sun and planets. He knew immediately that this was the solution to his problem. Further testing and experiments proved it to be true.

Creative Solutions

Dreams can provide creative insights and solutions as well as practical and mundane ones.

Mary Shelley, who in the company of her famous husband Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and others had been reading aloud a collection of ghost stories, became part of a plan, suggested by Lord Byron, that they all write ghost stories of their own.

According to Mary Shelley's journal of April 1817, after listening to a long conversation between Byron and Shelley on the speculation that, "Perhaps a corpse would be reanimated," she retired to her bed well where, stimulated by the evening's conversation, was unable to sleep. When finally she did fall into blissful slumber her "imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting the successive images that arose in my mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie," she wrote, and thus Frankenstein was born.

Robert Louis Stevenson was influenced by his dreams. He wrote an essay in which he called his dream helpers "the Brownies. Whenever he was stuck for a character, plot or story he'd make a request of his "Brownies" and in the morning he'd have what he needed.

Edgar Allen Poe's personal favourite work was The Lady Ligeia. He was particularly captivated by her eyes, which had met his in a dream. Her eyes were "far larger than the ordinary eyes of our race. They were even fuller than the fullest of the gazelle eyes of the tribe of the valley of the Nourjahad."

Healing Solutions

Like Edgar Cayce, though perhaps not to the same degree, we can all request health related information, advice and even diagnoses. In 2004, I was suffering with terrible headaches daily. I had visited the doctor but, after a cursory examination, he informed me that there was "nothing wrong." Frustrated with his evaluation and flippant attitude, I decided to diagnose the problem myself... with the help of my dreaming mind. The dream I received that night told me that my diet and my anger with a situation in my life at that time were the cause. A change in eating habits and attitude alleviated the headaches.

The Power Of The Mind

Anyone who's experienced a creative breakthrough or insight through their dreams knows that the dreaming mind has a power we don't experience while awake. This power is unfettered by time, space, or self-imposed limitations. It reaches into the endless, boundless and eternal universe of unmanifest potential, where unlimited ideas, inspirations and imaginings lay in wait.

When you incubate or request, a resolution, solution or guidance dream, your sub/unconscious and superconscious mind work in unison to bring you the best solution for you at the present time. In some instances you may have been thinking about a particularly troubling problem for days, weeks or even months, but hadn't been able to resolve the issue. Then, out of the blue, you have a dream that makes everything crystal clear. At other times, you might not have consciously been focused on any particular problem, but you have a dream that provides you with a big "fix" for your life in general. It may be that the issue was smouldering in the back of your mind for quite a while and your dreaming mind finally brought it to the forefront for you to deal with.

Incubation Method

There are tons of resources on how to incubate or request a specific dream. What I'm sharing here is my own personal method. Feel free to adjust it to your liking.

The most important part of dream incubation is setting an intention. The more clearly your intention is articulated, thought or written, the more likely it is that you'll dream the answer to your question, problem or issue.

Clearly define the issue in your conscious mind first. What do you want your dreams to work on? Are you seeking the answer to a technical question or a career decision? Are you inquiring into a health or physical concern? Are you debating a relationship issue? By clearly understanding the problem or concern, you'll better understand the solution given.

If you usually keep a dream journal, write out your question or query on a new page. If you don't have a dream journal, any piece of paper will do. If you can draw an image, add a photograph, sketch the problem, add the additional information.

Once you settle into bed for the night, start thinking about the issue you want your dreams to work on. Repeat the question or statement you wrote out, over and over while you drift off to sleep.

That's all there is to it. You may not get an answer, solution or response the first time you try dream incubation. If this is the case, don't be disheartened. If you keep with it, you will get the answers you need. The most common reason new dreamworkers feel that their efforts yield no results is that they don't recognize that the dream or dreams they receive relate to the problem at hand (or each other). However, what I've found is that once I begin investigating the dream story, I'm surprised to discover how much they do in fact relate to my concerns and that they do indeed offer practical and sound solutions.

Like any new skill, dream incubation takes a little bit of practice and some patients. Once you begin using your dreams to explore and resolve issues, problems and concerns, you'll discover how invaluable the information they offer really is and you'll wonder why you didn't start requesting guidance sooner.

The Experiment

The point of this entire article is to provide the background and reason for an experiment I'm conducting, and to invite you to take part in the research. From October 31, 2012 to December 31, 2012 I'll be requesting information from my dreams on a variety of topics. I will also be attempting to incubate information for others as well.

Every day (or once I receive an answer/response to a dream query) I'll post the pre-dream request or question on the blog at: http://terrygillisdreamanalyst.ca/blog/. I'll then post the dream I receive. If you would like to participate, either by incubating your own questions/queries or by requesting that I incubate an issue for you, post your question or incubation and dream on the blog.

At the end of the eight weeks, I'll write up a report and article on the experiment and our results.

Terry Gillis is a dream investigator, researcher and author and would like to invite you to participate in her ongoing research and become a part of the growing dream community by posting your dreams on her blog.

Providing useful self development and improvement articles, hynotherapy and counselling writings and other mind help resources online.