March 21 -- Vernal Equinox -- Ostara
Day and night are equal as Spring begins to enliven the environment with new growth and more newborn animals. Many people feel "reborn" after the long nights and coldness of winter. The Germanic Goddess Ostara or Eostre (Goddess of the Dawn), after whom Easter is named, is the tutelary deity of this holiday. It is she, as herald of the sun, who announces the triumphal return of life to the earth. Witches in the Greek tradition celebrate the return from Hades of Demeter's daughter Persephone; Witches in the Celtic tradition see in the blossoms the passing of Olwen, in whose footprints flowers bloom. The enigmatic egg, laid by the regenerating snake or the heavenly bird, is a powerful symbol of the emergence of life out of apparent death or absence of life. Click here to know more about Ostara.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Developing Your Psychic Powers part 2
Practice
Like a difficult sport or musical instrument, ESP ability requires diligent practice. Unlike sports or music, however, your progress can be hard to measure because of the elusive nature of psychic phenomena (it's difficult to know how or when it's going to work). So the frustration level can be high, but the key to success is to not give up. (You should know going in, too, that there are no guarantees of success when it comes to trying to develop ESP; yet if you don't try, you're guaranteed not to get anywhere.)
GUIDE PICKS
Helping Yourself with E.S.P: Tap the Power of Extra-Sensory Perception and Make It Work for You
by Al G. Manning
Be Psychic Now!: Fast, Easy, Sensible Esp System - Even Works for Skeptics -- by Nathaniel Friedland
Developing Your Own Psychic Powers (Audio)
by John Edward
"Set aside some time to practice. Calm the mind, play gentle, soothing music and try to relax, recommends Russel Steward. "Allow your thoughts to wander. Sometimes it helps to picture a summer scene, a field or meadow with the sun shining. It's all about getting used to information coming to you from a different source. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. Try pausing before you do something. For example, when the phone rings, pause a few seconds before answering. Can you tell who it is? Try it when someone knocks at your front door. Try it at work. Can you tell when someone is happy, sad or preoccupied?"
Such exercises require concentration, an ability you need to develop in and of itself. "You need to have an incredible amount of concentration," says Joe Cepeda in his article, "How Do You Improve Your ESP Ability?" "The type of concentration that calls for you to ignore the crowd at a football stadium in the middle of a touchdown, and be able to clearly recall a passage on a book, a face of a friend or a situation. Thoughts are flowing out there at an incredible rate. Every nanosecond there are thousands, or millions of thoughts flowing back and forth. Each individual is sending and receiving thoughts from outside of his mind. Imagine that all the radio stations are broadcast at the same time into one single frequency on your radio receiver and you will get an idea of what is going in your mind at any point in time. Now imagine that you are able to focus your tuner to receive just one radio broadcast."
Don't let frustration or failures make you stop. Be realistic. You can't expect to practice for a few days, then be able to predict when Uncle Louie is going to call or who's going to win the Super Bowl. Psychic abilities, even for those who have developed them to a high degree, can be unpredictable and erratic. The trick is to learn to recognize when your ESP is working... and that comes with experience.
Some Exercises
Here are some practical ESP exercises from various sources:
* Scanning - "Two people - preferably two who haven’t met before - stand about 4 - 6 feet apart from each other, facing each other, eyes closed. Each person then closes their eyes, takes a moment to breathe, relax and ground, then visualizes the other as a ball of light or pure energy. Each looks with their inner eyes into the ball of light and scans the person opposite top to bottom, bottom to top, noticing any words, images, colors, thoughts, sensations in their own body,... anything at all that comes up while they’re scanning... After a few moment, when they each come back, they tell each other what they saw, felt, whatever, and describe how what the other experienced might fit in their lives at this time." - The Light Ball Exercise
* Predicting - "Write three predictions for the next day. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, be sure you're comfortable and feet are firmly planted on the floor. After a few deep breaths, project yourself into the next day. See yourself following through on your plans for tomorrow. Look around you. Notice any colors or sensations. Who is with you? What are they wearing? What are they doing? What are you doing? If nothing seems to come, then listen. Any words? Any song lines start running through your head? How does your body feel? Do you smell anything? What subtle changes do you notice? Is your mood changing? Note everything you sense. Write your 'predictions' based on the information you received." - Sensing and Interpreting
* Online Tests - Work with the many ESP tests that can be found online. Work in a quiet room without distractions. Try different tests and work with them repeatedly. Try them at different times of the day. Are you more successful at certain times of the day than others?
How Do You Know If It's Working?
After your days, weeks and months of meditation, practice and experimentation, how will you know if your psychic powers are improving? "By experience," says Russel Steward. "Store the episodes in your memory. All those things you knew that came true, all the things you could tell other people about themselves, each and every episode fuels your proof."
Better yet, keep a journal of your experiences. Write down the results of your online tests and exercises. The physical act of writing it all on paper will help reinforce the conscious-unconscious connection.
But how do you know if your "hits" are still just coincidence? An increasing success rate will determine that. "At some point," continues Steward, "chance and coincidence are mathematically no longer a factor. You search your feelings, you begin to trust yourself. The mysteries of the universe lay before you, no longer mysterious, but like a giant unread book."
Like a difficult sport or musical instrument, ESP ability requires diligent practice. Unlike sports or music, however, your progress can be hard to measure because of the elusive nature of psychic phenomena (it's difficult to know how or when it's going to work). So the frustration level can be high, but the key to success is to not give up. (You should know going in, too, that there are no guarantees of success when it comes to trying to develop ESP; yet if you don't try, you're guaranteed not to get anywhere.)
GUIDE PICKS
Helping Yourself with E.S.P: Tap the Power of Extra-Sensory Perception and Make It Work for You
by Al G. Manning
Be Psychic Now!: Fast, Easy, Sensible Esp System - Even Works for Skeptics -- by Nathaniel Friedland
Developing Your Own Psychic Powers (Audio)
by John Edward
"Set aside some time to practice. Calm the mind, play gentle, soothing music and try to relax, recommends Russel Steward. "Allow your thoughts to wander. Sometimes it helps to picture a summer scene, a field or meadow with the sun shining. It's all about getting used to information coming to you from a different source. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. Try pausing before you do something. For example, when the phone rings, pause a few seconds before answering. Can you tell who it is? Try it when someone knocks at your front door. Try it at work. Can you tell when someone is happy, sad or preoccupied?"
Such exercises require concentration, an ability you need to develop in and of itself. "You need to have an incredible amount of concentration," says Joe Cepeda in his article, "How Do You Improve Your ESP Ability?" "The type of concentration that calls for you to ignore the crowd at a football stadium in the middle of a touchdown, and be able to clearly recall a passage on a book, a face of a friend or a situation. Thoughts are flowing out there at an incredible rate. Every nanosecond there are thousands, or millions of thoughts flowing back and forth. Each individual is sending and receiving thoughts from outside of his mind. Imagine that all the radio stations are broadcast at the same time into one single frequency on your radio receiver and you will get an idea of what is going in your mind at any point in time. Now imagine that you are able to focus your tuner to receive just one radio broadcast."
Don't let frustration or failures make you stop. Be realistic. You can't expect to practice for a few days, then be able to predict when Uncle Louie is going to call or who's going to win the Super Bowl. Psychic abilities, even for those who have developed them to a high degree, can be unpredictable and erratic. The trick is to learn to recognize when your ESP is working... and that comes with experience.
Some Exercises
Here are some practical ESP exercises from various sources:
* Scanning - "Two people - preferably two who haven’t met before - stand about 4 - 6 feet apart from each other, facing each other, eyes closed. Each person then closes their eyes, takes a moment to breathe, relax and ground, then visualizes the other as a ball of light or pure energy. Each looks with their inner eyes into the ball of light and scans the person opposite top to bottom, bottom to top, noticing any words, images, colors, thoughts, sensations in their own body,... anything at all that comes up while they’re scanning... After a few moment, when they each come back, they tell each other what they saw, felt, whatever, and describe how what the other experienced might fit in their lives at this time." - The Light Ball Exercise
* Predicting - "Write three predictions for the next day. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, be sure you're comfortable and feet are firmly planted on the floor. After a few deep breaths, project yourself into the next day. See yourself following through on your plans for tomorrow. Look around you. Notice any colors or sensations. Who is with you? What are they wearing? What are they doing? What are you doing? If nothing seems to come, then listen. Any words? Any song lines start running through your head? How does your body feel? Do you smell anything? What subtle changes do you notice? Is your mood changing? Note everything you sense. Write your 'predictions' based on the information you received." - Sensing and Interpreting
* Online Tests - Work with the many ESP tests that can be found online. Work in a quiet room without distractions. Try different tests and work with them repeatedly. Try them at different times of the day. Are you more successful at certain times of the day than others?
How Do You Know If It's Working?
After your days, weeks and months of meditation, practice and experimentation, how will you know if your psychic powers are improving? "By experience," says Russel Steward. "Store the episodes in your memory. All those things you knew that came true, all the things you could tell other people about themselves, each and every episode fuels your proof."
Better yet, keep a journal of your experiences. Write down the results of your online tests and exercises. The physical act of writing it all on paper will help reinforce the conscious-unconscious connection.
But how do you know if your "hits" are still just coincidence? An increasing success rate will determine that. "At some point," continues Steward, "chance and coincidence are mathematically no longer a factor. You search your feelings, you begin to trust yourself. The mysteries of the universe lay before you, no longer mysterious, but like a giant unread book."
Developing Your Psychic Powers
very once in a while, you get the feeling that the phone is going to ring... and it does. Or you know who it is that is calling... and you are right. A song is playing in your head; you turn on the radio, and there it is... the same song. You are overwhelmed, somehow, with the feeling that a close friend or relative is in trouble or needs your help at that moment... and you soon learn that is actually the case.
Are these examples of mere coincidence? Or is there something more profound taking place? Are we, in fact, tapping in to what many researchers believe is a shared consciousness - or superconsciousness - that connects all people... perhaps all living things? These are no longer just "New Age" concepts, but are subjects of serious speculation and research by a growing number of mainstream scientists in the fields of quantum theory, psychology and other disciplines. The idea that extrasensory perception (ESP) and related psi abilities are quite real (if difficult to measure) phenomena is gaining respectability.
Those who research ESP suspect that most if not all people have this remarkable ability to varying degrees. The ability is often likened to that of musical talent. Some people are naturally gifted with the ability to play and compose music, and practice makes them virtuosos. Others must learn and work and practice to be able to play an instrument even adequately or in the simplest way. But nearly everyone can learn to play to some degree. The same may hold true for psychic abilities.
Here's what you need to know about developing your psychic abilities.
Acknowledge the Ability
The first step is to acknowledge that ESP exists and that it is present within you to develop. Although this might sound silly or trite, begin by telling yourself that you are psychic. Make it a mantra that you repeat to yourself daily and often. This kind of self-talk has a scientific basis. It is now known that when a person learns something - whether it's a physical skill like wood carving or a mental exercise like memorizing poetry - through repetition, his or her brain physically changes - "rewires" itself, if you will - to accommodate that task. This process of rewiring your brain for psychic ability begins with your belief in it.
"It takes time for the subconscious to be able to communicate with the conscious mind, and the best way to do this is to simply start thinking about it," says Russel Steward in an article for Psychic Journal. "All these thoughts have a positive effect on developing your gift. Read about the subject. Knowledge will help, as you need some understanding of how things work. Adopt the policy you would take with a new hobby. Become involved in it, buy books and magazines, and look for more information on the Internet."
Are these examples of mere coincidence? Or is there something more profound taking place? Are we, in fact, tapping in to what many researchers believe is a shared consciousness - or superconsciousness - that connects all people... perhaps all living things? These are no longer just "New Age" concepts, but are subjects of serious speculation and research by a growing number of mainstream scientists in the fields of quantum theory, psychology and other disciplines. The idea that extrasensory perception (ESP) and related psi abilities are quite real (if difficult to measure) phenomena is gaining respectability.
Those who research ESP suspect that most if not all people have this remarkable ability to varying degrees. The ability is often likened to that of musical talent. Some people are naturally gifted with the ability to play and compose music, and practice makes them virtuosos. Others must learn and work and practice to be able to play an instrument even adequately or in the simplest way. But nearly everyone can learn to play to some degree. The same may hold true for psychic abilities.
Here's what you need to know about developing your psychic abilities.
Acknowledge the Ability
The first step is to acknowledge that ESP exists and that it is present within you to develop. Although this might sound silly or trite, begin by telling yourself that you are psychic. Make it a mantra that you repeat to yourself daily and often. This kind of self-talk has a scientific basis. It is now known that when a person learns something - whether it's a physical skill like wood carving or a mental exercise like memorizing poetry - through repetition, his or her brain physically changes - "rewires" itself, if you will - to accommodate that task. This process of rewiring your brain for psychic ability begins with your belief in it.
"It takes time for the subconscious to be able to communicate with the conscious mind, and the best way to do this is to simply start thinking about it," says Russel Steward in an article for Psychic Journal. "All these thoughts have a positive effect on developing your gift. Read about the subject. Knowledge will help, as you need some understanding of how things work. Adopt the policy you would take with a new hobby. Become involved in it, buy books and magazines, and look for more information on the Internet."
Divination, Fortune Telling Methods
From the earliest stages of civilization people have used various means of divination to communicate with the supernatural when seeking help in their public and private lives. Divination is most often practiced as a means of foretelling the future, and sometimes the past. It is one of the primary practices used by witches, wizards, medicine men, sorcerers, and shamans. These various groups of persons are often called diviners, who often belonged to special classes of priests and priestesses in past and present civilizations, and are specially trained in the practice and interpretation of their divinatory skills.
The methodology for practicing the divinatory skills seems to divide into two categories: the first is the observation and interpretation on natural phenomena, and the second is the observation and interpretation of man-made "voluntary" phenomena. Natural phenomena includes two major subcategories of activity: astrology, and hepatoscopy. To a lesser degree the observation of the following occurrences also can be listed under natural phenomena: unexpected storms, particular cloud formations, birth monstrosities in both man and animal, howling or unnatural actions in dogs, and night-marish dreams.
Man-made or "voluntary" phenomena is defined as being deliberately produced for the sole purpose of soothsaying and includes such acts as necromancy, pouring oil into a basin of water to observe the formation of bubbles and rings in the receptacle, shooting arrows, casting lots, and numerous other acts.
The ancient Romans favored augury and haruspicy. The Egyptians, Druids, and Hebrews relied on scrying. The Druids also read death throes and entrails of sacrificed animals.
The Greeks had their oracle which spoke for the gods. In the Middle Ages grain, sand or peas were tossed onto a field in order to read the patterns after the substances fell. As far back as 1000 BC. the Chinese had "I CHING," an oracle which involved the tossing and reading of long short yarrow sticks. Another ancient Chinese divinatory practice which is still used is "feng-shui," or geomancy, which involves the erecting of buildings, tombs, and other physical structures by determining the currents of invisible energy coursing through the earth. Presently people also are using this principle for the arrangement of furniture in their homes.
Many divinatory methods are still used today, especially in paganism, witchcraft, voodoo and Santeria. Most Christians would probably disagree but prayer might also be considered a divinatory act. Many practitioners today do not feel signs of divination are absolute or fixed, but believe they still have free choices in their future. They believe divination helps them in making better choices.
The methodology for practicing the divinatory skills seems to divide into two categories: the first is the observation and interpretation on natural phenomena, and the second is the observation and interpretation of man-made "voluntary" phenomena. Natural phenomena includes two major subcategories of activity: astrology, and hepatoscopy. To a lesser degree the observation of the following occurrences also can be listed under natural phenomena: unexpected storms, particular cloud formations, birth monstrosities in both man and animal, howling or unnatural actions in dogs, and night-marish dreams.
Man-made or "voluntary" phenomena is defined as being deliberately produced for the sole purpose of soothsaying and includes such acts as necromancy, pouring oil into a basin of water to observe the formation of bubbles and rings in the receptacle, shooting arrows, casting lots, and numerous other acts.
The ancient Romans favored augury and haruspicy. The Egyptians, Druids, and Hebrews relied on scrying. The Druids also read death throes and entrails of sacrificed animals.
The Greeks had their oracle which spoke for the gods. In the Middle Ages grain, sand or peas were tossed onto a field in order to read the patterns after the substances fell. As far back as 1000 BC. the Chinese had "I CHING," an oracle which involved the tossing and reading of long short yarrow sticks. Another ancient Chinese divinatory practice which is still used is "feng-shui," or geomancy, which involves the erecting of buildings, tombs, and other physical structures by determining the currents of invisible energy coursing through the earth. Presently people also are using this principle for the arrangement of furniture in their homes.
Many divinatory methods are still used today, especially in paganism, witchcraft, voodoo and Santeria. Most Christians would probably disagree but prayer might also be considered a divinatory act. Many practitioners today do not feel signs of divination are absolute or fixed, but believe they still have free choices in their future. They believe divination helps them in making better choices.
Fortune Telling
Fortune telling seems to be a dirty word at the moment. Unless you are perceived to be asking deep spiritual questions rather than petty (except to the querent) questions, the assumption is that you are spiritually bankrupt. I have found that petty questions often are just the warm up to establish trust before the big issues emerge. It is sad that parlor divination has become the pariah of the divination world. I argue that true spirituality is the connection to the divine that you can feel at will at any time of the day or night. It is the intent and the ritual that transforms a humble cup of tea into the Japanese tea ceremony. An ordinary cup of coffee with close friends becomes a window into the immediate future: a connection to the divine.
Grand rituals and expensive methods do produce good results but so do humble methods and small, personalized rituals. In both cases, the belief and the intent create the link to the divine. The only trickery involved is fooling the conscious mind to accept an illogical process and allow intuition from the subconscious to shine through. Some people find that, at first, tarot cards work better than playing cards because the conscious mind sees them as meant solely for divination. When using playing cards for the first time, especially those that you have used for games, it is hard to expect an answer. Doubts crowd in and before you know it, it is almost impossible to interpret the cards, even if hindsight shows how accurate they were. The more trivial and simple the items used, the harder it is to expect and believe that you will receive accurate results. But accurate results are what you will get.
You can tell your own fortune but it is very difficult to hold onto any kind of objective viewpoint. Hands up all those who re-dealt the cards when faced with a negative and disappointing answer, rationalizing that maybe you weren't concentrating hard enough the first time? You would never do that with a stranger.
Before you start reading for other people, you need to explore how you feel about karma, will and destiny. Do you see the future as unchangeable or do you believe it is a probability or even just a possibility? The popular view of the moment is that free will can change the future. Whether you agree or disagree, you had better work out exactly where you stand before the tough questions are asked. Most important of all, can you keep everything you hear confidential? Your reputation will be on the line. What is your motivation for reading for other people? Money is fine, people get paid for their time and skills all the time. But if you do not respect or care about your clients, your performance will be poor as the vital connection between reader and querent will be missing.
Grand rituals and expensive methods do produce good results but so do humble methods and small, personalized rituals. In both cases, the belief and the intent create the link to the divine. The only trickery involved is fooling the conscious mind to accept an illogical process and allow intuition from the subconscious to shine through. Some people find that, at first, tarot cards work better than playing cards because the conscious mind sees them as meant solely for divination. When using playing cards for the first time, especially those that you have used for games, it is hard to expect an answer. Doubts crowd in and before you know it, it is almost impossible to interpret the cards, even if hindsight shows how accurate they were. The more trivial and simple the items used, the harder it is to expect and believe that you will receive accurate results. But accurate results are what you will get.
You can tell your own fortune but it is very difficult to hold onto any kind of objective viewpoint. Hands up all those who re-dealt the cards when faced with a negative and disappointing answer, rationalizing that maybe you weren't concentrating hard enough the first time? You would never do that with a stranger.
Before you start reading for other people, you need to explore how you feel about karma, will and destiny. Do you see the future as unchangeable or do you believe it is a probability or even just a possibility? The popular view of the moment is that free will can change the future. Whether you agree or disagree, you had better work out exactly where you stand before the tough questions are asked. Most important of all, can you keep everything you hear confidential? Your reputation will be on the line. What is your motivation for reading for other people? Money is fine, people get paid for their time and skills all the time. But if you do not respect or care about your clients, your performance will be poor as the vital connection between reader and querent will be missing.
Divination, the Future and the Stars: Astrology
Astrology is how the planets and their movements in the sky affect us, as individuals, on earth. Each planet symbolizes a certain force or energy; each of the 12 astrological signs represents a different mode or style in which that energy is expressed.
When people refer to their astrological sign, they are merely stating which sign of the zodiac the sun was in when they were born.
Astrology reflects the principle that nothing in the universe is at once so simple or so complicated as man himself, from the simple human traits inherent in all humans at birth to the complexity of specific personality and behavior patterns of a single individual.
When people refer to their astrological sign, they are merely stating which sign of the zodiac the sun was in when they were born.
Astrology reflects the principle that nothing in the universe is at once so simple or so complicated as man himself, from the simple human traits inherent in all humans at birth to the complexity of specific personality and behavior patterns of a single individual.
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