I have written elsewhere on this blog that parapsychology is the valid and legitimate, scientific study of “psi” phenomenon.  Rather than justifying it here, I am interested in letting you know about what parapsychology can teach the average person about enhancing their own psychic ability.  Yes, we all have it.  I give thanks to William Braud’s work, and this work is representative of what others have said about what conditions allow for psychic ability to blossom.  As a practitioner and a teacher of psychic development, I attest to each and every one of these, in fact, the great majority of training that I offer people uses most of these methods to increase one’s own natural ability.

This is why I teach my students that to maximize your ability (to do this for a living, for example,) steps need to be taken that are largely a lifestyle choice (or shift, if you are not familiar with these methods.)  It does take some discipline and application of hard work and training to be proficient at this work.  There are certain conditions that provide an optimal environment for psychic ability to function at its best.  Here are some of those criteria (adopted from William Braud’s paper, available here, but this paper is very much in line with many other writings on the subject.)

“Psi” Conducive States

• Relaxation, the relaxation response, and muscular relaxation (as achieved by progressive muscle relaxation, and meditation.)
•  A state of low arousal ( a lack of physical and mental stimulus.)
• Cognitive quiet (the ability to slow the stream of thoughts prevalent in the “beta” brain wave, as achieved through meditation.)
• Mild sensory deprivation (reduction of external visual and auditory sensory information.)
• The hypnagogic state (achieved just before falling asleep and before becoming awake and alert, this is why many people have psychic experiences in their beds.)
• Hypnosis (states of hypnosis are especially helpful for past life regressions, life between life sessions, in part because of the state of consciousness achieved, which includes enhanced imagination, suggestibility, absorption, and dissociation.)
• The dream state (this is where your consciousness is more open, particularly to visits from those who have passed, it seems that for the beginner, this may be the most common state of consciousness related to psychic impressions.)
• Psychoactive drugs (certain drugs that encourage shifts in states of consciousness….I do not however, recommend this to my students!!)
• Less distractions or “noise” reduction (in our multi-tasking world, constantly being pulled in this direction or that, it is especially hard to achieve.)
• The ability to turn your attention inward and focus on the internal world and impressions (as achieved through meditation.)
• Confidence, belief in psychic ability, and expectancy of success (confidence and trust in the ability itself, those who believe in psychic ability are much more likely to experience it, also the power of positive thinking.  This is where it is important to recognize how you may be blocking yourself here.)
• Positive emotion/affect and states of mind, particularly, faith, hope, and love.  (Love, caring and compassion are correlated with greater healing outcomes for healing practitioners, this is also achieved in many forms of meditation.)
• Feedback, in terms of hits/misses and accuracy (Especially in the beginning, when trust has not been established by much practice and familiarity with the ability, it is helpful to have validation and feedback from others.  This is a major part of the mentoring program that I offer.  Once you are more confident, the need for feedback diminishes.)
• Reduction of Egocentrism and increase in altruism ( A big one, the ego is a big stumbling block not only for the spiritual path, but also for psychic development.)
• Love/Bonds between individuals enhances how the abilities are expressed specifically between them (such as occurs with soul mate telepathy, for example.)

As you can see, a common thread here is–meditation!  This is the number one point that I really stress for all of my students.  So does any other knowledgeable teacher.  If you are interested in exploring this further and becoming my student, please let me know!  I currently help students from all walks of life and ability levels individually to open to their inner knowing.  Many of my students are applying intuition to practices such as massage therapy, art, music, healing work, and counseling, to name a few.  Not to mention that developing your ability is also, coincidentally, a spiritual path that will also dramatically improve your life in so many other ways.  I am proud to teach it! 😀