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Clairvoyance is often incorrectly used as a generic term for ‘being psychic,’ and even mistakenly used to refer to other psychic concepts, for example as a slang term for mediumship — as in ‘he is one of those clairvoyants who can talk to dead people.’ Psychic seeing or clairvoyance is however a type of psychic impression. It is a psychic perception preference for ‘visual’ impressions in the form of mental imagery and inner visions. Clairvoyance or 'psychic seeing' is the supernatural perception of energy data in the form of mental imagery, inner visions, and visual apparitions that have symbolic, metaphoric, revelatory, or prophetic significance. This original ‘clair’ term is from French clair and Latin clarus , meaning ‘clear,’ and French voir and Latin videre , meaning ‘to see,’ and originates from 13th century Old French clerveans . Clairvoyance is thus to ‘clearly see’ or to have ‘clear vision.’ There are many synonyms and alternative terms for this psychic preference, including ‘second sight,’ astral or etheric vision, cryptesthesia , the ‘eyes of the soul,’ the ‘mind’s eye,’ shadow sight, the third eye, remote viewing, and so on. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream ~ Numbers 12:6 Definitions of clairvoyance in dictionaries, encyclopedias, and psi research papers generally tend to be also ill-conceived, or simply outmoded. For example, Webster’s dictionary defines clairvoyance as the ‘power of perceiving things beyond the natural range of the senses,’ and as ‘keen intuitive understanding.’ [ 1] Collins describes it as ‘quick, intuitive knowledge of things and people,’ [ 2] and ‘to know about future events, or to be able to communicate with dead people.’ [ 3] The Parapsychological Association defines clairvoyance as ‘paranormal acquisition of information concerning an object or contemporary physical event; in contrast to telepathy, the information is assumed to derive directly from an external physical source (such as a concealed photograph) and not from the mind of another person.’ [ 4] Vocabulary.com simply describes it as ‘a magical kind of intuition,’ with which one ‘could attempt to predict which team will win the Superbowl.’ [ 5] One seldom finds an accurate description of the everyday clairvoyant’s authentic experiences in mainstream definitions, and therefore they are not much use to the sensible psychic and medium. True clairvoyance is in fact the supernatural perception of energy data as mental imagery, inner visions, and visual apparitions that have symbolic, metaphoric, revelatory, or prophetic significance. MEMORY-MEDITATED PSI The clairvoyant’s typical perceptions are much like ordinary visualizations, imaginings, daydreams, and visual memories. A practical way to demonstrate the experience is to close your eyes for a few moments and think back to an early childhood memory. As you recall this event, observe what is happening in the scene you are remembering. Where are you? Who is with you? What are you doing? What is happening? What can you detect around you? This is essentially how a clairvoyant psychic or medium perceives a visual psychic impression. Some of my clairvoyant impressions are best described as ‘vivid flashes,’ like standing in darkness with a strobe light flashing only once. These mental flashes are inanimate, ‘frozen’ imagery suspended in time, without any movement or change. Most of my clairvoyant visions are however animated, like a daydream, or a ‘mental movie.’ These visual impressions typically consist of subjective psychic symbols the clairvoyant acquires over time, and it is mostly based on our personal memories and life experiences. Psi researcher Charles Tart calls this memory-mediated psi , or an ‘awareness of memory images,’ similar to ordinary visual memories of something seen before. [ 6] I therefore ‘see’ things from my own frame of reference, or from my own visual ‘memory bank.’ However, not everything I see is familiar. Some clairvoyant impressions are entirely novel or unfamiliar sights. For example, I might see an unknown location, such as a beach or the interior of a home that I have never personally visited before. Such a vision will be composed of visual memories of things I have seen before at other beaches, or in other homes, either in person or in photos, pictures, films, and so on. Clairvoyant impressions also range from realistic visual impressions of ordinary objects, people, places, and events, to unfamiliar, abstract, sometimes bizarre visions similar to the imagery one might perceive in a strange dream. However, no matter what the clairvoyant ‘sees,’ these visual impressions are always significant, meaningful, and never random. CLAIRVOYANT SYMBOLS What clairvoyants ‘see’ differ significantly, as these impressions are highly subjective, intrinsic, and ineffable. We typically develop our own 'vocabulary' or personal set of clairvoyant symbols that may include realistic visual impressions, as well as archetypal or symbolic imagery. In fact, the best clairvoyants are not necessarily those who are the most gifted as ‘seers,’ but instead those most skilled at understanding, interpreting, and relaying what they see. For example, seeing in my mind’s eye someone wearing a ‘white laboratory coat’ for me symbolizes the person being a medical or healthcare professional. The ‘white coat’ symbol is however not based on a particular memory to which I can trace it back; it is just a random mental image I acquired at some point in my life, probably in my childhood. However, if I ‘see’ the white coat in combination with memory flashbacks from when I was a psychology student, I then also know the person is probably a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist. How did I develop these seemingly random clairvoyant symbols? Well, mostly by trial and error, but sometimes I simply have a claircognitive ‘knowing.’ The first time a ‘white coat’ came up in a psychic reading many years ago, the client confirmed she was indeed a medical doctor. So, this way I added another ‘psychic symbol’ to my collection of clairvoyant imagery. So, every time I now perceive this mental image, I know what it signifies. He could foretell whats’ever was, By consequence to come to pass. As Death of Great Men, Alterations, Diseases, Battels, Inundations. All this without th’ Eclipse of Sun, Or dreadful Comet, he hath done By inward Light, a way as good ~ Samuel Butler Memory-mediated visions are therefore mostly a ‘recall’ of events from my own life experiences, but I also perceive memory impressions of movie scenes and television shows, for example, as well as artworks, book covers, and so on. For this reason, it is important for psychics and mediums to expand their channeling potential by having an adventurous attitude towards life, as well as a keen interest in new experiences and expanding their general knowledge. The more life experience a psychic or medium acquires on a variety of subjects and interests, the more rich, sophisticated, and meaningful their channeling symbolism will be. A question developing psychics and mediums often ask is how to distinguish an actual clairvoyant impression from one’s own imagination. A simple way to determine if you are truly seeing something that is clairvoyantly significant, or whether you are just imagining it, is to attempt to change the image or scene in your mind. For example, if you are seeing a dog with a teddy bear, imagine replacing the bear with a doll or a stuffed penguin. Or, if you are seeing a red rose, try to change its color to yellow or pink. True clairvoyant impressions can usually not be adjusted or altered in this way. Fortunately, the inclination to doubt one’s own psychic perceptions usually disappears in time, once the psychic or medium becomes more practiced, skilled, and confident. THE PHOTOREALISM MYTH Do clairvoyants see detailed, ‘photorealistic’ impressions of actual people, places, and events they have never seen before? For example, can I see with 100% real-life accuracy the interior of your home, while I have never been to your house? Some claim they do, but that is not my experience. To my knowledge such exact, detailed ‘photocopy’ visions of actual people, events and places have also never been demonstrated in scientific experiments. For example, decades of extensive remote viewing research show an average accuracy of only 75% across three major psi laboratories, namely SRI, PEAR and Mobius. Note, this success rate of 75% does not imply the remote viewer is able to describe every minute, photorealistic detail of the actual target. A viewer will not, for example, describe it as: I see an old castle in Scotland. It is located one mile to the north of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, off the west coast. There is a sign at the entrance clearly displaying the name: Dunvegan Castle. It is built on an elevated, rocky hilltop overlooking an inlet on the eastern shore of Loch Dunvegan. It is surrounded by five acres of formal gardens. This is not how remote viewers ‘see.’ Instead, a viewer might describe the target as: I see a tall structure built out of stones. Maybe an old castle, or a fort? It seems elevated, maybe on top of a mountain or hill. It has an ancient, ‘retro’ feeling. There is a large body of water, could be a lake, or a natural bay, and it seems like there are mountains in the distance. There’s also some sort of greenery, maybe a large garden, or even a forest. The highly subjective nature of clairvoyance is further confirmed by the increased success rate remote viewing studies show for so-called free response remote viewing, in which viewers freely describe their subjective perception of a target, compared to ‘forced choice’ experiments, in which subjects must choose from a specific set of possibilities. [ 7] In a 1989 experiment, the US Department of Defense asked a remote viewer to investigate Libya’s military response to its criticism of chemical weapons. The remote viewer saw a ship named ‘Patua’ or ‘Potua’ arriving in Tripoli to transport chemicals to a Libyan port. The vision later proved accurate. A ship did arrive in Tripoli to load unknown cargo and then did transport it to a Libyan port. However, the ship’s name was ‘Batato.’ Early psi scholar Edward William Cox observes that a clairvoyant description is rarely, or never exactly what the actual object looks like, and that clairvoyance is in fact not very ‘clear sight.’ It is more or less wanting in definite outline, like objects seen in a fog, suggesting that the perspective faculty, whatever it may be, is exercised through more or less obstacle. The objects do not preserve their relative proportion of size or colour in the impression they make upon the mind of the patient. Whatever the perspective faculty may be, it is certainly not so powerful, nor so clear as the sense of sight. Small and unimportant things are often perceived when more prominent objects are unnoticed. Moreover, the faculty seems to be subject to continuous variation during the few minutes of its exercise, as if interrupted frequently by passing clouds. [8] Clairvoyant perceptions tend to be ineffable, ambiguous, disjointed, intangible, even ‘foggy.’ For example, I might not see an entire beach or a complete house in a 360-degree vision, but instead only a small area, even just the corner of a room, like a ‘close-up.’ And these impressions will mostly be based on my own visual memories. It is therefore pointless to ask a clairvoyant exactly what a particular object, person, or place looks like (or even worse, to amuse you with silly descriptions of what your new house, boyfriend, or prom dress will look like). The best a true clairvoyant can typically offer is a description of their subjective mental impression regarding an object, person, or place, because we do not see the actual, real-life people, places, or things — we only see people, places, and things that ‘look like’ or ‘seem like.’ For example, I once foresaw a client meeting ‘a man wearing a blue shirt.’ But that was all I saw. I only perceived part of the torso of a man ‘wearing a blue shirt,’ not the actual shirt, nor the real-life person wearing it. I cannot even confirm if the particular shade of blue I saw in my vision was the actual color of the shirt he wore when they finally did meet. However, at their meeting he was indeed wearing a ‘blue shirt,’ and in time he became a significant person in her life. Paradoxically, I can usually ‘see’ what a stranger ‘looks like’ when I speak to them on the phone for the first time, but I do not actually see them . Instead, I have a mental impression of their general appearance. It is like meeting a stranger who looks like someone you know, but you cannot exactly remember who, or when a friend describes a stranger to you by referencing a look-alike celebrity. Which actor might play that person? Well, as a clairvoyant, I can see ‘who would play them.’ It is like forensic police sketches of perpetrators — those ‘mugshots’ are never exactly what the person looks like in real life, but they are usually a fairly accurate representation. There was an awkward moment in a mediumship reading some years ago, when I had to tell the client that her deceased grandmother says her new husband, “the one who looks like the actor Antonio Banderas,” is a much nicer man than the previous one she married…whom granny apparently never cared for very much! The client laughed and confirmed her new husband does indeed look like the actor. What I ‘saw’ was a visual memory of Banderas in the film Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991). Why this particular film? Well, it was the first film featuring Banderas I ever saw, so this is how I will usually think of him when someone mentions his name, for example. Psychic perception always follows a ‘path of least resistance’ and therefore the most accessible personal memories and life references will typically become the basis for one’s psychic impressions. Madonna’s movie is the most obvious and convenient visual memory I personally have of Banderas, and therefore my mind went with that. Interestingly, I have also had some odd clairvoyant experiences, where I envisioned a stranger’s facial features with uncanny accuracy, but I might get their hair color wrong, for example, because I perceived their natural hair color…instead of the dyed version from the salon. TYPES OF CLAIRVOYANCE Types of clairvoyant perception is diverse and wide-ranging, and some of the the more prevalent formats include: INTRAPERSONAL CLAIRVOYANCE Also known as subjective,introspective , or memory-mediated clairvoyance, intrapersonal clairvoyance is the most common clairvoyant preference for most psychics and mediums. It is to see one’s own memories, or to see things originating from the self. It is the perception of mental imagery or visual memories based on the clairvoyant’s own life experiences and personal history. For example, when I see my grandmother in a mediumship channeling, then I know I am perceiving information relating to the client’s grandmother. Clairvoyant impressions generally signify something that is meaningful or validating for the client, but it is not an actual image or vision of something or someone in the person’s life. Instead, it is a visual representation or simulation based on something or someone in the clairvoyant’s life. TRANSPERSONAL CLAIRVOYANCE Transpersonal clairvoyance is essentially visual impressions perceived ‘through the eyes of another person’ or other sentient beings, including animals and discarnate spirit entities. Transpersonal means to venture beyond the personal level of the psyche, or to transcend the personal. It goes beyond the individual. For example, I recently had the unpleasant task of having to describe to a frantic mother some of the events that occurred in the final hours of her missing son’s life. I essentially ‘saw it through his eyes.’ Note, I was not seeing him or his actual experiences, I was instead seeing myself in similar scenarios doing similar things, which was tragically confirmed later when his body was found. CHRONOLOGICAL CLAIRVOYANCE Chronological clairvoyance, also known as clairvoyance in time, is to see ‘beyond time,’ or to see events of the past, present, and future. These visual impressions can be of current or recent events; events relating to the distant past, such as past lives or previous incarnations; as well as prophetic visions of the future. A Stanford Research Institute study found that remote viewers can indeed predict the future by perceiving a target in advance before it is later randomly selected. [ 9] Parapsychologist Whately Carington conducted a series of telepathy experiments using a technique called ‘drawing-reproduction,’ in which participants must attempt to replicate line drawings they have not yet seen. They are required to ‘guess’ the content of a target-drawing and then apply their perceived impressions to reproduce the drawing. Results show that subjects are indeed able to perceive a future impression of a drawing and thus predict its contents in the present. [ 10] DISTANT CLAIRVOYANCE Distant clairvoyance, remote clairvoyance , traveling clairvoyance, or remote viewing , is to see things that are distant, far removed, or beyond ordinary observation. It is traditionally known as astral projection or astral vision , meaning to ‘leave the body and journey to remote locations or destinations to see what transpires there.’ [ 11] Charles Leadbeater describes it as the capacity “to see scenes or events removed from the seer in space, either too far distant for ordinary observation or concealed by intermediate objects.” [ 12] Remote viewing is a well-known technical application of distant clairvoyance that emerged in the 1960’s and was further developed for the United States military’s Stargate Project. Researchers found that the distance between the viewer and the target does not impact the quality of a remote viewing. [ 13] In other words, clairvoyant impression is nonlocal. EXTRAOCULAR CLAIRVOYANCE Extraocular clairvoyance, also known as revelatory vision, veridical perception, and X-ray clairvoyance , is to perceive things that are ‘hidden’ or concealed. The extraocular clairvoyant can read messages sealed in envelopes, describe objects packaged in boxes, or even see inside closed drawers and cupboards. The term originates from a phenomenon called extraocular image cited in psi experiments conducted with children in China in the 1980’s. The subjects were able to recognize hidden images on flashcards and words sealed in envelopes by psychometric touch alone. [ 14] Extraocular clairvoyance is also associated with out-of-body experiences, known as astral projection . These perceptions include ‘seeing’ around corners, on top of high shelves, or behind closed doors. A much-cited example is an experiment featuring a subject known only as ‘Miss Z.’ Researcher Charles Tart randomly selected a printed, five-digit number and placed it on a high shelf in a laboratory room, out of Z’s reach, while she lay sleeping on a bed in the room. She later reported an out-of-body experience, during which she was able to read the secret number and later report it accurately. [ 15] MEDICAL CLAIRVOYANCE Medical clairvoyance is to see ‘inside’ the human body, typically to diagnose disease. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle describes, for example, the case of an Australian doctor who could walk down a street and randomly diagnose a person walking in front of him. He could see relationships between their various internal organs and if they were functioning correctly. [ 16] A more recent example is the so-called ‘X-ray Girl,’ Natalya Nikolayevna Demkina, known simply as Natasha. She is reportedly able to view organs, tissues and cells in order to diagnose disease and injuries.[17] SPIRIT CLAIRVOYANCE Spirit or supernatural clairvoyance, apparitional sighting or paranormal clairvoyance is a visual perception of spirit apparitions and discarnate beings, including ghosts, shadow people, Marian apparitions (visions of the Virgin Mary), as well as doppelgänger phenomena (seeing look-alikes or ‘doubles’ of living or deceased persons). The legacy of psychic artist Coral Polge is a good example of recorded spirit clairvoyance. She captured her clairvoyant visions of spirit entities in her sketches and paintings. She first began drawing spirit guides and discarnate beings, but in time she discovered she could also draw highly accurate likenesses of the deceased. Many of her ‘spirit portraits’ were later verified by old photographs of the people she had drawn. A phenomenon closely related to spirit clairvoyance is death bed visions , which some people experience in the final hours of their life. Parapsychologist William Barrett vividly describes such a clairvoyant experience. Suddenly she looked eagerly towards one part of the room, a radiant smile illuminating her whole countenance. ‘Oh, lovely, lovely,’ she said…I asked, ‘What is lovely?’ ‘What I see,’ she replied in low, intense tones. ‘What do you see?’ ‘Lovely brightness — wonderful beings.’ Then — seeming to focus her attention more intently on one place for a moment — she exclaimed, almost with a kind of joyous cry, ‘Why it is father! Oh, he is so glad I am coming; he is so glad . [ 18] DREAM CLAIRVOYANCE Dreams are no doubt the most common and universal form of clairvoyant perception all people experience. The famous clairvoyant Edgar Cayce strongly believed that dreams are a window into the subconscious mind, and by recalling and examining our dreams we may gain better insight on a variety of matters.[19] Dreams are of course not only clairvoyant in nature, as they generally also feature clairaudient, clairempathic, clairsomatic, and even clairintuitive content. However, most dreams are primarily visual and therefore the overriding aspect is usually what is ‘seen.’ Louisa Rhine, wife and colleague of J. B. Rhine, collected more than 10,000 case studies of psychic phenomena. Her work became one of the most comprehensive collections of anecdotal evidence for the existence of psi phenomena. From her data she concludes 65% of all psychic experiences occur within dreams. [ 20] Parapsychologist Gerhard Sannwald also finds in his studies a considerable proportion of spontaneous psychic phenomena tend to manifest in dreams. [ 21] Dreaming is the most prevalent clairvoyant experience for most people because it is the easiest way for anyone to access a discrete altered state of consciousness that is conducive to psychic perception . A meta-analysis of dream studies conducted from 1966 to 2016, shows the dream state to be “particularly conducive to psi because the field of consciousness is reduced,” and also that it strongly resembles the state elicited in Ganzfeld experiments, as stimulation from the senses is considerably reduced or even completely blocked. “Like the Ganzfeld state, the dream state may enable any ‘psi signal’ the best possible chance of being detected above sensory noise.”[22] Everyone experiences psychic dreams, but in my experience clairvoyant psychics and mediums tend to have more vivid and frequent psychic dreams, and typically not for our own benefit. Psychics and mediums often dream on behalf of others and some of us use dreamwork productively in our practice. Excerpt from The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception . © 2022 Anthon St. Maarten REFERENCES [1] Clairvoyance. (2010). Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. [2] Clairvoyance. (2019). Penguin Random House LLC. and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. CollinsDictionary.com [3] Clairvoyance. (2021). Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. CollinsDictionary.com. [4] Clairvoyance. (2015). Glossary of Psi. The Parapsychological Association. Parapsych.org. [5] Clairvoyance (2021). Vocabulary.com [6] Tart, C. T. (1978). Psi Functioning And Altered States Of Consciousness: A Perspective. The Parapsychology Foundation. [7] Schwartz, S. (2017). Remote Viewing. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [8] Clairvoyance. (2021). Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Encyclopedia.com. [9] May, E. et.al. Advances In Remote-Viewing Analysis. The Journal of Parapsychology. [10] Carington, W.W. (1940-45). Experiments In The Paranormal Cognition Of Drawings. Proceedings Of The Society For Psychical Research. [11] Carrington, H. (1920) Your Psychic Powers and How To Develop Them. [12] Leadbeater, C.W. (1903). Clairvoyance. Second Edition. Theosophical Publishing Society. [13] Mumford, M. D. et al. (1995). An Evaluation Of Remote Viewing: Research And Applications. The American Institutes For Research. [14] Charman, R. (2017). Extraocular Image (China). Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [15] Alvarado, C. S. (2015). Out-of-Body Experience (OBE). Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [16] Doyle, A.C. (1926) The History of Spiritualism. Doran. [17] Wehrstein, K.M. (2018). Natasha Demkina. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [18] Barrett, W. F. (1926). Deathbed Visions. Methuen & Co. [19] Edgar Cayce. (2020). New World Encyclopedia. NewWorldEncyclopedia.org. [20] Rhine, L.E. (1981). The Invisible Picture: A Study of Psychic Experiences. McFarland. [21] Sannwald, G. (1963). On the psychology of spontaneous paranormal phenomena. International Journal of Parapsychology. [22] Storm, L. et.al. (2017). On The Correspondence Between Dream Content And Target Material Under Laboratory Conditions: A Meta-Analysis Of Dream-ESP Studies, 1966-2016. International Journal of Dream Research. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

Psychic feeling, empathy, or emotion, also known as emotive telepathy , emotional transfer , or clairempathy, is often erroneously referred to simply as 'empathy,' which is a gross underestimation of true clairempathic psychic ability. Psychics and mediums with this affective perception preference essentially function as emotional surrogates and empathic polygraphs , as we actively embody the feelings, mood states, motivations, and emotions of others. Clairempathy is not ‘normal' empathy, much less mere sympathy. In the context of authentic psychic perception there is a distinct difference between being empathetic towards others, as opposed to metaphysically perceiving and embodying empathic psychic impressions. EMPATHETIC VERSUS EMPATHIC Ordinary empathy is the ability to observe, understand, and sympathize with the mental and emotional states of other people. According to standard scientific models, empathy has three core traits: The first is the ability to recognize emotions in others based on various verbal and non-verbal communication cues, such as tone of voice, facial expression, and body language. The second is the ability for perspective taking; to cognitively understand the other person’s mental-emotional state and place yourself ‘in their shoes.’ The third is the capacity for sincere compassion and sympathy in response to the pain and suffering of others, or to ‘feel for them.’ Empathy is a psychosocial skill or trait that all people possess, although not necessarily automatically. Mentally healthy people typically have healthy levels of empathy, especially if they have been appropriately socialized growing up. [1] However, people possess varying levels of empathy, as opposed to ‘apathy’ (lack of interest or caring), based on a variety of factors. [2] Most of us are therefore to some extent empathetic towards others and can identify, understand, and sympathize with the feelings and emotional experiences of others. This is known as a vicarious experience — it is an empathetic response to the observation of emotions in others. Vicarious empathy in response to social cues is quite common in the general population and an important basis for social behavior and interaction. [3] In fact, it is so integral to prosocial behavior and our coexistence that a lack of empathy has been shown to cause severe psychological and social dysfunction, including psychopathy [4] and pathological narcissism. [ 5] While ordinary empathy involves affective (emotional), and cognitive (thought) processes based on observation, logical thinking, perspective-taking, reasoning, and an appropriate emotional response, the experiences of the clairempath or ‘psychic empath,’ who has an unusual capacity for shared emotion and affective embodiment is an entirely different matter. Clairempathy is the empathic embodiment of energy data that has no rational, logical, or subjective origin or explanation. It is essentially a shared awareness of another sentient being's feelings, emotions, mood states, and motivations, instead of a mere understanding or observation it. Empathic psychic impressions are spontaneous and visceral — it is typically a strong emotional experience without any logic, reason, or personal origin. Just like the claircognizant ‘knows,’ the clairvoyant ‘sees,' and the clairaudient ‘hears,’ the clairempath feels . Clairempathic perceptions are not the empath’s personal emotions, nor are they cognitive observations or interpretations of another person’s emotional state. Clairempaths also do not necessarily sympathize or ‘feel with’ the other person. For example, I can feel someone else’s anxiety or guilt when they are telling a lie, but that does not mean I pity them. I simply ‘feel’ what they are feeling emotionally in that moment, whether I sympathize with them, or not. If someone ahead of me in a slow supermarket line is becoming extremely impatient and angry, without outwardly showing it, I can empathically ‘feel’ her rage (and most likely also perceive a clairsomatic ‘sensation’ of her heart rate and blood pressure rising.) If I choose to pay further attention, I might also perceive claircognitive information about the circumstances in her life that may be causing her to feel so intolerant and irritable. But this does not automatically imply I will personally identify with her emotions (empathy), or feel sorry for her (sympathy). NONLOCAL EMOTION The clairempath actively perceives or embodies the emotions, motivations, and mood states of others. We do not merely observe what others may be feeling, we actually ‘feel’ it ourselves, as if it were our own feelings — sometimes not even immediately knowing whose feelings they might be. Psychic empathy is therefore a form of transpersonal empathy . It is metaphysical and nonsensory in origins. It does not rely on the clairempath observing any sensory clues, or verbal and non-verbal communication. In fact, the clairempath does not even have to see, or physically be in the same place as the other person to perceive these feeling impressions. I constantly embody the feelings of others without needing to know anything about them, or having direct contact or interaction with them. In fact, I can perceive the feelings of people on the other side of the planet. Just like claircognitive or ‘sapient’ energy data is nonlocal and omnipresent in the universal field of consciousness, so too is clairempathic or ‘sentient’ energy data. AFFECTIVE PSI The emotive or affective aspects of psychic phenomena seldom receive much attention in parapsychology and psi research. This lack of interest is probably another consequence of the orthodox Newtonian approach to psychic research. It is obviously simpler to verify empirical facts in a laboratory, rather than ‘ineffable feelings.’ Researcher Christine Hardy however reports some psi research does point to the significant role of emotion or affect in psychic phenomena, instead of it purely consisting of mental (mind-brain) content. Spontaneous psi experiences are often triggered by emotionally charged events; this could, of course, be due to a form of selective reporting, but at least some investigations of target emotionality and psi in telepathy tests suggest otherwise. [6] Hardy cites experimental ganzfeld and telepathy data that finds “emotionally and / or sensorially rich targets seem to be more conducive to psi than highly abstract or neutral ones,” [7] and “affective relationships between sender and receiver seem to enhance success in telepathy tasks.” [8] She also adds that this finding is consistent with what has been generally observed in spontaneous cases of psi. [9] EMOTIONAL CONTAGION A psychological phenomenon related to clairempathy, that has been studied more extensively, is the phenomenon of ‘emotional contagion,’ in which one person's emotions can directly trigger similar emotions in others. It is an instantaneous and unconscious process by which emotional states or moods literally spread like ‘social viruses.’ For example, a 2012 study finds depression can be highly contagious among teenagers within a certain social group. “Over time, adolescents' depressive symptoms increasingly converged toward the average levels of their peers.” [10] Research further shows that we seem to ‘synchronize our feelings’ with each other in social settings and that feeling strong emotions can make people’s brains ‘tick together.’ [11] CRISIS EMPATHY Clairempathy is also observed in the psi phenomenon of crisis impression . A crisis impression is a sudden psychic awareness that another person is in extreme danger, or worse, that they have died. A typical crisis impression is usually an inexplicable ‘shift in mood’ at the time of a loved one’s death — to the extent that the subject is overcome with sadness or despair, or conversely, experience elation or a profound sense of inner peace. Crisis impressions are also characterized by an abrupt change in the person’s emotional or mood state that is not caused any apparent external ‘trigger,’ and these feelings always coincide with an unreported event or death involving a loved one, which the perceiver at the time is not yet aware of. [12] MASS HYSTERIA An extreme example of clairempathy is the unusual phenomenon known as mass psychogenic illness or ‘mass hysteria.’ It is a well-documented psychosocial phenomenon in which a group of people or a crowd, or an entire community, experience a spontaneous outbreak of shared psycho-physiological distress. One of the more bizarre cases is the Dancing Plague of 1518 in Strasbourg, France. Hundreds of frenzied people spontaneously began to dance in the streets, leading to several deaths due to heart failure, stroke, and exhaustion. [13] Another documented case is the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962, in which villagers in several neighboring communities engaged in unstoppable laughter for months, after a group of students at a boarding school started the initial giggling. The villagers could not stop laughing, and some even experienced pain, fainting, skin rashes, bouts of crying, and respiratory problems. [14] Similar ‘mass hysteria’ outbreaks have been documented in schools, workplaces, and communities all over the world. Science currently has no conclusive explanation for this phenomenon of collective obsessional behavior, or so-called ‘epidemics of the mind.’ [15] A recent example has been the widespread hoarding of toilet paper and other essentials, including the emotional outbursts of manic buyers fighting over these ‘coveted’ items in stores, with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic. [16] Psychologist Samah Khaled Zahran believes the origins of these phenomena may be found in the human biofield , or human energy field (aura), also known as the morphic field . He proposes the human biofield serves as an energy umbrella or atmosphere that represents human physical and psychological status that connects us to our surroundings and helps us to adapt to our environment. [17] A 2014 cross-disciplinary study confirms the hypothesises that emotional states generate corresponding metabolic bio-magnetic fields that radiate in patterns reflecting these emotional states, and that these energy fields can be shared in a crowd through paramagnetic sensitivity that may be proportional to crowd numbers. [18] EMPATHIC MEDIUMSHIP When I do mediumship readings, I often tell clients that the dearly departed no longer feel the ‘petty’ human emotions we so often indulge in, but they certainly make me ‘feel’ these emotions while I am channeling. The empathic energy data of the deceased is in my experience always loving, compassionate, peaceful, and unmistakably selfless. It is never hateful, angry, vengeful, jealous, remorseful, or even apologetic — but I do experience such negative emotions when I channel the akashic information of the deceased person. The energy data of the dearly departed never ‘tells’ me they are angry or sad (because they are indeed not). Instead, their energy essentially causes me to feel angry or sad ‘on their behalf’ as the ‘medium.’ Some clients, who have been victims of family trauma or abuse, typically do not care much for this, nor do they wish to understand how everyone on the other side can always just be so ‘pollyanna’ happy and positive. Instead, they want to know that their parent or grandparent is truly sorry, or that their sibling or child is sincerely begging for their forgiveness. Experiencing such emotive impressions can therefore be exceptionally healing for the sitter. But to meaningfully convey this information from the akasha, I need to function as a psychic surrogate or ‘channel,’ and actually ‘feel’ the emotional significance of what is being channeled. SENTIENT SHAPESHIFTING It is important to note clairempathy is not limited only to humans. Author Dawn Baumann Brunke, for example, reveals how through the art of shapeshifting or therianthropy (moving in and out of shared awareness with other sentient beings) one can experience different forms of consciousness ‘through the eyes’ of other beings, and integrate these experiences into a greater awareness of our own being. [19] Excerpt from The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception . © 2022 Anthon St. Maarten REFERENCES [1] Wagers, K. B. & Kiel, E. J. (2019). The Influence Of Parenting And Temperament On Empathy Development In Toddlers. Journal Of Family Psychology. [2] Lockwood, P.L. et al. (2017) Individual Differences In Empathy Are Associated With Apathy-Motivation. Scientific Reports. [3] Rothen N. & Meier B. (2013). Why Vicarious Experience Is Not An Instance Of Synesthesia. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience. [4] Lysaker, P.H. et.al. (2014). Social Cognition And Metacognition In Schizophrenia. Academic Press. [5] Urbonaviciute, G. & Hepper, E. G. (2020). When Is Narcissism Associated With Low Empathy? A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal Of Research In Personality. [6] Christine, H. (2000). Psi As A Multilevel Process: Semantic Fields Theory. The Journal Of Parapsychology. [7] Bierman, D. (1995). The Amsterdam Ganzfeld Series: Target Clip Emotionality, Effect Sizes And Openness. The Parapsychological Association. [8] Broughton, R. & Alexander, C. (1997). Autoganzfeld: An Attempted Replication Of The PRL Ganzfeld Research. Journal Of Parapsychology. [9] Schouten, S. (1982). Analysing Spontaneous Cases: A Replication Based On The Rhine Collection. European Journal Of Parapsychology. [10] Kiuru, N. Et.Al. (2012). Is Depression Contagious? A Test Of Alternative Peer Socialization Mechanisms Of Depressive Symptoms In Adolescent Peer Networks. Journal Of Adolescent Health. [11] Nummenmaa, L. et.al. (2012). Emotions Promote Social Interaction By Synchronizing Brain Activity Across Individuals. National Academy of Sciences. [12] Stevenson, I. (1970). Telepathic Impressions: A Review and Report of Thirty-five New Cases. American Society for Psychical Research. University Press of Virginia. [13] Bauer, P. (2020). Dancing Plague Of 1518. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica.com. [14] Rankin, A. M. & Philip, P. J. (1963). An Epidemic Of Laughing In The Bukoba District Of Tanganyika. Central African Journal Of Medicine. [15] Balaratnasingam S. & Janca, A. (2006). Mass Hysteria Revisited. Current Opinion in Psychiatry Journal. [16] Bagus, P. et.al. (2021). COVID-19 And The Political Economy Of Mass Hysteria. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health. [17] Zahran S.K. (2019) Human Bio-field and Psychical Sensitivity. Journal of Psychology & Clinical Psychiatry. [18] McDonnell, A. (2014). The Sixth Sense-Emotional Contagion; Review Of Biophysical Mechanisms Influencing Information Transfer In Groups. Journal Of Behavioral And Brain Science. [19] Baumann Brunke, D. (2008). Shapeshifting With Our Animal Companions: Connecting With The Spiritual Awareness Of All Life. Bear & Company. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

Psychic knowing, claircognition, or claircognizance , is arguably the most undervalued psychic perception preference, yet probably the most prevalent. These psychic ‘thought’ perceptions may seem mundane, even unglamorous, at first glance, but it is in fact a profound form of psychic perception that plays a much more significant role in everyday life than is commonly understood. Claircognizance is the perception of spontaneous thought impressions, or the psychic ‘knowing’ of factual information and cognitive insights regarding the past, present and future. The claircognizant spontaneously ‘knows’ things without a rational explanation for how we know it. We simply know things in the same way people instinctively know which direction to open and close a water faucet, for example, without ever having been shown how to do it. We just somehow know . Psi researchers refer to claircognition as the "anomalous appearance or acquisition of non-inferential information." [1] Claircognizance is also called superconscious telepathy or telepathic cognition [2] , which essentially means it is the perception of psi from the ‘superconscious’ (note: it is not the telepathic interaction or transfer of thoughts between two minds). Author David Brown describes superconscious telepathy as "the ability to access the collective wisdom of the human race." [3] In other words, it is ‘akashic telepathy.’ The term claircognizance is a neologism derived from French clair in ‘clairvoyance,’ meaning ‘clear,’ and connaissance meaning ‘recognition, knowledge, wisdom.’ In psychology and neuroscience ‘cognition’ refers to the mental processes of knowing, understanding, and acquiring knowledge. Claircognitive psychic impressions are therefore spontaneous psychic knowings, understandings and recognitions that are not the result of logical deduction, intellectual reasoning, or direct observation, but instead spontaneous mental ‘flashes’ of nonlocal, omniscient knowledge, insight or wisdom. The claircognizant psychic or medium consciously perceives factual and sagacious (wisdom) information that is otherwise unconscious, or has spontaneous understanding of a question, problem, or pressing issue. It includes an infinite range of ‘cognitions’ perceived as thoughts, ideas, insights, factual knowledge, and at times uncanny answers and solutions to some of life’s most complex challenges and problems. In pop culture claircognizance is sometimes misconceived as being a ‘subtype’ of clairsentience, clairempathy, or clairintuition, but feeling a presentiment (emotion) or having a premonition (foreboding ) is not the cognitive knowing , recognizing, or understanding of something. Parapsychology, on the other hand, traditionally views claircognizant perception as a form of telepathy, ‘mind-reading,’ or ‘thought transference,’ but claircognizant psychics and mediums know from experience that this simplistic, mechanical notion of knowledge ‘transmission’ or ‘transfer’ does not accurately reflect true claircognitive perception. In fact, the true source of psychic ‘knowings’ is numinous, supernatural, transcendental, or divine . It originates from the spirit realm, the universal consciousness, the akasha. At times, it can be dramatic, in the form of amazing ‘aha’ epiphanies or unexpected ‘light bulb’ moments , but it can also be a simple, subtle knowing what someone is about to say, or knowing accurate facts about strangers. The cognitive information I typically perceive in a reading cannot possibly come solely from the minds of other people, much less my own mind. My typical experience of claircognizance is that it feels like a recalling of my own memories and personal knowledge, but the information I perceive is mostly novel or unfamiliar. At times, it can be dramatic, in the form of amazing ‘aha’ epiphanies or unexpected ‘light bulb’ moments, but it can also be a simple, subtle knowing what someone is about to say, or knowing accurate facts about strangers. It often happens that I will state to a new client certain factual information about themselves, or their life, or the people around them, while they are gasping with surprise. “What? Oh my! How did you know that!?” Sometimes they are truly perplexed, even distressed. It puzzles them how it is possible for me to know something so deeply private about them — things that often nobody else in their life knows. At times, some are downright suspicious, especially the psychic newbies who have never had a reading before. Yes, indeed, sometimes a psychic or medium can actually be ‘too psychic’ for some people’s liking! It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by author Neil Gaiman: “Agnes was the worst prophet that's ever existed. Because she was always right." [4] After almost two decades of doing professional channeling, I still find these surprised reactions a little awkward. I am not always sure how to respond? In the early years, I often used to remain clumsily silent, because I honestly had no idea what to say. These days, I just dryly reply, “Uhm, is this not why you decided to consult with me…because I know things?” My discomfort in these moments probably stems from those unpleasant childhood experiences when I blurted out people’s embarrassing secrets, often spilling the beans at the most inappropriate moments — about private matters nobody was supposed to know about. This repeatedly landed me in trouble, and it to this day it still does. However, these days I am no longer reprimanded or punished by adults, but claircognizance continues to complicate my personal relationships and social life. For example, it is the basis of the annoying propensity I have to constantly want to finish other people’s sentences for them (because I already know what they are planning to say). While claircognizance is sometimes a source of amusement in my professional practice, it tends to be problematic in my personal life. It is not always ideal to know certain things you are not supposed to know. I have lost several friends over the years for ‘knowing’ certain things and being too honest and direct about it. I have however received a few sincere apologies from offended parties after the fact (sometimes many years later). “You were right after all,” they will say. “I wish I’d listened to you back then, but I was in denial and blind to the truth.” I have also received similar feedback from clients over the years. I met Anthon almost 2 years ago during a very hard time of my life. I had talked to three more psychics until I talked to him. He said exactly opposite things that the rest of the psychics had said to me. I was disappointed, and did not believe what he said, since he was not telling me what I wanted to hear. I wish I listened to him. [5] I am also known among some friends and long-time clients by a nickname I acquired due to my penchant for claircognizant 'straight-talk.’ When I complained to a friend years ago about a mutual acquaintance who was offended by my telling them certain truths they did not wish to hear, his sardonic reaction was simply: “Well, maybe it’s time you accept the fact that you are the ‘soothsayer of the tribe,’ and that it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.” DIVINE INSPIRATION One of the significant ways that claircognizance or so-called ‘anomalous cognition’ manifests for many people is divine inspiration . Many artists, philosophers, scientists, and inventors through the ages have attributed their ideas and innovations to a ‘flash’ of insight, or a ‘spark’ of inspiration. The knowings and insights of claircognizant psychics and mediums are channeled from the same omniscient source, namely the superconscious, universal consciousness, or the akasha. In fact, I believe all forms of profound inspiration and creativity, be it artistic, scientific, technological, mystical, or prophetic, are always the result of a spontaneous or intentional channeling of nonlocal energy data. I believe these divine or numinous inspirations are the foundation for all exceptional human creativity, artistic ideas, technological innovation, and scientific advancement. Computer scientist Rafael Espericueta agrees, "spiritual epiphanies inspire the evolution of science." [6] All forms of profound inspiration and creativity , be it artistic, scientific, technological, mystical, or prophetic, are always the result of a spontaneous or intentional channeling of nonlocal energy data. In Greek mythology the process of divine inspiration is said to be the work of inspirational goddesses known as the ‘muses,’ but the phenomenon is even better described by the words of famous composer, Johannes Brahms, who says, "the powers from which all truly great composers like Mozart, Schubert, Bach and Beethoven drew their inspirations, is the same power that enabled Jesus to do his miracles." [7] It is also reminiscent of French composer Charles-François Gounod who when asked how he came up with all his beautiful melodies, simply replies: “God sends me down some of his angels and they whisper sweet melodies in my ear." [8] In a conversation with Engelbert Humperdinck in 1880, the composer Richard Wagner says, “An atheistic upbringing is fatal. No atheist has ever created anything of great and lasting value." [9] Science has many theories about the nature of the so-called eureka effect (also known as the ‘aha! moment’) but what is not commonly considered is the possibility that the spontaneous insight that inspired the famous Greek physicist, Archimedes, to shout, “Eureka! Eureka!' (I found it! I found it!) is not much different from the everyday ‘anomalous cognitions’ that claircognizant psychics and mediums experience. Just like Archimedes, the claircognizant also perceives sudden insights and inexplicable answers to everyday questions. The idea of divine inspiration has become less fashionable since the advent of modern science and a material worldview, but it does not make the concept any less bona fide for those of us who perceive these cognitive miracles in our everyday channelings or readings. Ironically, Isaac Newton, arguably the most central figure in the emergence of modern materialist science, wrote about more than only science and mathematics. Author John Chambers reveals Newton secretly ventured into the realms of alchemy, religion, spirituality, and prophecy. He even searched for lost civilizations like Atlantis and predicted an Apocalypse in the year 2060. [10] According to Sarah Dry, Newton even conducted a forensic analysis of the Bible, in which he attempted to decode its divine prophecies. She reports that the mystical aspects of Newton’s work are lesser-known today because his descendants preferred to suppress his so-called ‘heretical’ papers after his death (about ten million words, or enough to fill about 150 average length novels) thus keeping it hidden from public awareness for a century. [11] It is also claimed that the famous physicist Albert Einstein owned a copy of The Secret Doctrine (1888) by Helena Blavatsky, which he kept on his desk at all times. It is even rumored that he advised a fellow physicist to get a copy and “dip into it when he’s handicapped by some problem." [12] Blavatsky is a Russian philosopher and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society. Her book is said to reconcile ancient eastern wisdom with modern science. Max Heindel says it is necessary for us to realize that Madame Blavatsky was, as she herself often expressed it, only the compiler of her books. Behind her stood the real teachers, the guardians of the Secret Wisdom of the ages, who taught her all the occult lore which she transmitted in her writings. [13] Gary Starkweather, the inventor of the laser printer, also credits his success to divine inspiration. I believe that to a great extent, the creativity we possess is because the Creator put it there. God put things [in us] as tool developers and creative individuals and I think it has to please him when He sees us use those faculties to make something new. [ 14] According to author Warren M. Mueller the popular assumption is that human thoughts originate in the brain, but where exactly this occurs in the brain "continues to defy scientific methods to quantify this." Perhaps this is because human thoughts originate outside the body. The brain does not create our thoughts, but rather processes them and tries to adapt them to our ability to understand and function. Thoughts enter our brain from a source that is outside of our physical body and, only when they reach the brain, does it begin to act and decipher them. [15] Satish Kumar, former monk, and environmental activist, writes that “science and spirituality make a great partnership.” If those engaged in science spend some time in the silence of their own selves, inspiration will come and lead them to the answers for which they seek. A sense of unmanifested wonder and curiosity, and a sense of intuition and inspiration exist before there is empirical knowledge through experiments, or evidence and proof to create a scientific hypothesis and a theory. Dismissing that unmanifest intuition or inspiration, as some materialist scientists do, is a grave folly. [16] Psi researcher Helané Wahbeh proposes channeling or ‘the process of revealing information and energy not limited by our conventional notions of space and time,’ is quite common in society. [17] I think of channeling as being like a spectrum. On the subtler side, people experience clairempathy, claircognizance, lucid dreaming, and telepathy. Somewhere toward the middle are precognition and mediumship. And at the far end of the spectrum are rarer experiences like trance channeling, geomancy, psychic healing, pyrokinesis, and levitation. [18] She cites a study done by the Institute of Noetic Sciences that surveyed, among others, scientists, engineers, and the general public about their channeling experiences. The survey finds that as much as 90% of participants had at least one channeling experience in their lifetime. [19] A 1976 paper on spirit possession, trance channeling and spirit mediumship, further finds such channeling-related beliefs to exist in 74% of a sample of 488 societies in all parts of the world. These beliefs are often also associated with ritualized altered states of consciousness. [20] Wahbeh further cites a survey among psychic channelers in which they were asked what they perceive to be the source of their channeled information. It finds that 56% of the channelers surveyed attribute their channeled information to the higher self; 50% say it comes from the universal mind; and 47% believe that the source is the unconscious mind. Some participants also report channeling spirits, deities, extra-terrestrials, or other spirit entities. [21] RETROCOGNITION & PRECOGNITION Two noteworthy forms of claircognizance are retrocognition and precognition , or psychic knowledge regarding the past and the future. Retrocognition, also called post-cognition, hindsight , or past evocation , is the perception of facts and knowledge of past events not learned, inferred, or logically deduced by the psychic or medium. These psychic impressions are often a sage (wise) discernment of past events. The retrocognizant psychic or medium ‘knows’ or ‘recognizes’ things that have happened to you, without you telling them those details of your past. Retrocognition does not only relate to our current lifetime, but is also perceived as past life memories. Precognition or prescience is the prophetic, predictive, or ‘advance knowing’ of future events. It is foreknowledge that is cognitive, cerebral, intellectual. The term precognition is from Latin praecognitio , based on cognoscere ‘to know.’ A simple example is knowing beforehand that someone is going to call you, and then the phone rings and it is the person you expected. Precognition is mistakenly called ‘future sight’ or ‘prophetic vision’ by some, and sometimes also confused with clairvoyance. Although claircognitive knowing can indeed be accompanied by visions, presentiments, or premonitions, the claircognizant does not always ‘see’ or ‘feel’ or ‘sense’ a future event. Instead, we might only know what will happen, why it will happen, and so on. Prescience is a more precise, delineated term that specifically means foreknowledge or ‘knowledge of events before they take place.’ The term precognition is mostly used in the field of parapsychology, but seldom heard in the psychic community. Psi researchers define precognition as “the ability to obtain information about a future event, unknowable through inference alone, before the event actually occurs." [22] Parapsychology, however, does not differentiate between the sapient and sentient aspects of the different forms of predictive psychic perception. All types of ‘future psi’ are merely referred to as ‘precognition,’ regardless of it being clairempathic, clairvoyant, or clairintuitive instead. For example, presentiment or ‘pre-feeling,’ is simply described as an ‘unconscious form of precognition.’ [23] To distinguish more clearly between the sapient and sentient qualities of true psychic perception, I therefore prefer the old-school term prescience in the context of claircognizance, instead of the psi notion of ‘precognition.’ Prescience is a more precise, delineated term that specifically means foreknowledge or ‘knowledge of events before they take place.’ Prescience is from Latin praescientia meaning "foreknowledge," and praescire ‘to know in advance," with prae meaning ‘before’ and scire ‘to know.’ According to researcher Robert Rosenberg, precognition or prescience holds a special place among psi phenomena. It is perhaps the most metaphysically offensive of rogue phenomena. In the past 130 years, a number of thoughtful investigators, none of them either naïve or foolish, have studied a growing collection of incidents…[and] have repeatedly come to the generally reluctant conclusion that true precognition (or something identical to it with a different name) exists. [24] Parapsychologist Andrew MacKenzie agrees, “I am surprised that the strength of the evidence for precognition in its various forms in daily life is not generally realized.” [25] Psi researcher Robert Rosenberg concludes that the empirical evidence for precognition is undeniable. “Unless we ignore it, pretend it does not exist, it demands our attention.” [26] Excerpt from The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception . © 2022 Anthon St. Maarten REFERENCES [1] Rosenberg, R. (2016). Precognition. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [2] Broad, C. D. (1953), Religion, Philosophy and Psychical Research. Routledge & Kegan Paul. [3] Brown, D. K. (2016). Brain-Storm: When The Mind Becomes The Ultimate Weapon. Lulu.com [4] Pratchett, T. & Gaiman, N. (2006). Good Omens: The Nice And Accurate Prophecies Of Agnes Nutter, Witch. William Morrow. [5] Idil, A. January 16, 2016. BestPsychicDirectory.com [6] Espericueta, R. (2020) Science and Spirituality – Complementary or Contradictory? LinkedIn.com [7] James-Griffiths, P. (2016) Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers. ChristianHeritageEdinburgh.org.uk. [8] Harding, J. (1973). Gounod. Stein [9] Abell, A.M. (1995). Talks With Great Composers. Spiritualist Press. [10] Chambers, J. (2018). The Metaphysical World of Isaac Newton: Alchemy, Prophecy, and the Search for Lost Knowledge. Destiny Books. [11] Dry, S. (2014). The Newton Papers: The Strange and True Odyssey of Isaac Newton's Manuscripts. Oxford University Press [12] Albert Einstein. (2017). Theosophy.wiki. [13] Heindel, M. (1933) Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine. Phoenix Press. [14] Mueller, W. M. (2019). Truth Seeker: The Human Condition. WestBow Press. [15] Mueller, W. M. (2019). Truth Seeker: The Human Condition. WestBow Press. [16] Kumar, S. (2018). Embracing Spirituality With A Scientific Mind. TheEcologist.org. [17] Wahbeh, H. (2012) The Science Of Channeling: Why You Should Trust Your Intuition And Embrace The Force That Connects Us All. Reveal Press. [18] Wahbeh, H. (2021). What Is Channeling? The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). [19] Wahbeh, H. et. al. (2018). Exceptional Experiences Reported By Scientists And Engineers. Explore. [20] Bourguignon, E. (1976). Spirit Possession Beliefs And Social Structure. World Anthropology: The Realm Of The Extra‑Human: Ideas And Actions. Mouton. [21] Wahbeh, H. & Butzer, B. (2020). Characteristics Of English-Speaking Trance Channelers. Explore. [22] Franklin M. S. et.al. (2014) Future Directions In Precognition Research: More Research Can Bridge The Gap Between Skeptics And Proponents. Frontiers In Psychology. [23] Radin, D. (2016). Presentiment. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [24] Rosenberg, R. (2016). Precognition. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [25] MacKenzie, A. (1974). Riddle Of The Future: A Modern Study Of Precognition. Arthur Barker. [26] Rosenberg, R. (2016). Precognition. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

Clairsomatica or psychic somatosensation is a valuable form of psychic perception that until now has been largely underestimated and misunderstood. These profound psychic 'sensations' are perceived by gifted psychics, mediums and energy healers as mental impressions and psycho-physical embodiments of touch, pressure, vibration, temperature, proprioception, pain, and various other medical symptoms and bodily sensations. The supernatural perception of physical sensations and bodily symptoms has traditionally never been adequately acknowledged as a distinct psychic phenomenon — to the extent that it did not even have an appropriate name. Instead, this remarkable psychic perception preference was mistakenly referred to either as clairtangency (psychic touch) or psychometry , or merely considered to be a ‘subtype' under the ill-conceived ‘clairsentience' umbrella . The term ‘clairtangency’ is totally inadequate in this context, as it linguistically refers to only one aspect of physical sensation, namely touch or tactile perception. Psychic sensation is however not only perceived as impressions of ‘touch,’ but also as perceptions of pain, temperature, proprioception, and pressure . Labelling all psychic sensation impressions as ‘clairtangent’ is therefore a misnomer. I have devised the more sensible psychic term of clairsomatica , to elevate this class of psychic impression from its traditional underestimation as merely being a clairsentient ‘subtype.’ The lack of an appropriate term for this type of psychic impression does the psychic abilities of some of the world’s most gifted medical mediums, energy healers, and forensic psychics a gross injustice. For this reason I have devised the more sensible psychic term of clairsomatica, to elevate this class of psychic impression from its traditional underestimation as merely being a clairsentient ‘subtype.’ The term clairsomatica distinguishes somatosensory or somatic perception from all the other psychic perception preferences . Somatic means ‘pertaining to the body.’ It derives from French somatique and directly from the Latinized form of Greek sōmatikos, ‘of the body,’ as well as from sōma or sōmatos meaning ‘the body.’ The somatosensory system in the human body involves the perception of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, position, movement, and vibration. It is spread throughout the body and consists of sensory receptors and neurons in the skin, muscle, and organs, as well as the central nervous system. Somatosensation is a mixed sensory category of physical sensations, which includes: mechanoreception (touch, pressure, vibration) thermoreception (temperature) proprioception (motion, body position) equilibrioception (balance) nociception (pain) Clairsomatica therefore encompasses all forms of psychic somatosensation typically perceived by psychics and mediums as impressions or embodiments of touch, pressure, vibration, temperature, proprioception, pain, and other bodily sensations and medical symptoms. Clairsomatic perceptions commonly experienced by clairsomatic psychics and mediums include: tickling sensations in various areas of the body, but especially the face, back, neck, and hands pressure on the crown of the head chills or goose bumps hair standing on end sensations of being touched or even pushed sudden temperature changes in rare instances sensations of physical trauma , or even ‘blows’ to the body. A haunting example of clairsomatica is reported in the case of the Stans Poltergeist in Switzerland in the 1860’s. Suddenly I felt a soft rustling of the hairs on my left temple, as if caused by a playing finger. Thinking that someone wanted to wake me, I grasped at it with my left hand and felt a soft warm little hand - I felt quite distinctly the thumb and finger. As I did, so it softly withdrew in the direction of the window, where I saw, in sharp relief against the shutters, a dark shape moving slowly backwards and forwards. [1] For awakening clairsomatics these embodied psychic sensations can be unpleasant, disconcerting, even disturbing and traumatic at times. Exceptionally gifted clairsomatics experience all manner of temperature changes, unusual aches and pains, physical discomforts, ‘creepy’ sensations, and a plethora of medical symptoms, including pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, tinnitus, and vertigo. GHOST SYMPTOMS For some this psychic preference can create challenges in their personal life, as some clairsomatics, despite being in perfect health, can ‘feel physically sick’ or experience shared ghost symptoms with a partner, close friend or relative who is suffering an actual illness or disease. Clairsomatics sometimes even experience this psychic version of an 'ailment' without being aware of the other person’s condition. One of the unpleasant ways I sometimes experience this phenomenon is when I do a reading for someone who has a cold, the flu, seasonal allergies, or is simply a heavy smoker. I have, for example, experienced burning sensations in my chest; felt congested and suddenly began to cough inexplicably; and I have even felt my eyelids and nose itching, and so on. There have been times when I would physically ‘choke up’ as I start talking to a client on the phone; or I might develop a headache; or feel intense anxiety, as I prepare to call them. I recall a funny episode when a client awkwardly apologized to me when this happened: “Sorry, I was so nervous to talk to you, I chain-smoked several cigarettes before you called!’ As a child, I frequently had distressing clairsomatic experiences. For example, I felt physically ill and extremely uncomfortable in the presence of people who were suffering from an illness. I was even hospitalized due to this on at least two occasions that I know of. The doctors’ official explanation at the time was that I suffered from some sort of ‘asthma,’ but today I know it was due to an anxiety response brought on by extreme experiences of clairsomatica. Some clairsomatics can experience shared ghost symptoms with a partner, close friend or relative who is suffering an actual illness or disease. I also vividly remember the specific clairsomatic experience that prompted me to consciously begin suppressing these unpleasant impressions. I was attending a children’s theatre performance when I was about ten years old. I was sitting a couple of seats away from a girl about my age, who I later noticed had a broken arm in a cast. It started with me feeling a numb, aching pain and an itching sensation in my right arm, which I perceived for the duration of the show, and quite some time after. Eventually my discomfort became so unbearable, I leaned forward in my seat, with my aching arm bent under my chest, in an attempt to relieve the discomfort. Then I looked over to the side and noticed a cast on the girl’s arm. I instantly experienced another clairsomatic sensation, in which I felt myself ‘falling,’ and then I clearly felt the ‘cracking’ blow to my arm. It was so vivid, it made me sit back up in shocked surprise! The incident was a very unsettling experience at a time in my life when I was old enough to realize for the first time that I could physically ‘feel’ what other people feel. I certainly did not want to have another experience like that, so I deliberately began to suppress my clairsomatic perceptions, and somehow became quite skilled at blocking it out as I grew older. These days, I am less distressed and proactive in managing these experiences, but I generally still make efforts to avoid it. Clairsomatica is something I have never fully embraced, much less attempted to further develop, despite the fact that many clients and friends have told me over the years that they experience a sense of well-being when I’m around, or that I exude some sort of ‘healing energy’ when I channel for them. It certainly explains why strangers tend to follow me around in public places and constantly gravitate towards being in my personal space. CAUSE OF DEATH In mediumship readings, I sometimes experience a more tolerable version of clairsomatica, when I perceive the deceased person’s cause of death. For example, I might feel pressure or tension in the area of my chest, which usually indicates a heart attack, or a sensation of discomfort in the lower part of my torso, which signifies a lung condition or difficulty breathing, and so on. I have also felt ‘blows’ to my body, which usually indicates some sort of accident or violent trauma. I only experience these physical causes of death in ways that are already familiar to me. In other words, I know what chest pain, or the sensation of respiratory inflammation feels like, but I do not have first-hand experiences of what it feels like to be ‘run over by a truck,’ for example. In such cases, I might perceive the information as another type of psychic impression, such as a clairvoyant vision, for example. I recently did a reading for someone whose mother had been brutally murdered several years ago. The client later explained that the perpetrator not only shot the victim, but also drove over her lifeless body with his truck. I have obviously never experienced anything like this myself, so instead of physically embodying this cause of death, I instead perceived a clairvoyant memory flash of a similar scene in the television series The Righteous Gemstones (2019), which I had been binge watching at the time. Not knowing what had happened to her mother, this unusual vision initially seemed bizarre to me, but the client instantly understood its significance. BODY PSI Parapsychology research data for clairsomatic perception is limited and traditionally focused mostly on its role in extreme psi or ‘paranormal’ phenomena, such as spirit possessions, poltergeists, and physical mediumship, as well as mental health pathology – and apparently with much skepticism. For example, physician William Hammond, an outspoken critic of spiritualism, who considers mediumship a ‘mental illness,’ argues that the psychic impressions of being ‘touched’ that some mediums attribute to spirit activity are “merely symptoms of nervous derangement of some kind.” [2] Parapsychologist Christine Hardy however confirms data from spontaneous cases and informal investigations suggest that psi information is indeed sometimes ‘felt’ by the receiver. She calls it a tele-empathicsensation that matches the sender's experience. According to Hardy, this concept of ‘body-psi’ has been formally explored in experiments (such as remote staring), to demonstrate the autonomic system reacts to unconscious psi information. [3] Parapsychologist Dean Radin reports psychophysiology has become increasingly important in the study of various psychic phenomena. Psychophysiology studies mind-body interaction using empirical techniques to identify correlations between inner, subjective experience and objective, measurable bodily responses, such as that of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Radin says this approach provides objective ways to probe the unconscious mind, which is where psychic information is thought to first arise. [4] Such impressions, operating below the level of conscious awareness, can manifest as subtle changes in the body and may be noticed in the form of chills, stomach clenching or other visceral sensations, heart palpitations, and the presence of goose bumps .[ 5] Radin concludes that studying these types of psi phenomena are challenging, but that it is viable and that there is a growing interest in this research approach in both psychology and the neurosciences. Detection of unconscious influences in bodily reactions does not provide the same type or level of detail that is available to conscious awareness. But it does provide a way to explore mental activity that is otherwise not available. Using such techniques, telepathy has been explored by looking for correlations in brain activity between pairs of isolated or distant friends. Clairvoyance and precognition have been studied by measuring changes in brain activity, heart rate, skin conductance, and pupil dilation when a person accurately versus inaccurately describes targets distant in space or time. Precognition has been studied by measuring physiological responses before being exposed to unpredictable stimuli. [6] POLTERGEIST SOMATICA Clairsomatic symptoms have interestingly been found to have an inverse relationship with poltergeist activity, which modern researchers argue might be evidence of alterations in the psychophysiology of the so-called poltergeist ‘agent.’ A poltergeist is traditionally believed to be a mischievous ghost or a supernatural being that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as making loud noises and moving objects. The German term poltergeist literally means ‘noisy spirit,’ from poltern ‘make noise, rattle’ and geist ‘ghost.’ The modern hypothesis for poltergeist phenomena is however that it is due to psychokinetic influence by a living ‘agent,’ instead of it being a spirit haunting. Poltergeist phenomena are typically linked to a specific living person, and it usually only happens in the presence of that person. [7] Parapsychologist William Roll finds that when an agent exhibits certain psycho-physical symptoms , the poltergeist phenomena often tend to calm down, or even subside completely. Roll identified this oddity in at least three poltergeist cases he investigated. For example, in one case the paranormal activity subsided after the agent had suffered a bout of epileptic seizures that required hospitalization, and only resumed again once he was treated for it. [8] In another case the poltergeist activity abated when the agent suffered migraine headaches and vomiting episodes, and only flared up again once she had received treatment for these symptoms. [9] PSYCHIC HYGIENE I find the above poltergeist discovery intriguing in the context of my own psychic practice. I believe psychic channeling, mediumship, and energy healing are a calling, and that regularly practicing these gifts or abilities enhances the health and well-being of the practitioner. In fact, I find it odd when other psychics, mediums, and healers complain about constantly ‘feeling drained’ due to the energy demands of their work. For me, the experience is quite the opposite. I find psychic channeling rather energizes me and improves my health and well-being (unless I really overdo it by working too much). It is in fact when I am not working for lengthy periods of time that my health and well-being begins to suffer. I therefore compare psychic work to ‘going to the gym,’ or ‘donating blood.’ It promotes the psychic or medium’s health and well-being. I believe psychic channeling improves auric integrity and balances the flow of chi (universal life force) in the psychic, medium, or healer’s energy field. Psychics and mediums are ‘wired’ to channel or read, and if we do not do it on a regular basis, both our mental and physical health and wellness begin to suffer. In fact, I consider it a functional spiritual necessity, or even a kind of ‘metaphysical hygiene.’ Frequent psychic channeling improves auric integrity and balances the flow of chi (universal life force) in the psychic, medium, or healer’s energy field. I further suspect this may be an underlying cause of mental and physical health problems for many spiritually ‘gifted’ people, especially those who are lazy and negligent, in denial, or simply resistant to their metaphysical abilities. I know of a few colleagues who experienced a marked improvement in their health and well-being once they embraced their gifts and abilities, overcame their hesitance, or resolved their lack of self-trust and self-worth and began to consistently practice psychic, mediumship, or energy healing work. I further believe science might discover new avenues of understanding should it begin to approach psychic phenomena more often from a premise of it being adaptive, rehabilitative, purposeful, healing, or even divinely ordained — instead of attributing it to psychosomatic neuroses, psychopathology, or neurological malfunction. CRISIS SOMATICA Similar to clairempathic phenomena, clairsomatica is also reported in cases of crisis impression, where subjects experience ‘shared illness’ or ‘dying symptoms’ at the time of the crisis. For example, a man whose father was dying was awakened at the exact time of his passing by intense feelings of ‘suffocation,’ while his father was in fact drawing his final breaths in a distant location. I remember grabbing my mouth, forcing it open to help me breathe. I was fighting for all I was worth, but the pains were now unbearable . [ 10] Author Paul Hawker reports the case of a woman who was awakened one night by the sound of her ‘heart breaking.’ I know it sounds really odd, but that's what it was. I heard it crack and felt my chest sort of splitting. The next day, while driving to work, she suddenly felt a sensation of 'pressure' on the side of her face. I distinctly remember the pressure was that of a cheek lightly pressed against mine, sort of cuddling me. The feeling I was filled with at this time was one of love and support — it felt fine. I then felt a hand holding my hand and 'felt' it had no middle finger. I knew this because there was no pressure in this area. And then it dawned on me. I realized it was my dad's hand; he'd lost his middle finger in a building site accident. [11] Later that day, her husband informed her that her father had passed away during the night from a heart attack. PSYCHOKINETIC SOMATICA Clairsomatica has also been documented in a successful series of psychokinesis experiments conducted from 2013 to 2015 in an Argentinian laboratory with a factory worker named Ariel Farias, who had the ability to raise a table’s legs off the floor by simply placing his hands on it. What makes this study notable in terms of clairsomatica is that Farias reported ‘feeling a sensation of heat’ in his hands whenever he was able to lift the table. However, temperature measurements showed his hands and forearms were in fact cold while he was performing telekinesis, leading researchers to conclude that the experience of heat in his hands is a purely subjective sensation. [12] Farias also reported feeling as if he was ‘merging with the table’ during successful trials. The very moment the table began to move, he felt sensations similar to those felt by an airline passenger when the plane takes off. He also said that when the table leg rises, it’s ‘similar to when you put on your shoes; at the beginning you feel the difference between bare and covered skin, but in a few seconds, you forget this difference and begin to feel the shoes as a part of you.’ He also described the inverse sensation (removing one’s shoes) when the force disappears, and the table leg falls down to the floor. [13] MIRROR-SYNESTHESIA Scientific evidence for clairsomatica has further been documented in studies of a special form of synesthesia known as mirror-synesthesia or pain synesthesia. Mirror-synesthetes feel a matching sensation in the same part of their body as another person. Seeing someone else being pinched on the cheek, for example, would cause the mirror-synesthete to feel a similar sensation in their own cheek. These studies not only provide unmistakable evidence for the existence of this type of synesthesia, [14] but also that it is not merely a form of vicarious empathy [15] and that it correlates with increased levels of emotional empathy. [16] Neurologist and researcher Joel Salinas estimates about 1.5% of the general population experiences this phenomenon, which he describes as a neurological trait , instead of it being a ‘disorder.’ Salinas, known as ‘the doctor who can feel your pain,’ is himself a mirror-synesthete. He says it enables him to feel the emotional and physical experiences of his patients. He describes it as a ‘heightened empathic ability’ that offers him invaluable clues about how to see life from other people’s perspective. [17] Just walking around every day, I feel strangers hurting, and I feel it so thoroughly and completely ~ Megan Pohlman Journalist Erika Hayasaki reports the case of mirror-synesthete Carolyn Hart who wanted to become a physical therapist, but the pain and discomfort she would have to constantly share with her patients would have been too much for her to tolerate, so she became a massage therapist instead. Hart describes her “most flagrant mirror-sensorial perception” as “pain shooting down my legs when I see other people’s wounds and injuries.” When she sees another person being touched, she experiences ‘a gentle perception that tickles her skin.’ She also perceives similar sensations whenever she sees another person being bumped or shoved. But, if the contact becomes more aggressive, for example if I witness a person body-slammed, then I don’t feel that ticklish exteroceptive sensation. Instead, I will feel what I call synesthesia-for-pain…which feels like bolts of electricity coursing down the back of my legs. [18] Synesthete Maureen Seaberg describes the similar case of Megan Pohlman, a pediatric nurse who literally feels the pain of her young patients. Pohlman says, “just walking around every day, I feel strangers hurting, and I feel it so thoroughly and completely.” Allan Doctor, a pediatric intensive care physician who has worked with Pohlmann for many years, says her abilities are indeed remarkable. For example, nurses often ask for additional pain medicine or sedation when a child has high blood pressure or heart rate, which then prompts him to investigate whether the cause is, in fact, pain, or something else, like a fever. “Megan’s reliability in sensing when they really are in pain or anxious, versus other causes, is unusually acute.” [19] Excerpt from The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception . © 2022 Anthon St. Maarten REFERENCES [1] Joller, M. (2015). Stans (Switzerland) Poltergeist. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [2] Hammond, W.A. (1876). Spiritualism And Allied Causes And Conditions Of Nervous Derangement. G.P. Putnam’s. [3] Hardy, C. (2000) Psi As A Multilevel Process: Semantic Fields Theory. The Journal of Parapsychology. [4] Carpenter, J. (2012). First Sight: ESP And Parapsychology In Everyday Life. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. [5] Beloff J. & Rhine, J. B. (1981). On The Nature Of Psi. Journal of Parapsychology. [6] Radin, D. (2016). Presentiment. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [7] Williams, B. (2019). Psychological Aspects In Poltergeist Cases. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [8] Solfvin, G. F. & Roll, W. G. (1976). A Case Of RSPK With An Epileptic Agent. Parapsychology Review. [9] Roll, W. G. & Tringale, S. (1983). A Haunting-Type RSPK Case In New England. Research in Parapsychology. Scarecrow Press. [10] Fenwick, P & Fenwick, E. (2008). The Art of Dying. Bloomsbury Academic. [11] Hawker, P. (2000). Secret Affairs Of The Soul: Ordinary People's Extraordinary Experiences Of The Sacred. Wood Lake Publishing Inc. [12] Braude, S. E (2018). Ariel Farias. Psi Encyclopedia. The Society for Psychical Research. [13] Gimeno, J. & Burgo, D. (2017). Laboratory Research On A Presumably PK-Gifted Subject. Journal Of Scientific Exploration. [14] Ward J. & Banissy M.J. (2015). Explaining Mirror-Touch Synesthesia. Cognitive Neuroscience. [15] Rothen N. & Meier B. (2013). Why Vicarious Experience Is Not An Instance Of Synesthesia. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience. [16] Ward, J. et.al. (2018) The Relationship Between Mirror-Touch Synaesthesia And Empathy: New Evidence And A New Screening Tool. Cognitive Neuropsychology. [17] Salinas, J. (2017). Mirror Touch: Notes from a Doctor Who Can Feel Your Pain. HarperOne. [18] Hart, C.C. (2017) Reflecting on Mirror-Touch. Carolyncchart.com [19] Seaberg, M. (2018). Meet the Nurse Whose Superpower Is Feeling Your Pain – Literally. Glamour.com. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

The most common psychic experience, yet also one of the most intriguing and underestimated, is the phenomenon of psychic intuition or clairintuition, also known as premonition, presage, foreboding, presentiment, and informally as ‘gut feelings’ or ‘hunches.’ The term intuition derives from Latin intueri meaning ‘to look at, consider,’ and intuicioun meaning ‘insight, direct or immediate cognition, spiritual perception.’ The mainstream notion of ‘intuition’ is however rife with myth, misconception, and even controversy. This muddle is in part due to different fields using the term to mean different things. “Given this range of uses, nothing can be said about intuition in general,” remarks philosopher Richard Rorty. [1] For example, psychologists define intuition as ‘unconscious thought,’ [2] or ‘unconscious pattern-matching cognition’ [3] , while in spirituality and metaphysics intuition is customarily regarded as an innate spiritual knowledge. It is in fact described by mystics and spiritualists of many traditions throughout the ages [4] , while occultists, esoteric scholars and metaphysicians conceive of it as the true ‘sixth sense.’ The phenomenon of 'intuition' or authentic psychic foreboding is generally misconceived by science and misconstrued in popular culture. Dictionary definitions of intuition range from it being ‘direct access to unconscious knowledge,’ or ‘inner sensing and insight,’ to ‘unconscious cognition,’ or ‘the ability to understand something instinctively, without any need for conscious reasoning.’ For both the practicing and developing psychic or medium it is vital to understand the true nature and role of intuition in the context of authentic psychic perception, beyond these misconstrued popular notions. INTUITION & INSTINCT Primitive man relied heavily on his everyday intuition. He thought in images and symbols, listened to his ‘inner voice,’ and followed his ‘gut.’ Early man fluently spoke the language of the soul, the metaphysical dialect of his spiritual origins. Intuition is the ‘native tongue’ of the mind-soul. It transcends the everyday time-space reality and the physical senses. We are all born with this innate ‘soul language,’ because we are spirit beings in human form. Orthodox science however typically argues that intuition is merely an ‘evolutionary intelligence’ that developed from our primitive, animalistic survival impulses and instincts. Statements like ‘rely on your instinct’ and ‘trust your gut’ are therefore often used interchangeably. It is typically assumed that instinct and intuition are the same thing, but this notion is based purely on a physical, ‘mind-brain’ view of consciousness and does not accurately reflect everyday intuitive experiences. Psychologist Marcie Boucouvalas writes “the intuitive realm has been functional since the dawn of humanity” and “we are all still pioneers and pilgrims on the pathway of better understanding human consciousness.” She believes it essential to transcend the traditional ‘either, or’ way of thinking about rational and intuitive modes of knowing. She adds however that “even if one accepts the validity of intuition, questions beckon.” Is the source of knowledge outside of and beyond the senses, located in a capacity of the human species that we do not yet fully understand? Or does it originate in the senses at a less than conscious level of awareness? [5] Neuropsychiatrist George Dearborn finds intuition is indeed “outside the range of physiology and neurology and is an unconscious process of the mind .” [6] Psychologist Mike Arons says the ‘problematic status’ of intuition is “somewhere between the instincts and the gods,” and the scientific ‘muddle’ around it is due to “skeptical rationalism which is a reactive pole to blind faith.” This has caused the notion of intuition to be either discounted or dismissed. He proposes instead that intuition is supraconscious and its study should thus include spiritual and transpersonal considerations, instead of only pure rationalism.” [7] The human body speaks in urges, impulses, and physical needs, while the soul speaks in premonitions , forebodings, hunches, and gut feelings. As spiritual beings we indeed have physical bodies with certain natural drives and impulses, like the ‘fight or flight’ response when we sense danger, or primal urges to seek out pleasure and avoid pain. These primal instincts have not evolved or changed much since prehistoric times. Despite our many modern advances and sophistication, we remain subject to our primitive instincts. [8] However, as you know from your own intuitive experiences (such as knowing who is calling you before the phone rings, or thinking of long-lost friends and later bumping into them) we cannot attribute all of our gut feelings, hunches, premonitions, and forebodings to mere ‘instinct,’ or a simplistic urge for ‘physical survival.’ In my experience instinct is the subconscious language of the mind-body , while intuition is the subliminal language of the mind-soul . The human body speaks in urges, impulses, and physical needs, while the soul speaks in premonitions, forebodings, hunches, and gut feelings. Intuition is an omniscient, archetypal, transcendental wisdom. It is the core dialect of our inner divinity, our spiritual origins, the eternal soul. We cannot fully access the sagacious, omniscient wisdom of the higher self, or divine self, or spirit through pure human intellect, logic, reason, and analytical thought alone. Instead, we need the ‘soul language’ of our metaphysical ‘inner guidance system.’ Intuition is an aspect of our spiritual essence; an awareness arising from our metaphysical resonance with the universal consciousness or the akashic field. We all experience this mind-soul resonance daily, in the form premonitions, forebodings, hunches, gut feelings, and so on. It is a soul language we are all born with, and it can be further fostered through various spiritual practices, such as meditation, dreamwork, and divination. Ralph Waldo Emerson says, “belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them.” In the book Edgar Cayce on Religion and Psychic Experience , author Harmon Hartzell Bro writes that Cayce recommended that should we seek psychic experiences in our daily life, it should ideally be in the context of spiritual growth, learning about ourselves, or helping others. [9] Of course, as human beings, psychics and mediums also speak the everyday ‘soul language’ of intuition. However, when we channel or read, the intuitive impressions we perceive are not merely ‘inner guidance’ impressions, but instead clairintuitions. Clairintuitive psychic perceptions are not personal spiritual insights or private affirmations, but instead transpersonal and universal insights and affirmations, essentially resulting from an enhanced mind-soul dialect we are ‘wired’ to speak. Clairintuition is an expanded lexicon beyond the everyday language of the soul. It is a supernatural perception aptitude or gift, and not merely a form of ‘developed’ inner guidance. PSYCHICS & INTUITIVES It has become the trend in recent years for some psychic practitioners to refer to themselves as ‘sensitives’ or ‘intuitives,’ instead of using the term psychic . This is mainly a consequence of the negative connotations often associated with the word ‘psychic,’ especially in the mainstream media. For example, reporter Lisa Held writes, “while psychics have traditionally profited from claiming to predict the future or communicating with deceased relatives, many are now working in the general field of wellness, calling themselves ‘intuitives’ or ‘intuitive healers,’ who channel ‘energy’ that helps people discover what they want out of life.” [10] Intuitive counselor Susan King confirms, “I call myself an intuitive because I think it takes away any barriers and removes potential erroneous stereotyping.” [11] Journalist Sara Coughlin notes “as mystical as the professional title ‘intuitive’ might sound, the [intuitives] we spoke with described their abilities in highly sensible, practical terms. Intuition is like a muscle — you need to train it and use it regularly to maintain its strength. Intuition is best utilized if channeled through a more tangible medium, like numerology or tarot. And, most resoundingly, they also made it clear that everyone, spiritual or not, does have a sense of intuition that they can hone beyond that gut feeling. It's just up to the individual whether they choose to do so or not." [12] Psychic ability is an expanded capacity for supernatural perception that transcends the personal sphere of everyday intuition. Clairintuition is not merely a ‘honed gut feeling.’ Although it is indeed true that as spirit beings we all have a built-in capacity for intuition, authentic psychic channeling or reading is in my experience certainly not merely a form of ‘honed intuition.’ Everyone does experience precognition, presentiment, and premonition, because it serves to guide us on a daily basis as metaphysical beings on a spiritual mission — whether we are conscious of it, or not. However, this kind of everyday intuition is personal, private, and individual, and mostly focused on one’s own needs, as well as the welfare of your loved ones. In her best-selling book Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing medical intuitive Carolyn Myss agrees, “intuition is neither the ability to engage prophesy nor a means of avoiding financial loss or painful relationships. It is the ability to use energy data to make decisions in the immediate moment.” Patent psychic ability or the expanded capacity for supernatural perception transcends the personal sphere of everyday intuition. Clairintuition is not merely a ‘honed gut feeling.’ In fact, many people often fail to recognize their gut feelings and tend to disregard their hunches — only to later realize its validity, or discover its true meaning (sometimes with disastrous, even tragic consequences). Psychics and mediums however perceive profound transpersonal impressions of clairintuition, mostly on behalf of others . Ironically, we tend to be better at channeling these perceptions for others, instead of for our own benefit! Intuition is an aspect of the inner guidance system or our ‘spiritual GPS,’ while psychic perception is transpersonal, prophetic, omniscient , and numinous. Clairintuitive perception is not merely developed inner guidance or ‘honed intuition.’ It is metaphysical gift of prophetic intuition on ‘supernatural steroids.’ PRECOGNITION & PREMONITION Researchers generally do not apply distinct, separate terms for various forms of predictive psychic perception, as parapsychology traditionally does not distinguish between different forms of prophetic psi. Instead, the term precognition is generally used as an umbrella term to represent all forms of foreknowing (claircognizance), foreseeing (clairvoyance), forefeeling (clairempathy), foresensing (clairsomatica), and foreboding or forewarning (clairintuition). However, psychics and mediums know from direct experience that using such a broad term for all these nuanced prophetic phenomena is an underestimation and a gross misrepresentation of predictive psychic perception. It is not as if new terms must be invented for these concepts, because appropriate, distinguishing terms for these predictive phenomena already exist in the dictionary! Classic terms like prescience, presentiment, premonition, and presage have been around for centuries, yet one is unlikely to find them in modern scientific papers, much less in psychic blogs and social media posts. Prescience : foreknowledge, advance insight, anticipation of the course of future events, divine omniscience. Presentiment: to feel beforehand, a foreboding, an intuitive feeling about the future, a feeling that something will happen, a feeling that misfortune or calamity is coming. Premonition : forewarning, advance warning, prior notice, a strong feeling that something is going to happen Presage: something that foreshadows or portends a future event, a foretoken, a prophetic foreboding, an intuition or feeling of what is going to happen in the future, something sensed beforehand. With the advent of a Newtonian worldview and mechanistic, reductive science, these long-standing, time-honored terms have regrettably become outmoded archaisms. Our ancestors conceived these linguistic concepts to communicate their everyday mystical experiences. Yet, you will not find these terms, for example, in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) online dictionary. [14] The only related terms I found listed are precognition, retrocognition and premonitory dream. It is in fact peculiar that in both psychology and psi research the concept of ‘premonition’ is mostly only found in the context of dream phenomena , as demonstrated by the aforementioned example. Science apparently accepts the possibility that premonitions may occur in dreams, and even in altered states of consciousness, but when a premonition or presentiment occurs in the realm of waking awareness, it can only be a conscious or unconscious ‘precognition.’ True psychic perception is so much more than mere ‘mind-brain’ cognition . In fact, the APA essentially agrees, as it states that cognition is only one of the three traditionally identified components of ‘mind,’ along with affect (feeling) and conation (motivation). Yet, when it comes to predictive psychic phenomena, only one of these three ‘components of mind,’ receives attention and recognition in parapsychology? To my knowledge the APA currently offers no ‘affective,’ nor ‘conative’ terminology for what it calls ‘the purported ability to see or experience future events through some form of extrasensory perception.’ [15] I suspect the concept of precognition has been adopted as the preferred scholarly term because it is more empirically convenient and academically conceivable. The reductive notion of focusing on psi ‘cognition’ only, and the absence of clear terminological distinctions that reflect the fundamental differences between various clairsapient and clairsentient psychic perceptions, is in my view another result of the ‘arranged marriage’ between parapsychology and orthodox science. A recent neuroscience study proposes, for example, that all emotions are merely ‘cognitive states resulting from the gathering of information.’ Conscious experiences, regardless of their content, arise from one system in the brain. Specifically, the differences between emotional and non-emotional states are the kinds of inputs that are processed by a general cortical network of cognition, a network essential for conscious experiences. [16] But philosophers, spiritualists, metaphysicians, occultists, and mystics, including psychics and mediums, have through the ages always known we are not merely ‘computerized robots,’ or ‘information-processing machines.’ Instead, we are inspired, directed, guided, and protected every day by our feelings and intuitions — by ineffable, subjective, and mostly non-cognitive presentiments, premonitions, forebodings, forewarnings, hunches, and gut feelings. Yet, conventional science reduces these prophetic ‘qualia’ — that sometimes save lives and prevent disasters and tragedies — to one simplistic umbrella concept of ‘precognition’ and ‘ anomalous cognition.’ On February 26, 1993, financial executive Barrett Naylor had a premonition, while stepping off a train in New York's Grand Central Station. He felt he should immediately turn around and go home. He followed this gut feeling, which probably saved his life, as later that day a bomb detonated below the World Trade Center, where his office was located. Amazingly, Naylor experienced a similar foreboding eight years later, on the morning of September 11, 2001. Once again, it saved his life. Later he confessed that he felt guilt and regret for not sharing his premonition with others, as he believes it might have helped to save more lives before the attack on the World Trade Center. [17] On the evening of Wednesday, March 1, 1950, a Nebraska church exploded five minutes after the weekly choir practice was supposed to start. Miraculously no one was injured, as the church building was inexplicably empty that evening. All the choir members were ‘coincidentally’ and unusually late for the weekly rehearsal. [18] Although some choir members had mundane reasons for being tardy, including car trouble and overnapping, others had no specific reason to explain why they were late that night. [19] Did the choir members all have a foreboding premonition? If so, it was a shared intuition that was either subconscious or unconscious, but certainly not something of which they were ‘cognitively’ aware. Yet, parapsychology calls it ‘precognition.’ I suspect the concept of precognition has been adopted as the preferred scholarly term because it is a more empirically convenient and academically conceivable concept, while ineffable, old-world notions like presage, presentiment and premonition are inconvenient carriers of esoteric, supernatural, numinous, or mystical connotations. But using terms like these to differentiate between sapient and sentient psychic impressions is necessary in developing a universal psychic vocabulary, as it more accurately reflects and represents our true psychic experiences. For example, not all psychics and mediums have a claircognitive psychic preference for ‘foreknowing.’ They might not necessarily ‘know’ or ‘understand’ something beforehand, but they do ‘feel’ or ‘sense’ it, or even ‘see, hear, taste, or smell’ it. Psychic mind-soul perception is much more than mere ‘mind-brain cognition.’ To clarify the intuition 'muddle' it is therefore necessary for the concept of clairintuition to be clearly differentiated from other types of prophetic or predictive psychic impressions. For a more accurate new conceptual model of psychic perception, I therefore propose the following terms to distinguish distinct types of prophetic or predictive psychic impressions, according to the relevant ‘clair’ preference: Premonition : clairintuitive foreboding Precognition : claircognitive,prescient foreknowing Presentiment : clairempathic, affective forefeeling Prognosis : clairsomatic, somatosensory foresensing Presage : clairsensory apprehensions of foreseeing, forehearing, foresmelling; foretasting; foretouching Excerpt from The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception . © 2022 Anthon St. Maarten REFERENCES [1] Rorty, R. (2021). Intuition. Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Encyclopedia.com. [2] Sinclair, M. (2011). Intuition And Unconscious Thought. Handbook Of Intuition Research. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd [3] Rosenblatt A.D. & Thickstun, J.T. (1994). Intuition And Consciousness. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly. [4] Intuition. (2018). New World Encyclopedia. NewWorldEncyclopedia.org. [5] Davis-Floyd, R & Arvidson, P.S. (2016). Intuition: The Inside Story: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Routledge. [6] Dearborn, G. V. N. (1916). Intuition. Psychological Review. [7] Arons, M. (1993). Instinct, Intuition And Supraconscious: De-Alienating Reflections. The Humanistic Psychologist. [8] Nicholson, N. (1998). How Hardwired Is Human Behavior? Harvard Business Review. [9] Harmon, H. (1970). Edgar Cayce On Religion And Psychic Experience. Paperback Library. [10] Held, L. (2019). Psychic Mediums Are The New Wellness Coaches. The New York Times. Nytimes.com [11] Garfinkel, P. (2015). Don’t Call Her A Psychic: ‘Intuitive Counselor’ Susan King Sets Up Shop At Hotel Bel-Air. Los Angeles Times. [12] Coughlin, S. (2018). We Asked 5 Spiritual Workers To Define ‘Intuition’ - Here's What They Said. Refinery29.com [13] Myss, C. (1996) Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing. Harmony. [14] APA Dictionary Of Psychology. (2021) American Psychological Association. Dictionary.apa.org [15] Precognition. (2021). APA Dictionary Of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Dictionary.apa.org 16] New York University. (2017) Emotions Are Cognitive, Not Innate, Researchers Conclude. ScienceDaily. [17] Naylor, B. 20/20: The Sixth Sense: ‘Seeing The Future’. Oct 26, 2012. ABC News. [18] Nichols, L. (2010). Remember The Miracle: Church Explosion 60 Years Ago Not Forgotten. Beatrice Daily Sun. [19] Edeal, G. (1950). Why the Choir Was Late. Life Magazine. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents.

The new year has kicked off with yet another batch of psychic predictions from all over the globe. It has become an annual tradition to predict as much doom and gloom as possible, and this year the custom was once again upheld with much enthusiasm and zeal. The usual depressing prophecies and upcoming disasters were numerous this year, coupled with some mindless trivia about celebrities and movie stars. Why? Because bad news and gossip sells. It is what most people like to hear and it is what most people like to fear. Scientific studies have shown that people prefer bad news in the media. They find it more interesting, respond to it more often and remember it much longer. They also pass the news on to others at a much faster rate. I guess it is in our nature, because knowing the bad news before everyone else might just give us a better shot at survival. Not wanting to be left out of the loop, psychics, mediums and astrologers from all over the world have once again chimed in this year with the usual sensational, high-drama stuff. This year's predictions include several massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mysterious diseases, floods and fires – enough to cause many a panic attack and sleepless night. Not to mention all the political upheaval, economic disaster, crime and high-profile kidnappings that have also been lined up for the year ahead. If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer The additional celebrity gossip about Hollywood marriages, break-ups and babies is simply meant to soften the blow; a feeble attempt at 'sugar-coating' and click-baiting. It is the clumsy, modern day version of good news. It also serves to entertain those who could care less about serious world events. And as is customary, the skeptics also went to town with this year’s predictions. Some had a field day mocking all the ‘fortune tellers’ by providing their own set of silly predictions for the next year, while the rest spent hours tracking and tracing last year’s failed predictions, to see how many got it wrong after all. Of course, a few careers took a temporary nose-dive because of this, and a few reputations were once again burnt at the stake. No medals were handed out to the ones who got it right last year. Neither will any statues be erected. So much negativity, cynicism and fear. I find it difficult to relate, because most of this stuff is on the fringe of my reality tunnel . You see, I choose to live in a world where good things also sometimes happen to good people; in a place where there is joy and hope for the future, and where people sometimes dare to be happy and live their lives to the fullest. Now, I am not suggesting that disastrous natural phenomena do not occur from time to time. Neither do I deny the fact that humanity is capable of extreme evil and malice. I grew up witnessing such things, in a country where hatred and violence was the norm. Yes, these things have been a part of my reality since I can remember. But, today I am guided by Spirit and as I grow older and wiser, I increasingly prefer to expand my consciousness and create my reality in such a way that it also includes the good, the positive and the uplifting. ​ We are all co-creators of our shared reality and each day we contribute to this hologram of collective consciousness with our thoughts, emotions, words and deeds. However, our personal power to co-create our world also brings with it serious responsibilities . It is our divine duty to consider the well-being of our fellow-man and our planet. It also brings with it the choice to contribute to the co-creation of a better, brighter future – or not. I am not suggesting that psychic predictions should always be happy and upbeat, or blind to the truth. In a truly intuitive and spiritually aware society (which we are currently not), the prediction of cataclysmic world events should serve as a blessing to mankind. In ancient times the tribe did not solely entrust their destiny to their chief or king, but also to the shaman who advised him. A prophet is not without honor except in his own country among his own people ~ Sun Ra Personal predictions and warnings work a charm in the lives of my clients every day. Why would the same principle not apply to organisations, governments, nations and countries? Sure, there is not much anyone can do about an impending volcanic eruption in Indonesia or Italy, but a well-timed prediction could at least serve as fair warning to the people in that area. Unfortunately, history has shown repeatedly that legitimate predictions of major world events tend to be ignored or ridiculed, often with tragic consequences. It is the price humanity pays for its skepticism, complacency and lack of spiritual consciousness. This tendency is as old as time itself. Throughout human history every generation has had a 'crazy' Noah building an arc! Let’s face it; people did not even take an experienced war veteran and corporate security expert like Rick Rescorla seriously. He initially predicted the possibility of a basement bomb exploding in the World Trade Center and that is exactly what happened in 1993. Well, one would think he would at least have been taken more seriously after that, but once again he was pretty much ignored when he predicted that the next attack would come from the air, which is exactly happened on September 11, 2001. We are seeing terrorist attacks on federal government... excuse me, federal buildings… And also the New York Trade Center... the World Trade Center in 2002, with something, with a terrorist attack ~ The Jamison Twins Rescorla simply ignored the complaints of office workers when he insisted they participate in regular evacuation drills; and on 9/11 he also refused to follow the order from officials not to evacuate World Trade Center Tower Two, after the first tower had been hit. Fortunately, Rick Rescorla’s perseverance and his contempt for complacent bureaucracy ultimately saved the lives of at least 2700 people. If a natural-born leader and stubborn personality like Rick Rescorla could not get his warning through to people, what are the odds that anyone would ever take seriously the ramblings of an ‘airy-fairy’ psychic? It is documented fact that The Psychic Twins, Linda and Terry Jamison, predicted a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center two years before it happened. Their prediction was recorded in 1999 on the Art Bell Show on Coast to Coast AM. Clearly nobody took much notice at the time. But skepticism is not the only reason people often disregard authentic predictions. Apart from mankind’s tendency towards laziness, cynicism and complacency, the false prophets among us are also to blame. Too many fake predictions are whipped up every new year for entertainment purposes, with the secret hope of promoting someone’s career or to sell more books or tickets. This kind of self-serving sensationalism does nobody any good in the greater scheme of things. In my experience, true prophecies and spiritual messages of global importance do not come on demand, much less for entertainment purposes. When these prophecies do come forth, they are channeled through those who are of pure intent and who have a selfless heart. The receiver in turn will pass along the message to whom it may concern, without any fanfare or publicity. The receiver of the message may, of course, choose to listen or not, at their own peril. Furthermore, if a volcano is destined to erupt in Indonesia or Italy, you can be sure that Spirit is most capable of communicating the warning to a gifted Indonesian or Italian, instead of some celebrity psychic on the other side of the planet. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” ~ Mark 6:4 There are lightworkers and spiritual messengers in every community, and every nation, and every country, and they mostly perform their divine duty behind the scenes. And should publicity, fame or public recognition seek them out, it will be to create awareness and serve the greater good – certainly not their ego. We can expect even worse fear-mongering and psychic showcasing next year, because as you probably know the Mayan long-count calendar will be grinding to a screeching halt in 2012 . There are those who believe that this foretells all kinds of terrible calamities, including the end of the world. And there is very little time left to sell all those 2012 books. The end is indeed nigh. Next time you read a list of new year’s predictions, consider if they have been published in order to save lives and make the world a better place? Ask yourself whether those messages were channeled by the owner of a selfless heart, or have they been concocted simply to stroke an ego or make a few bucks? It is easy to separate the wheat from the chaff. Simply trust your gut. You have been blessed with an unfailing inner guidance system. Learn to follow your intuition, use your common sense, and don’t believe everything you read. © 2011 Anthon St. Maarten ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

How will highly sensitive people survive the new Age of Narcissism? How will empaths hold on to their sanity, well-being and inner peace, while they brave a growing toxic storm of psychic pollution in today's society. An epidemic of sociopathic attitudes, values and morals is slowly spreading like a virus through our global village. Narcissism, self-entitlement and a lack of empathy are fast becoming the toxic hallmarks of the digital age. And caught in the midst of this global whirlpool of poisonous psychic energy, is the empath, the intuitive, the highly sensitive person, who is finding it increasingly difficult to stay afloat. Despite the vast collection of empath resources available to us these days, including online coaches, therapies, books, websites, courses, workshops and podcasts , all aimed at educating and empowering the highly sensitive person and emotionally intuitive empath, our plight remains an ongoing struggle. Many of the customary strategies and guidelines are not really working for us. Empaths everywhere are increasingly finding it difficult to cope. Our predicament is real, and it’s serious. And I believe we mostly have only ourselves to blame. To explain my unconventional view on this subject, I need to start off with the following disclaimer: if you are reading this article in the hopes of finding further confirmation bias for all those lame empath stereotypes, you will be very disappointed. In this essay you will not find the customary self-indulgent ideas and self-righteous beliefs about what it means to be an empath, which is so fervently advocated by some members of our community. So, please be forewarned. This blog post is definitely not intended to lament our empath wounds, celebrate our shared ‘victimhood,' or throw another highly sensitive ‘pity-party.’ Ain’t nobody got time for that! This blog post instead aims to truly empower and give sanction to awakened, conscious empaths to fulfill their true destiny. Why is rising narcissism the foremost threat to the empath community? It’s simple really: narcissists are the polar opposite of empaths. One of the primary defining traits of pathological narcissism is a complete lack of empathy. Narcissists are devoid of compassion, and generally incapable of truly caring about anyone or anything except themselves... and those things that serve their own agenda. In stark contrast, empaths tend to be the exact opposite, sometimes to their own tragic detriment. Ask any empath who has survived an abusive relationship with a gaslighting narcissist…they will know what I am talking about. While narcissists cultivate chaos and destruction, empaths tend to care more about the well-being of others than their own. The question is: why are empaths wired this way? Our society is becoming increasingly geared towards toxic individualism, deluded self-importance, extreme entitlement and neo-narcissism . We even have cool slogans and hashtags for it these days, such as “haters gonna hate” and "sorry not sorry." ​ A growing collection of research studies show that our society is becoming increasingly geared towards toxic individualism, deluded self-importance, extreme entitlement and neo-narcissism, while we are also becoming less empathetic and civically-oriented compared to previous generations. We even have cool slogans and hashtags for it these days, such as “haters gonna hate” and "sorry not sorry." People today are also less likely to be concerned about serious social problems and the state of the natural environment. Empathy, compassion, and contributions to charity are also on the decline. These days folks are more interested in the trappings of success, image, money and fame, and much less inclined to be of service, or to give back to their community. ​Instead, blatant narcissism is increasingly being celebrated and worshipped... ranging from bratty toddlers and teenage divas, to self-obsessed social media influencers, entertainment racketeers and political supervillains. If you don’t believe me, take another critical look at your social media feed, or today's mainstream news. So, what is the solution for empaths? How do we survive this mayhem? Do we avoid engaging with mainstream society as much as possible? Should we just steer clear of all the narcissists, bullies and mean people? Many of us have tried that already, with limited success. Unfortunately, the situation is no longer that simple. The state of affairs in our world has become much more ominous and deeply pervasive. Empaths are not only facing the threat of rising levels of individualistic narcissism and psychopathic self-entitlement, but we are also confronted by a global shift towards collective narcissism and a mean-spirited bully culture . There is a disturbing new upward trend in political polarization, religious extremism, prejudice, bigotry and real hatred everywhere. Toxic tribalism is also rearing its ugly head, and increasingly we are witnessing the signs of collective entitlement and an arrogant attitude of narcissistic superiority among a growing number of countries, nations, social and cultural groups, religious organizations and political parties. Worst of all, our collective narcissism and sense of entitlement as a species is gradually destroying the planet we inhabit, since we believe as a collective that we are the 'crowning glory' of all creation. Narcissism, the lack of empathy, and relentless entitlement, is present in the very air we breathe these days. I predicted this ominous shift back in the day of all the 2012 predictions and the Mayan Calendar hype. In those days many empaths, metaphysicians, spiritual gurus, channelers and members of the New Age community were gearing up for a major global spiritual awakening, a massive shift in collective consciousness. Many believers were convinced that we were rapidly ascending to a new level of higher consciousness and a blissful, utopian existence. A new world was fast dawning, and soon we would be leaving behind the heavy, dense atmosphere of this three-dimensional world in some sort of rapture… and ascend to a fifth dimensional, heavenly new reality, where things will be so much better. Lightworkers and empaths have not been arriving on this planet in droves over the past century to lead a cheerful carnival parade into a perfect new earth reality . There is still massive amounts of work to be done before we enter that promised land. Well, that shift indeed is taking place, but much slower than anticipated. And as I expected, the birth pains of this transition process is becoming arduous, agonizing and even brutal, especially for the highly sensitive empath. Our planetary evolution was never going to be a walk in the park. ​The truth is, lightworkers and empaths have not been arriving on this planet in droves over the past century, because we were coming here to lead a cheerful carnival parade into a perfect new earth reality. Quite the contrary! There is still massive amounts of work to be done before we can even begin to imagine entering that promised land. And know this: things are going to get much worse, before they get any better. The pendulum of universal law must first complete its swing in the extreme opposite direction. Empaths merely avoiding the stark realities of our modern world is not the solution. In fact, hiding from the world is the worst thing we can do at this time in human history. It is a betrayal of our true value and purpose, and our sacred mandate. There is no running away from who empaths were designed to be… and what we came here to do. One of the central features of being an empath is our inherent desire and our gifted ability to nurture, comfort, heal, guide, and harmonize, to help make the world a better place. The empath is wired for peace, love, healing and harmony. To feel, to nurture, and to care, is our calling in this lifetime. It is why we were born this way. Avoiding what is wrong in our world is not what we came here to do. ​Empaths did not come into this world to be victims and dropouts. We came to be healers, rescuers, teachers, guides, warriors, and saviors, at a pivotal time in human evolution. Empaths are lightworkers, and more and more of us are arriving on the planet every day, because we are meant to courageously guide the human race into the dawning of the new Age of Aquarius , the era of the Water Bearer, the forthcoming astrological age of love, brotherhood, unity, integrity teamwork, group culture, social justice and technology. Jesus of Nazareth, one of the central figures of the Piscean age, predicted this transition in Luke 22:10, when his disciples asked him how they should prepare for the Passover, which commemorates the exodus from slavery… and also was to be the Last Supper before the Crucifixion. "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,” Jesus said. The birth of the Age of Aquarius is not an easy one and is currently wreaking havoc, and causing much pain, as the world begins to make room for the new era that is to replace the old dogmatic regime of the Piscean Age. The outdated morals, beliefs and values of the Age of Pisces is now being exposed, taken to pieces, re-evaluated and dismantled on all levels, including in politics and government, religion, corporate culture and the economy, as well as in our personal lives and relationships. So, while the world may appear to be falling apart these days, we are actually in the process of a great transition or shift to a better future world. And empaths, sensitives and intuitives are meant to be of service to the world in this challenging time, as wayshowers, pioneers, healers, motivators, activists, role-models and pathmakers. We are supposed to be the guiding lights of a global shift in consciousness, and the brave leaders of a global transformation. Why then are so many of us still cowering in some forsaken, sad corner, feeling overwhelmed, confused and sorry for ourselves? The time has come for us to rise up! There is so much to be done, and we certainly have our work cut out for us. For despite all the cool self-importance and greedy self-entitlement of our modern society, statistics show that we are not becoming any happier, or feeling any more joyful or fulfilled. In fact, research shows that depression, anxiety, loneliness, addiction and suicide is on the increase, especially among the younger generation. This is in part due to the unrealistic expectations created by digital technology and popular culture, which often does not match everyday reality, as well as a world increasingly becoming devoid of empathy and compassion. Empaths are meant to be of service to the world in this challenging time... as wayshowers, pioneers, healers, activists and pathmakers. We are supposed to be the guiding lights of a global shift in consciousness, and the brave leaders of a global transformation. And how is it even possible that, after all the progress we have made as a species, there are still starving children, abused animals, human rights violations and large scale genocide to be found in our world today? If Jesus was present in human form on the planet today, I doubt he would be hiding out in La-La-Land… and neither would he be taking any silly selfies! Empaths can no longer stand idly by, while the world is suffering… no matter how difficult it is for us to breathe the current ‘toxic air of narcissism.’ Empaths are the shamans, healers and soothsayers of the tribe. We are often misunderstood, shamed and even demonized by a society that has normalized a destructive bully culture, in which we are scoffed at for being ‘too sensitive’ or ‘emotionally intense.’ In truth, we are destined to save those who mock and marginalize us. We will see who has the last laugh. The popular notion that empaths are nothing more than highly sensitive ‘sissies’ who must constantly protect themselves from sensing or feeling too much, is not just ignorant and condescending… it is downright disrespectful of the gifts and blessings we bring to this world. We are much more resilient and hardwired for struggle than we have been made to believe… or choose to believe. I first became aware of this problem myself back in 2010, when I submitted an article entitled Psychic Vampires and Energy Thieves , to a prominent online social forum for empaths. Despite my best intentions, the moderators rejected my article, stating that they cannot publish it due to its ‘disturbing’ title and subject matter. They felt it might be too distressing and deeply upsetting for their highly sensitive members. Seriously? I was gobsmacked… not sure whether I should laugh, or cry. It really is high time that we empaths and sensitives get over our victim mentality, self-imposed isolation and learned helplessness, and embrace our true calling as powerful energy diviners and alchemists . We were originally designed to transmute the negative, narcissistic energy we encounter in this world, and transform it into peace, love, harmony, and compassion. Our job here is to ‘spin straw into gold’... but without the help of the evil Rumpelstiltskin's of the world. Like King Midas, we have a mythical ‘golden touch’… or better yet, a magical heart of gold capable of great empathic magic and miracles. Our gift of empathy and our highly sensitive nature are not shortcomings, weaknesses or disabilities - they are our skills, strengths and superpowers! We are not losers, we are superheroes. We are David against a ghoulish Goliath. And we are much stronger and more powerful than we realize. ​​Highly sensitive people are too often perceived as weaklings or damaged goods. To feel intensely is not a symptom of weakness, it is the trademark of the truly alive and compassionate. It is not the empath who is broken, it is society that has become dysfunctional and emotionally disabled. There is no shame in expressing your authentic feelings. Those who are at times described as being a 'hot mess' or having 'too many issues' are the very fabric of what keeps the dream alive for a more caring, humane world. Never be ashamed to let your tears shine a light in this world. How To Thrive As An Empath So, how do empaths brave this new zeitgeist… and armor up to enter the arena? Well, the first thing we may want to do is stop using self-defeating terms like ’empath survival.’ Empath empowerment is a much better concept. We did not come here merely to survive...we are here to thrive ! ​Furthermore, we certainly do not need more of the mutual coddling, communal pity parties, sensitivity stereotyping, and rehashed ‘survival tips and tricks.’ Enough already. ​The time has come for us empaths to ‘get over’ ourselves. We need to go hardcore, and we need all hands on deck. There is much work to be done and time is of the essence. We need to get on track with our own mission by cultivating the necessary knowledge, skills and lifestyle habits needed to claim back our true power and pursue our sacred spiritual purpose. In the words of Horace Mann, "we should all be ashamed to die until we have won some victory for humanity." ​To really thrive as a highly sensitive empath in the era of neo-narcissism you may want to consider the following practical guidelines and strategies to empower yourself. ​Saving others begins with rescuing yourself . Healing the world begins with facing yourself in the bathroom mirror. Conquer Your Demons We cannot bypass or avoid the need for healing on the road to empath empowerment. This is the first vital step, without which the rest of the journey is doomed to fail. Healer, heal thyself. Too many empaths are braving this new age damaged and unhealed. They have forgotten who they really are, they have been told they are useless and weak. They do not know their own strength and power, and many are giving up. Some empaths have already aborted the mission in recent years, through self-destructive choices and suicide, while others remain trapped in tragic, aimless lives of self-imposed suffering, learned helplessness, victimhood, and self-pity. Those who are struggling to cope are often also self-medicating with alcohol, food, sex, drugs or over-the-counter medication, with disastrous consequences. So, let’s get real here. If we are going to make any useful difference to ourselves and our new world, we are going to have to be brave and clean up our act. Period. True empowerment starts with dealing with any addictive behaviors, substance abuse, childhood traumas, relationship abuse and all other psychological wounds, issues and hang-ups that may be holding us back. Empowered, healed empaths are highly self-aware and know their own triggers and manage their weaknesses. They have also broken the cycle of narcissistic abuse in their lives. ​If you have been avoiding truly dealing with the damage you may have sustained as a highly sensitive being born into a ruthless world, then it is time for you to step up and do the necessary work to find your personal healing. Conquer your inner demons. For until you completed your own journey of healing, you are relatively useless to the rest of us. Saving others begins with rescuing yourself. Healing the world begins with facing yourself in the bathroom mirror… getting down on your knees in meditation… or laying back on a therapist's couch. There are no shortcuts here, and the healing process can be painful and arduous. But it must be done. Knuckle down and do the work. Evacuate Your Comfort Zone To become a truly empowered empath it is vital that we cultivate psychological hardiness and emotional resilience, by gradually building a greater tolerance for stress, adversity and change. It starts by accepting that human life is a never-ending journey of losses, challenges, beginnings and endings. It also starts with accepting personal responsibility for our well-being, and taking control of our lives. How we choose to look at life’s challenges, how we reframe them, and how we adapt to them, determines how well we will cope in the end. Empowered empaths take a genuine interest in other people and have a healthy curiosity about the world, instead of feeling alienated, distancing themselves from other people, and cutting themselves off from the world. The empowered, resilient empath also understands that control is something that comes from within, and not from the world around us. Our sense of control is often based on our own flawed perception, rather than actual reality and objective facts. Empowered empaths focus on what they can actually control in their lives, instead of obsessing and worrying about the things they have no control over. They do not settle for powerlessness, or believing that their life is controlled by fateful external forces. Empaths are emotion warriors equipped with a secret weapon which I call empathic edge . We have the superior capacity to process and transform emotional energy in all its weird and wonderful manifestations. Empowered empaths also embrace the fact that change is the norm in our daily lives, as opposed to predictable certainty, security and stability. They understand that change is not a personal threat or curse, but instead a blessed opportunity for personal growth and expansion. They also realize that negative, toxic energy is not the enemy, but instead the very ‘straw’ from which we are meant to spin the ‘gold’ of love, peace and harmony. The best way to build psychological resilience and hardiness, is to leave your empath comfort zone, and actually enter the arena of life. You have to start taking some calculated risks, put yourself out there, and actually experience life, for better and worse. And when you get knocked down (which you will) you get up and dust yourself off, work through it, and try again. You reflect on what happened and learn how to better deal with it next time. As empaths and highly sensitive people we tend to get knocked down more often, and also more easily… but only at first. Our recovery may also be more arduous and slow to begin with. But once we find our feet and become fighting fit, we become unstoppable… and can ultimately bounce back without even breaking a sweat! Why? Because empaths are emotion warriors equipped with a secret weapon which I call empathic edge . ​Empathic edge is our superior capacity or talent for analyzing, comprehending, processing and dealing with feelings and emotions. So, once we find our stride (down there in the ruthless, brutal arena) we begin to truly harness our elite ability to run circles around even the worst emotional setbacks life may throw at us and the people we care about. We were born with the innate tools to process and transform emotional energy in all its weird and wonderful manifestations… much more efficiently and effectively than most people. So, why would we be afraid? Bring it on! Streamline Your Lifestyle ​One of the defining features of an empowered empath’s way of life is that they have streamlined and decluttered their lifestyle in such a way that they have access to more of the people and things that they need to feel calm, happy and at peace. They have also released all the sabotaging crap and toxic relationships that does not serve them, or holds them back. To become more empowered as an empath we must release what no longer serves us. So, you may need to move to that cheaper home, change your dead-end job, file for that long-overdue divorce, or simply turn off your television set. Do whatever you know you need to do to find your bliss. True warriors cannot go to battle stressed out, and dragging tons of excess baggage and useless dead weight. Get rid of it! ​ Get rid of all those wretched empath labels and ​self-sabotaging stereotypes . ​Let go of the fears, doubts, narrow-mindedness, and limiting beliefs. Time to accept that you are enough. Depending on how toxic your environment and your relationships are, this is a process that may take some time. No matter how impossible it may seem at first to let go and liberate yourself, know that all things are possible with the right attitude and enough determination. Where there is a will, there is always a way. Find it. ​And while you are at it, clean up your self-esteem. Get rid of all those wretched empath labels and self-sabotaging stereotypes. Let go of the fears, doubts, narrow-mindedness, and limiting beliefs. Time to accept that you are enough. In the words of Marianne Williamson, "​Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world." Pursue Your Life Purpose In my experience the only empaths who really live happy, fulfilled lives are the ones who have gained an understanding of who they really are and why they are here, and who have found their unique way to be of service to the greater good. The most important key to empath empowerment is recognizing your life purpose and true calling, and then striving to accomplish it. You arrived on this planet with your highly sensitive nature and your empathic talents and abilities for a reason. You are a sensitive superhero on a sacred mission. Your life as an empath is a gift to this world. So, what have you done with yours today? By the way, none of us hit the ground running when we arrive here. Typically we only take up our calling and fulfill our true purpose later in life, once we have completed the necessary preparation. We must first gather all the data we need, do the necessary reconnaissance, condition ourselves for battle, face some hard knocks, setbacks and obstacles, and gain some valuable combat experience, before we are ready to embark on our hero’s journey. Your life as an empath is a gift to this world. So, what have you done with yours today? ​If you already know what you are meant to do.. then get on with it! If you have a defined, clear purpose, then stop procrastinating. The world needs all the help it can get. What are you waiting for? ​And if you have no clue yet what you are meant to contribute, then begin to make an effort to find out. You need to do some serious soul-searching and figure out what your gift is to this world. What is your mission, what is your message? What are you meant to contribute to make this world a better, safer, happier, more loving and compassionate place? What is the legacy you hope to leave behind someday? What did you come here to do? Your divine self is fully aware and informed of your reasons for being here. Your higher self is after all the architect and designer of your current life journey. The answer will come from within when the time is right. Meanwhile, follow your heart and listen to your inner guidance. We are guided every moment of every day towards our true destiny. Seek and ye shall find. Follow the breadcrumbs through the forest. Express Yourself Creatively Empaths do not have to be an artists, but at least ​stop hiding from the world and find your way to express yourself. The options and possibilities are plethora: dance, fitness, sports, science and research, motivational speaking, comedy, music, singing, songwriting, theatre and acting, writing, journaling, blogging, spiritual practice, energy healing, drawing, painting, knitting, sewing, craft-making, film making, graphic design, cooking, gardening, landscaping, fashion and beauty, carpentry, building, repairing, charity work, fundraising, activism and protesting, and so on. ​Why? Because some empaths are emotional hoarders . They become dysfunctional and suffer neurosis because they do not have effective means to transmute and release all of the emotional energy they absorb. Like scrooges they hold onto it, internalize it, cling to it... only to become frustrated, overwhelmed and psychologically poisoned. Empaths are not only designed to attract and absorb emotional energy from others, we are also meant to transform and project it for the greater good. We have a powerful ability to emotionally affect those around us. We have the power to shift people, Your deep emotionality and sensitive acuity does not belong to you, it belongs to the world! Empaths are meant to express their feelings and transform emotional energy into gilded miracles and magic that makes this world a better place. Find your way of doing this in a positive way. It will empower you and even re-calibrate your own energy. Unleash Your Inner Warrior ​ Empaths are not meant to be victims, we are hardwired to be emotional warriors. To own your empath power and accomplish your life mission successfully, you must adopt the habits of a highly-conditioned ‘soldier’ and cultivate the traits and lifestyle of true warrior. We have no chance of healing or saving the world with an army of lazy, unhealthy, demotivated, uninspired, unreliable and untrustworthy 'deadbeats.' To unleash your inner warrior you will need energetic endurance, mastery and control. Warriors need to be fighting fit - mind, body and soul. This means that you may need to make some significant changes in your lifestyle and daily habits. You may also need to adjust some of your dysfunctional behavior patterns and become more disciplined in how you manage your life. Elite warriors require elite ‘training.’ Their very survival depends on it! We have no chance of healing or saving the world with an army of lazy, unhealthy, demotivated, uninspired, unreliable and untrustworthy 'deadbeats.' Elite warriors require elite ‘training.’ Their very survival depends on it! Take care of your mind through continued study, research, reading and further education. Sort out your body and your health by making the necessary changes to your diet, nutrition, exercise and fitness, as well as any self-sabotaging lifestyle habits. And amp up your spirituality. Start taking better care of yourself... mind, body and soul. ​Also, true warriors live with honor, integrity and moral certitude. Are you trustworthy and reliable in your daily life? Do you change your mind a lot? Always making excuses? Do you avoid your commitments? Are you inconsistent or insincere? Do you manipulate, lie, cheat, steal, gossip? This is not the true nature of the empath. If you want to become truly empowered, then become true to your word, and your inherent empathic nature. Be kind. Be honest. Keep your promises. Lead by example. Do the right thing. Become the change that you wish to see in the world. Live an authentic, honorable life. And keep it real. Amp Up Your Spiritual Practice There is no way empaths can become fully empowered without a consistent, disciplined daily spiritual practice, for without faith, hope and inner guidance, warriors soon lose their way…and possibly their life. To become a truly empowered empath, you need to adopt a hardcore approach to your spiritual practice. As highly sensitive beings we need our spiritual life to be on steroids, if we are to have any real chance of thriving in this world! Empaths must be able to trust their intuition and follow their inner guidance system at all times. They must be spiritually aware enough to be able to interpret their dreams, identify signs and synchronicities, and clearly hear their inner voice. This is tricky if you are still on an old-fashioned ‘dial-up connection’ to the Big Computer In The Sky. That kind of ‘wishy washy’ spiritual connection is slow, unreliable and limiting. Empaths need a broadband or satellite connection to get the job done! And the only way to achieve that is through consistent daily spiritual practice involving, for example, meditation, breathing exercises, energy hygiene, self-healing and psychic protection work, especially psychic grounding and shielding. We also need some solitude and recreational time out…some ‘me time.’ ​To become an empowered empath you need to adopt a consistent daily spiritual practice and self-care routine that works for you, and make it a natural part of your daily lifestyle, like brushing your teeth. It is absolutely necessary and will make a massive difference in your life. Not only does spiritual practice energize, restore, heal and protect the empath, it also increases our awareness and inner guidance. It sets our target for the real work we came to accomplish in the Age of Narcissism. © 2019 Anthon St. Maarten ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

The ancient Roman Baths in the South-West of England is a powerful energy vortex for healing. For the highly strung traveling empath the sacred waters of Celtic-Roman goddess Sulis Minerva offers an unexpected tranquil refuge and invigorating sanctuary, even at the height of the European tourist season. My host in Bradford-on-Avon, England, is a very wise man. He has seen many travelers come and go over the years, and obviously knows what is best for each of them. When I told him over breakfast that I had downloaded an audio tour from the local tourism website and was going to do a 'Jane Austen walk' through the historic town of Bath, he gave me a somewhat skeptical look, like only the British can, and said, “You might want to stop by the Roman Baths first. It is a must-see, but go there early in the morning, before the tour groups arrive from London.” Well, who am I to argue with such a determined a messenger of the Universe? So, I went. Arriving at the Roman Baths Museum , I was planning to just have a quick browse around and then go off in pursuit of the famous Ms. Austen’s favorite haunts after all. Well, what is usually a 90 minute visit for the average visitor to the baths, according to the museum’s audio guide, became for me a four hour metaphysical adventure. ​ I soon discovered that I was back in the presence of the Goddess Athena, who I had encountered at the beginning of this trip in all her magnificence on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Yes indeed, it appears I have unknowingly been stalking her throughout Europe. Or had she lured me here under false pretenses? This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds – the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions.. the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached ~ Stephenie Meyer The Roman Baths existed long before the Romans arrived in Bath. The Celts knew for thousands of years that the waters, bubbling up from this one of a kind hot spring in Britain, had special healing powers. This is the sacred place where they came to worship and seek relief for their ailments from Sulis, their goddess of healing . When the Roman’s arrived here they were enchanted with the place and soon made it their own. Thus the Roman Baths. The Celtic goddess Sulis reminded them of their own goddess Minerva , for whom they built a temple here. And so the temple at the sacred waters of Sulis Minerva came to be. Many interesting offerings to the goddess were thrown into the sacred spring, including thousands of Roman coins which is to date the largest collection ever found in Britain. People came from far and wide to seek healing… and revenge here. Yes, indeed. Heaps of rolled up lead and pewter sheets with inscriptions, known as defixiones or ' curse tablets ' were also found at the bottom of the sacred spring. But they do not contain prayers for healing. The inscribed messages were in fact curses thrown into the spring where the spirit of Sulis Minerva dwelt; they are etched with requests for vengeance from the gods – mostly about very mundane trivialities: stolen coins and clothing, cheating husbands and unrequited love. The punishments and misfortunes wished upon the perpetrators were all extreme considering the offense, and quite surprising to the modern observer. Had the gods responded to these prayers as requested, stealing a couple of coins from someone could easily see you hacked to pieces, eaten by birds of prey and burning in the eternal hell fires of the underworld! Revenge may seem disturbingly out of place in this soothing place of healing, but is releasing anger and letting go of resentment, in order to find forgiveness and inner peace, not one of the most powerful forms of healing? My personal experience at the temple of Sulis Minerva was profound. As an empath I am a conduit for energy and predisposed to healing others spontaneously. I have as a result spent a significant part of my life being subjected to people infringing on my personal space. They often follow me around in public places, without knowing why, or stand as close to me as possible, in order to heal or somehow exchange energy. I guess you can say people like me are like ‘filtering docks’ or ‘recycling bins’ for the rest of humanity. It’s a tough job, but I guess someone has to do it. But at the Roman Baths something truly amazing happened. For the first time in my life I had nobody trampling over my feet, crawling underneath my armpits or breathing down my neck. I was stunned. It was high season in Bath and the museum was extremely crowded, yet I could breathe freely and move around with ease. People kept a decent distance and nobody insisted on getting in my face. I remember thinking that this must be how ‘normal’ folks feel when they are out in public. I spent several hours inside that museum, surrounded by a mass of tourists, yet I felt calm and miraculously energized! But how could this be? What was it about this place that gave a highly strung empath like me, a sense of perfect peace and liberty? Energy, of course! The Roman Baths is a powerful hub of healing energy. It oozes from the stones and bubbles up from the sacred spring, seeping into every pore, nook and cranny. The other museum visitors had no need for a feeble little docking bay like myself – they were broadband downloading from the very place itself! I guess you can say that, in metaphysical terms, I am like a slow dial-up line, while the Roman Baths is like logging into a powerful WiFi signal, while standing directly under the British Telecoms Tower in London. Above the entrance to the former temple of Sulis Minerva the facade used to featured the mesmerizing head of the Gorgon. His magical face and what is left of the original facade is now on display inside the museum. I sat staring at him for ages. The Gorgon’s eyes look straight into your soul; they follow you around like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. But the gorgon is not smiling. His laser beam eyes used to turn his victims into stone, like Medusa in Greek mythology , until he was slain and given as a gift to Minerva. ​ She wore him on her chest as part of her armor, to serve as her shield. I could not resist and bought a Gorgon keyring and pendant at the souvenir shop. The Gorgon was going with me everywhere I go from now on… as a psychic shield to keep out the bad vibes, and freeze those ‘heebie jeebies’ in their tracks when next I visit my local supermarket! And the goddess Athena? What did she have to do with all of this? Well, that is just it … Minerva is the Roman version of the goddess Athena. This place of healing and energy exchange is home to Athena, in the guise of Sulis and Minerva. © 2013 Anthon St. Maarten ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

To create and seek more complete expression is inherent in the human condition, because it is an innate quality we possess due to our original spiritual nature. As spiritual beings it is our mission and duty in this lifetime to create, attract, manifest, and become more. We are destined to live a life of increase. ‘Increasing’ or ‘becoming’ is what drives the expansion of the entire Conscious Universe. We are each of us a mirror reflection of the Universal Source; we are created in the image of the Divine. We are a perfect imprint of a magnificent Holographic Web of Consciousness. And because we are spiritual beings who reflect the Divine in physical form, we also possess the innate qualities of Divinity. We are self-aware and conscious ; we have the capacity for reason, sentience, imagination and creative thought; we command creative freedom and the metaphysical power to manifest ; and we have the capacity for complete self-actualization , individuation and transcendence . All these qualities are the expression of our inner Divinity, a direct reflection and extension of the Higher Self. As you think, you feel. As you feel, you radiate, And All-That-Is, is affected by your offering. That is your power of influence ~ Abraham-Hicks To live a truly awakened and abundant Divine Life , that will ultimately culminate in the achievement of your Soul Purpose and your Life Calling, you must honor these Divine qualities within. To achieve your Soul Purpose you must strive to become more conscious, continuously reaching for a higher state of being and higher level of awareness, and for unconditional love, peace and harmony. This is the process of transcendence, the process of achieving a superior state of being, or an enlightened existence, above and beyond the limits of our material experience. To accomplish your Life Calling you must figure out who you really are and begin to differentiate that which makes you truly unique from the rest of the Conscious Universe. For while we are all made in the image of the Divine Source, and we are all reflective fragments of a Universal Hologram , we are each of us also unique in our individual make-up and in how we are meant to contribute to the expansion of our Universe. It is vital that we identify who we are, what our unique talents and interests are, and what we can offer in service to the greater good. It is our duty to figure out what makes us special. For without the process of individuation we are of no use to our fellow man and the planet. Without individuation we fail to achieve our mission to planet Earth. It is our mission and our duty in this lifetime to create more, attract more, manifest more, become more. It is our task to create new things, and to reshape and redesign the world as we know it for the better. It is our assignment to increase, expand and improve what is, was and ever will be. What have you done to add value to our world today? In the words of Wallace D Wattles , “You are a creative center, from which increase is given off to all.” ​ © 2013 Anthon St. Maarten ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

Standing at the gateway to the Norse-Germanic underworld, Goddess Hel reminded me to live in the fullness of every day by stepping into its abundant miracles. A yellow butterfly guided me to Blanke Helle , or “Hel’s Pond” during a recent visit to Berlin, Germany. It darted ahead of me all the way from the bus stop in AlboinStraße, until I reached the entrance to the park where lies forgotten, and hidden from public notice, the ancient pagan site sacred to Hela, or Hel, the Norse-Germanic goddess of death and the underworld. I have been guided by butterflies on a regular basis over the past two years, since the first one appeared to me at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece. I was much encouraged by the sudden presence of this golden, magical creature, because it predicted that my visit to this sacred pagan site would be less somber than I had imagined. Yellow butterflies represent rebirth, new life, transformation and resurrection in several cultures. The Irish believe yellow butterflies to be an indicator of the peaceful transition of departed souls. And in Christian tradition yellow butterflies are symbolic of the Christ’s resurrection from death. They are also regarded as a sign of the presence of angels. Would Hel’s dark waters ultimately leave me with a message of hope? Everyone who has ever built anywhere a new heaven first found the power thereto in his own hell. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche Hel’s pond is located in the Templehof area of Berlin, which is so named due to its historical association with the Knights Templar. It is a small remnant of what used to be a vast lake surrounded by acres of forest. The murky pond is believed to be the entrance to the underworld and is rumored to have been a place of human sacrifice. There is an unmarked statue of a gigantic bull overlooking this gateway to Helheim , which is a reference to the black bulls Hel used to send from the lake up to the surface. The bulls helped the pagan priest who tended her altar – to toil the land and feed himself. One day the old pagan priest had to retire and he found a Christian monk to take his place. But the Christians soon discontinued the worship of Hel, and she was so angered that she sent one of her black bulls to destroy the monk who refused to maintain her altar. From that day it is said Hel lures her own sacrificial victims to the murky waters of her pond… to claim their lives. She is pretty much known to be a “take charge and do-it-yourself” kind of goddess! The waters of the pond did seem dark, cold and menacing on the day of my visit in mid-April, but I was soon reminded of its power to regenerate and give birth to new life. All around the pond I found the early signs of spring bursting forth in the blues and yellows of the season’s first wild flowers. It was my intention to visit Hel’s Pond on a previous trip to Europe, but my schedule made it impossible. Standing now at the gateway to the Nordic Netherworld, I understood why Hela chose for me to pay my respects at this time, and not sooner. My previous visit to Berlin was during the height of the summer season. That time of the year would not have conveyed her mythical significance as profoundly as these frosty first days of springtime. The air on the day of my pilgrimage was crisp and icy with a sense of last minute winter despair, and the stark trees remained leafless and gloomy from their frozen sleep, but all around my feet little blooms, butterflies and bees whispered messages of hope, new life, rebirth and resurrection. I told him I believed in hell, and that certain people, like me, had to live in hell before they died, to make up for missing out on it after death, since they didn’t believe in life after death, and what each person believed happened to him when he died ~ Sylvia Plath Personally, my favorite aspect of the goddess Hela is the fact that she is supportive of the art of mediumship . The visit to her pond reaffirmed for me the value of my work as psychic medium, as well as my principles and personal beliefs about spiritualism and its practice. Raven Kaldera writes on the Online Shrine of Hel , “Since then, she has dutifully tended to her Dead, about whom she feels fiercely protective. She looks down on necromancy and other forms of magic used to “bother the Dead”, although she will allow seidhr -workers (Old Norse term for a type of Nordic sorcery) and others who respect her boundaries to enter a special area close to Hel’s Gate, and speak with what Dead wish to come to them.” At first glance Goddess Hel seems evil and menacing, but her symbolism speaks profoundly of the human condition of impermanence and ephemerality, and her true character reveals deep transpersonal compassion. She is a favorite with artists and traditionally her physical appearance is depicted as blue-grey corpse, or skeleton, on one side of her body, and sensual, beautiful woman on the other… vertically split down the middle. Hela reminds us of the eternal cycles of life, and that death is omnipresent, yet transient. It is not something evil or fearful, but a natural part of our spiritual journey. For this reason she embodies at once both living beauty and rotting flesh. It seems profoundly appropriate that Hel’s sacred pond is located in the heart of Berlin, because to me she epitomizes the essence of Berlin: the intense dualistic nature of this world city and its dark and enchanting history… right down to its former division by a brick wall. She embodies both Eros (life, love, sexuality) and Thanatos (death, violence, destruction). One of my German friends told me Berlin’s former mayor, Klaus Wowereit, once said, “ Berlin ist arm, aber sexy! ” Berlin is poor, but sexy. Indeed, she is, just like the Goddess Hela. Do not fear suffering, She told me, for My blessing to you is courage which bursts forth in its thousand-petaled loveliness from the raw stink of loss and betrayal. Do not fear Me, She said, holding the tip of Her sword at my breast, for it is better to rush upon this blade now than to shrink away from life, in fear. ~ Elizabeth Vongvisith Hela teaches us the spiritual principle of duality : life and death, light and darkness. She raises our awareness of the laws of polarity and contrast. There is not only happiness and joy in our human existence, but also pain, loss and suffering. These are all sacred states of beingness. Contrast is after all what gives life it’s deeper meaning and reveals its true wonders. In most spiritual traditions there is a myth about descending into the underworld . These myths exist in various cultures and religions all over the world, and they are a universal archetype of leaving the old behind and transcending into the new. Hela invites us to descend fearlessly into her kingdom of the night. The Dark Night of the Soul is a powerful pathway to rebirth and enlightenment. She commands us to not settle for bitterness, self-pity or resentment during times of trial and tribulation. Embrace instead the Divine miracle of your path to greater awareness and understanding. Acknowledge your growing empathy for others and validate and cherish those people who stand by you, for better or worse. There is always much light at the end of every tunnel of life, and someday soon you too shall find that silver lining. Without the contrast created by loss, disappointment or suffering, it is unlikely that we will ever truly treasure the real blessings in our lives. Hail to Hel, queen of Helheim; Lady who takes away, yet holds always promise, teach us to praise loss and death and the passing of all things. For from this flux we know your blessings flow. ~ Raven Kaldera Goddess Hel also reminds us that nothing lasts forever, that life as we know it is fleeting and impermanent. And although there is life beyond this life , we must live in the fullness of today and its abundant miracles. Hela is known as a no-nonsense deity who has little patience with cowards who waste away their empty lives procrastinating, whining and complaining. Life is after all for the living! It is our duty to make the most of it, instead of merely waiting for the end to come. There is absolutely no worse death curse than the humdrum daily existence of the living dead. Hel’s Pond is not located on the mainstream tourist routes. You will find it at Alboinplatz park on the corner of Kaiserin-Augusta Straße and AlboinStraße in Tempelhof-Schöneberg. If you plan to visit Hel’s Pond , please be aware that to the locals this place is nothing more than just another public park and most may be unaware of the true metaphysical significance of this place. There are no signs or placque to identify it as a historical, much less a sacred site. If you did not know about it you would walk by it completely ignorant of its mythical legacy. The Bull of Hel by Paul Mersmann is more commonly known as the “largest ox of Berlin”. The enormous sculpture constructed with Rüdersdorfer limestone is nine meters long and seven meters in height. It was erected in the early 1930s by unemployed Berlin sculptors according to Mersmann’s design. Legend has it that a secret cartridge was placed inside the sculpture containing an appeal against Hitler signed by the builders. © 2015 Anthon St. Maarten ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was. You are not who you think you are. You are not that face you see in the mirror every morning. You are not someone’s child, or someone’s parent, or partner or friend. You are not the physical body you admire or criticize when you take a shower, or when you get dressed. ​Neither are you the profile description on your social media page, or your high school diploma, your driver’s license, or your title at work. You are not defined by your career, or the things you own, or the family and friends you love. You are not a name or an address, or a six-figure salary. Do you remember how spiritually aligned , connected and aware you were as a young child? Remember how it felt to be so wonderfully conscious, wide-eyed and receptive? The world was a magical place of adventure, discovery and exhilaration. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin You still had a vague memory at that time that you were created in the image of the Divine . As a recent arrival on the planet, you still had some sense of that ‘other place’ you had come from – that state of pure consciousness, and of celestial power, infinite creative intelligence and everlasting, unconditional love. In that pure, original state you were eternal peace and perfection personified. You were a crystal-clear, meta-dimensional snapshot of God’s image in high-definition Technicolor. But then you decided to come here on an adventure. You still are that cosmic entity, but you have been incarnated as a human being to have a physical life experience. You chose to have this experience. You volunteered for it, and your original aim was to learn, evolve, expand and most of all…have fun! So, come on, go take another look in that mirror and say hello to the physical incarnation of your Divine Self. There you are, the pure expression of Divinity ! Now, take a deep look into your own eyes, for they are the windows of the soul. There you will recognize the ‘real you’. Meet your ever-present Higher Self , your True Self, the soul essence of where you come from and the reason why you came here. This essential you has been around all this time, since before your birth, and for millennia before that. All you needed was someone to remind you of that fact; to awaken you from the unconscious, habituated fog that was your conditioned earthly life until now. So, now you know who you really are. No more daily drudgery. No more merely surviving. No more reality coma. No more feeling sorry for yourself. No more excuses. Consider yourself awakened. Excerpt from the book Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny ​ © 2012 Anthon St Maarten ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.

Clairaudience or 'psychic hearing’ is a psychic perception preference for auditory mental impressions that are perceived by clairaudient psychics and mediums as the 'inner hearing’ of voices, music, and sounds. The term clairaudience derives from French clair meaning ‘clear,’ and Old French audience meaning ‘act or state of hearing,’ or ‘action or condition of listening,’ as well as Latin audentia ‘hearing, listening.’ Clairaudience is to ‘clearly hear’ or ‘clear hearing.’ The American Psychological Association defines clairaudience as the ability “to hear voices or sounds beyond the normal range of hearing, including supposed messages from spirit guides or the dead. This may involve messages heard from, or attuned to an ‘inner voice’ or voices separate from thought. It is the auditory equivalent of clairvoyance.” [1] Psychics and mediums generally experience clairaudience as an ‘inner voice’ or an ‘inner hearing’ of voices, music, and other auditory-type mental impressions. Some hear their own voice, while some hear the voices of spirit entities or discarnate beings. Some also hear certain sounds, including whistling, buzzing, or ringing sounds. I hear a voice you cannot hear, which says I must not stay; I see a hand you cannot see, which beckons me away. ~ Thomas Tickell A practical way to simulate the experience of clairaudience is to silently count from one to ten in your mind, or to recall the lyrics of your favorite song. How you mentally 'hear' the numbers or words in your mind is essentially how psychics and mediums experience clairaudient psychic impressions. It can be described as 'audible thinking.' It is like a hit song stuck in your head, or when you think you ‘heard’ someone say your name in passing, only to discover that there is no one there. A clairaudient impression I often experience is to ‘hear’ popular songs during mediumship readings, which usually serves as an afterlife validation for the client. For example, one day I heard two classic songs from the late 50s or early 60s that my dad used to listen to when I was a kid. At first, I thought it might be his energy I was resonating with, but eventually it became clear this was related to someone else. Those two songs annoyingly remained stuck on repeat in my mind. To make the matter worse, I don't know much of the lyrics of these songs, only the ‘catchy’ parts. So, that was all I heard all day…in a weird mash-up…over, and over, and over again. Put your head on my shoulder…baaaay...beeeeh…Oh Carol, I am but a fool…darling, I love you… It became evident that evening that the ‘maddening mash-up’ came courtesy of a client's deceased grandfather. The client was too young to know the two classic ballads (by singer Paul Anka), but she could however confirm that her aunt, who happens to be named Carol (grandpa’s daughter) had been going through a really tough time. Aunt Carol was therefore being reassured that her dad was looking out for her from the other side. Psi researcher Ernesto Bozzano reports various cases of clairaudient ‘music’ perception, namely as a feature of deathbed experiences (including music heard in the room where no source was observed); music perceived telepathically; music in hauntings; music unrelated to death contexts; music heard on deathbeds, and music heard after a death. [2] In one case the ‘hearing of music’ was related to an apparition: I felt utterly terrified, and called out at once, “Did you see that?” and at the same time Miss Z. T. exclaimed, “Did you hear that?” Then, I said, instantly, “I saw an angel fly through the room,” and she said, “I heard an angel singing. [3] There are several famous accounts of clairaudients, including religious prophets and historic figures. The Biblical prophet Ezekiel, for example, saw a clairvoyant vision and heard a voice speaking to him in Ezekiel 1:28. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. In I Kings 19:12–13 the prophet Elijah heard the voice of God as a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah? One of the most renowned clairaudients was Joan of Arc, known as 'The Maid of Orléans.' She led the French army in several successful battles. Joan heard the voices of saints and attributed her military decisions and victories to these direct messages from Heaven. Sadly, she was burned at the stake in 1431 for the crime of heresy. Her auditory perceptions remain an ongoing topic of interest, but have unfortunately been attributed by many scholars to all manner of medical ailments and pathological causes, including schizophrenia, epilepsy, and tuberculosis. A recent study finds the average age that spiritualist mediums first have a clairaudient experience is 21.7 years, but most experience it either before the age of twenty, or around the age of forty. Furthermore, as many as 44.6% of the subjects report having daily clairaudient experiences, and 65.1% of these clairaudient experiences occur within the medium’s mind, while 31.7% experience it both internally and externally, and 3.2% report is as purely external experiences. [4] According to researcher Adam Powell these findings further suggest people are more likely to become interested in psychic or ‘paranormal’ phenomena as a consequence of some unusual ‘sensory’ experience, instead of the other way round. I believe it was sent me from God. When I heard it for the third time, I recognized that it was the Voice of an Angel. This Voice has always guarded me well, and I have always understood it ~ Joan of Arc ​ For our participants, the tenets of Spiritualism seem to make sense of both extraordinary childhood experiences as well as the frequent auditory phenomena they experience as practicing mediums. But all of those experiences may result more from having certain tendencies or early abilities than from simply believing in the possibility of contacting the dead if one tries hard enough.[5] If you are curious to experience what clairaudient mediums hear when they perceive ‘spirit voices,’ I recommend listening to recordings of electronic voice phenomena (EVP), a research technique popularized in the 1970’s by parapsychologist Konstantīns Raudive. EVP are unexplained voices and sounds captured in audio recordings. The sounds are brief, usually just one word, or a short phrase. [6] The first time I heard an EVP recording, I immediately recognized the tonal quality of the sounds. I remember being excited having discovered a way I could demonstrate to other people what I sometimes ‘hear.’ Clairaudient perception of spirit voices can be especially overwhelming for novice mediums who do not understand what it is they are experiencing. In my childhood, hearing such ‘voices’ used to be very traumatizing and confusing. I kept it a secret, until well into adulthood, because it is something that is generally frowned upon, and often associated with mental illness or even with 'demonic forces’ or ‘spirit possession.’ Fortunately, as a psychology student I came to realize that what I was hearing was quite different from a mentally disordered patient having a conversation with his refrigerator! If clairaudients are truly ‘psychotic,’ or prone to ‘hallucinations,’ then our auditory perceptions should cause us much personal distress and psychological suffering, instead of bringing so much healing, confirmation, and validation to our clients. If clairaudience is indeed a form of psychosis, it would have been impossible for me to function or lead a ‘normal’ life, instead of it being such a positive blessing to so many people. I would also not have developed the good control I have over my clairaudient ability. As a practicing psychic medium, I only 'hear' when I work, and only when I work — apart from a few rare instances, when spirit simply cannot wait! Researcher Peter Moseley finds mediums tend to report “unusual auditory experiences which are positive, start early in life, and which they are often able to control. Understanding how these develop is important because it could help us understand more about distressing or non-controllable experiences of hearing voices too.” [7] Psychiatrist Ralph Hoffman argues the ‘hearing of voices’ is known to occur in states of religious or creative inspiration, and are not necessarily signs of mental illness. Hoffman cites the example of the renowned mystical poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who one day heard the ‘crystalline voice of an angel carried by the ocean wind.’ This profound experience inspired the writing of Rilke's famous work Duino Elegies . [8] Excerpt from The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception . © 2022 Anthon St. Maarten REFERENCES [1] Clairaudience. (2021). Dictionary Of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Dictionary.apa.org [2] Alvarado, C. S. (2017). Ernesto Bozzano's ‘Psychic Phenomena At The Moment Of Death.’ Psi Encyclopedia. The Society For Psychical Research. [3] Sidgwick, H. et.al. (1894). Report On The Census Of Hallucinations. Proceedings Of The Society For Psychical Research. [4] Powell, A.J. & Moseley, P. (2020) When Spirits Speak: Absorption, Attribution, And Identity Among Spiritualists Who Report ‘Clairaudient’ Voice Experiences. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. [5] Vince, M. (2021). What Can Science Tell Us About Mediums Who Hear Voices? Medicalnewstoday.com. [6] Raudive, K. (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication With The Dead. Taplinger Publishing Co [7] Scientists Shed Light On How And Why Some People Report “Hearing The Dead.” (2021). Taylor & Francis Group. TaylorandFrancisgroup.com [8] Hoffman, R. (2003). Auditory Hallucinations: What's It Like Hearing Voices? HealthyPlace.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anthon St. Maarten is a psychic medium and destiny coach with a global clientele of thought leaders, business executives, celebrities, politicians, academics, and luminaries in the arts and sciences in more than thirty countries spanning five continents. He is also a metaphysics teacher, psychic development coach, podcaster, and spiritual blogger. Anthon is a hereditary psychic medium in professional practice since 2004 and a liberal arts post-graduate with a major in psychology . Anthon publishes the spiritual life design blog, The S Word , and is the author of Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny and The Sensible Psychic: A Leading-Edge Guide To True Psychic Perception.