What is one of the most valuable commodities that anyone can possess in this day and age? What is the one precious thing we all seem to lack? Have you guessed what this ‘eighth wonder of the world’ is? Well, it is the virtue of patience, of course! I believe that, given the opportunity, some of us would even trade all of our earthly possessions for a lifelong supply of this magical substance. A lifetime supply of patience is the one thing that can secure us so much happiness, inner peace and long-term fulfillment. The Dutch say that “a handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains”. There is no doubt in my mind that should some genius be able to develop a magical formula to capture patience in a bottle, that person would overnight become the wealthiest person on the planet! ​The patent holder for patience will not only rule the world, but will also put many of us out of work. The global service industry, for one, will experience a major downturn in customer demand. With so many suddenly patient souls on the planet, there will be less need for some of the jobs that typically deal with the impulsive, hot-headed and intolerant side of human nature. Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish ~ John Quincy Adams If everyone could take a pill to become instantly self-restrained, tolerant and long-suffering, many professionals would have to be made redundant, including customer complaint managers, divorce lawyers, emergency room nurses, traffic officers, therapists and, of course, psychic advisors. The newly founded ‘Patience Company’ will no doubt become the most powerful corporation in the world. They would probably expand their range very quickly, to include tempting product variations like Patient Persistence, Peaceful Perseverance and Powerfully Present. These life changing potions will permanently alter our reality as we know it. It will in time deliver to us much of the joy and fulfillment so many of us desire. Imagine the possibilities of having no more ‘road rage’ along your life path. There will be less broken relationships, less bad decisions, less spoilt chances…no more arguments, regrets, misunderstandings, impulsive assumptions, reckless behavior or jumping to ridiculous conclusions. No more sleepless nights. With true patience we will find it so easy to peacefully wait our turn; we will be content to give the cycles of life the benefit of the doubt. With lasting patience in our pocket, we will no longer have the need to pressure the world around us to immediately comply with our needs; neither will we have the tendency to want to control everything. We will have lasting inner peace and we will simply trust in the flow of life. We will not have the compulsion to act impulsively, before we consider the future consequences of our words and deeds. We will have confidence in the successful outcomes of our manifested desires, even if it takes a hundred years to accomplish. We will accept that when we ask it will be given, one way or the other, and always when the time is right. We will intuitively know that everything is as it is intended to be, every second of every day. We will understand that the 'Law of Attraction' is not the name of a fast-food restaurant. Over the years, I have seen how a lack of patience, uncontrolled emotions and rash actions can crush dreams, destroy lives and wreak havoc in relationships. It does not surprise me that patience features as one of the most valued virtues in many religions, including Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Buddhism regards it as one of the perfections that must be achieved on the path to Enlightenment. One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life ~ Chinese Proverb ​I constantly advise clients to remain calm, be patient and allow the future to unfold in its own time. To very little avail. Those who do heed my advice always reap the rewards in the end. But they are few and far between. Many simply cannot conquer the urge to act before the time is right; they find it hard to contain their emotions – be it anger, anxiety, desire or desperation. They do not see that patience is sometimes the best form of action. If only they would accept that the human ego is fueled by fear and petulant self-interest, and realize that when the ego takes over in any situation you are bound to get way ahead of yourself, and it will usually lead you to make a royal mess of things. Patience is the antidote to the restless poison of the ego . Without it we all become ego-maniacal bulls in china shops, destroying our future happiness, as we blindly rush in where angels fear to tread. In these out-of-control moments, we bulldoze through the best possible outcomes for our lives, within a matter of minutes, only to return to the scene of the crime later… to cry over spilt milk. Then the process of picking up the pieces begins, trying in vain to salvage what may be left of the opportunities and future prospects we have now annihilated. More often than not the damage simply cannot be undone. How many times have I heard the sad words: “If only I had listened to your advice, if only I waited a little longer?" Our lack of patience comes from our fear of the unknown, and our intolerance of uncertainty. We are reluctant to accept that nothing is ever certain or secure in our human experience. The only security we really do have in this lifetime is the knowledge that there is absolutely no certainty. There is no such thing as a ‘sure thing’ when it comes to the human condition, except for the fact that this lifetime will eventually come to an end for all of us. Sir Francis Bacon said that “if we begin with certainties, we shall end in doubts; but if we begin with doubts, and we are patient in them, we shall end in certainties.” Our increasingly fast-paced society and constant technological advancement also does not serve us well in the patience department. We like to call it ‘efficiency’ and ‘progress’, but how are we supposed to teach our children the virtue of patience, when they live in a world where just about everything is easily accessible, and often instantly available? All it takes is one swipe of a credit card, or the click of a mouse button. No wonder we have so little forbearance, and zero perseverance. How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young? ~ Paul Sweeney Some of us have become so ridiculously impatient that we cannot even wait for the world to end in its own good time. Oh no, some of us demand an immediate apocalypse , be it this year or the next. And for those who are privileged to be chosen to survive there must be an instant DNA upgrade included in the deal ... non-negotiable. Immediate gratification is what we have come to expect and demand. Meanwhile Planet Earth revolves around her axis unperturbed and Mother Nature patiently goes about her daily business, as she always has, doing her utmost to heal the damage and destruction we leave in our wake. She will continue to see us come and go, untroubled by our petty human dramas, whilst the Universe will continue to leisurely work in its many mysterious ways. I deal with the aftermath of impatience almost every day in the work that I do, and I can assure you that there truly is wisdom in having some patience and fortitude. There is freedom to be found in letting go of our rigid, premature expectations. If only we could stop jumping up an down, and not try to drive square pegs into round holes. If only we could refrain from peeking at the cards of others, before they lay them out on the table, or quit tampering with the unripe fruit of our destiny. ​If only we could relinquishing our unyielding ideas of how things must be, and how quickly they must come to pass. If we could just cut loose and surrender to the boundless possibilities that await us. If we could just kick our heels up and run spontaneously wild with the mysteries of life. If only we had a some patience in a bottle ... how smooth the ride would be! © 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.

In my line of work there is sometimes the unhealthy obsession with the concept of clearing "dark entities" or removing "evil curses". Some of the most spiritually aware and gifted people , who are otherwise very reasonable, intelligent and level-headed, can sometimes also become fanatic about finding evil spirits, curses and dark entities under their beds, inside their closets …and deep-down in the purses and wallets of their clients. Just the other day I was listening to a radio psychic scaring the living daylights out of his unsuspecting caller. The caller just wanted some career advice, but instead the fear-mongering 'psychic' was hell-bent on convincing her that her home was infested with evil entities. The psychic's charming co-host then also jumped in to offer some old-wives’ cures for getting rid of all the demonic forces. Truth be told, the only disturbance I was picking up on was the fact that that poor, freaked out woman would not be getting much sleep for weeks! It appears we are simply not able to rid ourselves of this thing we seem to have for the boogeyman (here in my country also known as the tokoloshe ). Now, don’t get me wrong. The struggle between good and evil is very, very real. It is a fundamental component of the human condition. It is also the basis of all Creation. It stems from the duality found in every important aspect of our expanding Universe: dark versus light, life versus death, night versus day. But light needs the presence of darkness to be truly visible and meaningful. A belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness ~ Joseph Conrad The co-existence of good and evil is also the basis for an inner conflict that each of us have to resolve in this lifetime. It is part of the reason why we are here. Both good and evil therefore do serve a purpose in the greater scheme of things. No doubt about that. But blaming the spiritual realm for the darkness of men is my idea of heresy and blasphemy. Our morbid fascination with all things dark is as old as the hills, but it is still very much de rigueur . Just the fact that psychics and mediums are today still being accused of doing the devil’s work is sufficient proof in itself. In many religious circles ‘fire and brimstone’ remains the height of fashion. Not to mention the latest 2012 doomsday prophecies, conspiracy theories and apocalyptic visions of evil forces, undercover aliens and secret societies; all hype eagerly spread by fear-mongers, spin doctors and social entrepreneurs. But those are the most obvious kinds of evil mania. What truly amazes me about our obsession with all things evil is that it is not something you only find in traditional churches or conservative circles. No, some truly gifted, spiritually aware and highly intuitive people, with whom I share many beliefs and blessings, are also fanatic about finding evil spirits, curses and dark entities under their beds, inside their closets …and deep-down in the purses and wallets of their clients. Yesterday a wonderful client called me, devastated and in tears. She had been persuaded by a well-meaning friend to “try out” another psychic she knows of… just for fun. The self-proclaimed ’spiritual advisor’ had a field day predicting doom and gloom for her current relationship and warned her that another woman was doing magic to steal her man away. She also offered to do spell work for her to fix the problem, to the tune of $400! Meanwhile my client’s love life is perfectly on track and they are in fact a very happy couple. How dare someone mess with the lives of others out of sheer greed? It truly disgusts me. May God have mercy on her soul. It is deeply disappointing that many who share in the collective consciousness appear to be obsessing about evil entities and dark forces all of the time. In fact, they are so busy doing this that they hardly have any time or energy left to be co-creators in our spiritual evolution. They seem to miss the point that evil is about regression, destruction and reversing into the past. Evil is the antithesis of creation and expansion, and they seem to forget that what they focus on, sadly, does become their reality. The good versus evil ‘battle’ has been waged one way or another since the dawn of civilization. It is an ancient archetype that is one of the most recognizable themes in literature and the arts. Let’s face it... the archetype of ‘good guys versus bad guys’ is the stuff that bestsellers and box office hits are made of. To rid ourselves of our shadows – who we are – we must step into either total light or total darkness. Goodness and evil ~ Jeremy P. Johnson I guess it therefore comes as no surprise that some spiritual seekers are forever obsessing about the evil they fear may be creeping up on them. One only has to tune in to a few podcasts, or watch the latest online videos, to witness the spiritual community’s fixation on everything evil. Indeed, fundamentalism is not only found among the religious and the dogmatic. Some of the ‘spiritually enlightened’ and ‘intuitively evolved’ seem to insist on clinging to medieval concepts and out-dated superstitions. Instead of being fully devoted to unconditional love, kindness, generosity, selflessness and the greater good, much energy, time and money is being spent every day fighting evil entities and keeping the ‘darkness’ and its ‘extremely powerful forces’ at bay. Potions, spells and candles are actually the very products that keep scam psychics and fake mediums in business. All this while the true battle of Armageddon is being fought right here under our noses, in the streets in front of our houses. There is no dominating source of evil, because if there was, we would not exist, nature would not exist and neither would the Universe. It is counter-productive to assign so much influence and power to something that is in fact just vast emptiness, non-entity and anti-matter. I have often said, and will say it again, if you want to know true evil just switch on the evening news. If you are curious to see the real face of satan, you will find him lurking on the cover of celebrity magazines, in newspapers and on political campaign posters. The battle between good and evil is not being fought in the spiritual realm. Spirit knows no anger, envy, fear, violence or hatred. The real war is happening in mundane places, like the television set in your parlor or at your child’s school. If you want to find demons, shadow people or anti-Christs, look for them in our educational institutions, communities, churches and governments. If you truly want to find evil incarnate, seek it among the school bullies in our midst, those who drive their peers to suicide or post vile online jokes about their deaths. Maybe we should stop hunting ghosts, witches, psychic vampires and energy thieves, and rather expose the narcissists among us who dominate, dictate and destroy so many relationships, families, careers and lives – devoid of empathy and compassion. Let's also search our boardrooms, public offices and parliaments. There we will find among our leaders and kings many ego-maniacs who abuse their power, corrupt their economy and violate the basic human rights of their people, while they wage senseless wars on their critics, and each other. Evil, darkness, threat and fear are not spiritual forces… they are the evil creations of man. JJ Dewey writes that “all forces, powers, and energies are neither good nor evil in themselves. They are completely neutral, but only become good or evil when they are intelligently directed.” He also states that “all energies and creations vibrating in their pure state are good.” And that is the whole point. Focusing so much of our thoughts, feelings and intentions on evil, instead of that which is good, is counter-productive and contrary to our Divine Purpose. We are here to serve each other and grow, expand and become, not to cast an exaggerated, ominous shadow over all that is potentially good in the world. Eternal good is eternal becoming or eternally moving forward to greater life. Eternal evil is to cease becoming and “to be” that which was in the past ~ JJ Dewey The spiritual realm is much like the natural world. It is in essence breathtakingly perfect, completely harmonious and utterly flawless. I have yet to meet an evil animal or discover a satanic plant. The only evil I have ever witnessed among plants and animals are the scars left on them by the inhumane, dark deeds of men. It is certainly not the devil who is trashing the environment, abusing the animal kingdom or trampling the hearts of loving women and breaking the spirits of brave men. The Divine Light that you and I come from, and will return to one day, knows no evil and does not recognize the power of these shadows that some so willingly fear and follow. Believing in the supremacy of evil entities and dark beings implies that we all come from a spiritual place of imperfection. It suggests that the Divine Source is somehow diseased, that Creation is riddled with flaws and falsehoods that dwell among us. And, worst of all, that we are so far superior in our human state that we alone are capable of fixing this broken, dysfunctional or chaotic spiritual mess. I realize that for some it must be fun to indulge in this paranormal soap opera, but most of us simply don’t have the time, or the inclination. We know we have much work to do, gifts to offer, blessings to share. We are the Wounded Healers, the Empaths, the Shamans, the Indigo Children, the Starseeds, and the Lightworkers. We speak to the Angels, listen to our Spirit Guides and trust in the guidance of our Ancestors, Ascended Masters and Loved Ones. We fight true evil by saving the planet and healing humanity, by drying one tear at a time. We have no need for spells, talismans or obsessive-compulsive psychic defenses, for we are surrounded by the everlasting and indestructible shields of Love, Peace and Harmony. The phenomenal power of our Spiritual Heritage surges through our being every moment of every day. We are illuminated by the Divine; there is much Light around us. The spiritual evolution of mankind is our ultimate aim, our Divine duty. As we continue to expand the Universe, this dazzling, bright Light we carry will continue to emanate from us with much Glory. And we know that there shall come a time when there will be no more evil among men. And we shall know that all is Good © 2010 Anthon St. Maarten SCIENCE UPDATE: A 2024 study on paranormal beliefs and mental health looked at the impact of two types of belief systems on psychological well-being: Traditional Paranormal Beliefs (TPB), which tends to focus on outside forces controlling life, and New Age Philosophy (NAP), which encourages people to trust their own power and inner guidance. The study surveyed over 3,000 adults in the United Kingdom and the findings suggest that how we frame our beliefs is more important than whether we believe, or not. Hope-filled, empowering, inspirational beliefs can actually support our well-being and help us navigate life with more resilience. Beliefs rooted in fear — like harmful spells and curses, external forces, evil spirits, and bad omens that dictate outcomes — were linked to higher stress levels, avoidance behaviors and anxiety, especially in stressful situations. However, beliefs focused on inner being, self-empowerment, personal agency, spiritual growth, holistic healing, manifestation, and benevolent spirit beings showed no negative impact on mental health. 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.

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.

Are you aware of the fact that you may have missed a miracle or two on your way to work or school today? When last did you stop to smell the roses? Count any blessings lately? There are many things that may be considered as lacking in the world today, and there are many lightworkers, dreamers and spiritual activists who make every effort to remind us of these missing elements. But one aspect that is too seldom addressed is our lack of true appreciation and gratitude . ​ Spiritual seekers tend to be very keen to beat the drum of abundance – which is too often merely a thinly disguised obsession with material wealth and earthly comforts. We simply take too much for granted every day; blessings of Joy, Beauty and Divine Grace are seldom acknowledged in our lives. How spiritually aware can we truly be if we hardly ever stop to smell the roses? ​ Have you heard the story of the internationally acclaimed violinist who disguised himself as a street busker with a baseball cap, and then proceeded to play Bach undercover at a metro subway station? To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven ~ Johannes A. Gaertner An email outlining this intriguing story has been circulating since December 2008. There have been claims that it may be a hoax, or an urban myth, but it is indeed a true story. The event was captured on video with a hidden camera. ​ Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten created this interesting social experiment, with the assistance of renowned violinist Joshua Bell . He wanted to find out if people would notice music played by a celebrated artist, compared to that of an ordinary street musician. Would they even bother to stop and listen? Joshua Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 2007 and has sold more than 5 million copies of his first recording, which remained at the top of the classical music chart for over 50 weeks. Surely, a classical instrumentalist of his caliber performing in public would instantly be noticed, or even recognized by some people. But sadly that never happened. Bell played for 45 minutes at L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2007. More than a 1000 people passed by in that short period, and they all basically ignored the virtuoso. Only seven people stopped for a moment to listen, and only one recognized him at all. Bell collected a whopping $32.17 from 27 charitable passersby. Just three days prior, he played at the Symphony Hall in Boston, to a sold out audience who paid around $100 per ticket for the relatively good seats! Gene Weingarten won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2008 for his article Pearls Before Breakfast , which he wrote about this experiment. Audio and video recordings of the event are available at the Washington Post website. The email that has been circulating reads as follows: ​"A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world ~ Terri Guillemets In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100. ​ This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? ​One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: if we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?” ​ Sources: Gene Weingarten , The Washington Post ; Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, Snopes.com ; David Emery, About.com . © 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.

There is the fashionable notion these days for individuals to be branded as 'psychics' or 'empaths' if they are emotionally sensitive, or display a high level of compassion towards others. It is automatically assumed that people who are emotionally highly intelligent must also have an exceptional capacity for extra-sensory perception (ESP). Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, I believe this myth is only serving to confuse and mislead people, and may even cause further emotional damage, by imposing unreasonable expectations on some highly sensitive or even emotionally vulnerable people. I had many traumatic paranormal experiences in my childhood, and I was constantly overwhelmed by extra-sensory perceptions I did not understand. To find reliable information on the subject in those days was near impossible. The confusion and frustration I had to endure in my youth - often due to the ignorance of others - made me vow to research, learn and share as much as I could about psychic abilities. If I can spare just one gifted child unnecessary trauma, or inspire just one adult to come out of the ‘clair closet’, the bewilderment I had to endure would all be worth it. Thus, the reason for this article. Please know that natural human empathy has not become such a scarce commodity that it now needs to be classified as a paranormal phenomenon. It is also not a psychic ability that must be developed or applied at all cost. If empathy really has become such a rare trait, then our society is in much greater jeopardy than we may suspect ( see below ). Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eye for an instant? ~ Henry David Thoreau People who do not display empathy are considered by the medical profession to be abnormal , or disordered. A lack of empathy is a common characteristic found in the Cluster B Personality Disorders in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), especially in those diagnosed with Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Individuals who are unable to express empathy need psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment, not a psychic development course. If empathy really is an inherited talent or innate psychic ability - like clairaudience or mediumship - then everyone who does not have the ‘gift of empathy’ by implication must be some sort of psychopath, sociopath or narcissist. The erroneous association of natural human empathy with ‘supernatural’ psychic ability stems from the confusion that exists about terminology and a shortage of parapsychology research, as well as plain ignorance. There is already so much confusion and skepticism about psychic abilities that professional psychics and spiritual workers can hardly afford more myth and mockery to be added to the mix. The use of the term 'empathy' to describe an extra-sensory ability is inaccurate and misleading. To unravel the truth behind all this ‘emotional mayhem’, one needs to understand the difference between the following terms and concepts: Empathy Versus Sympathy Both empathy and sympathy are natural ways to express compassion and caring for others, and both are a normal trait found in most well-adjusted human beings. In fact, both empathy and sympathy are an important aspect of Emotional Intelligence (EI) , and both are basic social skills taught to us at a young age by our parents and caregivers. Experts also believe that there is a genetic or biological basis to empathy and sympathy. But there is also a distinct difference between empathy and sympathy, which is important to understand, especially for people who work in the helping and service professions. Sympathy is an expression of concern, regret or sadness about unfortunate events in someone else’s life. In other words, you worry about that person’s distress, or you feel sorry for what has happened to them. ​I am so sorry for your loss. I feel for you. It must be awful for a parent to lose a child. I cannot even begin to imagine what you must be going through. Empathy on the other hand, is our ability to grasp the feelings of another person on a much deeper level, as well as the ability to convey this understanding to that person, which shows that you really do comprehend how they feel. Empathy is therefore the ability to relate. It is having the capacity to ‘place yourself in another person’s shoes’ and the knack to truly understand where they are coming from; to see things from their perspective and relate to how it is making them feel. Empathy and sympathy can be expressed at the same time in certain situations, but they can also be expressed separately. I understand exactly what you are going through. I feel your pain. I lost my own son a few years ago. It is an agony that you cannot even begin to describe to someone else. Empathy is therefore appropriate or useful when we need to express our sincere understanding of another person’s feelings and circumstances, whereas the focus of sympathy is more our concern for that person’s well-being in difficult or challenging circumstances, even if we cannot necessarily relate to their circumstances. Empathy is a normal psychological trait, and it is something all people express to some extent. For example, a study done at Yale University in 2007 found that babies demonstrate a natural tendency towards empathy, while the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has shown that despite being given no incentive, even toddlers share with others and act in a helpful manner. Empathetic behavior has also been demonstrated in certain animal species, including mice. Some people may have a greater aptitude for empathy than others, because they are emotionally more intelligent or have more life experience, but that does not make them psychic. You are not psychic or an ‘empath’ because you were properly socialized by your parents; or because you are a caring and considerate member of society; or because you are a highly sensitive person; or because you are able to instinctively notice someone else’s feelings through cues you get from their body language, their facial expressions, their tone of voice, or behaviors like crying, or sighing. The more empathetic you are, the more you are able to comprehend and express how others must be feeling. But this is not an extra-sensory ability, or a clair sense . Empathetic Versus Empathic Most language experts will most likely disagree with me, but I feel a distinction should be made between the terms empathetic and empathic . Such a distinction is useful in my field of endeavor, especially due to the popular usage of the term ' empath ' by psychics and the modern spiritual community. Language belongs to the people who speak and write it, after all. The word empathetic describes the normal empathy a person would express towards others, while empathic is useful to describe the extra-sensory or energetic perceptions experienced by an empath. This form of extra-sensory perception is I some refer to as clairempathy , to distinguish it from normal empathy. In other words, when you are being empathetic you are showing empathy, but when you are being empathic you are experiencing clairempathy . Empathetic : expression of natural, ordinary empathy Empathic : expression of ‘supernatural’ clairempathy ​ You will not find this distinction in dictionaries, as the words empathic and empathetic are generally considered to have the same meaning, i.e. the ‘ability to express empathy’. But to me this distinction makes sense, since we do not use the term ‘sympathic’ to describe someone who is being sympathetic ; therefore it makes sense to only use the term empathetic to describe the expression of empathy. ​That leaves the term 'empathic' free to be made very useful as a practical communication term for the metaphysical community. I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I've come close to defining it: a lack of empathy... A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy. ~ Gustav M. Gilbert By the way, there have been in recent years different people who claim to have coined the term ‘empath’ and 'empathy', but this not true. The English word 'empathy' was coined in 1909 by the Brtitish psychologist Edward B. Titchener, in an attempt to translate the German word einfühlungsvermögen, which a new concept being explored at the end of 19th century mainly by German philosopher Theodor Lipps. The 'empath' concept is also nothing new and actually has its roots in science fiction. It can, for example, be traced back as far as December 6, 1968, to the broadcast of the third season episode of the television series Star Trek: The Original Series . The title of that episode was The Empath and featured a female character by the name of “Gem” who is an empath with a special ability to heal others. ​Therefore, if you are someone that shows a healthy empathy for others, then you are empathetic, and you would then be very aware of emotional signs and moods in someone else. But that does not make you an empath. It just means you are very well-adjusted, kind and considerate person, or possibly even genetically a one-in-every-five Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) . I am an HSP., but I am also an empath, and they are not​ the same thing. In my experience an empath is a person who has vivid clairempathic experiences of a psychic or paranormal nature. This means that I have direct, extra-sensory experiences of other people’s emotions, moods and motivations on a daily basis. I can feel what others feel, without knowing anything about them, or having any direct contact or interaction with them. I can experience these feelings and sensations from strangers on the other side of the world. And they are not only limited to emotions, because I also experience physical symptoms. Touching them, or being in close proximity to their energy field usually yields the most powerful results, but it is not necessary. All I need to pick up someone's feelings is to have access to their 'spiritual coordinates' in some form, for example their name, photo or a personal item belonging to them. ​For example, I might be in line at the supermarket and suddenly begin to feel pain and discomfort in my right arm, and when I turn around there would be someone in line behind me with their right arm in a sling. Not only would I briefly feel their physical pain, but I may also get a clairvoyant flash of what happened to them to injure their arm, or I will feel how frustrated they are to have the use of only one arm. Empathy is the only human superpower - it can shrink distance, cut through social and power hierarchies, transcend differences, and provoke political and social change. ~ Elizabeth Thomas I can even feel the anxiety some people feel in the pit of their stomach when they are telling a lie, or feel their heartbeat increase when they are feeling guilty. If the lady in front of me at the supermarket is getting angry I might feel her blood pressure rising, and possibly perceive additional information about her personal life that may cause her to be so impatient and irritable. But that does not mean that I necessarily identify with her feelings (empathy) or feel sorry for her (sympathy). I simply experience what she is feeling and I know why she is feeling that way, even if it makes no sense to me personally. ​In the past, before I understood my empathic nature, I often did not know where some of these feelings and sensations were coming from, or what they meant? Unconscious empaths often walk around like unsuspecting energy sponges, and can obviously suffer much discomfort and distress as a result. Empaths who are unaware of their clairempathic ability typically absorb all kinds of unwanted emotional and somatic energy wherever they go, without understanding, for example, why they suddenly feel nausea or vertigo; or why they are suddenly overwhelmed with extreme sadness and anxiety, when there is nothing in their environment to be sad or anxious about; or why their positive state of mind has suddenly changed to a really foul mood the moment they walked past someone in the street. ​ To me this is the most evident difference between empathy and clairempathy. Empathy involves an affective (emotional) and cognitive (thought) process based on observation, logical thinking, perspective-taking, reasoning and an appropriate emotional response. Clairempathy, on the other hand, is an energy perception or clairsentient response that has no rational, logical or emotional origin. When someone is limping down the street, it is not something I will only consider or think about once I actually see them walk by. In fact, I do not even have to see them, or know them personally. I might feel that person limping long before they even come around the corner! Whether I can, or wish to relate to what is wrong with them, is of no consequence. ​This is another clear distinction between the empath and the sensitive person. Unlike highly sensitive people, empowered empaths can experience and relay all manner of very upsetting feelings or disturbing symptoms without bursting into tears... or even batting an eyelid. It is a myth that empaths are sitting around feeling sad or depressed all day because we struggle to deal with all the suffering in the world. Empaths did not come into this world to be victims, we came to be warriors! ​With that said, I do have to confess that I am known by many of my clients and colleagues to sometimes break down in 'snot and tears' when a psychic reading reveals some information that tugs at my heartstrings. That is indeed true, but that is not because I am an empath! I perceive the sorrowful information because I am an empath, but I only cry with my client because I am a highly sensitive person. Not all empaths are cry babies like me, okay? And I typically only cry when I personally relate, based on my own life experiences or simply because I really have a personal affinity for that particular client. So, basically I am being empathic and empathetic at the same time. See what I mean? ​Reputable psychics and mediums will actually tell you that they usually do their best readings and predictions when the energy information they translate for their clients make absolutely no sense to them at the time. The less the psychic's ego and personal opinions interfere with the reading process, the better. In fact, a reader who constantly expresses too much sympathy and empathy during a reading is probably not doing a very good job, since both sympathy and empathy are both a highly personal perspective. If I always share my client's feelings, or feel sorry for them, I am not using my clairempathic ability to the best of my ability, because I am obscuring the energetic information or spiritual message with my personal feelings of empathy and sympathy, probably based on my personal values and life experiences. Feeling constantly upset, drained or depressed, or sorry for yourself and the whole world, does not an empath make! Clairsentience Versus Clairempathy Empathic ability (or clairempathy) is actually not a distinct psychic ability in its own right. It is just one expression of the more generally familiar psychic ability known as clairsentience . The term ‘sentience’ refers to awareness , or consciousness of a sensation or a feelin g. Sentience does not involve thought, or logic, or reason, as one would often find in normal empathy, where you would use reason, logic and your personal memories to consider how the other person must be feeling. The emphasis in clairsentience is on feeling or sensing, instead of rational thinking. Clairsentience therefore means ‘clear sensing or feeling’. It is the ability to perceive extra-sensory information about people, places or objects, by sensing it energetically . It is a form of energy perception which is experienced as a tactile, physical sensation, or an emotional feeling. To my knowledge and experience, clairsentience is the foundation for all other psychic sensitivities and often the first psychic ability to emerge in children. Typically, it is also the first psychic sense to be experienced by adults who develop their extra-sensory abilities later in life. In fact, I have never heard of a psychic or a medium who does not have some form of clairsentient ability, or who does not somehow use clairsentience in their work. Clairsentience typically manifests in four major ways that are all somehow related, but the phenomenon differs from person to person: Intuition Extra-sensory presentiment, also known as gut feelings, hunches, inklings, 'sneaking suspicions', premonition and foreboding, It's 'that feeling in one's bones' or 'funny feeling''.​ You can read more about my views on this particular subject in another blog post titled Intuition - The Unconscious Language of the Soul . Clairempathy (clear emotional feeling or sensing) The extra-sensory perception of past, present and future emotional energy connected to people in this life, and also in the afterlife. Yes, the dearly departed may not be having those actual human feelings anymore, but they certainly make me feel them to get their message across during mediumship readings! Clairsomatica (clear bodily feeling or sensing) Extra-sensory perception of physical sensations and symptoms. The term 'somatic' comes from the Greek words soma meaning 'body' and somatikos meaning 'of the body' or 'physical'. Somatic energy perception is more often experienced by mediums and medical intuitives, and may include all manner of symptoms, such as pain, nausea, vertigo, fever, congestion, and pressure or impact to the chest, or as paranormal tickling, chills, goose bumps, or sensations of being touched, as well as temperature changes and hair standing on end.​ ​ Clairtangency (clear touching) Also known as 'psychometry'. The extra-sensory ability to touch an object and read its energy imprints, which can be emotions of the person who owns the object, or past, present, future information associated with the object’s owner. The word "tangent" comes from the Latin tangere , which means 'to touch'. When a psychic medium is performing 'psychometry' she is applying her ‘clairtangent ability’ or using clairtangency, often combined with intuition, clairsomatica and clairempathy. For example, energy healers and medical intuitives may have the ability to scan a person’s body with their hands to read symptomatic energy. Psychometry is also used by psychic investigators in forensic work , such as murders and kidnappings, by reading crime scenes or objects belonging to victims and suspects. Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Versus Empath The final important distinction that must be made in this context is the difference between the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and the Empath, which is my main concern when it comes to the misuse of the term ‘empathy’. A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has the innate trait known as ‘high psychological sensitivity’. According to experts the highly sensitive individual processes sensory data much more intensely and thoroughly, due to biological differences in their nervous system. The term Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) was coined by Dr. Elaine N. Aron in 1996, and it has been gaining popularity ever since, mainly because it presents the HSP in a much more positive light. Sadly, HSPs are now increasingly being made to believe that they are all psychics, which may be undoing some of the wonderful work people like Dr. Aron have been doing. Being an HSP is often confused with shyness, introversion, social anxiety or fearfulness. HSPs are therefore often misunderstood by parents, teachers and the community, while this trait is actually quite normal. It is believed that one in every five people are highly sensitive, which means that it is not a disorder. The trait is actually found in many animals too and it is believed to be a survival strategy of being observant before acting. According to Dr. Aron, "the opposite of a highly sensitive person is a person who takes many risks”, in other words someone who “acts without reflecting very much”. The brain of the HSP has been found to actually work slightly differently, making them more aware than others of subtleties in their environment, and noticing more things when they interact with other people. The HSP is also easily overwhelmed and over stimulated when situations become too intense or confusing. The HSP trait is not a new discovery, but it is still misunderstood. HSPs are often told that they must ‘man up’ or to ‘not be so sensitive’. Now do you see why I sometimes cry when I do psychic readings? It is unfortunate that many HSPs are not aware of their true nature and are not gaining access to accurate self-help information and professional support, because they have been told by well-meaning, but misguided folk that they are ‘empaths’ or ‘sensitives’ or ‘intuitives’. Sure, some HSPs just so happen to also be psychic, but this is not as common as some would have us believe. The popular myth about psychological sensitivity, and its uncritical association with psychic ability, is a tragic state of affairs, because many HSPs continue to misjudge their own personalities and sometimes they really struggle in life, because they do not have an accurate understanding of what makes them 'tick'. Instead of receiving the support, guidance and sense of belonging that will allow them to thrive as HSP, they are being misdirected and taken advantage of by people who sell psychic development books, courses and healing sessions; not to mention the trauma and confusion highly sensitive children experience due to the misinformation being fed to their parents. Imagine having an excited ‘psychic stage mom’ breathing down your neck, pressuring you to act more esoterically and other-worldly, because she read on some website that you are a highly gifted little empath in the making, when in reality you are just a shy, sensitive kid who does not like noisy people and chaotic environments, and you just like to check things out carefully, before you take any action. Sensitive Or Psychic? Don’t just accept someone else’s misguided assumption that you are an empath, or that your sensitive nature is due to your innate psychic ability. It could save you a lot of frustration, confusion and disillusionment, and may prevent you from wasting precious time and resources looking for spiritual or paranormal answers to something that is a perfectly natural trait in about 15 to 20% of the general population. Yes, it is definitely true that most psychics, mediums and healers also happen to be highly sensitive. It obviously does tend to come with the territory, but one does not have to be highly sensitive to actually have a psychic ability or to be a powerful energy worker. Furthermore, not all people with strong intuition, or a highly sensitive nature is necessarily psychic. Bottom-line, if you are psychic you will know it! Not every emotionally intuitive or socially sensitive person is therefore required to report for 'psychic duty’. Don’t miss your true soul purpose and life calling because of the misconstrued ideas others have about extra-sensory perception and psychic ability. You may very well be highly sensitive because you have some other life mission of great importance. In my destiny coaching practice I have seen that HSPs are typically meant to do great things and they often touch many lives with their work. HSPs are here to help make the world a better place in many diverse ways, beyond the scope of psychic of mediumship work. If you suspect that you may be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), you can start by taking Dr. Aron’s self-test on her website. By the way, there may actually be some reason for alarm concerning the declining levels of empathy in our society. According to recent research at the University of Michigan the empathy levels of college students have dropped significantly since the 1980’s, with an especially dramatic decline over the past decade. To make matters worse, during this same period levels of narcissism among college students has reached new heights, according to research at San Diego State University. One possible reason for this decline may be our increased social isolation, and the growing dehumanization of people due to technology. You only have to read some of the really cruel and callous comments so many people post on social networking and video sharing sites these days, to find the necessary evidence. Maybe empathy will one day really become a rare gift in a merciless world devoid of any emotional concern for others? © 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.

Do you believe that your life path is entirely pre-destined? Some people do. They prefer to see themselves as helpless puppets on a string, hanging around, while fate takes its course. For them the future is firmly carved in stone. Their destiny is pre-determined and their life path non-negotiable. The writing is on the wall. Period. I call it 'being a marionette.' During psychic readings , the 'm arionettes' are typically only interested in what will happen to them and when it will happen to them. They show no interest in the possibility that they have much more control over their destiny, and that they can make great things happen for themselves, and by themselves. Indeed, there is much for them to learn from the story of Pinocchio , who dreamed of becoming a real boy and set out on a brave adventure to achieve his goal! The Marionettes appear to be unwilling to accept the fact that they can change the course of their lives, or prevent personal calamities from occurring. Neither do they realize that they can get what they want from life so much sooner, and enjoy those outcomes for so much longer. They can also achieve far better results, whether some of the twists and turns were pre-destined for them, or not. There is an unseen life that dreams us. It knows our true direction and destiny. We can trust ourselves more than we realize and we need have no fear of change ​~ John O’Donohue I have never been able to understand why anyone would prefer to merely cruise along, like a tourist through their own life? Like a robot or puppet acting out a pre-written script, believing one has no control over your destiny or fate? Why would you ignore the opportunity to be truly alive and experience the divine power of your own free will? Do they not realize that this is the very reason we came here in the first place? We came for the experience, the adventure, the fun, the drama and the sheer thrill of it all! Sadly, the Marionettes might have to come back and do the whole thing over again someday. Their souls get stuck in a rut. Their incarnations can also become somewhat like habitual supermarket shopping trips when they plan and design their next physical life experience, between this lifetime and the next. They will just buy the same old toothpaste or washing powder their mother, grandmother and great grandmother preferred, each and every time, life in and life out, for as long as it takes, or possibly for all eternity. If you listen closely you can actually hear spirit sighing. Such a dull business indeed? No change, no risk, no adventure. No challenging choices, or brave decisions. The Marionettes do not like such things. Pushing their cosmic shopping trolleys around is exhausting enough as it is. Oh, the burden of bad karma ! And if their favorite product is way past its sell-by-date, they can always blame the Manufacturer. Personally, I prefer not to go through a repeat version of my current lifetime. I would much rather move up a notch, or two, or at least come back and have another amazing, but very different experience. To me the alternative is too ghastly to contemplate. Why would I want to waste a whole lifetime, only to return and relive it, like the endless re-run of a failed sitcom on cable TV? The jokes only stay funny for so long, you know what I mean? ​ Marionettes also go through a lot of unnecessary pain, suffering and misfortune in their lives. Much of this can be prevented, or at least be alleviated. Too often I have to be a helpless bystander, watching these clients turning themselves into powerless victims of their circumstances. They become martyrs to their own fear, laziness or indecision and they are unwilling to change their self-destructive ways. ‘Denial’ is not a river in Egypt, that’s for sure! As if cruising along is not boring enough, some Marionettes take their tedious road trips to an even more pointless, mind-numbing level altogether. Not only are they content to sit back and wait for Fate, Chance, Luck and Destiny to drag them by the hair along their ‘pre-written life path’, but they also recruit psychics, mediums and astrologers to join them on this lacklustre, uninspiring journey to nowhere. One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to blame your problems on. And when you do find somebody, it’s remarkable how often his picture turns up on your driver’s license ~ P.J. O’Rourke Now, asking a psychic for some directions along the way may seem like a step in the right direction, but in this case the psychic is usually not invited to act as a tour guide. Quite the contrary. No, the Marionettes merely need their psychic advisor to provide a detailed itinerary. They want a pre-designed schedule for the trip; a full-color brochure of their future. And so, the Marionettes travel daily through the most amazing and exotic locations in the human experience, without noticing or enjoying a single sight, sound or tourist attraction. Instead they yawn, cry or whine, while they read their brochures repeatedly…staring with great long-suffering at the colorful snapshots provided by their favorite fortune-teller. They care only about getting to the next pre-determined destination. What happens along the way is of little consequence. And the fact that they may pass by several shortcuts along the way, well, that is also irrelevant. The Marionettes never get to feel the wonder of the monsoon rain on their faces or the miracle of the desert winds in their hair. Heck, they don’t even get off the bus, when it is time to re-fuel or change a flat tire. No, the Marionettes prefer to just hang around in the stuffy cabin, while patiently waiting for predictions to come true and outcomes to manifest, without any active input or participation. Ironically, for the Marionettes the long-anticipated outcomes are often an anti-climax and a non-event. Not playing 'snakes and ladders' usually leads us to finish yet another round of life’s game without feeling any real sense of achievement or fulfillment. This is what they had been waiting for all this time? So, they wandered through the maze via the long and difficult route. Well done. Now what? Life is what happened to them while they were waiting for the master plan to unfold. The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination. ~ John Schaar One can clearly see the evidence of a person’s level of self-determination and spiritual growth by simply looking at the kind of information that comes through for them during psychic readings. People who know what they want and know where they are going, often receive very clear and specific details about outcomes and timelines during readings. They are typically aware of their own power, or are at least keen to increase their awareness, and they often reap the rewards their status as co-creator brings. They even receive clues to alternative routes and fun stops along the way. Reading for them always feels like being part of a treasure hunt; an extreme sport of some sort. But for the Marionettes, who are out of touch with themselves and live without any real purpose, the content of their readings can be somewhat like the twilight zone. Certainly not the highlight of any reader’s day. Marionettes show little interest in how they can improve their life, gain wisdom, develop spiritually or meet their true destiny. They have no idea where they are heading, or what they really want. They are definitely not ready to make any choices or decisions. Yet, they expect a clear indication of the outcome. Due to their indecision and passive inertia their readings often become blurred. Predictions become mere probabilities; time frames remain vague, outcomes appear fluid and uncertain. The psychic usually knows the general direction of where their Marionette clients are heading, but how soon they will get there usually remains to be seen. The psychic is also relatively powerless to reduce the amount of trauma that will be experienced along the way. Warnings and advice often fall on deaf ears. The Marionettes will eventually get to each of their pre-determined destinations. All roads do lead to ‘Rome’. But they will probably take the longest route with the most obstacles. And they will have as little fun as possible getting there. If you suspect that you may be a Marionette, you need to know that your future is not entirely pre-determined. There is also no such thing as ‘fate’ or ‘bad luck’. There is only destiny and free will . Destiny is the cards we are dealt in this lifetime. Free will is how we play them. Any successful card player will tell you that the secret to success lies in a combination of opportunity and strategy. They will also tell you that it is possible to win the jackpot with a weak hand, or lose millions with a royal flush. It is all about the attitude, the faith, the patience, the confidence, the self-control, the focus and, most of all, the timing. Yes, most of the major events in our lives are predestined. You can identify them easily, because they are the events and circumstances that are truly beyond your control. These are the signposts and pit stops we have planned for ourselves, like an elaborate obstacle course, before we entered into this lifetime. Pre-determined events and outcomes serve as the highlights and low-points for our roller-coaster ride through life. They are destined to happen to us, one way or the other. But how good or bad the actual experiences are, how much time they require and what route we take to get to each of them, all depends on what we think, feel, decide, choose and ultimately do. When life gives you lemons, you don’t make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole orchard and build a new lemonade brand - an entire franchise! And once you have had enough fun being the CEO of your lemonade empire, you sell your stock, buy a flying carpet and travel to Atlantis or The Pleiades. Along the way you could visit each of the Seven Wonders of the World, and maybe meet The One with whom you always wished to ride off into the sunset. Or you could just stay on the Destiny Bus, and drink lemonade someone else has made...from a can. © 2010 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.