SCEPCOP Forum

I used to but then we had a family of brown bats living in the attic at the time

Our place in Ohio was wonderful when it comes to the herb thing; it was the home of the state's first female physician who just happened to host a clinic in the area during the big Cholera epidemic in the latter 1800s. Because of how things were in those days, doctors had to make up a lot of their own medicines, tincture, ointments, etc. and they did so by having botanical access -- a personal herb garden, green house, etc. was quite common and so it was with this place; we were surrounded by the remnants of old herb beds (and crocus flowers. . . seems the Doc loved her saffron).

Being the good Pagan she was Marcy started doing a lot of research on the herbs in the area both, medicinal and magickle traits associated with them alongside their various names.

Psychics have strong internal logic, it's just not the same as yours. We have our own peculiar vocabulary to deal with it; some of which have made it into everyday language, such as the word "vibe."

It is a language that gives strong weight to feelings and senses, unsurprisingly because these things cut to the heart of most issues. It can appear to be illogical, but it is based on what works for us. No psychic in their right mind is going to logically figure out something important in their lives when they can go by feel. Why? It is the most successful approach for a psychic person.

Most skeptics that I've had discussions with, don't trust their feelings, but psychics always do and they're nearly always right to do so.

I understand and even invite the "confusion" you speak of, Aroute. I even bet on it at times because (for an example) when I'm teaching my Psychic Development course, the first thing I want the students to define is "what does it mean to be a psychic?" I literally force them to see the concept outside the Hollywoodized fantasy and come down to earth with their definition. To be kind, I get fed up with rose-tinted lenses and fluffy clouds when it comes to this stuff; I learned from crusty old injuns and gypsies in my earlier life not some kind of commercially driven New Age manipulator (I'm certain we share an agreement on that particular side of things). The Pagan/Shaman/Gnostic perspective I carry and try to live by, is a bit more gruff than what most believers want to accept and yet, I've found it to be the more honest and "real" core to it all; the more visible public face of PSI and "Spirituality" is little more than a farce to me; an affront to the "Gods" and when we really get right down to it, the very thing that made old JC loose his temper in the temple and make a mess of things -- spirituality does not equate carnal status!

Back to the Point. . . my approach to this work is highly controversial because I want my students to learn how to THINK and I guide them towards SELF empowerment vs. co-dependency on others; gurus, priests, priestesses, etc. It also means that I must help them overcome their dependency on the fantasiful concepts of Magick and/or Psychic things; I more or less show them how the magick of our ancestors is the science of our present, etc. Conversely, I use this same approach with skeptics and rationalists with the aim of helping them better understand that the are correct on one front, when it comes to certain methodologies, and so forth. But, they are wrong when they say that there is no such thing as Psychics in that there really is based on the perspective of that same old adage; the magick of the past is the science of the present.

With the believers I point out a lot of Gnostic & Shamanic views as well, that lessens the dramatic idea behind the Psychic fantasy, showing it to be little more than having a disciplined and finely tuned mind/body connection that makes us sensitive to the environment as well as other people, places & things. Everyone has the ability BUT, we all must work towards understanding it, refining it, and respecting it for what it is as well as what it isn't. This is why I explain to patrons that being "Psychic" is nothing more than a collection of skills that become intuitive/2nd nature and thus, automatic with time. Some people have a natural propensity for these things and sadly, most of them end up conforming to certain cultural, religious and environmental ways of seeing such rather than questioning it, as I did long ago. My curiosity over the things I was able to do during my toddling years is part of what lead me down two very different yet, related paths; professional magic and religious studies. While I've not been able to settle all aspects tied to the Psychic Question, I have been able to find "peace" for myself when it comes to the various NATURAL triggers that allow me to connect with various things in life. I do the best I can to share that with believer and skeptic alike.

Another Note Here. . . even within the psychic community you will find individuals identifying "fakes" in their midst. In that world "fraud" takes on a few forms, one of which is the same consumer predator I believe everyone on this board gets disgusted by while the other tends to be those that exploit their abilities for the sake of personal gain and glory. I have mixed feelings when it comes to this latter issue in that I do believe in the writing of books, workshops, and such for the sake of preserving information and passing on insights that have worked for us to future generation, etc. My agreement with this latter view comes in the form of people like Sylvia Brown who rides an Ego-Centered broom. She's bought into her own press and in so doing Edged God Out, as we say.

Numerous Psychics that I've worked with have shared the same sorts of things when it comes to individuals that embrace this particular facade in life; they explain how it can be "seen" within the aura and felt in their general energy. . . as Craig has mentioned, the lingo may sound peculiar but it is much to the point when it comes to how "WE" see and experience such things. Such as those that noticed how "Seth" at one time entered Jane Roberts. . . they could see him come down and take possession of her body and he did so for exactly the period of time he said he would BUT! Ms. Roberts relished in the glory and cash Seth introduced her to. While touring several psychics that have an aura sense started noticing how they could see the energy form when summoned, but that it never entered Roberts; she was gushing with generic information (Cold Reading) and not in actually contact with the spirit she claimed to have ties to.

Whether you wish to believe it or not, the point still remains that many in the Psychic community ended up not trusting her because of what so many were independently noticing and realizing. Ms. Roberts & Seth are just one example, there are many others. However, there is one story that I find quite amusing; it's about a devout Atheist that becomes a living, breathing channel for what is claimed to be the essence of Jesus Christ himself. The result of which was "A Course in Miracle" and yet, through the course of her life, the lady in question denied the possibility for such a thing to happen to her. It really is an interesting story I should re-read, been a while.

Yeah, in the psychic community there are the incompetent psychics and frauds mucking things up. Frauds are easy to spot when you know what a real psychic acts like. Frauds put on a show, which real psychics never do.

Hi ProfWag,
The short answer is that real psychics have psychic ability and frauds don't. Of course, life is always infinitely more complicated than that as there are also real psychics who rely on fraud when their abilities fail them. (George Hansen, The Trickster and the Paranormal)

People with actual psychic abilities almost always fall within a very specific set of personality traits which I outlined on my blog:
http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/char ... ic-people/

Two of the most prominent traits are HSP, or Highly Sensitive Person and extremely high creativity. It is not unusual for a psychic person to have two or three different creative pursuits.

Physiologically they are very likely to be Schizotypal, which is a trait that is related to schizophrenia, but without the mental illness. It is believed that schizophrenia sticks around as a disease despite evolutionary pressures to the contrary, because of the huge creative benefits of a schizotypal personality.

These are the traits of creative people which include a high tolerance for ambiguity. Here is an article from psychology today that outlines many traits that you can just as easily apply to psychics:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles ... ersonality
In my opinion, the article is way too positive, making creative people sound like they belong in the X-Men, so take it with a grain of salt.

the highly sensitive part is a bit lengthy to include here, but you can find out about it pretty quickly in a google search. Basically, you put together HSP with high creativity and you have a psychic.

This is just a smattering. There's enough for me to write a book, which I'm doing.

There are some other common traits including ADHD, Dyslexia, and Depression. The latter of which seems to link well with a "new" point of conversation in the Mental Health industry referred to as "Depression-Reality Syndrome" (similar to "Depersonalization" -- -- sadly, I can't find the TIME Mag article to link you to it) -- the theory that many depressed people become such because they cannot accept the world or social facade we're told to see and believe in; we see the darker side of reality, the starker truths in the world, the uglier side of immorality and lost ethics, all of which frustrates us because we can't clarify what we see/feel when we converse with others. In a way, we create our own "prison" because of this "sensitivity" for which we can't seem to find an out.

The Schizophrenia connection mentioned by Craig, is well established, especially in the Shaman-based traditions where it has been standard practice to remove the wise ones away from the village as they age and become more in tune with the "spirit realm". I believe I've touched on this point before, how certain psychics will migrate further from the urban environment as they age because they can't handle the bombardment of energy and emotion they must face in such atmospheres. In my experience at least, it's lead to mild agoraphobia and a growing sense of discomfort when it comes to being around people as a whole; especially total strangers.

As I've said before, based on cursory testing of my own, I've found that less than 3% of those that call themselves "Psychic" are even remotely close to be such; they claim the title because they bought a deck of Tarot cards and learned to read them. . . usually, quite poorly. They then grow into delusion because of client praise and thus, become resistant to actual intuitive & spiritual influence. That 3% factor however, typically works in ways that go outside standard divination, and as I've stated many times, they are rarely doing the work for sake of wealth and fame even though some do (reluctantly) move into this arena for sake of income and livelihood simply as necessity, such as I've found myself in recent years. . . even with all the laws passed to help the disabled in the work place, there's still complications -- a wheelchair is a big strike against you in much of the world's way of being, so you must find something you can do on your own using your natural talents & skill set.

I know I personalized that a bit, but it's a pair of shoes hundreds of elderly men & women as well as handicapped young people are forced to wear and in time, many of these folks quietly become Readers if only to supplement the pittance given them by the government (which is now dwindling fast!)

There is another disorder on that list I think. I wrote about it on my blog and got a favorable response: Bipolar Disorder
http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2011 ... ic-people/

Man, am I psychic!!!!!!

LOL!! Yeah, psychic people are subject to a whole range of affective disorders. Of course, not all of us are affected by them.