Latent clairvoyants may work in jobs that allow them to design, visualize, paint, style or illustrate. They may choose a visual art as a hobby and be particularly affected by the appearance of people, objects or environments. However, this is a guideline, not a rule; there are many people who are highly clairvoyant and who do not consider themselves to be visually inclined. Indeed, people who lose their physical sight have sometimes been known to develop a strong clairvoyant sense as a result of their disability.
People with strong visual skills may also be particularly attuned to developing auric vision, or may learn to channel visual information. In fact, many people work as psychic artists by allowing their technical ability to draw or paint to be the vehicle for translating the visual information that they receive.
If you are a good listener, the kind of person who is particularly skilled at listening intently to what other people have to say, or good at discerning changes of tone, pitch and frequency of noise, then you may well be a latent clairaudient. Auditory people are often drawn to work or create with sound, which could include a range of musical skills, voice work and sound recognition. In addition, they may describe their experiences in terms of the sounds that they heard and whom or what they were listening to. Indeed, for many, loud, sustained, persistent or high-pitched sounds which other people may not even notice will be unbearable.
Clairaudients are often people who think in words or sounds first before converting this information into feelings, pictures or concepts. People who have an affinity with words and sounds are also likely to have a latent ability to act as a channel for direct verbal or written information.
If you respond to life emotionally or in a tactile manner and you are the kind of person whose chief response to life is based upon feelings, then you could easily be a latent clairsentient. You may also be a natural hands-on healer. Many people who are naturally empathic, passionate or compassionate find that they have clairsentient ability, or may be drawn to one of a number of healing arts that allow them to work with their hands and heal through direct physical contact.
Clairsentients often feel things quite intensely. Indeed, clairsentients who have not learned to regulate and protect their sensitivity can be powerfully affected by other people’s moods. Similarly, natural healers may gain an impression of another person’s physical or emotional state within the sensations of their own body and emotions. Clairsentients and healers are often people who have a strongly developed emotional intelligence but who, in some cases, may not always be able to voice what they are feeling. Sometimes, feelings are too big to be translated into words. However, a good, professional clairsentient or healer will often learn to bridge the gap between gut intuition and intellect.
PREPARING YOURSELF TO BEGIN
There are no absolute requirements for anyone who chooses to embark upon a journey of psychic development. The principles that I offer within this book are meant as guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules. However, it is best to begin with the right intentions. If you are developing psychically from a position of strength, this will be reflected within the success and stability of your development. Therefore, endeavour to take care of your physical well-being at all times.
I would not recommend any psychic development that is linked to the use of recreational or psychedelic drugs. Anything mood-altering or hallucinogenic could potentially open your psychic senses artificially, but this kind of opening is usually damaging, unstable and ultimately limiting. If you open up your awareness naturally then you open up safely and are better able to stabilize and build upon the positive potential of your newfound psychic skills. Ideally it is also best to keep alcohol, nicotine and caffeine consumption to a minimum. While there have been a number of talented psychics who have been chain smokers, mild alcoholics or coffee addicts, the majority of us function better psychically (and otherwise) when the use of these substances is minimal.
For myself, it was the process of developing as a healer and a psychic that prompted me to give up cigarettes and temporarily stop drinking alcohol. It became apparent to me that it was not comfortable for me to continue using these drugs and develop my abilities at the same time, and the latter was a much more attractive and satisfying option. I have never regretted making that choice!
Whatever you choose for yourself, maintain an intention to care for yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually and do your best to practise that intention in whatever way that your instincts tell you is appropriate.
In preparation it is also useful to think about your motives for developing psychically. What is it that you want or need from this process of development? How would you like to develop and what effect would you expect your psychic awareness to have upon other areas of your life? From my experience, people who wish to grow psychically as part of their ongoing spiritual evolution and their progression towards their highest potential are those who are likely to have the most satisfying and rewarding process of awakening. In addition, it often helps to have an intention to help and support the growth or healing of others with our innate abilities, although this is certainly not essential. However, the desire to grow and the desire to serve others often go hand in hand; one stimulates the other.
CREATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT
There are a number of exercises in this book which you might choose to practise with a friend or partner, and working with other people is certainly to be recommended. However, I have written many of these exercises to be primarily performed alone, in a safe, comfortable place where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Find or create a space in your home that feels warm, comfortable and secure and make it as conducive to peace and relaxation as you can. In preparing your environment you might like to follow the guidelines that I offer below. They will prove to be helpful but, once again, they are not essential.
EXERCISE: YOUR SACRED SPACE
Once you have chosen the space that you are going to use to conduct most of your initial psychic development take some time to cleanse it and personalize it.
Physically clear this area of excessive clutter and debris.
Spend some time cleansing and brightening the energy of this space by playing beautiful music, burning essential oils, lighting candles, singing, chanting or visualizing this area filled with bright, healing, protective light. Do whatever feels appropriate for you.
Essential oils, the natural oils of flowers and plants, and essential oil burners are readily available these days. Jasmine oil and rose oil are wonderful for psychic work, but good jasmine and rose can be quite expensive. Cheaper options are lavender, neroli and frankincense. Oils can be used individually or in combination, and only a small quantity of oil is needed. It helps to consult a trained aromatherapist or read some good books on the subject to ensure that you are using the oils safely and in appropriate amounts.
Relax and meditate in this area even before you begin your exercises of psychic development. You can do this by sitting comfortably, closing your eyes and breathing deeply. To still your busy mind it may help you to focus upon the movement of your breath, in and out, and to count each exhalation.
Surround yourself with a few items that you find beautiful and inspirational: some flowers, perhaps, or a picture of a beautiful landscape. Choose whatever is meaningful for you.
When you plan to sit in this place it is ideal to make sure that the lighting is soft. Harsh, glaring lights are not always conducive to relaxation and can distract the mind away from the state of internal contemplation that is helpful for psychic development. This is why some people choose to meditate or do psychic work to the light of a candle, though softer