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Written by John Michael Thornton

Category: Teaching

Perceiving or “seeing” an aura is pretty easy, you’ve probably seeing them many times but ignored it because it wasn’t the big colorful explosion you see in the movies. Try to let go of the word “seeing” and think instead of perceiving or sensing an aura.  Your physical eyes are not equipped to see an aura, your psychic abilities are sensing the energy and your mind is interpreting that information as light, color, temperature, shapes, or energy.

It is easier for me to see aura colors with my eyes closed and I can also feel the energy with my hands and even use a modified version of this technique to sense people in the dark… but we will get to that in a later lesson.

All living things have an aura as well as some crystals and sacred objects.  However, people are usually easiest when you are starting.

I find it is easiest to see someone’s aura if they are relatively still in front of a solid background.  I learned to see auras as a teenager in school.  The teacher, standing in front of a blackboard was perfect, the minister in church was good too.  The busier the background - other people, nature, or moving scenery - the harder it is to focus on the aura.  If you have no one you can stare blankly at for a few minutes you can look at a pet or your own hand. We will call the person or animal you are looking at your client.

Your success with any of these exercises is dependent on your mental state.  When starting out, try to be as calm and centered as possible.  The more you practice the easier it will get until you will be able to see auras at will in just about any location.  Looking at auras in the NYC subway during rush hour is an education, but not a beginner’s exercise.

Start by choosing your client.  If you have a practice partner you regularly work with for psychic development you can check out each other’s auras at the same time.  Otherwise, try to pick a person you can look at for five minutes or so without being creepy.  The person does not have to be facing you.  If possible the person should be five to twenty feet away, too close an you may find yourself inside their energy, too far and the blur of distance may trick you.  If there is no one you can easily find to stare at, you can look at an animal.  Pets are easiest as they are more likely to stay still, but squirrels will work in a pinch. 

Begin with the Psychic Warm Up

Once you are centered, direct your gaze just off to the side of your client and begin to let your eyes go soft.  I know of no better way to describe this, it is a softening of your focus where you are releasing your eyes to a more restful or gentle state.  Try not to “look” for the aura, but notice the slight haze, blurriness, or glow around your client.  It may take a while to appear and at first it may be easy to confuse the after image you get when you close your eyes after staring at something, but the aura is different.  At first you will probably only notice it on the edges of your client and if you get excited and focus to intently it will disappear.  It gets easier with practice.

End with the Psychic Cool Down

If you get discouraged, always return to your breathing or pick a different client in a different environment.  You can perceive auras.

At first you will probably just see relatively static outlines, but be patient and you will notice auras change shape and intensity.  People who are meditating often have expanded auras, people who love each other will blend auras when they are close.  Performers’ auras will often expand and merge with the audience.  People’s auras may shrink or fade when they are stressed or scared and expand or brighten when they are joyful. 

Even these simple, colorless visions of the aura can tell you so much.  Once you are comfortable perceiving the auras around people you can start looking around other things.  Animals usually have strong auras as do many plants and trees.  Bird auras can be hard to see, but are worth the effort.  Some crystals and stones have auras as well as some jewelry.  Things that are older, loved and cared for are more likely to have auras than newer objects.  Church alters and object of worship often have auras.  The auras of non-living things are usually static and rarely move, but they can be fascinating to look at can tell you what people truly care about enough to imbue with energy.

In the next lesson we will discuss perceiving auras tactilely.

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Written by John Michael Thornton

Category: Teaching

After your psychic work it’s important to disconnect from your client and get yourself ready for the distractions of the regular world.  Even if you are just doing a solo psychic development exercises it’s good to protect yourself from the energetic chaos of the world.

• Pull back and disengage.
  • Often when doing psychic work it feels like my energy expands to be larger than my body or extends outward like an invisible hand.I like to imagine all that extra energy being sucked back inside – a larger version of pulling your tongue back into your mouth.
• Shake it off
  • Begin to shuffle your feet and maybe shake your hands a bit to release any lingering energies.Clapping your hands (even quietly) can cool down hot or tingling palms and dim the sensitivity to psychometry. 
  • The psychic shimmy shimmy shake
    • This is when you imagine you are brushing dirt or clinging cobwebs off yourself and do the motions that go along with it.Looks ridiculous, but it works.
  • Breathe
    • Take a few deep, cleansing breaths and then let your breathing com back to normal
  • Reshield
    • Reset your energetic protection and shielding.

If you are still feeling overly open or shaky; take a shower, eat something, go for a walk, or get a hug from someone you trust.

Details

Written by John Michael Thornton

Category: Teaching

As you develop your psychic awareness you will find it easier and easier to slip into a more meditative state.  When I first started giving readings it would take me four or five minutes to get myself into the proper receptive state where I could communicate with my spirit guides and connect with my clients.  Years of practice, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness have made it easier to tune in, but even now I take a few minutes getting ready for a reading.

Try to give yourself a good five to ten minutes to center before these exercises.  The more you practice coming to center the easier it will become.  Practice will make it easier to recognize when you are centered and in the right mental space and when you are fooling yourself.

• Start by taking a moment to become aware of your surroundings. 
  • Even if you usually use music or guided meditation to center; take off the headphones, put away your phone and really take in your environment. You can put the music back on in a minute, but really take in your surroundings first and notice any potential distractions 
  • If you feel crowded or unsafe, you may want to go somewhere more private for the initial centering and meditation.
• Focus on your breath.
  • There is no right or wrong way to breathe.If you are breathing and alive, you are breathing right. However, becoming more mindful of your breathing and learning to control your breath can help with focus and relaxation.
  • If it feels comfortable, begin inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, trying to make the exhales longer than your inhales. As you continue to focus your breathing may slow down and become deeper.There’s no need to force it.
  • Try to feel as though you are inhaling deep into your belly and let your stomach expand and contract with each breath.
  • If you are familiar with ujjayi breath or circular breathing for meditation, you may begin it now.
• Ground and become still.
  • Feel the ground beneath you and try to send your awareness deep into the Earth.When I am giving a reading I rarely move my feet, it’s important for me to feel still and connected when I do psychic work.
  • Try imagining roots growing from the base of your spine and the bottoms of your feet, down deep into the earth.
• Come to center
  • Many of us are not centered in our day-to-day lives, we carry our energy forward or we retreat and hide even in our own bodies. 
  • Imagine points of light in the center of your head, your chest, and behind your belly button.Visualize those points of light coming into a shinning line running up and down the center of your body and feel the energy flowing up and down from your roots in the Earth to the sky over your head.
• Clear your energy
  • I like to imagine a swirling whirlpool of energy spinning down from the sky and sweeping through my body; carrying away any negativity, distractions or stress I have accumulated since that last time I cleared.Sometimes it’s a lot.
  • Another visualization is seeing a gentle flame pass through your body; let it burn away anything that is not perfectly you.
  • You can also imagine yourself standing under a gentle waterfall and letting the water wash you clean.
• Surround yourself with protection
  • I like to see a circle of fire surrounding my client and myself.When I am doing solo meditative work I picture a circle big enough to surround myself and whatever I’m focusing on at the time.
  • My Grandmother would always picture a glowing ball of golden light, extending at least ten feet in all directions.
• Set your intension.
  • “I will be Truthful, Loving, and Compassionate in this work.So let it be.”
    • You can say it out loud or just inside your head, but say it with conviction and pride. I say a version of these words before every reading.

If at any point during this centering or your psychic and intuitive work you start to feel distracted or disconnected refocus on our breath.  A few moments of quiet breathing will usually get your back on track.  Once you feel ready go back to the step that was giving you trouble or even start from the beginning.  

It’s ok to get distracted, don’t give up, be patient with yourself.  You can do this.

Details

Written by John Michael Thornton

Category: Teaching

As I continue the ever-evolving re-write of my psychic development manual, I'm adding a section on different types of divination and the ways your physical brain processes the non-physical information provided by psychic abilities.  
Sounds dry, yes? NOT AT ALL! 
For everyone out there complaining about the current rise angel/fairy/unicorn/dragon/pixie readers and talking about how old school and normal your style is; Remember, not very long ago in human history the most respected form of divination was haruspication - the slaughter of animals and inspection of their entrails. If we still did that these days most psychics would have to give up the purple velvet and flowing capes for rubber gloves and aprons.