On your journey to heightening your psychic awareness, you will learn to be more in tune with your own energy and the energy of those around you.  Through daily meditation, you will soon find you are able to quiet the mind chatter surrounding you and focus on sensing energy vibrations from a person or place.  Rule number one is if you wish to be more sensitive to psychic energy, you need to set yourself up to be aware of energy, it is that simple. Everyone has his or her own distinct vibrational pattern and tones.  Some people are tense and static with a high-pitched tone, while others are slow and thick with a tone that is low and dull.  Through practice you will be able to distinguish the different vibrations.  Just as everyone’s vibration is different, you may find there are certain aspects of a person’s energy you pick up on more easily than others.   Energy patterns are a moving force, which intermixes with your own swirling energy.  Sometimes this creates a very pleasant feeling while other times it is almost smothering.  After time, both will become cumbersome and draining, clogging your own energy flow and forming holes and dark spots in your aura. That is why it is important to learn to read other’s energy patterns mentally without absorbing them emotionally. Should you find you are emotionally tired after being around or in conversation with someone, you have no doubt had your energy drained. Be careful that you are not a psychic vampire yourself.  Have you ever been down in the dumps then found yourself around someone very energetic?  Within a short time you have absorbed some of that energy and feel so much better.  That is good for you but how did you leave them feeling?

Importance of grounding: We have discussed the importance of grounding before meditating and using any psychic tool.  It is important to remember when you are tuning into another’s energy; you are becoming the psychic tool so you need to remember to ground yourself.  By doing so you will train yourself to keep other’s energy from affecting you.  The purpose of grounding is to calmly drain yourself of excess energy, thus keeping your perceptions clear, creating balance physically, mentally and spiritually.  By becoming relaxed you ease physical discomfort and help to avoid emotional explosions.   There are many methods of grounding but the simplest is as the name itself implies…touch the ground and if weather permits, do so in your bare feet so you can actually feel the earth beneath your feet. Better yet, put your hands into the earth and feel the pulsing of the energy of the earth itself.  This could explain why it feels so good in the spring to dig deep into the earth and get right in there with your hands!  Focus on putting your excess energy into the earth where it will be transformed into positive energy.  If you have a yard, tend to a flowerbed or potted plants daily…don’t be afraid to get your feet and hands in the dirt.  You will find this simple act will not only help you to free excess emotional energy but you will have terrific looking gardens or potted plants to boot! Working with clay is also another way of grounding yourself.  Molding the clay for at least an hour will help to relieve stress and again send energy to the clay.  Actually, any activity that uses your hands in a creative way is very grounding.  Painting, baking, cooking, sewing are all ways to creatively ground yourself.  Putting your hands and mind to work by de-cluttering your drawers, closets, painting a room, refurnishing woodwork or organizing your books are all ways of draining yourself o f excess energy and bringing balance back into your life. Remember as a child how you liked to lay on the grass and look at the sky?  You were recharging your body by getting in physical contact with the earth’s energy.  Don’t be afraid to do that once in awhile or go and literally hug a tree, take a walk in silence just observing all of nature around you.   Crystals are excellent grounding tools.  Some common ones for this purpose are hematite – also helps people with addiction problems because it stabilizes emotions, obsidian (volcanic rock) – blocks energy and is good for hypersensitive types, people who pick up too much energy and are too concerned about other people, fluorite – good for grounding and balance and is calming to the nervous system.  There are others and you may already have one you are drawn too and feel calmed when you carry it with you.  By simply holding a crystal and imaging the unwanted energy going into it you will find yourself feeling more peaceful. Remember to clear your crystals from time to time to release excess energy they are now holding. How often should you ground yourself?  It will become second nature to you. Just as when you were a child you never thought about tossing a couple of pretty stones in your pocket, run bare foot across the lawn, lay down on the grass or fall back into the snow and make snow angels and of course make mud pies, dig in the sand or dirt you will find yourself doing things to send your excess energy back to Mother Earth for cleansing.  You already know instinctively to do these things, now you know why you feel the need to do them.  The more your awareness grows, the sooner you will notice the need to ground yourself.  Feeling edgy, restless and unsettled?  Take time out to do one to the above or to go off by yourself and meditate.  Bring your mind, body and spirit back into balance before attempting any further activities.

Grounded, now what? When you are grounded, you will find it much easier to read someone’s energy.  You will not be emotionally connected, your mind chatter will be cleared so you will be able to pick up their energy and not absorb it into your own energy vibration. It is best to ground yourself before using any psychic tools such as your pendulum, tarot cards or runes and before meditating.  You want your mind to be open to receive any messages clearly without emotional interference.   Use deep breathing to assist you in your concentration. Again it will help to relax your body and empty your mind of any unnecessary information.

Exercises: Each day, try to heighten your awareness by simply observing everything and everyone around you.  Don’t just look at a person but really listen to them.  Don’t just listen to the words they say but the feeling with which they say them. Feel the energy around them.  Does it match the words they say or is there something underlying their emotions? Observe the nature around you as though viewing it for the first time. Really look at the sky, hear the birds, smell the early morning air, touch the earth, savour your cup of tea, listen for any messages and sense the energy around you.  You will be pleasantly surprised how quickly your awareness increases.