I was scouring through my files in preparation for this newsletter about ESP, meditation, and shamanism when I came upon the following notes, hastily sketched after a silent, group meditation on a summer's night in l991.  I had received the images and understandings that night, prior to any of the events that were foreseen. 

             This information came unbidden. My notes indicate the images were shown to me in rapid succession and instilled a sense of urgency; that I pay attention and remember. The sequence of the events was important, as well. I had not asked for anything; my intention in meditation was to enter the silence. I had merely quieted my mind and begun to observe.  I offer it as an example of information coming during meditative silence; not as a political commentary or judgment.  Perhaps another time; another newsletter.

 

Meditation - Summer, 1991

               I was shown a large brown bear lying on the ground.  Very ill, dying,  near death.

I was shown a small, rabid badger.  It was snarling and lunging at everything around it.  Extremely dangerous, hostile, would fight to the death.

I was shown a large, strong eagle, flying.  Its eyes were focused with single-minded determination on something in the distance. Anger,  revenge in its eyes. Unaware, uncaring of its surroundings.  Not cautious.  Sure of its strength and purpose.

I was shown the eagle returning, wounded, possibly mortally.  Defeat, sadness, fatigue in its eyes.  Tail feathers on fire.  Struggling to get home.

I was shown a white tiger hiding in the trees adjacent to an open field. The tiger was strong, patient, waiting, watching for its opportunity to strike.

Upon coming out of the meditation, I "knew" the following: 

The Soviet Union (the bear) would collapse. 

The middle east (the badger) would erupt into a rage of anger and hostility and would attack with merciless vengeance in every direction, all over the world. 

The United States (the Eagle) would retaliate by starting a war with a blind determination.  Foolish in its single-minded vision and brutal front-on attack, it would suffer defeat and be seriously wounded, possibly unable to recover fully.

China (the tiger) waits, arms itself, strengthens itself, watches for its opportunity to pounce.

ESP - Everyday

It happens to you.  For some reason, out-of-the-blue, thoughts about a person you know pop into your head.  The phone rings.  Surprise!  The person about whom you were thinking is calling you.  Or, you're in the kitchen humming a song.  You turn on the radio and that same song is playing. Or perhaps you're driving your car, hurtling along toward a blind corner, when suddenly you get a sense of danger and immediately slow down.  Rounding the bend, you see an accident and, had you not slowed down, you would have plowed into it.

Events like these happen to all of us at one time or another.  Often we shrug our shoulders and think its just coincidence.  But is it?  Or is it evidence of a human sense, often referred to commonly as a "sixth sense" or as extrasensory perception (ESP), that we do not fully understand?  Further, do we need to "understand" something to be able to effectively use it?  I think not.

 We don't understand a great deal about the way our brain works and yet, we think, we plan, we wonder.  And even though most of us when we move an arm, wiggle a toe, or take a breath, don't have an in depth understanding of the incredible complexity involved in these functions, we manage to navigate through our days without that conscious knowledge.  Likewise, a lack of understanding about how our innate ESP abilities work need not dampen our enthusiasm for using and perfecting them.  We can develop and strengthen our ESP through practice, just as we can develop and strengthen any other skill or ability.

ESP is an ability to receive or send information above and beyond what may be attributable only through our five objective senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch.  Hence, the term "sixth sense."   Lyn Buchanan, in his book, "The Seventh Sense: the Secrets of Remote Viewing as Told by a "Psychic Spy" for the U.S. Military", makes a case that the sixth sense is not psychic, but is a "sense of ambience."   Buchanan presents compelling arguments for viewing ambience separately from the other five senses. 

Similar to Buchanan, Jose Silva, founder of the famed Silva Method of Mind Development and Stress Control had his own spin on ESP. Some people might remember the original title of Silva's work as The Silva Mind Control Method. The name was changed due to misinterpretation of what was meant by "mind control" and how it was intended to be used and, so the story goes, due also to a military interest in how said mind control might be engaged for military purposes.  I digress. 

            Although I honor the work and research done by many of these great thinkers and see merit in most of the theories about ESP, I tend not to want to separate ESP into neatly packaged, defined categories. Separation, by definition, splits wholeness, thereby interfering with or obstructing a free-flow of information within the whole. Witness the attempts by modern medicine to extract or separate mind from body; and even further, separate the body into various body parts, separate from mind; as if there were no flow of information between them.

             The nature of ESP is free flow of information. For instance, to me ambience is not so much a clearly, separate sense from our five objective senses, but is more of a collective sense. For me it's cohesive and inclusive of visual, auditory, olfactory, et cetera, sensory cues, of beliefs and values, and of the environment. It's a "feeling" sense with a kick or a hint of spice or, well, you get the picture.

            For example, before you walk into a bookstore, have in mind that you will receive some kind of "knowing" about a book or magazine that will prove useful for you about whatever topic you have in mind.  Then, let that thought go.  Enter the bookstore and browse.  People have reported various experiences with this exercise.

            One woman related to me that, after asking her inner wisdom for help in choosing a book and, admittedly skeptical about the process, she strolled into the designated store, walked near a shelf of books, only to have a book fall off an upper shelf, drop to the floor at her feet, and open up.  She had not touched the shelf, nor had she seen the book before it fell.  Astonished, she picked it up and realized the opened page had information about which she had asked!

            Ask.  It can be that simple. Information doesn't always come in such dramatic fashion as happened to the woman noted above; it can often be subtle or partial or enigmatic. So ask again. And again, if you need to. You may have a niggling feeling about a person or a situation that makes you uneasy. Pay attention. Pay attention to seeming coincidences.  Notice what is going on around you, your surroundings.  When the phone rings, take a moment to "sense" who it might be.  As you flip through a magazine in a doctor's office, periodically test to see if you can sense what is on the next page; what colors, objects, topic, ad, or whatever. Use a deck of playing cards and practice "seeing" what the card is before you turn it over and look at it.  Most of all, relax and have fun with it.

Most people, if not all, have ESP abilities in varying degrees.  The ability is often likened to other types of talents, such as, musical ability, athletic ability, artistic ability or mathematical ability.  Some people are naturally gifted with some talents and easily excel in them.  Others must learn and practice and work to become adequate or accomplished.  But nearly everyone can learn how to play a musical instrument or ride a bike or draw a picture.  The same holds true for fine-tuning and perfecting psychic abilities.  Practice. Practice. Practice.   Perhaps as important as practice, if not more important, is to acknowledge that you have ESP ability. 

 ESP generally consists of five categories:

• Telepathy - a mind-to-mind communication
• Clairvoyance - seeing events or objects or both through an inner sight
• Psychometry - an ability to learn about an object by touching it (i.e. who it belonged to, where it's been, life events about the owner, etc.)
• Precognition -  seeing events before they happen
• Retrocognition - seeing or viewing past events

Play around with ESP as part of your life, every day. Use it. Don't lose it.

• SET AN INTENTION (ask a question, ask for a healing, etc) .
• REMEMBER EVERYTHING YOU CAN :
  • where (home, school, forest, distant planet, backyard...?)
  • who (friend, family,  stranger,  archetypal figure, rock star...?)
  • what (objects, events, situations... what's happening?)
  • when (nighttime, 503 BCE, your six-year-old birthday party..?)
  • feelings (fear, happy, confused, angry...?)
• TRUST YOUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET YOUR INNER GUIDANCE
• KEEP A JOURNAL. Record your dreams, journeys, etc.  You'll be amazed. I recently read through a journal about shamanic journeys I did nearly eight years ago and was astonished at the relevancy and immediacy my notes still held for me.