Dear Soul Arcanum:
My mom is a gifted psychic and healer. She’s very devoted to her work and quite successful. I have inherited her psychic gifts, but they seem to manifest differently in me. For example, when we’re in a group of people, I often pick up on individuals who are trouble. They may be men who are lecherous or individuals who are sort of crazy or unbalanced. For example, my mom has a neighbor who is definitely interested in more than her mind and spirit. He’s the kind of guy most women would avoid, but my mom treats him like she does anyone else. In these situations, I feel like she’s very naive; she seems to trust everyone and will talk to just about anyone! Since she can talk to spirits, predict the future, and help people sort through their biggest problems, why can’t she pick up on something as obvious as “bad” people?
– Brian
Dear Brian:
Being “psychic” is like being smart, charming, or kind – it’s as individual as people are. There are lots of factors that may affect how a person will operate psychically.
How they view the world is one key factor: if they see life as a dangerous place of competition for resources, then their psychic instincts will tend to focus on warnings of danger and opportunities to get ahead. If they view life as nothing more than a biological accident, they’ll tend to not have psychic experiences, or to dismiss those they do have as coincidental or meaningless. If they believe life is a school for spiritual evolution, they’ll tend to view their psychic perceptions as designed to guide them to the experiences they most need to learn and grow, whether those experiences will lead them to what they think will make them happy or not.
People’s past experiences with psychic phenomena will also greatly impact how their abilities manifest. If they’ve been taught that everything psychic is evil, then they won’t trust their own instincts, which will shut those instincts down or distort them. If they’ve had lots of positive input and experiences with certain psychic phenomena, they may focus on and value those particular types of experiences above others. If they pursue psychic information with the help of divination tools, they’ll have a different quality of experience than if they seek guidance more directly. There are an infinite number of factors that can influence how psychic abilities may manifest.
Overall, however, the biggest factor that determines our “level” of psychic ability is our personal vibration. What follows is a gross oversimplification. No two people will actually have the same exact psychic ability, just as no two people will have the same exact intellectual or athletic ability, or the same emotional experience of life. For the sake of clarity, however, let’s break down psychic ability into four different focus levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Someone at the beginning end of the conscious psychic spectrum will tend to be more physically focused in their psychic abilities, and zero in on issues of physical safety, like you do. This is why the most commonly reported psychic experiences involve some sort of danger; everyone has natural survival instincts.
At this level of focus, our psychic instincts tend to be very kinesthetic or physical. Having your hair stand up on the back of your neck is a manifestation of this level of psychic ability, as is sensing someone looking at you. Feeling a strong rush of sexual attraction or chemistry with someone is also a manifestation of this level of ability. (Hopefully, we’re ALL familiar with that feeling!)
At a step above this in terms of refinement, we become more emotionally aware. At this level of experience, we begin to sense when something is “different” about the people we’re close to: when there is tension in the air, when someone seems to be troubled, when someone is lying or hiding something, etc. We also tend to become very emotionally sensitive and empathetic. When hearing some sad or disturbing tale, we may personally become very upset. This level of psychic ability is commonly called “women’s intuition.” It’s conscious awareness of what is going on emotionally with other people.
A step above this focus in terms of refinement, we begin to consciously dialogue with metaphysical sources of information and guidance. We may begin to hear things in our heads about certain people or situations, or get visions of the future. We may sense who is calling before the phone rings, or just know things are going to happen a certain way because we have seen it in our heads. This is the level at which we commonly begin to label people “psychic.” They are able to tune in to the past, future, events at a distance, etc., and have learned to interpret those psychic perceptions for their meaning.
One step above this focus in terms of refinement, we begin to use our intuitive abilities for spiritual aims. Here we have gained a sense of higher purpose and the desire to serve others or use our gifts in a meaningful way. Instead of using our abilities to protect ourselves, improve our relationships, or predict the future for profit or personal gain, now we’re focused on helping others to heal and find peace and happiness. At this level, higher guidance from Spirit on how to manifest true fulfillment is available. This is the level it sounds like your mom is coming from.
Despite your mom’s great psychic abilities, she may not pick up on some of the things you do because she doesn’t need to. Her high vibration is a form of natural spiritual protection. You see, as we rise in vibration, we also rise in what we might call faith. At a lower vibration, we tend to be more fearful, which makes us more guarded and discerning. At a higher vibration, we come more from love, which tends to make us more open to life and other people.
In order to help others heal, we have to love them and see them as already divinely perfect. This is how Jesus healed, and it’s how any great healer operates. Where you see someone who is crazy, a healer like your mom sees a divine spirit who is struggling to cope with life in the physical; where you see someone who is lecherous, a healer sees a lonely, yearning heart; where you see someone who is “bad,” a healer sees a soul who is lost and suffering.
In order for your mom to do her healing work, she has to be open to people. This doesn’t mean she is reckless; it means she looks for the divine beauty in everyone she meets, and in doing so, she brings out the best in them. I bet despite your mom’s apparent naivete, she doesn’t have harmful experiences with any of these “bad” people, because her high vibration naturally protects her from lower vibration experiences.
Probably the worst thing that happens is people who are lost in darkness cling to her light. Since she has devoted her life to serving spiritually needy people, she’s not adverse to this. I’m sure she knows how to align her energy to deal with those situations – so you needn’t worry about her, Sweetie.
As each one of us gets just what we need via our psychic abilities, we must trust that whatever we perceive is perfectly suited for us at that moment.
Soul Arcanum