How do you become a psychic?

If you’re in the beginning stages of wondering if it’s even possible to become a psychic, there is good news: you already are! Everyone has psychic and intuitive abilities. I tend to use the term psychic and intuitive abilities interchangeably as they ultimately mean the same thing: to know or understand something without conscious reasoning—it’s subtle energetic guidance. We are all psychic and receive information from our psychic senses all day long. Once you accept that you do receive these impressions and begin to pay attention to them, your psychic senses will likely begin to open up more. Our bodies are like antennas for psychic and intuitive information and your intuition is always communicating through your psychic senses and your physical senses. There are endless opportunities to improve and train your intuition. With practice and patience, you can develop a solid foundation to help train your intuition to be clearer and more accurate. Once you feel comfortable practicing on your own, you may want to seek out a friend or community to practice with.

Psychic or intuitive abilities are what allow you to understand something without conscious reasoning. Through your psychic senses, you may see, hear, feel, or know information without a seemingly rational explanation.

These senses are often referred to as: 

• Clairvoyance (seeing)
• Clairaudience (hearing)
• Clairsentience (feeling)
• Claircognizance (knowing)
• Clairalience (smelling)
• Clairgustance (tasting)
• Clairtangency (psychometry)

It’s true that everyone has varying degrees of these abilities and they can be developed over time.

How can you cleanse your energy before tapping into your psychic abilities?

Before you begin practicing or developing your psychic abilities, you’ll want to take a moment to clear your energy, connect with yourself, and set an intention for your work. Your intuition operates from a different part of your brain than your thoughts, anxieties, or analytical thinking. Taking a moment to allow your mind to settle and taking a few deep cleaning breaths can help connect you to your intuitive mind and psychic senses. If you have difficulty relaxing or finding a stillness within yourself, it can help to keep your attention on your breath in order to give your conscious mind something to focus on. Stating a clear intention before practicing your psychic abilities will give you a clearer outcome and better understanding of what you hope to achieve. For example, before working with a client, I might set the intention to “receive clear information that is helpful, uplifting, and supportive of the greatest good of all involved”. You should create an intention that supports what you hope to accomplish.

Here are 10 expert tips to continue strengthening your abilities:

1. Use Your Breath

Breathing helps to circulate energy in your body as well as relax you. Many Eastern practices like yoga and Tai Chi use the power of breathwork to tune into our bodies, develop self-awareness and feel deeper emotions. As you become aware of your breathing, you can begin to become aware of your true essence and connect to your own soul, which is the basis for psychic and intuitive work. Focusing on your breath is also the most simple and effective way to “clear your conscious mind” and open your intuitive senses. Your breath acts as an anchor for your psychic abilities.

2. Keep Your Mind Out of It

It’s important to know the difference between when your mind is involved, and when your Psychic senses are communicating to you. You may have heard that with psychic abilities, usually the first thing that comes to mind is the answer. This is often true because the mind has not yet had a chance to form an impression or interfere. When you begin practicing, it's helpful to form a question or tune into a topic that is open ended, rather than only a few possible specific answers or a yes or no answer. Why, how, or what questions will allow you to receive the most unbiased impressions and feel when you are receiving information rather than recalling information from your own mind.

3. Begin Reading Auras

The Aura is a unique energetic field that surrounds every living thing. Your aura holds the essence of your energy as well as experiences both present, past, and future. As a Psychic or highly intuitive person, you have likely been sensing and reading auras your entire life.

Close your eyes for a moment and think about someone in your life who could be described as having a lot of energy or a “big presence”. If you were at home and this person walked in your front door, would you know right away what kind of mood they were in and what their emotional state was? Now think of someone in your life who is more reserved, introverted, or shy. If they walked in your house, you may not register their presence right away.

4. Practice Psychometry

The word Psychometry derives from the Greek words 'psyche' meaning soul and 'metro' meaning measure and refers to the Psychic ability to read or sense energy from an object. Energy can never be lost or destroyed and so every object or place will have an energetic “footprint”. As a psychic or highly intuitive person, you will be able to sense and feel that energy when holding or seeing an object. Working with a friend, ask them for an object that holds some significance. Use your breath to clear your mind and tune in to the energy of the object. Ask your friend to validate the impressions you receive - you may be amazed at what you discover.

5. Communicate With Your Spirit Guides

Spirit Guides are infinitely loving beings that are in our lives to guide, teach and protect us. Everyone has Spirit Guides regardless of their Spiritual beliefs. Even if you don’t see, hear or feel your guides yet, you do have them. There is not a person on this planet that is alone in their life experience. We are all connected, guided and loved.

BONUS: Try this exercise to connect with your guides.

Sit in a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed and have a notebook and pen. Set the intention to connect to your spirit team, simply ask them to be with you in your own words and speak from your heart. 

• Take a few deep cleansing breaths.  

• Start to notice the pattern and rhythm of your breath as you begin to relax.
  

• With your thoughts, invite your Spirit Guides to join you.

• Notice any changes in how you feel emotionally, physically, and in the atmosphere around you.

• Pay attention to any subtle shifts in energy. You may see images, feel impressions, or hear words and phrases in your mind. 

• After a few moments, thank your guides for being with you.

• Journal about your experience.

6. Sit in Power Everyday

Sitting in the power is similar to meditation because you are connecting inward to stillness. Unlike meditation when we are sitting to observe our own thoughts or emotions, sitting in the power we connect to our own power, our own spirit, our own love. We sit in the presence of the spirit world without an agenda. This means we are not asking questions, simply sitting to attune with the spirit world.This makes the most impact on your psychic development—even if it doesn’t seem like anything is happening at the moment.

7. Practice Self-Development

Self-development leads to self-awareness. This can be through learning and reading or with a therapist. When developing psychic abilities, we need to examine anything that is making us less of a clear channel. This can be an ongoing process, we don’t need to be completely healed (not possible) but our beliefs are going to shape our perception of the psychic impressions that we receive.

8. Connect With a Community

Find a community where you feel comfortable and safe enough to practice, ask questions, and share your experiences. Use your intuition in finding the best place for you to be supported. Practicing using your psychic abilities is the best way to learn and will help you know the difference between when information is coming from you or to you from the spirit world.

9. Practice Affirmations

I often find that highly intuitive or psychic people have shut down their deep sensitivities at some point early in life to feel safe in the world. As you open back up your abilities it can help to create a sense of safety for yourself. Affirmations can be a great way to help you to connect with psychic abilities and feel empowered. Affirmations can be used to reprogram the subconscious mind, to empower us to shift our thoughts and create the reality we desire. Try writing or speaking one of the following phrases or create your own:

“I trust the power of my psychic senses.”

“My intuition is the only proof, calling, and validation I need.”

“Everyday I am moving closer to the truth of who I am.”

“I am always guided by my inner wisdom”

10. Read Tarot for Yourself

If you don’t have a tarot deck or oracle deck yet, consider visiting your local holistic center or looking online for a deck that appeals to you. Exploring Tarot and Oracle cards is a great way to connect and develop your intuition and psychic practice, both are great tools for divination and self-discovery. Pull one or two cards a day. Before you look up the meanings, notice the impressions you receive from the imagery. By simply wondering what each card means, you will invite your intuition to provide context by communicating to your intuitive senses. This may happen through images in your imagination, feeling, sensing or knowing meanings, or even hearing words in your mind.

There is so much symbolism and meaning in a tarot deck, as you draw the cards in answer to questions or queries the universe will always take the opportunity to respond and provide you with the answers you seek, then it’s up to your intuitive senses to take over. Journal your feelings and then look up the card meanings. Journal or meditate on how the messages are relevant to your life if it’s not immediately clear.

Do psychic abilities, psychic senses, and psychic powers all mean the same thing?

Psychic abilities, senses, and powers all essentially mean the same thing, but I see a slight variance in the way these terms are used. Psychic abilities tend to refer to which senses are being used to receive information. We all receive information through our physical senses and that can mean seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling or tasting. These abilities are often called “the clairs” and you can read all about them here.

Psychic senses tend to mean our perception, feeling or clairsentience as it’s often called. Highly empathic people tend to be highly sensing people. This can also mean that we sense and feel energy and situations in our body.

Psychic powers is something I’ve heard a lot about in the last few years and I feel that this has become a way for some people to reclaim their abilities or feel empowered with them. Psychic abilities have not always been praised or even accepted and through history people have been persecuted and feared for working with psychic senses or divination. Reclaiming your psychic and intuitive abilities should be celebrated, not feared. There is, after all, great power in connecting deeply with yourself and your inner knowing. This can help you to create a life that feels more true and authentic to you!

Continue Your Learning: 

Uncovering Intuition: Guidance, Inspiration, and Exercises to Unlock Your Inner Wisdom

What is Mediumship? A Beginner’s Complete Guide

How to Discover Your Mediumistic Abilities and Improve Them

See if psychic or mediumship coaching and mentorship is calling you at this point in your journey.