Peeling the Onion - An Angle on Psychic Development

One of the most common perceptions regarding a credible psychic is that they were born with the ability and required no development – that the evolution of the psychic signal was already fully formed as soon as they fell out of the womb. Though in many cases, intuitive and psychic abilities can be linked back to early childhood, this does not necessarily mean a fully developed sense of how to utilize these gifts existed. Yes, quite often we hear psychics say “I thought all kids were like me, until I discovered they weren’t.” However, there are others who on the surface simply perceived reality a bit differently, but could not discern just how different their perceptions were from others, and moreover, just what those differences meant. And still further, there are those who did not have an inkling of psychic ability in their youth, but suddenly became active later in life – and in some cases, it required no miraculous feat such as a near death experience, but rather something far less dramatic. The catalyst for engaging the psychic signal can be as benign as simply becoming aware of it in the first place. In other words, just paying attention.

However, paying attention doesn’t mean you necessarily go from “eyes closed” to “eyes opened” and receiving all the psychic information about a particular subject in all its varied details. Quite frankly, even when one is born with psychic functioning, there is still a process of development and evolution (unless you’re a prodigy like Mozart). The speed at which this development takes place can happen very quickly, or as is typical, gradually over a period of time. Like a muscle, the more you exercise, the stronger it will get.

But we must admit, psychic functioning is not simply a muscle, and such a metaphor, though it has its purpose, is rather crude overall. Instead, using the analogy of eyes opening seems more appropriate. Now imagine a time when you were in a darkened room, and then suddenly turned the lights on. The flood of brightness can leave you momentarily blinded and disoriented. Fortunately, just starting out in psychic development, this isn’t usually the modus operandi (though it can leave you at times a bit confused). And for good reason: it is much better to turn up the light slowly … As the luminescence brings the shapes once hidden to a more discernable form, the mind engages the environment in a brand new way. It tries to grasp what the shapes are, what they represent, what is the “wider view” that is emerging from the blackness. And – here’s the kicker – how does it relate to how we perceive ourselves in the world and what we know of the world. In other words, as these once darkened, invisible shapes and sounds find their birth in our consciousness and come into the observable mind, the ego consciousness grapples with definition, and that definition will be processed (typically) according to one’s psychological makeup, and then delivered to the subject for validation. How, too, will we assimilate the information, once verified, back into our being?

Oftentimes, people view psychic development as a series of events, lessons, or circumstances that lead to acquiring the ability. “I have acquired clairvoyance” or clairaudience, what have you. This as if to say they didn’t have it before, and like a blank slate, have now added this ability whereas earlier no such functioning existed.

This may actually be an incorrect view.

Early in the U.S. government’s remote viewing program, once psychic ability was accepted as a valid tool, the task then became to discover how to make it more reliable – how to get better at it, in order to achieve more “hits” about a location. In collaboration with their lead psychic, Ingo Swann, it was determined that psychic abilities had much more to do with letting go of personal beliefs and feelings surrounding psychic functioning rather than developing strategies to “acquire” further or more advanced skills. As described by Lyn Buchanan in his book “The Seventh Sense” it was more like peeling away the layers of an onion inside the self.

Ideas about psychic abilities have a lot of “junk” that can easily get in the way of utilizing the functions, when one takes a closer look at it. We all know about the stigma, the potential loss of family and friends who might think us “crazy” or “weird” when embarking upon this part of our creaturehood. But aside from that, there is actually quite a bit more, such as: what do you think is possible? Yes, you might see some psychic on television do some amazing work – he gets names, actual dates (down to the day), street numbers, etc. but how does that sit inside you? Do you think you can really get a glimpse of the future? Or receive details about events from somebody’s past? What are all the varying degrees of beliefs and feelings you have surrounding psychic functioning within the context of your self?

There could potentially be several concepts; beliefs harbored not just in mind but also by the swirl of emotions. This biological cocktail may block certain psychic information from boiling up to the observable mind. Again, you must peel away the onion of your being.

For years, I never thought I would get names during the course of a sitting. “Too hard. Never happens. I will never get names.” It wasn’t until I stopped telling myself that erroneous belief and started declaring its opposite (and inviting into my consciousness that it was possible) did things start to change. In deliberately peeling back this layer, I started to notice names floating by in later sessions – or at least the phonetic sound of the name or first initial. Am I always 100% accurate? No. But any percentage of hits, no matter how large or small, is better than zero, which is what my consciousness was batting at the plate before I turned it around.

Oftentimes we struggle for wanting more, when perhaps the “more” has always been there, crouched in the darkness waiting for the light to come up. Perhaps that light is not a bulb outside of your being that you acquire or that someone else gives you, but is rather something that happens as a result of releasing a belief or emotion. It is the belief, it is the emotion which harbors that darkness inside creating the obscurity. If you can identify the limitation and release it, the eyes open just a bit more, the light glows a bit brighter, and a more defined image comes into view.

This makes sense when the instruction for development has been the need to learn how to relax, quiet the mind, get out of the left-brain and into the right … These are all directives to try and let go of intrusive thoughts and emotions that would hold our consciousness captive and blind the reception of observable psychic phenomena. In other words, Get out of your own way. It is a process I endlessly work on and have noticed success.

I think the biggest question one needs to ask in the course of development which might uncover some of those onion layers (and it should be the very first question before entering development to begin with) is “Why?” Why do you want to develop psychic functioning? Is it because you think it would be “cool”? Fun? A great sense of personal thrill to delight and amaze your friends? If so, then don’t bother, or at the very least, don’t expect too much. One of the other factors the U.S. government remote viewers discovered was that there was a deep sense of personal responsibility and even a type of personal “spirituality” in order for the psychic signal to be proficient. As a parlor trick, one may get some higher level “gestalt” information, but aside from that, not much else. This is because “everything else” takes commitment, honor, and respect for the process. And that means the viewer has to engage himself (or herself) in order to “interact” with the information … He must be willing to examine what is keeping his eyelids only open so far versus going all the way (or opening at least a little wider). He must be willing to look inward and discover his own onion, and be willing to do the work to peel its layers away. This may take years, and some layers may never get penetrated.

For me, to examine this function of consciousness, there is no greater or more important aspect to life. In discovering these abilities, what does it reveal about us? What does it show us about who and what we are and how we are wired and connected with the universe? By studying psychic phenomena, can we learn something far deeper about the nature of our beings other than the standard materialistic “cog-and-wheel” system? Can further discovery in this field propel us into a more harmonious and evolved state of existence? To me, it speaks of possibilities which then turn into potentials … Not for me personally, but for us collectively.

I know a part of me has always feared what others might think – “freak, fraud, delusional weirdo,” and this fear has definitely hindered more than helped my process of development. I think it contributes to why I never feel I “get enough” or miss certain details over others. It doesn’t matter that I’ve done this for over a decade, and have great and wonderful people think so highly of me. Perhaps this fear has arrested my consciousness to work from a certain plain, one single “hue” of light inside that somewhat darkened room. I think in order to fully engage it, I need to let that stuff go. In worrying about what others might think, it is keeping me from turning that light up just a bit further. It is another layer of the onion that must be stripped away.

What will happen? I do not know. Will I get more details? I do not know. Will I learn more? Absolutely.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just beginning to uncover your psychic/intuitive gifts, what have you had to let go in order to further your development? And how has this letting go process helped?